# My 60 gallon freshwater (planted)



## HUMAN1ESS

So this is my 60 gallon tank so far.









This is just after i brought it home and got everything together









In this picture you can see the layer of pete moss and the layer of sand.









This is after i tucked the sand around the pete moss so it wouldn't be visible from the outside of the tank.









And here it is with water added. The things on the floor of the tank are pantyhose with gravel from my 30 gallon established tank.

The plants will go in there after my cycle is complete. I am also planning on getting a piece of drift wood to add for my pleco. There will be more pictures added as something in the tank changes. Anyone have and constructive criticism?


----------



## Alabastercities

Nice start! Hopefully the cycling doesn't take too long.

What plants do you plan on using in your tank?


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics

which direction does that window face?


My wife has been eyeballing that set up for a while at the LFS. Very nice choice, cant wait to see more of it.


----------



## Chillwill007

Very nice start. I really like the white sand against all that black. What are the dimensions of the tank and how much past moss did you have to buy? Any ideas on fish stock yet? I can't wait got the updates. Good luck


----------



## jons4real

Sweet, nice set up.... I see that your a white guy,lol. Just an observation,lol.


----------



## Amie

Looking good!!! Are you adding anything else to help the cycling other then the gravel and the filter media. I would suggest adding 2 flakes of food per day. Love that you blended the layers. Did you find the peat moss a pain in the ***?? I found when I tried to add water to the top of the peat moss the moss all just floated on top of it. Next time I think I'm going to wet it and make it into a mud like substance first then add it to the tank. Take this time to figure out your plants and their placement. Also, keep in mind the type of fish that you are putting in. Some fish like to eat some types of plants so this is also a good time to look into that. Me, personally, would also go with low light plants that will not require any co2 or anything like that. For planting the whole aquarium I would go with tall in the back medium to tall on the sides and short in the front. That way you can fill the tank without putting it out of balance. Add the driftwood first and that way you can balance that as a focal point of the tank.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Alabastercities said:


> Nice start! Hopefully the cycling doesn't take too long.
> 
> What plants do you plan on using in your tank?


Im not really sure about what plants to go with yet, i was at the fish store today checking some out but they didnt have anything labeled. They were just "potted plants"



WhiteDevil said:


> which direction does that window face?
> 
> 
> My wife has been eyeballing that set up for a while at the LFS. Very nice choice, cant wait to see more of it.


The window faces north, my wife got it for me for my birthday from petsmart. Its really nice, i cant wait for it to be finished cycling!




Chillwill007 said:


> Very nice start. I really like the white sand against all that black. What are the dimensions of the tank and how much past moss did you have to buy? Any ideas on fish stock yet? I can't wait got the updates. Good luck


Thats what i was going for. At first i was planning on black beauty sand, but i think that would have been too much black. I like the contrast of white sand. The tank is 48" long x 12" deep x 24" tall. I just bought 3 sq yards for $10 at home depot. I actually only used about 3" of that. I have a lot left over. If you know anyone in the baltimore area and needs some peat moss let them know they can swing by and take the rest of this of my back porch!



jons4real said:


> Sweet, nice set up.... I see that your a white guy,lol. Just an observation,lol.


LoL, quite observant. Yes i am a white dude



Amie said:


> Looking good!!! Are you adding anything else to help the cycling other then the gravel and the filter media. I would suggest adding 2 flakes of food per day. Love that you blended the layers. Did you find the peat moss a pain in the ***?? I found when I tried to add water to the top of the peat moss the moss all just floated on top of it. Next time I think I'm going to wet it and make it into a mud like substance first then add it to the tank. Take this time to figure out your plants and their placement. Also, keep in mind the type of fish that you are putting in. Some fish like to eat some types of plants so this is also a good time to look into that. Me, personally, would also go with low light plants that will not require any co2 or anything like that. For planting the whole aquarium I would go with tall in the back medium to tall on the sides and short in the front. That way you can fill the tank without putting it out of balance. Add the driftwood first and that way you can balance that as a focal point of the tank.


I have an auto feeder on the back adding about 2-4 flakes a day. I already have some fish to add to it, although i would love to start over i just cant get rid of the fish that are already here. I am going to get a piece of drift wood, i was at the fish shop today looking at some pieces. My plan was to plant heavily on the left side of the tank and taper off to bare sand on the right side where the drift wood will sit. The peat moss was indeed a pain in the ***, i just laid the dry moss on the bottom of the tank, then washed the sides of the tank because of the dust. Then i laid the sand (which was wet from attempting to wash it) on top of the peat moss and that held it down pretty well. Although i do get quite a bit floating on the top of the tank, i'm hoping that will stop by the time the tank is finished cycling.


