My New Fish Tank Is Finally Set Up(Pics)

[360]

360:

That's a nice tank!
(I didn't want to quote all those pics)

I will eventually have a tank with a bunch of real plants, but I really wanted Cichlids and I read that it's not that easy to keep both of them alive.

How often do you do water changes? That's the biggest hassle that I want to deal with, but I don't have a problem with taking 20 or so minutes a week to change out 5-10 gallons of water to have a decoration piece that relaxes me when I look at it.

Well, when I first put it together, I did water changes about every 2 weeks, but I havent did a water change since at least May. My plants are out of control, and I REALLY need to vacuum the floor. There is a HUGE rock in there but you can't see it for the plants. I have to trim them back too.

When I first put mine together, I looked at Cichlids, but was told you could not add several different types together because they would kill one another. So I have several tetras, danios, and gouramis instead.

 

[tyler34]

360:

That's a nice tank!
(I didn't want to quote all those pics)

I will eventually have a tank with a bunch of real plants, but I really wanted Cichlids and I read that it's not that easy to keep both of them alive.

How often do you do water changes? That's the biggest hassle that I want to deal with, but I don't have a problem with taking 20 or so minutes a week to change out 5-10 gallons of water to have a decoration piece that relaxes me when I look at it.

I'll tell you a slick idea my fish breeder friend uses. he drills a hole on the side of the glass at the level he wants to drain water to do changes and puts a pvc spigot in there. I've never seen water changes go so quick and dry.

 

[Benny]

BJ you need to go over here- The Planted Tank Forum

Thanks, I'll check that out when I decide to go all-natural.

Well, when I first put it together, I did water changes about every 2 weeks, but I havent did a water change since at least May. My plants are out of control, and I REALLY need to vacuum the floor. There is a HUGE rock in there but you can't see it for the plants. I have to trim them back too.

When I first put mine together, I looked at Cichlids, but was told you could not add several different types together because they would kill one another. So I have several tetras, danios, and gouramis instead.

Yeah, you have to be very careful with which species of Cichlids you put together...I'm still learning.

I've also been told I need to do a 10-20% water change every week to ensure my fish stay healthy...Some say more.

I'll tell you a slick idea my fish breeder friend uses. he drills a hole on the side of the glass at the level he wants to drain water to do changes and puts a pvc spigot in there. I've never seen water changes go so quick and dry.

That does seem like a great idea, but I like to kill two birds with one stone and vacuum the rocks/sand the same time I do the changes...Now that I have a bigger tank, I probably don't need to vacuum as much though.

 

[tyler34]

it's not just for plants in a tank, they info on any and every type of aquarium subset.

 

[Benny]

it's not just for plants in a tank, they info on any and every type of aquarium subset.

Oh, awesome! I'll bookmark it now.

I've been using Cichlid-Forum a lot since I've been setting up my new tank and it's been a huge help, but I'll definitely check out that site.

 

[woundedyak]

A

I can't think of what the rock background you have is called, but can you give me a ballpark on how much that was? That tank you have is absolutely amazing looking.

It's made by back to nature. It's there Tanganyika line and it's ridiculously expensive. I have somewhere around a grand in it after everything is said and done. All of there distributors are over seas and the boxes are huge. Plus the stuff is a HUGE pain in the @$$ to cut and install. I will never go that route again. I will just stick with foam block and concrete. But the stuff is insane looking once it's done.

 

[tyler34]

BJ take a look at this for some DIY background ideas.

Cichlid-Forum :: View topic - Links to DIY backgrounds

 

[tyler34]

I would also say to go real plants if for nothing else to help cut down on nitrates, plus they give off O2. but maybe on your next tank(and there will be another) my vote is for a amazon biotope in case you can't tell I'm very bias towards the amazon basin other than that try a shrimp tank. they are awesome to watch and basically no maintenance.

 

[djl02]

Did you ever look for any driftwood? Makes a nice addition to a tank.

 

[philagothon]

This thread makes me sad.

