Nymox Posted July 15, 2010 Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 Ok so Ive got the tank set up how I like it now, its running well and theres more then enough gravel to plant it out. Now I need to focus on some more lighting and getting it planted, considering the size of the tank I have some questions, as I've only dealt with planting smaller tanks up till now and lighting was easy, algae was the problem. Im going to remove the hood tomorrow and look at what lighting is there already, I know they are 8ft tubes of some kind. Ill add the tank dimensions and lighting details then as well as my questions about lighting. Anyway, Im still playing with my new camera so I took a couple of pictures of the tank as it is now. Water is a bit murky as I just added the last of the gravel before taking the pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted July 15, 2010 Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 Nice. is this LA's old tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nymox Posted July 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 Nice. is this LA's old tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan7 Posted July 15, 2010 Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 Nice bichirs there, i want to do a big bichir tank one day. will watch your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted July 15, 2010 Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 that is some mighty fine windelov in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 15, 2010 Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 Good luck keeping plants in the gravel with the birchirs!! My ornate used to sit at one end of the tank and power-swim into the glass, pushing all the substrate away from that end. Maybe java fern and anubius on wood would work best? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nymox Posted July 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2010 Your not wrong there they blunder through everything. Although the tiger lotus and amazon sword have managed to stay planted along with most of the crypts. I think its just a matter of getting them in the right places, fish always scape my tanks. If I can get a tank planted with the spiny eels digging all the time Im sure I can manage with the birchirs, problem is my hand doesnt reach the bottom of the tank so its hard planting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruju Posted July 16, 2010 Report Share Posted July 16, 2010 What ones do you have, how many and how big 8) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nymox Posted July 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2010 What ones do you have, how many and how big 8) ? 3x Ornates all 40cm +, female more likely 50cm + 1x dehezi, hes easy for sheezy, named snoop D. O. double geezy, looking for 1 more of these. 3x senegal ones albino Dehezi and senegals are fully grown, about 20cm+ with the exception of the albino whos about 18cm and wont get any bigger. birchirs are easily my favourite fish, specially those ornates they have such characters, Bertie the largest male likes a pat where as if I get to close to the female she bites. I've looked at the lighting today, but my health isnt letting my get the hood off so Ill just have to try my best to explain whats in there. There is 1 3ft fitting for tubes, it can only hold one tube. There is another 4 ft fitting that can hold 2 tubes. The hood makes it difficult to get more lighting in there without a serious overhaul or complete rebuild. Tank Dimensions: 2400x600x620 lxwxh My questions about lighting are: Lets say there is no hood, what would people consider to be above average lighting for a tank this size?. Eg how many tubes of what kinds. There are various different tubes available, what combination of spectrum and colour would work best in a tank with this depth? Because of the depth is metal halide worth thinking about? I know they are broad questions but I dont really know where to start on this, I dont want over kill on the tank but enough to grow out some taller swords, tiger lotus and some larger crypts as well as something smaller on the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted July 16, 2010 Report Share Posted July 16, 2010 hes easy for sheezy, named snoop D. O. double geezy bullet please, table 1! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nymox Posted July 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2010 bullet please, table 1! :lol: HA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan7 Posted July 16, 2010 Report Share Posted July 16, 2010 You need some big indo dats in there... wink wink buy mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 16, 2010 Report Share Posted July 16, 2010 1x dehezi, hes easy for sheezy, named snoop D. O. double geezy, looking for 1 more of these. Surely I'm not the only one who read that and in their head pronounced "these" as thee-see... :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted July 16, 2010 Report Share Posted July 16, 2010 i reckon metal halide is a good option you will get good depth penetration with MH then you can put your light loving plants directly under them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruju Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 In terms of lighting, bichirs dont really need bright lighting and like it dimmer, more likely to come out - thats one opinion, for me it doesnt really matter, they will deal with anything. Im a fan of bichirs also, hoping to increase my population a bit more too: Atm - 3 grey sens, 1 albino, 1 ornate (at Henwards), 2 dels (unfortunately lost 2 more before this not long ago :evil: ). They are in a 6ftr with 2 bala sharks, Festae, Green terror, Geo (surinamensis), Jardini. The bichirs range from 18cm (albino) to about 30-40cm (ornate), my Dels and sens are 20cm+ish. Sorry for thread hijack, just my 2 cents :roll: some pics Really want these guys to get fatter, couldnt get any quality pics of Jar sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 Looks good, Nymox, they are certainly fatties, aren't they! The cat looks awfully like ours... