Wife us going to kill me if don't get this right.

[Turtle]

I finally got the first tank my wife wanted 32 years ago  silicone sealed and full of water in our entrance hallway.  It's a oddball tank to me a 45gl tall. 24x36x12 she wants a planted community tank. TALL and skinny hopelessly stuck. Should I just ask the crew to just send a  prayer 

[Fish Folk]

On 11/30/2021 at 9:12 PM, Turtle said:

I finally got the first tank my wife wanted 32 years ago  silicone sealed and full of water in our entrance hallway.  It's a oddball tank to me a 45gl tall. 24x36x12 she wants a planted community tank. TALL and skinny hopelessly stuck. Should I just ask the crew to just send a  prayer 

Happy wife, happy life! You’ll want enough light to penetrate through to bottom. A background of Valisneria might be attractive with Bronze Crypt in front, and maybe something colorful. Lots of air and flow. You could put lots of interesting fish in there. 

I’m thinking Angelfish with a wicked school of tetras. A colorful bristlenose, and maybe a group of small Corydoras.

Or a bunch of Rams with a single Discus and a Pleco.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Fish Folk

[Turtle]

Black tetra  and fancy cherry barb are with a cleaner crew  to start its totally dark hallway zero light I have to get the lighting right par for 24x36x12  is extremely important 

Maybe I should just tell aquarium  coop he's a hundred bucks for plants and send me a light.

 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Turtleim a proud owner of a 45 g Tall thanks to my spouse as well - entry hallway,  needed to be skinny enough not to impede progress from the door to the living space. Too funny! Jinx! 

Ok, Your right you’ll need a decent light to get all the way to the bottom. I’d recommend Finnex Planted or Fluval Planted 3.0 or Aquasky. Find Bentley Pascoe’s videos on programming the Fluval lights to make life easier. You can go cheaper or more expensive but these are nice mid-range options. I have a Finnex 24/7 and the light that came with the tank, so far so good. If I didn’t have the lights I have now I’d have the Fluvals. 

Substrate, from the bottom up I’d do some laterite powder, osmocote +, then Stratum or other aquasoil mixed with some gravel or coarse sand. Color I’d do black but that’s me. You can get somE small river rock as accents. 

Plants I like @Fish Folkideas for crypts and Val. Big crypts like balansae and spiralis work great too. You could also do some Aponogetons they get big and full space vertically as do Swords, Crinum, Brazilian pennywort, Taiwan Lilly, and Red tiger lotus. In the foreground I’d do dwarf Sag 2 pots - if my plecos hadn’t mowed it down I’d have had a nice carpet. I like floating plants - water lettuce has these lovely trailing roots that float there mid-water. 

Hardscape is tough as it’s all personal preference but I’d get big/tall wood pieces and a few rocks. Put some anubias and Java fern in the rocks and wood you choose. 

Angelfish 3-5 and medium bodied tetras black fish what about black phantoms, diamond tetras, lemon tetras or Colombian red and blue ma in a large number with a Cory species albino corys are cheap and great looking in a planted tank or a whole mess of kuhli loaches. Stock lower numbers not higher. Biggest mistake I continue to make in this hobby. 

Filtration - I’d do 2 medium sponges one in each corner and a canister or large hang on back toward the middle - with the middle brace the hang on back is less ideal in my mind. With a spray bar pointed toward the bottom and middle should help keep the substrate fairly clean. The tank came with the HOB and I added a Ziss biobubbler and an Eheim Classic 2217. I’m overstocked so I’m over filtered. 

Heater I use two 200 w heaters. 

And here’s a couple pics of my 45 g. Hope that helped! If you have questions let me know!

[Turtle]

Is that a BUG??? No it's snail eggs on my lid of my wife's tank .tank is days old and I move a few thing's and BOOM  I got snail 🐌 😅 

[Patrick_G]

On 11/30/2021 at 8:34 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

Plants I like @Fish Folkideas for crypts and Val. Big crypts like balansae and spiralis work great too. You could also do some Aponogetons they get big and full space vertically as do Swords, Crinum, Brazilian pennywort, Taiwan Lilly, and Red tiger lotus. In the foreground I’d do dwarf Sag 2 pots - if my plecos hadn’t mowed it down I’d have had a nice carpet. I like floating plants - water lettuce has these lovely trailing roots that float there mid-water. 

I’d go with a similar mix as @Fish Folkand @Beardedbillygoat1975. Background of crypt Balansae or Spiralis plus a tall Aponogeton. Foreground of bronze crypt Hudori and some Wendtii. Hardscape with Java Fern and Anubias. I’d avoid stem plants altogether but something like Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus might work. 

[Dawn T]

Uh, I'd suggest going with a different Pogostemon species than the 'octopus'. I have that in one of my 29g tanks and it's ridiculous how quickly and completely it takes over. I have to trim it usually every 2-3 weeks just to keep it from completely taking over the tank. It's not just because Pogostemon species grow fast. It's because the 'octopus' variety puts out those long, very abundant leaves. It's time for another trimming on my tank, so I took a photo to show you. (This tank DEFINITELY needs a haircut this weekend when I do my regular maintenance. It really needed it this past weekend, but I decided to put it off.)

Keep in mind that this tank is a standard 29g, so the footprint is 12" deep x 30" long x 18" high. Given your tank isn't that large horizontally, I'd suggest a different species of Pogostemon unless you want the 'octopus' to take over or require a lot of maintenance to control it. It's wild and rather like trying to herd cats! LOL

Edited December 1, 2021 by Dawn T

[Turtle]

Yes a tall tank 2 feet tall .I broke it down to build a fish room  it moved two times over the years and held water 32 years. So I finally got to fixing it up and setting it up again. It has seen a few make overs . But plant tank in a dark hall with zero light is a frist. This a kinda a peak at what will change until I get plants 

[Seattle_Aquarist]

Hi @Turtle

I've had a 45 gallon tall as a planted tank for 12 years.  A good light can give you sufficient PAR (light intensity) to grow most species with little problem.  I have used several over the years but the Fluval 3.0 is the one I am currently using.  -Roy

45 gallon tall

 

[Patrick_G]

On 12/1/2021 at 10:14 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said:

I've had a 45 gallon tall as a planted tank for 12 years.  A good light can give you sufficient PAR (light intensity) to grow most species with little problem.  I have used several over the years but the Fluval 3.0 is the one I am currently using.  -Roy

How to you keep the lower stems on the Rotala from getting bare over time? I’ve been periodically cutting off the bottom 1/3 and replanting. 

[Dancing Matt]

My recent 45 rescape

[Seattle_Aquarist]

On 12/2/2021 at 9:44 AM, Patrick_G said:

How to you keep the lower stems on the Rotala from getting bare over time? I’ve been periodically cutting off the bottom 1/3 and replanting. 

Hi @Patrick_G

Typically loss of older leaves is due to one or more of the following:

1) insufficient light intensity and/or shading by other plants

2) insufficient available potassium

3) insufficient available magnesium

 -Roy