I had a 29 gallon reef tank going for several years. I had managed to keep some very delicate corals, even had some thriving. I finally bought a 135 and was setting it up to be my ultimate dream tank and had some high dollar corals in it. Then a spring storm knocked out our power for 3 days while I was out on the road. My wife did her best to keep it going, but both tanks were a total loss.

They still sit in my basement waiting for me to decide whether to set them up or sell them. I have a dual overflow 135, 75, two 55s, 40 breeder, dual overflow 30, 29 and several 10 gallon aquariums. I had just bought two wavemaking powerheads rated up to 15,000 gph. I have multiple high power lighting systems, a full system monitor/controller, 3 or 4 protein skimmers, and a whole box of titanium heaters and misc other stuff.

I'll post some pics when I get home this weekend if anyone is interested. Btw, nice tanks guys, I'm fully jealous.

 

[Benny]

Wow dude, it sounds like someone needs to get a move on it!

You have too much money invested to let all of those awesome tanks collect dust!

(Wait, are you saying just two of them are empty or are all of them empty?)

This thread makes me sad.

I had a 29 gallon reef tank going for several years. I had managed to keep some very delicate corals, even had some thriving. I finally bought a 135 and was setting it up to be my ultimate dream tank and had some high dollar corals in it. Then a spring storm knocked out our power for 3 days while I was out on the road. My wife did her best to keep it going, but both tanks were a total loss.

They still sit in my basement waiting for me to decide whether to set them up or sell them. I have a dual overflow 135, 75, two 55s, 40 breeder, dual overflow 30, 29 and several 10 gallon aquariums. I had just bought two wavemaking powerheads rated up to 15,000 gph. I have multiple high power lighting systems, a full system monitor/controller, 3 or 4 protein skimmers, and a whole box of titanium heaters and misc other stuff.

I'll post some pics when I get home this weekend if anyone is interested. Btw, nice tanks guys, I'm fully jealous.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Woundedyak:



Maybe asking for pics of tanks wasn't such a good idea...My tank looks like crap compared to that.



OK, so here is my updated tank with some new plants and a background.

I'd love some opinions...I don't know if the bright plants are too much or if they just brighten everything up. I didn't spend very much on everything, so it can always be removed without me regretting it.

Tell me what you guys think please:
(and yeah, I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to snapping pics of fish)

Here is the old one for side by side(front by bottom) comparison:

Honestly bro it looks good. As long as you are happy that's all that matters.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Here is a pic of mine.

 

[Benny]

Here is a pic of mine.

Looks good!

You already have fish in there? You're a mad man!

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Looks good!

You already have fish in there? You're a mad man!

Thank you. Whenever I use new water. I just put some start right water conditioner in the tank. Let it desolve and filter for about 15 minutes. Then in goes the fish. Still trying to get the temp where I want it. Bought three more fish today.

 

[rfontes]

for a hundred and fifty bucks, you got that set up for a steal..

 

[Benny]

Thank you. Whenever I use new water. I just put some start right water conditioner in the tank. Let it desolve and filter for about 15 minutes. Then in goes the fish. Still trying to get the temp where I want it. Bought three more fish today.

Water conditioner is important, but where do you think the ammonia and nitrites are going without bacteria?

Good luck and I hope all your fish survive, but that seems risky.



BTW, how many fish do you have now?

 

[Caleb]

Interesting thread

 

[Benny]

I can't control myself!

I bought two yellow labs yesterday and now all I can think is "dang, I need 3-4 more to really liven up the tank."

I only bought two because I wanted to see how the other fish reacted to them, but as far as the school of peacocks goes, you can only tell them apart because of their appearance...They just follow them around the tank like they are apart of the school.

My nice camera is in Gatlinburg, TN until tomorrow night...There's a good chance I'll have 5-6 yellow labs by the time I have a chance to take some pictures.

 

[Caleb]

Can I get a 1920x1080 or higher resolution copy of this? Wicked tank!!