# Reck's 50 Gal High Tech



## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

My 50 gal's first inception can be seen here: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/tank-journals-16/start-recks-journey-into-planted-tanks-aug-2012-aug-2014-a-30994/index5.html

It looked terrible after my 3 week trip in May. I'm still fighting some BBA though thankfully it has stopped spreading now. Some plants in the far left corner started to melt. I think I need to add more water movement so they get CO2, nutrients and all that stuff in that corner.

Still running on: 
4 bulb Sunlight Supply Tek Light
Eheim 2075 and Eheim Ecco 2236 (being used as a reactor - not doing a great job at it)
Injected CO2 - Milwaukee Reg
Eheim 75W heater

Fish:
~x30 Cardinals
x2 Rummynose
x2 Apistogramma Viejita
x5 Crossocheilus Latisu
Several Silvertip BNP
Several Otos
Several various Corydoras

Hardscape:
Spiderwood from IPU

Plants:
Tropica Anubias Barteri Nanas Petite
Micranthemum Umbrosum 'Monte Carlo'
Eriocaulon Parkeri
Various Ludwigias
Various Alternantheras
Various Rotalas
Ammania Bonsai
Hygrophila Araguaia
Bacopa Salzmannii
Proserpinaca Palustris
Polygonum Kawagoeanum
Polygonum sp. 'Sao Paulo' 
Staurogyne Repens
Staurogyne sp Porto Velho
Syngonanthus sp. Madeira
Tonina Fluvitalis

Special thanks to: Algaebeater, Sameer, Jiinx, jkhcjris, kacairns, randylahey, Fantasy Aquatics, Canadian Aquatics, and J&L Aquatics for your help on plants, fauna, and equipment.
Also, special thanks to all the guys who supported this tank by buying my trimmings.


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## opt-e (Jan 25, 2014)

Looks great!! Was worth the wait 

PS: more pics please.


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## Niku (Feb 11, 2014)

I will support this tank until I run out of tanks to grow your trimmings ... Then I will get more tanks!  

Looks great, such a beautiful tank, pretty much my inspiration for my 90 since the first time I saw it in person


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Updated pics:


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## opt-e (Jan 25, 2014)

Always a pleasure to see this tank. Is that ammania sp bonsai in the middle foreground?


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

opt-e said:


> Always a pleasure to see this tank. Is that ammania sp bonsai in the middle foreground?


Yessir indeed that is


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

Your tank looks stunning


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice tank man


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

looking good Lawson!


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Well executed tank with nice hard scape and good contrast. Much better than anything I've ever done.

Best regards,

Stuart


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

THE best planted tank I've ever seen in person! Very nice!


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## jkhcjris (Jun 1, 2010)

Tank looks great Lawson.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Thanks everyone for all your positive feedback! 
It's sure gonna to tear everything down in a couple weeks for the upgrade.

Also, don't feel shy about commenting on areas I gotta work on too  Or offering suggestions.



CRS Fan said:


> Well executed tank with nice hard scape and good contrast. Much better than anything I've ever done.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Stuart


I find the dutch layout to be quite a challenge. Varying texture and color is tough but finding the plants with the appropriate growth pattern for a particular spot is hard too.

For example, I LOVE Ludwigia sp. Red but it doesn't really develop into a nice dense bush. Attempting to clump numerous stems together to achieve that look usually results in the shaded bottoms melting.

I wanted to keep Ludwigia Lacustris as a midground plant since it can be trimmed into a nice hedge but it doesn't attain its bright orange color unless it's close to the surface so it needs to be a background plant.
I've had to learn to be patient in finding the right plants for the layout.

Also, dutch helps with my collectoritis but I've had to trim down my species list so it doesn't get to messy in there.


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## opt-e (Jan 25, 2014)

What are you upgrading to??


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Oceanic 57gal rimless - 36x18x21


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Totally got sidetracked with my upgrade since I had a few people drop into town on my free weekends. 
I'm still hoping to find sometime get that done before the end of the month.
In the mean time I've tried to streamline the 50gal a bit more. Here are some updated pictures.


































I back to using an atomizer temporarily and I gotta say I really miss the reactor. I bought a vertex UF15 to modify and apply as a CO2 reactor but accidentally dropped it and broke off the outflow. I feel really terrible about such a dumb mistake. If anyone has a spare top or another uf15 for sale please let me know.


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## Niku (Feb 11, 2014)

if your in a pinch i can fix the broken top for u, im sure it will last until you find something better to replace it.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Well. I've been super busy and haven't had a chance to fully break down this current 50gal and upgrade to the 57 Oceanic.
Here's the tank today - several changes to the dutch.

I'm now running this tank on two Eheim 2075 filters so I switched out the needle wheel pump for reactor (ala converted Vertex media reactor). Either way you go, whether reactor or needle wheel pump - I strongly recommend them over the atomizer.

Special thanks to those who helped me with this tank since the last update: Niku, Denis, April, Algae Beater, Fantasy Aquatics, Canadian Aquatics, JL Aquatics


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## UnderseaGal (Mar 4, 2014)

This tank looks incredible! A true work of art.
Thanks for sharing!


