# My 55 Gallon Plant Factory



## El Exorcisto (Aug 10, 2006)

Here's my 55 after a long nap. Most everything had died off except a sword and my crypts. I spent a few bucks and refilled my co2 bottle and cranked up the lights. Plants are starting to show up, and it's getting to look almost happy again. Tank Specs:

55 Gallon AGA
2x ODNO T8s, one 6500K GE Daylight, one 5000K GE Sunshine
2x NO T8s, one 6500K GE Daylight, one 5000K GE Sunshine
Pressurized CO2 at 2 bps
MGOC capped with Black Beauty
Magnum 350 filled with filter floss, mainly as a CO2 reactor










Plants are:
Bacopa Monnieri
Rotala Walichii
Echinodorus Tenellus
Blyxa Japonica
Hygrophila sp. "Bold"
Hygrophila Polysperma "Sunset"
Rotala "Colorata"
Nymphoides sp. "Taiwan"
Nymphaea "Tiger"
Cryptocoryne Wendtii "Bronze"
Hygrophila Angustifolia
Hygrophila Polysperma
Hygrophila Difformis

I have a few others on the way:
Limnophila sp. "Mini"
Hygrophila Difformis sp. "Variegated"
Rotala Macrandra sp. "Japan"
Limnophila sp. "Wavy"
Bacopa Caroliniana

It's mainly going to be a grow tank for whatever little projects I feel like putting together. 10 gallons just have a special place in my heart, and it's nice having a stock tank to pull from. What doesn't get used will get thrown on the boards for sale I guess. It's populated by 3 mollies and 3 platies. It had a half dozen cherry shrimp in it, but the platies made short work of them.

As a side note, I've discovered something about Black Diamond blasting grit. It is made primarily of iron, this I knew. I figured it was locked up and unavailable. It has however, over about a year of continuous contact left rust liens on my stones. They have a line very much like the stain from a piece of rebar sticking out of a concrete slab... Very interesting. I am sure in the redox environment of a soil substrate, the iron becomes biologically available.

Anyway, how's it look?


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

That's quite a nice layout for a grow-out tank. Yeah, so I guess the submersed conditions and biological activity and acids from any organic decay has made that iron available. Neat.


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## MoonFish (Feb 12, 2006)

I'm tryin again after a long nap too. The CO2 thing got me as well. It was sitting there empty for a year. How do you like the magnum filter? I've had a bad time with the pump on top style air locking and not priming well.


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## El Exorcisto (Aug 10, 2006)

My magnum primes easy and doesn't seem to have a problem burping if it needs to, although it's infrequent at worst. I like it, and the price was right. Even without the factory pad of micron filter, just with filter floss stuffed in the canister it keeps my water pretty sparkly.


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## snail_chen (Dec 4, 2009)

You have a really nice factory. Is algae under control ?


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## paronaram (Mar 27, 2009)

Pardon my ignorance, but what is MGOC?


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## El Exorcisto (Aug 10, 2006)

Algae is very much under control, just a bit of green hair but barely noticeable. MGOC is Miracle-Gro Organic Choice potting soil.


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## El Exorcisto (Aug 10, 2006)

Two Weeks Later:





































I've done a little rescaping and a lot of topping. I added some marsilea minuta, limnophila aromatica, and some sao paolo. It's filling in nice, and should really start getting fluffy soon.


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## paronaram (Mar 27, 2009)

Thanks! Do you know where can I read more about "recipe" on how to make substrate with Miracle-Gro Organic Choice? Or maybe you have your own way to setup ...

Thanks


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## El Exorcisto (Aug 10, 2006)

I pour a border of whatever sand I am capping with. Then I fill the open space in the center with the an inch of dirt, then cap with an inch of sand. It'll probably release some tannins on you for a couple months, but nothing that cant be managed easily. With plain old dirt the only thing you have to dose is K, and that is fairly infrequently. Let your plant growth be your indicator.


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## paronaram (Mar 27, 2009)

El Exorcisto said:


> I pour a border of whatever sand I am capping with. Then I fill the open space in the center with the an inch of dirt, then cap with an inch of sand. It'll probably release some tannins on you for a couple months, but nothing that cant be managed easily. With plain old dirt the only thing you have to dose is K, and that is fairly infrequently. Let your plant growth be your indicator.


Do you perform any treatment to the soil (Miracle-Gro Organic Choice) (i.e. prewash) before placing in to the tank?


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## El Exorcisto (Aug 10, 2006)

Nope, just dump it in... If you desire something a bit more complicated look at Aaron Talbot's Mineralized Soil thread in the library. I'm sure the extra work does something, but I can't, for the life of me, see what it does that straight organic dirt doesn't.


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## El Exorcisto (Aug 10, 2006)

Total breakdown and re-setup. I abandoned my soil for Thrifty-Zorb and EI dosing. I think it was starting to deplete, my growth was agonizingly slow and almost chlorotic. I got some new plants and got my hands wet. This pic is about three weeks after the new setup:










The specs are:
55 Gallon AGA
Magnum 350 Canister
4x ODNO 32 watt T8
Thrifty-Zorb Substrate
EI dosing with dry fertilizers

Plant Species:
Hygrophila sp. "Bold"
Limnophila "Mini"
Echinodorus Tenellus
Rotala Macrandra "Japan"
Hygrophila Angustifolia
Nymphoides sp. "Taiwan"
Blyxa Japonica
Staurogyne sp. "Porto Velho"
Polygonum 'Kawagoeanum'
Limnophila sp. "Wavy"
Rotala Macrandra "Green"
Eriocaulon "Blood *****"
Hygrophila Diformis "Variegated"
Blyxa Aubertii
Marsilea spp
Bacopa Caroliniana

I missed playing with EI... So damn pretty.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Nice!


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## El Exorcisto (Aug 10, 2006)

It's coming along nicely. I need my bacopa, staurogyne, and aubertii to fill in. Then I need to do some training to get more bushy growth out of a few of my stems. I'm sure by then I'll break it down and start all over...


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