220g New Start

Well, I'm happy to report the male crab seems to be doing fine so far. He made his way around the background (maybe so as not to be eaten), so there he'll stay until he gets bigger and can defend himself.

I've done regular water testing ever since introducing the fish some 5 weeks ago, but I've never seen more than a very slight increase in ammonia, and no sign of nitrites/nitrates. Despite this, I decided to do the first water change today, since visible nasties were starting to accumulate in the sump behind the sponge filter. This was also my first use of the Python system and I must say it worked great - Another great tip from the AC board! I tried to use the Python to clean out the sump, but found that using my Magnum canister filter did a better job there. All-in-all the water change went very well. I guess I'll continue the water testing and just plan on monthly water changes unless I see some changes in the cycle. :huh:
 
jaysen said:
that stand is simply gorgeous! great tank. how about some live plants to help your minor ammonia spikes?
Click to expand...

Thanks! I've had a couple live plants in there for a few weeks now, and I plan to add more (especially if that will rid more of the ammonia).
 
thatas some beutiful woodwork :)
 
Well, it's been a year now since I first set up the tank and I'm happy to report all is well. I still have the original set of 5 tin foils, four silver dollars and two bala sharks. The tin foils are huge, with appetites for algae wafers to match. Four of the original six tiger barbs remain, with two new tigers added a few months ago. The two cory's, featherfin, and pictus cat are all thriving, though I swear the cory's haven't grown at all. The mating pair of red swordtails are gone - I believe the male was victimized by the female, and she died a few months later, shortly after giving birth - 10 fry survived the journey into the overflows, through the tubing, down through the bioballs and into the sump. I still don't know how they made it, but all ten are now thriving in a separate 10 gallon tank.

This 220g tank is by far the largest I've ever had, and I must say I'm pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to maintain. I use my viper tubing to do a 50 water change and vacuum the coral once a month, swap out the canister filter and rinse out the sump sponge. I don't even do water tests any more - the results never changed after the initial start up and the fish seem to be thriving overall. For those of you who've thought about a bigger tank but weren't sure about the upkeep - I say go for it!
 
Jumper got out of the Tank

This morning I was in the middle of a routine water change when I heard a slap on the floor. The cats came running over to investigate and drew my attention to the bala shark that was now flopping around on the floor as one of the cats approached. :eek:

I was able to get to the cat before she helped herself to lunch,then scooped up the shark and put it back in the tank. Stunned, it stayed mostly motionless for a few minutes. But not long after it began swimming around and now, a few hours later, appears to be completely normal.

This was the first time I've had a jumper in the 13 months I've had the tank running. I was really surprised that it was able to clear the top of the tank when the water level was already down 1/3rd, and the glass top was still in place, just with the front access door open.

Lesson learned for me: Keep the access doors closed when not in use!
 
I took a few quick shots of them - I had to stay in tight because the sun is reflecting off the front glass this time of day. I was just looking at my early pictures in this thread and it's hard to believe they were ever that small.

Anyway, you can see the Tin Foils are huge, with their red highlights coming in nicely.

The jumping bala shark is in one of the pictures - he appears that he's recovered from what must have been a traumatic experience.

Oh, and I almost forgot to include the latest arrivals - 10 tiny red swordtails we captured from the sump. They're about 2.5 months old now and doing great. Not sure when they'll be ready for the big tank..

IMG_4296a.jpg IMG_4317a.jpg IMG_4335a.jpg
 
More Pics

Now you've got me started again. I took a few more pictures after the sun went down, including a full-tank shot that gives you a better idea how much the barbs have grown from the earlier picture in this thread (and how much algae has grown over the background - I like the look, though).

IMG_4347b.jpg IMG_4378b.jpg IMG_4379b.jpg IMG_4288b.jpg
 
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