Amanda's 55g ~~tons & Tons Of Pics!

[ICEEGRL]

I ended up not using the white.
If it did raise my ph... It would probably be ok, because mine runs low anyway. If I add co2 for my plants I am afraid that it may dip too low. I am going to have to keep an eye on that.
I used to have some bags of shells that I would put in the tanks to help keep the water from being so acidic.

 

[ICEEGRL]

I am excited. I am getting some plants from llj. I can't wait. Her plants are so pretty. They are going in this tank and my daughters tank.
Now we have to figure out how to arrange them in Shay's tank. It is the bow front. I have found it really hard to arrange where it doesn't look odd. Shay says that she knows how she wants it. I guess we will see. She tells me how she wants it, and I help her get things in place. She makes most of the decisions for her tank though. I figure that is a good way for her to learn. She is only 4, but she is learning right along with me. I figure if she is going to have a tank... she should know how everything works and how to take care of it. She has surprised several people with how much she really does know. Children learn so fast if you take the time to teach them.
The snail plants went in the 29g. just incase I accidentally missed any of them. I am watching the tank to see if any signs of snails appear. I haven't seen anything so far. A few of the plants have sort of melted though. I may have had the bleach a little too strong. Most of them are trying to perk up though. I hope they can make it. They are in the only tank with decent light and I am giving them ferts and stuff to try to help them some. I guess we will see in a few weeks what is left.
Right after I added the plants my c. aeneus started spawning. I keep seeing a few new eggs everytime I go through there. I just can't get to them before the cardinals and danios. They are still doing it though so maybe I will get a few.
I have moved 6 of the largest peppers and 10 of the danios to the 55g. That gave the 29g. a little relief. It is still way overstocked though. I am going to try to start getting more of them moved, but I don't want to do it too fast. The 55g isn't cycled yet. It has been running and it has a fairly decent amount of plants so I hope it will be ok. I just don't want to push it too fast. Also I am still working on the 55g so I don't want too many fish in there to have to deal with.
It is going fairly good so far I think. I just have to get the path streightened out. I am not happy with it looking messy at the edges. I find myself in there every day trying to clean up the edges. I can't help myself. I just can't leave it like that.
Everytime I clean the path I revisit the idea of a fake path. I may make a pattern and try making one to see what it would look like. If I put sides on it that go into the substrate it should look really close to the real thing. It would sure make maintenance easier.
Thanks

 

[ICEEGRL]

I had to go to town to get some compression gloves. While I was there I got a few tubes of silicone. I am going to play with a pattern for a fake path tomorrow. I keep thinking that it will work. I am going to try it and see. I think if I give it sides and ends that go down into the substrate it should look like the real thing.
Any thoughts?

Thanks for looking/helping

 

[ICEEGRL]

This is turning out to be a lot harder than I thought.

How do make a pattern of the size and shape of a path already in a tank?

You can't draw it and I tried to lay net over it and cut out the shape... That wasn't even funny! I almost fell in! My arms are not long enough for both to get in there to the bottom at once without my head going too! I am short with short arms. What do I do?

Please help me figure out how to do this.
Thanks

 

[ICEEGRL]

Anyone?
Please...

 

[Dave Spencer]

I`m not entirely sure what your intentions for the path are, Amanda.

Personally, I would have just gone for a sand or fine gravel path lined with moss covered stones to keep it separate.

Dave.

 

[ICEEGRL]

I can't stand for things to look dirty or out of place. I love the path, but I need it to stay in its place and not mix with the other. Since I can't manage that with the real path... I was going to make a fake one by using silicone and attaching sand or gravel to plastic or something that I could just lay on top of the other substrate. Then it would stay in place and could be easily taken out to be cleaned and placed back.
I finally got my pattern made. I even gave it sides that folded down to push into the substrate so that it would stay down and look real on the sides and ends.
The problem I found was that the silicone won't stick to the plastic very well. When it dries it peels right off! It doesn't look very good either. I may have to get some hard plastic or glass that I can rough up so it will stick better.
I may even get a big flower pot and try to bust it in big pieces and see if that will work to get the shape. I could silicone the pieces in the path shape and cover it with the gravel or sand.
I am just desperately seeking a way to eliminate the messy look!
That is what I am trying to do... eliminate the messy look!

Any and all ideas on how to make it work are much appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[ICEEGRL]

The plants came from llj
They are cooling as we speak. They got really hot so I have them slowly cooling in bowls everywhere.
She don't play... There are tons of them! I am so excited! I know what I will be doing very soon... and for several hours!

Thanks llj! They look great! (considering the heat) I think they will all perk back up pretty good.
Bonus plants for days...

Will it be best to let them sit in the bowls overnight, or should I plant them today?

How do you plant the bulbitis? Does it go on wood or what?

 

[lljdma06]

Sorry I couldn't check earlier. I've been gone all day, my C. pulcher came in, and I've been very tired. You should plant today, if you can.

 

[ICEEGRL]

Hopefully there will be new pics this evening... I am still working on them. I have to finish up. I only have 1 tank completely finished so far.
This is a lot of work.
I love it though.

 

[ICEEGRL]

I ended up putting most of the plants for this tank in the 29g while I hunt better lights. The tank they are in has 3x the light this tank does.
I have got to find some stronger lights! I only have about .5wpg right now. That isn't enough to even see the fish well. I hope to find some decent lights and get them ordered tomorrow. The trick is finding some that I can afford. These things cost way too much!
On top of that the co2 kit is going to be almost 30.00 for just one! I thought they were cheaper than that. I am going to have to make do with just one for now.
When I get it... where does it go in the tank?
Anyone have a pic of the positioning?
If there is just one... will the plants on the other side of the tank even know that it is there?

I am going to try to get a nap. I have a long day ahead of me...

 

[john starkey]

Hi Amanda, to help you with the path you are trying to create have a look on the Takashi amano web site www.adana.co.jp then click english, it has loads of creative info. regards john

 

[ICEEGRL]

Thanks. I will check it out.
I have a post in the planted section below about lights... Please check it out and give suggestions. I need to get stronger lights for this tank. I would like to get up between 1 1/2 and 2 wpg. The problem is that my money is limited. I have to find lighting that is reasonably priced.

Thank You so much!

 

[ICEEGRL]

I went to that site, but all I found were links to order stuff. I didn't see a way to get to any real info on that site. Am I missing something?

 

[ICEEGRL]

Ok... the tank is about to lose the path! I can't keep it clean and neat without doing it twice a day! I am going to pull the gravel, and fill in the space with more of the plant substrate. I found some pics where they created the illusion of a path with the plant layout. That looked ok, and would be much easier to manage.
I didn't get to the water changes this weekend. I was mowing all weekend. My riding mower quit and it takes 3 days to do it with a push mower. If I am able to move tomorrow I will try to get the water changes done. I will rearrange things then. If I am too sore... I will get to it as soon as I am able to function again.

I have a question about the wood placement though. Should it point to the front, back, center or sides of the tank if one end is higher than the other?

I have not gotten my lights ordered yet. I did find some that I can afford, but I don't know which to get. I posted a link and the question in the lighting thread in planted section. check it out and help me if you can. I need to order asap, but I am still waiting on an answer so I can. I don't want to guess on this one.
Thanks!