talldutchies 33 gallon semi-biotope

[talldutchie]

I bought a reasonably small echinodorus species (not sure which one actually) and my very first cryptocorne, the common wendti species. Total money spend, 6,50.



I also managed to get my hands on a bit of wendelov java fern



At this point the outlines were pretty much there.


The tank also seemed to be cycled so I transferred some shrimp and snails to add some movement while I Waited a few days to make sure it stayed cycled.

Equipment.. I got a 150 watt heater with the tank, that's now int he back left corner behind the vallis. The filter intake is on the right behind the wood. The spray bar is now on the left of the tank.

Filtration is provided by a second hand Eheim 2211 (20 bucks) which only needed a new shaft and bushing set (7 bucks). For peace of mind I added new hoses.
MEdia is a single white pad, a big load of JBL Micromec which claims to deliver 1500sqm of surface for one liter. (that's about 16000 square feet for 2 pints) and a blue medium sponge.

I've found eheim's equipment, even this basic no priming gadget filter, to be of excellent quality. Only thing that lets it down is the poor documentation.
Still.. this unit sits in the cabinet below the tank with a bit of insulation around it and I just don't hear it.

[CrazedMichael]

Looks beautiful....

Can imagine a school of Neons in there to add that depth of colour...

[steeler1]

Very nice tank, I like the neon neon idea but Cardinals even more.

[CrazedMichael]

Agreed - But is there much difference between the 2?

[talldutchie]

No. And there's already fish in there.

I'm sharing this for people who like built threads and perhaps also to show some interested people that a biotope-style aquarium doesn't need to be very difficult or expensive.

[CrazedMichael]

No. And there's already fish in there.

I'm sharing this for people who like built threads and perhaps also to show some interested people that a biotope-style aquarium doesn't need to be very difficult or expensive.

Mission accomplished..... Looking forward to updates

[talldutchie]

Well, here's some overview shots:


oct 30


nov 10



nov 26

(this was an experiment in high-resolution focus stacking, did something wrong and got something a bit distorted)

dec 2nd.

[talldutchie]

Since they moved my bristlenose have grown quite a bit. This one's digging into the algae wafer.



Messy eater, you can see bits flying.

I got some marbled hatchets:


The lambchops like the new tank


And these guys were looking this bright (even as they started dying)
]

[gronlaura]

Beautiful tank.

[talldutchie]

I couldn't part with my shrimp so that cleanup crew is over and as always they think the bristlenoses' food is theirs: