55g planted aquarium

[OgrillaG]

Im kind of a cheap guy when it comes to my aquarium as well. I have been looking into using shop lights... could you maybe reply or message me about where I can get cheap shop lights for my 4' wide 55g and possibly full spectrum fluorescent for a reasonable price?

[SimplyOrange537]

@OgrillaG

i either bought mine at lowes or walmart. you can find them for less than $20 each for a dual with shade.

as for the bulbs check home depot, lowes, walmart, and OSH. they are either GE or philips plant & aquarium bulbs about $15 or less.

before you go out and buy them check out craigslist for aquarium equipment. or find a good deal on a hagen dual glo light system about $80-$120.

[iLLaPiNo83]

Hi.. i'm starting a 10g planted aquarium.. i need some pointers on what substrate i should use. In one of the website you posted said its good to use kitty litter and cover it with sand. Its much cheaper than fluorite.. but is there cons on using it?

[SimplyOrange537]

iLLaPino83> the only con that i could remember after thinking about using that was where the kitty litter was taken from the earth. i remember, maybe its in one of those websites, was that some kitty litter would cause the ph to change. that is all i could remember. since i did not want to take the risk but mainly didnt want to do the research in finding out where a bag of kitty litter came from, i just went with supersoil. a lot cheaper but does leech out tannin, that tea color.

[SimplyOrange537]

iLLapino83> part2> Fluorite red/dark/ blacksand cheapest i can get is 19.99. one bag is good for a 10g. i got 2 bags for my 29g but used only 1.5 of it. i would start with the supersoil brand as it is cheap and you can dump in the yard. its a good starter substrate since you want to learn how the planted tank is taken cared of. i used it in my 1st 10g and my water sprites, aponogeton(sp?) took over the entire tank in a month. when pruning/trimming is a pain thats when you're doing things right.

[N1ckg07]

for a planted aquarium do you need soil underneath the sand/ gravel for the plants to grow?

[SimplyOrange537]

yes and no. floating plants, moss, java ferns, anubia, really dont need substrate. other plants that need their roots to be buried will need a nutrient substrate. roots take in more nutrients than via leaves so adding soluble nutrients in the water column can lead to algae if there are no floating plants with exposed roots to take up the excess. just having sand/gravel for plants is like eating rice cakes. the plants do not benefit. they'll rely on co2, o2, and trace minerals from the tap water.

[scotjr79]

That song was stuck in my head for days... nice tank I like your ideas. The substrate makes all the difference. I screwed around with gravel for too long before I switched to a soil. Instant positive results. Thanks

[SimplyOrange537]

scotjr79> lol sorry about the song. when i reply to the comments here via the video link i have to pause it so i dont hear the song. lol. yes the substrate is where most nutrients are retrieved by plants. then leaves but not to the extent of the roots. from soil you'll finally go with the commercial substrates like Fluorite or EcoComplete among many others.

[stewy098]

hey how do you properly trim the plants cuz this plant that i have is starting to reach the surface and i dont really kno how to properly trim and i dont want to mess it up plz reply thnx

[SimplyOrange537]

depends on the type of plant. normally stem plants are cut and replanted. you can replace the bottom part with the new plants at the top. plants like crypts, amazons, etc. are trimmed by cutting one or two large leaves so a new leaf will form. dont cut too much large leaves at once. doing so will likely upset the tank's balance and soon algae will form. i've heard vals, microswords, etc can be given "haircuts".

[kentran042392]

i have a question about the airstone? where is it supposed to be? under the gravel or lying on top of the gravel?

[SimplyOrange537]

kentran042392> either way. if you dont mind seeing the airstone place it on top. if you want it to look kind of cool hide it in the gravel or under a rock/decor. i've hidden it in the gravel before and it's pretty interesting to look at. if it's a planted tank i'd restrict it to night time use since the air bubbles will decrease the co2 levels during the day which plants need. all though i've had an air driven sponge filter on my planted tanks.

[golomasterg]

can u just use a regular bulb if putting plants in?, cuz i am thinking of putting em in

[SimplyOrange537]

golomasterg> you could. light is light, but bulbs for aquarium plants have the light spectrum tuned for them. i've used the cheap aquarium/plant lights from lowes/homedepot. either the GE or Philips brand. i wouldn't get the ones from the petstore they're too expensive.

