Amanda Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 I've been working on a new tank for my living room. I started with nano tanks and this will be my first big girl tank. Follow along if you enjoy seeing new tanks get going. It's going to be fully planted and feature nano-ish, subtropical fish. I started with a stock 75 gallon marineland tank and stand from petsmart. I didn't like the stand, so I used resin and molds to make an aquatic plant and schooling fish design. I chose the particular plant mold because it reminds me of hygrophila angustifolia which I plan to put a lot of in the tank. I couldn't find a good fish mold, so I made one from hot glue and a little toy fish my kids had. (Unfortunately it's a clown fish, but probably I'm the only one that will see it in person and notice that detail.) I placed the fish so some looked like they were in a schooling formation and some are hiding in the plants... and there are a couple "hidden" on the sides of the tank. The hardscape is locally collected. We don't have cool rocks around here... mostly just sandstone and limestone. I chose sandstone. There are a lot of negatives to this choice, but this whole setup is pretty expensive, so I decided to save money on hardscape. I have lava rock in media bags under the aqua soil and then still used a ton of aqua soil. Probably 60lbs of fluval stratum in there. There is caribsea "peace river" sand in the front of the tank. I love the look of fissidens fontanus (pheonix) moss, so I'm attempting a dry start for the first time. To my amazement, it seems to be working! It's been about 2.5 weeks so far and I'm seeing new growth on the wood and rocks. I put the moss on most of the woods and rocks hoping some of it would take, and it looks like there should be a decent amount. I tried dry starting some hair grass too, but that was a fail. (look at that tiny, perfect fissidens) I'm planning on planting in the next week and flooding the tank. This has been a very slow moving project that started in June. This project literally forced me to repaint the interior of my house... just a thousand things to do and I'm finally getting close to being up and running and will post updates on this thread. And if anyone is interested in budget, I can give that info at the end too. 9 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 On 10/13/2021 at 10:37 AM, Amanda said: I've been working on a new tank for my living room. I started with nano tanks and this will be my first big girl tank. Follow along if you enjoy seeing new tanks get going. It's going to be fully planted and feature nano-ish, subtropical fish. I started with a stock 75 gallon marineland tank and stand from petsmart. I didn't like the stand, so I used resin and molds to make an aquatic plant and schooling fish design. I chose the particular plant mold because it reminds me of hygrophila angustifolia which I plan to put a lot of in the tank. I couldn't find a good fish mold, so I made one from hot glue and a little toy fish my kids had. (Unfortunately it's a clown fish, but probably I'm the only one that will see it in person and notice that detail.) I placed the fish so some looked like they were in a schooling formation and some are hiding in the plants... and there are a couple "hidden" on the sides of the tank. The hardscape is locally collected. We don't have cool rocks around here... mostly just sandstone and limestone. I chose sandstone. There are a lot of negatives to this choice, but this whole setup is pretty expensive, so I decided to save money on hardscape. I have lava rock in media bags under the aqua soil and then still used a ton of aqua soil. Probably 60lbs of fluval stratum in there. There is caribsea "peace river" sand in the front of the tank. I love the look of fissidens fontanus (pheonix) moss, so I'm attempting a dry start for the first time. To my amazement, it seems to be working! It's been about 2.5 weeks so far and I'm seeing new growth on the wood and rocks. I put the moss on most of the woods and rocks hoping some of it would take, and it looks like there should be a decent amount. I tried dry starting some hair grass too, but that was a fail. (look at that tiny, perfect fissidens) I'm planning on planting in the next week and flooding the tank. This has been a very slow moving project that started in June. This project literally forced me to repaint the interior of my house... just a thousand things to do and I'm finally getting close to being up and running and will post updates on this thread. And if anyone is interested in budget, I can give that info at the end too. Cool project!! Hope all thrives for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Playz Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Cool! I have always loved Marineland tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 (edited) very nice. thats an excellent example of making an otherwise bland cheap looking stand into something much nicer. 75's are a really nice sized tank too, big but not too big take over the house huge. Edited October 13, 2021 by lefty o forgot something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Amazing job on the stand! It looks so much better! I hope the fissidens works out for you, I think it is such a beautiful plant as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griznatch Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Love how that stand turned out! Looking forward to updates as you go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flumpweesel Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Wow you have some patience. The doors look fab your hard work is paying off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 It looks great! I started up my 75 with a similar process. Planning everything in advance will set you up for success. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Looking good! My 75 gal tank is a Marineland as well, but the stand that came with it was junk and crooked so I had to replace it. I did a no hassle dark start in my tank and it's been running for well over a year now. I love my Phoenix moss which I placed closer to the surface then the Christmas moss because it is less susceptible to get infested by algae in my experience. Spounds like you thought everything through which is always key to success. Will be looking forward to see your updates. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindabee53 Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 I looked at that very tank and stand today - no, I didn't get it. I didn't mind the stand - pretty bland and chintzy looking - but your work on the doors and the new paint job make it really nice, definitely leveled up. I can't wait to see it finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carefulest Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Following! Excited to see where this goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Holy cow! Your revised stand is OUTSTANDING! Definitely following along on this ride. Love how detailed your scape is to boot. What do you have planned for your stocking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted October 14, 2021 Author Share Posted October 14, 2021 On 10/13/2021 at 11:35 PM, Jungle Fan said: I did a no hassle dark start in my tank and it's been running for well over a year now. I love my Phoenix moss which I placed closer to the surface then the Christmas moss because it is less susceptible to get infested by algae in my experience. Spounds like you thought everything through which is always key to success. Will be looking forward to see your updates. I actually did a sorta-dark start with this tank. The first batch of fissidens I got was totally melted and I had to try to revive it for a couple of weeks while arguing with the seller. Then I ordered new fissidens from somewhere else, waited for it to arrive.... While all that was going on, I filled the tank with the hardscape and covered it to keep light out and it was almost a month. The only thing I didn't do was run the filter because I knew I still had to do the dark start and the bacteria would have died in the filter and made a mess while waiting on that process (and its too big to add on to my nanos in the meanwhile). So I hope that I have less algae because of that. It sounds like it was helpful for you! Algae isn't fun, and (almost) anything I can do to have less of it is worth a try. