# EvoZ's 422 planted tank.



## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

hey guys, its been a year since i do planted tanks.. decided to come back with a larger tank.. 4x2x2ft planted. it should be pretty much of a high tech tank.. running on 4x54watt T5HO and will have co2 tank + EI dosing of fert...

total noob when it comes to scaping.. bought 2 pretty huge driftwood just now and this should be the "backbone" of the scape.. planning to add a few more branches and might have a pretty big slope, some granite rocks to support the wood as well. i guess 4 packs of soil wont be enough.








*apologies for the dirty tank*

Please advice on the scape guys..
thanks..


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

The tank dimensions are awesome. I"m not much for aquascaping advice, but I'd suggest a smaller grouping of wood on the right side to compliment the large piece on the left.


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

davemonkey said:


> The tank dimensions are awesome. I"m not much for aquascaping advice, but I'd suggest a smaller grouping of wood on the right side to compliment the large piece on the left.


awesome but very challanging!.. hmm true.. thanks for the great advise.. i guess having some wood on the right will balance up the empty space on the right too.. thanks!


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## ThoHell (Jan 9, 2011)

I wish I had that tank...


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

ThoHell said:


> I wish I had that tank...


just go ahead with it bro.


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## schg (Dec 22, 2010)

LOVE that wood. Looking forward to this.


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## joshvito (Apr 6, 2009)

subscribed.
here is my $0.02
I think the addition of partially burried stones around your left-of-center driftwood will create a perfect triangle layout (see below). You may think about adjusting the wood sligtly. Right now the wood creates a hard line that points to the lower left corner and upper right corner, you may think about placing the wood so that it points towards the center of the tank (or anywhere else you want to draw the viewer's attention).

Here is my reference.
http://www.aquajournal.net/na/basics/basics_03.html


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

joshvito said:


> subscribed.
> here is my $0.02
> I think the addition of partially burried stones around your left-of-center driftwood will create a perfect triangle layout (see below). You may think about adjusting the wood sligtly. Right now the wood creates a hard line that points to the lower left corner and upper right corner, you may think about placing the wood so that it points towards the center of the tank (or anywhere else you want to draw the viewer's attention).
> 
> ...


yes, i have been playing around with the woods, and i agree with your stones part.. your .02 cents greatly appreciated.


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

updates!

my list of equipments :

tank : 120x60x60
filtration : Hagen Fluval Fx5(2300l/hr) + SunSun 3000l/hr wavemaker.
Lighting : Aquazonic 54x4 T5HO
Substrate : 45L of AquaticStyle Concept soil
Co2 system : 5L tank + Solenoid via Glass diffuser(placed under wavemaker)
Fertilizer : LUSHgro AQUA macro and micro.

Since LUSHgro aqua macro dosn't contain PO4, bought my own dry form of KH2PO4.









This 2 pics should be my final placement, need some advice.

This placement with the left wood included









This placement without the left wood, feels abit empty.. hmm...


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

updates... tiring day today..

5 packs of 9KG/L each of Concept soil arrived this morning..









was drooling all over when i read this book!









some plants i bought from LFS, still lack of quite alot though..









soil in and wood partially tied with taiwan moss.









woah.. super tiring after planting roughly 10 pots of HC and 3 pots of HG.









5 pots green and 5 pots red stem plants.. any ID?









my FTS.. tank is cloudy cause my filter spew out lots of dirt and planting stir some soil as well.. what's worst i accidentally broke my Fx5 fastener.. hope i can get a spare part for it.. so right now no filtration yet.. got to wait till tomorrow at least..









Shall update again.. will be adding E.tenellus to plant inbetween HC and DW, some short narrow leaf javafern and bolbitis to place in between DW, and more stem plants..


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## gBOYsc2 (Nov 26, 2010)

Off to a great start! I love your wood I always wish i could find pieces like that. Planting the HC sure is a pita LOL.

I can't wait to see how this turns out.


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

gBOYsc2 said:


> Off to a great start! I love your wood I always wish i could find pieces like that. Planting the HC sure is a pita LOL.
> 
> I can't wait to see how this turns out.


