# Planted Tank Blueprint #1



## roccov12345

I'm not very artistic whatsoever so its difficult imagining the final product. I have this idea in my head that I'm trying to get down on paper but again.......difficult to get down during the planning stage.

Here's my current stock list of plants, 55 gallon, with a new design. I want some swimming room for my Ps hence the one side only look.









Your thoughts, issues..............

Trying to get something along the line of.....


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## maknwar

Your limiting yourself with a 55 gallon because of the depth. You will run out of depth planting it. Also, amazon swords grow large. When I mean large, I mean bigger than the 55 gallon can handle. Pick something else for that area. Also, glosso is hard to grow cause it needs so much light. You are going to get tired of trimming the wisteria with that much light. Other than that, looks like it will be a show stunner.


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## roccov12345

maknwar said:


> Your limiting yourself with a 55 gallon because of the depth. You will run out of depth planting it. Also, amazon swords grow large. When I mean large, I mean bigger than the 55 gallon can handle. Pick something else for that area. Also, glosso is hard to grow cause it needs so much light. You are going to get tired of trimming the wisteria with that much light. Other than that, looks like it will be a show stunner.


I hear you on the sword comment. I gave away probably about 75% of my sword stock because it was just taking over the tank. Looked like a jungle.... I'm down to about 4 or 5 swords in the medium range. I might just do away with them entirely and push the plan "as is" back against the glass.

I really wanted to step up to a 75 to gain the depth but the wifey is really defiant with the whole larger tank discussion....









As for the glosso, how much light is "so much?" I think I'm around the 130 watt range which is........2.4 watt per gallon. I guess I could always double that? with another coralife......that would be about obviously 4.7 wpg, little much....


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## jharrison

roccov12345 said:


> I really wanted to step up to a 75 to gain the depth but the wifey is really defiant with the whole larger tank discussion....


Have you ever thought of getting rid of the wifey and getting a 75?


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## roccov12345

jharrison said:


> I really wanted to step up to a 75 to gain the depth but the wifey is really defiant with the whole larger tank discussion....


Have you ever thought of getting rid of the wifey and getting a 75?
[/quote]

haha hell yeah!!! I was trying to get my hands on a 150 a while back but that never happened. Need I say why.....Hence why I stuck with the 55. Maybe one day I'll have a mid life crisis and go bachelor status again. That would be dangerous because I'd probably wind up with about 20 tanks


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## lo4life

^but it would be so worth it!! Bigger is better just tell her that :rasp:


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## roccov12345

lo4life said:


> ^but it would be so worth it!! Bigger is better just tell her that :rasp:


hahah about 2 months ago I tried that line....she didn't laugh..I turned around, walked to the bedroom and I said I give up.....I then cried in a state of deep depression.


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## ryanimpreza

looks sweet man


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## jharrison

roccov12345 said:


> ^but it would be so worth it!! Bigger is better just tell her that :rasp:


hahah about 2 months ago I tried that line....she didn't laugh..I turned around, walked to the bedroom and I said I give up.....I then cried in a state of deep depression.








[/quote]

Where you crying because she said "you're right.... bigger is better!" and then looked down at your crotch??


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## Sheppard

Tell the wife size matters







lol

I can see how your plan for the tank is attractive. But like everyone else has said..a 55gallon?! blahhhh If thats what you have to work with and a bigger tank is no option, then I guess you have to work with it.

A deeper tank will obviously give you more options. My planted 180g provides alot of freedom and it's easy to work with. I did a smaller planted 38gallon once and it turned out alright, but it's much harder to work with.

I can see how the Glosso is so tempting though lol. What a beautiful plant it is. If you want Glosso I say go for it. But you might want to double your 130watts just to be sure. If you double it though you definitley NEED c02. (get pressurized!!) and that setup will be a beauty!

If its densely planted enough it would probably look much bigger than a 55g, especially with alot of shorter plants like glosso.
It's such a hard decision though. But let us know what you decide to do...hmmm there is something else im forgetting....

oh yes.
POST PICS!


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## roccov12345

jharrison said:


> Tell the wife size matters
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> lol
> 
> I can see how your plan for the tank is attractive. But like everyone else has said..a 55gallon?! blahhhh If thats what you have to work with and a bigger tank is no option, then I guess you have to work with it.
> 
> A deeper tank will obviously give you more options. My planted 180g provides alot of freedom and it's easy to work with. I did a smaller planted 38gallon once and it turned out alright, but it's much harder to work with.
> 
> I can see how the Glosso is so tempting though lol. What a beautiful plant it is. If you want Glosso I say go for it. But you might want to double your 130watts just to be sure. If you double it though you definitley NEED c02. (get pressurized!!) and that setup will be a beauty!
> 
> If its densely planted enough it would probably look much bigger than a 55g, especially with alot of shorter plants like glosso.
> It's such a hard decision though. But let us know what you decide to do...hmmm there is something else im forgetting....
> 
> oh yes.
> POST PICS!


