New 75 gal Marineland

[Vanish]

I had endlers in a room temp tank 70-72 degrees for years. The only difference I noticed is I got almost all female fry.

[Amanda]

The rest of my plants came in on Friday and I went ahead and planted. I've been really busy, so this has been my first chance to sit down and update.

Here is a little planting map I made. It's not easy to read. Sorry. My planting varies slightly from the map, but I mostly stuck to the plan. I picked a lot of new plants I haven't tried before. This tank is basically just a large experiement.

My planting choices expalined.. really long, feel free to skip. Starting in the foreground:

Dwarf hairgrass- the green X's. I have 3 pots and they are each planted differently as an experiement. The first pot was split into 3 sections and planted during the dry start and I thought all of it died, but one of the plants in the middle does have new growth. Of the remaining two pots, one was split and the plugs were planted normally. The third pot was pushed down into the sand to see if the plant will spread from the pot like Cory recommends..

Buce-The red X's. I got 3 different varities, all farm sourced. There is kedagang green long, green broad leaf and Theia.

Hydrocotyle tripartita Japan, 2 pots

Monte carlo and dwarf baby tears - one pot each, just gotta see if either of these like my water and setup.

Lobelia cardinalis- my first try with this plant. I have 3 bare root plants.

Pogostemon Helferi Downoi- I wanted to try this because just to see. It came from a tissue culture cup, did not look good in the cup and most has already melted, so I don't have high hopes for it.

Anubias- I have it listed there but I haven't added it yet and I'm not sure if I will... I have some in another tank I can grab if I decide it needs something there.

Crypts- I've pulled 2 large tropicas from another tank. I got a new Hudoroi. I also got a retrospiralis that I mixed in amongst the background to add texture. There may be some other small crypts in there because I pulled a few small, unknown crypts when I grabbed the tropicas. 

Hygrophila compacta- I really love the way these look in other people's tanks when they are fully converted. I got a couple of really robust looking ones so hopefully they do well.

Echinodorus Martii- supposed to be a smaller Amazon sword, but I'm worried it might end up smaller than I wanted. I wanted a sword that doesnt get too big and stays green since I already have several red plants. This plant came in really healthy... I could have split it... maybe I should have.

Tiger lotus- I tried to leave a large area for this plant. I'm hoping for some good reds here.

Rotala Red and Rotala Orange juice- I got a bunch of these stems. They are growing roots and new leaves already, but they growing somewhat horizontally, which is kinda annoying.  Maybe that will help them fill in better? The I'm hoping for some discernable color difference between the two species, which will be stunning if I'm successful.

Madagascar lace- I do not have this plant yet and I don't plan on adding one until I feel the tank is balanced. Algae all over a lace plant would be not good and this is really going to be my main centerpiece plant. This plant will be positioned to get really good flow from the filter, which I've heard is good. Ive also heard they like a cooler tank, so that is another plus with this setup.

Hygrophila angustifolia- I like this plant and it has grown decently in my low tech tanks, so I'm really hoping for a dense background of this stuff. I got a ton of stems and a lot of it was already melted (and it came with duck weed!!!), but I got so much, I'm sure plenty will survive. The crypt retrospiralis is mixed in with it.

The fissidens is doing great! Three weeks seems to have been long enough to get some attachment. The stuff on the wood is doing the best, but it looks like the rocks are doing OK.

And that's all the plants!

I'm running a fluval 407 canister filter. This tank is in my living room and having a quiet filter was my top concern, and this is indeed a very quiet.

I've got a dual stage CO2 regulator from CO2 Art. The diffuser is a neo diffuser.

I have two 48" lights currently.  A Fluval 3.0 and a Hygger. I really like the Hygger as an affordable light, I have one on another tank as well, but it got a tiny splash when I turned on the filter and it acted kinda glitchy, even though it's water resistant (IP68?). But just this weekend, one of the big chain stores was having a crazy good sale and I snagged the fluval 3.0 for dirt cheap. And the hygger stopped flickering and seems fine again. I did not plant the front because I had only planned on running one light but this will give me more flexibility in the future. 

Here's some pics

Right after planting

3 days later. I'm already getting growth and pearling

The compacta is getting some color.

My rotala is all weepy. I wasn't expecting that. I'm sure I can correct it with time..

the diatoms have already started... I tried a dark start hoping to skip this phase but nope. 

Edited October 19, 2021 by Amanda
Typo

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

It’s always an investment to plant heavy but I find you get great returns. I like the choices and the risks you took - they are reasoned and high reward if they come out. Beautiful start! 

[Colu]

It coming along nicely once it grows in it will be a jungal paradise

[Patrick_G]

A real primer for how to start a large tank. The initial plant investment is high but it will pay off quickly. 
I’m curious to see if the Hyger light gets the job done as the tank grows in and becomes more shaded. If you end up planting the foreground it might not be enough. I guess we’ll see. 
 

On 10/19/2021 at 10:39 AM, Amanda said:

My rotala is all weepy. I wasn't expecting that. I'm sure I can correct it with time..

I think it looks kinda cool that way. Maybe the next high tech craze will be weeping Rotala! 

