DebSills

an almost 2 month update: some minor changes, but nothing major - the big crypt in the back right is finally growing back in after melting back (probably 75% of the plant melted 😞 ). The windelov had some hair algae on it, which I fixed with some manual removal and adjusting my lighting. Everything else seems to be doing great and I'm really happy with how its turning out so far (other than my red flame...see post under plants). I think I may have too many male CPDs, I think the few that I've lost in the past few years (have had them about 3 years) have been females, because I seem to see a lot of male posturing/fighting over the few females that I have (seems to be a 2-1 M:F ratio unfortunately)...the females could really care less, but some of the males will get minor injuries that usually heal in a few days...and mostly happens in the morning, the rest of the day they're fairly chill I am still seeing my pygmy cories...they are so dang cute! I don't think I'm going to put my paleatus cories in this tank...with the CPDs and the pygmies it just seems that the paleatus would look too big I'm thinking of putting a group of golden white clouds in there - small enough in size, able to deal with some flow from the FX2, and will work with the temp (~72) Sorry about the reflections, but here's the tank today 🙂

So, I have a red flame sword and it is currently planted in front of my sponge filter - I was hoping it would get some height and help to hide it a bit (I really wish it was black like their air line, but...)...anyways, it is growing and getting some new leaves and I love it but none of the new growth is getting any height. The few leaves that have a stem (see photo) are all growth that was there when I planted it. Does it need more light? Currently I have the smallest Aquasky light (12W) in the back center (settings below), primarily for the stems and it also does a sunrise/sunset. The main light is the ACO Easy Plant LED set at 30% (on at 8:30am, off at 4:00pm). Does it need root tabs? (stratum and bio-stratum with crushed root tabs under gravel) is it just not going to grow taller in my aquarium? I am fine with that, but I may want to move it forward and put something else taller in that spot if that's the case Everything else seems to be doing well in there and the small amount of hair type algae has balanced itself out and died off so overall the tank is going great, but just this one plant I was hoping would serve the purpose of hiding the sponge filter, is not really up to snuff so to speak . Sorry about all of the reflections!

yeah, I never saw the pygmies when they were in my 29...I just feel a little bad for them because there is only 3 of them, so I may get a bunch more and see if that keeps them out and about like they are now (they like to swim around mid water with the CPDs so far 🙂 the CPDs seem to be enjoying the H'ra that I put in the back of the tank...this morning I came down and they are all darting in and out of that and the males are all "sparring" near it and every now and then a female will dart out of there and then eventually swim back in...they spawned at least once in my 29 and I saw a few babies once, but there was basically no chance for survival and I would doubt any of these would survive either, but its still fun to watch 🙂 the shrimp are enjoying all of the "gunk" that was growing on the wood...they have cleaned up a bunch of it already 😄 still not sure what else I want to put in here (other than my 6 paleatus cories from my 20L), but this is a nice "problem" to have I suppose - I love to research, so I like to look at stock lists for a couple of the LFS in the area and aqadvisor and then play around with different combinations...I know aqadvisor isn't the best guide, but its still fun to get an idea

so, I added the first group of fish into the new tank, they're settling in well so far what I added; ~10 CPDs (male and female and the males were too pretty to not add to this tank) ~ 8 Amanos 2 Otos and a surprise of 3 pygmy cories so...now that I have the pygmy cories in there, I may have to rethink my stocking choices/room so I can add more pygmies 🙂

thanks!! I am pretty proud that I was able to rebuild/reseal the tank (and it doesn't leak 🙂 ) and build the tank stand - its not the prettiest, but its strong as heck and I won't have to worry about water damage to a pressed board stand some of my crypts are dying back and I'm a bit heartbroken about my huge one, but it will all come back eventually 🙂 I just have to force the patience and not keep messing with them I'm going to finish up making my lids (corrugated plastic...I apparently suck at cutting glass...lol) and then I'm going to add the second ACO heater and put in my cories, otos and shrimp and then I'll probably start quarantining whatever else I'm going to put in here...can't wait for it to be all settled in, but I know it will take a while and that's ok too 🙂