----------



## Amie

Most fish stores will take fish off your hands for store credit.


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics

I think the winter will give you alot of natural light in there, keep a tab on that tank one missed small observation can bring out a helluva algae bloom. 

Amie, not in the USA, far and few LFS give credit for anything anymore. I just had to hand over a 15" pleco for nothing while they turn around and make $20 bucks off it. I know alot of LFS's wont give credit just from the breeder forum I am on.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Amie said:


> Most fish stores will take fish off your hands for store credit.


I wish that were true! I actually called my local fish store (exotic aquatic Exotic Aquatic) and they pretty much laughed at me. I have 1 8-10" common pleco, 6 guppies, 1 dalmatian molly, 5 red eye tetras, 1 siamese algae eater; and a fancy gold fish and they said they would gladly take them as a donation. I have to discuss that with my wife. We have had our eye on some peacock cicklids but we don't want to spend $60 per fish when were pretty well stocked right now. Its not like i wanted a ton of money for my fish that cost $.99/per, but a little credit would have been nice.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

WhiteDevil said:


> I think the winter will give you alot of natural light in there, keep a tab on that tank one missed small observation can bring out a helluva algae bloom.


You think the placement is going to be a problem? The tank i have right now is about 2 feet to the left, next to a window that is facing east and i havent really had too many problems. The window facing north is about 12' away.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

On a side note, my wife is hinting towards getting me a new filter for the new setup for another bday gift. How do i tell her i want a fluval 405?:fish-gift: (man i'm lucky)


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics

get an eheim pro3 2080, 400 bucks of awesomeness.

actually I am wrong, the sun is in the south sky during the winter I apologize for being a dummy. If you see algae growth or have an issue keeping it away, could you (yes from man to man and it will appease the wife) put up a curtain that looks like those fancy lace ones. it will let ambiant light in but diffused where it will never be an issue on the aquarium. I put up wax paper and that did not go over well with the wife at all. we got the lace things instead.

A magnum 350 pro will do good as well, When i was buying my canisters i found you get less for more with fluvals.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Already have woman curtains man... 









EDIT: Dont mind the giant hole in the ceiling, tropical storm took the roof off a few days ago. 8+" of rain on the Chesapeake bay pwned my roof.


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics

yep woman curtains they is.

I had a place in huntingtown,MD while I was stationed in SC. Family lived there while i was on base all week then drove home and back every weekend.

I was gonna say, alot of rain, pissed off racoons or hillbilly attic vent.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

WhiteDevil said:


> yep woman curtains they is.
> 
> I had a place in huntingtown,MD while I was stationed in SC. Family lived there while i was on base all week then drove home and back every weekend.
> 
> I was gonna say, alot of rain, pissed off racoons or hillbilly attic vent.


Ha, i live pretty close to Baltimore City (about a mile away), so we don't really see many raccoons. We call our hillbillys "baybillys" because were on the chesapeake bay. So it would technically be a baybilly attic vent.


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics

It felt like there were more country folk in calvert county md then it did down at columbia.


----------



## mk4gti

If your not knowledgable on plants your best bet is to get them online and have them shipped to your house. The odds are your LFS doesnt really know much about them and half the time they sell you plants that arent truely aquatic and in a few days they rot in ur tank. There are a bunch of sites but ive used aquariumplants.com a few times and everything i got was really good. I also ordered my center peices of drift wood from there, i had to soak them for like a month but they are good now.


----------



## Amie

I would sooooo not recommend buying plants online if your new at it. I'm new at it too and I ordered some plants online. I've had them for a month and still not sure if they are alive or dead. You have a bigger chance of them being damaged by buying them online. I would go to the store, scope them out, remember the names and then come home and research them. That way you will have it figured out by the time you are ready for them which ones you want. If they have them all labeled just as potted plants or whatever research first what each plant looks like or take pictures at the shop and come home and put pictures with names. 

If the store won't give you credit what about just selling them privately?? Or, you could always get the cichlids and that will take care of them soon enough anyway


----------



## jrman83

I guess its just personal pref.....

Just staying with my local stores I'm stuck with the same old plants. Even some of the more basic, easy to maintain, plants you can't find.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Yea i was looking at getting plants from the internet. I dont really trust the LFS "potted plants"


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

On a side note, how do you guys tell the difference between 0 & .25 ppm ammonia on the API master test kits?


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics

the color, hold it up, if it blends in you are in that range, if you can see the band of color thru the liquid its either one up or one down from your ballpark reading.


----------



## jrman83

There isn't a lot of difference, but the .25 has a greenish hue to it.


