Brian - Advanced Aquarium

I think it definitely helps the tank. Since there is no filter and I feed pretty heavy i’d say there is a decent bioload. Far more than I’d think these plants could handle. I’ve been feeding about 3-7 times a day as I enjoy watching them swarm. Plus 200-300 guppies make some waste. Nitrates have never registered on a co-op test strip and they certainly do in my koi pond lol. I’ve done tanks with monstera, pothos, peace lilly and I think Mangroves for export are the best I’ve seen as of yet. Plus they’ve grown about 8” in 1.5 years. Super slow growing!

Holy cow! That’s incredible! What light and how long are you leaving the light on? I have 3 large monsteras but your males them look like weeds. Great job!

Hi Everyone, I wanted to share as there isn’t a lot of information out there about red mangroves in the freshwater aquarium. I got my mangroves off Amazon about 1.5 years ago, i tried them floating with all different kinds of lights and they really seemed to struggle. In the last year they have been in one consistent set up although it has been given minimal care on my part due to a few things. The tank is a 20 gallon high, substrate is 1/4 gravel from Home Depot and two Mangroves. the initial stocking was 1 male and 2 female guppies. The tank has been set up with no filter, airstone, and i recently added a heater for winter as it is now a garage office. But about 7 months ago i moved the set up to in front of a west facing window which caused and EXPLOSION of growth. The tank has kept stable pH, great buffer and no ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Currently there are between 200-300 guppies in this 20g talk all happy and healthy. I top it off once a week with a few gallons. mangroves are incredible and they are my favorite part of the tank for sure. The water has never turned green. There is some hair algae but that’s great for the babies to hide in. ENJOY NATURE!

Hi everyone, The topic of “Biome cycling” seems to be getting more popular in Salt water. I’m curious if anyone is looking into this on the freshwater side. I think (could be wrong) Father fish discusses this a bit but i’m wondering if anyone here is trying to “biome cycle” their tanks. As well as how they are doing that with products or nature.

I love sumps so i’d say use them. Once they are up and running they are fantastic!

Hi everyone! lots of progress and lots of photos! Added some extra bracing to the bottom as well as the rest of the layers of 2x4 and foam. Talked to some people who have built something similar and a few much larger. The corners weren’t easy and aren’t the prettiest but they will work for me. secured the top bracing with 12” lag screws. Two on each end of the 2x4. Spaced every 48” on center from the center. 2x4s are double wrapped in extra pond liner. let me know if you have any questions and enjoy. It’s about 12” deep right now and everything is looking good.

This is only at 16” now but it will eventually be 36” deep. Plenty of depth for all the inhabitants! I’m keep everyone posted on the build!

I was able to get some answers on the calculations for the height and strength. From people who have built these types of set ups they agree this method is more than strong enough and the banding will help. I’ll be slowly working on it and hoping to have this done by the middle of April for my bday present. photos to come!

Tips from the man the myth the legend! yes to both I have worried about that. I got this idea from MFK on a tank someone built 10x14. https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/10x14-2500-gallon-plywood-stingray-pond.394202/ I called my dad who is a journeyman carpenter for 30 years he said the 16’ is a really long end. That will be the weak spot. He also said to not go much higher than it is due to that much water pressure. So i’m gonna add another 2-4 layers and then the pond liner. added some extra bracing underneath that he recommended. Even at the shorter height it’s still a great view from the chair.

Hi Everybody! i’m working on building a 16’ x 6’ x36” monster pond for some ID sharks, arowana, and other large predatory fish. Should be about 2000 gallons with the filters. I wanted to do this once right so i’m going with stacked 2x4 with alternating corners. Four screws in each corner and a ton on each layer. I found similar builds with this method that were successful. i will be using a 45 mil pond liner. I’m not sure if I will have bullheads or a filter to the sump and gravity back to the pond. for reference the black “rod” in the later pictures is 41” curious for any tips or advice.

Thank you very much for the advice!! The African arowana will be moving on once it’s big enough for the 300 then the 2000. I will just keep it with the other grow outs and move the guppies over after.

Hi Everyone, is there anyone out there keeping these awesome fish? i have some guppies in a 20 gallon and a 9” African arowana in a 110 planted (grow out for a few more months) they are a filter feeder so i’m wondering if i can keep guppies with them. I know it could eat the babies but that’s not a totally bad thing in my opinion. hopefully someone has mixed these before. have a great day!

Hi everyone! It’s been a while and a move but i have a 25x26 detached fish room. Have some monsters still but doing my first planted tank. 110 gallon planted with African Arowana 265 grow out 300 show tank Planning 720 pentair 2000 gallon pond

Hi Everyone, I have an opportunity to rip out a wet bar and put in an in wall aquarium in our sitting room. It’s our most favorite room in the house and my wife would like it to be a scaped tank and i want it to be something very active. It will be a custom built 80”x28” deep x42” tall acrylic tank with overflows. Since this is a wet bar i’m going to plumb in an automatic water change and tap into the existing drain. i’ve done monster fish and guppies but I’m looking for a cool active tank with some scaping but don’t want to have to constantly be in the tank with maintenance. Thoughts are: African Cichlids mbuna Cichlids looking for a living piece of art. filtration will be a custom sump with 5-10x turnover depending on stocking needs.

Hi everyone! Working on building out my fish room and decided to put all my guppies in the 625 stock tank pond. But looks a little bare with how many i have. Tank is 8’ diameter 2’ tall. does anyone know any reputable importers for guppies from overseas or anywhere really. Thinking of bringing in a few hundred. Have an extra 110 gallon tank they can quarantine in. Appreciate the help!

Hi Everyone, Are there any good threads for fish rooms. Setting up 15 10 gallon tanks for breeding guppies and looking for some ideas. I tried searching but I must not be doing it right.

Thanks Guppysnail! I will stop at 4 weeks and start a new fry tank. Thank you everyone for the help!

I’m trying to maximize growing out fry with out losing and to older ones attacking or eating younger ones

Hi Everyone, i’ve started a mixed indo dragon breeding colony of guppies. I lost a male early but have 4 males and 12 females. I’ve been scooping out fry a few times a day. I have a fry tub of about 50-60. I have two extra 10 gallon tanks i can raise fry in but i’m wondering at what point to start separating batches. basically at how many days should i stop adding fry to the tub and start throwing them in a new tank?

Very cool!

Hi Everyone, longtime listener and follower and decided to finally jump in and become a member and join the forum. I have a 300 (for now) of monster fish (datnoids, bichir, clown knife, African arowana) but i got the guppy bug and have devoted a few tanks and will be building a guppy rack. I have a 100 and 265 gallon I want to fill with colorful dragon type guppies. I also started a small colony of 24k gold guppies. I have some anacharis elodea i love as well as guppy grass and some java fern. i have plans for a fish shed with a 2-4k gallon and maybe some guppy racks now! Excited to join such an active forum and learn more about guppies and community fish.