# 55 Gallon Journal (Marconis)



## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

I set this up around June 2nd as my second soil tank. I know I didn't go entirely "El-Natural", but the lack of CO2, ferts, and use of soil is good enough for me.


55 Gallons
2x54W T5-HO
Aquaclear70 HOB on low flow
Quikrete All-Purpose Sand
MGOCPM
No CO2
No ferts
~8.5hr lighting period

No fish currently, and plants consist of only Dwarf Sag and Amazon Swords. I am keeping it simple and _currently trying to find a third species_, preferably a tall grass, that can fill a large portion of the left side.

I went from this:










to this (as of August 1st):





































Everything is growing well, the dwarf sag lets out tons of runners. Once I get my third plant species, get the green tinge out, and get fish, I'll be happier.

Thanks for looking.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Looks like it's coming right along! I always try to plant heavy from the beginning. Even if I can only get plants that I don't want to keep. Once things begin really growing I sell what I don't want and that helps me be able to purchase the ones I want. Works for me and keeps the tank balanced from the beginning.


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

Yeah, I had a lot of Vals and Diversifolia in here, but I took a chance and scrapped them. The Vals were dying, anyway. I see no imbalances or anything as of yet, so I am not too worried. Also very happy that I don't smell anything sulfur-like. I had an issue with it in my ten gallon tank; leads me to believe that my cap provides nice aeration of the soil on this one as opposed to previously using PFS.


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## activesize (Jun 26, 2011)

I think your choice and quantity of lighting is good if you don't have any natural sunlight. I also have roughly the same twin bank T5 HO setup on my 55 gallon but on three individual swiveling reflectors. Ludwigia repens would look nice on the left center and it'll probably go aerial with a gorgeous red color but not take over the tank. If you go red in the left middle then I think you need a fourth sort of green species on the far left too to balance it out, maybe some sort of stem plant like mermaid weed which is highly resistant to algae. 

Did you add pebbles into and on top of the Quikcrete sand? The stuff on top sort of gives it a pea gravel look except without the benefits of pea gravel.


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

I was quite worried about having too much light, but your statement is reassuring. I had L.r in my 10 gallon and loved it, so I may reconsider that.

No pebbles added to the sand, this is what it looks like:










Perfect grain size, in my opinion.


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## activesize (Jun 26, 2011)

Well, that's interesting. I also use Quikcrete sand in another tank but of the finer pool filter sized grains. I strained out the fines in a cotton pillowcase. I love it but would never dream of using it over soil. Yours looks good and should work fine over soil, I think. 

I agree, L. repens is awesome. So, instead of L. repens maybe the narrow leafed variety?


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## capn_kirkl (Jul 4, 2006)

what are those pretty swords?


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

Pretty sure it's Echinodorus bleherae, but I could be wrong. I'm just looking for a thin, tall grass that I can put on the left. Not really interested in any Ludwigia for the moment...you are tempting me with the narrow leaf, though...I miss the narrow leafed ones. Anymore suggestions?

Thanks all.


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## activesize (Jun 26, 2011)

Narrow leaf Hygro (H. corymbosa 'Angustifolia'). It will give you that grassy look that you like but not take over the tank. In addition, with your light level it should develop pleasing light brown central veins down the middle of each leaf and thick light brown main trunks.


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

That plant is very nice looking, I may actually consider it. Thanks!


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

What about Limnophila indica? While not grass-like, it sure is an attractive plant. How would it do in my setup?


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

I went ahead and ordered Cambombo caroliniana


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

Hey, actually swapped that order with Ambulia. 

I do have a concern, though. My tank has been showing some signs of plant death, which I think may actually be due to strain on the system in that it's been fishless since initial setup (lack of CO2 from fish respiration, for instance), 3 months ago. I plan on getting fish by the end of the month when the temperature cools down since I can't afford an AC. I removed all browning leaves, did a huge water change, and am going to dose Excel daily until I get fish. The fish food addition wasn't working for some reason. Of course, the issue may not be CO2, but it's just a step to see if things improve.

I actually tested my ammonia for the first time since set-up. I thought that by this time, with the ammonia leeching from the soil for three months, it'd be cycled. When I tested before the water change, I got a reading of 2ppm. No NO2-, and nitrates were around 10ppm. I usually fishless cycle my aquariums using pure ammonia...they usually cycle anywhere from 7-21 days depending on seed material used. So, I thought that the continually leeching ammonia would, in time (such as 3 months), allow for enough nitrifying bacteria to develop. I was actually expecting there to be zero ammonia with a concern that any bacteria that had colonized had actually starved. Why is my soil leeching ammonia for three months? 

Now, I know you should plant heavily so as to increase ammonia uptake by plants, but even so, should it be as high as 2ppm three months in?

Thanks!


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

No, it shouldn't. But I am at a loss to explain it, unless there is a lot of dead vegetation in the tank. The major water change is definitely a good step, and you may need to do more.

Though this seems unrelated, humor me, and turn your filter up to high. Try to get enough current so that the plants sway gently. If your filter will not do that, try adding a powerhead to increase the flow. This will insure that the water in tank is well mixed and that there are no dead spots where excess nutrients can collect. There is a long thread on the effects and benefits of increased flow in planted tanks at http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...club/75400-excited-word-about-filtration.html

Good luck!


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

Well, I did a large water change yesterday and upon testing (as of 5 minutes ago) the ammonia is an even 0. I am going to monitor it and if it doesn't go up by Friday, I'll account it to some strange error, or something. Any dead plant matter I remove immediately, so I don't think that was an issue. My filter seems to do a good job on low-flow, so I'll leave it at that for now. I'm just trying to keep carbon gas-off to a minimum as I am dosing Excel to fill in the gap that lack of fish has created.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Excel is not lost to the atmosphere the way CO2 gas can be, so if you try turning your filter up you don't need to worry about that.

--Michael


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

I cut my photoperiod back an hour and increased ambient lighting in the morning to see if that will change things any. Plants are still dying off...water circulation seem to be alright as I've had my filter up just a bit from normal. 

Getting fish soon, thankfully.


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

Cutting back on that did not work. Tomorrow I am getting a bunch of new plants, and finally getting fish (only a school of 6, not sure what yet). Hoping that fish food/waste/respiration will get things back in check, but doubtful.

*I should note that my Dwarf Sag isn't just turning yellow and dying; it is turning transparent in groups literally within a day. What's the reasoning for this?


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

New additions:


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## Marconis (Mar 17, 2011)

It seems as if my tank is actually getting back to where it used to be. I feed once daily, dose Excel daily, and dose Flourish twice a week. I'm not sure the latter two are entirely necessary, but it seems to be putting things back in order.


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