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I got bored one day...


camtang

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and decided to make a small tank(540w x 430l x 240 h) from some glass I got given from work, origianaly it was ment to be a fry tank but as the time went by it go no use.

so the other day when I was ment to be studying but insteed I started looking through youtube for ideas for a future cichlid tank, I sore a tank with a real rock background and thought strait away that the little tank that I made months ago would look rad with something like that.

So the thoughts became a brain storm session and within a week my little fry tank had a background on it.

hmmm now what to do with it I think??? Plants, I have wanted to have a play with plants for some time so planting this bugger out was the new plan. :thup:

I had a spare light, am happy with a DIY co2 unit for now and had a bag of peat floating about, so I went to Mitre10 looking for some of this daltons stuff everyone talks about, but couldnt find any. so I ended up geting a bag of aquatic plant soil, in a white bag for $11. has anyone used this before? Will it help or hinder my plants and fish? The lady said it should be fine so I trusted her.So far this tank has cost me only about $20 which I think is pretty cool :happy1:

So I worked out that I had a very small peice of javefern floating somewhere and I can steal some dwarf sag off my flatmate, 2 plants sorted.

Because of the size of the tank I want only to have 3 or maybe 4 types of plants, 1 being the sag, one being the javafern on the back ground and was thinking about some type of crypt and/or Polysperma. any issues thus far with my plan?

Fish wise I was looking at geting a group of corydoras and some type of guppie/ some corydoras and a pair of Apisto's (dont know what sort yet) or last option some croydoras and some type of ram (again unsure of type) Does anybody see any issues with any of these combinations?

Any help any experience any thoughts please let me know !

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I will get a couple pics up asap, just gota go borrow a camera from my mate as my one got stolen. Dam I was thinking about emerald corys :slfg: I hadnt done any research into them I just thought that they looked cool when I sore them the other day. I was planing on at least 5 corys for the group. Buying fish that get bigger does give a great reason for a new project tank...

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I have 3 fat loxozonus corys in a tank similar to that size and they are quite happy in a little group, have dwarf chain loaches too. I reckon you could get 3 or 4 of the big corys and they'd be ok, though smaller fish would look better to the eye in a small tank. Depends what plants and other things you've got in there.

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I have 3 fat loxozonus corys in a tank similar to that size and they are quite happy in a little group, have dwarf chain loaches too. I reckon you could get 3 or 4 of the big corys and they'd be ok, though smaller fish would look better to the eye in a small tank. Depends what plants and other things you've got in there.

Excellent, I will keep that in mind when it comes to fish selection

cool, how is the wall attached to the tank???

About a tube of silicone, every stone got siliconed, started from the back and then filled in any gaps. most of it is only 2 deep some is 3 layers

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that'll look awesome. I'm the same, got 4 assignments due by the end of the month, only half way through the first, but during that time I have rearranged about 10 tanks, started a breeding tank, done a talk for the BFRC, moved house, bought a new car, fixed up said car........ hrmmm I really should go do some study :o

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that'll look awesome. I'm the same, got 4 assignments due by the end of the month, only half way through the first, but during that time I have rearranged about 10 tanks, started a breeding tank, done a talk for the BFRC, moved house, bought a new car, fixed up said car........ hrmmm I really should go do some study :o

Pfft study is over rated! I am sure I can get this degree on hopes and dreams :sml1: :sml1:

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  • 1 month later...

tank is nowset up and eastablished in a window sill at home. I have been watching the tank heat levels rise during the day to around 31 degrees c figured that the direct sunlight and heater was attributing to this, so I have unpluged my heater but since then has risen 2 degrees c :dunno: then all of a sudden I had a thought :smln: the sun is heating the stones on the back and the stones are now heating the water. :thup:

I see two possible outcomes from this, 1 my fish get boiled over summer :dead%fish or 2 i get free heating most of the year round :P:hail: Im hoping for option 2!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Have moved the tank, is now in its permanint home with its stock and plants in it now

Fish are:

4 key hole cichlids (will reduce excess numbers when a pair is formed)

2 blackline flying fox's ( got dumped on my door step, will be rehomed in my flatmates 4 foot tank asap)

a couple of golden bristlenose

heaps of guppies

Will be adding a group of dwarf chain loaches as there is a huge snail colony in the tank

Plants are:

Java fern attached to the back wall

some kinda crypt

dwarf sag (I think)

java moss attached to the big bit of wood

Please excuse my poor photos

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IMG_0285.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

Current look and what will stay for a while I think as I am happy with it now. :ton: I am still fighting with the darn algae in this tank, lighting time is down to around 4 hours now. I think it is the sub that I used in it, as the tank beside it gets double the light ( exact same light set up) with no algae at all.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have taken all the fish out of this now. I got my pressuerised c02 yesterday so I thought while I dont know what I am doing I will take them out.

I have 2 questions. with out the fish do I need a filter for the plants or do they only need flow not flow and filtration.

Secondly do I turn the co2 on before the lights, with the lights or run it 24/7?

Thank you

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