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  • #1

    Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

    Hello everyone,

    I'm trying to build a tropical Amazon aquarium. And I have no clue where to really start. I have the idea of how I want it to look like but once I put it into gear and run with the idea, my 65g tank doesn't exactly look what I want it to. I'm sort of just buying a crap load of fake plants that I imagine would be in the Amazon river.





    Something like the pictures show above. Right now all I do is buy fake plants...Soon I'll be upgrading to a 100g and buying some drift wood and rocks  and replacing my gravel with sand. My current fish tank looks NOTHING CLOSE to what I want it to look like. Can anyone link me to a website or give me some pointers on what I should get? Or where you buy your decors.
    68G: Cichlid Community tank soon to be moving in a 125G.

    Equipment: Fluval FX5; AquaClear 7; Powerhead 350.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

    Well to start with the pics above are of real planted tanks, fake plants are just that,fake.  I personally have never seen a tank with fake plants and said WOW.  If you are not sure of a way to lay out a tank find one that you like and copy what they did with the same or close to the same plants, whether they be real or fake. Best advice that I can give is not to rush, take your time , find what you like & don't waste your money on things that you are not sure of. as far as figureing out what plants go in what location or identifing a plant I like to use plantgeek.net or if you find a pic of it post it here & someone should be able to identify it for you. Good luck. keep asking questions, thats how I learn!!

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    • #3
      Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

      Originally posted by spyke1969";p="
      Well to start with the pics above are of real planted tanks, fake plants are just that,fake.  I personally have never seen a tank with fake plants and said WOW.  If you are not sure of a way to lay out a tank find one that you like and copy what they did with the same or close to the same plants, whether they be real or fake. Best advice that I can give is not to rush, take your time , find what you like & don't waste your money on things that you are not sure of. as far as figuring out what plants go in what location or identifying a plant I like to use plantgeek.net or if you find a pic of it post it here & someone should be able to identify it for you. Good luck. keep asking questions, that's how I learn!!
      I guess you're right, I was planning on mixing my tank with fake and real ones. I really want to start using sand instead of gravel, but I'll have to wait til I get my 100g. Does having sand create a big sandstorm when the fishes start chasing each other? What are the baddies about having a tank with sand?


      Another question, I recently bought a 400watt heater, and my water temp isn't changing. I bought it from Petsmart and the person that was working in the aquarium department said shes not sure if the brand is trustworthy. All I know is when I turn the knob 80degrees or above the light comes on when I put it below 80degrees which I currently do the light goes off. It's been about 2 days now since I've had it and no change on water temperature.
      68G: Cichlid Community tank soon to be moving in a 125G.

      Equipment: Fluval FX5; AquaClear 7; Powerhead 350.

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      • #4
        Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

        Keeping sand may create a big sandstorm when the fishes chase each other but this fact is determined by two things. 1) how big the fish are and 2) how big the sand grains are.  Play sand is light and does create "sandstorms."  The grains in PFS is a little bigger so it's not as bad.

        Regarding the heater, you can't really determine if the heater is good or bad just because the light on it goes on and off.  You have to know what temperature your tank water is at.  Don't use only the heater to determine the water temperature. You should have another thermostats to make sure your heater is working right.  

        This link might help you getting started.....http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/...n_Biotope.html
        I ate my fish that died.

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        • #5
          Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

          Another thing......there is nothing wrong with using fake plants.  fishman76092 has a great looking tank and he uses fake plants I think.
          I ate my fish that died.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

            I am a South American River biotype fan also. I used the link below as my initial source:

            Biotope Aquariums
            http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope.htm
            Biotope Aquariums

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

              Originally posted by jklntx";p="
              I am a South American River biotype fan also. I used the link below as my initial source:

              http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope.htm
              That link helped a lot. Thanks. After further thought I think I'm getting a 125-150G. And the fishs I plan to put in there are Oscars and small tropical fish. Also throwing in a Rena XP3 canister filter a long with my Aquaclear 300 and Powerhead 350. Can't wait, for now I'm going to stock up on decors, heading down to Galveston this weekend to pick up some driftwood a long the beach shores. Thanks for all the help guys.
              68G: Cichlid Community tank soon to be moving in a 125G.

              Equipment: Fluval FX5; AquaClear 7; Powerhead 350.

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

                You might want to rethink the stocking on that tank. Oscars and small tropicals in the same tank usually winds up with a well-fed oscar. Also, oscars, like many cichlids, can be powerful diggers. They can make a real mess of plants and substrate.

                Mark
                What are the facts? Again and again and again--what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore devine revelation, forget what "the stars foretell", avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history"--what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your only clue.

                Robert Anson Heinlein

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                • #9
                  Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

                  I was going to say that....but then I thought that, experience is such a excellent teacher...... :)

                  CF
                  Truth is the cement that holds the bricks and stones of a sane and civilized society together. Remove the former and the latter will crumble.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

                    also, be careful on picking up driftwood from galveston, if it is not the right kind of wood or is not treated correctly before use, you might be in for a big nasty surprise, btw, welcome to hfb, you did the first good thing by joining this forum, lots of good information here and a better addiction than many others  
                    65 gallon - ADA 120p - planted
                    55 gallon - AGA standard - mix cichlid
                    30 gallon tall - eclipse acrylic - semi-planted

                    live and let live

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

                      Unless you got a huge piece of wood, I'd expect daily re-organization of plants and whatnot from just aobut any Central or South American large Cichlid types.
                      380G For Sale $3000 Acrylic tank & stand
                      300G Petrochromis Trewavasae and Tropheus mpimbwe Red Cheek & Duboisi
                      180G For Sale $1,100 Oceanic Cherry with Stand, T5HO Lights, (2) Eheim 2262
                      150G Tropheus Annectens Kekese & Ikola

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

                        I just have 1 rock and the rest fake plants. I plan on getting real plants once I move to a 125G. And by small fish I meant other Cichlids like convicts. I returned my Red Belly Pacu for 2 Black Convicts. I was going to just put some other Cichlids in with the Oscars  and maybe a Blood Parrot. If I do happen to get a driftwood from the beach I guess I'll just follow the driftwood clean procedure and boil the piece of wood for 15 minutes 3X to kill parasites and what not.
                        68G: Cichlid Community tank soon to be moving in a 125G.

                        Equipment: Fluval FX5; AquaClear 7; Powerhead 350.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

                          Just try to keep the size of your Oscars tankmates a bit on the large side. Also, other "preditors" or meat eaters will do better with Oscars.

                          As mentioned by others, don't expect the Oscars to respect your Aquascaping, they'll move your plants and dig up or undermine just about any piece of decor.


                          CF
                          Truth is the cement that holds the bricks and stones of a sane and civilized society together. Remove the former and the latter will crumble.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

                            Haha, they already do that. They go and pick at the fake plants, nibbling thinking it's the real thing. But they don't move it too bad. I also put black decorative rocks on the base of the fake plants. Makes the decors a littler heavier.
                            68G: Cichlid Community tank soon to be moving in a 125G.

                            Equipment: Fluval FX5; AquaClear 7; Powerhead 350.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: Tropical Amazon Aquarium HELP ME!

                              Oscars are monster and I use to love them when I kept some as a kid.

                              Nothing wrong with keeping little fishes in there too.  I did that all the time and everything turned out great!

                              The Oscars would hunt them down and eat them......what a sight to see......you are making me miss them.  :(
                              I ate my fish that died.

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