25 Gallon Planted Angel Tank

So I have become a compulsive classified ad checker now, and I found a really good deal on a 25 gallon high tank with an eclipse lid and so my wife let me buy it. I have heard that because of the design of the hoods they aren't great planted tanks, but I decided to do some DIY alterations to get it working. So, I popped a whole in the hood where I had about 4 inches of space and put two spiral compact fluorescents in there and used some PVC to rig an outflow that wouldn't cause surface agitation on the filter. With a Co2 diffusor that I made out of a powerhead and gravel vac, i started getting some pretty good Co2 levels. I moved the growing angelfish from my 20 and brought the corys too, and then a couple weeks later added some Harlequin Rasboras and some bigger ghost shrimp. The guy that I bought the tank from had gravel too, so i layered fluorite in between. I got some malaysian driftwood from someone off of KSL classifieds and it all started to come together for a lot cheaper than my other setup.

November 18, 2009



I got sick of the old scape, so I found some rocks and pulled all of the plants out, and replanted. It makes the tank look bigger, more space for fish to swim and the composition seems better put-together (thanks to my artist wife who never spares me her opinion). I think it looks way better.

October 17, 2009

Did some trimming of the ludwigia. Got rid of one of the melon swords cause they weren't doing well and to give the rotala more light. The ludwigia glandulosa wasn't doing well either so i put it into my 20.

October 8, 2009

Got a new angelfish from a friend and I repositioned some plants and transfered some from the 20. I took the sagitaria, vallesneria, red myrio, and put in bacopa, and a big bunch of rotala indica. I moved the melon sword to the right to hide the equipment better and moved the ludwigia glandulosa over to the left. I also got rid of the piece of rock i had in there for more room for some stems.

October 5, 2009

Going to need to redo some placement soon, things are growing well

October 1, 2009

The L. Repens has grown a good 6-8" in a little over 2 weeks time. The vals and crypts have melted a little, but I have heard once they adjust to the new water parameters they really take off. It is finally starting to block the view of the filter and Co2 diffusor.

September 26, 2009

Put in the rest of the shipment from Sweetaquatics.com. Some different variations of Valisneria, Dwarf Sagittaria, Red Myrio, L. Glandulosa, Kleiner Bar Sword, Dwarf Hairgrass, Nesea Pedicellata, Cryptocoryne Undulata, and Narrowleaf Java Fern.

September 22, 2009

The L. Repens really has taken off and everything is coming in all right, just the equipment really bugs me.

September 15, 2009

I picked up some Ludwigia Repens, which did really well in my other tank, and the more difficult Ludwigia Glandulosa to test my luck. I also transferred one of my Anubias' to this tank.

September 12, 2009

Just planted a bunch of swords, some crypts, and java moss with some clippings of rotala from the other tank in the back. You can see the PVC at the top getting some good water circulation around the tank. The equipment is unsightly, but when things grow in, hopefully you won't notice it as much.