Back in October, I found a 65 gallon tank (36x18x24) for $45 on FB Marketplace...not a bad deal, but it needed some work and I wanted to build my own stand for it. I work from home 4 days a week, so this tank is my zoom backdrop and also just as a stress reducer when I have to deal with annoying people 🙂 Here's the tank after we took the top rim off - it was cracked and there was some dirt between the glass and the frame from the previous owner leaving it outside on its side. It was not a pretty removal, but it made it a lot easier to get all of the silicone off - which took a LONG time...at some point, someone tried to reseal the tank but just went over the old stuff, so it wasn't pretty here's the tank after I removed all of the silicone (forgive the blue...its an old Aqueon light that I threw on there) my stand build - it has since been painted black Heres the "pre-water" look And here's the (almost finished...I might add more H'ra and/or a rock or two from another tank) planted look - forgive the cloudy water, most of the plants have been in other tanks for over a year, so its going through a bit of a bacterial die-off I'm still not 100% sure what I want to put in there, so if anyone has some suggestions, let me know I will be putting in (from other tanks); 6 pepper cories, ~5 Otos (2 existing, plus 3 new at some point), ~10 amano shrimp, (~10 CPDs...not sure on these) My current thought is to add Black Ruby Barbs and Bloodfin Tetras (maybe 9-12 of each), but again...not "married" to this idea Tank is currently sitting right around 73, but will most likely push it up to ~75/76 once I add the second ACO heater (currently in use), sponge filter, FX2, Small Aquasky light just for the sunrise/sunset, ACO 36in light, currently set at 40% (turned up to 100% for pic above), currently running a tetra air pump, but will be swapping with ACO pump so I have the battery backup if needed in the future. Let me know what you think I'm happy with it so far 🙂 *edited to swap last picture for one with fewer glare

My only issue with Uncle Ned's is that its hard to figure out what they have in stock at any time, you can check their forum to see what's coming, but there's no way (that I have found) that tells me what they have in stock...its further out for me though, so I tend to stick to Tropic Isle (Framingham) which was the first ACO retail partner in MA 🙂

thank you for posting this!!! Just got an upgrade kit and another medium with the kit 🙂 yay!!

My guess is that the bottom frame wasn't fully pushed down when they put it on...with the foam underneath, it should be fine 🙂 your kitty is beautiful!!!!!

I am so excited for these - I put in to be notified, but I'm going to check my lfs this weekend on the off chance they have them

I watch a lot of You Tube dreaming of having a huge tank someday - I have come across several videos of people setting up and plumbing in a Custom Aquarium sump...Cichlid Bros and Kave Man Aquatics both have pretty detailed videos of their CA setups...its pretty interesting even though I am many moons away from getting a big tank myself 🙂 I can't wait to see how this turns out!!! seems like its going to be amazing

@JChristophersAdventures I absolutely love the dennison barb, but they do get a little big for only a 3 ft tank, so maybe someday when I get a 6ft tank, I'll put those in, but probably not this setup 🙂 @Guppysnail Those look amazing - the only dwarf cichlids around me tend to be apistos, rams and kribs, which I would be open to, but want to make sure I'm not overloading the lower part of the tank since its so tall, so I could do a couple of dwarf cichlids, but would definitely need some other stuff to round out the mid and upper levels of the tank. My only other "fear" is that I don't want anything that needs to be warm - looking to keep the tank ~76+- my office is on a mid level of my house, so it stays a little cooler than the rest of the house since its half in-ground, so trying to keep temps over 80 would be tricky Thanks!!

