My Very First Tank...

[RCA]

You'll have so many tanks soon RCA you'll have to move out to make room! lol

Ha, I also picked up a new Hexagonal one on Sunday  They are to replace existing tanks which I do not like as much, so although bigger I do not have to live in the shed - yet!  My little gravel washer nephew is visiting tomorrow, so hopefully we will get on some more with the project 

 although which project!?

 

[Iwantsomefish]

Thanks for the update we are looking forward to seeing the progression.  If you have not already put your substrate into the aquarium, if you are planning live plants I would recommend a base layer for the plants, like the JBL Pro-Flora.  I am glad you went with a dark substrate, I think this will show the fish off better for you.  Not familiar with the one you have selected so will be interesting seeing how it turns out.
 
What is a "cool cave", can you put a link to it?
 
Guess what, I picked up a black version of your 46L for £20, so watch this space, so many projects, so little time

 
I would but it's not with me yet. I put the order in a few days back and Amazon are taking their time to dispatch for some reason, should be here by Wed I think. The Roman one was well rated on Amazon - i have quite a bit of Amazon gift credit to use on my account so I'm trying to use it to buy all my fish supplies - so hopefull it will work fine when it does arrive.
 
With the gravel will come some foreground and background plants. I also ordered another type of foreground plant off ebay bit of a bargain - 5 Marina plants for £6.00 - silk ones. They did arrive today and look ok.
 
Wow - £20: bargain - ebay? Gumtree? Used I assume... I did um and ah about getting a cheap one off ebay but decided to have peace of mind with a new one even if it did cost me a pretty penny or two (or hundeds)...
 
Haha - 'cool cave' makes me sound like a teenager-  if you google Classic rocky ledge it should come up. Best suited to a wider/longer tank I think but I'll see how it looks once in. Can't wait for the other bits to arrive so /i can set it up properly....!
 
What are you putting in your FE 46? Is the FE you have now a 23l?

 

[RCA]

Wow - £20: bargain - ebay? Gumtree? Used I assume...

£20 from a secret source, someone no longer required it basically, I had been waiting awhile to see if they would get rid of it.  The light unit is not 100% hence the cheap price, but to be honest it is fine for the time being, it is mainly the blue that is faulty and I would generally not use that anyway.  I am just waiting for the replacement transformer which was recalled on this model!
 

What are you putting in your FE 46? Is the FE you have now a 23l?

A Betta of course

 He is in an Aquaone 320 and I do not like it, I bought it for all the wrong reasons, to save some fish in it, which I promptly re-homed!  So the 46L will give him more space, although I will keep the water level low in it for him.  I actually wanted to get a white one as it will be in the bedroom, however, although I considered spraying it I have decided to leave it as is, and maybe only change the colour of the lid at a later date if needs be.  My reasoning is that I think the black column will hide the hardware better possibly?  For the price I cannot complain.
 
I Googled "cool cave" before as I thought it was a brand, not your name for it 

 Is this your cool cave?  Classic Ornamental Rocky Ledge
 
Yes, I also have a 23L in burnt orange, which looks great in the kitchen.  It has this fish in it.
 
TIP: I have a piece of bog-wood leaning up against the intake for the filter, that ensures that nothing gets sucked up it, or stuck to it if ill.  I did have the pre-filter sponge on initially, but I found it got clogged easily, slowing the filter down and thus the debris was not getting into the filter as expected.

 
 
​Looking forward to seeing your progression in pictures

 

 

[Iwantsomefish]

Wow - £20: bargain - ebay? Gumtree? Used I assume...

£20 from a secret source, someone no longer required it basically, I had been waiting awhile to see if they would get rid of it.  The light unit is not 100% hence the cheap price, but to be honest it is fine for the time being, it is mainly the blue that is faulty and I would generally not use that anyway.  I am just waiting for the replacement transformer which was recalled on this model!
 

>What are you putting in your FE 46? Is the FE you have now a 23l?

