75 gallon Planted Office Tank Journal

[geekpryde]

Moved some fish today. We added 10 neon tetras to my kids tank, and while floating the bag, we did a water change (on my kids tank), and caught my curvicep aka Dwarf Flag, and also my female Krib aka Pelvicachromis pulcher. They as peaceful and slow moving in the tank, except when I was trying to catch them! Both can move fast to avoid the net. I endedup ripping out all the plants and the castle, but in the end they found their way into bags. I added a squirt of StressCoat to each bag and carried both bags inside a 5 gallon HD bucket incase of holes, etc.

They also lost most of their color, the intense red belly completely drained from the Krib, and I would say removing them from my kids tank was very stressfull for me and the fish. I hope it was worth it, and they like their new home. They both are long term fish in my kids tank, and I hope they continue to live long and be happy in their new home, but only time will tell.

Here are some pics.

KRIB floating in new home, color coming back slightly.

CURVICEP (one of the most underrated peaceful cichlid):

p.s., HERE is how I solved my overdose problem from earlier posts. KISS.

FTS with floating fish. Fish are new to tank, not to me.

 

[geekpryde]

my advice is to cut the roots down if there long. Cut them short, they will make new ones. Ive noticed if I cut the roots down, the plants growth takes off after like 3 days of cutting.

Will do, thank you. :worthy:

 

[geekpryde]

Checked on the tank this morning, and the Krib has not regained color and it not eating. She spends here time moving between the three cichlid rocks, so at least she has cover. I hope she gets used to this new home soon. Curvicep has been exploring a bit and seems to be adjusting.

 

[fish-n-chips]

I hope your plants show up on tuesday. I really like kribs, I'm certain her colors will come back after you plant and the tank fills up more. I envy your Leatacara Curviceps, I would like to find some in my area.opcorn: waiting for new picks, hopefully on tuesday.

 

[mes1234]

geek, are you going to get a sweet piece of driftwood? Once your plants come in, a awesome piece of driftwood would just make the tank pop. I got a large piece off amazon.com and it was only $11. It was already treated and sinks.

 

[geekpryde]

I hope your plants show up on tuesday. I really like kribs, I'm certain her colors will come back after you plant and the tank fills up more. I envy your Leatacara Curviceps, I would like to find some in my area.opcorn: waiting for new picks, hopefully on tuesday.

I hope your right about the Krib. I think you probably are. If plants dont come on tuesday, you guys will all know I am a big :liar:.


There be lots of pics, too many probably. :grinno: I have noticed a little bit of algae, real fine stuff. I dont know anything about algae, but I will post some pics. Once I get all the plants in, I think they will suck up all the goodies the hair algae is currently snacking on.

 

[geekpryde]

geek, are you going to get a sweet piece of driftwood? Once your plants come in, a awesome piece of driftwood would just make the tank pop. I got a large piece off amazon.com and it was only $11. It was already treated and sinks.

I like the branchy peices, not the large stumps so much. I know it makes alot more sense to put in wood before the plants, or at the same time. But at this point, plants are the concern. Once I actually manage to plant all these plants according to the layout, and they live, and I dont have a algae explosion, I think I will definately look into some amazon or AC classified driftwood. I also started a post at one point about just using ANY wood, like something I found in the woods, and I think the consensus is that this would be fine.

 

[geekpryde]

The curvicep is loving her new home, likes to pick up rocks from the eco-complete, swish them around in her mouth, and then spit them back out. Kind of fun to watch, I assume she is eating something?

ps, there will be equipment pictures tomorrow, as the new co2 Reactor I bought comes in, as well as Flourish tabs.

 

[geekpryde]

Received External Reactor 5000 (EXT5000) Hose Fittings Inside Diameter:1/2" from AquariumPlants.com today. It should have also come with Flourish Tabs, but they were not in the box. :shakehead:

I shot off an email to customer service, so I'll let you know how they handle it.

UPS also decimated the box, but nothing looks damaged to me, thank the maker (star wars geeks should get that).

Here are the initial photos, and I will post more after I have time to actually install it.

Hardware goodies:

Here it the top view:

 

[geekpryde]

I had to go out to a hardware store and buy 8 more feet of 1/2" ID clear tubing, since eheim provides a very short run with their canister filters. Luckily I sourced it easily online, and ran to an area hardware store to pick it up. Here are the installation pics:

With mounting plate attached:

Disconnected spray bar:

New, much longer, double tap extension from canister filter.

Hose barb from the new reactor connected to eheim 1/2" ID tubing.

More pics later tonight. No, I dont have tracking info for my plant order which supposedly shipped today, dont ask. :wall: