Stan's freshwater 240 gallon extravaganza. Trials and tribulations of a sunlit aquarium

[Stan510]

The Angel female lays a ton of eggs on the powerhead. By now all the other fish -Rainbows,Danio's and Roselines know the routine. So,as the female lays more eggs..some fall off. You should see all those other fish line up in the main stream of the powerhead "600" that isnt even made anymore...and they flash to get to any egg the powerhead shoots at high speed to them.
Next time I want to film it and then load here for people to see.
I was wondering why fish eggs are so tasty to other fish? Wouldn't it be better they tasted bad..so the eggs would at least be able to hatch? Just wondering.

 

[Stan510]

Further evolution. I've removed rocks,trimmed roots of the Syngonium..and just tired of the clutter. Of course when I added, it was to be decor...but time said otherwise and no point taking up swimming space for no good reason. My big aquarium is looking a bit bigger again. On the next water change I see a few more extra rocks that can go...giving the sand sifters more floor space. Kind of a relief too,that I'm not buying any plants. I like what I have and no need for many species...its now what does best. Who doesn't like C.balansae, Bolbitis and Java moss? lol.

 

[Stan510]

Somebody asked me about how fat is my Angelfish..you can see,she's chubby. The male isnt as vigorous with that domestic DNA of not so good breeding..he looks good,but not as large as he should be I think.
More photos of the roots of the Syngonium..more Rainbows added and the reason my tank is not in planted journal..I've removed some clumps of stem plants that just looked kind of weedy in a see-through tank. With a background? fine. ..but not my set up. I also wanted more room for the more numerous fish now. So,out came wood branches and rocks on the sand also. I pruned those Syngonium roots lightly of the worn looking ones and tucked the others that were running wild back into the main column..cleaner look,yet still wild looking.

That M.trifasciatus male might be 6"...or so. I did used to fish also

 

[Stan510]

You can't see..but the Java moss has done so well...I seperated it to three pieces of wood instead of one..so for the time it's not the thick column it was when on the old photos.
I'm just going with what I have from now on.
1. Bolbitis
2. Java Moss
3.Anubia sp.
4.Cryptocoryne balansae
5.Vallisneria.
6,Echinodorus grisebachii
7.Echinodorus 'Marble Queen'
8.Water Lotus ( struggling from the day I bought it well over a year ago for no reason I know)
9.Ludwigia ovata
10.Heteranthera zosterifolia- Star Grass.
11.Java fern and Java fern trident.
12.Cryptocoryne wendtii. Old standard in that middle area.

If the Star Grass peters out? I will just go with sand in front..no more carpets. The others are all strong ('cept Lotus as i said) and look to be forever plants.

Forgot to add: Subwassertang has come back from near death last year,to making some nice very deep green lush growth on a wood in dead center and at the base of the Crypt balansae getting sun along the back panel hours a day. Hard for me to picture it becoming a large clump ...but since ridding the tank of Ramshorn snails,its feeling groovy.

 

[Stan510]

LOL. Forgot...left side of tank? Shoplight LCD with covers wash painted with purple and light blue...right side are two fixtures,one a 156 LCD 48" yescom and a Fluorescent twin 48" shop light with Petclubs best purple- blue light. As close to olden days gro lux I can find.

 

[Stan510]

The Star Grass is getting thinner and thinner..that female Rainbow is always nipping at it. I also had really slowed down on dosing iron. Plants were looking plenty green,Moss was thriving...but I did get more Iron to see if some plants like Tiger Lotus could get out of its funk and also push the Star Grass along.
One surprise? Bolbitis doesn't seem to be the iron needy plant I thought it was. What it needs in low tech is.... time. Lots of it. Cuttings you buy have almost no roots...boom- there's your problem. They need a root system to grow. More roots= more leaves. Takes time.