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## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

Beautiful beautiful plants! The cardinal tetras compliment the plants very well, since there are no blue plants!


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Update:
I'm trying to keep the "bushes" lower and so reduced the species list of plants in this dutch to those that tend to grow lower and more compact. Unfortunately, I've had to give up 2-3 yellow/orange species.

Having some issues with my Staurogyne carpet lately. Can't tell if it's GH or the increase in temperature. My GH tester is yellow/green right out of the bottle...














































Special thanks to: April, Fantasy Aquatics, Denis, Bien Lim, and Algeabeater for help on this tank since the last update.


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## Bobsidd (Dec 28, 2012)

WOW! This tank is absolutely beautiful. Just incredible. You are very talented.


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## JTang (Apr 21, 2010)

Looks awesome! Good job man!


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## devonb (Jan 5, 2015)

Definitely looks like an algaebeater tank!


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

devonb said:


> Definitely looks like an algaebeater tank!


Lol. Or does his tanks look like mine?  Algaebeater does put together some wicked dutch setups.


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## Denis (Jun 25, 2013)

Looks awesome, I don't know how you do it. I wish my tanks looked half as good. 
Cheers. 

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

*Happy Hobby Anniversary - 3 years*

Well, it's been a little over 3 years since my forage into planted tanks. 
I'm super thankful to all the friends I've met through this forum and also for all the help I've received from sponsors. Of course, I'm especially thankful for BCAQUARIA from where I learned the majority of knowledge about this hobby.

Here's an update of my 50gal:
I've moved a few plants around - namely the Hygro compacta to the back right side, the Trident Fern to the back left side, and switched places between the Alternanthera Mini and Echinodorus nitcheii parviflorus ruffled.

I managed to discover the reason for why I had some plant melt as mentioned in my last update - my GH had bottomed out. I'm only doing water changes every 4-6 weeks or so and since the plants seem to take up around 2 GH points per week I need to make sure I dose Equilibrium on a weekly basis to keep water hardness level.

I'm hoping to move the crypts in the far left corner into my new tank within the next week or so. Then I'll be able to expand the carpet so it looks more complete.









































































PS does anyone have any tips on cleaning the silicone at the edges of the tank?


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## Bobsidd (Dec 28, 2012)

What are you doing better to keep the wood work so clean? Is there specific fauna picking at it or is your tank just that algae free, or are you manually cleaning it?

Tank looks beautiful! Very inspiring. 

Rob


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## knucklehead (Dec 27, 2013)

How do you plant your plants in a stepped manner? Your substrate is sloping?


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## UnderseaGal (Mar 4, 2014)

Amazing looking tank! Holy smokes you are talented.

Tip for cleaning silicone edges: a toothbrush. Works wonders for me.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Thanks for all your replies!



Bobsidd said:


> What are you doing better to keep the wood work so clean? Is there specific fauna picking at it or is your tank just that algae free, or are you manually cleaning it?
> Tank looks beautiful! Very inspiring.
> Rob


Just silvertip bristlenoses and turbo algeaeaters. They do a great job keeping the hardscape and glass clean. I don't do any extra work except use the magfloat once every couple weeks.



knucklehead said:


> How do you plant your plants in a stepped manner? Your substrate is sloping?


I do slope the substrate - lower than the frame in the front and higher as it goes back. The lowest point is at the front left corner. As for the rippling in the carpet that's the S. Repens doing its own thing.



UnderseaGal said:


> Amazing looking tank! Holy smokes you are talented.
> Tip for cleaning silicone edges: a toothbrush. Works wonders for me.


Thanks so much for the compliment and the toothbrush tip - I guess the one I used before was a cheapo one from a motel that ripped up the silicone a bit. I'll actually by a soft bristle toothbrush from Shoppers Drug Mart tomorrow night.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Plants grown out a bit. Moved some plants around. Clumped them together to make them more defined. Yadda yadda yadda. Hope you guys like it.

By the way I have probably around 20-25 cardinals in the tank - they sure like to hide a lot since I took out the dwarf rainbows. It's a shame because they add a nice contrast to the plants. 
I'm thinking of adding some blue rams. I'm hoping that if there are some less shy fish who like to stay at the front of the tank that the cardinals will become more brave. What do you think?


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## knucklehead (Dec 27, 2013)

Have the same problem with cardinals. They tend to hide alot and only come out when its time to eat.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

knucklehead said:


> Have the same problem with cardinals. They tend to hide alot and only come out when its time to eat.


The funny thing is that if you look at my old pictures they were not shy at all in the past. But netting out the dwarf rainbows in the spring really spooked the cardinals - they've been hiding ever since. Currently, I don't have an apisto or some other fish that have the puppy dog personality. I'm pretty sure that introducing such a fish to the tank will help the cardinals be more comfortable. Maybe the cardinals think that the dumb fish that just hangs out in the open is going to get eaten first or something.

