Noob photos

[mavisky]

Hi there, this is my third tank. Moved up from a 15 gallon, to a partially planted 29, and just picked up this 55 that I've got up and running. Working on adding some new plants to it and try my hand at a little aquascaping.

Sorry for the crappy quality, taken with the cell phone (2.0mp)

http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98811-4/0206081437.jpg
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98815-2/0206081438.jpg

[grannylvsfish]

very nice :)

[bethkira2000]

I really love that tank, very nice

[FtwayneFish]

your tank is very clean. I love the black substrate. My friend has a 55g long too. I only have the hex boooo lol.

Great to hear we have another Fort Wayne resident. And me and him/her?? share the same birth date!

[st0l1]

Nice tank!

[mavisky]

Thanks guys, I'm just getting started with this tank, but compared to the little 29 I had this is way better looking and I just can't stop staring at it. It looks way better like this than it did with it's previous owner.

[Lupin]

Nice tank. A few more plants will make a nice touch.:)

[JamieB]

Awsome tank set up!

[gupman]

Very nice i like the black substrate too.....

[Stargate_geek]

Sweet tank :)

Hate to break it to you, but that bamboo will eventually die and rot in the tank :( If you want to keep it live, you'll have to get the leaves above the water :)

[wataugachicken]

great tank. fantastic cell phone. . . .

[mavisky]

Sweet tank :)

Hate to break it to you, but that bamboo will eventually die and rot in the tank :( If you want to keep it live, you'll have to get the leaves above the water :)

That's what I figured. Friggin Petco had it fully submerged and said it would do fine. It's growing roots and has been underwater for about 5 months now though. Just picked up the final piece of driftwood tonight so it's time is limited. Just have to break the news to the gf as she really likes it.
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98824-2/0206082033.jpg


great tank. fantastic cell phone. . . .

Thanks, the phone does pretty good work. Enough that for average photos I don't even bother grabbing my Sanyo digital camera anymore.


I also picked up the night lights tonight.
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98820-2/0206082032.jpg

[jm1212]

its off to a good start!

[Mgamer20o0]

nice tank

[FtwayneFish]

Those night lights are really great. I forgot to tell you earlier that, your car is better! ha lol.

My friend who lives by you is selling his 55g setup. seperate too. So if you were worried about the light setup he's got a top notch light odysea 4x65w with night lights built in. I think 100.00 or 150.00. But you can get my free plants and try em first. If it aint broke dont fix it.

[mavisky]

Hmm, I'll think about that lighting setup.

[FtwayneFish]

and a fluval 304 canister thats like new for 70.00 bucks retail 89.99 new- discontinued tho. I bought the 305 same thing tho. you could get rid of the 330 bio wheel. and he'll even set it up for you. full of media already.

[FtwayneFish]

Well folks, mavisky came by last nite and got all my trimmings. A whole walmart bags worth. Dunno if he needed all of it. But we'll have to see the tank after a major planting session!

[mavisky]

Well thanks to Justin I no longer have a tank with some plants, I have an underwater jungle. Fish love it. Redtail sharks and the Dwarf Gouramis are constantly playing in the leaves for cover.

Going to have to start on the CO2 system soon to keep these things growing. Until then I'll just be using the hell out of my Flourish liquids to keep all this green happy.

http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98832-1/0207082021.jpg
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98836-2/0207082022.jpg

Thanks again for all the great stock Justin. Going out to grab a new loach tonight as well as a school of Neon Tetras for added color. Given this cover what do you think the likelihood of shrimp surviving would be given that my biggest fish are 4 2-2.5" Gouramis?

[FtwayneFish]

WOW it looks really really really nice! your car is still better, but it looks amazing. We'll have to get together on a beer drinking nite sometime to stare lol. But I think you should try those 12 for 1.25 ghost shrimp first. I bet they make it. Then we can upgrade to a bunch of cherries to add "hidden" color.

Looks like all those different sized pieces worked out. It rocks

Remember neons are .88 @ petland- dont pay 1.98 like everybody else lol.

The Gouramis will keep the duckweed in check, Im pretty sure I read that.

And the bottles can get salty buying them each or everyother month. I'd use the DIY method. just 2-3 2L hidden in back with a hose in the corner and powerhead will be fine. I recharged mine last nite took 10 mins and its bubblin like crazy. It was 3 days over due when you were over.