[mahendrathegreat]

awesome.....i m going to try this !!!!!

[SimplyOrange537]

mahendrathegreat> just get everything ready before buying the plants. you dont want to have the plants but no light or substrate. goodluck and remember its trial and error. also i'd suggest starting with a 10g-20g tank.

[ArizonaMtKingsnake]

I would have thought that glass cover if kept clean would be better than egg crate which blocks some light?

[SimplyOrange537]

arizonamtkingsnake> the only thing i think glass covers are good for is keeping the evaporation rate very very low. but you'll soon find out that calcium/mineral will build up under the glass. since the water condensates under the glass at night. when the light goes on it'll dry up the water and leave the mineral deposits. i never tried those mineral remover products if that clears up the glass again. if you cut the eggcrate just right you'll have more direct lighting but think of safety.

[krulliko]

what is this song...

beautiful tank btw, how much did that 55 gallon cost you and do you prefer the glass or acrylic, I know that acrylic is very difficult to keep un-scratched.

[SimplyOrange537]

krulliko> it is by Manu Chao titled "Bongo Bong." he's a multilingual artist check his website. i bought the tank at Walmart as a package around $150. If you're near a PetCo ask when the $1 per gallon sale is. you can buy 20g to 55g glass tanks for $1/gallon. of course the 55g's are the first to go. if you can afford it i'd go with acrylic for all of its good points. to keep it scratch free cover the front with another thin sheet of acrylic. may be tacky but if you have kids...

[999lacy999]

and some more fish angel fish plecos mollys

[SimplyOrange537]

99lacy99> i've tried angels and i can never keep them for more than a month. even with buying a bunch from the same batch. i've never grown to liking the looks of mollys, i prefer guppies, lol. and as far as plecos...never again will i have one. they are just not for me. the large ones poop a lot x100 and will likely eat plants.

[uberfilms]

nice stuff man

[SimplyOrange537]

uberfilms> thank you.

[PoeTrY91]

but the shop lights how you take it off when you need to get something from inside the tank if it's being blocked.

[SimplyOrange537]

poetry91> i just lift it up and remove the eggcrates. it is very tiresome especially when i had to make fine adjustments.

[stewy098]

love the song and your tank great job

[SimplyOrange537]

stewy098> thank you. i had fun setting it up.

[awol09]

so how much did the lights cost?

[SimplyOrange537]

awol09> i can't recall but i think the shoplights were around $15(sale) at lowes. i know it wasn't $19.99 since i was a cheap bastard at that time.

[awol09]

so how many watts per gallon are you using?

[SimplyOrange537]

awol> 160w. two dual shoplights with t12 40w tubes. these shoplights can also use t10 32w tubes.

[hypacalyps]

cool u know what ur doin, this is the anti-amano planted tank

[SimplyOrange537]

i just read a lot before getting started. and i couldn't do an amano tank if i had him giving me advice.

[omegadeathdiet]

simply great

[SimplyOrange537]

thanks

[animekid360x]

awesome

[SimplyOrange537]

thanks

[usernameownage]

its missing something...fish!love it tho ^^

[SimplyOrange537]

yup, you're supposed to keep it fish free for a few days at the very least so the plants use up the nutrients. that way algae won't get ahead start when fish are introduced.

[classicsanchez09]

watz the name of the song>?

[SimplyOrange537]

classicsanchez09> Manu Chao "bongo bong"

[classicsanchez09]

thankz

[SimplyOrange537]

its on the back. i put it on way back in 03 its vinyl and i can't take it off without a complete tank tear down.

[xR0ME0x]

cool video and nice setup. love the music too :)

[stinkfart]

Nice tank but what's with the big gay sticker ruining the front of it?

[GThiele113]

Wait, you use play sand, doesnt it pack to tightly because its so fine, and super soil is that somthing home made or a real brand.

[Tradosaurus]

nice tank, but the music was so annoying

[SimplyOrange537]

tradosaurus> it can be but i liked it at the time.

[nickboudin]

Do the plants control the amonium and nirtate levels?

