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300 gallon hillstream community


Taylor Blake
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18 minutes ago, Taylor Blake said:

Ok I was sick of looking at the bag of gravel in the tank so I removed it and replaced it with a few rocks. What do you guys think? Should I move the rocks around? Also if there is anything you would like to see more pictures of please ask and I will try to get come good ones 

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it looks great also i think it would be cool if you had some smaller rocks for caves

also i want to see more full tank shots

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Nice tank! If anything, I would probably try to play with the wood-holding rocks to create a more slanted to the left, pyramid-like structure. The same shape as the slanting bunch of val on the last photo, basically.  For example, replace the bottom rock at the left with a bigger (wider at the foundation) one, and/or change the top rock with a flatter, more triangular-shaped one. 

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  • 2 months later...

Ok so I have been quiet for a little bit so if anyone has any questions feel free to ask I feel like I miss things if no one asks. So if you have questions feel free to ask. Ok so update time I did some stuff. Here is a few pictures of things I got some more rainbow shiners I also got some new darters and a few other new things (I have kinda lost track of all that is in there) so here are some pictures. I lost my big stone rollers so I fed them to my big turtle in the room dose anyone else feed the lost fish to other things? I have always had things that would eat any cull fish or anything that passes away I just want to know if that's weird 

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Looking pretty great!  The rocks holding down the log definitely looks better than the bag-o-gravel you had before.

As to disposing of culls/casualties to another animal...  Sounds fine to me.  I take my casualties and bury them in my patio plants for a proper recycling into the environment.  I've considered letting my house cat have a go at jumpers (particularly red cherry shrimp), but I worry that it might upset her tummy, especially if they have been dead for an indeterminate amount of time. 

Taking culls and using them as food for others may seem cruel to some, but that is just how nature is sometimes.  The circle of life.  It is more natural than killing them with cold/chemicals otherwise and provides food/enrichment to the predatory species.  Its not that different than livebearers self-culling the young that are small enough to get chomped on by adults.  

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  • 6 months later...

Ok it's been a while for all the new people please read and ask as many questions as you feel the need to. Here are a few updates. I was able to get the log to stay down it kept floating even with a few rocks but at least the rocks look better and the plants are starting to grow in. I still feel I need to add some more light for the centeR and the edges of the tank.

If anyone has a good light they would recommend that is tough ,water resistant ,very strong and not and arm and a leg. I was thinking of holding out for the co-op light.

Please if anyone has any questions or comments about the tank or anything they want to see more of let me know.0E8E0B1F-4FE1-4FAE-B2B4-8DC399238CE0.jpeg.914717a64fb8f9f40318184fd281eaae.jpeg

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The scope of the build is incredible! well done. I love building a scape for the inhabitants vs inhabitants for the scape. So for Flow are you using the FX outtake, the pump outtake from the mattenfilter and a hydor-style korralia pump in the tank? That seems very adequate for the needs of the tank, has that proven to be the case? What are some unexpected challenges you’ve encountered dealing with a tank of that size? Great job thanks for sharing! 

@Taylor Blakein terms of lights I’d recommend the led spotlights on Amazon- made for outdoor applications, super bright and durable. 
Ustellar 3 Pack 80W Led Flood Lights Outdoor Bright 24000LM Security Lights Outside Lamp IP66 Waterproof 5000K Daylight White Spot Light Exterior Floodlights Lighting for Yard Backyard House https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0874SK8BP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_QX6TDA2SESGB6VSHY4YS

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@Vanish lol I lose track of what I have in there all the time it's a big enough tank that if something dies it will rot away into nothing and be broken down by the plants. I often will find myself sitting watching the tank and I will see a fish that I forgot was in there because I haven't seen it sense it was added. My guess is I have about 100 or so fish in there.

@Beardedbillygoat1975 The flow is fine however over time the pumps are slowing and I think it is because I can't get in there to clean them. If I was to do that differently I would do an external pump or two and I would have done more flow probably double. If I remember it's a it's almost 9,000 GPH. So if I was to do this style tank on like a 33 long I would run an FX6 and a 1000-2000 GPH pump. As far as people dealing with a tank this size. I don't have a tank runing that is less then a 90 and I have an 800 gallon gar indoor pond. I also work at a public aquarium. This tank is almost perfect for me size wise. I'm not a small person so this tank feels live a aquarium that is large. What I mean is I have a 125 next to it and that tank feels the same as my 90 gallon. I have had 55s and those feel like a toy not a real home for fish. It is hard to do anything on the bottom of the tank but that is because of the topper I have on there with the plants 

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  • 2 years later...

I Just figured I should give a little update this build I did end up having to brake down the tank for a few reasons. Reason number one is I did a water change on the tank and ended up having a crash killing about 90% of the live stock due to what I believe was a unusual amount of chlorine in the water and me not having enough non expired prime on hand. And reason number two is one of the seams was leaking and had progressively gotten worse over time to a point where I had a clamp holding the tank together towards the end. 
 

a few things for anyone interested in a similar project for themselves.                                            1 I think a 125 is probably a more realistic size for the top end of this build. 

2 I would have also limited the number of species I was going for the darters really only ever ate live food which was challenging. The gobies did fight with each other for space and the many types of schooling fish made it hard to get them food to the bottom as well.I probably would have kept with the hill stream loaches and one or two large schools as well as one species of goby or kuli loach but not both.

3 I enjoyed the flow but honestly more was needed as well as a proper clean out for it and the pumps I found the muck would clog up everything on that left side of the tank with the pumps. also the topper was awesome but after a while the plants needed so much trimming so light would get to the water and one of the lights died from the humidity in the topper

 

if I was to try to build a new one again I would consider going with a 33long or two modified by conjoining the short end to make one 8 by 1 by 1 foot tank.as for flow a few fx6 or large canisters would be much simpler to get a similar effect. As for stocking I would pick one of each species and focus on their individual needs properly sticking to CPDs with hillstream and kuli loaches 

if anyone has questions feel free to ask I’ll be happy to answer anything I can

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Just now catching up with the tank, right in time for the tear down…

 

It looked great! I have a 50g lowboy/frag tank I found shallow depth easier to get good circulation and surface agitation. Hope you attempt it again I definitely agree smaller tanks for river style are much easier to maintain. I also use emergent plants to keep water quality up.

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