Try for the "blackwater" look

[Demeter32]

Nope, she's the only koi I have. Plus she has been super docile the entire time, but I have yet to see her eat. She begs with the other girls but doesn't seem to care for pellet food. I'll try some frozen food tomorrow.

I spent a long time looking for an egg spot on the white one, didn't see anything. It flared at the new HM when she came up to the basket, lots of spunk.

 

[Demeter32]

I was doing a water change in Grey's tank yesterday, and I had this sudden urge to make a mess. So I dirted and planted his tank. It looks terrible atm and I only used the extra substrate from the 29gal. He's been actively exploring the new surroundings.The duck weed isn't cooperating (again) and ugh it's so ugly and bare.

There's 4 little crypts and a piece of hygro (?) that I bought a week ago (they were cheap) and Idk what kind they are, they are still adjusting. Also have a couple stems of wisteria in the back left corner and I moved the pie pan with micro swords and baby tears into it. The 2 baby mystery snails are with him and seem to be growing well.

 

[NickAu]

Hes thinking, " what happened to all my plants? must keep human away from tank "

 

[Demeter32]

The crypts in Grey's tank are sending up new growth, it's getting there.

The two baby betta were released the other day, so far no one is getting torn to bits. Still not 100% on the white betta's gender, now I'm leaning towards female. Both the little ones are about as big as the new HM. They've all learned to beg and jump for food now, the tank is looking good too. The jungle val that has yet to do much of anything for me is finally sending out a runner and looking healthy.

Plants are growing and soon enough the cory cats will probably be moved to their permanent home in the newly dirted and planted 36gal bow front (my sister's tank). It only took 3-4 hours to do, made a huge mess though.

 

[NickAu]

I want the Koi one, Did you find a DT yet?

 

[Demeter32]

DT as in double tail or delta tail? Yep I got a double tailed female in there, she was one of the 2 babies. In the last picture she's the little dark one facing head on. Her coloration is similar to Taiga (blue HM) I'll try getting a pic of just her next time.

The koi is quickly becoming my favorite. She's not spastic like the others during feeding time, plus she never acts aggressive with the others. Probably the most well behaved one in there.

 

[LyraGuppi]

I just read through this thread (I've been following it, but haven't had enough time to really read it) and wow, your tanks and fish are gorgeous! Keep up the good work. c:

 

[Demeter32]

Things turned sour and I am not happy. The tank seems to of sprung a leak so I just finished tearing it apart and getting it on the floor with a towel to see where it's leaking from. The girls, plants, driftwood and plecos are in a big tote, probably around 15gal as I drained most of the water into it. The corydoras were tossed into the newly planted and dirted 36gal bowfront.

I acquired a replacement that is only a bit taller but otherwise the same length and width. I'll will be picking it up tonight at work and then I get to scrub it down tomorrow and make sure it's water worthy.

Starting to wonder if the dirted tanks are more likely to leak due to the smaller sediment getting between the seal. Then again, this tank is very old and was bought at a yard sale, looks to of had rodents in it at one point but it hasn't leaked in the 5ish years I've used it.

 

[NickAu]

Starting to wonder if the dirted tanks are more likely to leak due to the smaller sediment getting between the seal.

Nope, there is no chance of that. That leak was going to happen regardless of what substrate you used.

The only way that could happen is if your substrate was acidic, but then the levels would have to be so high it would have killed your fish as soon as you put them in the tank.

 

[Demeter32]

Makes me feel more at ease hearing that Nick. If dirted tanks were more likely to leak I would feel the need to re-do all my planted set ups.

I scrubbed down and set up the tank...I don't like how it looks nor how tall it is Looks to be a 29gal, in pretty good shape and it came with a decent background picture. No leaks. very few scratches, no hard to remove scum. Only took half an hour to clean it up.

The fish and plants, awaiting their new home

I re-used the dirt and sand from the 20 long, got it all planted and even put the fish in as I felt it was safe chemical wise. It's still cloudy and I think I should get a new filter now that the intake tube doesn't go even half way down the tank. I think a canister filter will do well, just have to find one with an adjustable and/or weak flow, then I can finally remove the sponge filter and Styrofoam bowl. Might need a new light as well, I can't see the added height helping the plants get the light they need.

Short update pictures of the 2 plecos, before the tank leaked.

On the plus side, the taller tank will allow some of the plants to reach a decent height. I also don't feel so bad keeping the 2 plecos in there permanently now there's another 9ish gallons to work with.

 

[NickAu]

Thats a sweet looking tank and do not worry that its a tall, The only thing I would have done is painted the back black. I am also running a small HOB filter on my tank.

The tub is a great idea, I used the family bath tub ( wasnt so popular with the wife )

Tip
Fill the HOB with ceramic or cintered glass media

 

[Demeter32]

The tank has cleared up over night and there is no more cloudiness. I fed the plecos an algae wafer last night, but it looks like Rose and Nova ended up eating quite a bit of it. Rose is very fat at the moment, but Nova has slimmed down some.

I traded in a male African and got a discount on a glass top and a new marineland filter for this tank. I debated on getting the canister filter, but it was another 100$ compared to the HOB, both rated for a 30gal tank. I'm going to set them up next water change, I don't want to freak the girls out anymore for a while yet.

 

[Demeter32]

Really feeling the need for a new light, the plants are just taking it really slow. The hygro I put in Grey's tank is growing like mad, but the 2 bits I put in the sorority are barely growing at all. Same for the new crypts I bought, Grey's have already adjusted and sprouted a few new leaves each.

I ended up using the new filter for the other 29 cichlid grow out, the flow was pretty strong and it didn't sit low enough for me. As for the glass top, it's also on the other 29 because the new filter splashed quite a bit, tossing water droplets all over the wall.

Now for the fish, I'm starting to get nervous again. Seems that the stress of the whole leak ordeal has caused a minor ich infection. The 2 plecos are untouched and act no different. There's a few spots here and there among the girls, mostly visible on Taiga and the koi. Nova, the koi, and the little white one (recently named Vitya) are all acting a bit twitchy. It might be because I upped the temp to 85F (over 2 days) but no one else is acting different. No physical signs accept the ich and the nitrites + ammonia are both zero with minimal nitrates.

I'll be upping the temp another 2-3 degrees and doing more gravel vacuuming.

 

[NickAu]

Poor girls. but ICH is easy to treat.

 

[Demeter32]

Extremely easy to treat, but still unpleasant I'm watching them right now and the poor koi is awfully itchy.