My wild tank

[jeep8rus]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b35/easonra/newlyplanted05.jpg

-Russ

[maddyfish]

155 bowfront?

[jeep8rus]

55 gallon taken at an angle. I wish it was a 155 bowfront... :)

-Russ

[nacra99]

Hi Russ.. Welcome to simply!
Very nice set up! Is that a sand / gravel mix?

Marc

[trusty]

Very nice. i like the subtrate you got going there looks very clean. I need to go get my 75gallon bow front in phoenix....;p looks bigger than a 55g nice dude.

[trusty]

I might have an extra large piece of driftwood like me check.If i do you can have it russ.

[jeep8rus]

Where are you located Trusty?

Marc, yes it is a sand/substrate mix. I used sand up front as a top layer.

The reason the tank looks bigger is because all the plants are on the back wall leaving more open space up front. Wait a month or so for the plants to grow out...

-Russ

[Craigmax]

thats really nice.

[jeep8rus]

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b35/easonra/Aquarium%20Photos/replantedandscaped02.jpg

Redid it last night because I was hyped up on coffee.
-Russ

[georgiadawgger]

That is really nice...any co2? Some java moss or ferns or anubias would look great on the driftwood! Really good lookin' wilds!

[jeep8rus]

Thanks! I'm using CO2. I have some java fern and a bunch of different anubias in my other tank right now that I will eventually move over once these plants get situated.

-Russ

[jim_shedden]

Very nice Russ..............thanks for the pictures & welcome to Simply

Jim

[jeep8rus]

Thanks!

I forgot to say I did a lot of trimming when I redid the tank. Trimmed down my temple plants and tiger lotus. I'll post a pic in a few weeks when everything grows back out.

-Russ

[nacra99]

Awww... you got rid of the sand???

It still looks great =)

Marc

[jeep8rus]

Yeah, for now it looks better. Whenever I fed tetra bits (pre-soaked) they would float around the tank anyway so the benefit of having sand is not so great.

-Russ

[sugio]

jeep, great setup!! I am a big fan of planted tanks and have a 37gal community planted tank. Haven't taken the big step of a discus planted tank (going with BB - tank that is - for now) but have stuck to the BB tank for now having seen an overwhelming consensus on BB tanks both here at simply and elsewhere.

Any tips on how you do the cleaning and water changes etc in your planted tank? I am assuming you have a hospital tank for emergencies since the plants can't possibly survive temps about 86F. Appreciate any advice you have - especially on cleaning the sand/gravel, water changes etc.
Thanks and happy holidays!

[jeep8rus]

Thanks Sugio! Actually, my tank has been at 86 degrees since I put discus in about a month ago! The thing about temperature is it just makes plants and fish grow a little faster. As to qt/hospital tanks I do have some other tanks for emergencies. The biggest thing to worry about is what medications you use as some of them will definately kill off either your biofilter and/or plants.

The thing about BB tanks IMHO is they're really great when you're growing out the discus it definately makes it easier to take care of tank cleanliness.

With planted tanks I definately recommend going with mature adults because you don't have to feed them as often. For cleaning I have some snails, otos, a siamese algae eater, and some ghost shrimp. I am considering getting rid of my otos and putting in 3 corydora catfish instead. I try and change about 40-50% of the water every 4-7 days.

As a note, I only do planted tanks. I just like them too much to do anything else. I have a 20 gallon in my bedroom that has mostly anubias, 3 bolivian rams, some otos, and some nerite snails.

-Russ

[Elcid]

Haha Russ:

I always avoid this section so as not to catch the "planted tank bug" :).....Looks like ur new wilds will have a good home once uve cleaned them up!

take care,
Sandeep