Tank is home!

It wasn't that much more expensive than the 'off the peg' tanks, but it meant I got what I wanted. It's made from 10 mm glass instead of 6 mm like the tank it replaced, and with an optiwhite front panel. The stand is a lot more substantial than the ones that come with ready made tanks. I also had my choice of filter, heater and lighting, whereas ready built tanks in the UK come with the manufacturer's choice of filter etc


My previous, slightly smaller tank had a plastic bracer bar from the front to the back which was integrated into the trim. The back edge came unstuck and the glass started to bow. It was a good excuse to get a new bigger tank and being paranoid about bowing tanks by this point, the thicker glass was another advantage

essjay said:

It wasn't that much more expensive than the 'off the peg' tanks, but it meant I got what I wanted. It's made from 10 mm glass instead of 6 mm like the tank it replaced, and with an optiwhite front panel. The stand is a lot more substantial than the ones that come with ready made tanks. I also had my choice of filter, heater and lighting, whereas ready built tanks in the UK come with the manufacturer's choice of filter etc


My previous, slightly smaller tank had a plastic bracer bar from the front to the back which was integrated into the trim. The back edge came unstuck and the glass started to bow. It was a good excuse to get a new bigger tank and being paranoid about bowing tanks by this point, the thicker glass was another advantage

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How did ya I find the company who built it?

A few UK members made posts about the company being good so I googled them, liked what I saw and ordered a tank I've had it five and a half years and am still very pleased with it.

https://ndaquatics.co.uk/

My lobelia cardinalis died and so I removed it. Everything else looks good, new growth on most of my plants. Marble queen is melting a little bit, not sure if I am doing something wrong with it, it’s the only one still showing signs of melt. It also has new leaves coming in so not too worried about it. Java fern is taking over my fake log and my Anubias Barteri is attached to one of my drift wood pieces and doing really well. I decided on tiger barbs and will be picking them up soon. Starting to get a little antsy now that I’m nearing the finish line. I also added a sunsun skimmer for some oil removal, circulation and aeration to the side with the heater. I’ve been doing partial water changes on it as I’m still getting a little bit of tannin release from the driftwood and want the water to be a bit clearer. Will take pictures again as soon as I get the water more clear and less pee like.

Lobelia is a garden plant that rots when kept under water.

Kritastrophe said:

Will take pictures again as soon as I get the water more clear and less pee like.

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I would love to see pictures!

Colin_T said:

Lobelia is a garden plant that rots when kept under water.

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Yea I see it sold all the time as an aquatic plant, but clearly I had zero luck with it. Ha ha.

I see it at pet shops all the time too, it annoys the hell out of me.

A quick way to see if the aquarium plant you are buying is a true aquatic or a marsh plant, is to lift the plant out of water. If the plant collapses under its own weight then it is a true aquatic. If the plant stands upright and looks like a branch from a tree or shrub, then it's either a marsh or terrestrial plant.
Examples of true aquatic plants include Elodia, Vallis, Ambulia and Cabomba. Although Ambulia, Cabomba and Elodia can be grown out of water as long as the roots don't dry out.

Marsh plants live in areas where there is lots of wet soil and some do quite well when submerged underwater. Good examples are Amazon sword plants and Hygrophilas. Marsh plants are terrestrial plants for about 6 months of the year during the dry season, but develop underwater leaves during the wet season.

Then you get common garden plants being sold as aquarium plants and these just rot when put underwater. Common examples include purple waffle (Hemigraphis alternate), lobelia, lizard tongue/ tail (Saururus cernuus), irises, bamboo, peace lily (Spathiphyllum sp.).

Put aquaclear 70 on tank as marineland 350b started making a periodic horrible sound and I already tried cleaning out propeller and messing with the j intake hook among other things with no success. I’m still keeping the marineland 350b on the tank as I don’t want to remove any good bacteria and I threw in cycled foam in the aqua clear as well (which I feel like that might already make it safe to remove the 350b?). My readings are ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 5. Is it safe to remove 350b now or should I wait for the aqua clear filter to establish for a certain amount of time before I can just remove the marineland 350b? My replacement parts for the sunsun 304b will be here mid September and that will be running in addition to the aquaclear so I’m hoping to remove the marineland by then.

It’s almost done! Have some more plants and rocks coming in to fill out the foreground. Inhabitants are 12 tiger barbs, 8 green Cory, Plucky the BN pleco, and George A “Romero” the blue ram. Ive had them for a while but was waiting to make sure they were all healthy etc before posting pictures. The blue ram was a gift from my lfs when I went to clean him out of all his tiger barbs (literally). I was a little hesitant about Romero getting along with everyone and being happy as a solo ram. He has been amazing and getting along with everyone and vice versa he’s very curious about everything especially when I have rearranged or my hand is in his space. My lfs had warned me that he may not eat for a little while until he was used to his new digs. That was not the case for him. He started eating the night I took him home and will eat anything and everything including shrimp pellets for the Cories, algae wafer for the pleco, frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, cichlids pellets, flake food. Also got the replacement parts for the sunsun hw304b and it’s up and running with a new uv bulb in addition to the aquaclear 70 and I also have a sunsun skimmer. I did remove two plants to add to my other tanks. I’ve been loving my tank and am looking forward to filling out the foreground with more plants, and some rocks. It’s not yet where I’d want it if I was to enter tank of the month. Maybe in a couple months. Ha ha.