# My juvenile 40-long



## Fuzz (Jan 27, 2012)

okay, so i found a 40 long at the LFS and couldn't pass it up. it has the exact same footprint as a regular 55, but the rim sits down lower(perfect for getting light down there). I bought some plants from AquariumPlants.com and got way more than i expected. My tank isn't necessarily overloaded, but I see myself second guessing my method of attack(oh that looks cool. that looks cool. that looks cool, etc.) Not really worried about light, but I'm somewhat concerned about my co2 and my ferts. Anyways, here we go.

Still new to the planted tank thing, but it all seems to be going fairly well as of now.

-Lighting : 48" Coralife dual T5 HO fixture with a 10,000k and a 6700K.(both HO) Thinking about changing the 10,000k to a pink bulb or another 6700k. 108 watts gives me 2.7 wpg

-Co2 : somewhere between 1-2 BPS diffused by a Hagen mini elite. I haven't seen my fish gasping, so I might bump it up higher. I recently got a co2 drop checker, but I'm not sure if i installed it right. Do I use tank water for the solution, or fresh water?

-Ferts : API co2 booster(as directed), MacroMicro mix from aquariumfertilizer.com, and recently added root medic capsules. Also running Flourite as a substrate.

-Plants : Ammannia Senegalensis, Cabomba Purple, Ludwigia Peruensis, Rotala Wallichii, Telanthera Rosefolia, Cryptocoryne Undulatus, Amazon Sword, Anubias Barteri, Dwarf Four Leaf Clover, A red tiger lotus, A banana plant, and some kind of Sagittaria.

-Fish : 2 of those new green Glofish Tetras(not the danios), 1 Rainbow Shark, 2 Flag Cichlids, 1 German Blue Ram, 2 Otos, 2 Turqoise rainbowfish, 13 Dwarf Rainbowfish, 1 Powder Blue Gourami, 1 Opalescent Gourami. I know the fish load is pretty high, but I'm doing 20% water changes 2 times a week and my water parameters are good.

Now, all of my plants seem to have been grown emersed because they're all green, even though I bought mostly red plants. I know this is normal and it takes a while for the change. How long does it normally take? I think I'm going into week 3 with some of them now and they're starting to change a little, but not a lot. I'm pulling off the leaves that look bad as I go and keeping an eye on them. 

Lights are on for 10 hours every day. Co2 used to be on for the same amount of time, but I think I might have it go 24 hours and see how it goes. I might start dosing a little heavier on the fertilizers, too. I don't seem to have any algae growth.

Here's some pics. I'll probably move stuff around as the plants start to grow and mature and I get to see what they really look like submerged. A lot of the plants either looked really bad after the first week or I pulled them to try emersed growth for a while to get some root structure. Anyways, we will see how it goes. Like I said, I'm still new to this whole thing and it's more of an experiment right now. Any tips/suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!


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