[SimplyOrange537]

nickboudin> read up on nitrogen cycle or nitrification cycle. live plants do not do anything with ammonia but when the ammonia turns to nitrite then to nitrate the nitrate is used by the plants as fertilizer (i think like fertilizers).

[trio628]

thanks

[cookiekiller5]

i have filter so i dont need to clean it, wel i do but not every two weeks

[SimplyOrange537]

cookiekiller5, as long as the water isn't disturbed or agitated to much then the co2 will be ok. canister filters are great for planted tanks.

[trio628]

hey. I want to plant one of my existing tanks. I have a question: What do you use to prune the plants?

[SimplyOrange537]

trio628: small regular scissors, a bare arm, and towels. replanting i used my fingers and also a small bent tweezer which i had for my electronics tinkering.

[donghyunwon610]

i have a question how do you siphon that tank i mean if you siphon your tank wouldnt your super soil and the sand get mixed? so how to you do it?

[SimplyOrange537]

fyi:tank's bare now with a flowerhorn cichlid and maybe soon a arowana. i do not siphon the sand. i hover a small tube over the mulm, dead leaves. i do not siphon all but leave some for the tank to decompose. i had also connected a small powerhead at the bottom corner which went to an over tank filter box like diy video. i used another powerhead to push the mulm to the corner. the yoyo loaches helped kick up the mulm for the powerhead to push to the corner.

[simmica]

hi

i'm new user of aquarium my aquarium always get dirty soon and fish die soon

[SimplyOrange537]

im not sure why your aquarium gets dirty quickly. feed less and change the water often like every 2weeks. make sure you siphon the gravel/sand to get any solid waste. as for the fish dying quickly. it's likely because the tank is not cycled yet. search google for aquarium cycling. dont over feed the fish and dont put too much fish at once or in a short amount of time.

[cobravenomX1]

what type of bulbs are you using, are they t12s or t8s, or can you tell me the parameter's of the tubes

[SimplyOrange537]

dual shoplights, t12's, 40watts, a combination of fluorescents either Sunlight, Whitelight, and or GE Plants & Aquarium.

this shop light can also use t8's but they are restricted to 32watts so i went with t12's. t8's would likely put more light into the tank since they are skinner.

[firstblackeagle]

great song i will download it

[SimplyOrange537]

the artist is Manu Chao. great artist performs in many different languages. check his website.

[DangerJ]

Hey man I gotta ask you, where did you find that crating that you use for your top? Ive been looking all over for it...

[SimplyOrange537]

i got it at TapsPlastic (a westcoast store) but its also available at Lowes/HomeDepot etc. ask for eggcrates for light fixtures. i dont know the cost at the home improvement stores but i got it for around $13. comes in a huge piece good for 1-55g and a few smaller tanks.

[HildeIII]

lovely, lovely. I read at forem the dirt plays out of nutriets after 6 months. Has this occurred for you? Did you add all plants at once or over time? Take any precaution in adding plants as one does with fish, quarantee or washsing?

[SimplyOrange537]

yes eventually nutrients from the subtrate will eventually be used up. check the mallofaquarium link in the info section and readup the benefits of nutrients in the subtrate vs nutrients in the water column (dosing w/liqiuds). but i've also heard people not changing the subtrate in years and yet the plants still grow strong likely getting nutrients from dosing/co2 setup.

[SimplyOrange537]

(2of2)

yes always plant heavily at first starting with no fish or a few fish. save up and get them all at one time. this helps reduce algae growth. only thing i do before using plants is a rinse and checking/removing snail eggs from underneath leaves (not 100%).

[willfishguy]

I'd like to see what this tank looks like today! Algae pit or what?

[SimplyOrange537]

lol algae pit, nope. or what, yes! i left the light off a few days straight when it was triple digits and well... the only plants that are alive(ish) are those floating on the surface and i have detris that i'm too lazy to clean. i was thinking of a complete tank tear down but i may just clean it up and replant the plants that are floating. when a planted tank goes well the only problem is trimming often.

[ocarinaoftwilight]

i love your microswords!

where you buyed them?

[SimplyOrange537]

bought them at my local fish store. was lucky to have stopped by as they were unpacking their live plant delivery. find out when they get shipments of plant and fish that way you can get first dibs. also call ahead. or you maybe able to have them order you some. just get price prior and pay only for healthy plants if you order.

