# 75g sanchezi tank



## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

This tank is suprising me, how well it is doing.. except for my crypts melted the other day for some reason.. heh.. they will be back.. they will grow back stronger in a week or 3..









Every thing else seems to be growing like mad. No algea on plants, but every week or so it needs a quick wipe of the glass for a small amount of dust algea. Sanchezi is doing better by the day in there too. 
Still can't see him.. maybe if someone talks me into it, I will chase him out for a quick snapshot..

I wonder how long these tiger barbs will be allowed to live in there? lol


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## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

My god dips, that tank is breath taking. I saw a previous pic on Plant geeks and I was like "could that tank get any better", since then im proven wrong! You are not only a God among plants, but among aquascapers too. Your Sanchezi is living the high life in there!


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Tibs said:


> My god dips, that tank is breath taking. I saw a previous pic on Plant geeks and I was like "could that tank get any better", since then im proven wrong! You are not only a God among plants, but among aquascapers too. Your Sanchezi is living the high life in there!


Thanks a lot Tibs! That was a very nice compliment!

I'm a child of God though..







~This tank's success I'm going to say, has to be the peat botom that gave me trouble in the beginning. The water is very soft and acidic: KH of 3 and pH of 6.0

I don't have a GH test..







But I will never set up a tank again without a peat and mulm bottom.. This tank is doing better than my flourite high light tank.. Go figure..lol


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## moeplz (Feb 21, 2005)

That is so f*cking nice!!

You are my hero.


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## RB 32 (Mar 2, 2005)

Awesome Tank, looks great,good job..


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

moeplz said:


> Awesome Tank, looks great,good job..


Thanks bro! It was worth the effort! Again, this tank is very easy to run if anyone wants to hear how i set it up, LMK. I will post what I do with this tank top to bottom


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Another fantastic tank Dippy! Is that a 75 gallon?


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

therizman1 said:


> Another fantastic tank Dippy! Is that a 75 gallon?


Thanks.. If the 10g was in order right now, I would post that one as well..lol ..but that might be a while.. 3 planted tanks can be sort of a pain at times. but it sure is worth the effort if you ask me
Yep, that, like my other P tank, is a 75g.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

I wanted to share how I set up this tank, and the equipment used on it... Just in case someone wanted to know..

First, I put a 1/2" layer of 4 day pre soaked organic sphagnum peat on the very bottom. (this much peat is only good for lower light tanks!!)

Then I *carefully* put 3/4" of Soilmaster Select Charcoal-color bought from www.lesco.com on top of the peat. (on the Lesco website, you can order the charcoal color soilmaster and have them deliver it to your local lesco for free)

Then, I *super carefully* poured 2 quarts of mulm from my other tanks filter on top of the soilmaster. If you pour it too fast, you will ruin the peat cap. Bad news. If you're going to do the peat, it has to be on the very bottom, undisturbed. (again, the more light you use, the less peat..)

Then, I put the rest of the 50lb bag of soilmaster on top of the capped peat. -Substrate complete ..the peat and mulm work together to make it easier for plants to take in nutrients from the roots, and also it softens the water making it easier to grow soft acidic water plants.. (most plants love soft acidic water, or will do very well in it)

(*extra note*: The Soilmaster is light, but an excellent substrate. When the tank was in it's first stages, I was hesitant to add my sanchezi for a few months, because there was an ammonium reading of .25, and the pH was 5.6. This, I believe was due to the fact that I capped the peat with the light Soilmaster. If I were to do it over again, I would have capped the peat with Seachem's Onyx sand, because it is a much heavier substrate to cap the peat with.. So it took about 2.5 months for the ammonium reading to go away, and the pH to rise to 6.0. That is when I put my fish in)

Then I, again, *carefully!* poured in the rest of the water, using a dinner plate as to not disturb the substrate.

For filtration, I have a Rena XP2 on that tank, very gently rolling the top of the water, and an aquaclear30 powerhead with filter attachment on it under the surface about 6" for better water flow.

I have 2, 2x40w T12 6700k shop lights over the tank. 160watts.

I fertilize with www.gregwatson.com dry ferts that I mix 1tblspn per 250ml distilled water. They are: Plantex CSM+B-12ml 2ce a week, Chelated iron-5-10ml 2ce a week, potassium sulfate 20-25ml 1ce a week after water change, I add the potassium nitrate so it is in the range of 10-30ppm constantly (optimum 15-25ppm), mono potassium phosphate is added so it stays in the .5-2ppm range, and finally.. I buy Flourish Excell, and add it according to the label.

I have other planted tanks, so I grew out lots of plants for that one, making it easier for me to stock the tank full of plants from the very beginning, which is very important. I am also involved with my local aquatic plant club, so I have access to rare plants in the hobby, which is nice, because you can't find a lot of the stuff I can get too readily.. So make sure you can plant pretty thick with relatively healthy plants from the very beginning. 
Lots of fast growing plants really help in the beginning, like hornwart, and water sprite. I had both of those in my tank when it was first set up. I slowly replaced them with the plants that I have now.. which might change eventually, but not for a while

Just remember that if you move your plants around for whatever reason, do it carefully, and you need to do a good waterchange because you kick up organic matter that is stuck in the substrate.
oh, also, I do a 40-50% water change weekly.

If you follow this, you should have the same results, but every tank seems to be a tad different.. Feel free to ask, or pm me with any questions you might have.

