Journal: 55gal Planted Community - MyFishTank.Net Freshwater Saltwater Aquarium Fish Forum

TwistedGA · 06-02-2008, 01:34 AM

Hey everyone, I kind of skipped the whole intro thread thign and decided to go straight into a journal which is just as informative really. I remember people by the tank, not what they do for a living. Maybe it's just me, lol.

We are currently housing our small community in a unplanted 10gallon tank, with no plant life. We've had several tanks setup including the 55 we're redoing now, it's been a long debate of keeping it fresh or going salt, we decided we'd want the saltwater to be much larger and on went the freshwater restoration. We only ever had a few plants in our tank, rooted in plain gravel, nothing special at all really. I'm planning to do a lot of reading on large plantings while the other projects take form over the next few weeks.

Currently we are working on setting up a 3d background for the tank, while it
consumes a lot of area in the tank, we think the effect it gives it and the built in caves should go over nicely with the chiclids also.

Here is the rough cut design waiting to be fitted into the tank;

I didn't get shots of it fitted in the tank and with the filter cutout, but we got that done and the first coat of concrete on it. I'll update tomorrow.

Comments and suggestions on planting and general info welcome. Thanks for reading!

MikeS · 06-03-2008, 03:41 PM

Can't wait to see updates on this

TwistedGA · 06-03-2008, 05:58 PM

Sorry i didn't get these posted sooner, I got tied up with work at the shop. Thanks for reading what i did have haha, on with the updates.. A single coat of mortor mix applied, this shows the final design and cutout area for our HOB filter. I tried to hide it as much as possible without effecting it's function.

This is what you'll see from the right side of the tank, it allows you to view any fish that may be hiding in the caves, or just floated into them after death(we wanted to see them so we would atleast know they didn't get eatin, lol)

This shows the small caves done on the left side of the tank, all viewable from the side of the tank also..

I've also stripped about half the tank of it's silicone, soon as I get enough time to lay the second coat of mortor I'll strip the second half and go into resealing it. Thoughts and comments welcome. I've been doing more reading on planting tanks, haven't made any choices on anything yet, also been doing research on sump setups since we'll have the extra 10gal to play with now. Thanks again for reading, I'll post updates as they come.

Cichlid-Man · 06-03-2008, 06:26 PM

Thats awesome! I'll tag along with this one. Welcome to MFT!

MikeS · 06-03-2008, 07:10 PM

Muy Bueno!!!!

TwistedGA · 06-05-2008, 11:45 PM

Thanks Mike!

Here's a small update, I couldn't wait until tomorrow to put them up into position like the other photo's, this mixture was a little different and isn't curing quite as fast but I think it took it to a whole new level..

I'm hoping that I can manage to run sand as the substrate using the single 30-60 HOB filter, most say to run double your needs but I simply can't cutout for another 30-60 now that the background is hard as a brick(literally lol!)

I think the solution for us will be a monthly stirring of the sand ontop of the bi-daily siphoning of the topwaste. Anyway's on with the pictures, sorry about the few blurry shots and all the shat in the background, it's a mess in the basement..

Edit; Forgot to mention that we got the rest of the tank's original silicone removed, I'll be taping and resealing it tomorrow if all goes as planned, then hopefully pass the leak test the following day and get the background isntalled and ready for the third and final coat of crete to fill the gaps and give everything some shading.

I'm on the hunt for waterproof LED's to possibly work into the caves pre-final coat, just so we can turn em on when checking for floaters and/or just watching the fish hide.

tom91970 · 06-06-2008, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwistedGA

I think the solution for us will be a monthly stirring of the sand ontop of the bi-daily siphoning of the topwaste.

I keep Malaysian Trumpet Snails in my 14g tank. They burrow in the sand and keep the poisonous gas pockets from forming.

Stykman · 06-06-2008, 01:47 PM

That Background you're building is "FREAKIN' AWESOME"!!!

Not for anything, but I would LOVE to see step by step how you did it. Maybe even post the instructions in the DYI Section.

Can't Wait to see the finished product in the tank.

