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Hey all. Been awhile since I posted on this site consistently. Thought I'd share my new project. I haven't had anything but Africans since I was a kid, so this is my first step back in to the community/South American world. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I couldn't figure out where I wanted the tank to go, so I broke up the painters tape and played around. Decided on this orientation:
At first, I'd planned on going with one of the smaller, 12g rimless tanks. I decided I wanted a little more room, so I ended up with a Mr. Aqua ~17g tank (~24"x12"x14"). I'm happy with its construction, and though I haven't seen an ADA tank in person, they do look a little better in pictures than mine does in real life as far as the silicon and joints go. Here's a pic of the first goodies that arrived:
I chose to go with an Eheim this time around (vs the Fluvals I have on my 90g), and I have to say I regret not going with Eheim on my other tank. Its practically silent, and I love the media container. Plus, the non-ribbed tubing let me use a Hydor in-line heater without any leaks. Something I cant say about the Fluvals (Ok, I'm lazy and didn't just swap out the tubing for something that could get a better seal). Next came my order from AFA. Just an 8kg bag of ADA La Plata sand and an Archaea 60cm LED light bar.
Pretty good quality. I had to send the first fixture back because it would turn in to a strobe light after being on for two minutes or so. Don't think the fish liked that. I filled the tank with water, and discovered that despite my desk feeling sturdy, and being able to support my weight (which is a bit more than the tank
), it shook like a ***** whenever I bumped it, sloshing the water around. So I went to ikea and bought the stoutest piece of (matching) furniture they had. Sure, its not supposed to be an aquarium stand, but its working damned well as one. Sand, temporary rocks, water, filter, ikea:
And finally, my driftwood came in. Here's my first "finished" FTS:
Current stocking:
2 GBR (Which have laid eggs as of about 5 minutes ago. I just introduced them to tank on Saturday!)15 Cardinal Tetras
3 Otos
6 Peppered Corys
and 1 Royal Pleco who is just hanging out temporarily.
Some pics of the wildlife:
GBR (Male, right?)
GBR (Making this the female...)
A pair of the corys sneaking around, and my camera choosing to focus on the branch.
Female showing off.
"What up"
Otos doin what they do.
Male's turn to show off.
Final shot. All in all I'm pretty happy without everything turned out. Everyone is doing well. I never realized how much **** my pleco produced until I had him in a smaller tank.
Advice/Hardscape Ideas/Comments are welcome. I have some ebay'd lily pipes coming, so I'll try to clean up the filter tubing, etc. Also, I cant believe how fast water evaporates out of this thing. It's like half an inch or more each day. I want to get a glass cover, but then I can't have the branch poking out the top of the tank, which I think is pretty cool. Any suggestions?
Sorry for all the pictures, but I finally managed to take some throughout the whole process instead of just the end. Enjoy, and let me know whatcha think!
At first, I'd planned on going with one of the smaller, 12g rimless tanks. I decided I wanted a little more room, so I ended up with a Mr. Aqua ~17g tank (~24"x12"x14"). I'm happy with its construction, and though I haven't seen an ADA tank in person, they do look a little better in pictures than mine does in real life as far as the silicon and joints go. Here's a pic of the first goodies that arrived:
I chose to go with an Eheim this time around (vs the Fluvals I have on my 90g), and I have to say I regret not going with Eheim on my other tank. Its practically silent, and I love the media container. Plus, the non-ribbed tubing let me use a Hydor in-line heater without any leaks. Something I cant say about the Fluvals (Ok, I'm lazy and didn't just swap out the tubing for something that could get a better seal). Next came my order from AFA. Just an 8kg bag of ADA La Plata sand and an Archaea 60cm LED light bar.
Pretty good quality. I had to send the first fixture back because it would turn in to a strobe light after being on for two minutes or so. Don't think the fish liked that. I filled the tank with water, and discovered that despite my desk feeling sturdy, and being able to support my weight (which is a bit more than the tank
), it shook like a ***** whenever I bumped it, sloshing the water around. So I went to ikea and bought the stoutest piece of (matching) furniture they had. Sure, its not supposed to be an aquarium stand, but its working damned well as one. Sand, temporary rocks, water, filter, ikea:And finally, my driftwood came in. Here's my first "finished" FTS:
Current stocking:
2 GBR (Which have laid eggs as of about 5 minutes ago. I just introduced them to tank on Saturday!)15 Cardinal Tetras
3 Otos
6 Peppered Corys
and 1 Royal Pleco who is just hanging out temporarily.
Some pics of the wildlife
:GBR (Male, right?)
GBR (Making this the female...)
A pair of the corys sneaking around, and my camera choosing to focus on the branch.
Female showing off.
"What up"
Otos doin what they do.
Male's turn to show off.
Final shot. All in all I'm pretty happy without everything turned out. Everyone is doing well. I never realized how much **** my pleco produced until I had him in a smaller tank.Advice/Hardscape Ideas/Comments are welcome. I have some ebay'd lily pipes coming, so I'll try to clean up the filter tubing, etc. Also, I cant believe how fast water evaporates out of this thing. It's like half an inch or more each day. I want to get a glass cover, but then I can't have the branch poking out the top of the tank, which I think is pretty cool. Any suggestions?
Sorry for all the pictures, but I finally managed to take some throughout the whole process instead of just the end. Enjoy, and let me know whatcha think!
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