First planted tank....progress thread.

DLM · 06-27-2008, 04:39 PM

Was pointed to this forum today (thanks gil_ong) so I figured I'd start off with a few pics of what I'm currently trying to do. Monday the tank had african cichlids that had lived there for around 4 years. Gave them all way to a friend Monday evening so I could attempt to build a planted tank. Tank on Monday with a few of the remaining cichlids (yeah...it's dirty):

Tuesday:

Thursday:

The plan is to figure out which plants my catfish won't eat....then fill the tank up with plenty of green stuff. So far, the amazon swords have survived so I'll add more. Going to try a few more types of plant this weekend.

Tank currently has 12 Penguin Tetras and 6 neons. I have 25 more neons arriving on Tuesday. The long term resident of the tank is "Hoover" the catfish. He's been there almost 5 years. Lived with an oscar for a while, then the cichlids.....now he gets to live in a nice peaceful tank.

I'm sure I'll be posting up some question soon as I try to figure this planted thing out...

gil_ong · 06-27-2008, 05:27 PM

hey!!!

bring on the oontz!

you will find that this forum is not nearly as rambunctious or abrasive as OT; mostly very friendly and helpful. just watch you for "the old man." he can be surly at times.

Obsidian · 06-27-2008, 06:47 PM

OMG those teeth make me think twice about catfish LOL. That is like from a horror flick! Mostly because their small size, but yellowish color makes them more creepy. Yes, I'm a freak. And a squeamish freak at that.

COM · 06-27-2008, 06:57 PM

OT? Is that the car forum? Is it just Subaru or do they do other stuff? I want to find a car forum other than the dumpy one I'm on now.

gil_ong · 06-27-2008, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by COM

OT? Is that the car forum? Is it just Subaru or do they do other stuff? I want to find a car forum other than the dumpy one I'm on now.

OT is the off-topic forum within NASIOC.

COM · 06-27-2008, 07:11 PM

Oh. I'm looking at it now. Much better site than bimmerforums and it seems like people are actually having discussion instead of just trying to one-up each other.

That's a bigggg catfish. Looks cool.

blcknwitecuban · 06-27-2008, 07:19 PM

the tank looks really nice. And that catfish is cool. what kind is he?
& welcome to the forums.

Ricker · 06-27-2008, 07:54 PM

Looks good. I like mine with alittle more substrate but it is all up to the owner i guess,.

blcknwitecuban · 06-27-2008, 08:04 PM

hi substrate looks fine. a little under 2'' i assume

DLM · 06-28-2008, 05:26 AM

I'll be adding some substrate soon. Going to put flourite in the areas I put a plant. I'll just blend it in with the existing substrate. If that ends up looking like crap I'll just get rid of the old stuff and go with straight flourite.

The catfish is a Lace Synodontis (false upside down).

http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles...tis/100136.asp

He used to have long "feathers" coming off his dorsal fin and tail.....but the cichlids kept tearing it off. Hopefully they'll grow back soon. Old pic with really bad camera:

**JustOneMore20** · 06-28-2008, 03:12 PM

Great start! Those wood pieces are really cool looking. I can tell they will really make the tank look nice when planted.

**Ichthius** · 06-28-2008, 05:41 PM

The colors of the decor looks great so far. The wood looks awesome

. I'm not too sure about the stack of rocks under the wood on the left though, but if you like it, keep it. I'm sure it'll look great with plants!

Good luck.

DLM · 06-28-2008, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ichthius

I'm not too sure about the stack of rocks under the wood on the left though, but if you like it, keep it. I'm sure it'll look great with plants!

Good luck.

Yeah...I'm still trying to figure something out with that. I want a cave in there for the catfish so he can get out of the light. He stays in the cave 95% of the time when the lights are on. It just doesn't look right though.

