Restart of 66 Gallon Planted Tank

[touchofsky]

This tank was started several years ago as a planted tank.  At that time, the lighting was what was available and consisted of four 40 watt T12's.  I was dosing pmdd as was in vogue at the time.  I did also dose Excel.  The tank did quite well, and I was happy with it.  Life circumstances got in the way, and my tank maintenance slipped and the plants gradually dwindled.  I was left with hardy plants such as Java fern and moss and cryptocornes.  Last summer I housed some goldfish that had been terrorized by predators in my outdoor pond, and they pretty well consumed everything but the Java fern. 

SO, I rehomed the goldfish to another tank, bought T5H0 lighting and a pressurized CO2 system from Errol (thank you, Errol!).

I decided to leave the gravel substrate, since it most likely had a good layer of mulm under the gravel.  I figured if that didn't work, I would then haul out all of the gravel and start over. 

I rescaped the tank on November 28th.  Here are a series of pictures taken on November 29th, December 31st, and January 9th.  Since January 9th, the plants have added another few inches.  The growth rate with pressurized CO2 is incredible!  So far, so good 

[Peekay]

THAT is six weeks of growth?!  wow. 
Looks good!

[touchofsky]

Yes, that is 6 weeks of growth.  Since I am new to pressurized CO2, I am surprized by how much more quickly the plants are growing in this tank, compared to my non-CO2 tanks. 

[jshchrtn]

Great looking tank ,thanks for sharing! What inhabitants do you have in the tank right now?

[touchofsky]

I am just starting to stock it now.  I currently have two bristlenoses (ancistrus), 10 black phantom tetras (Hyphessobrycon megalopterus) and 4 yellow phantom tetras (Hyphessobrycon roseus).   I was going to put a pair of angelfish in it, but have changed my mind since the pair of angels in one of my other planted tanks has decided to eat the plants    So, for the time being, I think I am going to stick to small tetras and perhaps a few shrimp.

[charlie]

great job, progress is evident & will soon get even better, looking forward to seeing it in a few mths.
Errol

[touchofsky]

Thanks, all.  I found it a bit frustrating to plant the tank, since the choice of plants is fairly limited around here, however, firstly I wanted to heavily plant it, and then I would add or substract plants as I went along.

I am also dealing with very hard well water, which limits my choices a bit.  It is trial and error at this point to see what will do well.

[touchofsky]

On January 17, I took some pictures of the tank, since some of the plants had reached the surface and I planned to do some pruning, etc. on the weekend.  So, here is the tank as it was on January 17.  I did some minor pruning today and will take some pictures later today or tomorrow.

I also did some experimenting with different setting on the camera, and I think the pictures are turning out better.

[charlie]

Great progress, i bet you are enjoying this tank , please keep us updated.
Thanks for sharing

[2075turner]

Great looking tank Valerie

Wish I could take nice pictures like that.

Great Job!!

[touchofsky]

I have been fooling around with various settings on the camera.  Now, I just have to remember what I did!

[daworldisblack]

Looking Good Valarie!! Great progress pics!

[jshchrtn]

That tank looks so good! Maybe someday when I finally get a larger tank I could get some clippings off you lol! Keep it up!

[touchofsky]

I will certainly be getting to the stage soon, where I will be able to spread around cuttings 

[Peekay]

Looking amazing Valerie!

Have you added any more livestock?

[touchofsky]

No, I am kind of stalled on that front.  I bought some neons, and put them in quarantine and they developed ich.  So, I am in the process of treating for that.

I think what I am ultimately going to do, once the new neons are cured of ich, is transfer the neons from my 10 gallon planted tank, into the 66 gallon tank, and put the new neons in my little tank.

I am tempted to set up another quarantine tank, so that I can start quarantining a few more fish!

[exv152]

No, I am kind of stalled on that front.  I bought some neons, and put them in quarantine and they developed ich.  So, I am in the process of treating for that.

I think what I am ultimately going to do, once the new neons are cured of ich, is transfer the neons from my 10 gallon planted tank, into the 66 gallon tank, and put the new neons in my little tank.

I am tempted to set up another quarantine tank, so that I can start quarantining a few more fish!

Isn't CO2 a wonderful thing? Just add the right plants, ferts, light, gravel and CO2 and voila! One of the best methods of dealing with the free swim stage of Ich is to raise the temp 80-85 F. Look forward to seeing the 66 gal progress.

[touchofsky]

Yes, CO2 certainly makes things grow!  I am having fun with the tank.  I had started it years ago, probably around 2003 or so, as a planted tank.  I used DIY C02 for a while, and Excel, and had what I thought to be good growth.  However, since I started the pressurized CO2, I realize how much of a difference there is, with it and without. 

I have to add that I have upgraded the lights as well from 4 x 40 watt t12's to T5HO's.

As for the little neons, I have the temp raised and I have added salt.  They are looking much better today. 

[touchofsky]

As is often the case, life got in the way, and I didn't take pictures after my last pruning about 10 days ago.  However, I did take pictures today, since it is 2 months since the restart of this tank.  I am going to finally add some neons this evening.  

[touchofsky]

Today, it was time to do some major pruning, so I decided to take a few pictures prior to the pruning.  Once things calm down, I will post some after pictures.  I also moved a few things around. 

So, here are the before pictures.  I used some different settings and exposures, just to try out some things we talked about at the last OVAS meeting :-)