Robb in Austin Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Howdy all! Figured I'd finally start my build thread. A bit of background: I started a 58g as a saltwater back in the fall of 08 and after upgrading it in Jan of this year, decided to convert it to a real planted setup. We have a 50g that was very low tech planted, 65w PC, no CO2, only sand, etc, with South American species in it that will be moving over. Earlier this summer I finally got around to setting the 58 up. I started with Eco-complete topped with about 1/2-3/4" of sand. I bought a solenoid from a guy on theplantedtank, a CO2 tank from Austin Homebrew Supply, used the T5 light I had for the reef(Aquactinics TX5, 5x39w T5), and a 2215. I built my own Rex Reactor from left over PVC I had from the new SW setup. I initially started it with just a HOB filter to cycle the tank and got the CO2/Eheim setup going this week. I'm going to leave the HOB running another week, just until the 2215 gets fully going. Sorry for the bubbles in the pic. After about 2 weeks of just sand I added some plants; a amazon sword, a few clumps of hemianthus, and something that looks like red hornwort and a large piece of driftwood. Of course, without CO2 running and the high lighting, I got algae. Nasty, bright green slimy/stringy stuff mostly. About 3 weeks ago I dropped in two bettas to help it along, then added a few tetras and cory cats from the existing 50g. Here's a pic: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard L Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 So do you have a goal in mind for this tank? I started with the idea of doing a Takashi Amano style tank but my problem is that I am a impulsive buyer at the LFS and before long I had one of everything in my tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted August 19, 2011 Author Share Posted August 19, 2011 Sorta, kinda, not really. I'd love to have an Amano style but don't have the time for it. At this point I just want the plants to grow well, not kill my fish, and have a pretty view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard L Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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