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nymox Posted July 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 In terms of lighting, bichirs dont really need bright lighting and like it dimmer, more likely to come out - thats one opinion, for me it doesnt really matter, they will deal with anything. Im a fan of bichirs also, hoping to increase my population a bit more too: Atm - 3 grey sens, 1 albino, 1 ornate (at Henwards), 2 dels (unfortunately lost 2 more before this not long ago :evil: ). They are in a 6ftr with 2 bala sharks, Festae, Green terror, Geo (surinamensis), Jardini. The bichirs range from 18cm (albino) to about 30-40cm (ornate), my Dels and sens are 20cm+ish. Sorry for thread hijack, just my 2 cents :roll: NP always like good feedback and pics are excellent for broadening my ideas too. Lights are for the plants, Im working on getting lots and lots of hiding places for the fish this week so the lights shouldnt bother them really. I think Ill avoid MH just for the fact that they get hot and I like to keep everything in a nice tidy unit, fans seem like too much effort. I think the Balas spawned while I was away, female went from very fat to slightly thin over 2 days and shes still eating like its her last meal. Sad news about the dehezi's Thanks Zev, they eat well enough, better then me almost, with their fresh ox heart. That cat is a pain in the rear, hes been threatened on many occasions with a transformation into a new steering wheel cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruju Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 Im planning on switching to dark gravel as it brings out cooler colours in my opinion, plus Im going to do an extensive vallisnera? (weedy plant cant remember scientific name) plantation, vertical plants should look cool with the elongated bichirs. Tank is nowhere near what I want it to look like in terms of decor, and apart from more bichirs the tank stock is to my liking. Hopefully get more pics up this week, cruddy cam doesnt let any good close ups happen and some fish are skittish :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 Sounds good Fraser, but you'll have to watch the festae digging with the plants! Mine are digging holes all over the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nymox Posted July 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 That does sound good fruju, I've got some twisted val I was thinking of putting in there but its my last bit and barely surviving, Ive never had any luck with val. I've got some nice borneo swords grown out to pop in tomorrow and Ill try some cabomba but I dont like it anymore as it breaks and blocks powerheads, I have alot of another type of fast growing stem not sure on the name Ill try in there too, Im thinking of getting another 5 sharks, and a pair of geo surinamensis (spelling) instead of the pictus school but I love my catfish so its a hard choice, also thinking of some congo tetra. I never liked the bala sharks until recently but Im warming to them quickly. Im very quickly running out of room in my garage as well as my bedroom, going to have to evict poor Nana before too long, her bedroom would make a great fish room with its heatpump already installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruju Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 Sounds good Fraser, but you'll have to watch the festae digging with the plants! Mine are digging holes all over the place. cheers David That does sound good fruju, I've got some twisted val I was thinking of putting in there but its my last bit and barely surviving, Ive never had any luck with val. I've got some nice borneo swords grown out to pop in tomorrow and Ill try some cabomba but I dont like it anymore as it breaks and blocks powerheads, I have alot of another type of fast growing stem not sure on the name Ill try in there too, Im thinking of getting another 5 sharks, and a pair of geo surinamensis (spelling) instead of the pictus school but I love my catfish so its a hard choice, also thinking of some congo tetra. I never liked the bala sharks until recently but Im warming to them quickly. Havent tried val before either, I can grow swordplants like no tomorrow, dont even have to try - they just grow and propagate constantly - true that about the cabomba, only slow water conditions and small fish. Sharks are good, I keep mine only as a potential distraction for the Jar - waiting for that day... :lol:, but hes been a good boy so far. Festae is gonna act as the main aggression cofactor in the tank (same effect that Henwards oscar has with his RTG), -to David - haven't had any digging issues yet, but have no plants i suppose. Geos are great, pictus would be cool, however, I have had one before and my previous 3 20cm ornates ALL tried to eat him, so you run a risk there, same with the congos, pretty sure they will be gobbled up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nymox Posted July 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 Geos are great, pictus would be cool, however, I have had one before and my previous 3 20cm ornates ALL tried to eat him, so you run a risk there, same with the congos, pretty sure they will be gobbled up. Im pretty sold on the geos and more sharks now, the sharks look great just the 3 of them 8 would look amazing. Are they fast growers? There are some at one of the lfs for around $10, they are only about 4cm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 ornate food at 4cm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nymox Posted July 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 ornate food at 4cm My thoughts exactly, If they are fast enough growers Ill stick them in the 4 footer till they are no longer ornate munchies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar-photography Posted July 21, 2010 Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 Wow so awesome they make my little guy look even smaller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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