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still a work in progress

Fish:
24 Buenos Aires Tetras

tankmates to be added later (can't decide)

Link:
http://s68.photobucket.com/albums/i39/scubaninja1980/?action=view&current=postaquarium.jpg

Hey, it looks great. I love that driftwood./:'

*Kristin*

man that is a nice tank i love it man i wish it was mine i just cant figure out sand

Very nice...excellent aquascape

Robby

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

Thanks for your comments

This is my first aquarium bigger than 29 gallons. It has been a blast so far decorating it. The Tetras look awesome schooling in this tank

What else would look good in there???

Comments/Suggestions always welcome

Aquascaping is awesome and i love the look of one big school.

If it were my tank, my next move would be rams, but thats just me. Gouramis are nice too.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

scubaninja,

Beautiful

Simple, yet complete. Tell us more about the tank, like when was it set up, all the plants (real or fake), everything you wish to share so we can all copy you .

Really Nice,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

75 gallons Started on 4/27/06
Filtration: Rena Filstar Xp3
Heater: 200W Ebo Jager
Substrate: sand
Plants: assorted plastic
Fish: 24 buenos aires tetras

This link shows a few pictures of my tank being setup from scratch. Enjoy

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse.asp?folder_id=1677621

Wow, thats beautiful, you obviously have a flair for aquascaping. Are all the plants plastic?

I also wonder about the sand. It looks great but how difficult is it to maintain as far as gravel vac's and does it clog the filter when its stirred up? I wouldn't mind having a go at sand myself.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

This link shows a few pictures of my tank being setup from scratch. Enjoy

And I sure did

Nice documentation of the process of setting up a tank. A few questions:

Why did you "glue" the wood to the bottom of the tank? I assume because it was still floating. Now, there is a rather good chance that at some point there will be some algae on the wood. You pretty much eliminated your ability to clean the wood easily by taking it out of the tank and scrubbing it. Any plan?

I seem to identify that you have a pre-filter in the back right corner (or is that the filter in itself? ). How is that working so far? I don't have a sand setup, so I can only speculate, but I would assume that quite a bit of sand gets sucked into the filter mesh. How do you clean it, and how often?

You seem to be a little under-heated with only 200w. Do you live in a warm climate or is the room always warm? I would otherwise suggest you get a 300w heater (or 2 x 150).

All these questions should not distract from the beautiful tank you (and your helper) created though. One can tell that quite some thought had been given to it before the actual setup. I would really like to see how this tank behaves over time. You should make a log for it

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Not a big fan of plastic plants, but that is a very attractive arrangement. You didn't go too crazy with the plants, but they work with all the wood.

You might already know this, but I would keep fish and light to a minimum to control algae. I assume you went with plastic plants to keep things easy to maintain, but if algae gets a hold it will be very difficult to clean.

My Scapes

Are all the plants plastic?

YES

how difficult is it to maintain as far as gravel vac's and does it clog the filter when its stirred up?

Sand is not difficult to maintain. You simply have to sweep the gravel vac on the surface of the sand to pick up debris. Some sand might be lost in the process, but when it cost 3 dollars for a 50 pound bag, well

Why did you "glue" the wood to the bottom of the tank?

I didn't We (being my wife and I) glued the driftwood to a sheet of plexiglass fitted to the bottom of the aquarium. The plexiglass was then weighted down by rocks and sand. My wife is lifting up the sheet of plexiglass in one of the photos. This solved two problems. One being the driftwood was no where near being waterlogged and two it acts as a "safety guard" on the bottom glass. It worked out great. I have no need to take my driftwood out and clean it, that is the job for the future residents of the aquarium (Rubber Lip, BristleNose Pleco) Also, it aids to the natural look

I would assume that quite a bit of sand gets sucked into the filter mesh

Actually no sand gets sucked into the filter. We purchased a micro media pond filter or "sponge" and cut it to fit our filter intake. This allows water to be suctioned, but prevents sand from coming in. The sponge will probably need to be cleaned regularly (in aquarium water that has been removed from the tank) to prevent buildup, but so far so good.

Here is a link that shows the sponge on the filter
http://s68.photobucket.com/albums/i39/scubaninja1980/?action=view&current=JOhn000322.jpg

You seem to be a little under-heated with only 200w

Actually this heater seems to be more than enough for this tank I have it set on 74 and it still keeps the aquarium a steady 79 degrees. A higher wattage would seem overkill

Thank you all for your comments and questions. I hope I somewhat answered them. I am still working on figuring out the permanent stock of this tank. So many possibilities I have my wife to thank for most of the creativity of this aquarium, mostly because she is reading this now over my shoulder

I have my wife to thank for most of the creativity of this aquarium, mostly because she is reading this now over my shoulder

Well, she did help, and her art-work on the back glass is very very nice .

About the sand and filter - just to clarify, that is what I meant, having to clean the sponge (I called it mesh).

About the heater - Yeah, you are suffering from the Ebo Jaeger syndrome, meaning temp settings and water temp are by far not the same. Over time, the Ebo Jaeger in my 29G became less and less accurate, by now (1 year of use) I have the dial at 72 and the water temp at 80+

Keep us posted on the progress, maybe you really should create a log about this tank (can't be in the planted forum though ). You seem to know quite a bit about tanks and all in it, it would be a shame if this knowledge is buried in a thread in the Photo Booth.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

keep an eye on the heater to see how often its on. this lets you know if you need more. if its allways on your gona burn it out aster then a higher wattage heater.

i had 2x 200 watters in my 75g and i after months of getting them REALLY close i could never get them to act as one. so now i only use one without much issue. eventually will replace with a 300x but for now its working.

the tank looks amazing and good plan with the driftwood. i didnt see a link to see the process could someone possable relink? i would enjoy looking at that. thanks

found the link nevermind, very nicely done

best of luck with the tank looks great.

nice and clean - love the placement of the whole decorations

love the wood structures in your tank

Very nice tank.
I was sure the plants were real, and was gonna
ask geez, how do you get your plants to stay
so green?

I love your choice of the Buenos Aires Tetras.
They are by far my fave tetra.
I have 9 of them in my 75g. They sure do get quite
big though....about 3 inches, 3.5 for large females.
I too would suggest Bolivian or Blue Rams,
or maybe a nice group of Discus.
They would look fabulous with the BA Tetras.


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