New to the forums, pics of tank

[Doratus]

Hello. This will be my second post. I figured I should introduce myself and what better way then to show you my tank. My name is Colin by the way.

Okay so here are a couple pics of my planted 20g tank. Nothing too crazy but I really like it. Only 4 Cichlids and a small Pleco, plus five different types of plants. The drift wood I actually found on the beach and the substrate is crushed coral. My filter is the Fluval 205 canister which as you know is rated for up to a 40g tank. Actual amount of water in the tank considering displacement of substrate, wood, and equipment is about 15 gallons. So I figure 40 gallons worth of filtration should be sufficient. *SUPERSMIL
You'll notice that there is a lack of equipment in the tank. What I did was put everything off to one side of the tank and now its being displayed so that particular side is facing the wall. Basically the same way you would normally mount everything on the back, except I did it on the side. It makes for a clean looking tank and honestly I don't understand why more people don't do it this way. Oh well. Better for me.

Now... These next tanks are not mine (I-freaking-wish) but rather they belong to a MASTER Aquarist in San Francisco. If the plants in my tank look especially green it's because I bought them from the guy who maintains these tanks.

So that's all. If your wondering about the 55g in my signature well it's nothing to look at on account of the fact that it's still a work in progress.

Thanks for lookin,
Colin

 

[lauraf]

Hi Colin - welcome to the forum!
Lovely looking tank. I understand what you mean about putting the hardware on the side - especially since like you, I don't have a background cover (pic here of my tank - I feel it's kinda run down - you inspire me to maybe do a rescape). But there are lots of tank canopies that aren't flexible with where the hardware can be placed!

 

[Doratus]

Hi Colin - welcome to the forum!
Lovely looking tank. I understand what you mean about putting the hardware on the side - especially since like you, I don't have a background cover (pic here of my tank - I feel it's kinda run down - you inspire me to maybe do a rescape). But there are lots of tank canopies that aren't flexible with where the hardware can be placed!

I had an old sheet of plastic (plexiglass I guess?) that I had used to seal a window with one of those window AC units. I used a dremel tool to cut the sheet to the exact dimensions of the top of the tank, with perfect cutouts for the filter intake and outflow. The power cord for the heater squeezes through the same space.

My LFS is going out of business and today was the last day. I got a 65w straight pin coralife fixture and new bulb for $40. It's a win/fall but I ended up with 3.25 watts per gallon for the plants. *thumbsup2

Edit: I forgot to mention that you can probably get the plastic from the hardware store for not too much.. you could probably get them to cut it for you too.

 

[lauraf]

Thanks Colin! Good advice for other fishkeepers. I have an Eclipse biowheel system on my 39g, so the filter and lighting is built in to the canopy and unless I change the entire system, I have what I have.
How long have you had your tanks running? I'm sure we'd all like to see pics of your 55g too.

 

[riseabovethesun]

Beautiful tank! I love your scape design And welcome to the community, it's wonderful!

Sometimes it's really hard to place equipment in certain spots, but it is very nice to keep it all hidden how you have it!

 

[Newman]

yes welcome to MFT forums! i like your tank as well

 

[Doratus]

Thank you all. I used to have a 70+ gallon saltwater reef tank and it was beautiful too but I had to move unexpectedly and sold it. Fast Forward 3 years and I see fish tanks for sale at Petco, $1 for 1g and I decide to buy the 20g tank for 20 bucks. (the deal was so good I had to go back and get the 55g for $55!) Now all the time and effort that went into the reef tank now goes into this 20g freshwater. The 55g is just going to be a simple fish tank, I want to see if I can grow some kind of monster. :evil:

As requested, here is the 55g tank, in progress. Simple 'hang on back' filter, heater buried under the substrate, and a fluval for good measure. I only have a few rock in there and as you can see, all 10 cichlids are hiding in them.

Any suggestions for this tank?