Its like are cars, fuel,air,spark

Light, then co2, then ferts.

your light is ok, co2 wont hurt, and you have some ferts already.

So you run it for awhile and if theres no algae and the plant growth is just slow then you add co2.

If later on your co2 is constant and you keep up on recharging. and you then get algae you fiddle with ferts to pump up the plants alil more.

I luckily get away with light,co2, just a few ferts

I run the light and co2- I only get a lil algae when my co2's running out and the plants slow down.

[mavisky]

Well picked up some new inhabitants tonight from 33 Aquarium here in Fort Wayne. Tried to take some better pics but the phone focuses on the fish better than the friggin digital camera does.

14 Silver Tip Tetras - could not get them to sit still
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98840-2/0208082126.jpg

Cute little catfish -can't remember what his name was and this is as close as he'd come to the front of the tank.
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98844-2/0208082128.jpg

New Zebra Loach
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98852-2/0208082136.jpg

Tried to get a photo of my new honey loach, but he wouldn't come out of hiding tonight.

Here's a few other pics.
My favorite - yoyo loach
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98848-2/0208082134a.jpg

My 3 blue Gourami's
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98856-2/0208082135.jpg


Also just picked up some 2 liters tonight and I'm going to start working on some CO2 injection to keep all this green growing.

[mavisky]

Of course as soon as I post that everyone comes out of hiding a little bit.

Catfish
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98860-2/0208082300.jpg

Chinese algae eater
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98864-2/0208082302.jpg

Honey gourami - you can also just see his gorgeous tail under the driftwood in the photo above.
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98868-2/0208082303.jpg

yo-yo loach after destroying a little snail he found
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98872-2/0208082302a.jpg

[rich311k]

Very nice shots!

[FtwayneFish]

Yes, man those plants look nice and full, where did you get em'?

33 is neat huh- just tanks lol. no other frills.

I can help with the co2? I already have tops with fittings and can show you how to set it up. Your going to have to ditch the bubble wand thing? is that ok? With it going it will gass of the co2 your introducing. You'll need a 2-4 way tee as well for a 55g. Cant run 1 2L on it. Prolly 2-3L. You really cant O.D. with DIY. I got plenty of airstones as well.

[mavisky]

Ooh, can't keep the airwands, that sucks. Gonna have to think about this then as the GF loves the way the bubbles look and the fish seem to love to play in them.

[FtwayneFish]

yup it will gass off all the new co2. Im sorry. see how the plants do first. When and if you already do 50% weekly WC (water changes) your tap has some goodies and co2 already in it. See how WC goes. You can turn it on at nite? set the mood lol. with the mood lights too. Blue bubbles and Marvin Gaye.

Are you goin to get the neons? I was in petland last nite, 1.98 silver tips? and .88 neons again. plenty left.

Couple of MASSIVE oscars for 30.00 someone traded in.

Let me know if you want the caps and fittings. I mark my 2L, first the 2 cups sugar and mark it then 5 cups and mark it.

then when I refill I just pour sugar to the line and fill with water to the line and add my 1 cup water and 1/4 tsp of yeast. Bam cheap co tizzle.

[FL22]

WOW the change in the tank is amazing!! It looks great!

Thanks for sharing!:D

[SanguineApple]

Your tank is lovely, and so is your cory cat but he needs buddies.

[mavisky]

Your tank is lovely, and so is your cory cat but he needs buddies.

He may be getting one. Our gorgeous little Zebra Loach has gone missing. He was around at 10am yesterday morning for feeding time, then when my father stopped by the house at noon he was nowhere to found. We've been looking for him ever since and no sign of him. Moved all of the plants around and checked behind any of the rocks or driftwood to no avail. Checked behind the tank and nothing there. Ran a series of tests on the tank, 7.2 ph, nitrite 0ppm, amonia 0ppm, and nitrate 5ppm. If he doesn't turn up soon I'll probably go back and get another Cory Cat.

Oh and Justin, the Yo-Yo Loach already found one small snail and utterly destroyed that thing in a matter of seconds. Then he proceded to play with the empty shell for about 10 minutes :headbang2:


Thanks for all the compliments guys, I'm in love with the new look of the tank and I've already drained the first 2 liter of pepsi to start the co2 setup.

