🏆 TOTY VOTE NOW! - 2024 Tank of the Year Tournament

[connorlindeman]

PLEASE VOTE NOW​

We're winding up another great year here on Tropical Fish Forums. The holidays are coming and we at TFF are going to celebrate in style.

Fishforums.net is proud to announce our 2024 TANK OF THE YEAR TOURNAMENT. We had 12 top notch winners over the last 12 months in our Tank of the Month Contests. We need your help to decide which tank is the best of the best! We are asking all members to vote for the tank that you feel deserves the title of 2024 TANK OF THE YEAR.

Prizes will be Amazon Gift Certificates
1st place will be awarded $100
2nd place will be awarded $50
3rd place will be awarded $25

This poll will close at 12:00 PM (US) EST on Wednesday January 1st, 2025. Please do your part and cast your vote for 2024 TANK OF THE YEAR!

Please view all 12 entries before voting. Then go to the poll at the top of this thread, click on your choice and then click the cast button. No comments about specific entries are allowed. Fishforums.net thanks you for your participation in our contests.

Entrants, please note:
Any attempt to influence competition results, other than by casting your allocated vote, is not permitted and may result in your entry being removed and / or further action being taken. You are not allowed to have friends or family join TFF for the main purpose of voting for you. You are allowed to vote for yourself (some do some don’t). This is a public poll so source of votes can be viewed. Our goal is to have an honest and fair poll for all participants.

You are allowed to change your vote if you wish.

Good luck to our 12 entrants. Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all our fine members.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!​

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Connorlindeman - January 2024 TOTM

Heres my 20g planted aquarium.
This tank has been through many iterations, but this is by far my favorite.
I started this tank early in 2021 when I first joined the forum. I knew nothing about plants, but over time, I have at least learned how to make them grow

We've got quite a variety of plants growing in this tank:
Anacharis, Cabomba, Frogbit, Crypt Wendtii Green, Christmas Moss, Tiger lotus(dorment), bucephalandra green wavy, anubias barteri, nana petite, nana, and dwarf hair grass.
Current stocking is:
Six Neon Tetra, two Cherry Barb, two Red eye Tetra, three amano shrimp, and six Emerald Dwarf Rasbora.

The substrate is miracle-grow potting soil capped with Quickrete pool filter sand. As you can see, the plants grow very well.

Hardscape is a nice big piece of Malaysian driftwood. I got it for a great price. I guess that's a perk of owning your aquarium plant shop

I am currently running this tank filterless, walstad style. We've got a heater stuck behind the hardscape. This is almost as natural as it gets.

Lighting is a nicrew. I have that on most of my tanks.

I could probably go on and on about this tank. It's a joy to watch, and it was a joy to create.
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CaptainBarnicles - February 2024 TOTM

I wish I had another tank to showcase but as a recovering MTS sufferer I have but only one.

This is my 240l Fluval Roma, home to Boesemani rainbows, Cherry Barbs, a Pelvicachromis Pulcher pair, a few shy Amano shrimps and a bunch of ramshorn snails.

I seem to do alright with Cryptocoryne so I've stuffed this tank full with different varieties. My favourite is the Balansae growing back and centre, it has taken a while to get going since I first planted it but seems to be taking off now. I've tried many different plants and none do as well as the crypts. I dot a few root tabs around and use TNC lite fertiliser once a week.

Lighting used is the generic lamp that came with the set up, if I'm not mistaken it's from the Aquasky range.

The canister filter I use is also from the Fluval range and came with the tank as well, it works really well and is simple to clean.

Hardscape includes dragon stone, mopani wood and limpopo black sand.

Maintenance is done weekly without fail, a scrub of the glass with my magnet cleaner and a 50% water change which I do with a siphon out the window onto the lawn and a pond pump in a bucket in the kitchen sink to return clean water to the tank. I pluck out the dead and damaged leaves as and when I see them.

The fish are fed as much variety as I can manage including live or frozen bugs and worms, spirulina flakes, bug bites, spinach and peas.

This is a very low maintenance tank and mostly looks after itself, it's been up and running 2-3 years? I forget. My little boy absolutely loves sitting in front of it with me and has taken a keen interest which I'm thrilled about. Hopefully he will find a love for fishkeeping himself and instill it into his own children one day...or at the very least do the water changes for me on this tank!
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MikeyBoy123 - March TOTM

This is one of my 5 gals. It's been more or less in it's present form for about a year.