I'm running pressurized CO2 right now so that shouldn't be an ordeal. I'm going to give the glosso a shot, should be coming in on wednesday. I definitely feel you on the depth problem, it's really difficult to get the depth look when the tank is only about 13" or so wide. THe one corner will definitely be dense. I don't have much of any other choice in the 55. I'm going to plant and set it up this week and post pics when I get it done. Gonna love planting about 3" x 1" section of glosso one leaf at a time....









I'm thinking if I double my lighting I'm going to run into a disaster with Algae at almost 5 wpg.......?


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## roccov12345

you guys think its worth it to add another 130 watts? that's a total of 260 over 55 gallons....


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## jharrison

I say Give 130 a try and see how the tank does.


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## roccov12345

jharrison said:


> I say Give 130 a try and see how the tank does.


That's what I'm running right now.............130 watt coralife 6700K


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## maknwar

If 130 watts doesnt work, then go higher. Glosso will like the 260w better than 130w and so will the algae.


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## RedneckR0nin

Even though it took some doing going to find out what they all look like since I am total NooB when it comes to plants,looks like a pretty gnarly tank in the making.I gotta say your plant map and example pics are pretty easy to allow you to get a visual image. Seems like plans from a drafter instead of a fish tank creator.That being said I like the concept and make sure ya post pics once it's done.Good luck and nice creation.


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## ryanimpreza

Just go with the 260, thats what my buddy uses over his 60 gallon and it works great....His has CO2


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## roccov12345

RedneckR0nin said:


> Just go with the 260, thats what my buddy uses over his 60 gallon and it works great....His has CO2


I think I'm going to. Even if its too much I'll just use it for blast periods during the cycle.

On another note, I did get my plants yesterday from an online ebay retailer. I must say A+ grade quality and shipping. I was quite impressed. He actually threw in about 3 extra plants.... Not sure how the hell this is all going to fit in the tank haha.

This is the first time I've had wisteria and for some reason I thought it was a low level plant. The one I received is like a 10" high bush? Do I plant it straight up (bottom to top) or lay it on its side? They are clippings, not full pots.....


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## Ibanez247

Ooo you just gave me some ideas for my 55 gallon rhom tank. That will look sweet when it grows in and looks something like the pic you showed. I like the setups that have thick cover in areas and a nice wide open spot for the fish to swim around.


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## roccov12345

Ibanez247 said:


> Ooo you just gave me some ideas for my 55 gallon rhom tank. That will look sweet when it grows in and looks something like the pic you showed. I like the setups that have thick cover in areas and a nice wide open spot for the fish to swim around.


Yeah the only difference I see between my plan and the picture is that it will probably be a bit denser and higher (especially with those plants). If you had a larger tank (deeper) than I do, you could probably pull off a better disbursement of plants. I love the idea of creating a lawn on a side for that exact purpose of giving the P's room to swim. I had my tank jungle style for a while and the only time I saw them was during feeding. They would hide behind the plants all day long.....

I was just looking at the Glosso, god damn...how the hell am I supposed to separate this mess? I had read somewhere that you should plant them one piece at a time all evenly spaced, burying a good portion in the substrate....?


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## Genin

One suggestion I would make that always seems to help with creating depth is more hardscape. Utilize more than one bare rock, use a couple and angle them in a way that creates some depth. When mixed with a lush green tank it creates good depth even when the tank isn't the widest in the world!

Here's an example for a 15g tank that I did trying to create a look of more depth and also make the tank appear to be much larger than it was (not the most effective but it did help some):


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## roccov12345

Genin, good advice and beautiful tank.

I did get everything in the tank as per the plan. I still think I might make some small changes as I did deviate sligtly from the plan. Still hard to get an idea as to the finished project. Excuse the wires behind the tank, still have to tidy those up.


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## jharrison

Looks good! I am trying to decide between glosso and HC for groundcover.... I like your glosso. Where'd you get it, and how much did you get? I bet that took forever to plant!


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## roccov12345

jharrison said:


> Looks good! I am trying to decide between glosso and HC for groundcover.... I like your glosso. Where'd you get it, and how much did you get? I bet that took forever to plant!


Got it from an ebay retailer....let me know if you want a link... I bought two pots worth and it was too much...I could of made do with 1 and yes.....took about 3 hours to plant each one individually. I got to the point where my back was killing me and I gave up......