[SanguineApple]

I'll cross my fingers for your zebra. If he does show, you should still consider getting more than one cory. They're so much happier in groups of 5+.

[mavisky]

I'll cross my fingers for your zebra. If he does show, you should still consider getting more than one cory. They're so much happier in groups of 5+.

I hope he does too, but every hour makes it less and less likely as I've literally scoured every nook and cranny for him. I'll be doing a half tank water change tomorrow so we'll see if he turns up then.

[Ben_Jam_In]

you have a very nice tank i cant keep plant alive.

[mavisky]

you have a very nice tank i cant keep plant alive.


Well the majority of this stuff is less than a week old but I'm working on the CO2 injection right now. Here's my previous 29 gallon setup with some of the live plants in it and nothing more than 1 single good bulb and some Flourish system dosing. The large green plant actually stalked and grew two smaller plants I've trimmed off and now have all 3 growing in the new tank. The red dragon lotus broke free from its bulb and is now sporting a new plant in the new tank as well.

http://gallery.indystars.org/d/97489-4/S6000354.JPG

Here you can see the red dragon lotus and some of my old purple cabomba after the pleco had gone through and wrecked them while I did a water change.

http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98799-2/0131081200.jpg

[mavisky]

WOW the change in the tank is amazing!! It looks great!

Thanks for sharing!:D

Thanks for the compliments. Here's a quick comparison between when I bought it and where it is now.

http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98786-2/0131081159.jpg
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98803-2/0203082125.jpg
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98815-2/0206081438.jpg
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/98836-2/0207082022.jpg

[rich311k]

Very nice!

[mavisky]

Well went out for feeding this morning and still no Zebra loach. I'm beginning to think that he might have passed after feeding on Saturday behind one of my rocks in the middle of the tank. It's very hard to see back there and I know that my Yo-Yo and my CAE were hanging out back there most of the day. Very possible they were "cleaning up" and that's why I can't find any remains. He'll be missed eitherway as he had beautiful markings and a definite personality.

[mavisky]

Well he just turned up after a water change and nutrient dosing. He was swimming around but now he's hiding again. His nose looks a little red, not sure if he got stuck somewhere or if he was attacked. I'm hoping he can find a way to recover. I really wish I had another tank to put him in to isolate him and keep him healthy but I don't.

[FtwayneFish]

10g kit for 24.97 at walmart- dang walmart. got me to get 3 kits lol. If you look at "box stores" there 40.00 and up w.o a heater like walmarts kit.

But again the tank looks awesome. let me know if you want bottle caps or you wanna make your own or just tightly poke the line thru. you'll prolly want 2-3 2L to get enough on a 55g. Have you thought about how your going to introduce it? wooden airstone under the current? or powerhead like me? they sell really nice glass diffusers on ebay. check em out. im getting a smaller one. what about the gf and the bubble wand? If you use a powerhead like my setup and youll have 2-3 2L's on it, it should produce alot of bubbles.

Congrats on the loach.

I just got some purple comboda too that should take off here pretty soon for ya.

I found 2 other pet stores in town! I didnt know about! its shocking I know.
off tonkel and H-something. theres a spot called sportsman's cove. its a hunting store w/ fish! lol. its really blows tho. only like 3 tanks with cichlids.

and broadway aquatics. I dunno what its like. they were closed yesterday. 10-7 everyother day just closed mon. Heard he got robbed by 2 white guys so he follows everyone around and carries a gun now.

[mavisky]

If I get my new job I'll definitely be getting a desktop tank for work.

As for the Co2 I've read about some guys injecting the bubbles into the inlet of one of their power filters so I was thinking I could try that. I'll be making my own bottle tops by tightly squeezing it through there and then using some automotive winshield sealant around the hole to make sure it doesn't leak. Probably do the same thing on the inlet into the tank.

She really wants to leave the bubble strip in and I know it's helping oxygenate the water for the fish so if it lessens the effect of the co2 then that's fine. The plants seem to be doing ok and any help I can get them at all is still some help. Probably goint to start with 2 bottles for now and then work my way up. I was gonna use some of the same one way check valves and 3 way air line tees I use for my air pump right now to neck everything down to one line.