----------



## beaslbob

I would make sure you get some anacharis and vals in there. Not just the potted types.

check out AquariumPlants.com Largest online sales / service site for the live aquarium plants & aquarium products community.


I would also add the plants now to help with the cycle. Not to wait until after the cycle.


Looks nice and best tank ever.



my .02


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

beaslbob said:


> I would make sure you get some anacharis and vals in there. Not just the potted types.
> 
> check out AquariumPlants.com Largest online sales / service site for the live aquarium plants & aquarium products community.
> 
> 
> I would also add the plants now to help with the cycle. Not to wait until after the cycle.
> 
> 
> Looks nice and best tank ever.
> 
> 
> 
> my .02


Yea i actually wasnt even planning on getting the "potted plants", i am getting all of my plants from aquariumplants.com


----------



## Amie

Beaslbob gets them in his and I'm planning on getting some in mine too. But, you remove the pot maybe trim the stems a little and plant them same as the other plants.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Amie said:


> Beaslbob gets them in his and I'm planning on getting some in mine too. But, you remove the pot maybe trim the stems a little and plant them same as the other plants.


I just want to know what plants I'm putting into my tank. I can understand putting plants from the fish store into my tank if I knew what I was doing, but I want to make sure I get low light plants because I dont plan on making any lighting changes for a while. Thanks for being patient with me, LoL, it's just alot to take in at once.


----------



## jrman83

Go here, they have a low light and very low light section. I'd recommend getting them from here also.
Aquarium Plants


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

jrman83 said:


> Go here, they have a low light and very low light section. I'd recommend getting them from here also.
> Aquarium Plants


Thats actually exactly where i was looking. Im probably going to order my plants this week.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Ok, so decided to try to hurry the cycle up because i fell in love with some Stendker Discus at my LFS. Went out today and got some ammonia from walmart. Probably going to order some Corkscrew Vals, and Anubias Nana from aquariumplants.com this week.


----------



## jrman83

Hold on before you add....nobody has found ammonia from Walmart that has been the right ammonia as of yet? Do you know what you are looking for?


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics

Wal mart doesnt not sell the right ammonia. main reason i didnt fishless cycle is due to no PURE ammonia being around.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Yea i noticed that after it was already added. I read on another forum that it would be fine as long as i had carbon in the filter. I guess well see.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Is this ammonia good for cycling? - Aquarium Forum
post 4 kind of put me at ease


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Is this ammonia good for cycling? - Aquarium Forum
post 4 kind of put me at ease


----------



## Big Dog

What kind of substrate are you using in your aquarium? Here is a picture of one of my planted aquarium. http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad178/findingjohn/Big Dog fishes/IMG0001-3.jpg 

Java ferns are nice to start out with. Look into doing dry fertililzers. It is so much cheaper and so easy to do.


----------



## jrman83

Take the ammonia you got and shake it up. If it foams up and remains I wouldn't use it anymore. Try a local Mom and Pop type hardware store and see if you can find some there. What you want is to shake it up and it will bubble up some and then clear almost immediately. If it foams it has surfectants (perfumes, etc.). I wouldn't want it in my tank, carbon or not.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

jrman83 said:


> Take the ammonia you got and shake it up. If it foams up and remains I wouldn't use it anymore. Try a local Mom and Pop type hardware store and see if you can find some there. What you want is to shake it up and it will bubble up some and then clear almost immediately. If it foams it has surfectants (perfumes, etc.). I wouldn't want it in my tank, carbon or not.


Yea i guess i will do that in the morning, thanks for the help. I just really want this cycle thing to be done with. I know everyone says patients is the key in this step, its just really hard to wait!


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Big Dog said:


> What kind of substrate are you using in your aquarium? Here is a picture of one of my planted aquarium. http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad178/findingjohn/Big Dog fishes/IMG0001-3.jpg
> 
> Java ferns are nice to start out with. Look into doing dry fertililzers. It is so much cheaper and so easy to do.


I have a layer of pete moss, and a layer of play sand. I haven't made any definate decisions, but i was leaning towards Corkscrew Vals for the back of the tank, and Anubias Nana for the filler. I wasn't really looking to plant as heavily as you have yours planted. I only wanted to plant on the left side of the tank, then taper off to bare sand toward the right side where a nice piece of drift wood will sit.


----------



## Amie

That problem with the safe and not safe ammonia is why I went with using fish food in mine. 2 flakes a day (15gal) until done and not have to worry about that stuff.


----------



## jrman83

You know that even going fishless it could still take a month to cycle your tank, right?


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

jrman83 said:


> You know that even going fishless it could still take a month to cycle your tank, right?