Picked up a few more plants and added some flourite to the substrate. Dug holes in the existing substrate and filled them with flourite for each plant, then covered the existing stuff with some more. My power compact hood came in today too....now the plants should get enough light (four 65watt bulbs. (2) 10K Plant Grow, (2) 6700K. The water is still a little cloudy in this pic from adding the flourite a few hours earlier.

gil_ong · 06-28-2008, 06:39 PM

looks great!

trashion · 06-28-2008, 09:55 PM

You know what would, IMO, look better? There are some aquarium-safe screws...if you screwed the wood into a piece of slate and then buried the slate in the substrate, that would look really good, so you wouldn't have those rocks on the top of the wood

COM · 06-29-2008, 02:01 AM

Exactly what kind of screw?

I would think that you can use Trex decking screws for aquariums since they are completely waterproof.

The problem would most likely be that the drilling would fracture rock that thin and break it apart.

DLM · 06-29-2008, 05:18 AM

Hopefully the rocks will only be there for a few weeks or so (if that). If the wood still wants to float after that period of time, I do plan on doing something else. The rocks are most definitely not a permanent solution.

DLM · 07-01-2008, 05:18 PM

I think this is going to be the final arrangement for a while. I added a bunch of neons (supposed to be 25, I think it was 30-35 in the bag), some java moss, and some other "weedy" plant in the back that I can't remember right now. I'm pretty happy with it right now so we are going to see how things go before we add any more plants....just want to make sure I have a green thumb. We do plan on adding a few more fish...just haven't decided on what kind. Hope you like it:

gil_ong · 07-01-2008, 05:27 PM

looking awesome!

welchrock · 07-01-2008, 07:43 PM

keep up the good work and the pictures coming!

06-27-2008, 04:39 PM	#1
DLM Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 36	First planted tank....progress thread. Was pointed to this forum today (thanks gil_ong) so I figured I'd start off with a few pics of what I'm currently trying to do. Monday the tank had african cichlids that had lived there for around 4 years. Gave them all way to a friend Monday evening so I could attempt to build a planted tank. Tank on Monday with a few of the remaining cichlids (yeah...it's dirty): Tuesday: Thursday: The plan is to figure out which plants my catfish won't eat....then fill the tank up with plenty of green stuff. So far, the amazon swords have survived so I'll add more. Going to try a few more types of plant this weekend. Tank currently has 12 Penguin Tetras and 6 neons. I have 25 more neons arriving on Tuesday. The long term resident of the tank is "Hoover" the catfish. He's been there almost 5 years. Lived with an oscar for a while, then the cichlids.....now he gets to live in a nice peaceful tank. I'm sure I'll be posting up some question soon as I try to figure this planted thing out...

06-27-2008, 05:27 PM	#2
gil_ong Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Rochester, NY Age: 35 Posts: 388	hey!!! bring on the oontz! you will find that this forum is not nearly as rambunctious or abrasive as OT; mostly very friendly and helpful. just watch you for "the old man." he can be surly at times. Last edited by gil_ong; 06-27-2008 at 06:16 PM.

06-27-2008, 06:47 PM	#3
Obsidian Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Arizona Age: 37 Posts: 1,039	OMG those teeth make me think twice about catfish LOL. That is like from a horror flick! Mostly because their small size, but yellowish color makes them more creepy. Yes, I'm a freak. And a squeamish freak at that. __________________ Obsidian 20 gallon 1 Dwarf Gourami; 5 Cherry Barbs; 7 Black Neon Tetras; 3 Peppered Cory's; 1 Albino Bristlenose Pleco (Old Blondie) 10 gallon Breaking it down for storage. 5.5 gallon Betta 100 gallon 7 giant danios; 4 Rosy Barbs, 1 German Blue Ram, 7 Julie Cory cats, 2 Burmese Loaches; 5 Zebra Daios

06-27-2008, 07:19 PM	#7
blcknwitecuban SuperCowMonkeyShiner Join Date: Apr 2006 Age: 17 Posts: 496	the tank looks really nice. And that catfish is cool. what kind is he? & welcome to the forums. __________________ Yeah there are many fish in the sea.. but i think i'll stick to the lakes and rivers for now.

06-27-2008, 08:04 PM	#9
blcknwitecuban SuperCowMonkeyShiner Join Date: Apr 2006 Age: 17 Posts: 496	hi substrate looks fine. a little under 2'' i assume __________________ Yeah there are many fish in the sea.. but i think i'll stick to the lakes and rivers for now.