A Betta of course

 He is in an Aquaone 320 and I do not like it, I bought it for all the wrong reasons, to save some fish in it, which I promptly re-homed!  So the 46L will give him more space, although I will keep the water level low in it for him.  I actually wanted to get a white one as it will be in the bedroom, however, although I considered spraying it I have decided to leave it as is, and maybe only change the colour of the lid at a later date if needs be.  My reasoning is that I think the black column will hide the hardware better possibly?  For the price I cannot complain.
 
I Googled "cool cave" before as I thought it was a brand, not your name for it 

 Is this your cool cave?  Classic Ornamental Rocky Ledge
 
Yes, I also have a 23L in burnt orange, which looks great in the kitchen.  It has this fish in it.
 
TIP: I have a piece of bog-wood leaning up against the intake for the filter, that ensures that nothing gets sucked up it, or stuck to it if ill.  I did have the pre-filter sponge on initially, but I found it got clogged easily, slowing the filter down and thus the debris was not getting into the filter as expected.

P1080155 - Copy.JPG
 
 
​Looking forward to seeing your progression in pictures

 
 

 
That is indeed my cool cave. A parcel of Amazon bits arrived for me before I left this morning so I'll be investigating if I have time this evening or tomorrow and putting all the decs in.
 
I'll update again then.

 

[Iwantsomefish]

Hi,
 
After a slight delay as my ornament arrived broken and I had to make a replacement order, I've now tried to set up the tank decor. Everything was rinsed before being placed inside. The black gravel is very black, I'm going to see how it goes, I might try the white at some point but I'll start with black for now. I think the black goes better with the decor I've chosen but the white would match the base and top of the tank, and of course make the tank look bigger and match my room decor. Pros and cons.
 
Anyway, I've had a bit of trouble getting these silk Marina Ecosystem plants stand up as you can see from the pic, one in the right is better than the other two but they flop over so it looks a bit sprawly.
 
How does it look? Any suggestions for improvements? I want to get it right before I add the water, and heater come to think of it and start the old fishless cycle.


Woops here's the picture.

 

[Mamashack]

It's looking very nice! The plants will look better when there's water in the tank. You'll probably find you will still want to tweak everything once it's got plants and even when you've got fish in there.

 

[Iwantsomefish]

Thanks. I thought / think it looks a little bit floppy as the plants don't want to stand up, I'm kind of having to lean them against the back wall of tank and one of them held up by the cave.. I think I'll move the ones at the front back a tad so they're not right up at the front of the glass but I'm not sure if overall, with the large one it's a bit overwhelmed with 3 of the large plants at the back...

 

[Iwantsomefish]

RCA where are you?

 
I've fiddled around a tad more with the plants to see if that's any better and have also taken pictures with no light, the white light and the blue light. Looks quite good, Even without the fish especially when I turned all the room lights off. I also put the heater in which i forgot before. Keen to start filling it up with water now...
 
 

 

[RCA]

RCA where are you?

 
I've fiddled around a tad more with the plants to see if that's any better and have also taken pictures with no light, the white light and the blue light. Looks quite good, Even without the fish especially when I turned all the room lights off. I also put the heater in which i forgot before. Keen to start filling it up with water now...

Hi, sorry did not realize I was being missed  
 
It is looking good, the plants will be better with the water in as they will soften a bit.  If you feel the back of the tank is a bit full, try taking a plant out and seeing if that is better for you?  It looks fine, but I cannot see from the picture in terms of the fish swimming in there i.e. the density of the planting, can the fish get in-between the plants?  Where are you up to, have you added the water?
 
I have completed mine and it is here if you want to see it.  I will be adding a more up-to-date picture hopefully in the next few days.

 

[Iwantsomefish]

RCA where are you?

 
I've fiddled around a tad more with the plants to see if that's any better and have also taken pictures with no light, the white light and the blue light. Looks quite good, Even without the fish especially when I turned all the room lights off. I also put the heater in which i forgot before. Keen to start filling it up with water now...

