Yoshi's 55 Gallon Living Room Aquarium

[Yoshi]

I've been slowly planning this tank for months and I'm excited to now be able to post that it's almost ready!

• 55 gallon Aqueon tank
• 60lbs of Imagitarium black sand
• Rocks are a mix of dragon stone, elephant skin stone, and petrified wood
• Pice of Malaysian driftwood
   
• One ACO medium spone filter
• One Tidal 55 HOB
• Two Fluval E 100 heaters
• The light (not on the tank yet) is a 48'' ACO LED light.

Next steps are planning out the plants, and I'm hoping to include quite a bit.  I'm thinking a mix of bucephalandra, crypts, vallisneria, pearl weed, moss, etc.  I've got root tabs and easy green ready and waiting.

My livestock plans keep changing, but I know I've still got plenty of time to think about it while I get the plants in and then get the whole setup cycled.  My thoughts at this point are some panda cories, CPDs, cardinal tetras, snails (probably nerites and trapdoor snails), and MAYBE some silver hatchet fish.  I'd really love to do shrimp in here, but unless I put them in first and really let them get established and colonize, I really have doubts that they'd end up as anything other than fish food.

Feedback is always welcome!

[Shrimpee]

On 5/11/2024 at 3:57 PM, Yoshi said:

I've been slowly planning this tank for months and I'm excited to now be able to post that it's almost ready!

• 55 gallon Aqueon tank
• 60lbs of Imagitarium black sand
• Rocks are a mix of dragon stone, elephant skin stone, and petrified wood
• Pice of Malaysian driftwood
   
• One ACO medium spone filter
• One Tidal 55 HOB
• Two Fluval E 100 heaters
• The light (not on the tank yet) is a 48'' ACO LED light.

Next steps are planning out the plants, and I'm hoping to include quite a bit.  I'm thinking a mix of bucephalandra, crypts, vallisneria, pearl weed, moss, etc.  I've got root tabs and easy green ready and waiting.

My livestock plans keep changing, but I know I've still got plenty of time to think about it while I get the plants in and then get the whole setup cycled.  My thoughts at this point are some panda cories, CPDs, cardinal tetras, snails (probably nerites and trapdoor snails), and MAYBE some silver hatchet fish.  I'd really love to do shrimp in here, but unless I put them in first and really let them get established and colonize, I really have doubts that they'd end up as anything other than fish food.

Feedback is always welcome!

I think shrimp would be amazing in there, I have a colony of shrimp in my 20 gal and I have neons and CPDs in there with them. They may pick off a few baby shrimp but adult shrimp wont get hunted down. I think a nice big bush of a rotala (Macrandra or Wallichi might work nicely) would look amazing in that big tank.

[Yoshi]

Aaaaaaaaaand we're off!

My plants came this afternoon so today was the day to get water in my tank and start it running.

I've started with 5 different bucephalandra and 5 different anubias.

One or two small hiccups, but one kinda big one.  The Tidal 55 won't start.  I plugged it in.  Sat there.  Waited and in about 5 mins it ran for all of 5 seconds and now won't start again.  I've emailed their support team, but I'm guessing it's a bad unit.  So in the meantime I guess the ACO sponge will have to do the job until I can get a replacement.

Edited May 16 by Yoshi

[Whitecloud09]

On 5/15/2024 at 9:19 PM, Yoshi said:

Aaaaaaaaaand we're off!

My plants came this afternoon so today was the day to get water in my tank and start it running.

I've started with 5 different bucephalandra and 5 different anubias.

One or two small hiccups, but one kinda big one.  The Tidal 55 won't start.  I plugged it in.  Sat there.  Waited and in about 5 mins it ran for all of 5 seconds and now won't start again.  I've emailed their support team, but I'm guessing it's a bad unit.  So in the meantime I guess the ACO sponge with have to do the job until I can get a replacement.

Awesome tank there @Yoshi, the black background is always a good choice, the decor/plants are cool too! I am here with you for the journey! Good luck!!!

[Yoshi]

Couple of days in now and a few things I've noticed.

