Added plants to the 55!

[Black_Tetra]

For christmas I got a 120watt pc light for my 55 gallon! So I thought I would put it to good use and bought $30 worth of plants...

Here are some pics

Before I added the plants (sorry about the flash... I couldn't figure out how to turn it off)

 

[Black_Tetra]

THE TANKWITH PLANTS ADDED!

edit: oops... and also added are a dozen neons, 2 clown loaches, and 2 angels

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Wow. Much better. I'm sure your fish'll love the plants.

The lights seem rather bright, though, the glare off the leaves, that is.

 

[Black_Tetra]

Right side closeup

Tempestuousfury: thanks, I think the fish like it a lot especially the black tetra whose been through a lot of bad stuff...

The lights are 6500k 130 watts.... that is 2.36 watts/gallon so I don't think that would be too much... maybe my plants are just shiny

 

[Black_Tetra]

Left side

 

[Black_Tetra]

An inhabitant enjoying its new surroundings

 

[Tempestuousfury]

You said "tetra", singular. There's only one in your tank?

And I can only see 4 hatchets, you might want to get more...

 

[Black_Tetra]

im sorry... i meant George, my black skirt tetra in my tank who is 6yrs old.... he has been through hell and is the fish who most deserves the change...

 

[Tempestuousfury]

I just want to bring to your attention that black skirts are skittish fish and need to be kept in groups to feel safe. I'm glad to see you changed the tank to make him feel more at home, , but an addition of more skirts would make him (I suppose you somehow know that it's a "he") feel even better.

 

[Black_Tetra]

I do not know if the black tetra is a he or a she but named it george when my dad got it.... its kind of a habit to call it a he since its name is george..... The two black tetras in the tank don't seem skittish and swim with the angels when they swim by... I will consider getting them another buddy though

 

[MissClaire]

great improvement! Looking good!

 

[evaDsIcixelsiD]

Im looking to upgrade the lighting on my tank and i was just wondering how much your new lighting cost you?

-Dave

 

[tear-scar]

nice choice dude. Next think about plants to decorate your rocks/wood, aka java fern, moss, and anubias. Your wpg is pretty good; it constitutes medium lighting. With CO2, and your lighting, you should be confident that the plants will do well, so start thinking about how you want the tank to look when the growth becomes thick, and also think about short plants for the foreground. For a tank of that size, I would recomend a mix of crypts with either echinoderus tellenus, or sagiteria subulata. I myself have some sagiteria in my 20g and it's quite an impressive plant-- ridiculously fast growth of a short plant in only 2wpg, with no CO2 as I'm still messing with that.

edit--> If you want to see a great example of sagiteria, look at konrad's tank in the contest threads. It's the grassy plant in front.

 

[Black_Tetra]

MissClaire-Thanks for the compliment

evaDsIcixelsiD-I bought it new off ebay for $90 US Dollars (I love ebay)

tear-scar-thanks for the compliments... I tried to buy an assortment of red plants for contrast from all the green.... I also tried to purchase different textures of plants for even more contrast...

I plan on doing a diy CO2 setup right after I finish drinking my 2 liter of pepsi.

I do have one Cryptocoryne ciliata and a red melon sword which look very good in the tank.... the red melon has outside leaves that are all green and has 4 inside ones that are a very vibrant maroon color.... I also have some micro sword in there... I only bought a little of it and was hoping it would start to take over some of the tank.

For the moss, I was wanting to put x-mas moss on the piece of driftwood but I cannot find any anywhere... Here is a site with some beautiful x-mas moss... I really wanted to cover my back wall with it like he did... I think that would look awesome
Here it is
X-mas Moss

 

[ruffmeister]

i would say more plants if it was mine, but looks so much better good on ya