Plants are vallis, ludwigia palustris super red, Limnophila sessiliflora, Buce kedagang. The vallis and buce are quite recent additions so are yet to fill out properly.

Critters are one zebra nerite, 10 Sundadanio Axelrodi and unknown number of cherry shrimp.

I have plain sand as substrate with root tabs, liquid ferts are TNC lite.

I use a mix of rain water and tap water in a 3:1 ratio to achieve a gh of 5 and a kh of 3. pH tends to stabilise out at around 6.8.

I have a 150lph mini internal nicrew filter and a hygger led light which i leave on for 8 hours a day. I have sporadic aeration for 15 mins 6 times a day. This is not necessary but i do it to keep the surface of the water nice and clean. there can be a build up of an oily film if I do not aerate at all. I use a Superfish 50 watt heater which i house in a superfish ceramic heater cover. Temp is kept around 23C.

I have a Juwel STR 3D background.

I use catappa leaves and alder cones and oak leaves to help keep the pH down a bit and add a little tint to the water. I feed the fish once a day on either NT labs micro crumb, crushed bug bite spirulina flakes or live bbs or live microworms. the Shrimp get cory pellets or algae wafers. I sometimes make my own shrimp lollies.

I do 50% water changes once a week.

I'm really happy with the setup and everything seems really stable and the fish seem very happy.

i have another 5 gal which I could enter if need be. let me know if one more entry would be desirable/allowed.
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JackGulley - April 2024 TOTM

This is my 20 Gallon! I first gained interest in fishkeeping last fall, and I’ve had this tank since November.

Tank Specs:
20 Gallon Long
Fluval HOB filter with pre-filter sponge

Stocking:
3 painted platies: Julian (M), Susan (F), and Gertrude (F), plus at least one fry
3 Zebra danio
2 White cloud mountain minnow
2 Otocinclus
1 Pygmy Cory (looking to get more obviously)
3 Cherry shrimp (also looking to get more)
Too many ramshorn snails (currently trying to lose)
My LFS now has Tiger Limia, getting some of those soon? :hmm:

Plants:
Gold Ribbon
Amazon sword “ocelot”
Crypts
Java moss
Bamboo (new!)
Red root floaters (new!)
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Magnum Man - May 2024 TOTM

I’ll start ( which seems like bad luck ) this is my South American “Tetra” tank… it’s a standard 55 gallon, and this one still retains a full under gravel filter, with a pair of power heads on the lift tubes, this a fine river gravel, with all worn rounded edges, as opposed to traditional gravel with lots of broken sharp edges… as well as a pair of Aquaclear 70 hob filters, on the tank… the decor in this tank includes 4 cast resin hollow logs, 2 of which are placed vertically to hide the lift tubes of the under gravel, and 3 natural pieces of wood, & there are regularly a couple Almond leaves working their way around in the tank… the aquatic plants in this tank are plastic, but there are 6 hang on planters, containing live terrestrial plants growing hydroponically in ceramic filter media… there are 2 - 10 inch air bars along the back wall, buried under the gravel with a line of 2 inch stones on top, to help keep them in place for the long haul… there is a full length 48" - 24-7 led light….with other grow lights in the space above, for the plants… this is a mature open topped tank, with about 18 inches of space for the plants to grow, and has 20 to 40 feet of vines growing, and hung on brass hooks screwed into layers on the walls above the tank and the lights are mounted on the ceiling… there is next to no algae on the glass surfaces ( I don’t clean it ) as there are so many plants above the tank, even though it has several bright lights, which are on most of the day, any glass cleaning is done by the one pleco, and one Oto. it’s built in to the wall, and has another tank on each side, and several below it in a work area behind the wall… there are 36 - 48 South American Tetras in the tank, including platinum Rummy Noses, Pristellas, and several varieties of Emperors, there are 6 dwarf Cichlids - 2 Electric Blue Rams, and 4 gold variety Apistos, along with a pair of near adult sibling Zebra Lace Angels… my Gold Nugget Pleco, and a large mature Zebra Oto, also call this tank home along with 4 Serbi Cory’s
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Seisage - June 2024 TOTM

Tank is a Top Fin(?) 6gal corner tank with built-in LEDs (which I don't love, but I have to live with). The substrate is my usual pool filter sand, perfect for ADFs.

The hardscape is all foraged materials from my local coastline. The centerpiece rock with holes in it is a stone that had been colonized by rock-boring clams. The wood is rootwood of salal and/or rhododendron (so it's very similar to spiderwood).