Yea i know


----------



## mk4gti

Ive gotten 5 orders from aquariumplants.com all in great shape all healthy and packaged well.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

mk4gti said:


> Ive gotten 5 orders from aquariumplants.com all in great shape all healthy and packaged well.


Thats good to know, i read a few reviews on their website that said the plants the people got had snails in it.


----------



## beaslbob

HUMAN1ESS said:


> Thats good to know, i read a few reviews on their website that said the plants the people got had snails in it.


Can't be helped IMHO.

I always get a snail bloom with new planted setups. then a year later only a few are left. So I just do nothing and enjoy the snails.

my .02


----------



## mk4gti

Yeah the odds are any plants you get will have snails in them, i didnt get a lot of snails, ther is one pond snail in my tank. I usually rinse off all my plants in warm water with a bit of salt, takes care of snail problems.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

mk4gti said:


> Yeah the odds are any plants you get will have snails in them, i didnt get a lot of snails, ther is one pond snail in my tank. I usually rinse off all my plants in warm water with a bit of salt, takes care of snail problems.


Good advice, thank you


----------



## jrman83

One snail.....that's how the hundreds (I think it has been that many) that I've killed all started.


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics

jrman83 said:


> One snail.....that's how the hundreds (I think it has been that many) that I've killed all started.


right!

My 45H got infested with pond snails, the loaches couldnt keep up, my red ear slider gourged for hours, all I had left was egg sacks, took a razor and got rid of them.

I ordered some plants from an ebay store out of arizona, claimed and swore no snails, maybe 4 weeks after they were cleaned and planted, I saw a single pond snail, squished it, discus loved it, did a PWC and trim/small rescape and the next day I had hundreds. My overflows were caked, the plumbing was caked, even the sump was loaded. its been about 5 months now and the population is next to nothing but the MTS I did put in there exploded.
Its cruel and unusual punishment from the fish gods, squish that bugger the sooner the better.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

WhiteDevil said:


> right!
> 
> My 45H got infested with pond snails, the loaches couldnt keep up, my red ear slider gourged for hours, all I had left was egg sacks, took a razor and got rid of them.
> 
> I ordered some plants from an ebay store out of arizona, claimed and swore no snails, maybe 4 weeks after they were cleaned and planted, I saw a single pond snail, squished it, discus loved it, did a PWC and trim/small rescape and the next day I had hundreds. My overflows were caked, the plumbing was caked, even the sump was loaded. its been about 5 months now and the population is next to nothing but the MTS I did put in there exploded.
> Its cruel and unusual punishment from the fish gods, squish that bugger the sooner the better.


This is what I worrie about! I really don't want to have to deal with this. I guess thats the risk you take when you put live plants in your tank and you don't know where they come from.


----------



## jrman83

I don't think you can avoid at least some risk. The snails are less visible in planted tanks if you ask me, of course depending on the level. The snails I have stay off the glass until I turn the light out. Although I know there are probably 50 or so at any given in my tank I don't see them much during the day time or light time hours.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Assuming i get snails (fingers crossed i dont) loaches will take care of that for me correct? I could always adopt them for the time it takes to get rid of the snails.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Havent updated in a while so here are some semi-completed tank pictures...









































I say "semi-completed" because I only have a school (17 as of right now) of neon tetras, and a pleco which will be going up for adoption soon. At the end of the month I am placing an order for 6 discus.


----------



## Big Dog

It is looking good. Keep up the good work.


----------



## Chillwill007

very nice I was about to ask whats up with an update. It really looks nice. Now I'm thinking about doing a layer of peat and stealing your white sand. I was gonna go with peat and the floor dry but I really like the way the white pops.


----------



## automatic-hydromatic

who says Java Ferns don't grow in substrate 

looks good!


----------



## jrman83

Looks good so far. You need to get some tall plants in there. That tank is pretty tall.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

jrman83 said:


> Looks good so far. You need to get some tall plants in there. That tank is pretty tall.


Any suggestions? So far I have some Italian Vals, Corkscrew Vals (pretty sure they're all dead), Java Ferns, Amazon Swords, and Water Wysteria. The Wysteria gets pretty tall, but I trim the tops and replant when they get about 12", to try to get a thicker bush of them instead of a few taller ones. I have 2.4 WPG right now, but after christmas I plan to build a canopy and get some stronger lighting.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Here are a few more pictures...


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Ok, added a new piece of wood, and moved some plants around. Completely ready for the discus im going to pick up Friday!
































Oh, and sadly i took my pleco into the fish store for adoption today. He will be greatly missed...*sad


----------



## Big Dog

Looking good. The one thing these fish like the most is. They like a place to hide when they need to.


