40g Breeder

[Crissytal]

Hey guys. I'm still alive. I've just been taking a break from the forum for a little while. I thought I would share my latest project. I've been working on getting a new aquarium up and going. I used to have several aquariums a few years ago, but lost interest in the hobby and sold all my equipment. I started missing my fish and decided to try again.

Things are finally starting to come together. I'm far from finished though. I am going to add some java and fissidens mosses to the wood, along with some java fern and maybe a couple more anubias nana. I may move the stem plants around again and I'm not sure about the rocks. I'm pretty terrible when it comes to aquascaping.

The tank is a 40g breeder with a modified Magnum HOT 205 filter. I've added some flexible clear hose to the output to act as a spray bar to cut down on the current. The spray bar runs the entire length of the tank.

The lighting is a Coralife T5NO fixture. I believe it's 42 watts total. I'm noticing that I have some very dim areas, especially in the back (the fixture is centered on the tank). I'm looking at some options to add a bit more light. I haven't decided if I'm going to add a second Coralife or if I'm going to add something else. I'm on a budget, so the cheaper the better for me. I also don't want to have too much light, as I will not be adding co2. That's a concern as well, I don't want to end up with too much.

The substrate is Black Diamond blasting sand. I ended up with two grits on accident, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. The driftwood is a large piece of mopani. I soaked it for a good 3-4 weeks. It's still leaching, which I expected. Eventually I will use carbon or Purigen to help remove the tannins.

No fish yet. My fishless cycle is still going. The ammonia is being used up in less than 24 hours. The nitrites are still sky high even after two large water changes. I'm impatiently waiting. I'm looking at adding the following once everything stabilizes:

2-3 Calico Bristlenosed plecos - I haven't decided on longfin or regular fin
Endler's Livebearers
6 or so cories - Haven't decided on what type yet
2 Gold Rams - I haven't decided if I'm going to go with them for sure yet
Cherry shrimp - Undecided, they will probably end up as fish food

I haven't compiled a list of plants yet. Once I get a list together of what I'm supposed to add, I'll add it here.

I also wanted to add that the background is indeed mylar. I put it on a few weeks ago and haven't done anything with it. I'm going to go with something else, it will be changed soon.

Please forgive the photo quality. The aquarium is in the basement, and it's pretty dim down there.

The tank as of right now:

Left side:

Right side:

Filter:

Spray bar:

Let me know what you think. Criticism is welcome .

Crystal

 

[thez_yo]

Nice tank!

 

[dionae]

Wow, thats beautiful. I cant believe that its filled with water.

 

[Av8tor1]

very, very nice..... love that filter, do you know where i can get one just like it?

(inside joke)

On a serious note, love the setup Crissy. That driftwood, rock and substrate are an awesome looking combo.

Av

 

[amphirion]

very nice layout Crystal. you are very brave for tackling a tank of that size--- my wallet would not allow for it. so i take it that your substrate is completely inert with no trace minerals or substances for the plants to derive nutrients from? I would recommend getting some fertilizer tabs then--osmocote does fine too if you have that laying around.

 

[Crissytal]

Thanks Z!! I'll try to catch ya online in the next couple of days.

dionae, thank you! It's certainly filled with water. I'm still waiting on it to cycle so I can finally add some fish. I'm impatiently waiting lol.

Av, I know where you can get a filter just like it . I'm loving it. The spray bar mod did the trick. I still have a nice current, but I don't think it will be too much.

amphirion, thanks! It hasn't been too expensive. I used to have a 55g. I think the equipment was actually cheaper for it...36" is an odd size it seems. I've tried to get everything on sale. The tank itself was only $40 new. The stand is an old wood table. I've been saving for awhile for the project. The blasting sand is supposed to be completely inert. It's safe for the environment and around water etc. I did a lot of reading on opinions regarding the Black Beauty before deciding to go with it. Quite a few people use it believe it or not. It only cost $16 for the substrate instead of spending $60 for the black moon sand. It was a risk I was willing to take. Thank you for the suggestion on the osmocote. Is there a certain flavor I should look for?