Plants are Anubias and java fern (and duckweed.....). The Bacopa is mostly dead at this point, unfortunately. I think I'll be sticking with epiphytes if I want to add any other plants to this tank in the future.

Tank is left unheated since the inhabitants are from cool, shaded water. Temps range from 71-73F.
Filtration is a small sponge filter.
Maintenance is 50% water change once per week.
No ferts (plants seem to be growing alright).

Inhabitants are my two ADFs, Soup and Dumpling, as well as six amano shrimp
Frogs get fed 6x per week with frozen brine shrimp or mysis shrimp. Shrimp get fed 2-3x per week with Fluval Bug Bites shrimp formula.
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Sparx - July 2024 TOTM

Here is my 30 gallon tank.
Established 6 months ago after we upgraded from a 15 gallon with artificial decor.

We have a compliment of 21 little ones:
2 Angelfish
3 Blue (three spot) Gouramis
1 Bristlenose Catfish
4 Cherry Barbs
2 Hybrid Synodontis Catfish
2 Reed (Rope) Fish
3 Scissortail Rasbora
4 Mollys
Fish are fed twice a day on a variety of flakes, bug bites, colour enhancing vibra bites, catfish pellets, frozen and fresh bloodworm and brine shrimp. I try to mix it up so they don’t get bored of the same food all the time.

Plants include:
2 Amazon Swords
1 Indian Swampweed
1 Java Fern
Plants are fed twice weekly using Flourish Comprehensive Supplement and Potassium Supplements.

We also have the big wood/root and rocks for a more natural environment effect, providing lots of shelter and hiding places.

Water parameters have always been stable and I carry out weekly water changes of between 10-20%
Filters include corse to fine sponge filtration, fine floss media, active carbon media, phosphate remover and bio crystal media.

We plan to upgrade again possibly next year or the year after depending on how quickly the reed fish grow

Hope you like!
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Biofish - August 2024 TOTM

This is my current standard sized 55 gallon freshwater tank and evil snail overlord. It’s actually kind of a hotpot mixing bowl of three tanks I took down to save on space and effort when it comes to water changes. The tank itself is a couple years old but the current layout and stocking is only a couple months. The oldest fish in there I’ve had for 3 years. Full honesty, the night I put this together I was exhausted and just kinda tossed in the sticks and rocks randomly and then shoved the cracks full of plants. Morning me thought it turned out better than expected.

Fish stocking:
4 angelfish (White Shadow, Splotch, Mold, and Frosted Flake)
2 bristlenose pleco (Baby Jones get it like Davy Jones ahahaha and Cthulhu)
1 clown pleco (Waldo. Ended up being a much more accurate name than anticipated.)
10 neon tetras (the Colgates)
4? Cherry barbs (Flameo hotmen)
An unknown number of snails (Snail Overlord’s underlings)

Plant stocking:
Honestly have no clue.
I did at one point but the memories have left me
Except the duckweed. It invaded. And I lost the battle and the war. Keeps the blue green algae at bay though so I begrudgingly accept it.

Equipment is nothing special… two filters, a heater, an air stone, ya know. The works. Nothing fancy.
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MattW - September 2024 TOTM

My 60 litre paludarium.
It was set up on May 11th, 2024 as a home for my then 3x Sawbwa. It now is home to my Daisy's ricefish which are a great little fish. I feed once a day with flake and algae wafer which all fish eat. 10L Water changes are done on a weekly basis depending on my work schedule. Plant trimming is usually done every month as the peace lily and ferns grow quickly.
This was my first attempt at a DIY Paludarium. Overall it's been ok.. A few flaws in my design have started to emerge such as the build-up of mulm from the spider wood and a small gap into the filtration compartment which clogs easily if not maintained. I have enjoyed watching this Paludarium grow especially the houseplants and moss. In the long term this setup will not last IMO it has caused more problems than I thought it would have.