I've had someone PM me about my water parameters. 
I thought I'd share publicly if it will help other hobbyists as well:

What has been working for me since April is dosing EI once a week and doing a 50% water change every 3 weeks. Yes, that means there is some fluctuation in nutrients in the water column throughout the week but I think the ADA substrate buffers some of that. This helps me be less OCD while also giving me a little extra precious time in the week. When I do a water change I try to vacuum up some of the gunk that gets caught under the carpet and in the corners. (That being said I've had great success in the past by simply following the standard EI dosing and water change regiment)

I dose GH booster every week in order to keep up GH 7-8. I notice that my S. Repens melts if I let the water get too soft. Also, I noticed that the guys in Toronto grow crazy lush S. Repens carpet with their harder water.

I pump quite a bit of CO2 - the drop checker is nearly yellow and my PH monitor shows I drop a full point by end of day. I do supplement with 30ml of metricide 1x per week. If I notice that the CO2 regulator or line gets gummed up and the tank gets a little less CO2, I'll dose an additional 30ml of metricide the morning after.

I clean one of the two 2075 filters every 2 months. I've noticed a significant drop in algae growth by being diligent in keeping the tank clean.

My T5HO lighting regiment hasn't changed. It's still 12:00pm-12:30pm 2 bulbs, 12:30pm-7:30pm 4 bulbs; 7:30pm-8:00pm 2 bulbs. 
My CO2 is on at 10:30am and turns off at 6:30pm. I like getting the ideal saturation of CO2 into the tank before the lights come on, so while the CO2 is going I'm pushing somewhere between 5-6 bubbles per second (too many to count). Just a heads up, some people do consider 5-6 bubbles per second as fairly aggressive. I keep a fairly decent ripple across the water surface via Eheim Skimmer and spray bar.

Like I said before this has been working for my tank the last few months. But I know that there several other very successful planted tanks that get very different treatment. Planted tank guys out there share your tanks and post the keys to your success.


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## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

Nice to be able to dose metricide to keep down the algae. Too bad I can't do that since I have shrimps.

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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

knucklehead said:


> Have the same problem with cardinals. They tend to hide alot and only come out when its time to eat.


I've added some electric blue rams and got the water temperature up to 26C (was around 23-24 before). The cardinals are back out in the open


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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

Nicely done......


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

mysticalnet said:


> Nice to be able to dose metricide to keep down the algae. Too bad I can't do that since I have shrimps.
> 
> Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk


Depending on the type of shrimp you are keeping, you can aggressively dose Metricide with Amanos, PFR's, and Blue Pearls in my experience.

And of course... Beautiful tank, Reckon !

Best regards,

Stuart

Tankless in Vancouver


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Decent sized update this time. I was starting to feel a bit bored of the prior "island-of plants-scape". I had a brainwave to put in a new stump and change how the foreground breaks up the front of the tank. Some of the plants were moved into rows. I'm hoping to create more depth to the tank. Some success with the new layout I guess. I'm not totally happy with it but I think I need to let the tank grow out before I make more changes.

I also added the Bolbitis Heteroclita Difformis to the stumps - I'm hoping eventually they'll grow out to form a pseudo tree. Hope you guys like it.























































Special thanks to Bien Lim, King Ed's Pets, Fish Addicts, and Canadian Aquatics for help on this tank since the last update.


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## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

Nice! Very colourful! What's the plant in the moss? Too small can't see. Coral moss or fissidens?

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## Bien Lim (Apr 21, 2010)

Lovely tank man!!


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## rwong2k10 (Dec 27, 2010)

looks great!


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## Dawna (Jul 29, 2013)

Keep it up man! Your tank is always blooming with colourful healthy plants! Great guy to get advices and buy plants from!


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## battmanh (Jan 7, 2014)

Very nice tank Lawson! The colours are unbelievable and all the plants look so healthy.


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## geealexg (Jan 16, 2015)

That Staurogyne carpet adds so much life and texture to the tank! Nice colors and plants!


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Thanks for all the kind words!



mysticalnet said:


> Nice! Very colourful! What's the plant in the moss? Too small can't see. Coral moss or fissidens?
> 
> Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk


The plant in the moss is likely Bolbitis Heteroclita Difformis. That's fissidens moss.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

I feel like I still haven't achieved the depth and interest in the layout yet. Perhaps I should add more substrate to increase the height to the right side to get a higher plateau around the bigger stump? Or do you think this can be achieved with different types of plants (instead of carpet). Should I keep trimming the left or middle area and let the right side grow thicker?

What do you guys think?


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## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

What is the super red on the right above the staurogyne that was flame like leaves? 

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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

mysticalnet said:


> What is the super red on the right above the staurogyne that was flame like leaves?
> 
> Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk


Alternanthera Reineckii Rosanervig (or also known as Variegated), probably one of my favorite plants in there.


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## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

Very nice! ! 


Reckon said:


> Alternanthera Reineckii Rosanervig (or also known as Variegated), probably one of my favorite plants in there.


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Thanks for looking!

Special thanks to April, Denis, Canadian Aquatics, and Algaebeater for help on this tank since the last update.


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## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

Your plants, always so vibrant!

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