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## jharrison

Yeah sure.... link please


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## roccov12345

jharrison said:


> Yeah sure.... link please


Looks like he may be out of the glosso but does have HC http://stores.shop.ebay.com/planted-aquariums-central


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## dstrong

roccov that tank looks great. cant wait to c more pics as it grows in.


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## RedneckR0nin

It is a amazing looking tank to say the least.Even in the starting stages it's impressive to say the least.Keep posting pics as she grows but have to admit I stared for a good five minutes.How can ya feel that your creative or not I know something that can be classed as art when I see it.One of the best tanks I've seen hands down.


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## jharrison

roccov12345 said:


> Yeah sure.... link please


Looks like he may be out of the glosso but does have HC http://stores.shop.ebay.com/planted-aquariums-central
[/quote]

You bastard! How dare you take all the glosso!! I sent him a pm about it anyway.


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## roccov12345

dstrong said:


> It is a amazing looking tank to say the least.Even in the starting stages it's impressive to say the least.Keep posting pics as she grows but have to admit I stared for a good five minutes.How can ya feel that your creative or not I know something that can be classed as art when I see it.One of the best tanks I've seen hands down.


Thanks brotha, that means a lot.....Keeps my inspiration up!!!









I have to get my hands on a decent digi cam, the cam phone pics just aren't cutting it. I added a black background and started up the UV sterilizer. I was starting to get a little bit of green water, most likely from ripping the thing apart and having the lights on for an extended time frame..

some new(er) pics....


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## rickstsi

Tank looks great







Can't wait to see it filled in. Keep us updated.


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## roccov12345

Just a few update pics.....things seem to be going well. Not an overly huge amount of growth but its getting there. Glosso seems to be growing in.....


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## jharrison

Damn, glosso looks good. Just ordered mine Sunday, waiting for it to arrive so I can plant it...... dreading that!


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## roccov12345

jharrison said:


> Damn, glosso looks good. Just ordered mine Sunday, waiting for it to arrive so I can plant it...... dreading that!


Yeah it was a pain. Do yourself a favor and get a decent set of tweezers if you don't already have some. Works best... Where did you wind up getting the glosso from?


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## jharrison

The same seller from ebay. picked up some HC and another plant as well


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## roccov12345

Some newer pics. I was fooling around with a different cam but I still can't seem to get a decent pic that reflects reality. Oh well

Full tank shot:








The Ps








Side Shot








Random


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## roccov12345

Seems like things are really starting to come along. I really have to do a trim on the stargrass. It hit the top of the water and is now about a quarter of the way across the tank!!

I liked this pic!


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## roccov12345

Here's an update to the 55 gallon, I suppose it needs a pruning. Just ordered another coralife 130 watt, we'll see how much of a difference that makes.

The beginning: March 2nd








And today April 7th:
Iopened up a section in the middle to give the dwarf sag some room to breathe..


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## DiPpY eGgS

Dude, the tank looks great

I just love _Rotala nanjenshan_! sp..

Makes me want to go back to high light, but I just can't fit it in my schedulle! 
All that trimming, and everything.. I'll get back into it one day, but not fo a while..

Great job









The only thing I miss in this tank is the splash of red..


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## roccov12345

DiPpY eGgS said:


> Dude, the tank looks great
> 
> I just love _Rotala nanjenshan_! sp..
> 
> Makes me want to go back to high light, but I just can't fit it in my schedulle!
> All that trimming, and everything.. I'll get back into it one day, but not fo a while..
> 
> Great job
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The only thing I miss in this tank is the splash of red..


Thanks brotha! Yeah i will second that high light + fast growing plants = pain in the a55! I just saw that you posted a new thread, I'll have to check that out.

I agree with you on the red. I need to find another colored plant to throw of the green. Any advice? I had ludwigia glandulosa and rotalla wallichi in there but had no luck. They just turned green and melted away. The rotala is still in there, just lost all of the vibrant color


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## DiPpY eGgS

hmm, that stinks!
but I do know that _L. glandulosa _is a very tempermental plant.. It seems the only way to grow the plant out nice, is to have soft acidic water, coupled with VERY consistent water params==hard to grow with p's since they are always throwing the water quality off.
_R. wallichii_ is another that is a tad difficult, not as hard as the other.. It seems to appreciate soft acidec water too, and stable water conditions. -The stuff never seems to recover after an algea outbreak for some reason.

There are literally too many plants to mention that would add a splash of color. Just figure out where you want it (midground, or background) and check out the plant finder on aquaticplantcentral or something.. There are so many awesome plants that would work in there, really.
Hope that helped
Any questions or anything, feel free to start a thread or pm me


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