55 gallon setup

[williedee]

here is my new 55 gallon all glass tank. filters 2 aquaclear 70's, heater 150 watt aqueon submersible, substrate 50 pounds of silica sand. current inhabitants are 1 goldfish and 7 zebra danios. future stocking is in my signature. thanks for looking.

[jm1212]

its off to a good start!

[rogers138]

I don't know about those speakers being so close to the tank. You think the fish will be fine?

[Mgamer20o0]

keep us updated

[Rbishop]

Looks like a fine start!

[erin14]

It looks good so far

[williedee]

the speakers aren't very loud. thanks for all the comments, and i will keep you updated.

here is the bag of sand i used incase anybody else wants to know what kind of sand it is.

[Bk718]

Nice tank, loving the way the sand looks

[southpaw]

Nice...

Might want to look into a larger watt heater ... 150 really isnt enough for a 55g ... I would atleast get a 200w ... I have a 250w Visi-Therm Stealth in mine.

[Lupin]

Good start there, Willie.:)

[williedee]

thanks everyone. yesterday i got 3 malaysian trumpeter snails and a ramshorn, all for 26 cents. so now the stocking for cycling is 1 goldfish, 7 zebra danios, 3 malaysian trumpeter snails, and one ramshorn. i hope the snails dont get out of control!

[pinkertd]

Great start!! I like the sand!

[williedee]

thanks pinkertd! i cant wait till spring to get my bristlenoses! heres some pics of the malaysian trumpeter snails that should stir up the sand a bit. they sure are small.

[williedee]

heres some pictures of my new cories and opaline gourami. they will be in the 55 once its done cycling, but for now they will have to live in the 10. i think they might be false juliis, but i am not sure. i currently have 4. they were only $3 at petco so i dont care what they are, lol. I am going to get 3 more peppered, and 3 more bronze cories too, for a total of 12 cories swimming around the 55. does that sound like too many?

[MiramichiMob]

Nice pics and beautiful opaline gourami.

[rich311k]

Nice pics, I love the corys.

[williedee]

thanks

[Temo]

nice

[Mr Meaty]

Nice pics. Where'd ya get the stand? I got one that looks just like mine thats holding my 125. Great start

[irishspy]

That's beautiful coloring on the Opaline.

[williedee]

thanks guys. i got the stand with my tank, its all glass brand made in franklin wisconsin. its pine.

[williedee]

i got a background today. the pic isnt the best, but there is alot of reflection. kind of a cool angle at least!

[scootrnerd]

won't the silica sand cause a constant diatom problem? i have heard that there skeletons are made from silica and without it they cant survive? if i am wrong then nm lol

[williedee]

yea, silica does cause problems with diatoms, but i have another tank that is 6 months old with no sand, and i still have tons of brown algae, which comes from a diatom "infestation". i am however already seeing brown algae on my sand though... oh well. thanks for the advice scoot!

[williedee]

well i had an emergency while i was eating dinner tonight. i heard a loud grinding/zapping noise coming from one of the filters, and i saw the goldfish spittting out sand into the intake! i quickly unplugged both of the filters and took the one with sand in it apart. lots of sand came out of the motor area, but the impeller looks fine. i am sick of the goldfish spitting sand everywhere, so i put it back in the 10 for now, and moved 2 cories and the opaline into the 55. i know its not done cycling, but they are all hardy fish. plus i dont want anymore sand surprises with the goldfish!
now the stocking is:
1 opaline gourami-male i think
7 zebra danios
1 peppered cory
1 broze cory

[destined_love7]

Looks like your plants are growing. Any plans on more?

[williedee]

yes i am going to add java moss/java fern and other low light plants. getting them from mgamer once the weather warms up a bit. i dont want frozen plants!lol.

[williedee]

updated pictures of the tank, whiptail catfish, and my new hoods that i made. i currently have 4 13 watt cf's over it, over 2 times as much light as stock! pm me for more pics on how i built them.

[bethkira2000]

Very nice, keep posting those updates.

[williedee]

i should be getting a pictus or 2 today. ill post pics as soon as i can

[grannylvsfish]

I see you have the brown algae, it will look good when you clean it off :)
nice tank, was your plant that tall when you got it, and what kind is it?

[williedee]

its a cheap apongenton bulb plant that i got from walmart, like 6 for a dollar. they grow really fast! i was thinking about getting some platys, any comments on those? i would like to breed them for live food for the pictuses. good or bad idea? thanks

[H3D]

Looks good so far.

[williedee]

i got some pictuses yesterday, buy one get one half off. i also added a big piece of driftwood i have been soaking. they seem pretty jumpy, but they sure are cool to watch. they are only about 3 inches, i think they are the peruvian kind. ill post pictures once they come out of the log!

[williedee]

ok sorry for the delay. here is some pictures of the pictus' and the new angelfish.. its really really small, sorry about the blurryness.

[grannylvsfish]

its a cheap apongenton bulb plant that i got from walmart, like 6 for a dollar. they grow really fast! i was thinking about getting some platys, any comments on those? i would like to breed them for live food for the pictuses. good or bad idea? thanks

lucky!! my walmart does not carry them :(

[FISHSHROD]

Good luck with the pictus cats, they need brackish water. I tried them before but never had any luck in regular fresh water.
Your tank should be fine with silica sand. Looks real good:grinyes:

[grannylvsfish]

its a cheap apongenton bulb plant that i got from walmart, like 6 for a dollar. they grow really fast! i was thinking about getting some platys, any comments on those? i would like to breed them for live food for the pictuses. good or bad idea? thanks

I can not find them here, nor can I find 6 for a buck any where on the web! is there a chance you could get me 24 of them and I will send you the cash thru paypal , for them and shipping and a few bucks for your time? I really want them I love the look! :help: :help:

[Sploke]

Pictus cats absolutely do not been brackish water. I don't know where you read or heard that, but its incorrect. Are you thinking of columbian sharks maybe?

[drew81]

granny they are not 6 for a dollar...
i have the same plant

at my walmart they are a pack of maybe 3 for 3.49...
if your lucky there may be 6 small ones

[Bryan Cooper]

sharp! almost the same as mine, but your stand came with the tank,lol, great start

[williedee]

they also have them at my petco, just a different package. i read that the apogentons only grow for 7-8 months, and then they need to be kept in cold water for three months... or else they die. lol. i am going to buy java moss/fern from mgamer this spring. bryan, what kind of filters are you using? just curious how they do with the sand.