[SimplyOrange537]

mine are 40watts/bulb. there really isnt a perfect formula to determine the perfect amount of lighting(watts) for tanks. but the net says high is 3w/g, medium is 2w/g, and low is 1w/g. +/- .5w/g. the depth of the tank/plants are to be considered as well. it's definitely a trial and error project. i've noticed using one dualshop light(80w) does ok, but 160w does have significant growth rate but co2 should be increased as well. song is Manu Chao "bongo bong"

[ukonfan912]

how many wats it the bulb, because i cant get my plants to grow. I have a 46 gallon with a 25 watt bulb and i would like for my plants to grow rapidly what do you recomend. Also whats the name of this song

[SimplyOrange537]

sorry to hear that. although many factors may be involved. ready? the temp of the new water being too hot or too cold, forgetting to use the dechlorinating tablets/liquids, fish stressed out. when i change water it doesnt take me and 12scientists but i keep the new water luke warm. 100% waterchanges should be left for emergencies.

[SimplyOrange537]

if i am doing a tank tear down i keep 25%min of the old water which the fish stay in until im ready to put them back in the tank. i dechlorinate as i change water or if using the Python hose during and extra after im done.

[SimplyOrange537]

stress well thats hard to control, but i do turn off the lights in case that helps out the fish feel at ease. oh and if you're using the outside hose let it run for a minute to clear out any toxins that may seep out from a hose being out in the sun and hot water left in the pipes. yes i do worry too much.

[samshabam]

Can I ask you a question? We have an aquariam at my house and dad emptied the water out completly then refilled them then about 7 fish died...Any idea why they died???

[unconcealed]

Hey where did u get rocks like those?

[SimplyOrange537]

from the local fish store. i dont know what its called but even petco/smart carries them. check out private fish stores first usually cheaper and or any rock/landscape dealers (even cheaper) for various rocks.

[nicklfire]

hey there,

cool video dude, would love your input and experience over at fishaquarium (dot)org . Love to see you setup a journal and current pics

[SimplyOrange537]

i would join the forum but i'd get addicted as usual.

[KuroshioKaze]

oh yeah, also do you need heaters with those things on like that?? **sorry, had to think of one more**

[SimplyOrange537]

i had one but summer rolled in and i turned it off, if it gets cold at night it can get turned on. the only filtration im using is a sponge filter, a powerhead, and when debri piles up i use another power head at the bottom to suck up the detris and it gets sent to a box filter above the tank. it runs until most of the detris is gone.

[KuroshioKaze]

WOW, astoundingly amazing setup! i have many questions, please answer them!, one, whats the name of that song?, two, do you turn the lights off at night?, and three where did you get thee tree stumps? thank you for your time aquarium god! *Bows**

[SimplyOrange537]

lol. you are worthy, please rise. jk. what movie was that from? nevermind. thanks. Bongo Bong by Manu Chao, yes lights are on timers, and i found them at a LocalFishStore. at the time i got them for my 10g tanks.

[willfishguy]

Bowing is like a handshake; a gesture of respect. Bowing back would be the right thing to do.

[SimplyOrange537]

then i bow back. lol

[TheGoldenKnifefish]

Ive been lookin fer red ludwigia and money wort forever, although, I do like swords, the cheapness and all, but shouldnt you put tall in the back? Or dont you like aquascaping?

[SimplyOrange537]

the ludwigia's are great and grows fast too. i have two swords that are daughters from about two years ago and i have kept them stunted in a 2.5g. havent found a place to use them and dont want to get rid of them. as for aquascaping, lol, not even if my life depended on it. one day far into the future i'll try. even with pics from the net i couldnt come close to making it look nicer.

[TheGoldenKnifefish]

Its good to have a "spare" tank, for rearing fry, or like you did, keeping plants in it, do it myself. Cool if you dont wanna aquascape, i'm no professional either, but I just put tall in the back, and short in the front. I just try to make it "natural" Ya know?