[Amanda]

On 10/19/2021 at 5:50 PM, Patrick_G said:

I’m curious to see if the Hyger light gets the job done as the tank grows in and becomes more shaded. If you end up planting the foreground it might not be enough. I guess we’ll see.

Sorry if it wasn't clear in the post, I have both of the hygger and the fluval light running on it. The fluval is really narrow and doesn't seem to spread out as much as the hygger... I felt like I could light the whole tank (with the front unplanted) with the hygger alone. The fluval is stronger but doesn't spread enough to cover the entire planted area, so I think even without the front planted, the tank still benefits from the hygger on it as well. So the hygger is positioned toward the front and running at 40%, the fluval in the back running full blast currently 😬. And I've got both lights, so I might as well use them, right? 

[Patrick_G]

On 10/19/2021 at 4:30 PM, Amanda said:

Sorry if it wasn't clear in the post, I have both of the hygger and the fluval light running on it.

Yup, I understood that part. I’m wondering if the Fluval plus the Hygger will be enough as the tank grows in. Not to say that I think it won’t work, but I’m genuinely curious to see if it does. 😀

[Amanda]

On 10/19/2021 at 7:28 PM, Patrick_G said:

Yup, I understood that part. I’m wondering if the Fluval plus the Hygger will be enough as the tank grows in. Not to say that I think it won’t work, but I’m genuinely curious to see if it does. 😀

It had better be enough! I'm not buying an ADA solar rgb!

[Patrick_G]

On 10/19/2021 at 5:39 PM, Amanda said:

It had better be enough! I'm not buying an ADA solar rgb!

I settled on two Nicrew RGBs. They work but have trouble projecting enough light to the bases of tall stem plants. I think you’ve gone a long way towards solving the problem by raising the back. I’m considering reconfiguring my 75 to a similar layout. I’d probably remove the 3’ long driftwood and make a terrace in the back. 

[Amanda]

Day 10 update.

We went out of town for a few days and I had a lot of anxiety about what I might return home to. There were definitely things I didn't expect.

First, the rotala... it never straightened up at all. It looks absolutely wild. Roots everywhere. There are new sprouts growing out of the sides of the weeping stems. It will fill in fast, for sure, but I'm probably losing my scape design... or at least it will take quite a bit of time to recover it.

Second, the hygrophila angustifolia... so much of it melted. What a mess. I spent a lot of time picking wilted, melted, and rotting hygro yesterday. I think I bought 8 bundles and about 5 stems have remained healthy. I really have issues with the supplier of this plant, I'm going to have to fully cross them off my list in the future because this has happened too often with their plants. I decided to trim the hygro I have established in another tank, so most of the decent looking hygrophila angustifolia is from that tank.

H. Downoi... some of it appears to still be alive.

 

Hair grass experiement.  The planted plugs are looking good. 

The bit I tried to dry start is hanging in there.

The potted hair grass has already perpetuated itself out of the pot.

The fissidens is looking great. There is quite a bit of brown algae but I still see healthy fissidens and I'm really pleased with it at this point. 

[Odd Duck]

Even though it isn’t all doing what you had hoped, it’s still coming along.  I’d lay those Rotala stems right down behind the rocks and let them root right along the stems since they’re sprouting all along the stems.  That’s an instant grove!

Pogostemon helferi/downeii was a bit touchy for me at first but I finally got a good tissue culture and it settled, it’s been a beautiful plant for me.  Slow growing in low tech, but very striking.  It took 3 separate tissue cultures before the last one really took.

Be prepared for slow growth from any Fissidens.  I love the look of them, but they are super slow growers for me (all low tech).  That rock is going to look great once it’s covered!  Once it establishes, it will slowly spread and sometimes jump to other spots randomly.

The rest looks like you have it under control despite having to pick apart and clean up rotting leaves and stems.  That’s all I’ve ever managed with AR ‘Mini’ or ‘Roseafolia’.  I’ve got a dab of ‘Mini’ left where I’m trying to convert the very last of my AR to emerse growth and see if I can grow it that way because I’ve had ZERO luck growing it before now.  It just kind of sits there, sort grows just enough to tease me, then languishes, starts dropping leaves, then gets algae on any bottom leaves still left, etc.  I had about 8 stems left, I’m down to 3, but they at least look like they’re trying.  Since you at least have backups from another tank, you’ve got a leg up on a restart for those.

Keep plugging away.  Every tank finds its balance.  You just have to be patient until this tank gets there.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Amandait looks great. I know you’re having some small set backs but the journey is the destination with planted tanks. 
Totally agree with @Odd Duckive used this trick with stem - laying the rooted bit across the substrate and you get great results, more akin to the look you seem to have been intending.
Ive had similar experiences to @Odd Duckwith fissidens it’s slow and steady wins the race. Mine is a mat about 3.5-4” in diameter and it started about quarter size February or March ‘21. 
Also agree with @Patrick_Gthis was a really well thought out plan with excellent execution. This will be very enjoyable watching your progress. 

[carefulest]

The rotala was grown emersed and the stems did not support their own weight. You can see the new submerged growth is straight and healthy.