Bored with my freshwater tanks

Whipples

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You could do discus! I miss my freshwater planted tank for the aesthetic and schooling community fish. With what I've learned in salt water and some of the tricks like sumps, I may try and get a custom discus tank to add to the mix! So many color morphs and they get to be 5-8" across!
 
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You could do discus! I miss my freshwater planted tank for the aesthetic and schooling community fish. With what I've learned in salt water and some of the tricks like sumps, I may try and get a custom discus tank to add to the mix! So many color morphs and they get to be 5-8" across!

Discus are SO stunningly beautiful but I know I just won't be able to keep up on the frequent water changes and such for them. [emoji31]
 

reeferfoxx

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I keep a 20 long freshwater tank. Right now it's packed with plants. I'll admit too that it's not as fascinating as reef tanks but the contrast between blue and green is nice to have. So for that, I keep both but the freshwater is an another room. I do however get bored with the same aquascape so for me the freshwater gets changed up about once every 2 years. In fact, I'm working on planted island surrounded with sand now. However, instead of having luminaire lighting across the tank, I'm going with a pendant style light for the island only so the shimmer can run across the sand and keep algae at a minimum.
 
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I keep a 20 long freshwater tank. Right now it's packed with plants. I'll admit too that it's not as fascinating as reef tanks but the contrast between blue and green is nice to have. So for that, I keep both but the freshwater is an another room. I do however get bored with the same aquascape so for me the freshwater gets changed up about once every 2 years. In fact, I'm working on planted island surrounded with sand now. However, instead of having luminaire lighting across the tank, I'm going with a pendant style light for the island only so the shimmer can run across the sand and keep algae at a minimum.

That sounds really cool! I've never seen that before.
 

reeferfoxx

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Omg. So nice! How do you guys do this?? Every time I attempt even low light plants, they die. I have two pathetic little ones clinging to life in my 72 freshwater [emoji23]
I use rodi water with added equilibrium for minerals. I keep my ph low and dGH between 4 and 7. I dose cms+boron daily with glutaraldehyde. 50% water change every 2 to 3 weeks.
 

Yuki Rihwa

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I just tired to do 500G water change each week for freshwater....So I stick with saltwater and 10% WC each week, never look back into FW.
 

hart24601

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Here is my 180 discus tank with 18 of them. Automatic daily water changes with ro/di around 20% daily. Grew them from 2” to 6” in under a year.

I like reefing but always go back to FW.

Kessil lights apex controller... the works.

B1604EBE-2F7A-4A42-8369-F2FCE5A6E36D.jpeg
 
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Waters

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Omg. So nice! How do you guys do this?? Every time I attempt even low light plants, they die. I have two pathetic little ones clinging to life in my 72 freshwater [emoji23]
The key to freshwater plants is CO2 injection and balancing ferts with lighting. Like reef tanks it is a delicate balance. If anything gets out of equilibrium you get a ton of algae growth and plant die off. I actually think freshwater planted tanks are more demanding than reef tanks lol. Are you using low light plants like Java Ferns? Those are pretty tough to kill :)
 
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Here is my 180 discus tank with 18 of them. Automatic daily water changes with ro/di around 20% daily. Grew them from 2” to 6” in under a year.

I like reefing but always go back to FW.

Kessil lights apex controller... the works.

B1604EBE-2F7A-4A42-8369-F2FCE5A6E36D.jpeg

Wowww...that is a jaw-dropping tank! Gorgeous!
 
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TikiBird

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I use rodi water with added equilibrium for minerals. I keep my ph low and dGH between 4 and 7. I dose cms+boron daily with glutaraldehyde. 50% water change every 2 to 3 weeks.

This would explain why I do not have success with this...I am too lazy for that! [emoji23] Wonderful job.
 
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TikiBird

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The key to freshwater plants is CO2 injection and balancing ferts with lighting. Like reef tanks it is a delicate balance. If anything gets out of equilibrium you get a ton of algae growth and plant die off. I actually think freshwater planted tanks are more demanding than reef tanks lol. Are you using low light plants like Java Ferns? Those are pretty tough to kill :)

Haha! I was just thinking that!! I think the only two plants I have left are a Java fern and an anubias. Gonna change up my aquascape in there and might just make everything plastic. lol!
 

reeferfoxx

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This would explain why I do not have success with this...I am too lazy for that! [emoji23] Wonderful job.
Lol. It's really not difficult. The Seachem equilibrium is mixed into the water change. Instead of cups of salt its tablespoons. The cms+b is premixed in a dosing container like phytoplankton comes and glut is dosed via a cap full. I don't test anything ever. Well except for dGH when doing bi-weekly water changes. In fact if it wasn't for feeding the fish, I'd probably forget I had the tank. Well that sounded bad. I just mean its super low maintenance for a planted tank.
 
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Lol. It's really not difficult. The Seachem equilibrium is mixed into the water change. Instead of cups of salt its tablespoons. The cms+b is premixed in a dosing container like phytoplankton comes and glut is dosed via a cap full. I don't test anything ever. Well except for dGH when doing bi-weekly water changes. In fact if it wasn't for feeding the fish, I'd probably forget I had the tank. Well that sounded bad. I just mean its super low maintenance for a planted tank.

Haha! [emoji23] Still sounds complicated to me! Maybe I’ll try planted in my Betta tank before I attempt killing tons of plants in the big one....
 

riche

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The issue I have with Freshwater and why Im pulling the plug on all 40 of my tanks, is there are to many fish out there that I want to keep. There are to many different types of scapes also.

If I wasn't going to set my 90 gallon up as a mixed reef( the wife and kids want it as much as I do), I would do a hi-tech fulley planted tank with more plants then fish. Doing a carpet grass and mixing in red plants really adds to teh look.

A all green planted tank with just a sand substrate is boring and to dark. You add a carpet grass and a very creative scape you can get a very breath taking freshwater tank.

All my tanks I have set up now are for growing out fish to sell and that's a tough way to enjoy the hobby, so after 5 years I'm getting rid of all of them.

Once reef tank and thats it.

I do have a fluvel Edge pico tank with the light and filter centered in the middle I might set up as a low teck planted tank with some shrimp but my cats like water so I might have to pass on it since its a open top
 

hart24601

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Dang... 40 tanks. I would probably get out of the hobby in general if I had that many. It’s all wet pets in boxes!
 
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