Crystal

 

[amphirion]

from what im getting from planted tank forums, osmocote plus is the way to go, though i cant find concentration perimeters. do keep it buried deep in your substrate so it doesnt interfere with the water column. for a more safer route, you can utilize aquatic plant root tabs (which have prescribed instructions) which are sold at your LFS. petco and petsmart should have them as well. i only mentioned the osmocote since im betting you already have it lying somewhere for your sarracenia or something.

 

[kulamauiman]

Maybe contain the osmocote in meash baggies. Or it will float

 

[AmberRose]

Nice looking tank !! I love cories, they are such cute little fish. I have 6 in my tank, 3 bronze, 1 albino ( did have 3 but 2 died :-( ) and 2 that were given to me by mil when she got rid of her tank.

 

[Crissytal]

Thanks guys!

It's going to be awhile before I consider ferts of any kind. I'm having the worst time getting this tank cycled. I am using ammonia, it's the brand that's been recommended over and over again from Ace Hardware. It doesn't sud when shaken etc. I'm getting enormous nitrITE spikes from the tiniest amount of ammonia added. I'm down to adding about 5/6 drops of ammonia to the tank. This gives no ammonia readings what so ever on the test kit, but it sends my nitrITES from 0 to 1ppm. I mean 5 or 6 drops? The conversion ratio should be near 1:1. I finally did get some gravel from a seeded aquarium. It hasn't made much of a difference yet, but it's only been a couple days. To give an idea for those that aren't familiar with fishless cycling, the ammonia feeds the bacteria instead of using fish. About 50 drops or so was giving me a ppm between 3 and 4 which is ideal. You never want to exceed 5ppm. At that point it becomes too concentrated for the bacteria to grow. All was going well, had ammonia around 3ppm, nitrites read 0 for the longest time (I've already tested both my water and ammonia for nitrites, they have none) then they spiked. I noticed I had an issue when I started having to do multiple 100% water changes just to reduce the nitrites back down as close to 0 as I could get them. Backed down to 1ppm ammonia and nitrites spiked to over 5ppm in just a couple hours. I finally decided to just add a tiny amount, even though it wouldn't be enough to register on the ammonia test. I get a .50-1ppm nitrite reading with just 5 drops of ammonia. It makes no sense. I wonder if I have some kind of bad/wrong type of bacteria growing in there? (I did not use any kind of bacteria in the bottle)

Crystal

 

[GrowinOld]

All I can say is WOW!

FANTASTIC job Crystal!

 

[jimscott]

Nice aesthetic taste!

 

[Crissytal]

Thanks everyone!! I didn't mean to take this long to get back. I finally ended up having to seed my tank with material from another established tank. I never did figure out why my nitrites were spiking so high. I've never seen anything like it and apparently no one else had either. It took about another week or so, but everything became stable. I started out with three blue gouramis. I had them for a couple weeks to make sure the nitrites wouldn't spike again. This past weekend I added 6 Celebes Rainbows and 3 German Blue Rams. So far so good. I plan on adding at least 4 (six would be better) cory catfish. I'd still like to get some Endler's livebearers and a couple bristlenosed plecos, but I'm worried about overstocking. I have natural nitrAtes in my water (somewhere between 5 and 10ppm) so until I can get a method that removes them reliably, I don't want to risk overstocking.

Here is a video that I took of the tank last night. The water is still being stained by the driftwood...and I hate it lol. Eventually the wood should stop leaching. Maybe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNZkleBvx3Q

 

[Favian]

I love your tank & that video! so relaxing! I miss my tank. great job & thanks for sharing! PS love the Ram

 

[Av8tor1]

Beautiful set up Crissy, happy that the nitrogen cycle finally calmed down for ya....

Very nice looking, I'm jealous

 

[TheGreenhouse]

Let the tank cycle naturally throw a few "guineapig" fish in there to get the system started. it needs the natural bacterias protazoa and microorganisms not ammonia from a bottle!!!!. sorry i work for a custom marine and tropical fish tank servicing company.

 

[JMN16150]

Cool Layout!!! Since you have a lot of green plants, a nymphaea would look great in there too! I have a lot of nymphaea stellata and rubra in my tank