🐠 TOTM rebe - October 2023 Tank of the Month Winner (17 - 30 gallons)

[Fishmanic]

We have a winner in Fishforums.net
October 2023 Tank of the Month Contest​

We had 6 awesome tanks entered in this month's TOTM contest featuring tanks sized at 17 to 30 gallons but only one could win...
And the winner is.......

rebe
Let's all congratulate them

Here's the winning tank and its description

So far, it's a planted 105L tank (28 gal) housing my lovely rasboras. This is my second attempt at keeping an aquarium and my first time creating an aquascape. I'm looking forward to adding more fish in the future!
A detailed description is below:

Aquarium set up: 11th August, 2023, (my tank is currently 7 weeks old)
Rasboras added: 14th September, 2023

Inhabitants:

• 14 trigonostigma hengeli (glowlight rasboras)
• Hitch-hiked ramshorn snails (belonging to the gyraulus genus, I believe)

Equipment:

• Aquael Leddy 75 (Tank) (105 L, 75x35x40 cm)
• Retrofit Day & Night (Light)
• Aquael ASAP 500 (Filter)
• Bonlux 100W (Heater)
• Zacro dual outlet (Air pump)
• Airstone, heater guard and homemade pre-filter

Hardscape and substrate:

• Mangle wood
• Seiryu stone
• Bottom layer of lava rock and Maflora light
• Top layer of ADA La Plata sand

Plants:
Foreground/Mid-ground

• Ludwigia repens 'Rubin'
• Cryptocoryne wendti ‘Broad Leaf’
• Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green'
• Cryptocoryne parva
• Lobelia cardinalis 'Mini'
• Rotala rotundifolia (dwarf rotala)
• Sagittaria subulata (dwarf sagittaria)
• Microsorum pteropus (java fern)
• Bacopa australis
• Hydrocotyle leucocephala (brazilian pennywort)
• Helanthium tenellum ‘broad leaf’
• Helanthium tenellum ‘red’

Background:

• Ceratophyllum demersum (hornwort)
• Echinodorus bleheri (amazon sword)
• Eleocharis vivipara (dwarf hairgrass)

Floating:

• Salvinia auriculata (water spangles)

Water Parameters:

• Ammonia: 0ppm
• Nitrite: 0ppm
• Nitrate: 10ppm*
• PH: 7.8
• Hardness (German Degrees): GH 4.2, KH 2.3
• Temperature: 25° C

*Nitrate level equal to my tap water


Lighting:

• Retrofit Day & Night (LED)
• Aquarium light on for 7 hours each day
• 6500k (kelvin rating)
• 14W

Maintenance:

• Weekly water change of about 25%-50%
• Plants are trimmed regularly where needed
• Seachem Flourish Comprehensive used as recommended (for plant fertiliser)
• Uneaten food/debris removed during water changes

Feeding:

• Six days per week
• Oase Organix micro granules or flakes for breakfast
• Fluval Bug bites micro granules for dinner
• Starting to feed live moina macrocopa, that I've raised indoors

Due to their small size, the rasboras can't eat full bug bites (the size 0.25-1.00mm). They are also mid-water feeders, so they won't eat food sitting on the water surface or at the bottom of the tank. Here is my feeding method that solves both issues (for me at least):

1. Crush an appropriate amount of bug bites in a small container
2. Use a syringe to add a little tank water to the container
3. Stir until all of the bug bite pieces no longer float
4. Suck it all back up into the syringe
5. With the needle/opening just under the water surface, slowly feed the bug bites to your fish, by adding just a little of the water with bug bite pieces at a time.

By doing so you can control precisely how much food is in the water at a time, so the fish can eat it all before it sinks to the bottom.

You can see me feeding my rasboras using this method in the video at the top of my post.

Thank you for taking the time to read my entry!
-Rebe

 

[Fishmanic]

Congrats to @rebe with your 28 gallon masterpiece. You posted a perfectly choreographed ballet featuring a large school of glowlight rasboras. Excellent presentation, rebe.
Coming in second place is @Jacob the tank keeper with his superbly aquascaped walstad style tank. Nice job, Jacob!
And finishing in 3rd place is @Herbibore with their 20 gallon tank featuring 21 tetras. Nice job, Herbibore!

Right now we are seeking entries for our October Fish of the Month contest. For October, we are featuring any fish at all so consider entering one of your fish in the contest.
CLICK HERE to view the entry thread.

 

[BettaFishGirl]

Congratulations!

 

[Fishmanic]

For winning TOTM, @rebe will soon be awarded a banner signifying their win. And the winning tank will be added to our
Tank of the Month WALL OF FAME

 

[Ram419]

Beautiful aquiarium and great video footage of it! Deserved win.

 

[BigJfish12]

well done

 

[simonas]

worthy winner. Lovely set up

 

[Essjay]

Congratulations Gorgeous tank.

 

[emeraldking]

Congratulations on the win...

 

[sharkweek178]

Congratulations! Nice tank.

 

[Lillypad101]

Congrats!

 

[The603]

Congrats, awesome looking tank!

 

[dascrow]

Congrats @rebe - Beautiful tank and excellent video!

 

[rebe]

Thank you so much everyone!
I'm so grateful to the TFF community for all of your help and support, I literally couldn't have done it without you.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Congrats!