Got to be lucky to find nice wood bro.. i guess i was at the right time in the lfs.. yea planting the HCs are super tiring! i wonder those pros scaping larger tank all by themselves how to survive!


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## gBOYsc2 (Nov 26, 2010)

I watched a video of a "pro" scaping a tank and giving a workshop and he had a helper to stand there and hold the plants on a tray so it was easier for him. Don't you wish you had an assistant?


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

gBOYsc2 said:


> I watched a video of a "pro" scaping a tank and giving a workshop and he had a helper to stand there and hold the plants on a tray so it was easier for him. Don't you wish you had an assistant?


of course i wish i had an assistant man.. too bad im the only guy interested in aquascaping in my whole family.:icon_hang


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## matt12 (Nov 21, 2010)

looks really nice. keep us updated!


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

matt1212 said:


> looks really nice. keep us updated!


sure will.


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

the new submersed leaves are not looking like rotala 'green'.. they seems to be super light seeking, they sway towards the morning sunlight from the window..









my mass of stem plants behind my wood, waiting for them to grow tall..









my bunch of eriocaulon 'sp'..









my patch of HC, quite alot melted away.. hope it will spread soon..









Heres my FTS, tank is still yellowish due to driftwood leaking tanins...


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## HolyAngel (Nov 3, 2010)

This is looking really good! Good picks on the plants and driftwood, im betting this is likely to look *amazing* when it's all grown in. Keep it up! ^^


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

HolyAngel said:


> This is looking really good! Good picks on the plants and driftwood, im betting this is likely to look *amazing* when it's all grown in. Keep it up! ^^


Thanks bro, too bad i cant find didiplis diandra.. if not it will be even better...


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## IwannaGoFast (Jan 11, 2011)

Where'd you get that soil?


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## rockhoe14er (Oct 28, 2010)

wow looks great.


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## joshvito (Apr 6, 2009)

EvolutionZ said:


> my mass of stem plants behind my wood, waiting for them to grow tall..


What is the red plant you have there, I don't see them in any of your other shots?


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## jerrybforl (Jul 22, 2008)

I noticed in the bucket the plants were long. Did you cut them down? I suck at aquascaping and your tank is looking awesome!


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

joshvito said:


> What is the red plant you have there, I don't see them in any of your other shots?


the red plants are newly planted, the right one are Rotala macrandra and the left plants are Lugwigia inclinata



jerrybforl said:


> I noticed in the bucket the plants were long. Did you cut them down? I suck at aquascaping and your tank is looking awesome!


that bucket is small thats why it looked long


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

Updates :

after 2 weeks of set up, fishes are in, they are :

100 pieces of cardinal tetras
1 pair of german ram
3 juv albino angelfish
5 otos

upcoming livestock :
200 malayan shrimps ( Yes they are my favourite and they are super effective in clearing hair algae which i start seeing some among my moss)
more otos and maybe some scarlet badis..

Some pics of my livestocks..

male









female..









Cardinals, i wonder if 100 of them are too many, they seems to school in 2 groups..









albino angel, beautiful angels..


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

updates.. tank is currently slightly over 2 weeks old. found out that my rotala green is creeping so shifted my stargrass to the back and rotala to the front.

Current plant list is :

Hemianthus callitrichoids (HC)
Utricularia graminifolia (UG)
Eleocharis parvula (HG)
Staurogyne‎ repens
Staurogyne stolonifera
Echinodorus tenellus
Euriocaulon sp.
Microsorum 'narrow leaf'
Christmas moss
Taiwan moss
Staurogyne stolonifera
Hemianthus micranthemoides (HM)
Rotala 'green'
Rotala 'Macrandra'
Ludwigia inclinata
Ludwigia brevipes
Heteranthera zosterifolia (Stargrass)

FTS 









another view.


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## ata326 (Jun 30, 2010)

Extremely beautiful...


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

ata326 said:


> Extremely beautiful...


Thanks bro.