Fauna- ​

Daisy's Blue Ricefish - 5X
Otocinclus affinis - 3X (one missing and presumed dead at this time)
Zebra Nerite snail - 1X
Ramshorns Snail - 7X
Amano Shrimp - 1X

Aquatic Flora-​

Anubias bateri var. 'Coffeifolia'
Bucephalandra pygmea Bukit Kelam 'Wavy Green'
Bucephalandra biblis
Bolbitis heudelotii
Hydrocotyle tripartita
Pistia stratiotes
Ceratophyllum demersum
Cryptocoryne parva
Schismatoglottis prietoi

Equipment-​

Eheim Compact Pump 600
Generic 50W heater
10W Flood light
Mini Sponge filter for warmer temps
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CassCats - October 2024 TOTM

Tank size: 20 gallon long asian themed community
Stock:
Rasbora sarawakensis
Pangio sp
Bamboo shrimp
Assorted elderly fish (couple cherry barbs, pseudomugil)

GH 5°
KH 3°
pH 7
Temperature 75F (May get a little warmer in summer months, but I don't heat it in summer)

Filtration is a DIY above tank planter sump, powered by an internal pump. Brings tank volume closer to 25 gallons instead of 20 gallons. Heater is hidden inside the filter.

The elderly fish are living out whatever they have left, I mean the cherry barbs alone are like 6-7 years old and I dont plan to add more as they dwindle, same for the pseudomugil gertrudae who are younger but old for their respective lifespans. Theyre nearing their 3rd year which is ancient already for them as they average out 1-2 years expenctency.

Going forward this tank will remain the sarawakensis and pangio. I dont even know bow many pangio there are. Couple years ago my pangio doriae spawned and given i dont see every single loach out at once, i cannot tell you how many babies survived. I just ended up counting an extra that i didnt have to start, so who the heck knows. I know theres upward of 20 in there at least

that said, nitrates are negligible in this tank if i dont dose fertilizer. Its still more stocked than id like, but the other "retirement" tank is too warm for the barbs and too many bigger fish thatd eat the pseudomugil, so this tank was the best retirement option for them.

Plants are all asian originated plants, plus cladophora algae. I purposely use the algae in this tank, as I want a more natural appearance for this one.
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CrunchyCrouton: November 2024 TOTM

This is my planted 75 gallon tank. It’s been up and running for about a year now and it all started with only a couple plants. All of the water wisteria you see came from one single plant I propagated over and over again. The Amazon sword on the right side is around 20 inches long. This tank is a dirted tank capped with 2 inches of pool filter sand and is fertilized with osmocote+ fertilizer. It’s filtered by 2 polar aurora canister filters and the temperature in the tank is 79 degrees. The lighting is two nicrew lights. This tank is home to oto catfish, cherry barbs, pearl gourami and juvenile angelfish, mostly Philippine blue angelfish besides one standard marbled. There is also 2 mystery snails and a nerite snail. The cherry barbs often show breeding behavior and dance around. 2 of my pearl gourami have double feeler/pelvic fins, so instead of 1 on each side they have 2 on each side, I bought them that way. The most recent additions to this tank was the Philippine blue angelfish.
I originally planned to add driftwood to this tank but the plants ended up taking over. A lot of people call this tank a forest
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MattW: December 2024 TOTM

This is my 60L Daisy's Ricefish Tank. It was set up on the 27th Oct 2024. I feed once a day with flake and an occasional algae wafer which all inhabitants eat. 10L Water changes are done on a weekly basis. 3-5ml of API Leaf Zone is also dosed on a weekly basis. This tank is still in its grow-out phase. I'm attempting to create a dense and bushy planted area at the back with a selection of Stems and Vallisneria. Overall since setup, the only issues have been some algae on the Bolbitis and that's it really.
Tank Journal

Flora​

Alternanthera Reineckii
Anubias barteri var. nana
Anubias barteri caladiifolia
Bacopa Amplexicaulis
Bacopa Caroliniana
Bucephalandra biblis
Bucephalandra pygmea Bukit Kelam
Bolbitis heudelotii
Cryptocoryne nurii "Rose Maiden"
Hygrophila polysperma
Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig'
Limnophila hippuridoides
Limnophila sessiliflora "Ambulia"
Ludwigia repens
Rotala rotundifolia H'ra
Rotala Nanjenshan
Schismatoglottis prietoi
Vallisneria spiralis Rubra

Fauna​

5 x Oryzias woworae
1 x Zebra Nerite snail
Ramshorn Snail(s)
Neocaridina davidi (mix)

Equipment​

AquaOne GH 50
Sponge Filter
DIY Internal Filter
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END OF ENTRIES​

 

[connorlindeman]

Here is it folks. The 2024 TOTM winners are all competing for the 2024 Tank of the Year title.
Slowly scroll upward as you review the 12 awesome entries and then in the poll at the top of this thread, click on your choice for Tank of the Year. Be sure to click the CAST button to register your vote.
We are hoping to finish the year off strong with over 200 votes in this all important contest.