Hi All:
This is my 6 month old 75 Gallon community / juvenile Angel Tank.
This tank replaces my 60 gallon that was in the same location. It was started about 6 months ago.
Equipment:
Aquaclear 100 with ceramic bio media and sponge only
Jager 300 Watt heater (you can just see a bit of it on the mid left)
Nicrew G2 light, not using blue leds so about 6500k
Hard Scape (all self collected other than sand):
Left Stump - Hollow Cedar stump aged about 60 years in Buttle lake. Cut in half with chainsaw, covers filter intake and cord for heater.
Mid Bottom Root - Hemlock, collected from same area as above
Floating Wood - Cedar aged, deflects output from filter
Rocks - common opal, red and yellow jasper, and some obsidian,
Substrate - Straight playground sand
Livestock (Temporarily overstocked due to Angels):
12 Juvenile Angels I raised earlier this year. I still have two other tanks of Angels looking for homes. Larger Silver known as "Junior" first Angel I ever raised (Front and Center).
1 Mature Angel "Stripe" (First photo only)
6 Ornate Tetras
6 Black Neons
1 Breeding Pair of GBR's
1 Female Betta (Madi)
1 Female Blue Stream Goby
1 Bristle Nose Pleco
Plants (I am not as good with aquatic plants):
4 Types of Echinodorus (Swords)
Sags
Vallisneria - Normal? and one Jungle Val that is just getting established.
Ludwigia
Alternanthera reineckii
Black Beard Algae
Parameters:
pH 6.4
GH 1.0-2.0
KH Unmeasurable
Nitrate 5 ppm but was as high as 20 earlier (just got back from vacation)
40% water changes and filter rinse weekly
I like my fish to feel comfortable and not frightened of me or my wife. To this goal I planted some of the amazon swords closer to the front and placed the hemlock root with space in the back. Additionally not visible is the rock cave for the Goby that is behind the root, she comes out frequently and sits on top of the white opal in front of the stump. The pleco lives in the stump on the left. The roots on the stump are hollow too and the pleco spends most of his time there, coming out only in the evenings and mornings. The GBRs breed about once every two months but the other fish, particularly the goby, eat them soon after they are laid.
I have been actively encouraging the black beard algae to grow on the wood, we like the fuzzy look and the fish seem to like to swim in it, they will rest with their bodies constantly touching the algae. In particular Madi the Betta has a pocket of BBA that she just lays in watching the other fish swim past. The algae doesn't seem to grow on the other surfaces. I think algae is a natural part of an aquatic ecosystem so as long as it doesn't get out of hand I will help it grow. I may regret this decision in the future.