[FtwayneFish]

New job ehh? I think were both in service departments right?

Ahh. well you know that my plants all pearling and whatnot is way better than a bubble wand. when the plants pearl it means theres soo much dissovled o2 in the water it starts to show on the plants.

And those penguins are HOB's right? (hang on back) theres too much surface agitation in those to put co2 in. I tried it (hob intake) and noticed more growth by suspending the bubbles for more time under the output current. powerhead on the side of the tank going lenght wise will mist bubbles alot more that my powerhead with only 1 2L.

I also heard the check valves breakdown after a short time. So I opted not to use em. I know I run the risk of filling the 2L but thats no biggy and hasnt happened yet after a few months. I just let the bottle sit and "warm up" persay before I cap it.

And as keen a sight I have. lol the dump tube ect. We have the same curtains lol. dang polka dots. GF liked em.

[mavisky]

Yea I read something about the check valves not working right. I guess I could look into a cheap power head like what you've got. I've got one more power spot available on the wall to run one more item. I saw some similar to yours online for like 10-15 bucks.

Haven't seen the Zebra loach since yesterday, we've now nicknamed him Waldo since we can never seem to find him. I'm sure he's just buried up under some of teh Wysteria and you can't see him with his white body and the white plants.

[FtwayneFish]

Yea a powerhead is the best way. Turbo charged co2! I noticed on my various trials that the powerhead works and produces the best results. I have some BRAND new AC (aqua clear) powerheads I got at half off and couldnt resist. But to my downfall they are way to powerfull for my 10g's. ones for a 50g and a 70g lol. I thought with the reverse flow and turned down they'd work. NOPE its like a jacuzzi in there. they even have a spot on top to put a airline. there top notch unit. I might sell one for 20.00 and there worth if I remember right. 49.99 and 59.99. reverse flow and output adjustments with a screened bottom not to suck up anyplants and fish. They are new in the box. I ran the one for a 40g for a min or two and then put it all away.

Waldo huh? I like that, and if it fits lol. I bet he loves the camo and whatnot. You did get a whole mess of plants. I keep looking back at your full 55g and cant imagine I had that many plants between a 10g and 5g. I hope next time to either stock someone else's tank or see if i can make some money at a LFS.

[mavisky]

If you would want to get rid of one of those powerheads I may well be interested in it. Just have to figure out where I'm going to mount it.

[FtwayneFish]

K, I wanted to keep em lol im a pack rat. never know when im going to need one lol. But ill sell the bigger one. for 25.00? Its new. You wanna stop by again or I can stop by you? And I'd stick it on a side wall blowing length wise. For better dispersement. I dont know if you'll see a improvement with the bubble wand going. Try to talk her into leaving the wands off and see if she likes the bubble "wave" from the powerhead and the plants all shiny and bubbly from "pearling". She might like the wave and the look of the plants.

[FtwayneFish]

I have the AC 70 with me in my car. If your close to my work by 5:30 or I put it in my car mainly b/c im heading your way after work anyhow. But I dont know what your schedule is.

heres the specs: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4585+4644&pcatid=4644

[mavisky]

The problem is that I don't have any way of attaching that to the side of the tank really. Gonna have to really think about this. Might just go with a pair of bubble pads or stones under the substrate. I wonder if there is some way I could hook it inline with the air pump system without it just creating a massive vacuum draw on the co2 bottles.

[FtwayneFish]

Well, your inluck lol. The AC 70 is soooo good it has 2 ways of mounting. I dont think anyone sells a powerhead and theres no way to mount it. you can hang it on the side or suction cup it. It has 2 diffrent plates.

The air pump might vac the bottles? im not sure. I have the one line on the 10g w/ powerhead just barely in it (the powerhead). I think the powerhead wants to push water in the line actually, at least in my case. And the pressure has to fight it and then I get bubbles every few seconds.

[mavisky]

Picked up a bubble stone and set up the bottles. Now I just need to get a T so I can combine both the bottles into one line and then I'll plant the stone in the tank and let it go. If it helps at all then great, if not then I've only got about $10 or less in it all.

What about putting the stones inside the filters? Let them bubble behind the media and then let it push those bubbles out into the main tank?

Oh and in other news Waldo seems to be healthy and we're seeing him out and about much more frequently now.

