Hi all...
Well, I decided to start a new journal: My Old Journal
My tank looked like this: (but suffered a pretty awful wipeout)
And then i totally revamped it to look like this:
It was a 240 litre Juwel Tank to the following spec -
Lighting: 4 x 38w T8
Filter: Fluval 205
Substrate: Silica Grit
Substrate Ferts: Laterite mixed with compost and JBL Floropol
C02: Homemade Diy C02 with Ehiem pump / reactor
The tank did really, really well - no algae and rampant plant growth.
.... and therein lies the problem.
The plants were growing so well that i felt like is was always having to take the lid off and prune them to make it look good. This might not sound like much of a chore, but when you've crammed 4 lights and reflectors into a juwel hood with the assoicated clips and wires - it becomes a tough call to do it every few days.
Eventually I decided a rethink was in order
I decided that as beautiful as my tank looked, I've always kept fish to see them... and they were the focus of my hobby... not pruning!
So, I've reduced the light in the tank by half, and removed a most of the plants - the tank now has a steadily growing 'wall' of valis along the back, and really healthy groups of crypts in the mid-ground - there's also a large onion plant to the left foregound with a strategically placed 300lph pump wafting it's leaves across the top of the tank. The idea is to make it look like a river... The tank has the same nutrient-rch substrate so the undemanding plants i've left in there are doing really well. There's No C02 since i halved the amount of light.
The decor is now a large piece of bogwood, and a low 'wall' of purple slate pieces running it's way the entire length of the tank.
I've increased the fish stock too:
Tank currently holds:
4 Angelfish (1 common, 2 marble, 1 silver)
3 silver sharks
1 algae eater
5 cherry barbs
1 baby common plec
asst platies - angelfish are not doing a good job of thinning out the young it seems!
Ammonia and Nitrite are Zero
Nitrate a steady 25pmm - lower than my tap water!
PH = 7.6
hardness = can't remember, but 'hard'!
The fluval 205 filter is being replaced with a eheim 2217 this week - as since i've added the silver sharks there water has been slightly cloudy as the sharks spend a large amount of time shifting through the surface of the sand. it's exposed the fact the the fluval is probably a bit too small now the stock is higher.
I've chosen the 'classic' range because they are really cheap on ebay (2217 = £69 delivered), and hence they are a lot of tested quality for the buck. Also, they are the only filter aroung ATM that makes the water pass through the entire canister - i.e. the water enters at the bottom and there's no possible by pass.
New Pics Apologies about the awful quality - camera phone.
Anyway, Hope you're all well!
I'm looking for ideas of what fish to add next... weird as it seems, i've never had a community tank like this before - always kept cichlids in the past.
So, what fish would you add to my set up?
As ever, all comments welcome.
Well, I decided to start a new journal: My Old Journal
My tank looked like this: (but suffered a pretty awful wipeout)
And then i totally revamped it to look like this:
It was a 240 litre Juwel Tank to the following spec -
Lighting: 4 x 38w T8
Filter: Fluval 205
Substrate: Silica Grit
Substrate Ferts: Laterite mixed with compost and JBL Floropol
C02: Homemade Diy C02 with Ehiem pump / reactor
The tank did really, really well - no algae and rampant plant growth.
.... and therein lies the problem.
The plants were growing so well that i felt like is was always having to take the lid off and prune them to make it look good. This might not sound like much of a chore, but when you've crammed 4 lights and reflectors into a juwel hood with the assoicated clips and wires - it becomes a tough call to do it every few days.
Eventually I decided a rethink was in order
I decided that as beautiful as my tank looked, I've always kept fish to see them... and they were the focus of my hobby... not pruning!
So, I've reduced the light in the tank by half, and removed a most of the plants - the tank now has a steadily growing 'wall' of valis along the back, and really healthy groups of crypts in the mid-ground - there's also a large onion plant to the left foregound with a strategically placed 300lph pump wafting it's leaves across the top of the tank. The idea is to make it look like a river... The tank has the same nutrient-rch substrate so the undemanding plants i've left in there are doing really well. There's No C02 since i halved the amount of light.
The decor is now a large piece of bogwood, and a low 'wall' of purple slate pieces running it's way the entire length of the tank.
I've increased the fish stock too:
Tank currently holds:
4 Angelfish (1 common, 2 marble, 1 silver)
3 silver sharks
1 algae eater
5 cherry barbs
1 baby common plec
asst platies - angelfish are not doing a good job of thinning out the young it seems!
Ammonia and Nitrite are Zero
Nitrate a steady 25pmm - lower than my tap water!
PH = 7.6
hardness = can't remember, but 'hard'!
The fluval 205 filter is being replaced with a eheim 2217 this week - as since i've added the silver sharks there water has been slightly cloudy as the sharks spend a large amount of time shifting through the surface of the sand. it's exposed the fact the the fluval is probably a bit too small now the stock is higher.
I've chosen the 'classic' range because they are really cheap on ebay (2217 = £69 delivered), and hence they are a lot of tested quality for the buck. Also, they are the only filter aroung ATM that makes the water pass through the entire canister - i.e. the water enters at the bottom and there's no possible by pass.
New Pics Apologies about the awful quality - camera phone.
Anyway, Hope you're all well!
I'm looking for ideas of what fish to add next... weird as it seems, i've never had a community tank like this before - always kept cichlids in the past.
So, what fish would you add to my set up?
As ever, all comments welcome.