My Upgraded Tank Pictures

Hello

some of you may have seen my previous 20 gal fish r fun tank and that to me looked very un-realistic with the white and black gravel.
so after a few weeks trawling through this site i got a few ideas and am currently stocking my tank sensibly unlike my previous tank.

i have chosen to go with a sand subsrate and plenty of slate rock for the back round. this provide plenty of caves for the fish to retreat to and feel safe.
ive also incorprated alot of bog wood and silk/fake plants to give alot of cover for the fishes
the top part of the tank is so the fishes can stretch there fins and will provide plenty of swim room.

the tank is an aqua one regency 80 tank which is 180L and is pretty tall so the following is currently stocked with

1 silver shark (which needs to be rehome) any offers?
6 rainbows (the praecox ones) which i plant to increase to about 10-12
1 male black molly - which will be increased with 2 females
4 corys (mixed which will be increased to 6)
2 red rams (sex unknown yet)

i will also be adding in 2 young angel fishes or keyhole cichlids
and maybe 2 kulli loaches.

so once finished it will have a plain blue backround
10-12 rainbows
2 angel fishes
3 black mollys
2 red rams
5-6 corys
2 kulli loaces

let me know what you guys think

you oppinion matters
thanks

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it would lok far better with a background in my opinion. I think they draw your atention to the contentas of the tank rathr than whats behind.

Other than that it looks spot on, why don;t you try some real plants like vallis?

i wouldnt add a back ground, what i would due is fix a 15 watt tube to the back rim of the tank with a reflector pointing down so you get a clear background that is illuminated, looks very cool

WOW very nice tank. Looking gr8

thanks for all the input.

i was thinking of adding a plain blue back round to finish it off and highlight just the rockery n wood contents.
to be honest i want to add real plants but am not 100% on how to set live plants all up. such as the substrate and lighting and ive heard about the co2 systems.

if i could add plants that have minimal care and wouldnt need to add extras such as fertilizer or anything like that then i would love to. how easy are vallis to look after

thanks for the comments

oh and i will take the other idea on board regarding the 15 watt tube, sounds like a good idea.

at the mo the hood of the tank has a clear white lamp and at the front a more purplier tube. i only use the purple one to light the tank as i find the brightest lamp isnt too good on the fishes.

so i could use the brighter lamp and use that to highlight the backround. i will post any updated pics of it.

quick question. this tank is 70cm high (not including the wood surround around the hood of the tank) . is this too high for corys as mine seem to go up for a breathe of air and by the time there down they go back up.

thanks

whats wrong with using both lamps? you may as well use them both, turn one on and then 20 mins later the other

WOW ... loving the depth of your tank ... looks great!!

I'd go with a plain background like you said, either blue or black look best imo

reason why i have chosen not to use both is because i find with both it looks too bright as it reflects of the sand.

are fishes ok with bright lights?

thanks

superman1 said:

reason why i have chosen not to use both is because i find with both it looks too bright as it reflects of the sand.

are fishes ok with bright lights?

thanks

Click to expand...

perfectly ok

If you do get the khuli loaches you should definitely get more than 2, they don't add much to the bioload and they need at least 4 to feel comfortable.

As far as easy plants go you should look into java fern, java moss, egeria densa, hygrophilia polysperma and vallis as people have mentioned.

superman, if you're planning on getting a solid coloured background for your tank, i highly recommend black
this is because it bring a more dramatic effect to the tank, as it were, and intesifies the colours a lot more.

i second that fish are ok with bright lights. however, do keep in mind that they havent been blessed with eye lids lol so they have to scurry away to a shadowed place where as we could simply close our eyes when the curtains are undrawn first thing in the morning so, if you were planning on going with truckasaurus' idea of using both bulbs, go with the plan of turning one on and then the other 20 minutes later so they can adjust

as for the tank...it looks brilliant. what would bring it to a complete, i must add, would be more plants, living or plastic.

pink.

pinkdolphin_113 said:

superman, if you're planning on getting a solid coloured background for your tank, i highly recommend black
this is because it bring a more dramatic effect to the tank, as it were, and intesifies the colours a lot more.

i second that fish are ok with bright lights. however, do keep in mind that they havent been blessed with eye lids lol so they have to scurry away to a shadowed place where as we could simply close our eyes when the curtains are undrawn first thing in the morning so, if you were planning on going with truckasaurus' idea of using both bulbs, go with the plan of turning one on and then the other 20 minutes later so they can adjust

as for the tank...it looks brilliant. what would bring it to a complete, i must add, would be more plants, living or plastic.

pink.

Click to expand...

the only problem with black though wouldnt that make the tank look really dull. that was the only thing putting me off getting that. i do have a backround but it has photos of plants on and didnt want to use that as it looked too fake. although on the other side it is gloss, would matt be better.

the eyelide problem was exactly what i was thinking. any suggestions on a tall living plant that would fill the space on the left hand side. but would be fine with a sandy substrate.

thanks

most fish dont have eyelids do they?

superman1 said:

the only problem with black though wouldnt that make the tank look really dull.

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you'd think so, but it really doesn't. it really brings out the interior colour of the tank, such as plants and fish. lighter coloured back grounds tend to make tanks look duller for some reason. its strange. but at the end of the day its what you prefer to try. you could always experiment if the back the tank is easy to access.

truckasauras123 said:

most fish dont have eyelids do they?

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no, i think. not a single species of fish has eyes lids...theres just no need for them as eyes lids are to distribute moisture around the exposed part of the eye. fish are underwater so this isnt necessary lol

pink.