New Tank Project

Ok,
So after too long waiting to actually go ahead and get this tank Ive finally managed to get the green light and drive on with it! (That and the fact the wife is eager to get the other tanks out of here!!!).
Ok so to explain the concept, as a fan of smaller fish, Im going to try and recreate an Amazon type feel to the tank, albeit the fish will not be exclusively South American. Something like a nano project but on a large scale. Hard to achieve I agree but its a work in progress.
The Tank itself is a 5ft Clearseal with Sump build in. Probably 600-720 litres all in with sump filled etc.

So Ive two nice big pieces of bogwood soaking for past weeks but they are still buoyant so have some rocks and suckers attached to them to keep them down.

Its a first for me in terms of a making any major effort on the plants front, I want to avoid the CO2 route, but I am adding EasyCarbo and Profito.
So Ive a two T5 light 80W running on the tank, with one of the bulbs been a Powerchrome Aquaflora to help the plants along. Substrate consists of ADA Amazonia Soil for the planted areas,with Silicia sand on the remainder of the tank. Sump consists of basic sponges,some Micromec,filterballs etc..
The return pump is a hydor seltz L40. Two 300 watt heaters running.

I'll post some pics of the project from before and after so far.
In terms of the plants in the tank so far:
Hyddrophila red- green,Lobelia Cardinalis mini,Eusteralis Stellata grof,Lysimachia aurea,Elocharis Sp,Eleocharis parvula,vallisneria gigantea,hygrophilia polysperma rosanervig,Ammania gracvillis red,Echinodorus 'Red Diamond',Sagittaria subulata var pulsilla.
Lights are on for 6 hours a day at the moment but Ive increased it ever so slightly by an hour or two over the weekend as I want to look at it!

All appear to have settled in so far, the mopani roots are leaching a jelly type fungus however I gather its of no concern,I did scrub initially but its returning now, hopefully some Ottos and the like will resolve it.

Only adding very slowly,as I used a squeeze from an established tank and the plants have also helped the cylce so far.
Had a scare yesterday when one of the fitting came away from the Ballast on the sump, Ive now glued the PVC pipe with S3 glue and its been ok since. Delighted I went with the Black background, makes the tank looks so much better.

Pics to follow of before and after.Bare in mind there is only 5 v small fish in there so far, so will be adding in time.

Gavin

sounds like an amazing adverture, looking forward to seeing the photos.
Might want to move to the DIY section

It sound very simular to want im under taking - so im sure i can learn alot from this so post everything , EVERYTHING

Almost there!

Sorry for all the pics!!

Gavin

very cool

well done

when you upload in photobucket there is about 3 links for your photo
on the right hand side. If you use the IMG link it should show the photo here.

Thats a lovely tank and setup Gavin.

Hi,
right side is ok, but i think that big wood on the left side is to close to front glass. Unless you have some vision how to make it looks good.

Regards, Pit.

The piece to the left was to be standing upright howwver its still buoyant so Ive had to tie it down for the time being, however Im limited with how far it can go back due to the sump box. I think it works and once some further plant growth occurs I should be able to make it look abit better. Its stuck onto the side glass with suckers at present to get it waterlogged further.

Gavin

Fishowner wrote:

Sorry for all the pics!!

Gavin

That's one thing you never have to apologise for on this forum.

Looks the business looking forward to seeing it progress.

Q

that looks really nice, gavin. the wood shape and location adds to the effect and when the plants take off it should be amazing.

Very nice

Very nice, especially the root and the stones on the right hand side!

Andreas

Hi all,been too long since ive posted...the joys of children and all that...anyhow i thought it might be time to update my project some 2 and a half years later!So my micro fish theme worked for a while but I did get some congos and angels that grew and as a result the very nano species were not an option going forward.Hope ye like the tank now.I had to be practical as time is hard to get now so I went with vallis plants mainly and they require ferts so no co2 needed.Congos and Angels get on well and add a nice look to the tank.Still have lots of ideas but getting the time is the challenge.

Pics are a struggle!!

Very nice tank!

looks brilliant ,well done

Struggling with the pics here!

Beautiful Fishowner!

Congos are stunning fish (Very underated)

The Vallis theme is an excellent choice....Very natural!

Id say your fish love that environment!

Well done!

looks really natural ,brilliant job

gunnered72 wrote:

Beautiful Fishowner!

Congos are stunning fish (Very underated)

The Vallis theme is an excellent choice....Very natural!

Id say your fish love that environment!

Well done!

Congos are super fish,often overlooked in petshops due to their colours when young but as they mature they give amazing displays and when the sun catches them in the morning they literally shimmer with colour.They are very docile also despite having nice big teeth too! I need to go a few more females but hard to find them in Cork.The Vallis is a good plant alright but I do need to get a good trimming on the tank soon...despite the Congos size,and mine are the largest Ive seen anywhere so far (Im lucky to have them this size),the two angels are 100% the bosses of this tank...with one of those angel the main man!

Gavin

That is an awesome looking tank

Very cool

looks great , finding time is always a problem

Very natural looking very nice I also think the congos are cool fish kept the yrs ago

Love it! Awesome tank + the Congo's
Nice work Gav