• I'm surprised how much tannin that one piece of drift wood has added to the water.  I'm sure the black background accentuates the effect, but the water is significantly darker than when I started.
• I added a few cholla wood pieces.  The two smaller ones sank over night, but the larger piece is still floating.  I'm sure it'll come down when it's ready. 😄
• I'm incredibly surprised by how quiet the sponge filter with the easy flow attachment is.  Honestly, the pump is louder than the water flow, and I can only hear the pump if I'm actively trying to listen for it.  I'm impressed!
• I added a handful of red root floaters and water spangles from my five gallon tank along with a water sprite cutting.  I find it interesting that some of the floating plants actually seem attracted to the easy flow outlet.  I didn't expect that.
• No plant melting yet, but I'm pretty much expecting it.  I figure you kind of have to expect it when setting up a new tank.
• I've got the ACO light set at 30 and timed to come on for 7 hours per day.

As always, feedback is welcome!

[Yoshi]

So a few updates!

• The tannins continue to increase!  The tea color is definitely a thing 😄 It kind of reminds of those days last summer when the smoke and ash came down from Canada and made it look like some kind of Armageddon movie.
• I've added activated carbon to the Tidal to try and clear some of it, but I'm not seeing a noticeable change as of yet.
• I did some additional planting!
  • Lindernia Rotundifolia 'Watermelon', Pogostemon Stellatus 'Octopus', Ludwigia Natans Super Red, Cryptocoryne Pink Flamingo, and Cryptocoryne 'Tropica'
  • Put root tabs down under each planting
• To make the planting easier I did about a 10% water change.  Not enough to affect the tannins obviously.
• I'm also adding Dr. Tim's ammonia and a bottle of Fritz Zyme 7 Live Nitrifying Bacteria to help jump start the cycle.

I haven't done any water parameter testing yet.  I figured there isn't much point.  I'll probably do the first test in a day or two.

As always, feedback is always appreciated!

[Whitecloud09]

On 5/21/2024 at 7:28 PM, Yoshi said:

So a few updates!

• The tannins continue to increase!  The tea color is definitely a thing 😄 It kind of reminds of those days last summer when the smoke and ash came down from Canada and made it look like some kind of Armageddon movie.
• I've added activated carbon to the Tidal to try and clear some of it, but I'm not seeing a noticeable change as of yet.
• I did some additional planting!
  • Lindernia Rotundifolia 'Watermelon', Pogostemon Stellatus 'Octopus', Ludwigia Natans Super Red, Cryptocoryne Pink Flamingo, and Cryptocoryne 'Tropica'
  • Put root tabs down under each planting
• To make the planting easier I did about a 10% water change.  Not enough to affect the tannins obviously.
• I'm also adding Dr. Tim's ammonia and a bottle of Fritz Zyme 7 Live Nitrifying Bacteria to help jump start the cycle.

I haven't done any water parameter testing yet.  I figured there isn't much point.  I'll probably do the first test in a day or two.

As always, feedback is always appreciated!

The dr Tim’s ammonia is a good choice, gets the job done, when did you start the cycle @Yoshi? Because I usually test after the first 2 days, but that is me, not important I guess. But everything is looking awesome!

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Tannins, it can be a blessing and a curse. Especially in a living room tank where it’s kind of for everyone it will require some explanation. I will say that nothings cooler than seeing a neon-type tetra flash colors through the mist if you will! Shrimp will love the humic acid. Enjoy the ride and have fun! 

[Yoshi]

On 5/21/2024 at 7:43 PM, Whitecloud09 said:

The dr Tim’s ammonia is a good choice, gets the job done, when did you start the cycle @Yoshi?

I added the Fritz and ammonia two days ago.  After the water change today I added a bit more ammonia.  I think I'll test parameters tomorrow.

 

On 5/21/2024 at 7:47 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

Tannins, it can be a blessing and a curse. Especially in a living room tank where it’s kind of for everyone it will require some explanation. I will say that nothings cooler than seeing a neon-type tetra flash colors through the mist if you will! Shrimp will love the humic acid. Enjoy the ride and have fun!

I agree, they're a double edged sword.  The picture actually makes it look a bit lighter than it looks in person.  I don't mind some tannins but right now it's SUPER dark.  I was hoping the activated carbon would have helped, but it may just be too much for it to handle.  Maybe if I'd added it to the filter before it got out of hand.  Since I just added fertilizer today I'll probably give it until early next week and then do a pretty substantial water change.

[Whitecloud09]

On 5/21/2024 at 9:00 PM, Yoshi said:

I added the Fritz and ammonia two days ago.  After the water change today I added a bit more ammonia.  I think I'll test parameters tomorrow.