[mavisky]

Got both bottles mixed and the line plumbed to the bottom of the tank. Hoping to see some bubbles within the next hour.

[FtwayneFish]

So your hooking it up to the bubble wands? I dont think the bubbles will be small enough or slowly get to the surface.

You could try the airstone behind the media on a HOB but theres too much surface agitaition in there. And as soon as the water pours out its breaking the surface tension.

Power heads the way to go. Big difference.

[mavisky]

No I've got a longish airstone stuffed under the substrate in the middle of the tank.

[FtwayneFish]

Is it working? Are the bubbles small and slow to the surface or maybe delayed by the output's current?

[H3D]

Nice tank!

[mavisky]

Actually I moved the stone underneath the driftwood on the far left of the tank and I'm using the top of the arched opening to trap the bubbles before they're released. Sort of a cheap "bell". I may actually remove it and grab the dremel tool to open up a little bit larger area even. It'd never be seen from outside the tank but should capture the co2 perfectly.

[mavisky]

Well some updates.

Tank just didn't have enough lighting and some of the plants were just getting shredded by some of the fish. I've since removed a portion of them and am working on some new projects to fix earlier shortcomings.

Tank as it stands now:

http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100024-2/0529082108a.jpg

Some progress pics of the new hood I'm building. It's going to have 4 - T8 bulbs from Hagen - Sunglo, Aquaglo, LifeGlo, and PowerGlo to completely cover the spectrum along with a dual 12" cold cathode light setup on an adjustable converter. DIY to the max.

Front plate clamped and glued
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100026-1/0523081708.jpg

Basic design with trim
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100030-2/0523081808.jpg

With doors on top of tank
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100034-2/0524080903.jpg

Interior shot (this is the tri-T12 setup I was going to run, getting replaced this week for the T8 equipment)
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100038-2/0603081913.jpg

[mavisky]

Ordered up the cold cathode tubes today from ebay, stopping on my way home to pick up my fosters and smith order, the lighting ballast, and some extras to get everything mounted up. Going to have to fill some holes and move the bulbs a little closer together but I should have plenty of room still to fit everything. More pics tonight as I make progress.

[mavisky]

Ordered up the ballasts today from atlanta light bulbs.

QTP3X32T8/UNV/ISN/SC
BALLAST, SYLVANIA 49945 OPERATES 3 F32T8 or 2 F40T8

for $17.07/per + shipping. Hope to have them here next week so I can get started on wiring them in.

[mavisky]

Got my cold cathode tubes in on Saturday. Went ahead and wired them up temporarily, but mounted them permanently. Not going to be using the twist caps to hold them in place permanently.

Installed.
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100147-2/0607081500.jpg
Lit up at 9v
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100151-2/0607081500a.jpg

Also went ahead and got the mounts for the T8's installed and ran some wiring for the grounded side of the bulbs.

Grounded side bulb holders.
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100155-2/0607082314.jpg

Positive side bulb hodlers - waiting for the ballasts to see how I want to wire this side.
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100159-2/0607082314a.jpg

Grounding plate for ballast, reflective flashing, and ground wiring run (still have to drill hole to get wiring out backside, but waiting on ballasts to detemine the best spot to do this.
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100163-2/0607082315.jpg

[Rbishop]

Nice.

[mavisky]

Was able to get some lighting together for it this weekend and finish it all up. Now on and operational. Will try to get some photos after dark but I don't have a camera that's very good at capturing it just yet. Here it is with 2 of the lights on and running just before I did a water change and planted some new plants. One 10,000k and one 5,000k.

Sorry all photos are with my camera phone as my digital camera is acting up.
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100205-2/0614080824.jpg

Here it is with the other 5,000k bulb and a 12,000k bulb in place (160watts total), and the new plants I picked up as well.
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100209-2/0614081744.jpg

Now I have to re-do the base to match the hardware and design of the top.

[Coler]

verrrrrrrrrry nice tank ! like an underwater meadow.

[mavisky]

Thanks. I've finally got the tank to the point where I just want to leave it alone and let the plant life fill in for the most part. Need to fill in a little more around the left rear of the tank, and working on getting some ground cover worked out for it.

[Lady G]

Looks VERY nice!!

