Joined: 12 Dec 2007 Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Posted: 2011.10.19(Wed)2:42 Post subject: 200L Community Evolution
Thought I would share the recent history of my 200L tank, now 18 months or so in.
Had the tank since I was a kid, and it's had everything Malawi cichlids to otto over the years... Anyhow, I decided to set the tank up 'properly' from the beginning, using ADA substrate, getting some good external canister filters, lighting etc. I really wanted a well planted tank, something I hadn't been able to achieve that well before
So the bare bones!
My fish had to take a short holiday in a 2ft tank, but were re-introduced to a still slightly murky new home... The tank wasn't fully cycled, but the filter was transferred straight across to kickstart things. Judging by how RED the rummy noses are looking and that no fish were lost, I would call it a success. I did do plenty of water changes and monitoring in the 1st week and a bit to keep everything safe though!
A month or so in and I began to get some pretty serious algae issues (blue-green algae) unfortunately I tried everything from adding floating plants, to reduced light, to removing it by hand for about a year with no success....
The algae didn't have any real affect on the plants or fish, with both doing well over time. Plenty of growth of all amazon swords, including the foreground cover (which is overgrown IMO)
I did sadly lose my female angel fish in that time The bright side of that was the introduction of Suzy! I went to my LFS a week or so after looking for a replacement and it just so happened this girl had been dropped off by someone who didn't want her anymore... I decided to tank a gamble on a '2nd hand' fish, only to see her take a dive on to shop floor while being bagged!! I was offered the choice of not taking her, but opted to give her a shot all the same... And here she is 6 months later!
So finally after so long struggling with algae I decided to try and UV steriliser, realising they aren't strictly for killing algae, but it was my last option! To my delight and surprise it HAS in fact worked! My blue-green algae is now 99% gone after 3 or so months. It could simply be a coincidence, but a pretty big one if so... So now it is crystal clear, leaves are no longer weighed down by gunk
Few shots of some other tank mates...
Hatchetfish enjoying there 'iceberg' during summer
And one of my bolivian rams, who is going on 5 He is not as colourful these days, as he isn't 'top dog' anymore, but still a lovely fish
Anyhow, sorry for so many pics! Hope they made for some OK viewing though
Very nice pictures Mike and an awesome tank. I'm working on a similar tank now for live bearers with Amazon Sword, Crypts and Rotolas. I want to come up with something similar to the forest you have in there . Great work.
Joined: 12 Dec 2007 Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Posted: 2011.10.20(Thu)17:43 Post subject:
Indiaqualover wrote:
Very nice pictures Mike and an awesome tank. I'm working on a similar tank now for live bearers with Amazon Sword, Crypts and Rotolas. I want to come up with something similar to the forest you have in there . Great work.
Ta I think at some point I might look at thinning out and reducing the height of the sword grass, getting a tad overgrown The fish do like cruising through it though
Good luck with yours!
Indeed Uncle Willie, after 14 months of spending over an hour a week pulling out chunks of blue-hreen algae I was pretty stoked to see it finally admitting defeat!
On a side note, of the following fish, who is most likely to lay eggs on the glass?
The eggs are about 1mm across, white, tightly packed together, and usually there are 3 or 4 lots of them around the tank in one hit... Always at night too
Obviously in there they all get eaten quite quickly, I'm just interested to know who they belong to...
I guess they are cory eggs. Among your tankmates angels and corys are the most likely to lay eggs on vertical surfaces, but angels would prefer the sword plants first. A single pair won't lay several clutches at a time. Rummynoses lay eggs in plants. Khuli loach and otos - I don't guess so. Nice lovely awesome fantastic tank, and fish! _________________ Diamond Hill, Hong Kong
Joined: 29 Mar 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posted: 2011.10.21(Fri)0:22 Post subject:
Sounds like cory eggs to me too. Otocinclus eggs look pretty similar, so that is another possibility, but is much less common than cory spawns. _________________ Fishing in the Rivers of Light
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I tried everything from adding floating plants, to reduced light, to removing it by hand for about a year with no success....