Hope this helps someone... Last but not least: It pays to be patient with this hobby, that is for sure!


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## H4N (Nov 10, 2005)

nice update dippys, looking good as always


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Thanks HaN!


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## Blue (Mar 23, 2005)

looks great!


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## Zip (Apr 17, 2005)

I'm glad my aquarium doesn't look that nice - I'd get nothing done except for sitting around staring at it all day!









That's one beautiful, lush aquarium.

Thanks for the setup notes - I've squirrelled them away.


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## Husky_Jim (May 26, 2003)

Dippy your tank is awsome......









You should attend plant contests!!!!


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## Round Head (Sep 26, 2005)

Simply amazing Dippy.






















Can you share with us the types of plants in with your Sanchezi, especially the forground and the centerpiece bunch as shown in your 3rd pic?

Thanks


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

> looks great!





> I'm glad my aquarium doesn't look that nice - I'd get nothing done except for sitting around staring at it all day!
> That's one beautiful, lush aquarium.
> Thanks for the setup notes - I've squirrelled them away.





> Dippy your tank is awsome......
> You should attend plant contests!!!!


Thanks guys!! This tank is in my bathroom.. lol.. When I sit down.. yaknow.. im in a lil bit of heaven








Thanks Jim!! ~There are so many talented aquacapers out there.. I would need a little push to send in pics..(and a new camera lol) but your comment IS a little push!! Thanks again!



Round Head said:


> Simply amazing Dippy.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The foreground is Echinoderus tenellus up front, with Cryptocoryne wendtii, and walkeri sort of just behind it, pretty much all over the mid-foreground. (they all mostly melted the other day, but they will be back.. this 'makes' the mid-foreground)
The long leafed plant in the left corner is Hygrophila angustafolia. Behind that is some Giant hygro, and a small amount of H difformis.
I have 2 smaller amazon swords, in the midground..one on either side.
The tall background plants are Bacopa caroliniana, and Rotala rotundafolia. The huge swirly plant that you asked me about is Ludwigia inclinata var verticilata 'Cuba' -not found very often, but it can be found if you look hard for it. It isn't super easy to grow either.. it loves softer, more acidic water.

The lilly pad looking plant on the right is nymphoides sp 'Taiwan' and there is more giant hygro on that side as well.
Last but not least, there are 2 java ferns tied to the driftwood. Thanks for asking!


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## Blue (Mar 23, 2005)

what do you do when they reach the surface?


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Blue said:


> what do you do when they reach the surface?


This happens quite a lot









I just pull the ones up, and whack about 2-4" off the bottom, and replant. Simple as that!


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

This low maintenance tank looks stunning! I'm going to have to do this with my 75 when the time is right. I really hope the sanchezi comes out soon! Does he come out at night at all or is he always in hiding?
So why is it you should only use peat with low light tanks?










EDIT: The instructions you posted about how you set this tank up are going to be a very valuable resource for people starting out with low M. tanks


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

BigChuckP said:


> This low maintenance tank looks stunning! I'm going to have to do this with my 75 when the time is right. I really hope the sanchezi comes out soon! Does he come out at night at all or is he always in hiding?
> So why is it you should only use peat with low light tanks?


Hi Chuck!!
Thanks for the comment! The sanchezi is taking lots of silversides, and getting more outgoing! I have read about small sanchezis behaving like this.. I really think this guy will come out of his shell soon.. 
He is growing a bit, due to the stuffing of the silversides.. 







I bust him swimming around every now and then when I gotta use the potty lol --but he hides when he notices me.. This is happening more and more now. I am going to bet this guy will be a great fish in his time.

You can use peat with high lighted tanks! Just not 3/4 of an inch like this tank!! A medium dusting on the bottom, so you can still see glass will do in high light.. this is because of the great need to pump in CO2 I think.. not sure. But the higher light, the less peat. IF you use it, You have to cap it with about 3/4" substrate and then pour in some mulm from an established tank. They go hand in hand.

Then you have to cap the mulm layer.. this is so bacteria is established in your gravel bed, and it feeds on the peat.. interesting stuff, although I dont understand it totally.. 
But I can tell ya it must work! My tank is growing like mad!


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Another stunning display of what your skills are capable of!

Gives me ideas for my future rhom tank... I think I might actually attempt the planted scene!


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## Wussola (Jan 25, 2006)

Nice Tank!


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Mettle said:


> Nice Tank!


and thank you too!


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## C0Rey (Jan 7, 2006)

i can never show my fish your tanks. they would kill me!


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

C0Rey said:


> i can never show my fish your tanks. they would kill me!










You could do this.. I am no smarter than anyone on here. I just got focused. that really is all that is needed. 
Try it! It won't be as hard as you think! Just feed the plants and give them 12 hrs of light


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

DIppy, your tank looks terrific.
I need to get some different plants. Where did you say to look in Canada??
PEte


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Dr.Zoidberg said:


> DIppy, your tank looks terrific.
> I need to get some different plants. Where did you say to look in Canada??
> PEte


Thanks Pete! 
I appreciate that! The only really rare plant in this tank is the Ludwigia 'Cuba..' but it is nice enough to make the whole tank look unique. IMO
there are some Canadian sellers on aquabid.com, and there is a Canadian section, i believe, on aquaticplantcentral.com in the buy/sell/trade section.
You could at least ask in there.. there are tons of planted tank geeks there.. from all over.


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