MikeS · 06-06-2008, 02:00 PM

Looks GREAT!!!!!! That even sparked an interest in tearing down the 210 (

) to make one.

Ditto on the trumpet snails. Now if you plan on clown loaches, they will dig them up and eat though. I throw some in my tank every now and then for the loaches and puffer. Kinda cool to watch the loaches hunt them down.

TwistedGA · 06-06-2008, 02:21 PM

hehe, thanks a lot guys!

I didn't bother having a second set of hands to take pictures of every step in the process, but I think it's more of a "go with the flow" type project. I think I have enough pictures to do a DIY on it though.

The day I started carving was definately the most nerve racking because I'm not much of an artist, or atleast a very impressive one. I'll try to have it writen up and added to the DIY section by tonight.. Thanks again for all the kind comments guys!

06-02-2008, 01:34 AM	#1 (permalink)
TwistedGA Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: May 2008 Location: Paducah, KY Posts: 85	Journal: 55gal Planted Community Hey everyone, I kind of skipped the whole intro thread thign and decided to go straight into a journal which is just as informative really. I remember people by the tank, not what they do for a living. Maybe it's just me, lol. We are currently housing our small community in a unplanted 10gallon tank, with no plant life. We've had several tanks setup including the 55 we're redoing now, it's been a long debate of keeping it fresh or going salt, we decided we'd want the saltwater to be much larger and on went the freshwater restoration. We only ever had a few plants in our tank, rooted in plain gravel, nothing special at all really. I'm planning to do a lot of reading on large plantings while the other projects take form over the next few weeks. Currently we are working on setting up a 3d background for the tank, while it consumes a lot of area in the tank, we think the effect it gives it and the built in caves should go over nicely with the chiclids also. Here is the rough cut design waiting to be fitted into the tank; I didn't get shots of it fitted in the tank and with the filter cutout, but we got that done and the first coat of concrete on it. I'll update tomorrow. Comments and suggestions on planting and general info welcome. Thanks for reading! Last edited by TwistedGA; 06-02-2008 at 01:39 AM..

06-03-2008, 03:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
MikeS Medium Fish Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Nor Cal Posts: 328	Can't wait to see updates on this __________________ 210 Gallon Live Plants 3 Cardinal Tetras, 5 Boesemani Rainbows, 7 Roseline Sharks, 1 Gold Nugget Pleco, 1 Peppermint Pleco, 3 Clown Loaches, 1 Honey Dwarf Gourami, 1 Green Spotted Puffer, 1 Ember Tetra, 5 Algae Foxes, 1 farlowella cat, ? Red Claw Shrimp, 1 Rainbow Shark, 2 African Dwarf Frogs, 2 ropefish, 2 German Rams, 2 Kribs

06-03-2008, 05:58 PM	#3 (permalink)
TwistedGA Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: May 2008 Location: Paducah, KY Posts: 85	Sorry i didn't get these posted sooner, I got tied up with work at the shop. Thanks for reading what i did have haha, on with the updates.. A single coat of mortor mix applied, this shows the final design and cutout area for our HOB filter. I tried to hide it as much as possible without effecting it's function. This is what you'll see from the right side of the tank, it allows you to view any fish that may be hiding in the caves, or just floated into them after death(we wanted to see them so we would atleast know they didn't get eatin, lol) This shows the small caves done on the left side of the tank, all viewable from the side of the tank also.. I've also stripped about half the tank of it's silicone, soon as I get enough time to lay the second coat of mortor I'll strip the second half and go into resealing it. Thoughts and comments welcome. I've been doing more reading on planting tanks, haven't made any choices on anything yet, also been doing research on sump setups since we'll have the extra 10gal to play with now. Thanks again for reading, I'll post updates as they come. Last edited by TwistedGA; 06-03-2008 at 06:08 PM..

