My Planted 54G Bow Front

[Primous]

My my

 
What camera did you use to take the last pic.

 

[Rak9378]

Agreed, fab pics!
Which ferts have you got?

Thanks daize!  I went with the Estimative Index Pack from Green Leaf Aquariums.  It includes all of the key dry ferts...Plantex for micro and KNO3, KH2PO4, and KS2O4 for the macro.  I probably won't use the KNO3...at least to start..since my Nitrates are already in 20-30ppm range.  But if I see that decline then I will start.  So for now just dosing KH2PO4 and K2SO4 at 1/2 the recommended level and I will see how things go from there.  
 

My my

 
What camera did you use to take the last pic.

Thx Primous!    I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark III

 

[Rak9378]

So I have been dosing the ferts for a little over a week now.  All seems to be going well so far.  Not really noticing much of a difference yet but it's only been a week and I'm only dosing at half the recommended level.  So I guess I will have to be patient...which I'm not good at!  LOL  Tank is a bit of a mess right now thanks to my Barbs who love to annoy me by yanking my plants out of the substrate.   So I will post an updated picture in a few days. 

 

[daizeUK]

Are you also dosing carbon?

 

[Rak9378]

Yes, I'm using Excel.   I should have mentioned that while I haven't noticed any faster growth the problem I was having with yellowing/wilting leaves has definitely improved.

 

[daizeUK]

You should start to notice visible improvement after another week. If you're half-dosing the Excel then you can gradually increase this to a full dose as the plants adjust their biochemistry to make use of it. For the rest of the ferts half-EI dose is probably more than they will need

 

[Rak9378]

Thanks daize.  I'm actually dosing the full amount of Excel.  It's just the ferts I'm dosing at half levels.  Yeah, I know I just need to be patient.  Ironic thing is I love a hobby that requires a LOT of patience and I don't have much of it!!  LOL

 

[Rak9378]

It has been about a week and a half since I started dosing ferts and so far so good.  Growth hasn't been explosive but that's sort of what I expected given that a lot of my plants are naturally slow growers and I'm only dosing at half EI.  That said, I have seen some good growth with my Anacharis and Pennywort.  I know these are both generally fast growing anyway, but the growth has definitely increased since I started dosing.  I'm especially pleased with the Anacharis since I have read that it doesn't tend to do well with Excel. 
 
So here is a current full tank shot...
 

 
Here is the left side...I like the way the Pennywort is growing around the piece of driftwood on the side of the tank.  The Wisteria is also looking lush with a lot of new growth coming in..
 

 
Here is a shot of some Java Fern that is really doing well....
 

 
And here is my little Banana Plant simply because I love it... LOL
 

 
The right side of the tank is a bit of a different story and is something I have to work on....
 

 
My Tiger and Rosy Barbs have really done a number on these plants (with the exception of the Anacharis).  The Purple Cabomba is down to about half of what I bought a week ago.  The Telanthera is also pretty much decimated.  So I have realized that not only do they uproot these plants by swimming through them but they also like to nibble on them.  So I think I am going to have to find something else to fill the space in.  They don’t bother the Java Fern and Anubias so maybe something with a broad leaf.  Back to the drawing board..

 
 
 
 
 

 

[AmyStroodle]

I wish I had room for a tank like this! I'd love to have a marine set up in one. :]
 
The one you've made looks rather fancy! Are the rocks plastic btw?

 

[peegee617]

Rak - now that you've had your dad's tank for a while have you changed your mind regarding the bow-front? I always thought they distorted the view too much, but your pictures seem to suggest otherwise. The biggest bonus of that tank as far as I can see is the extra aquascaping the corner tank shape offers as evidenced by the lovely big rock in the center of your layout that still leaves a nice open area in front.  Like you I am (almost) more into the plants than the fish and that shape seems to offer many more opportunities to bring depth to the design. 
Is it difficult to get an even light distribution over that area?
Your water is beautifully clear. Mine still has a slight haze to it, but the tank is relatively new so I guess I should be patient (not a strong point.....)

 

[Rak9378]

I wish I had room for a tank like this! I'd love to have a marine set up in one. :]
 
The one you've made looks rather fancy! Are the rocks plastic btw?

  

Thx! The tank actually doesn't take up that much space. It's not as big as you would think....the pictures are deceiving. I believe the dimensions are 39"L x 27 1/4"Wx 23"H. It really fits nicely into the corner of a room.

The rocks are actually real. They are all Lace rock that I picked up at my LFS. The wall in the back is made up of three pieces. Funny you should mention having a marine set-up in it because that's exactly what my father used to have in this tank. Lol

Rak - now that you've had your dad's tank for a while have you changed your mind regarding the bow-front? I always thought they distorted the view too much, but your pictures seem to suggest otherwise. The biggest bonus of that tank as far as I can see is the extra aquascaping the corner tank shape offers as evidenced by the lovely big rock in the center of your layout that still leaves a nice open area in front.  Like you I am (almost) more into the plants than the fish and that shape seems to offer many more opportunities to bring depth to the design. 
Is it difficult to get an even light distribution over that area?
Your water is beautifully clear. Mine still has a slight haze to it, but the tank is relatively new so I guess I should be patient (not a strong point.....)

There are definitely positives and negatives to the bow front. I have really grown to love it as it looks really nice in the room without taking up too much space. There is some distortion depending on the viewing angle. That's definitely a downside. However it's not as bad as I thought it would be given all the attention it gets. You really only get distortion if you're up close to the tank (I mean really close) and try to view the sides. When viewing from a normal distance there really isn't much distortion at all.

Scaping the tank has been fun. From what I understand some people believe scaping a bow front can be more difficult given the shape of the tank. This is my first tank so I don't really have a point of comparison but I didn't find the shape of the tank to be an impediment. I havent had any issues with light distribution. I think with the right light you should be fine.

As for my water it has gotten much clearer since I started using Purigen instead of carbon. I am having an issue with small particles in the water so I'm using a 50 micron polishing pad to try and clear it up. It may be caused by some water bypassing the media in my filter so I will have to see what I can do about that. Yet another thing to research. Has your tank been running long? Is it cycled?

 

[Primous]

Really like the way this tank is developing. So much so I borrowed the rock and fern idea!

 

[peegee617]

It's still pretty new. I set the tank up on New Year's day, and did a planted cycle. Hence the fast-growing and hungry Anacharis and Bacopa, a few guppies to 'seed' the tank and frequent water changes. I've put more fish in since then, but have never registered more than 0.1ppm ammonia (usually it's 0), 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate. I'd like to think this means the plants are doing their job, they're certainly growing well and I have no algae, but I'm still wary of saying the tank is fully cycled.

 

[Rak9378]

Really like the way this tank is developing. So much so I borrowed the rock and fern idea!

 
Thx Primous!!  FYI - All of my Fern is attached to driftwood.  That big piece in the center is attached to the large driftwood running across the front of the tank...the picture is deceiving LOL.  Of course Fern is perfectly happy attached to rock too..

 

It's still pretty new. I set the tank up on New Year's day, and did a planted cycle. Hence the fast-growing and hungry Anacharis and Bacopa, a few guppies to 'seed' the tank and frequent water changes. I've put more fish in since then, but have never registered more than 0.1ppm ammonia (usually it's 0), 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate. I'd like to think this means the plants are doing their job, they're certainly growing well and I have no algae, but I'm still wary of saying the tank is fully cycled.

 
Look into using Purigen instead of carbon.  It made a big difference in water clarity for me. 

 

[Ryan10]

It's filling in nicely.  Great job.