 

I agree, they're a double edged sword.  The picture actually makes it look a bit lighter than it looks in person.  I don't mind some tannins but right now it's SUPER dark.  I was hoping the activated carbon would have helped, but it may just be too much for it to handle.  Maybe if I'd added it to the filter before it got out of hand.  Since I just added fertilizer today I'll probably give it until early next week and then do a pretty substantial water change.

Sounds great, I love the dark look of the aquarium, it looks awesome @Yoshi

[Yoshi]

Parameters today:

• Ammonia .25
• Nitrate 50
• Nitrite 5
• GH 25
• KH 180
• PH 7.8

I'm surprised the ammonia is that low since I added some yesterday, so I added 150 drops today.  My bottle says 4 drops per gallon, but I didn't do quite that much since I was getting a bit of an ammonia reading.

Nitrates are high, but I also did a full 5 pumps of Easy Green yesterday, so maybe that pushed it up.

I have a water softener (pretty much have to where I live) so I expected the GH to be low.  For shrimp and snails I'll have to figure out away to get that value up.

What do you all think?  Should I do a water change or should I just let the plants work on the nitrates?

[Whitecloud09]

On 5/22/2024 at 9:00 PM, Yoshi said:

Parameters today:

• Ammonia .25
• Nitrate 50
• Nitrite 5
• GH 25
• KH 180
• PH 7.8

I'm surprised the ammonia is that low since I added some yesterday, so I added 150 drops today.  My bottle says 4 drops per gallon, but I didn't do quite that much since I was getting a bit of an ammonia reading.

Nitrates are high, but I also did a full 5 pumps of Easy Green yesterday, so maybe that pushed it up.

I have a water softener (pretty much have to where I live) so I expected the GH to be low.  For shrimp and snails I'll have to figure out away to get that value up.

What do you all think?  Should I do a water change or should I just let the plants work on the nitrates?

I say leave your nitrates, they will crash at the end and go down, it’s to early, for the ammonia, I did 4 drops form the dr Tim’s, my ammonia almost never came down, it stayed over the highest reading of 8.0 ppm. Thn came down, now I have a cycled tank! The ferts will add some nitrates so not to worry.

nitrite at 5, that’s good, your making progress already @Yoshi!

[Yoshi]

On 5/22/2024 at 8:12 PM, Whitecloud09 said:

I say leave your nitrates

I ended up doing a 25% water change today, not because I was worried about my parameters, but because the tea had gotten SO dark I wasn't confident sufficient light was getting to the plants at the bottom of the tank like the annubias and buce, even with the light turned up to 100.

The tank is noticeably clearer, although still VERY dark.  But at least now I can see a bit of green in the plants.  Before the tannins made everything just look orange.

[Yoshi]

Parameters today:

Ammonia 0
Nitrates 60
Nitrites 10
GH 25
KH 180
PH 7.6

I'm a bit confused though.  After I did the water change yesterday I added ammonia to keep the cycle going.  When I tested that evening I was getting about 1.5 reading.  Today it's at 0.  I only started this tank a week ago yesterday.  The ammonia converting bacteria wouldn't have established themselves already, would they?  I did add a full bottle of the FritzZyme bacteria at the beginning, but even so that feels awfully fast.

Obviously the nitrite bacteria still need to grow, but this is going a lot faster than I expected.

[Whitecloud09]

On 5/24/2024 at 10:11 PM, Yoshi said:

Parameters today:

Ammonia 0
Nitrates 60
Nitrites 10
GH 25
KH 180
PH 7.6

I'm a bit confused though.  After I did the water change yesterday I added ammonia to keep the cycle going.  When I tested that evening I was getting about 1.5 reading.  Today it's at 0.  I only started this tank a week ago yesterday.  The ammonia converting bacteria wouldn't have established themselves already, would they?  I did add a full bottle of the FritzZyme bacteria at the beginning, but even so that feels awfully fast.

Obviously the nitrite bacteria still need to grow, but this is going a lot faster than I expected.

No, the nitrite is at 10, this is what mine was like, and your nitrates are really high, it will probably take maybe a week longer, but your right, it’s definitely going faster than mine, mine took almost 2 and a half months. @Yoshi. You are very close! Maybe the fritzyme is better than dr Tim’s? Idk. Thanks for the update!

[Yoshi]

So bit of an update.

I did an approximate 50% water change yesterday and re-dosed Easy Green, Easy Iron, and ammonia.  I also did 3 tablespoons of Equilibrium.  With the Equilibrium, I just dumped it in which was a mistake since it doesn't dissolve very well.  I've got white powder sitting on the sand and on some of the plants.  Next time I'll do a slurry type approach.

