slinky
01-05-2008, 01:01 AM
OK... this is really exciting, almost like redoing your apartment in a way. Upgrading from a 10 gallon hex which is huge. I've got a new 16 gallon high cherry bowfront. Width is the same as a 10 gallon but it's bowed in the front and 18" high. Interested in getting some opinions and suggestions while I can make changes. Here's what is inside and I call it the "New York Special" given the black. :)
1) Black Estes gravel mixed with some black with occasional rainbow colors (blue mostly, some pink, green and orange that is rarely seen.) The little tidbits of color are nice. Background is solid black peeled sticky sheet. I couldn't get the air bubbles out and had no patience to try to cut each sheet into fine strips and then try to slowly put each piece next to each other perfectly. Wasn't worth it and you can barely see the bubbles and it's a little more in the picture than you can see. Maybe I'll redo this at some point. The wood, plants and fish really stand out in black and it's the least artificial of all the gravel.
2) Store bought drift wood: This was an amazing piece I found which really looks natural (the only one.) Soaked it in hot and cold water for the better part of 2 days but it may take a while to get out all the tannens and other junk that may be in there. I figure I may throw some carbon in the filter and get rid of the rest, water change will also do the trick. So far it's staying down but I'm always worried that it will suddenly wriggle free from the gravel and stone and swing up to float and destroy the tank.
3) Plants: On the left side where the filter is and limited room I put in 4 Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena) shoots which give a nice little hiding area between the shoots for some of the smaller fish. On the back of the right side which covers up the black air pump tubing there is a Green Hedge (Alternanthera ficoidea) and right in front is a small Banana Plant (Nymphoides aquatica). I figured that these will grow and there are plenty of plants in there. I also have a Moss Ball (Chladophora aegagropila) I either will add in or remove the banana plant and substitute.
4) Rocks - 3 chunks of cliff stone (which are used to make sure the wood is anchored down) and they two side pieces are really nice. They provide a little tunnel like area for the fish to hide and play with a top that the gobies and cories like to use. Another piece of cliff stone is on the left in back. A piece of red stone (like green, thin like shale) which is leaning back against the back with another piece glued on top that creates a little platform the gobies love to rest on. There is a small hiding area in the back between of the tank and that black rock which leads to a small airstone on the other side that creates a little wall of air - the fish seem to enjoy playing in those.
Equipment: Fluval 205 (I will never go back to a Penguin), AquaClear 50w heater, TOM auto alert digital thermometer (will probably get another strip for easy readings to alert for high/low temp), Whisper 10 air filter (fine for the 16g tank), 3" black airstone. Stock lighting is in there now but I do have a 15 watt Aqua-Glo flourescent that looks a little darker than this but is supposedly better for the plants, fish and for viewing.
Filter: I'm trying to cycle but it seems all the ammonia just is gone in an instant! I have 2 sets of Biomax in the two top stations in the filter and in the bottom I've got Boyd's Chemi-Pure, which may be getting rid of the ammonia although it says it doesn't say it will. I'm using Seachem's Stability for bacteria. Oddly enough I'm getting straight zero readings across the line and zero ammonia an hour or two later even if I add 10 drops.
Fish: They gave me 3 free pink glofish (danios) which like the upper area, 3 Julii Cories, 2 Otocinclus, 2 bumblebee gobies. I can probably and 2-3 fish and may add some Sterbai Cories or something else. Don't want to have more than 10-11 fish in this tank. My favorite fish are the gobies but they hate anything but live food and are thus a pain to deal with. I am giving away the 2 gold mollies with my old tank - they are pretty and personable but eat all the food preventing others and also produce far more waste than most of the other fish.
Would love to hear comments and thoughts on the setup, suggestions, etc., including on the cycling that seems either not to be happening or may have been jumpstarted with some media from the old tank. Water is also "cloudy" which may be from the growth of bacteria or possibly that drift wood which was soaked for 2 days. Setup is only 2.5 days old, 1 day with the plants.
1) Black Estes gravel mixed with some black with occasional rainbow colors (blue mostly, some pink, green and orange that is rarely seen.) The little tidbits of color are nice. Background is solid black peeled sticky sheet. I couldn't get the air bubbles out and had no patience to try to cut each sheet into fine strips and then try to slowly put each piece next to each other perfectly. Wasn't worth it and you can barely see the bubbles and it's a little more in the picture than you can see. Maybe I'll redo this at some point. The wood, plants and fish really stand out in black and it's the least artificial of all the gravel.
2) Store bought drift wood: This was an amazing piece I found which really looks natural (the only one.) Soaked it in hot and cold water for the better part of 2 days but it may take a while to get out all the tannens and other junk that may be in there. I figure I may throw some carbon in the filter and get rid of the rest, water change will also do the trick. So far it's staying down but I'm always worried that it will suddenly wriggle free from the gravel and stone and swing up to float and destroy the tank.
3) Plants: On the left side where the filter is and limited room I put in 4 Lucky Bamboo (Dracaena) shoots which give a nice little hiding area between the shoots for some of the smaller fish. On the back of the right side which covers up the black air pump tubing there is a Green Hedge (Alternanthera ficoidea) and right in front is a small Banana Plant (Nymphoides aquatica). I figured that these will grow and there are plenty of plants in there. I also have a Moss Ball (Chladophora aegagropila) I either will add in or remove the banana plant and substitute.
4) Rocks - 3 chunks of cliff stone (which are used to make sure the wood is anchored down) and they two side pieces are really nice. They provide a little tunnel like area for the fish to hide and play with a top that the gobies and cories like to use. Another piece of cliff stone is on the left in back. A piece of red stone (like green, thin like shale) which is leaning back against the back with another piece glued on top that creates a little platform the gobies love to rest on. There is a small hiding area in the back between of the tank and that black rock which leads to a small airstone on the other side that creates a little wall of air - the fish seem to enjoy playing in those.
Equipment: Fluval 205 (I will never go back to a Penguin), AquaClear 50w heater, TOM auto alert digital thermometer (will probably get another strip for easy readings to alert for high/low temp), Whisper 10 air filter (fine for the 16g tank), 3" black airstone. Stock lighting is in there now but I do have a 15 watt Aqua-Glo flourescent that looks a little darker than this but is supposedly better for the plants, fish and for viewing.
Filter: I'm trying to cycle but it seems all the ammonia just is gone in an instant! I have 2 sets of Biomax in the two top stations in the filter and in the bottom I've got Boyd's Chemi-Pure, which may be getting rid of the ammonia although it says it doesn't say it will. I'm using Seachem's Stability for bacteria. Oddly enough I'm getting straight zero readings across the line and zero ammonia an hour or two later even if I add 10 drops.
Fish: They gave me 3 free pink glofish (danios) which like the upper area, 3 Julii Cories, 2 Otocinclus, 2 bumblebee gobies. I can probably and 2-3 fish and may add some Sterbai Cories or something else. Don't want to have more than 10-11 fish in this tank. My favorite fish are the gobies but they hate anything but live food and are thus a pain to deal with. I am giving away the 2 gold mollies with my old tank - they are pretty and personable but eat all the food preventing others and also produce far more waste than most of the other fish.
Would love to hear comments and thoughts on the setup, suggestions, etc., including on the cycling that seems either not to be happening or may have been jumpstarted with some media from the old tank. Water is also "cloudy" which may be from the growth of bacteria or possibly that drift wood which was soaked for 2 days. Setup is only 2.5 days old, 1 day with the plants.