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I know this will probably go unread for quite some time, because this site is not nearly as active as it once was... but this is the place where I learned so much about fish, plants, and how to be a member of the hobby/community.

A few months ago I dusted off an old 29gal tank I had stored in the garage after at least 5 years of being in dry dock. It was time to reignite the obsession.

So, I started with the substrate. I used a crushed basalt sand that I am able to get from work (i work in the concrete industry). I rinsed off the larger stones and driftwood and started my hardscape. I settled for mostly stone on one side and the wood on the other. I then rinsed off the abundance of fake plants that I had (but seldom used) and got a neat little scape going. Filled the tank and added a new HOB filter that I found at a local bigbox pet store on clearance because it had been returned (SCORE!).

I followed the advice from a great YouTube fish Keeper, Joey-- King of DIY, and used the cycled media from the mini tank that I had my Betta, KIllian, in and found a way to add everything in that tank into the new scape once the new tank had run for 24hrs with dechlorinator. I added Killian and his Cherry Shrimp companions to the tank and let them settle for a few days before I began to stock the tank.

Over several months and several hundreds of dollars in live plants (I needed the fake ones GONE), fish, food, and water additives I have a beautiful tank that runs very self-sufficiently.

My current stocking is: 1 male crowntail betta, 6 dwarf neon (Praecox) rainbows, 4 threadfin rainbows (I lost two and the LFS hasn't gotten any in for months to round out the school), 2 bolivian rams, 1 golden ram, a handful of zebra danios (I honestly don't know how many there are but at least 10), 6 bronze cordydoras, 3 juvenile female mollies, 3 blue neo platies (breeding trio), 3 guppies (breeding trio), 2 white skirt tetras, 2 black skirt tetras, 3 chinese algae eaters, 1 albino bristlenose pleco, some ghost shrimp (the cherry shrimp became lunch for the bigger fish), 1 unknown snail (rabbit snail?), a few khuli loaches (I bought 6, but I never see them, so who knows how many there actually are), and LOTS of live plants.

This tank has been magnificent because I have pothos and philedenron rooting in the HOB filter as a nitrate remover and lots of bio media using sponges and a large filter sponge over the hob intake. The tank has been set up for 4-5 months now and I have never done a water change. I only top it off and the plants seem to be taking care of the rest for me. As a trained Biologist, I applied the balance of an ecosystem to the tank and it seems to be working well as I am not losing any fish or plants.

Coming this week are 4 Electric Blue Rams that I ordered off of Aquabid. I would like to rehome the Zebra danios to the outdoor pond this summer and find a new home for the Tetras (they are too nippy). After that, the MTS has set in and I want to start a Discus/Angelfish tank. My LFS owner keeps trying to sell me the juvie discus he imported about a month ago and can't seem to sell. He offered me a great deal, so if they stick around I think I'm going to do it!



\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

Unfortunately, photobucket no longer allows hotlinking pics unless you pay for a membership, so we aren't able to see your tank pics...

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Bummer! They were totally showing when I first linked them!
What is the best way to share photos in the forum these days?

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

You could probably link directly to the pics from photobucket, but I'm not sure which online hosting services still allow the hotlinking.

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Lets Try this then:

Full Tank:http://www.photobucket.com/user/brandeenofish/media/IMG_7819_zpswjel6390.jpg.html

Bronze Cory+ Ghost Shrimp:
http://www.photobucket.com/user/brandeenofish/media/IMG_3090_zpsq7mlnvqi.jpg.html

Bolivian Ram:
http://www.photobucket.com/user/brandeenofish/media/IMG_0877_zps2zopkahh.jpg.html

Killian the Betta:
http://www.photobucket.com/user/brandeenofish/media/IMG_2160_zpsdsmprj8s.jpg.html

Killian the Betta (pt deux):
http://www.photobucket.com/user/brandeenofish/media/IMG_5244_zpstgjojlef.jpg.html

Gold Ram:
http://www.photobucket.com/user/brandeenofish/media/IMG_5732_zps7h26trlk.jpg.html

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

That worked! I like the cory/shrimp pic!

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman