Well the uncycleable tank is no more, it got stripped down, scrubbed and rebuilt. The upgrades i ordered from seapets.com came after only 6days (very impressed with service and prices) which let the build begin. I began by collecting various stones and sand from a mountain stream not far from me. i used this option as it was free and also frww from contamanates it being up the mountain.
The upgrades i ordered were tetratec substrate, tetratec ex600 and a heater clamp. You'll notice a tetratec theme going on here as the tank and heater are also tetratec
let the pics do the talking;
How the tank looked to begin with, it included java ferns, amazone sword and some grassyplants(messy
). Also various pices of bogwood, a red plastic pland and plastic hollow log.
Tank stripped and washed, i then added the tetratec substrate then the washed river sand.
I drilled holes in the wood enabling me to "plant" the java ferns into/on the wood.
((messy))
And the wood now fermly screwed together.
I then began the process of "splitting" the java ferns and replanting them into the newly drilled holes in the wood. Finished look.
At this stage i just had to have a cold beer and packet of cheese & onion crisps
while i washed out and set up the tetratec ex600 filter. i must say its a well made unit and very easy to work with. In the pic you can clearly see the suction pipe and the spraybar now fitted.
And the ex600 filter (larger than i thought) i was in two minds getting the ex600 over the ex400, with my tank being only 60l did i really need the extra filtration fo the 600? Well i thought so and its best to over do than under do.
The below images show the now placed wood with java ferns, then the amazone sword which was split into two and finally the placement of some rounded stones of various sizes, textures and colours.
Now the slow process of adding water. I saved 15l of water from the origional tank and added the other 45l of deceloranated water.
Sadly i did disturbe a bit of the sand and clouded the water.
Well thats it so far, the fish were added and 48hs later everything is running "swimmingly". The water has cleared up a gud bit but will need a 25% water change to make better and clear away any flooting sand particles. Next on the list is some java moss to work its way on the stones and a corner of the sand and then a simple co2 setup. Ialso will be adding some kind of bushy plant to thicken out the background and provide shelter for the tetras.In a day or two when the water has cleared up more ill add a few more pics and closeups.
Thanks to all for looking neil.
The upgrades i ordered were tetratec substrate, tetratec ex600 and a heater clamp. You'll notice a tetratec theme going on here as the tank and heater are also tetratec
let the pics do the talking;
How the tank looked to begin with, it included java ferns, amazone sword and some grassyplants(messy
). Also various pices of bogwood, a red plastic pland and plastic hollow log.
Tank stripped and washed, i then added the tetratec substrate then the washed river sand.
I drilled holes in the wood enabling me to "plant" the java ferns into/on the wood.
((messy))
And the wood now fermly screwed together.
I then began the process of "splitting" the java ferns and replanting them into the newly drilled holes in the wood. Finished look.
At this stage i just had to have a cold beer and packet of cheese & onion crisps
while i washed out and set up the tetratec ex600 filter. i must say its a well made unit and very easy to work with. In the pic you can clearly see the suction pipe and the spraybar now fitted.
And the ex600 filter (larger than i thought) i was in two minds getting the ex600 over the ex400, with my tank being only 60l did i really need the extra filtration fo the 600? Well i thought so and its best to over do than under do.
The below images show the now placed wood with java ferns, then the amazone sword which was split into two and finally the placement of some rounded stones of various sizes, textures and colours.
Now the slow process of adding water. I saved 15l of water from the origional tank and added the other 45l of deceloranated water.
Sadly i did disturbe a bit of the sand and clouded the water.
Well thats it so far, the fish were added and 48hs later everything is running "swimmingly"
. The water has cleared up a gud bit but will need a 25% water change to make better and clear away any flooting sand particles. Next on the list is some java moss to work its way on the stones and a corner of the sand and then a simple co2 setup. Ialso will be adding some kind of bushy plant to thicken out the background and provide shelter for the tetras.In a day or two when the water has cleared up more ill add a few more pics and closeups. Thanks to all for looking neil.