I don't have super hard water, so Africans are out - especially since its only a three foot tank and it will be fully planted I currently have tetras, rasboras, cories, gourami, platies, otos - danios haven't done overly well in my water nor do guppies/endlers - I have primarily nanos in my 29 so I'd love to get something a little bigger - the barb tank definitely has me intrigued mainly just looking for ideas, its a strange tank size, so "stocking ideas" on you tube are non-existent 🙂 I also just love planning different tanks, so I like hearing everyone's ideas. for those that suggest angels - how many would you put in there? Thanks all!!!

I am picking up a 65 gallon tank tonight and I need some ideas - the only thing that I have right now to go in there will be 6 paleatus cories, outside of that, I'm fairly open to anything. Since its a super tall tank, I'd like to make sure all swim levels are covered. The tank will be planted (crypts, Val, anubias, java fern windelov, maybe some stems, but concerned with enough light getting to them) this won't be set up for a few months, but I definitely want to start planning (my favorite part 🙂) thanks in advance!

I personally don't have a lot of luck with guppies, but if you ended up with a Betta, be careful with shrimp, some are ok with it, but mine (female) is a murderer, but does ok with nerites and ramshorns... For enjoyment purposes, I would suggest panda cories over pygmy...I have pygmies and they hide most of the time, but my paleatus (in a different tank) are out all the time and I love watching them I would start with aqadvisor like @Ninjoma suggested, it will give you a good idea of where you can start...I find that it gives a decent baseline for your tank, its not an exact science, but it will give you an idea of where you can start - ex: if you did 3 guppies, 10 neons, and 6 pandas, it comes out with you having 71% filtration capacity and 92% stocking level...so take that with a grain of salt and go from there 🙂 I look forward to finding out what you get! I've never ordered online, but I have heard of Flip Aquatics that has a lot of nano fish as well as shrimp, and I think snails too...happy hunting!

I'll offer this - I currently have 4 tanks...somewhat by accident...I started with one, then we took in my niece (she was 19) and she came with some rescue fish, now I had 2...then we got her a Betta, 3 - she moved out and left her Betta and rescue tank with me (she liked the idea of a Betta, but didn't really take the time to learn how to take care of the tank), my 4th tank came with the idea of setting it up for my in-laws when they moved into an assisted living facility, that is still up in the air, but for now, my MIL doesn't want it (fine with me, its currently my favorite tank)...I say this only because things happen and we somehow tend to end up with multiple tanks, or bigger ones. My brother in law has two hobbies, a garden and outdoor ponds (which he brings the fish and fry into the house during the winter)...my sister tends to complain about them, but the only time she really minds is when it takes what little time at home that he has and spends "too much" time on the fish and/or the garden...his outdoor ponds have rice fish that he takes the time to breed and then sells them to his LFS...it tends to drive my sister batty but, again, primarily because it takes time away from her and their 4 daughters and their various activities. my stories are not meant to dissuade you from getting an additional tank, my husband is very supportive, while still "enjoying" some polite complaining, but my BIL takes a little too much time with them and my sister tends to resent them - tanks can be a welcome addition to a space, but shouldn't be a hobby that causes a strain on your relationship, I think if you explain how it will look, and the enjoyment it brings you, I think you'll be able to add a second small tank next to Drago's tank - personally I'd get Drago his own 10g and set up a second 10g next to him (I like symmetry), or...set up a 20h and then move Drago in with them and have just the one tank. probably not much help, but my two cents... I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!!

you may be able to scrape the paint off of the back glass if you want to try to replace it - it would take some work, but a paint scraper/razor should do the job?

