Caution! Extremely Opinionated Posting!
- Thread starter DeeDeeK
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Ooooh, that's some pretty tanks Slappy. But they're all good! Pennywort's exuberance scares me a little! Some tank versions are scary in general, even my slow growing anubias is starting to take liberties but my SAE loves to sleep on it. Can't deprive him. For me it's rotala rotundifolia taking over.
As bogus as watts per gallon and on the same order of usefulness and accuracy and still just as much used and touted about.
I estimate the volume of each fish in terms of how many male Endler's livebearers they are the equivalent to in size. Then I divide by three because I'm comfortable with keeping three Endler males per gallon and that tells me how many gallons I want. Alternately, I can multiply gallons by three and arrive at an allowance of total fish volume for that particular tank, in units of male Endler's Livebearer volume equivalents. For example, I have three fish the size of three Endlers each - for a total of nine Endler's volume. I also have a fish nine times the volume of a male Endler so I ad those nine to the other nine units, getting 18 units of male Endler volume total. Divide by three and I arrive at 6 gallons minimum tank size to house my four fish. I set up the circulation within the tank to ensure a rapid and complete turnover of the water at the surface so the tank is well oxygenated so I worry very little about surface area to fish volume guidelines.
i just thought the pre filter was sexy so i left it in for the pic. 
that left side has crypts growing in from behind that are starting to show nicely now.
guppyland was hard to control. it has been completely redone since.
both tanks are void of any carbon supplementation.
i may post a couple updated pics tomorrow.
that left side has crypts growing in from behind that are starting to show nicely now.
guppyland was hard to control. it has been completely redone since.
both tanks are void of any carbon supplementation.
i may post a couple updated pics tomorrow.
I have not read every single post in this thread,but I wanted to give my 2 cents.
I have 8 tanks running right now from 10 gallons up to 180 gallons. I have 490 gallons total. No 2 tanks look a like. Some have a more natural river look with fake plants,due to the fish. I do not want to spend money on live plants I know will get ripped to shreds.But I do not like a plantless tank either.The plants I have in these tanks,with the tank buster fish,look pretty realistic.But no plastic or silk can replace the real thing.
Others have real plants with black epoxy covered gravel. I like how the black gravel,with a black background,makes the green plants POP.
I also have a ADA rip off tank.Glosso,with micro swords,made to look like one of Amano's great master pieces.Not even close to the real thing,but it satisfies me.
My 10 year old daughter has a 30 gallon in her room,decorated by her. It has clown vomit gravel,florescent plants,and some plants that even glow in the dark. Although I would not decorate a tank like this anymore,some of the plants are from when I first set up a tank.
I look at the the hobby of fish keeping as a progression.It starts out for some as keeping a brightly colored tank that is a focal point in a home,to an obsession to get the best out of the tank,fish ,and live plants. Most people get drawn in by the colorful decorations,then get hooked by the beauty of a natural looking tank.
I'm to the point in the hobby of having,and likeing,both. I love to see how my 10 year old started just as I did. The brighter the better.Maybe some day she will want to re-do her tank with pea gravel,and live plants.
All my tanks have real drift wood. Except my daughters.Hers has a "water fall" That has a air stone under it for the "water"
Oh,and I also have the "show off tank" with the arowana
.
So as many others have said,it is personal preference. My preference is a little bit of it all!
I have 8 tanks running right now from 10 gallons up to 180 gallons. I have 490 gallons total. No 2 tanks look a like. Some have a more natural river look with fake plants,due to the fish. I do not want to spend money on live plants I know will get ripped to shreds.But I do not like a plantless tank either.The plants I have in these tanks,with the tank buster fish,look pretty realistic.But no plastic or silk can replace the real thing.
Others have real plants with black epoxy covered gravel. I like how the black gravel,with a black background,makes the green plants POP.
I also have a ADA rip off tank.Glosso,with micro swords,made to look like one of Amano's great master pieces.Not even close to the real thing,but it satisfies me.
My 10 year old daughter has a 30 gallon in her room,decorated by her. It has clown vomit gravel,florescent plants,and some plants that even glow in the dark. Although I would not decorate a tank like this anymore,some of the plants are from when I first set up a tank.
