55 Gallon Planted Tank Journal (and axolotl tank build)

[OliveFish05]

Hello! I thought I would make a journal on my 55 gallon tank! This is a photo of it right now

It is needing some serious work done on it. It is due for a water change and needs to be topped off, it is also growing some brown algae, I think I have been leaving my light in too long each day so I am figuring that out. I have about 20 minutes before dinner (my brother takes so long to pick up take out, lol) so my plan for tonight is to

Scrub the glass
Vacuum the substrate
30% to 60% water change
Mess around with the driftwood
Maybe add some Dragon Stone


The tank is a 55 gallon tank on a metal stand, running with a Marineland 350 filter. I plan to switch to two AquaClear 50s though, when my mom is done using them on her koi quarantine totes. Sand substrate with Manzanita driftwood, Amazon Sword and Brazilian Pennywort. I may eventually add more plants, any suggestions welcome! I am trying to do a Parana/Paraguay River biotope eventually, but it is not too strict

 

[OliveFish05]

Oh, duh. The stock is

1 Electric Blue Acara
12 Bloodfin Tetras
9 Cories (3 Hastatus 6 Pygmy)
1 BN Pleco

 

[Circus]

I look forward to seeing it after you see done adding the rocks. I absolutely love dragonstone.

 

[OliveFish05]

I look forward to seeing it after you see done adding the rocks. I absolutely love dragonstone.

Me too! I love the variety, and how each piece is so different

 

[itiwhetu]

I would like to see more plant. 30-50 % of the volume in plant. Try to find some cabomba or ambulia, any of the fast growing plants that will really help.`

 

[OliveFish05]

I would like to see more plant. 30-50 % of the volume in plant. Try to find some cabomba or ambulia, any of the fast growing plants that will really help.`

Same, I spent all my budget for it already though and have no money now, haha, but my parents have tons of yard they will pay me to do, so I will be buying some more plants as soon as I pay my parents for other things I bought!

 

[OliveFish05]

You have your work cut out for you. Will wait for more photos. I have a new tank too. It takes time to cycle, arrange, stock with wood, rock..... rearrange add plants, rearrange add fish.... rearrange, rearrange and then finally....... Oh yeah, rearrange again! LOL........

Oh yes, just rearrange it a dozen times, think you’ve found the perfect scape..... then realize you forgot a rock or a handful of plants. Then rearrange it again. It is sooooo much harder with fish in the tank, that is for sure. Maybe I am just paranoid about squishing them though lol.

 

[OliveFish05]

Alright! So, I finished the water change and rescaping last night, and the water was very cloudy from all the debris I stirred up (apparently plecos poop, like a lot ) So this morning it is all clear and I can get a good photo!

My next steps for the tank will probably be

Purchase a background
A larger school of Cory Hastatus (I will be trying to encourage them to breed in my 10 gallon)
Figure out what plants would go well with this “biotope”*


*I may have forgot to mention, I am working toward a Parana River Biotope with this tank! So far the only things out of place in this Biotope would be the Pygmy Cories and the EBA, but as soon as I have a decent sized school of cory Hastatus (like 12) I will be taking the Pygmy Cories back to the LFS. There are a couple varieties of Acaras in the Parana River, none of which I knew where to get, so I decided to just get the electric blue acara And pretend it works with the Biotope For now. I think I will have to take the Acara back to the LFS at some point unfortunately though, I think he may have ate my 3 neon tetras (they could have just died and been picked off by the other fish though) and I do not want him to eat everything else!

All the debris settles on the substrate again, so I will probably do a quick substrate vacuum today, I also panicked and turned the water off too soon so the tank didn’t quite fill all the way to the top. But all the algae is gone, hooray!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Looking good! A background will definitely help that tank pop.?

 

[OliveFish05]

Looking good! A background will definitely help that tank pop.?

I tried doing one with a black trash bag, like you always suggest, but our trash bags are more of a dusty kind of dark dark grey color and it didn’t look quite right

 

[Slaphppy7]

Black posterboard works great as a temporary background; cut to size, and tape or clip it to the outer back glass

I always just paint my back glass before setting up a tank...

 

[Seamus]

Alright! So, I finished the water change and rescaping last night, and the water was very cloudy from all the debris I stirred up (apparently plecos poop, like a lot ) So this morning it is all clear and I can get a good photo!View attachment 135248

My next steps for the tank will probably be

Purchase a background
A larger school of Cory Hastatus (I will be trying to encourage them to breed in my 10 gallon)
Figure out what plants would go well with this “biotope”*


*I may have forgot to mention, I am working toward a Parana River Biotope with this tank! So far the only things out of place in this Biotope would be the Pygmy Cories and the EBA, but as soon as I have a decent sized school of cory Hastatus (like 12) I will be taking the Pygmy Cories back to the LFS. There are a couple varieties of Acaras in the Parana River, none of which I knew where to get, so I decided to just get the electric blue acara And pretend it works with the Biotope For now. I think I will have to take the Acara back to the LFS at some point unfortunately though, I think he may have ate my 3 neon tetras (they could have just died and been picked off by the other fish though) and I do not want him to eat everything else!

All the debris settles on the substrate again, so I will probably do a quick substrate vacuum today, I also panicked and turned the water off too soon so the tank didn’t quite fill all the way to the top. But all the algae is gone, hooray!

Clean and nice looking. I'm not in a big city. So we are limited to a single fish store in my town, and 2 others in nearby towns. They wont take others fish. That's good if they take yours. I was just shipped 6 cory catfish I don't want. I was told they were pygmy, then the guy contacted me and apologized he sent the wrong fish and doesn't even have any pygmy. These grow to 3 inches. So I have to find someone that wants them. The New Background will look good I'm sure.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Clean and nice looking. I'm not in a big city. So we are limited to a single fish store in my town, and 2 others in nearby towns. They wont take others fish. That's good if they take yours. I was just shipped 6 cory catfish I don't want. I was told they were pygmy, then the guy contacted me and apologized he sent the wrong fish and doesn't even have any pygmy. These grow to 3 inches. So I have to find someone that wants them. The New Background will look good I'm sure.

Pic of the corys?

 

[OliveFish05]

Black posterboard works great as a temporary background; cut to size, and tape or clip it to the outer back glass

I always just paint my back glass before setting up a tank...

Oooo that is a very good idea. I would paint it, but it’s too late now haha

 

[OliveFish05]

Clean and nice looking. I'm not in a big city. So we are limited to a single fish store in my town, and 2 others in nearby towns. They wont take others fish. That's good if they take yours. I was just shipped 6 cory catfish I don't want. I was told they were pygmy, then the guy contacted me and apologized he sent the wrong fish and doesn't even have any pygmy. These grow to 3 inches. So I have to find someone that wants them. The New Background will look good I'm sure.

Ahhhh. We have a very nice store here, they have a really great fish selection, and I think they would take the Cories back, but if they won’t I can sell them on Craigslist something. Hmmm I wonder what kind of Cory they sold you!