06-03-2008, 06:26 PM	#4 (permalink)
Cichlid-Man MFT Staff Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 8,799	Thats awesome! I'll tag along with this one. Welcome to MFT! __________________

06-03-2008, 07:10 PM	#5 (permalink)
MikeS Medium Fish Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Nor Cal Posts: 328	Muy Bueno!!!! __________________ 210 Gallon Live Plants 3 Cardinal Tetras, 5 Boesemani Rainbows, 7 Roseline Sharks, 1 Gold Nugget Pleco, 1 Peppermint Pleco, 3 Clown Loaches, 1 Honey Dwarf Gourami, 1 Green Spotted Puffer, 1 Ember Tetra, 5 Algae Foxes, 1 farlowella cat, ? Red Claw Shrimp, 1 Rainbow Shark, 2 African Dwarf Frogs, 2 ropefish, 2 German Rams, 2 Kribs

06-05-2008, 11:45 PM	#6 (permalink)
TwistedGA Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: May 2008 Location: Paducah, KY Posts: 85	Thanks Mike! Here's a small update, I couldn't wait until tomorrow to put them up into position like the other photo's, this mixture was a little different and isn't curing quite as fast but I think it took it to a whole new level.. I'm hoping that I can manage to run sand as the substrate using the single 30-60 HOB filter, most say to run double your needs but I simply can't cutout for another 30-60 now that the background is hard as a brick(literally lol!) I think the solution for us will be a monthly stirring of the sand ontop of the bi-daily siphoning of the topwaste. Anyway's on with the pictures, sorry about the few blurry shots and all the shat in the background, it's a mess in the basement.. Edit; Forgot to mention that we got the rest of the tank's original silicone removed, I'll be taping and resealing it tomorrow if all goes as planned, then hopefully pass the leak test the following day and get the background isntalled and ready for the third and final coat of crete to fill the gaps and give everything some shading. I'm on the hunt for waterproof LED's to possibly work into the caves pre-final coat, just so we can turn em on when checking for floaters and/or just watching the fish hide. Last edited by TwistedGA; 06-05-2008 at 11:53 PM..

06-06-2008, 01:47 PM	#8 (permalink)
Stykman Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Aston, PA Posts: 83	That Background you're building is "FREAKIN' AWESOME"!!! Not for anything, but I would LOVE to see step by step how you did it. Maybe even post the instructions in the DYI Section. Can't Wait to see the finished product in the tank. __________________ Various sizes from1 to 5 Gallons-Breeding and Growing Out - empty at present 55 Gal - Swordtails, AE, Guppies, Cories, Guptails, Live Plants 125 Gal - Live Plants, Mollies, Angels, Cories, Ottos RIP - Neons, Cories, Plecos, Swordtail - Victims of "The Great Boiling" 8/9/08

06-06-2008, 02:00 PM	#9 (permalink)
MikeS Medium Fish Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Nor Cal Posts: 328	Looks GREAT!!!!!! That even sparked an interest in tearing down the 210 () to make one. Ditto on the trumpet snails. Now if you plan on clown loaches, they will dig them up and eat though. I throw some in my tank every now and then for the loaches and puffer. Kinda cool to watch the loaches hunt them down. __________________ 210 Gallon Live Plants 3 Cardinal Tetras, 5 Boesemani Rainbows, 7 Roseline Sharks, 1 Gold Nugget Pleco, 1 Peppermint Pleco, 3 Clown Loaches, 1 Honey Dwarf Gourami, 1 Green Spotted Puffer, 1 Ember Tetra, 5 Algae Foxes, 1 farlowella cat, ? Red Claw Shrimp, 1 Rainbow Shark, 2 African Dwarf Frogs, 2 ropefish, 2 German Rams, 2 Kribs Last edited by MikeS; 06-06-2008 at 02:02 PM..

06-06-2008, 02:21 PM	#10 (permalink)
TwistedGA Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: May 2008 Location: Paducah, KY Posts: 85	hehe, thanks a lot guys! I didn't bother having a second set of hands to take pictures of every step in the process, but I think it's more of a "go with the flow" type project. I think I have enough pictures to do a DIY on it though. The day I started carving was definately the most nerve racking because I'm not much of an artist, or atleast a very impressive one. I'll try to have it writen up and added to the DIY section by tonight.. Thanks again for all the kind comments guys!