----------



## Big Dog

I like the driftwood also.


----------



## automatic-hydromatic

looks good!

I love the white substrate; it's going to make a really nice Discus tank!


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Thanks guys, I'm really excited to go pick them up Friday. New pictures to come Friday evening.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Big Dog said:


> Looking good. The one thing these fish like the most is. They like a place to hide when they need to.


Yea, that's what I have been reading. That is why I added the last piece of wood, at a pretty big angle against the glass. There is a couple really nice hiding places now.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Went and picked up 6 beautiful Discus yesterday. If anyone is planning on buying discus i highly recommend Hans at discusfishstore.com. Here are a few pictures, they are all still hiding...


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Big changes, here are some nice pictures...


----------



## automatic-hydromatic

whoa, where did the sand go? and the Discus?


----------



## Chillwill007

Ya why the change with taking out all the sand and peat moss


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

I pulled the sand and peat out because the discus were making a horrible mess of it. I guess the ciclid was coming out in them and they were digging. Now I have a layer of peat and a layer of sand in each pot for the plants. The bottom of the tank is bare so the daily water changes get all if the old food and waste up. The discus are in there still, although still very shy.


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics

I leave for less then a month and you evict the inhabitants? what gives?


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

WhiteGloveAquatics said:


> I leave for less then a month and you evict the inhabitants? what gives?


LoL, they are still there, they are just expert hiders.


----------



## Chillwill007

No way I'm calling shinanagins............ I see all the tetras but no discuss in there. What they do all fold up and squeeze under the wood


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Chillwill007 said:


> No way I'm calling shinanagins............ I see all the tetras but no discuss in there. What they do all fold up and squeeze under the wood


Ha, yea they do all squeeze in behind the big piece of wood. I will post more tomorrow.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Here is proof that i didn't give up quite yet!


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Thats only half of them, its sleep time for them so they're all kind of hiding and doing they're thing. Today is the first day they all have they're color and are out and about. For the most part of the last week or so they were mostly black and hiding and today I wake up to nice bright welcoming fish! What a nice surprise. Any way tomorrow (really today) i will get some better shots of them and post them up for you guys.


----------



## jrman83

Why do that? Why not get a planted type substrate or a layer of gravel over your sand or whatever? Not that. I'd load up with plants and wood.


----------



## beaslbob

interesting.

Are the discus leaving the substrate alone in the pots?


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

beaslbob said:


> interesting.
> 
> Are the discus leaving the substrate alone in the pots?


Actually yes! It's just so much easier with the needs of Discus. I do 80%+ water changes every day and now I can be sure that all of tue food waste is taken up. I still have a small 10 gallon that I want to start another substrate tank with, but unfortunately the lighting isn't up to par right now.


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

New pics!


----------



## Chillwill007

Wow the tank looks nice and the fish look even better. Bin waiting for some new pics


----------



## HUMAN1ESS

Chillwill007 said:


> Wow the tank looks nice and the fish look even better. Bin waiting for some new pics


Thanks, yea it's been a while. I have been spending a lot of time on simplydiscus learning about these fish. I absolutely love them.


----------



## jrman83

What happened to the substrate? Didn't you already have a planted substrate?


----------



## saltydad

Interesting concept.


----------



## ClinicaTerra

The OP's tank is the EXACT 60 gallon Marineland we recently purchased (as a complete "Heartland Ensemble" kit)! 

This thing is so high and tall and narrow though, it's nearly impossible to aquascape or theme; it's even harder to clean...

This is the LAST time I get a "high-over-long/deep" tank again...


----------



## whitetiger61

jrman83 said:


> What happened to the substrate? Didn't you already have a planted substrate?


I totally agree..that tank need substrate and planted heavily..discus are a cichlid and will dig if they get bored..pleanty of plants they tend to not get so bored..not a big fan of bare bottom tanks.. a planted tank should look natural..like nature..i dont see many potted plants in the bottom of a stream.

Rick


----------



## ClinicaTerra

whitetiger61 said:


> I totally agree..that tank need substrate and planted heavily..discus are a cichlid and will dig if they get bored..pleanty of plants they tend to not get so bored..not a big fan of bare bottom tanks.. a planted tank should look natural..like nature..i dont see many potted plants in the bottom of a stream.
> 
> Rick


I totally agree as well, Rick; I don't care for the barebottom tanks with those flower pots as decor...I KIND of understand why fancy goldfish keepers do this, so not to make the tank so dirty because they're waste machines (I know) or so that they don't attempt to swallow substrate (I know as well), but I cannot stand the look...


----------