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

Noticed that i had not been updating this thread.. had been really busy.. so as of today, the tank is almost 2 months old.. plants are bubbling everyday and trimming is required every 2 weeks.. my taiwan mosses are growing so fast and thick that every month of trimming would leave me with roughly ~5 tubs of taiwan moss.. gosh..

Another thing is that, my HC has not grown at all even after planting for 2 months.. just last week, i planted glosso over some empty spaces and they are already covering the foreground pretty fast..

Heres a pic of my tank when its just 2 weeks old.. below pics shows the growth after 6 weeks..









Apologies for the cloudy tank, just did WC and trimming of moss and lots of dirt are stirred up..









My stem plants..









The main inhabitants of my 422.. albino discus..









my german blue ram..


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## kineticcomfort (Aug 5, 2010)

I am having the same problem with my HC, planted 8 pots in the foreground and its not really doing anything, its grown but very slightly and not spreading out across the foreground like I had hoped

I have some glosso in the tank and its doing great.

I have a little eco complete in with the flourish but only a bag or 2 and I put in at least 7 bags of flourish, I've heard the eco complete can raise the hardness in the tank, I use 2/3 RO so my water that goes in is pretty soft, as well as peat granules

if it doesnt do better soon, I'm pullin the glosso cuttin it up and spreading it around better since its already takin over the area's planted with it.
first time with more demanding foreground species as am pretty new to hobby


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

Well, at least yours is spreading.. mine is totally staying still.. but im glad to say glosso will be filling up the foreground very soon!


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## sundragon (Dec 13, 2010)

Beautiful tank. Where did you get your soil?


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

@sundragon,

Those soil are new in the market.. newly lauched in singapore.. japan soil if im not wrong..

Some updates... noticed my fx5's flowrate has been dropping so decided to take it out for a wash.. Those poo/debris stuck among the filter/media shocked me..

WC after Fx5 is fixed back again.. did spew quite alot debris into the tank..









Angle shot after WC.. right now my rotala green is super messy.. might replace them with ludwigia brevipis(the red stem plant beside those rotala) 









Glosso, so much easier to get a carpet compared to HC.. this is just after 2 - 3 weeks after planting.









my staurogyne repens, They don't seem to spread though..









Below pictures are some of the fishes in my tank.. quite alot in fact..

male and female german ram..








female









Corydoras hasbrosus.. cute fellas..









Dicrossus filamentosus


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## sundragon (Dec 13, 2010)

Not available in the US 



EvolutionZ said:


> @sundragon,
> 
> Those soil are new in the market.. newly lauched in singapore.. japan soil if im not wrong..


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## SAplantNerd (Aug 9, 2009)

That a biggish tank you have there!

But it's looking very good!

I just have one question, are you dosing EI? Cause I know Rams are very sensitive towards Nitrates and im thinking of moving mine to a display tank, just a bit scared.


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

SAplantNerd said:


> That a biggish tank you have there!
> 
> But it's looking very good!
> 
> I just have one question, are you dosing EI? Cause I know Rams are very sensitive towards Nitrates and im thinking of moving mine to a display tank, just a bit scared.


yes im doing EI and i usually overdosed den recommanded because i got a hell lot of plants inside.. as for rams, didn't know they are sensitive towards nitrate.. so far they are doing very well.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Love the Staurogyne! Your tank is doing so well. Looks like you have solved your carpet plant issues. Next you'll be wishing you had not switched plants- you'll have so much maintenance!


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

Tex Gal said:


> Love the Staurogyne! Your tank is doing so well. Looks like you have solved your carpet plant issues. Next you'll be wishing you had not switched plants- you'll have so much maintenance!


haha.. im getting used to it. my stem plants requires alot of maintenance already.


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

updates..

Changed those taiwan moss on the wood to Xmas moss.. since they don't grow as fast as taiwan..

my L.brevipis grows super fast.. pogostemon stellatus as well..









Glosso carpet almost full








another angle









Time for me to buy a external Flash, sorry for the crappy photos above.


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## EvolutionZ (Jul 26, 2007)

Some updates.. most plants should be removed and replaced by next month.. still looking for low-tech background plants though.


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## joshp428 (Nov 16, 2007)

actually a really nice tank, love the simplicity


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