[SimplyOrange537]

as long as the plants survive im happy, lol. i tried to trim the plants like that, but then i end up procrastinating until the plants start poking out the water. haha. this tank is not at all needy. i dont add liquid nutrients daily or even weekly. the main things are feeding, lighting, and topping off. waterchanges are monthly at the same time as cleaning up detris. yup i just raise the fry to a decent size then put them in the 55g. then just give away fish and plants.

[mcgrady7761]

I LUV

[supersport350]

looks great ,but needs some fish ... Just dont get some big ole cichlid who likes to dig ... will get messy fast .....

[SimplyOrange537]

thanks, yeah i'd have soil everywhere with cichlids. currently there are guppies, whitecloud minnows, otos, amano shrimps, and two yoyo loaches for snail control. im thinking about getting baby angels but i dont know yet.

[supersport350]

Yeah or Discus ...... couple angels and couple discus , it is a big tank . good job , have a good one

[p3purr]

I can relate to being poor and I really like low tech. I get used items, shop online or barter/swap whenever possible. Some PetSmart's will match prices to online items too.

A 55 is very hard to light since they're so narrow. I realize I said strip light, I meant one of though single shop type lights. I lucked into a barely used twin strip light for about $20's.

I'm sure finding music is difficult, I'm a perfectionist in many ways so it would be for me.

[byronicle]

what is the substrate?!?!!

[SimplyOrange537]

Supersoil brand, potting soil. see the links for the original website.

[p3purr]

Very informative and nicely done. Showing what plants you used was good and details about the other things you did were very helpful. Music was a tad bit annoying to me but if you love it that's all that matters. I like the way you set up your light but I'm wondering how much light doesn't get into the tank because of the angle. I'm not sure that a double shop and a single strip wouldn't have given about as much effective light. Over all I really like the video.

[SimplyOrange537]

thanks although i named a few of the plants wrong. as for the music, its hard to find a one to go with a vid and i liked it at the time. lol. and i assume i lose anywhere around 20-30% or more of the lighting from hitting the other tubes and not reflecting.

[SimplyOrange537]

i could rip the shops lights apart and diy a canopy with all 4tubes leveled, but nah i've done that with a 10g and two 18"tubes. looked like a firehazard. 80w over a 55g is pushing low lighting, and with one growth is slower. but i only have all 160w on for 4hrs as if it was high noon. petsmart used to sell dual 4ft light strips for 100$+/- but now only 36 or 24 tubes. i dont think they have triple strip lights anymore as well.

[SimplyOrange537]

but remember this is the poor man's/low tech route. but if i had money to waste...i'd probably still be a cheap bastard.

[SimplyOrange537]

since i cant fit all of the websites that i have found regarding planted aquariums. i posted it on my freewebs site. these are links with great information. please see the video description.

[DangerJ]

1. This vid showed me how to do exacly what I was wanting to do to my tank, with the dual shoplight setup.

2. This song is awesome.

Thanks man, great vid.

[ldsidahoinmatt]

Cool VIdeo it gave me ideas for my tank

[AznNiggz]

nice video, but this is the most annoying song i've ever heard

[jumondeh16]

Loved the video. Cool song. I would really appreciate it if you told me who sings this song.

[SimplyOrange537]

Manu Chao's "Bongo Bong."

[Godofmayo]

Not a bad tank! Not bad at all! I have the same background! And the driftwood gives it a "natural" Look. (The songs not bad either.)

[SimplyOrange537]

thanks although i've ended up removing most of the plants. the main plant in there is the ludwigia (middle), which has grown amazingly well. and the aponogetons. theres a few other plants too. i have been lazy on trimming and its looks great crawling the water surface. i would like to get a very large driftwood though and the background was better than nothing.

[djcmavsfan41]

do you know if i can have guppies with sand instead of gravel. and if so wat else do i need?

[SimplyOrange537]

yes you can have sand for guppies. no reason they couldnt do well in a tank with sand. just make sure you pre-rinse the sand several times to remove the finer dust particles. what else would you want? is this a new tank? checkout my favorites for a setup guide for aquariums.

[djcmavsfan41]

ok thanks i appreciate the help! the thing is i have a guppy tank already set up but i was looking at it yesterday and it was just blah, i have 24 2 week old fry so i dont know wat to do???.Would i need a dif. type of filtration or wud wat i have now work. If i do go thru with this it wont effect my guppies will it?