 

[Stan510]

Bad news- the male Angel got stuck between a rock and the glass and behind the filter. I got him out in the morning...but he was wedged so tight,I don't think he could breathe.
After getting him out of that..he just laid on his side and didn't look like his eyes were seeing anything. He always seemed to be a little weak..she would attack him after laying eggs.
He died later. The female Angel will have to be a widower until one day I find a large adult male for sale- an obvious male. But,they were among the first fish to go in in 2018.
But,I'm not doing the the total Zoo aquarium thing anymore. I think I will stick to Rainbows- Danios- Barbs-Loaches. They seem to all get along,eat well and none of that tetra sensitivity. They do fine in any water thats clean. Asian-Australian fish just make better aquarium fish. They die too..but until they do ,they are easy to keep and my point- seem happy and active in aquariums. Not sulking in the corner like specialty fish.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Stan can I ask how you go about supplementing the tank with artificial light? Do you leave it to be sunlit for x amount of hours and then have the lights come on when it gets dark outside? Do you have any algae issues because of fluctuating light levels?

 

[Stan510]

Algae can get out of hand..so far,I've mastered hair algae and got the others down to small spots here..and some on plant leaves of slow growers. One thing is...full window sun in winter is fine...but around late May,I now use sheer curtains. Since the tank is big,I just don't plant up the whole square footage and hence get by on a much less use of artificial lights..a twin 40 watt fluorescent, and two 30 watt LED 48".
I've stopped with stem plants since they would block the light. Now MBSQ,I've settled on perennial plants,ferns,mosses,and Lotus. Crypts in particular. No more trimming needed every week. Even the star grass might be removed EXCEPT..the Rainbows eat it down. So,keep it.
Only the C.balansae is a tall background plant- and that's contained in a pot.

 

[Stan510]

Keep in mind...its a FISH tank with plants. I like to see the fish in the blend of sunlight and gro lux...they seem to enjoy even that filtered sun.

 

[mbsqw1d]

I have just setup a tank which is pretty much sunlit, it doesnt sit in front of a window as yours does, but it is adjacent to and receives a lot of natural light. Its very early days and so figuring out the balance of light is still in its infancy. I had noticed today however that the temp increased a good few degrees, up to 25C. And I keep this tank unheated and aim for around 20C (I have Odessa Barbs at the moment). Mine is a 63 gallon and so I expect your tank, being significantly bigger, would experience tenp fluctuations over a longer and slower period?

 

[Stan510]

True,in winter,it can get cold..so the heater is watched to make sure it keeps up. In summer I keep the ceiling fan going all day. In a heatwave all night also. It's never gone above 28C or 85F, And the coldest was around 72f 22C,my fault I probably jogged the heater in cleaning it one time in winter. If it can happen,it will as the saying goes..sorta
The mosses and ferns like the cooler temps.
Btw- Java Moss LOVES indirect window light of maybe a late day direct hit. Just not midday sun. I once had a 50 gallon in that room with single 40 watt light that I hardly put on at all..and it just filled that whole aquarium with moss.

 

[Stan510]

A bump in the road. The main pump died. Jan,11 2019- Sept 25,2020. Only good thing is I bought it at Home Depot,and when they told me for $7 more I could get an extended warranty of four years? I jumped on that. I've never had a pump last four years and most pond pumps never make it to two. Any brand,even the Little Giants never made four years.
So,I have that receipt and since there are TWO Home Depots with in Hayward I should get a replacement tomorrow.
But,there could be "out of stock"..and we will mail to you..not good for my bio filter. Overnight,no big deal. Days? Is a huge deal.
Pond pumps for forty plus years of my using them,direct drive or magnetic..just cannot last long. I would guess pumps of $400-1,000 that can pump 870 gph would last longer. But,I would never pay that up front..never!
Last year I was watching the pond guru on youtube..and he had bought an expensive in my world, mega pond pump submersible..I think it was 5,000 gph, or ten thou?..and it burnt out in less than a year. But see,it was not a commercial pump..like you see on public aquaria..or reefers who spend big bucks. It was made for the hobby. I think they make those pumps for us to go AWE!..at the pumping of a new pump...but things are not made heavy duty inside..and that's what bites you in less than two years or so.

 

[Stan510]

Also..this pump new was $80. Why this time around in the hobby its only the big tank indoors and the Goldfish in the 60 gallon on the patio outdoors.
Things are so expensive.

 

[mbsqw1d]

What is it that tends to fail on pumps? Can they be repaired? Or just easier/cheaper to replace?