My 55 Gallon Hardscape

[dmpfishlover]

Here are a few pictures of my 55 Gallon Tank setup so far.

Two HOB Filters
Sand Substrate
Mopani Driftwood and Spider wood
I painted the back of the tank black

It is currently going through a fishless cycle. I would have loved to have been able to do a planted, fish in cycle but I will be leaving for vacation in 1 week and I will be gone for two weeks. So I will add plants when I return and then fish.

I will be adding floating plants and plants such as Amazon swords, Anubis Nana petite, crypts, Java Moss, Jungle Val, etc. I hope to hide the two filter intake tubes and heater with taller background plants. I hate that the two filter intake louvers are grey instead of black and stick out like a sore thumb. Why didn't they just make them black to match the tubes?!?

I will be stocking the tank with Diptail Pencil fish, Silver Hatchet fish, Rummy nose tetras, Cardinal Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras, Cories, BN Pleco, and Nerite Snails.

Anyway, let me know what you think!

I'm Very Excited!!

 

[FishGuest5123]

Live the driftwood but is that white sand?

 

[JuiceBox52]

Great driftwood!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Great looking set-up so far. Those are some great pieces of DW. Plant some tall, vertical plants along the back and those ugly tubes will disappear into the background. I wouldn't put more than one or two amazon swords in a 55, as they will go for world-domination if conditions are good. I've done vals in my 55, but I eventually removed them after getting tired of trimming them twice a week. Those are both nice problems to have in a new tank, though. What kind of floaters are you thinking?

I've never kept hatchets or pencil fish, but as far as I know that should be a nice mix. Most of your fish are schoolers, though, and the more of each kind you have the happier they'll be. If 'twere me, I'd go with about two or three of those varieties, and get a whole bunch of each. A big school of hatchets and a big school of cards, with some cories on the bottom, would look stunning in a planted tank with all that wood. I wouldn't do more than one BNP in a 55.

@Deanasue, is there something wrong with the sand? I've used natural colored pool filter sand with very good results. Maybe you're worried that it's crushed coral or something? That would be a problem...

 

[FishGuest5123]

No, I was asking if it was white. Natural color is fine. White stresses fish out.

 

[Fishmanic]

Nice start. On August 1st, the Tank of the Month wll feature tanks sized at 30 US gallons and larger. Hope you enter your tank in the contest

 

[dmpfishlover]

Live the driftwood but is that white sand?

No, it is more of a buff/beige color... The picture makes it look more white than it is in person.

 

[dmpfishlover]

Great looking set-up so far. Those are some great pieces of DW. Plant some tall, vertical plants along the back and those ugly tubes will disappear into the background. I wouldn't put more than one or two amazon swords in a 55, as they will go for world-domination if conditions are good. I've done vals in my 55, but I eventually removed them after getting tired of trimming them twice a week. Those are both nice problems to have in a new tank, though. What kind of floaters are you thinking?

I've never kept hatchets or pencil fish, but as far as I know that should be a nice mix. Most of your fish are schoolers, though, and the more of each kind you have the happier they'll be. If 'twere me, I'd go with about two or three of those varieties, and get a whole bunch of each. A big school of hatchets and a big school of cards, with some cories on the bottom, would look stunning in a planted tank with all that wood. I wouldn't do more than one BNP in a 55.

@Deanasue, is there something wrong with the sand? I've used natural colored pool filter sand with very good results. Maybe you're worried that it's crushed coral or something? That would be a problem...

Thank you! Yes, I was thinking of just a couple of swords and some Val to hide the intake tubes and some anubias and Java moss on and among the driftwood, with maybe a few small crypts in the Forground.

For floating plants, I am thinking of dwarf water lettuce and/or frogbit, and water Sprite. I have heard that duck weed can over run a tank so I will be avoiding it.

I plan to stock the schooling fish in groups of 8-10 or more depending on the species (including the Cories and top dwellers). Yes, I was planning on just one BNP.

 

[dmpfishlover]

Nice start. On August 1st, the Tank of the Month wll feature tanks sized at 30 US gallons and larger. Hope you enter your tank in the contest

Thank you!!! I will plan on it. Hopefully I will have it planted and at least partially stocked by then. I can't afford to do it all in one "swoop". I will add a school of fish at a time as I can afford it.

 

[Retired Viking]

Nice start, great looking driftwood

 

[Wills]

Some really nice bits of wood in there - must have taken some of those big bits a while to sink too!

Have you tried stacking the wood up a bit more, with the branchy, redmoore type wood on top of the bigger stump pieces? A bit more height would make it look really dramatic. On the left side you have a chunky piece that is currently pointing up to the top right but if you turned it round to face top left it would match the really big piece on the right and it would look like they were positioned in the same direction by a current which would help the tank look more natural.

Are you planning any plants in there? That wood is crying out for some planting with Java Fern, Anubias and Bucephalandra. Big swords, crypts and tiger lotus would look great too!

Wills