[Reddog80p]

Nice :thumbsup:

[rich311k]

Very nice indeed!

[mavisky]

Thanks guys, and Rich, anytime you're driving through feel free to stop by and take some of those awesome pics of my tank. Although the blurriness probably hides some stuff. :D

[FtwayneFish]

me too! Id love some of rich's shots blown up and framed to hang on the walls there awesome! just wait kyle all you need now is multiple tank syndrome! im getting a pico sw next I think.

[mavisky]

Yea right. I've got the Talon, the Tank, the Truck, the House, the Fiancee, and 3 dogs (one of whom should hit 135lbs pretty easy). I'll keep busy somehow I'm sure. Polish is the one with the sickness, boy has 5 tanks last I knew with none under 20gallons.

[Bk718]

wow great building job. Cant wait to see updates.

[mavisky]

Bought a KH test last night. Looks like my new DIY CO2 mixture has got me in the 30-38ppm bracket with a solid ph of 6.6. Fish and plants are loving it. Found a petsmart that was going out of business and grabbed 3 medium sized amazon swords for $9, also planted some Red lotuses across the front of the tank to add some color. Riccia is on the way so it'll be floating for awhile and then I'll be removing any of the ground level java moss as I try to carpet this thing with riccia.

Foxtail is filling in nicely on the left side of the tank
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100234-2/0703081009.jpg

Head on shot of hardscaping and flora
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100238-2/0703081009a.jpg

Nice shot of my centerpiece red lotus lily- looks much better in person than my camera phone can capture.
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100242-2/0703081010a.jpg

[mavisky]

Can I have someone change the title of this thread to "55gallon planted build log". Thanks.


Did some work on the tank this week, slight and almost un-noticeable change in some of the rock. I finally removed my BN pleco and passed him onto forum member Polish along with 3 GAE's that had gotten to be agressive towards my gourami's in particular. Replaced the BN with a gorgeous young L134 Leopard Frog Pleco (thanks to 33 Aquarium who's a member of the Monster Fish Network) and 1 Otocinclus (to be joined by half a dozen more this week and an amano shrimp or two). I also removed my large green lotus as well as a sprouting red lotus from the front right of the tank as it was just getting too crowded their and the large leafs of the lotus were blocking out light to the other plants.

L134
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100400-2/0711082001.jpg

When I built my lighting I'd followed the advice of the Hagen company who had me order up a couple different bulbs to give me "a vast array of spectrum coverage". Problem is that two of the bulbs they reccomended were 18,000K and were nearly useless when it comes to growing plants. I ran out today and picked up two 10,000K 32watt bulbs to go along with the two 5200k 40 watt bulbs I was running and the tank already looks brighter. **** near UV with those other bulbs. I ordered some Riccia from another website and it's in the tank floating (some has been anchored below) but it's not doing well right now, I believe partly because I really only had 80watts of light that it could use in a 55 gallon tank.

Floating Riccia
http://gallery.indystars.org/d/100395-2/0710081411.jpg

Just checked online and my new filter media has shown up for my Biowheel 330 and my whisper 30. I installed a pair of pantyhose to filter the intakes for both filters and will now be using these instead to filter the tank out.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4136+13374&pcatid=13374

I'll make sure and let everyone know how they work. Hopefully I can get some design time in on re-covering the tank's stand. the core support is sturdy, but not pretty and we need to bring it up to par with the top of the tank. Going to be doing some measuring and plan it all out in cad first before putting pencil or saw to wood.

[FtwayneFish]

way to go!

[thesoul2008]

looks fantastic nice work

[mavisky]

Thanks guys.

Original pantyhose were actually stockings and were too thick and restricted flow too much. Switched down to actual panythose and everything's working much better now. Picked up some more Oto's (up to 7 now) and I'll be re-homing my smaller red-tail (should really only have one per tank) to Polish's 75 where he can cruise in peace.

Going home tonight to plant some more riccia, the first few mats are starting to show signs of growth. Originally I'd wrapped them too well and was cutting off most of the light to them. I'm really lucky it survived the long trip in the mail and then growing under the crappy bulbs I had in the tank. Also going to have to re-do the CO2 tonight as this batch is tapering off. I'm getting great results out of it, but it has a tendency to only last about a week and a half.