KevinVA's 75gal Journey in Planted Tanks

**mojosodope** · 12-21-2012, 04:16 AM

sorry to hear of your loss man, maybe wait till the driftwood comes, get rid of the gbrs, get some new apistos and eventually get bolivians. Holiday shipping is a mess but you'll get it soon, looking forward to see how it looks!

**KevinVA** · 12-21-2012, 04:36 AM

I may move things around tomorrow, since it's going to be difficult to take them back until next week. I'm heading up to NJ for the weekend for X-Mas and we're leaving after work, so it would probably be better to mix it up now. I feel really bad for the female Apisto. =/ They were such a nice, happy couple.

I just hope the little bastard doesn't kill her next. ;/ Water params are perfect, so they should remain happy until I get back, and hopefully the water change from yesterday and the perfect params will aid in her healing.

**steeler1** · 12-21-2012, 05:20 AM

Maybe put him in the QT till you decide what to do with him? Where did you get the snails from if I may ask?

**KevinVA** · 12-21-2012, 07:32 AM

I got the snails here: http://www.bobstropicalplants.com/shop/en/. They guarantee snails/fish if you use express shipping, but not priority. And I was incorrect, it only took 2 days for them to get here and I had him drop a 72hr heat back in there.

I'd ask for a new shipment, but it is winter. Can't really hold that against the guy. I've ordered through them before and the snails I got were ok. Not sure the cause of death, but I may try another source next time.

As for a QT, I'll check on everyone before I leave tomorrow... Hopefully no one else is terrorized to death, and if things look settled, I'll probably just leave them alone. More moves might stress them out again and the GBR might die in the QT from that stress.

**KevinVA** · 12-21-2012, 07:38 AM

Oh, I forgot to mention... I'm going to embark on a new journey in the next few weeks. ;] I'm going to attempt breeding Nerite & Rabbit snails. I already purchased a couple of 15lb bags of crushed coral, sponge filters, a hydrometer and just need a couple of 10gal tanks and probably a metal stand.

Couldn't believe my wife agreed to that.

I figure Nerite snails are probably one of the more sought after snails, since they eat a crap load of algae, but not your plants and the Rabbit snails seem pretty rare, but one of the coolest snails I've seen. Should be interesting and fun. I suppose I'll start a new journal for that. Thinking of selling them on Aquabid, if everything goes well.

**RylandVT** · 12-25-2012, 02:08 PM

Just found your journal and enjoyed reading through all your trials/tribulations of getting this tank going. Your aquascaping looks great! Good luck with the snails!

**fishmommie** · 12-25-2012, 08:55 PM

Originally Posted by KevinVA

Oh, I forgot to mention... I'm going to embark on a new journey in the next few weeks. ;] I'm going to attempt breeding Nerite & Rabbit snails. I already purchased a couple of 15lb bags of crushed coral, sponge filters, a hydrometer and just need a couple of 10gal tanks and probably a metal stand.

Couldn't believe my wife agreed to that.

I figure Nerite snails are probably one of the more sought after snails, since they eat a crap load of algae, but not your plants and the Rabbit snails seem pretty rare, but one of the coolest snails I've seen. Should be interesting and fun. I suppose I'll start a new journal for that. Thinking of selling them on Aquabid, if everything goes well.

I'll be among the first to bid!! How long do I have to wait? LOL

**KevinVA** · 12-28-2012, 03:23 AM

Originally Posted by RylandVT

Just found your journal and enjoyed reading through all your trials/tribulations of getting this tank going. Your aquascaping looks great! Good luck with the snails!

Hey, thanks for stopping by and the compliment. It's certainly been a tumultuous ride, but well worth it. I love the challenge of making a viable home for these creatures and creating an underwater paradise. Of course, now that I just received my new driftwood, I'm beginning to change everything around again. lol It never ends.

I've just removed all of my rocks, which was interesting. I found a lot of dead snails that my Assassin snails made a snack of, and I also found some hidden Assassin snails. I had wondered where they went off to. Glad to see that they're still alive and well.

I also had a few rounds with a female German Blue Ram, who decided that those were her rocks. She went after me like I was an invader and literally fought me off. Glad they're small, as they're quite vicious. ;P

I added my new driftwood, but it still needs to soak, before it can sink. For the time being, I've placed a big rock on top of it, to keep it at the bottom. Hopefully the GBR doesn't claim that one, because it's coming out of there.

I also just purchased another light fixture to replace my standard T5 fixture. I opted for a dual-bulb 6500k T5 HO fixture, so that'll add another 108w to the tank, giving me a total of 216w. That ups the lighting for plants (2.88w per gallon, which is medium lighting (just under high lighting - 3wpg)) and will hopefully be plenty to sustain most of the plants I'm opting for.

I'm thinking about removing the stems, and sticking with rooted plants like anubias, swords, maybe a couple of pigmy lilly bulbs like I have in the 10gal - they grow quite beautifully with high light. The stems look great, but they're a PITA to deal with.

Anyway, I'll take a pic of the tank tomorrow to show you my progress. It looks a little bare where the rocks were, so I'm thinking of adding a couple. Thinking about moving around the Swords, too. Might move one of them to the right side, where the Cabomba is.

**KevinVA** · 12-28-2012, 03:26 AM

Originally Posted by fishmommie

I'll be among the first to bid!! How long do I have to wait? LOL

Haha, thanks Cindy. Oh, I've got (or at least, have purchased) most of the things I need to get started - just need to buy two 10gal tanks, cycle them, create the perfect environment for breeding and purchase the starter snails. ;]

Should be a few months before I'm ready to sell.