The larger water change made a big difference in the tannins, although it's still darker than I'd like it.  But that's a work in progress.  I'm assuming the wood will continue to leech tannins for some time.  The pic is about 24hrs after the water change.

Tonights parameters:

• Ammonia .25
• Nitrate 50
• Nitrite 10
• GH 75
• KH 180
• PH 7.4

With the ammonia processing so quickly it seems like that first stage of BB is reasonably well established.  I'm just waiting for that second stage to really settle in - I'm assuming that's why my nitrites are so high even after such a significant water change.  The higher nitrates I'm thinking are from the Easy Green and the beginnings of the nitrites starting to convert over.

One question - should I continue to dose ammonia?  Will that first stage BB die off if I don't?

Btw, this is kind of becoming a journal of my internal thoughts and musings.  If I'm talking out of my rear regarding anything feel free to correct me!

[Whitecloud09]

If u don’t continue ammonia your BB will not die probably @Yoshi, it takes a week or so for the BB to die, I would keep adding ammonia on your schedule of when you add it, until your second stage of nitrite converting to nitrate ends and your cycle starts to finish. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Talk about a Blackwater tank! I love it. I have 2 Blackwater tanks, and they’re nowhere near that dark. kinda wish they were, though! All my tannins are coming from Indian Almond Leaves and other botanicals. They obviously contain a lot less tannins than your wood, though. 
 

I know what you mean about photos making the tanks look A LOT lighter than what your eyes see. Your pictures are Dark, so I can only imagine that tank is DARK in person. I love it!

I’m excited to see how this comes together. The Buce and Anubias will be a sight to see a couple years from now, lol. 

[Yoshi]

On 5/29/2024 at 9:17 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Talk about a Blackwater tank! I love it. I have 2 Blackwater tanks, and they’re nowhere near that dark. kinda wish they were, though! All my tannins are coming from Indian Almond Leaves and other botanicals. They obviously contain a lot less tannins than your wood, though. 
 

I know what you mean about photos making the tanks look A LOT lighter than what your eyes see. Your pictures are Dark, so I can only imagine that tank is DARK in person. I love it!

I’m excited to see how this comes together. The Buce and Anubias will be a sight to see a couple years from now, lol. 

Thank you!! I'm still trying to decide the level of tannins I want.  I don't mind having some, and I understand that it's actually beneficial to the fish.  But at the same time I do want to be able to see my fish once I get some in the aquarium, at least on occasion 😄 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 5/29/2024 at 8:23 PM, Yoshi said:

Thank you!! I'm still trying to decide the level of tannins I want.  I don't mind having some, and I understand that it's actually beneficial to the fish.  But at the same time I do want to be able to see my fish once I get some in the aquarium, at least on occasion 😄

For sure. I totally get it. I’ve definitely gotten my tanks pretty dark at times , where it’s hard to see what’s in there. But they’ve been nowhere near where yours is at, lol. I’m kinda jealous. 
 

If you plan to keep it as a Blackwater tank, Green Neons really flash bright in that environment. My Chili’s look awesome in that darker environment. Silver Hatchets could be RAD! I had Marbled Hatchets, and honestly they were a super boring fish. But, if you get a big enough group maybe they’ll display different behaviors, and their silver flashes against the light could be awesome in a blackwater tank. 

[Yoshi]

On 5/29/2024 at 9:34 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

If you plan to keep it as a Blackwater tank, Green Neons really flash bright in that environment. My Chili’s look awesome in that darker environment. Silver Hatchets could be RAD! I had Marbled Hatchets, and honestly they were a super boring fish. But, if you get a big enough group maybe they’ll display different behaviors, and their silver flashes against the light could be awesome in a blackwater tank. 

I've thought about green neons!  But I've heard they aren't necessarily the hardiest species which is one of the reasons I was thinking more of cardinals.

And it's amazing that you brought up silver hatchets!  I've been thinking a lot about them and they've gone on, come off, and gone back on the list several times.  The only thing about them that I'm worried about is the jumping.  With those aqueon lids there's a small gap in the back that I'd have to figure out how to cover.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 5/29/2024 at 8:41 PM, Yoshi said:

I've thought about green neons!  But I've heard they aren't necessarily the hardiest species which is one of the reasons I was thinking more of cardinals.

