75 gallon - Native Tank

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pmk00001
Posts: 53
Joined: Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:49 pm
Location: Alexandria, VA

75 gallon - Native Tank

Post by pmk00001 »

I posted this on another forum but thought I would put this here as well. This tank was never meant to be a planted tank but it ended up growing into one :)

I started this tank back about 15 months ago now, after a long hiatus from the hobby. It's gone through some changes over the months.

The tank is a standard 75 gallon, I've got a 130 watt CF fixture over it, along with a standard t-12 40 watt, I only turn the 40 watt on when I'm home, about half the time of my light cycle (guessing).

I've got a big aquaclear HOB filter, a medium sized eheim canister, and a good sized power head with microfilter. No co2, I do fertilize though, macro and micro, I don't put iron in on a regular basis unless the leaves are telling me too.

Gravel substrate, gravel I found locally and washed, I didn't quite intend for this to be a planted tank when I set up. If I had to do it all over again I'd have a different substrate.

All the driftwood, fish, and the vals were collected locally. Not all of the plants are native.

I've had several types of fish in there over the course of the life of the tank. Here's a list. Not all of them are still in the tank, some have passed on and others I've given to other hobbyists.

Pumpkinseeds
Swallowtail Shiners
Banded Killifish
Mummichogs
Tessellated darter
Satinfin Shiners
Spottail shiners
Mud Minnows

For plants, I've had loads of different types but here's what's in there at the moment.

Bacopa
Wisteria
Vals
Two types of Java Fern
Bolbitis
Christmas Moss
Fissidens moss
Java Moss
Anubias (several types)
Crypt Wenditi


Here's some pics of the tank and critters.

Here's a shot of the tank when I first set up, I had a problem with this one jumping out of the tank so I bagged this and decided to fill it with water :tongue:

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Time to get serious, here's my initial set up, I can't believe how lousy it looks! 11/23/07

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11/25/07 and I I must have gone rock and wood collecting, and plastic plants (yuck!)

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12/18/07, I'd gotten hold of some hornwort! Heading down a slippery slope toward more plants.

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3/16/08, I really don't have any full tank shots for a long period, but this lousy shot gives some idea of the way the tank was going.

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9/14/08 Major changes, moss, vals, hygro, anacharis, java ferns and anubias, I'd taken a big leap!

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11/1/08 Some new species of Java Fern and wood, Bolbitis fern under the HOB outflow, my picture taking skills are improving. I melted my vals at some point in here.

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12/27/08 Lots of new growth, but not too much, one of the things I like about this tank is it's minimal maintenance.

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2/24/08 The vals are starting to take over but I love the look.

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I really never intended for this tank to become a planted tank. For the most part I put plants in from my other tanks and was surprised when they would grow!

I'm going to do the fish in a separate post.
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Judi
Posts: 812
Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2007 9:48 pm
Real Name: Judi Hammett
Location: Catonsville, Maryland

Post by Judi »

What an amazing transformation! Thanks for sharing.
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krisw
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Posts: 7100
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2004 3:25 pm
Real Name: Kris Weinhold

Post by krisw »

Nice looking tank Patrick! My only suggestion -- get more native plants in the tank once the weather gets warmer. ;-) It does look nice, keep updating us on its progress. :-)
pmk00001
Posts: 53
Joined: Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:49 pm
Location: Alexandria, VA

Post by pmk00001 »

Thanks! Once I redo this tank I think i'm going to try native plants only. I'll be watching your native tank closely!

A buddy of mine is setting up a native 150 gallon so I might give me fish to him and start over.
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