I'm not sure where he found them actually...he has two 10gs set up with his colonies of rice fish (to separate the color variations) and both tanks had rams in them...he gave me a few and I now have them in all my tanks 🙂

I have three nerites - 1 huge Zebra, 1 tiger and 1 horned - I don't really think they have a preference in terms of surfaces, I do notice the tiger and zebra on the glass more than the horned, but that's about it...I have recently acquired some ramshorns from my brother-in-law (he and I are big MD fans too...) - I've had bladder before and didn't like them, but the rams are clear shell/pink body and are really cool ❤️ - I personally prefer the algae control of the ramshorns better than the nerites - except for the glass, they work very well on all plants and have just enough to keep numbers under control...I also get a kick out of when they "jump" off of a plant, or floating plant, and start floating around the tank until they grab onto something else 😄

I think you are cycled, as long as your fish are healthy and you see 0 ammonia and 0 nitirite, your tanks are cycled - I would say one thing for the liquid API test, for nitrate, if you don't shake bottle 2 for at least 30 seconds and then the test tube for at least a minute, you won't get a good reading...make sure you are following the directions exactly...I was doing it wrong in the beginning and never got a reading for nitrate even with dosing easy green even so, I think you are doing fine, the tanks look great and the fish look very healthy - great job!!

It could also help with getting them what they actually want vs. what they see at the store at the time (I know I have that problem myself sometimes 😉 ) awesome that you have media all ready!! (sorry, missed that) can't wait to see what you find!

if you don't want babies, but want a lot of color and action, endlers may fit the bill...they are also live bearers, but you could always do an all male tank - get 6-10 endlers and a hillstream/borneo sucker and have a very neat little tank another option may be a pea puffer which are adorable, or a trio of dwarf frogs (blonde frogs are kind of pinkish?)...you could pair the frogs with a couple of more colorful fish (male guppies?) as well if they wanted I would concentrate on planting it up right now (help the cycle with the snails) - take a trip to the LFS (alone) and take note of what they have - and then give them a couple of options and see what they think

Easiest way is to use planting tweezers (especially in a taller tank) - you need to get them in the substrate right where the roots of the swords are...I would put at least one for each of the swords and then you could dot a few more where you are seeing some deficiencies...if you don't have planting tweezers, you can use your hands, just make sure you get the root tab deep enough in with the roots that it does it's job and doesn't pop back out...it won't work unless it is in the gravel with the roots Here's an article that I have read a few times while setting up my tanks: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/plant-nutrient-deficiencies

You may want to add some root tabs for those big swords - those are huge root feeders and may be sucking nutrients from other plants too, they need more than just the liquid and they're pretty good size did you just start to see deficiencies, or have they been happening the whole time? I don't see anything particularly alarming with your plants in the pic above. I don't use CO2 in any of my tanks, but do have stratum underneath my gravel cap in all but one which seems to help with my water at least... Some detail photos of the deficiencies might help if you can

1. What is the largest tank you've ever cared for? 29g (so far...will have at least a 75 some day) 2. What is the most amount of tanks you've kept? Why? 5 My 29, my 10g, niece's betta that she left with me, In-law's tank that they may leave with me, quarantine which is now shut down, so 4 right now 3. What is the next plant you wish to have in your tank? umm...maybe some kind of "fancy" Buce, or a pink flamingo crypt - something weird or cool looking 4. What is the biggest challenge you face with maintenance? time to actually do it - kids/sports take a lot of time on the weekend right now 5. How often do you test your tank? Not too often after I have the stocking level set - when adding fish or in a new setup, every few days/at least once a week 6. Do you have aquarium salt on hand and what was the last time you used it? yes, used in my QT, but haven't used it in a few months 7. Have you ever kept a tank with a planted substrate, what did you like or dislike? Yes, I have used stratum, it works really well, but I prefer to cap with gravel 8. What is your favorite thingamajig that you have for your tank? (something you use) probably my python, but I have a plastic razor thing that I like for stubborn algae 🙂 9. What is your favorite color and do you have any fish in that color? my favorite color is green, my favorite fish color is orange/red - I have embers and my betta is a red koi 10. Choose 2: Seiryu stone, Ohko stone, Red Lava Rock, Mopani wood, Manzanita wood. Seiryu stone, Ohko stone (but, would have chosen black lava if given the option)...nothing too big, I like more plants, less stone