I look at the the hobby of fish keeping as a progression.It starts out for some as keeping a brightly colored tank that is a focal point in a home,to an obsession to get the best out of the tank,fish ,and live plants. Most people get drawn in by the colorful decorations,then get hooked by the beauty of a natural looking tank.
I'm to the point in the hobby of having,and likeing,both. I love to see how my 10 year old started just as I did. The brighter the better.Maybe some day she will want to re-do her tank with pea gravel,and live plants.
All my tanks have real drift wood. Except my daughters.Hers has a "water fall" That has a air stone under it for the "water"
Oh,and I also have the "show off tank" with the arowana
. So as many others have said,it is personal preference. My preference is a little bit of it all!
How you express or state your opinion is not relevant to any training you have or the career you may have chosen. It is simply your opinion in your words. Thankfully, this is not an exercise in grammar or creative writing. In an effort to be published, my road was a long hard road as I refused to allow any editing of my work. That caused many rejections and the few that offered were more of scammer mentality than publishing. It was important to me to write and publish "as is" as it showed a progression of recovery. It was aimed at a niche market of small numbers and many editors didn't like that idea; I self-published in 3 countries and pocketed all proceeds! Publishing an article or book is far from glamorous but you have an idea to share or keep. The same can be said about the art or hobby of fishkeeping.
As publishing is creative writing - You're not going to please everyone. Fish hobby is the same. It can be creative work or it can be an attempt to duplicate nature. What it becomes is like how a story is related in writing. Not all article are accurate and not all stories end "happily ever after". They are their own story with their own translation. Some participants will relate and others won't.
This means your opinion is not wrong for how you felt at the time of writing. If it contains error and omissions, so what? You are entitled to you opinion and down the road you can always change it. That's what education and learning does. It helps to dispel what isn't the best idea and turns it into a better idea.
So if your idea is clown-puke gravel and spaceships with aliens, then so be it. Maybe I'm more of a naturalist and want to mimic the wild. It doesn't make either of us wrong if the fish are relatively healthy and stress free.
When a conversation can be had without denigration, name calling or finger pointing, it becomes a benefit to all that care to read. Each reader is moved to respond or not according to their feelings, as is your idea as to what makes for a nice environment. There are sunken planes, trains, automobiles and ships in the oceans and lakes. If someone want to duplicate that in their tank, they are just as right in doing so as is the person that does a Walstadt tank. Like art or creative writing, I don't think of there being a wrong way if the ultimate outcome is the same.
As publishing is creative writing - You're not going to please everyone. Fish hobby is the same. It can be creative work or it can be an attempt to duplicate nature. What it becomes is like how a story is related in writing. Not all article are accurate and not all stories end "happily ever after". They are their own story with their own translation. Some participants will relate and others won't.
This means your opinion is not wrong for how you felt at the time of writing. If it contains error and omissions, so what? You are entitled to you opinion and down the road you can always change it. That's what education and learning does. It helps to dispel what isn't the best idea and turns it into a better idea.
So if your idea is clown-puke gravel and spaceships with aliens, then so be it. Maybe I'm more of a naturalist and want to mimic the wild. It doesn't make either of us wrong if the fish are relatively healthy and stress free.
When a conversation can be had without denigration, name calling or finger pointing, it becomes a benefit to all that care to read. Each reader is moved to respond or not according to their feelings, as is your idea as to what makes for a nice environment. There are sunken planes, trains, automobiles and ships in the oceans and lakes. If someone want to duplicate that in their tank, they are just as right in doing so as is the person that does a Walstadt tank. Like art or creative writing, I don't think of there being a wrong way if the ultimate outcome is the same.
Yep, the ol' "Endler Equivalents" method. Hasn't failed me yet; failed to make me sound like a lunatic when I try to explain it in writing, apropos of nothing:crazy:
What can I say? I use the volume of a male Endler's Livebearer as a unit of measurement when figuring out how many fish I can keep in a tank.:huh:
What can I say? I use the volume of a male Endler's Livebearer as a unit of measurement when figuring out how many fish I can keep in a tank.:huh:
I think this calls for a contest on the most garish tank, complete with build threads and scathing commentary by DeeDee as things progress to egregious heights of bad taste.
Seriously, I think it would be a blast.:headbang2:
Seriously, I think it would be a blast.:headbang2:
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