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted October 14, 2021 Author Share Posted October 14, 2021 On 10/14/2021 at 9:47 AM, Jeff said: What do you have planned for your stocking? I'm starting with a group of rainbow shiners I have. I want some hillstream loaches. We are also wanting cooler temp corydoras like pandas or hasbrosus. I'm doing a lot of quarantining and going to be adding stocking slowly. I've also got some red cherry shrimp from another tank that I'm eventually going to take down that I will probably add. White Clouds are a possibility. I have some endlers I wish I could add, but they don't like it under 74deg and I don't think they will be comfortable over the winter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jungle Fan Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 The only part I did not understand was why you didn't run the filter? I ran everything but the lights for four weeks, then did a 100% water change, planted turned on the light and everything ran smooth ever since. As long as there is flow the bacteria in the filter survive. If I expect a longer process then taking the filter media out and placing it in tank water in a few 5 gallon buckets during planting is an option. The water change and planting did not take long enough to do harm, plus by that time the bacteria colony in the substrate and on the inside surfaces of the tank were well established. Anyway, looks like it will be a great tank, and 75s are great, not too big, not too small, with enough depth from font to back to have your fish feel more secure, and big enough to provide plenty of caves for fish that like those. A rewarding, and fun project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 On 10/14/2021 at 1:12 PM, Amanda said: I'm doing a lot of quarantining and going to be adding stocking slowly. 😍 You get it. Nicely done! I would love to do a cooler water tank as well. I have a 20g long sitting around that I REALLY want to set up with no heater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalmedByFish Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 On 10/14/2021 at 12:12 PM, Amanda said: I have some endlers I wish I could add, but they don't like it under 74deg and I don't think they will be comfortable over the winter. I have endlers near 72 degrees. They're healthy enough to keep breeding, so I assume that's a good sign that they're doing well. Info I've found is that they're safe as low as 64. So as long as your water stays 64+ during the winter, I'd say to try at least a few of your (undoubtedly) many. 🙂 Your stand make-over is gorgeous! Very impressive. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted October 14, 2021 Author Share Posted October 14, 2021 On 10/14/2021 at 2:14 PM, CalmedByFish said: I have endlers near 72 degrees. They're healthy enough to keep breeding, so I assume that's a good sign that they're doing well. Info I've found is that they're safe as low as 64. So as long as your water stays 64+ during the winter, I'd say to try at least a few of your (undoubtedly) many. 🙂 I have definitely seen conflicting temps listed on different sites. But last winter if I let their tank go under 74 they stopped swimming and just huddled around the heater constantly. I love my guys, I don't want them to be unhappy. I think there are varieties that can go colder, just not my spoiled boys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalmedByFish Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 On 10/14/2021 at 2:20 PM, Amanda said: But last winter if I let their tank go under 74 they stopped swimming and just huddled around the heater constantly. I love my guys, I don't want them to be unhappy. I think there are varieties that can go colder, just not my spoiled boys. Interesting. Are their genetics only endler, or might they be an endler/guppy hybrid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted October 14, 2021 Author Share Posted October 14, 2021 On 10/14/2021 at 3:00 PM, CalmedByFish said: Interesting. Are their genetics only endler, or might they be an endler/guppy hybrid? They are petco endlers... they are black bar and tiger, that's all I know about them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 On 10/14/2021 at 12:20 PM, Amanda said: I have definitely seen conflicting temps listed on different sites. But last winter if I let their tank go under 74 they stopped swimming and just huddled around the heater constantly. I love my guys, I don't want them to be unhappy. I think there are varieties that can go colder, just not my spoiled boys. I’m not sure about pure Endlers but I have some hybrids and in a tank that gets down to the mid 60s at night. It might be worth a try with some of those. @Guppysnail, what do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted October 14, 2021 Author Share Posted October 14, 2021 On 10/14/2021 at 4:16 PM, Patrick_G said: I’m not sure about pure Endlers but I have some hybrids and in a tank that gets down to the mid 60s at night. It might be worth a try with some of those. @Guppysnail, what do you think? Oh yeah, that is beautiful! My husband and I both love endlers, so I will have to keep on the lookout for hybrids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 On 10/14/2021 at 2:22 PM, Amanda said: Oh yeah, that is beautiful! My husband and I both love endlers, so I will have to keep on the lookout for hybrids. @CalmedByFishmade a post a few months ago that got me started down the hybrid path. I love em! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 (edited) On 10/14/2021 at 5:16 PM, Patrick_G said: I’m not sure about pure Endlers but I have some hybrids and in a tank that gets down to the mid 60s at night. It might be worth a try with some of those. @Guppysnail, what do you think? Tank raised will struggle at lower temperatures and most likely fall to bacterial infections. Cory did a video about conditioning guppies to colder temps for his outdoor pond. Every year he left them out longer and a few degrees colder. Those that survived he brought in I think? And continued to do this for colder waters. I’ll find the video for you. Be back as soon as I can find it…….ok it’s around byte 17 minute mark for conditioning guppies for cooler temps Edited October 14, 2021 by Guppysnail 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Stand looks fantastic! What a great makeover! And I’ve never met a Fissidens I didn’t like! F. fontanus is a great choice and will look STUNNING with an all over carpet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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