Tropical Fish Forums

[ZacAdam]

So, as a result of all the many perks of my job and the windfalls of Christmas, I managed to acquire a brand new, still-got-the-protective-film-on-it 55 Gallon tank from Hagen as part of a fluval kit with stand. What else was there to do besides setting it up?



Here it is the morning after the fill - that C4 filter that comes with the kit was pretty good at filtering out the worst of the cloudiness from the sand substrate. Once the water was stable, though, and I'd had my fun of decorating, I started to stock the little thing, and build up my dining nook around it.



Looks a little nicer there, hmm? This next image gives a better sense of how it is scaped, and is pretty much from the same angle I can view it at from my desk.



Quite naturally, the denizens of the tank deserve some attention. The Heckelli's calmed down enough earlier for a few photographs, only one of which turned out nicely.

The Tiger Hillstream Loach has a lovely time keeping me from photograph him side on, such as this:


Though ventral shots show his shape better:

I'm sure it'll come up, so here's the details as of... well, nowish:

Lighting: 48W of Aqua-GLO
Filtration: Fluval C4 at maximum flow, stock loadout
Temp: 78.2 F - About a degree warmer than ideal
pH: 6.8 - Slightly high but expected to fall with the recent addition of mopani wood
Hardness: 100 mg/L in General, 50 mg/L Carbonate Hardness - want to soften slightly.
Cycle Stats (All mg/L): 0.1/0.5/20 - Next scheduled water change on 1/12 will be heavier than the previous on 1/5
Calcium: 60 mg/L, a jump from Fill Day.
Phosphates: Undetectable
Chelated Iron: 0.25 mg/L, which may or may not be enough for my current plant load.

Stock:
2x Acarichthys Heckelli
6x Danio Rerio - Slated to be removed
1x Sewellia lineolata

Notes:
I've noticed that the tropical extracts I use don't seem to have much impact on either the hardness nor the visual clarity of the water. The activated carbon that came with the C4 is probably the reason - I intend to replace this with granulated peat in the near future which should help lower the pH and soften the water, both of which I want to have happen.
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Solving the Problem from the Inside - Proud Pet-Store Fishkeeper

[ZacAdam]

I have produced a short (and somewhat jittery) video on the tank.

http://youtu.be/PNInGb5j3gY
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http://auditorandagentleman.blogspot.com - now with 100% more fish.
Solving the Problem from the Inside - Proud Pet-Store Fishkeeper

[coryfan]

Wow really looks fancy with the black background/sand substrate and plants!

[ZacAdam]

Aw, that's very much.

It's really not that fancy at all, compared to some of the stuff I've seen on here.
_________________
http://auditorandagentleman.blogspot.com - now with 100% more fish.
Solving the Problem from the Inside - Proud Pet-Store Fishkeeper

[ZacAdam]

So, with the site down, it's been a while since I've done an update. I have a video I'm putting together for this tank now, but I suppose we have a start in this direction.

I've added a few more lineolata, and had some misadventures along the way, but other than that, there's no actual changes from the last time I posted. Don't nobody mention ropefish for a while.

Lighting: 48W of Life-GLO (~.87 W/Gal)
Filtration: Fluval C4 at maximum flow:

• Stock Foam Stages
  
• Biomax and Drip-Film Stage
  
• Pelletized Peat Moss (added 1/14)

Temp: 78.2 F - Still warmer than ideal, but at least it's stable.
pH: 6.2 - Right around ideal in my estimation.
Hardness: Error in measurement on both KH and GH is below the tolerance of the test supplies used.
Cycle Stats (All mg/L): 0/0/15 - Water Change 2/8
Calcium: 20 mg/L
Phosphates: Undetectable
Chelated Iron: 0.25 mg/L

Stock:
2x Acarichthys Heckelli
6x Danio Rerio - Waiting to rehome
5x Sewellia lineolata

Notes:
The tank looked so nice when it was looking brown from the mopani and the peat, and then it turned green when I changed the light spectra. Still, I'm very happy to see the new plants doing better than they were before.
_________________
http://auditorandagentleman.blogspot.com - now with 100% more fish.
Solving the Problem from the Inside - Proud Pet-Store Fishkeeper