Also, for those want to take a gander; Here is a short vid of the actual fish who came out to say hi to the camera.
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[riseabovethesun]

I just joined in on that sale last weekend! I bought a 40 gallon breeder for 40 bucks, they didn't have the 55

What a great deal though! And a monster *gasp!* that sounds scary..especially compared to my love for precious innocent little shrimps

 

[Doratus]

I just joined in on that sale last weekend! I bought a 40 gallon breeder for 40 bucks, they didn't have the 55

What a great deal though! And a monster *gasp!* that sounds scary..especially compared to my love for precious innocent little shrimps

I won't take any pictures, how bout that? haha

 

[riseabovethesun]

Oh, no way are you getting out of taking photos! I'll just peek through my fingers when I look at your photos

Photos are a must! Trust me, I post a zillion everyone is probably tired of them....

 

[lauraf]

Oh Mercedes, your pics are great! Keep 'em coming. I lurve pictures. Colin, please post pics too! I think they are actually really helpful for people to A) get a better sense of the environment one might be asking questions about; and B) gives people new ideas about habitats and aquascaping.

 

[Doratus]

My philosophy on internet forums is this: "No pics? didn't happen"

 

[lauraf]

My philosophy on internet forums is this: "No pics? didn't happen"

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner here. You are most welcome to this humble forum.
Looking forward to having you chime in with your expertise and ideas on other threads.

For your 55g, I wasn't actually sure if you were joking about cichlids being in there! C'mon, how about at least a plant or two??? Or will your cichlids demolish them?

 

[Doratus]

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner here. You are most welcome to this humble forum.
Looking forward to having you chime in with your expertise and ideas on other threads.

For your 55g, I wasn't actually sure if you were joking about cichlids being in there! C'mon, how about at least a plant or two??? Or will your cichlids demolish them?

A: Yes the cichlids would most likely kill any live plants, however, I'm really kinda thinking of turning this into a large planted tank. This will take time though. I just started this 55g a couple weeks ago, it's not ready for plants.

B: No tank of mine will ever have plastic plants and ceramic castles in them. No offense to anyone here but I feel like if your going to do something then you should at least do it right and plastic plants do not grow in any waterway that I'm aware of.

C. No I wasn;t kidding about the cichlids haha. It's just like a cartoon how they all instantly hide in unison.

 

[lauraf]

A) I like plants. Do it!
B) I agree - and also, no offense to anyone, but I prefer a more natural layout. Having said that, I am guilty of including terra cotta plants, decorative smooth rock and hunks of marble or crystal rock amongst the river rock and plants. To me, the tank is like living 'art'!
C) because I viewed your post about the 55g before you edited it to include the video, I had trouble determining whether there was even water in there, let alone fish.
So, if you want to do a planted tank, what would the 'monster fish' be????

 

[Doratus]

C. I don't know... I think a giant aggressive fish would not really be good with any plants at all so it must be one or the other. The giant fish would require more feeding, and thus, more cleaning. But then the plants would require an expensive Co2 setup (because I would just need to go the legitimate route). So it's really up in the air at this point. I have a bunch of little cousins that come over all the time and they would be much more impressed by a large fish then some stupid plants.

 

[lauraf]

"stupid plants"??? stupid plants? What breed of children are these ignorant wee critters?

 

[Doratus]

"stupid plants"??? stupid plants? What breed of children are these ignorant wee critters?

I'm not in the right mindset to respond at the moment. I will get back to you tomorrow. lol

 

[Doratus]

Okay so I went and got an Onion Sword.

I do have Cichlids so I had to take some protective measures but overall I think the plant looks pretty good so far. Have a look...

Here she is getting acclimated..

Here she is planted and protected.. (the keen eye will also notice two new Buttikoferi Tilapia)

And lastly, here is the full tank in it's current state. You can see my blindingly bright planted 20g on the left..

 

[riseabovethesun]

Gorgeous! I love the plant and your tanks are fabulous, even the blinding light I like the positioning of the new plant, it's really fitting, especially with the rock base.