And it's amazing that you brought up silver hatchets!  I've been thinking a lot about them and they've gone on, come off, and gone back on the list several times.  The only thing about them that I'm worried about is the jumping.  With those aqueon lids there's a small gap in the back that I'd have to figure out how to cover.

Green Neons: The LFS that takes all the fish I breed stopped bringing them in as they just couldn’t keep them alive. Thankfully, I have LFS #2 that regularly has them. I started with 10, and now I’m down to 5. So I got another 10, and we’ll see what happens. I’ve had the original group for quite some time, so we’ll see how this new batch does. 
 

Cardinals: I have a group in my 55 Angelfish tank. Started with 20, or 24 I can’t remember. I’ve had them for probably 3 years or so. I have probably 8 left. They’ve been great. I’m trying to decide if I wanna beef up that school again, or try something new. I’m thinking probably something new. The Cardinals look great, though, and they’re definitely a bit bigger so that worked out well for me in a bigger tank with bigger fish. 
 

Hatchets: Like I said, mine were pretty boring. They just… kind of… sat there. At the top of the tank. I definitely had some jump out. It happened during maintenance a couple of times, and I was able to scoop them back into the tank. Definitely found a couple crispy on the floor. My hatchets also got ich in QT after the med trio. I was able to take care of it with salt, and that’s the only time I’ve had ich pop up like that. I also had 1 dead in the bag when I got home from the LFS, and that’s the only time I’ve had that happen, too. 

[Yoshi]

I did another significant water change today, probably in the 60-70% range in my battle against the tea.  It's cleared up quite a bit!  I want to see how much the wood is still leeching into the water, but based on how much I've been able to get ahead of it with just two water changes spaced out over about 6 days, I'm hoping I can just let it run and continue to cycle.  Afterward I reduced Easy Green, Easy Iron, ammonia, and Equilibrium.

My stem plants in the back of the tank aren't doing so well.  When I tried to put another root tab under one of them is completely uprooted and when I fished it out of the water all the lower stems had started to turn brown.  I planted them when the tea was really dark, and I couldn't really see what I was doing, so it's possible I missed putting the plant on top of the root tab at that time.  I would still really like some tall background plants across the back of the tank for aesthetic as well as practical purposes.

[Yoshi]

One quick update - I think we MIGHT be close to cycled.  I took parameters today and nitrites were hovering just above zero and ammonia was at a flat zero.  The test only changed color by the tinniest bit.  I re-dosed with ammonia tonight and I'll take parameters again tomorrow to see how things process.

My first attempt at stemmed plants hasn't gone so great.  The only one that's doing ok is the Pogostemon Stellatus 'Octopus'.  The rest basically melted away.  I've ordered a few more and I'm going to try again.  I think part of the problem was it was the water was so dark with tannins that first time, I really couldn't see what I was doing.

I did add a ball of Christmas moss that's hanging out over by the driftwood, and some fissidens fontanus that I tied to my "rock bridge" there in the middle using clear nylon thread.

Been running pretty hard the past few days with work and family and stuff, but I'm trying to find time to enjoy my little aquascape.  If it ends up that I am well and truly cycled then it becomes time to really decide what livestock to introduce first!

Edited June 6 by Yoshi

[Whitecloud09]

On 6/5/2024 at 8:51 PM, Yoshi said:

One quick update - I think we MIGHT be close to cycled.  I took parameters today and nitrates were hovering just above zero and ammonia was at a flat zero.  The test only changed color by the tinniest bit.  I re-dosed with ammonia tonight and I'll take parameters again tomorrow to see how things process.

My first attempt at stemmed plants hasn't gone so great.  The only one that's doing ok is the Pogostemon Stellatus 'Octopus'.  The rest basically melted away.  I've ordered a few more and I'm going to try again.  I think part of the problem was it was the water was so dark with tannins that first time, I really couldn't see what I was doing.

I did add a ball of Christmas moss that's hanging out over by the driftwood, and some fissidens fontanus that I tied to my "rock bridge" there in the middle using clear nylon thread.

Been running pretty hard the past few days with work and family and stuff, but I'm trying to find time to enjoy my little aquascape.  If it ends up that I am well and truly cycled then it becomes time to really decide what livestock to introduce first!

Looks like your almost there! What is your nitrite reading tho? That is very important. Or did I miss something? 😂 I do that a lot. @Yoshi also how long has it been? Since you started. I was wondering how long it was tnak8ng you exactly…