the-obstacle Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Continuing from this thread I've rebuilt the tank with rocks and caves galore for the school of 8 A. Heckelii I now have. I'm going to add smaller river pebbles and a few scattered plants but for now I'm happy with the rocks. Not sure about the big one on the far left but it was either that or a big open space, which may be the way I go in the end. If anybody has any root like branches I'm looking to make it look like they're intertwined into the rocks. The thermometer and the heater will be moved to the sump once the tanks up to temperature. Any suggestions of things to change/add/think about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Looks Cool :thup: IMO add some smaller rocks like the 1s one the right where i have drawn them in Just my 5c worth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted October 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 I wondered about that. Sort of like broken off bits of the big tower? I'm assuming you meant left not right I've got heaps of rock left so I'll see if I can break some up into some cool shapes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Nice.. looks like it's heading in the right direction to me.. but yes more rocks and wood for sure.. Is that black west coast sand you have in there? have you used that before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted October 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Nice.. looks like it's heading in the right direction to me.. but yes more rocks and wood for sure.. Is that black west coast sand you have in there? have you used that before? Yeah, sand collected from Muriwai beach. I have the same amount again sitting in buckets ready to be added if this turns out to be too thin. I've got it in all my tanks now. The iron content doesn't seem to do anything bad to the water and I've got a ton of plants growing in it really happily. It's super fine but really heavy so there's no risk of it getting into filters/pumps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 I quite like it without plants and it would be easy to take down if you did have to move. Do those fish need plants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted October 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 I quite like it without plants and it would be easy to take down if you did have to move. Do those fish need plants? I like it too but I would like a couple of little bits of green in there. I've got some micro sword and a couple of bigger swords that will fit the bill. The heckelii don't need plants, and in a real biotope apparently wouldn't have any, but the panda cory that are going with them need plants to spawn on and the L140s need wood to chomp on. I'm aiming for tasteful minimalism I'll only be using root balls too as the aqua mix was a pain in the old setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted October 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 Now with plants and smaller rocks. Thinking I'll avoid adding driftwood to this as I can't seem to picture the perfect piece and where to put it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 yeah ok, plants look good too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 I personally would have stayed clear of those pebbles. I'd be taking a hammer to a large rock and using the fragments instead. :sage: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted October 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 yeah ok, plants look good too I personally would have stayed clear of those pebbles. I'd be taking a hammer to a large rock and using the fragments instead. :sage: Yeah, I thought about that but it was too much work and I ended up with lots of shards instead of pebble sized things. I'm happy with it. The heckelii are going in this evening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 P44 I still have some of those pebbles left if you want some :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 now mit heckelii! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Wow those are pretty! How many have you got in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 nice tank, good design, simple and very natural looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfishybuisness Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Wow those are pretty! How many have you got in there? i see 8, and tanks looking amazing cant wait to see them when they are bigger :thup: :spop: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 glad to see you kept the towel rail in the background too :sml1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 They are a pretty fish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Wow those are pretty! How many have you got in there? 8 all up. Very happy to be able to get such a big group. nice tank, good design, simple and very natural looking Thanks! That's definitely what I was aiming for. They're loving the caves all through the rock work. tanks looking amazing cant wait to see them when they are bigger :thup: :spop: Yeah, the bigger ones are 10cm+ at the moment and they've lost their juvenile markings completely so not sure how much bigger they'll get. The smallest is about 6cm so a little way to go to catch up. glad to see you kept the towel rail in the background too :sml1: I made this one especially I'm actually really happy with how the DIY spraybar is working. There aren't any dead spots that I've found in the tank so far. I was happier when I only had the 2 overflow towers and the spraybar but I need to run one of the CF1200s for the UV so that's what the extra piping is. I might spray paint them black so they're less obvious. They are a pretty fish! They really are. I took these photos just after the lights came on and about an hour later the 2 biggest males were squaring off against each other - they look amazing when they flare. I'll try to get a photo of them later this evening if they're still going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 oh man, I'm so jealous of your group! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 oh man, I'm so jealous of your group! If I get them to spawn or I just give up I'll give you first dibs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Cheers maaaaan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Nice fish, I agree with everyone else they look perfectly at home in that tank, well done it looks awesome... I look forward to updated pics as they grow! Only issue I can see is if there is any serious aggression as they start breeding there aren't many places for bullied fish to hide, but you can only play it by ear as they grow and see what is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZ_Loach Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 where did you get your rocks from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted October 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Nice fish, I agree with everyone else they look perfectly at home in that tank, well done it looks awesome... I look forward to updated pics as they grow! Only issue I can see is if there is any serious aggression as they start breeding there aren't many places for bullied fish to hide, but you can only play it by ear as they grow and see what is needed. Yeah, there's already a bit of that going on. Every rock in the pile on the right has enough room for them to swim under/behind it so there's a ton of caves in there. Otherwise they can hide behind the big rock at the other end and not be seen. I'll keep an eye on them though and can always pull them out if they start taking beatings. where did you get your rocks from? My garden There's been a pile of them on the side of hte lawn for about 8 years and nobody knows why they're there so I started using them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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