Godly3vil

+1 This is the way I have always done it and never once lost a fish due to cycling. I havn't noticed any increased agitation in any either. I'll stick with what works.

Yeah, was a little worried about them making a huge mess, but the temporary tank they are in is heavily planted and they have not touched the plants yet, once the wet/dry is running at full biological capacity it shouldn't have any problem cleaning up any "sawdust" they make, was thinking of adding either a powerhead or wave maker to push it towards one of the filter intakes if it is a problem. I was thinking of doing as you suggested and using the overflow box to put filter intakes and heaters in, just not sure how well it will work as the wet dry filter runs abit differently from other canisters as it empty's and fills with water it makes a "wave" type current in the tank. Also I will probably be changing the pipes to glass once I find the right size ones and once the tanks fully planted I shouldn't be able to notice them as much. Cheers.

Just bought this tank about a month ago second hand off a guy I met, the tank measures 1540x500x600. It was previously used as a marine tank so it has a glass overflow in the right back corner for a sump, when I get enough knowledge I will utilize this but as I already have 2 canister filters running on it I see no need at the moment so I just got a piece of glass cut and siliconed it over it to prevent leaks/accidents. The stand is solid rimu which was in pretty rough condition as it had been sitting in the guys garage for quite a few years and as stated was previously used for marine so had a few saltwater stains, so I just bought a tin of danish oil and spent nearly 2 weeks sanding and staining it to make it look good and waterproof it. I ended up doing 5 coats on the stand and 8 on the hood to give it a bit more protection from condensation even though I have glass lids aswell. I am using 2 eheim canister filters at the moment - 1 2229 wet/dry & 1 2213 - the wetdry is biological filtration only so running the 2213 with just filter wool for some mechanical for the time being. I have 2 300watt heaters keeping the temp at a steady 29c as I will eventually be stocking it with discus. At the moment I am just running diy co2 which seems to be working a treat and have only had to change the yeast mix once in 2 weeks. The lighting is pretty inadequate for a tank this size as its only running 160watts of T8, I am waiting on some T5HO fittings to turn up that I purchased off trademe so will boost this to 216 watts soon. I plan on completely planting it out with low-medium light needing plants to make it look "full" and cover the background. It's pretty low tech but it's the biggest tank I have setup to date and I am really pleased so far. I am using "Blue Hills" sand from a local landscaping supply company and really like the way it looks, and was a hell of a lot easier to use as a planting medium. I decided to not use any substrate fertilizer as I didn't want a problem with too much nutrients and I already use JBL fertilizer balls and they seem to work. I am dosing 1ml a day of valrays fertilizer mix purchased off trademe and I have already noticed a difference in plant growth and looks. The fish in there already are 2 large male pearl gourami, 5 neons, 2 bristlenose and 4 young female swordtails. I will be getting rid of the swords and BN as these were just tester fish while the tank was still showing some signs of cycling. Eventually I am going to be stocking it with 2 male and 2 female Apistogramma Trifasciata, 6 L002 Tiger Plecs, 6 Otocinclus, 2 Blue Rams, 30+ Tetras (still not sure which type), 5-6 panda corys and 6 discus - probably red rose or red map. I already have the apistos, L002 and a couple of oto's. The plants I have in there already are ones I have been collecting for awhile - thanks to the people off here that helped me out, I have some java fern, narrow leaf java fern, windelov java fern, anubias barteri, amazon swords - a few types, straight val, ambulia, rotala rotundifolia, indian fern, about 3 different types of crypts and some others that I am not sure what they're called. This is just the beginning and I plan on adding alot more plants as I get them which is alot harder than I thought it would be. Feel free to leave suggestions, I would really appreciate some advice and input as I want to get this tank looking like something you might see in a book :slfg:

That sucks Black widows can be really aggressive though, my mate had 3 of them and they killed 2 fully grown angels and his algae eaters.

Some people are just rude and will try anything to get a few extra $$$

:tears: No good, what happened?

Thanks Jen, found it yesterday in the bottled water section. Was lucky as it was the last one. Only cost $6 for 10ltrs so real happy with that. If anyone needs any 4dkh water for co2 drop checkers I have about 7ltrs made up but can make more, just pm me. :thup:

Hello and welcome, your image didn't load. Also just a tip, add your location to your profile so in the future when you ask more questions etc. it helps people know if it's worth supplying you with information on local shops etc.

lol that's not a sportscar! Also I am sure there must be a boot release inside the car, usually the same lever as the petrol cap popper, most times you just push/pull the opposite way.

You would be better off if you listed all the common tank sizes and the pros and cons of using each one, just because you prefer starting with a larger tank does not mean it is right and the only way someone new to the hobby should go.

Their last shipment including the chromides were in there for over 2 weeks, the maroon clown they had was in there dead till I said something, I have seen a few dead fish in that marine tank dude. I am sure the mollies will pick up on it though if there is a disease.

I'm not sure, but it definitely won't make it worse.

Your pretty keen if you are willing to use any sand and water supplied by our LFS, I notice their marine tank doesn't keep stock alive for too long dude so personally I would be worried about disease transfer. That's just my opinion though. :dunno:

When one of my loaches tails got destroyed - by a damn skunk loach - I just done 30-50% water changes each day, didn't worry about meds and it was grown back within 2 weeks. The colour has never fully returned but nobody but me seems to notice that.

Oh lol

Still not bad considering it's their first spawn you have gotten from them?

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=60065 When I was researching filters this is the one I was going to go with, seems to have great reviews online and this is a fantastic price for the filter even though it's second hand.

Water changes and more water changes :slfg:

Im currently running an eheim 2229 on my 500ltr planted tank, so far so good. I also am running a eheim 2213 solely for mechanical purposes till the 2229 builds up enough biological bacteria to run it solely by itself.

Wait till the plants grow and you will be able to decide on a layout you are happy with, In my opinion you should scrap the background poster and paint the back of the tank either black or blue.

+1000 It's quite disgusting isn't it.

Playstation sounds more fun :slfg: