75 Gallon New Photo

[Orion]

Took this one this morning. Still playing with my new camera, but I took this one with a long exposure so that most of the fish were really blurred, allowing a better look at the tank (except for one weird tetra who sat still for almost 4 seconds lol).

[Mercury]

That's a beautiful tank. What plants have you got in it?

[Avalon]

Your tank is coming along nicely! Great work!

[Orion]

Thanks. Most of the plants are various crypt's, two different species of anubias, a sword and a bushel of java fern. (didn't know you could have a 'bushel' of java fern did you? )

You bet it is Avalon! Feed the fish, enjoy the plants,rinse and repeat. Can't get much better than that Thanks, this is exactly the type of setup I was going for and I think it is coming along nice.

[charls]

WOW, beautiful tank orion. I wish that mine would look like that.

[Cichlid-Man]

Hey looks great. I like the fact that its not an overgrown forest but a nice mix of open space/rock and wood/and plants.

[Mercury]

How long does it take you to put a tank like that together?

[Orion]

Thanks charls. Wishing didn't get my tank like this, and it won't get yours like it either. Put your butt to work!

No offense to all those who adore the dutch and ammono style tanks, but I just don't like them as well. That's exactly what I was trying to do with this C-Man, to give a nice assortment of hardscape and plants, without over emphasizing either. Plus with the potential of medium sized fish I'm going to end up with (Heros, Blue Acara's), I'm going to need some open space for swimming as well as some nooks and crannies.

I had this tank up and going for almost 2 years Mercury before I really 'planted' it. During those two years I had a one or two anubias plants, and TONS of java fern just growing wild. The rest of the plants I took out of another tank I took down and put in here. It only took a few hours to actually plant and rearange, but several weeks/months 'tweaking' the placement of rocks and the wood getting things just where I wanted them. It also took several weeks for all the plants to perk up , and a few months before I started to see a significant amount of growth out of all of them. But keep in mind this is a low light tank with no Co2 or extra ferts, so with all the good stuff added it doesn't always take that long, but it does heavily depend on the species of plants you are growing at the time. Most everything in this tank is fairly slow growing, so I wasn't expecting to see any fast growth at all.

[Lotus]

Looking really good

[Avalon]

Originally Posted by Orion

No offense to all those who adore the dutch and ammono style tanks, but I just don't like them as well. That's exactly what I was trying to do with this C-Man, to give a nice assortment of hardscape and plants, without over emphasizing either. Plus with the potential of medium sized fish I'm going to end up with (Heros, Blue Acara's), I'm going to need some open space for swimming as well as some nooks and crannies.

No offense taken! I've had a tank similar to what you're doing now, and I fondly remember it as the most enjoyable tank I've ever had. High tech tanks are like a soap opera. Good one day, drama the next. Lower tech tanks represent stabilty, patience, dignity, and a smidgen of humility (that's a good thing; they display an honest character for all to enjoy). There's something very peaceful about walking into your home and knowing nothing dramatic has happened while you were away, but all the while something great is happening for you to enjoy each and every day.