Hi, sorry did not realize I was being missed

 
It is looking good, the plants will be better with the water in as they will soften a bit.  If you feel the back of the tank is a bit full, try taking a plant out and seeing if that is better for you?  It looks fine, but I cannot see from the picture in terms of the fish swimming in there i.e. the density of the planting, can the fish get in-between the plants?  Where are you up to, have you added the water?
 
I have completed mine and it is here if you want to see it.  I will be adding a more up-to-date picture hopefully in the next few days.

I hope they stand up a bit more at least; as soon as I walk away having propped them up, theyve flopped again.
 
I'm not sure - there is some space between the plants, I'll see how it goes and maybe take one out if I think the fish are having issues.
 
Well done on getting yours done so quickly and with the fancy graphics too; it's funny you've bought and set up and got fish in your tank in the time it's taken me just to get it and put deco in it ha ha.
 
I might put the water in it shortly. Pop in the dechlorine stuff, maybe turn on the heater, maybe stick some ammonia in with the little syringe. Depends how sleepy I get in the next hour and fifteen mins before I shuffle off to bed...
 
PS welcome back

 

[RCA]

The water will assist the plants in standing up.
 
Thanks re: my tank, remember though mine was a replacement for an existing tank therefore it was really just a case of an upgrade and switch over vs starting from scratch.
 
So, did you get it filled before 

 
Good to be back, will help where I can.  If ever you are missing me again, just pop me a PM with a link to your topic and I will appear as soon as I can.  Thing is weather is improving so lots to do outside, plus not so long ago I bought a Tandem Bike with a friend so often out cycling too (already cycle a lot on my own bike).  All this as well as tank maintenance, which for some reason is growing 

 

[Mamashack]

Hmm could that be because you keep getting new tanks RCA??? lol
Did you manage to get the water in last night Iwant?

 

[Shelster]

I like the look of this tank, did you decide on a type of fish in the end?

 

[Iwantsomefish]

I like the look of this tank, did you decide on a type of fish in the end?

 
Thanks, I think it is considered an aesthetically pleasing tank but it does receive a fair amount of criticism because of it's format - ie it's tall rather than long/wide and the narrow gap at the top. I can now confirm what I have oft read that doing maintenance is tricky and I have had Fluval Edge Arm as I shall call it, where the rim of the tank almost cuts into your arm when you try and reach into the bottom.
 
I am still rather thinking of going with some cardinal tetras, 6 I guess, a siamese fighter, maybe deep blue and 2 gold gourmis which I think will look great against the dark colours in the tank...
 

The water will assist the plants in standing up.
 
Thanks re: my tank, remember though mine was a replacement for an existing tank therefore it was really just a case of an upgrade and switch over vs starting from scratch.
 
So, did you get it filled before 

 
Good to be back, will help where I can.  If ever you are missing me again, just pop me a PM with a link to your topic and I will appear as soon as I can.  Thing is weather is improving so lots to do outside, plus not so long ago I bought a Tandem Bike with a friend so often out cycling too (already cycle a lot on my own bike).  All this as well as tank maintenance, which for some reason is growing 

 
Ha yeah wonder why, how many tanks do you have and how many fish now? Is it one (or more...) in each room of the house now?
 
I did quite a bit of it but then it got to 1.30am and I thought I'd best get to bed otherwise I'd be too sleepy for work. A little more to fill up. I've got some teeny tiny bubbles on there so doing some magnet work. I'm going to finish filling it up this evening and test out the filter / heater/ lights now the water's in. Then in goes the first dose of ammonia...
 
PS You are right, they are standing up more in the water.
 

Hmm could that be because you keep getting new tanks RCA??? lol
Did you manage to get the water in last night Iwant?

 
Agreed and as above

 

[RCA]

I think Gold Gouramis will be too big for this tank, and they can also become territorial so I would not really want to put them in such a tank.  Honey Gouramis are generally smaller, but again can become territorial.
 
As for my MTS, it is I believe under control as latterly the new tanks have purely replaced older ones that I do not wish to continue running