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06-27-2008, 06:57 PM	#4
COM Rebel Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 697	OT? Is that the car forum? Is it just Subaru or do they do other stuff? I want to find a car forum other than the dumpy one I'm on now.

06-27-2008, 07:11 PM	#6
COM Rebel Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 697	Oh. I'm looking at it now. Much better site than bimmerforums and it seems like people are actually having discussion instead of just trying to one-up each other. That's a bigggg catfish. Looks cool.

06-27-2008, 07:54 PM	#8
Ricker Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Age: 19 Posts: 514	Looks good. I like mine with alittle more substrate but it is all up to the owner i guess,.

06-28-2008, 05:26 AM	#10
DLM Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 36	I'll be adding some substrate soon. Going to put flourite in the areas I put a plant. I'll just blend it in with the existing substrate. If that ends up looking like crap I'll just get rid of the old stuff and go with straight flourite. The catfish is a Lace Synodontis (false upside down). http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles...tis/100136.asp He used to have long "feathers" coming off his dorsal fin and tail.....but the cichlids kept tearing it off. Hopefully they'll grow back soon. Old pic with really bad camera:

06-28-2008, 03:12 PM	#11
JustOneMore20 Moderator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Birmingham, AL Age: 22 Posts: 3,598	Great start! Those wood pieces are really cool looking. I can tell they will really make the tank look nice when planted. __________________ *Kristin* 5 Planted tanks: 55g, 40g, 29g, 20g, 5.5g

06-28-2008, 05:41 PM	#12
Ichthius Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: London Age: 18 Posts: 967	The colors of the decor looks great so far. The wood looks awesome . I'm not too sure about the stack of rocks under the wood on the left though, but if you like it, keep it. I'm sure it'll look great with plants! Good luck. __________________ - Leah - Aquarium Blog ><(((*>

06-28-2008, 06:39 PM	#14
gil_ong Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Rochester, NY Age: 35 Posts: 388	looks great!

06-28-2008, 09:55 PM	#15
trashion girl anachronism Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 1,332	You know what would, IMO, look better? There are some aquarium-safe screws...if you screwed the wood into a piece of slate and then buried the slate in the substrate, that would look really good, so you wouldn't have those rocks on the top of the wood __________________ current setup: 5.5 gallon low-light planted tank -nothing....thinking a mini-community. for reference: my name is Julie

06-29-2008, 02:01 AM	#16
COM Rebel Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 697	Exactly what kind of screw? I would think that you can use Trex decking screws for aquariums since they are completely waterproof. The problem would most likely be that the drilling would fracture rock that thin and break it apart.

06-29-2008, 05:18 AM	#17
DLM Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 36	Hopefully the rocks will only be there for a few weeks or so (if that). If the wood still wants to float after that period of time, I do plan on doing something else. The rocks are most definitely not a permanent solution.

07-01-2008, 05:18 PM	#18
DLM Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 36	I think this is going to be the final arrangement for a while. I added a bunch of neons (supposed to be 25, I think it was 30-35 in the bag), some java moss, and some other "weedy" plant in the back that I can't remember right now. I'm pretty happy with it right now so we are going to see how things go before we add any more plants....just want to make sure I have a green thumb. We do plan on adding a few more fish...just haven't decided on what kind. Hope you like it:

07-01-2008, 05:27 PM	#19
gil_ong Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Rochester, NY Age: 35 Posts: 388	looking awesome!

07-01-2008, 07:43 PM	#20
welchrock Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Age: 27 Posts: 125	keep up the good work and the pictures coming! __________________ 46G Bowfront: 1 large snakeskin gourami, 1 blue gourami, 2 pearl gouramis, 12 black neon tetras, 4 panda corys, 1 albino pleco. All gourami's are female as far as I know. Lighting: 78 Watts (1.7 wpg) T5HO Plants: Java Moss, Flame Moss, Marsilea Minutia, Marsilea Quadrifolia, Staurogyne sp., floating Myrio Simulan. Substrate: 80 lbs Eco-Complete.

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