Project 195

[SugarBassJoe]

So this has been in the works for several weeks now, but its close to being ready, so I think it might be time to share it. 

 

Quick rundown, its a 195G acrylic tank that was found on offer up for 200$, dimensions are 50L x 30W x 30H.  Pea gravel and play sand for substrate, a driftwood stump that's been sitting around, some left over Seiryu stone I had and some broken flagstone from a landscape company ( I have been monitoring PH, so far so good). Waiting for some plants from the coop to arrive, right now just some Java fern, an Anubias 'gold coin' tucked into the stone house, and some loose java fern floating around I need to attach. Been running nearly a month, still trying to decide how I'm going to stock it, but I think its just about ready.

[Randall H]

Looks good, I'm digging the driftwood piece. 

[SugarBassJoe]

On 4/19/2023 at 7:09 AM, Randall H said:

Looks good, I'm digging the driftwood piece. 

Thank ya, that driftwood was given to me by a coworker, had that floating java fern tucked into it, but it keeps floating out, ill have to weigh it down and get it back in there.

[Lennie]

 

On 4/19/2023 at 4:39 PM, SugarBassJoe said:

its a 195G acrylic tank

Is that 195G or 19.5G? The tank looks much smaller than a 700 Liters im confused. Maybe it is the pic

Edited April 19, 2023 by Lennie

[SugarBassJoe]

On 4/19/2023 at 8:36 AM, Lennie said:

 

Is that 195G or 19.5G? The tank looks much smaller than a 700 Liters im confused. Maybe it is the pic

Its the pic, here's one with a box for a 24" light for scale

 

[NOLANANO]

On 4/19/2023 at 10:36 AM, Lennie said:

 

Is that 195G or 19.5G? The tank looks much smaller than a 700 Liters im confused. Maybe it is the pic

Look how small the rocks and wood look, that helps with the perspective of the size of the tank.

it looks great! The only critique I’d give is to maybe try to add some height with another piece of drift wood or larger rock or something but honestly, the plants may give you the height piece on their own.

Edited April 19, 2023 by NOLANANO

[SugarBassJoe]

On 4/19/2023 at 8:54 AM, NOLANANO said:

Look how small the rocks and wood look, that helps with the perspective of the size of the tank.

it looks great! The only critique I’d give is to maybe try to add some height with about her piece of drift wood or larger rock or something but honestly, the plants may give you the height piece on their own.

Yea, some of those rocks are 12"+, I'm still on the hunt for that right piece of drift wood, I'm hoping some swords and Vallisneria will help with the height of the scape, though I'm skeptical they will reach the top, I'm still researching tall plants. A bit worried about maintenance, the tank being 30" tall while sitting on a 30" stand makes it a challenge to get in there, the grabbers I got work but they're not much for delicate work.

[SugarBassJoe]

Quick update, got the plants in, and pulled a mission to a fish shop and finally found the piece of drift wood I wanted. Tank is starting to come together. Fish came in a couple a few days ago. Current stocking: 8 Congo tetras and 3 Bosemani Rainbow fish ( there was 6, but 3 didn't make the trip).  They're still settling in, so there colors are still pretty washed out. Ill try to get some better pics once they do.

Will likely get some java moss started on the branch, but so far I'm digging this tank.  Still room for something else, but I'm going to let it settle in for a bit before adding anything else.

And just because I like showing off my tanks ( I don't mean to be that person, its just hard not to have some pride in them), I finally got around to properly setting up one of the 20L's, wanted to keep it simple, calling it the easy tank.

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/28/2023 at 8:03 AM, SugarBassJoe said:

And just because I like showing off my tanks ( I don't mean to be that person, its just hard not to have some pride in them), I finally got around to properly setting up one of the 20L's, wanted to keep it simple, calling it the easy tank.

You're allowed to show off your tanks!  🙂

They both look awesome. Nice work.

[PineSong]

On 4/19/2023 at 12:07 PM, SugarBassJoe said:

Yea, some of those rocks are 12"+, I'm still on the hunt for that right piece of drift wood, I'm hoping some swords and Vallisneria will help with the height of the scape, though I'm skeptical they will reach the top, I'm still researching tall plants. 

I have corkscrew valisneria in my 29g that reach the top and then go all the way across the tank and keep going. I have to hack them back a couple of times per year in that tank and my 20g tall.  

Some other really long plants I've had success with have been aponogetons. Both ulvaceous and boivinianus have far exceeded the height of my tanks and just kept growing and growing. They arrive as bulbs and may benefit from older substrate with some mulm buildup, but they've been bulletproof for me.

What an exciting tank size and what a score at that price. Nicely done!

[SugarBassJoe]

On 4/28/2023 at 5:18 PM, PineSong said:

I have corkscrew valisneria in my 29g that reach the top and then go all the way across the tank and keep going. I have to hack them back a couple of times per year in that tank and my 20g tall.  

Some other really long plants I've had success with have been aponogetons. Both ulvaceous and boivinianus have far exceeded the height of my tanks and just kept growing and growing. They arrive as bulbs and may benefit from older substrate with some mulm buildup, but they've been bulletproof for me.

What an exciting tank size and what a score at that price. Nicely done!

I did put in some valisineria, but I think the internet put the max height at around 20",  same with the swords, don't know if corkscrew val gets any higher, I do like the aponogetons though, I feel like that was part of that pack of what was called Betta bulbs I had when I was a kid.