[djcmavsfan41]

okay thanks! will i need another filter or will the one in my old tank with gravel work? i have all my guppies in a 10 gallon tank and i have 24 2 week old fry so i dont want them to die or become harmed an anyway.Would i only need the sand? or wud i need the soil like you used? or was that only for the live plants?

[SimplyOrange537]

your old filter will do just fine. the soil was for the live plants. you can have sand, for a growout tank for fry i usually just have a bare bottom tank with a few decorations a heater, filter, and light.

[djcmavsfan41]

alright then thats wat i will do thanks for ur help

[DarkDH]

man i have a 20 gal that has a few swords in it, and the rest are fake, the swords are doing real well but i do not use any fertilizer or C02 b/c i have fishies (tigers and pictus)

[SimplyOrange537]

and adding a co2 system changes the ph level. it's not a problem if maintained and kept stable and if fish can tolerate the ph or the change. the amazons in the vid were in/are in a 2.5hex tank, no filter, or nutrients. and stayed bright green because it was near a window. plants doesnt have to be complicated unless you make them complicated.

[bmueller777]

cool thanks dude, i accually wrote some things down from this video, if u made a video for the hood of a 10g that'd be awesome too, i say you make one for the entire 10g tank w/ plants and all :)

[SimplyOrange537]

first planted aquariums is all about trial and error. read up as much as you can and make it work for you.

the downside to using supersoil is the tannin that is release, the brown tint from the wood, but after several waterchanges it'll go away. like i told you folks, as long as it grows...haha.

[orcam3]

STOP!!! Co2

[SimplyOrange537]

are you trying to say "dont use co2" or "use co2"? either way my plants are doing well without it. i've tried diy co2 and its too much of a problem for me. and im not likely to get an expensive stable co2 kit.

[bmueller777]

do you have a video for planting a 10 gallon tank? you did an amazing job with the 55, id love to have one but dont have enough room.... can u get all of these supplies at your LPS?

[SimplyOrange537]

i might be tearing down the 10g which is out in the backyard patio and re-setting it up inside the house. but i think i'll make it into a temp growout tank for plants. meaning plastic containers with the sand/soil.

the only things i got from the fish/pet stores are the plants, driftwood, mini-powerheads, and sponge filter, oh and fish. the lights, eggcrates (white grid thing), light fixtures, sand, soil are from lowes/homedepot/ACEhardware.

[SimplyOrange537]

im using regular potting soil called SuperSoil. the 10g lighting is a diy hood, using 2-15w 18in fluorecents(sp?). i bought cheap $10 fixtures and opened it up. a firemarshall would FREAK out. i'll make a vid of what the diy hood/lighting and the soil. but i would do the 10g the same way as the 55g.

[TsLOw]

oh ok...man u did a very good job i love the song too...lol kudos, where do u get ur co2 from?

[SimplyOrange537]

thanks, i changed alot since the setup. oh and some of the plants are named incorrectly (conflicting websites).

the co2 just comes from the fish. normally i feed once a day an hour before the lights kick in. i could probably also feed just before noon. if i did have a co2 setup it would most likely look thicker and growth would be 2-3 times faster. but this setup is just fine and perfect for me.

[TsLOw]

no co2 reactor?

[SimplyOrange537]

nope. i dont bother with them. i tried diy reactors before and its just a hassel for me. and the pro models are too expensive. hence the poor-man's lo-tech route. i didnt even want to have any type of air operated device in the tank, but am now using a small air powered spongefilter. theres a recent vid of what this 55g looks like now along with my 2.5g.

[cbandito]

the tank is great, but the care that you put into documenting "how to" was just off the charts superb!

[SimplyOrange537]

my third reply to you cbandito, maybe this time youtube will show the reply.

thanks, ive finished too many projects without documenting the progress and this time i wont regret it. also some of the plants are named incorrectly thanks to misinformation on various websites. but i'll post a vid when i get some good schooling fish. about four types of plants are left and doing well. i just keep cutting the new growth and replanting. i cant wait until it becomes an out of control jungle.

[Helenx0x0]

COOL music.

[Fishimwasser]

Love the music!

[SimplyOrange537]

Manu Chao's "Bongo Bong."

thanks i heard it from another member's vid.