View Full Version : New (to me) 55 now with sand/water/wood
Here it is. I still have to get the other heater in on the right and of course plants but I need to upgrade the lighting first. I just had to get moving on this if I want it more or less done by Fathers day. Gotta jump start this tank with some filter squeezin's and plants and rocks from other tanks. I'm gonna wait till it settles down over night. It's nice and level thanks to some help from rbishop and I feel much better now that is only out of level by 1/16in or so front to back and left to right.
Q
When I got it
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now
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Rbishop
06-10-2007, 6:00 PM
Looking good!
KnaveTO
06-10-2007, 6:10 PM
can't wait to see it all set up
fantastic clean up job Q looks great
Do ya think there's too much sand in there? It's about 2 in in the front and 3in in back. I just put the whole 60lb bag in. I do plan on live plants.
Q
Weezer
06-10-2007, 6:45 PM
Through in the fish........:drool:
KnaveTO
06-10-2007, 7:02 PM
no there isn't too much sand in there... you will just need to watch for compacting of the sand over time
J double R
06-10-2007, 7:04 PM
looks great! honestly, i think that driftwood looks better now than it did when you brought it home..
Thanks! Can't wait for it to settle down. I left plenty of room behind the wood and in the corners to sort of frame it in with plants. I want to get some slow growing ground cover for the left and right in the front. I want to leave the middle front open for a Cory playground. Maybe 5 cats'll do. I want some otos and SAEs and shrimp for my clean up crew. I haven't thought much about the rest. I wanna ease into it.
Q
Que,
What are the benefits of Sand? I have mostly Tetra's and a a weather loach. I understand that he would enjoy the sand more than the Rocks. Could you describe what you have in the tank and why?
it's Quikrete all purpose sand. I chose it because it wasn't as uniform as playsand. It was cheap. I wanted to try sand as many people have used it and say it's nice for cleaning up with the Python and the Corys love it. It looks good too. Also many have grown plants in it as well. It may not be nearly as good as flourite or other plant type substrates but I'm not looking to grow a plant tank with fish but rather a fish tank with plants.
Q
The water has settled down a bit and I stuck in some wisteria. I want to get more plants as soon as possible.
Q
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Rbishop
06-11-2007, 5:35 PM
Very sharp, Que!
J double R
06-11-2007, 6:50 PM
looking good, keep it up!
jm1212
06-11-2007, 7:42 PM
its off to a great start!
Que, The tank looks awesome! I am going to start up a 55 gallon tank and I like the sand thing. Can I use an under water filter?
IceH2O
06-11-2007, 9:07 PM
Plants and sand do work well together. My 75 is sand,quickrete also,my 55 is gravel,both doing great.
MTS will help keep the sand stirred up and not compact.
Mabel, you can't use UG with sand because the sand would just slip through the grate and fill in the empty space.
Plants and sand do work well together. My 75 is sand,quickrete also,my 55 is gravel,both doing great.
MTS will help keep the sand stirred up and not compact.
Mabel, you can't use UG with sand because the sand would just slip through the grate and fill in the empty space.
I saw some in a pet store somewhere and I thought they looked cool digging through the gravel. I wonder though if they're good with plants. I wouldn't want them messing with the roots. Can and/or do they dig up plants?
Q
rich311k
06-11-2007, 9:27 PM
MTS are plant friendly. My tank is full of them. Very nice setup you have there.
SO if I do sand then what type of filtration should I look into? The filters that I am familar with is the Rear tank and the UGF.
I'm using a HOT Magnum now. It's a Hang On Tank canister filter. I'm not to keen on it yet but it has a high flow rate. I want to get a canister filter like a rena if not a rena.
Q
Mgamer20o0
06-16-2007, 6:59 PM
looks great.
aoscar
06-17-2007, 12:43 AM
very nice. what's the proposed stocklist?
Nolapete
06-17-2007, 12:51 AM
Very cool. I saw some bags of rocks at Petco today and I was thinking a similar idea. Thanks for the post inspiration inspiration.
Thanks all. As far as stocking... IDK. I have some mollies in there now.
I want something a bit unusual in there but more often than not that means brackish conditions or aggressive fish.
So the plan so far is to get this puppy cycling and planted first and then think about fish some more. I do have the luxury of time here for that. If I can find a store open today I may bring home some plants but I really need to build a hood with some shop lights in it so the plants get more light.
Maybe I'll read through some posts about stocking ideas. There are so many I can pick through. I think I'd like a school of Harlequin Rasboras or Rummynoses.
I may end up turning the 29 into a Galaxy Rasbora tank when I can get my hands on some.
Q
Rbishop
06-17-2007, 9:55 AM
Like that galaxy idea, Que!
Some progress this weekend. I got the tank seeded and decor moved in along with some rocks. When things settled down overnight I put in my male molly and a bunch of young. Got some shrimp keeping things stirred up but really need some corys as soon as the cycle is established. Got some plants today, java moss, java fern and dwarf valisinaria. I tied some moss to the driftwood and still have a mop leftover.
The first picture is the tank now.
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Dont put an elephant ear in your tank or this might happen.
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I know about the mondo grass.
Q
Rbishop
06-17-2007, 6:26 PM
Good start.
ostrangeone89
06-17-2007, 6:43 PM
This si really cool. Right now I am a 10 gallon, but have been putting money away slowly saving up for a bigger tank. At first I wanted like a 25 gallon, then it got upgraded to a 33 gall. But I want something much bigger, and I have been fiddeling around with the idea of sand and I really like the look of sand it really brightens up the tank. Also been thinking about live plants. I'm not a total newbie but once I have my big tank I will be lol.. Been trying to learn more about using sand and live plants and the lighting and such.
I have a question for you though, in one of the posts someone said about watching to make sure the sand doesn't compact? What was meant by that? I love building up fishtanks is so much fun! I never thought I'd find so much joy in my fishes!
OgreMkV
06-17-2007, 6:43 PM
Love it. The rocks are great.
mee-mee
06-17-2007, 8:31 PM
Yup, looking great soooo far Q...http://www.33smiley.com/smiley/everyday/17.gif
I have a question for you though, in one of the posts someone said about watching to make sure the sand doesn't compact? What was meant by that?
Got me.
Q
So I've made some changes and redid a few things... took out some stones and added more plants. I feel like we're getting close to halfway where I'd like it to be. I raised the driftwood to aide in cleaning and it just looks better up higher too. It also stays down by itself now. I somewhat pleased but I just wish I had the cash to plant it all up with nice tall stuff.
If you look closely in the middle on the wood you'll see one of the Japonica shrimp.
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jpappy789
07-24-2007, 4:20 PM
Nice job. I liked the rocks but this looks great as well!
The rocks were holding nasty stuff and I found I had to move em around all the time to clean... too much of a hassle.
Q
I do miss them tho
flapper12
07-24-2007, 4:31 PM
awesome.
KnaveTO
07-24-2007, 5:41 PM
Looking really nice there Q
Tycoon
07-24-2007, 5:48 PM
That looks sweet!