My 46g Bow is going! (w/ pics)
- Thread starter Squawkbert
- Start date
Off the top of my head...
$150 for used tank & stand w/ strip light, gravel, some rocks...
~$100 to AH-Supply for 96W 6700K retrofit kit & bulb
~$100 for Eheim 2215 w/ media
~$18 for Visitherm Stealth 200W heater
~$15 API FW master test kit
~$13 for 3 nice DW pieces from ebay (only 2 of which are in the tank)
~$22 for pool filter sand (50#x2, at least half of bag 2 remains)
~$80 for initial fish/plant purchases
~$50 food, long tweezers, Dry Ferts kit (rexgrigg), Excel, Prime etc. etc.
CO2 system, dropchecker and legs for light are all DIY.
So, if you want to throw in a few bags of sugar or bill me for some lab sundries, I may be in it $500, but it's nearly self sustaining right now as I've been selling some of my excess crypts and other plants (or trading them for other plants).
$150 for used tank & stand w/ strip light, gravel, some rocks...
~$100 to AH-Supply for 96W 6700K retrofit kit & bulb
~$100 for Eheim 2215 w/ media
~$18 for Visitherm Stealth 200W heater
~$15 API FW master test kit
~$13 for 3 nice DW pieces from ebay (only 2 of which are in the tank)
~$22 for pool filter sand (50#x2, at least half of bag 2 remains)
~$80 for initial fish/plant purchases
~$50 food, long tweezers, Dry Ferts kit (rexgrigg), Excel, Prime etc. etc.
CO2 system, dropchecker and legs for light are all DIY.
So, if you want to throw in a few bags of sugar or bill me for some lab sundries, I may be in it $500, but it's nearly self sustaining right now as I've been selling some of my excess crypts and other plants (or trading them for other plants).
Very nice setup!!!
Only thing I would personally change is that background. you have real and amazing looking plants, by replacing the background with a solid black, it would create a nice contrast and bring out the colors of the plans and the fish much more. . .
But that's just me. . .
Great looking tank though!
Only thing I would personally change is that background. you have real and amazing looking plants, by replacing the background with a solid black, it would create a nice contrast and bring out the colors of the plans and the fish much more. . .
But that's just me. . .
Great looking tank though!
Thanks - I agree that any background is distracting. My goal is to pretty well have the plants hide the background, which is currently the rocky/bogwood looking (boring) side of a 2 sided background.
A higher priority is to either hide the gravel w/ a serious carpet of HM or to start vacuuming it out & replacing most of it w/ more sand (I dislike the gravel more than I dislike the background). I'd probably have totally buried the gravel w/ sand, but the wife thought the gravel would be a nice color compliment to the other furnishings in the room (I wonder if I can find a burgundy Angelfish?).
I'd also like to eventually make some lily pipes to replace the stock Eheim plastic tubes (I've blown some glass before, but lack access to cheap/free materials & bunsen burner at the moment). In the mean time, I try to hide them behind plants & DW.
A higher priority is to either hide the gravel w/ a serious carpet of HM or to start vacuuming it out & replacing most of it w/ more sand (I dislike the gravel more than I dislike the background). I'd probably have totally buried the gravel w/ sand, but the wife thought the gravel would be a nice color compliment to the other furnishings in the room (I wonder if I can find a burgundy Angelfish?).
I'd also like to eventually make some lily pipes to replace the stock Eheim plastic tubes (I've blown some glass before, but lack access to cheap/free materials & bunsen burner at the moment). In the mean time, I try to hide them behind plants & DW.
Hi,
I haven't had time to go through the whole thread, but early on I read about the problems you were having building a school of cardinal neons. I went through the same ordeal about six months ago and through some good advice and persistence I now have a healthy school of 25 cardinals. Again, since I haven't had the chance to go through the whole thread, I don't want to offer a bunch of advice that you've already received. So, let me know if you are still having a problem.
The short answer, though, is to keep the PH at 7 or below (preferably around 6.4) and soften the water--- Amazon-like conditions will make them happy little fishies since that's where they come from originally. I really think it's worth the effort since a healthy school of cardinals is a beautiful sight and would look really stunning with your lush plants. They are also about the most peaceful fish I've ever kept.
The one problem I foresee with your setup is that you have quite a variety of fish in there. Even though most of them are very peaceful, my experience has been that cardinals don't do well when mixed in with lots of different fish. That's not to say that it can't be done or that they will die off, just that they really seem to thrive and show more personality when they are the primary fish in the tank. They also do very well in discus setups where both fish thrive in the same amazon-like conditions and the fish co-exist nicely.
Hope that helps and let me know if you still need specific info about keeping your cardinals from suddenly dying off.
Be well,
Dave
I haven't had time to go through the whole thread, but early on I read about the problems you were having building a school of cardinal neons. I went through the same ordeal about six months ago and through some good advice and persistence I now have a healthy school of 25 cardinals. Again, since I haven't had the chance to go through the whole thread, I don't want to offer a bunch of advice that you've already received. So, let me know if you are still having a problem.
The short answer, though, is to keep the PH at 7 or below (preferably around 6.4) and soften the water--- Amazon-like conditions will make them happy little fishies since that's where they come from originally. I really think it's worth the effort since a healthy school of cardinals is a beautiful sight and would look really stunning with your lush plants. They are also about the most peaceful fish I've ever kept.
The one problem I foresee with your setup is that you have quite a variety of fish in there. Even though most of them are very peaceful, my experience has been that cardinals don't do well when mixed in with lots of different fish. That's not to say that it can't be done or that they will die off, just that they really seem to thrive and show more personality when they are the primary fish in the tank. They also do very well in discus setups where both fish thrive in the same amazon-like conditions and the fish co-exist nicely.
Hope that helps and let me know if you still need specific info about keeping your cardinals from suddenly dying off.
Be well,
Dave
you did a wonderful job!!! I love looking at it. I also need to brace my lights up, I believe the heat will be to much for the plastic in the middle. how did you do it? ( pics please 
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coal - thanks for the advice. I may take it and try to soften the water a bit down the road (when I have fewer tetra species via attrition). I'm not certain how soft/hard my water is, but I do know that it is at least somewhat hard as I have gradually encountered some lime scale since the water softener died some years ago.
As to the lights, yes, I had to prop them up as the heat would break the glass tops (I have a really old thread or two on that experience). I used some old disk drive rails and metal braces I had laying about at work. Some drilling, screwing and black spray-painting is all it took. The bottoms of the braces rest on sticky rubber cabinet door pads on the rim of the tank. To keep the light from overheating the (black plastic) center brace, I use a little scrap of plastic grocery bag between the brace & glass under the light.
Sorry, but I don't have any pics of the process.
As to the lights, yes, I had to prop them up as the heat would break the glass tops (I have a really old thread or two on that experience). I used some old disk drive rails and metal braces I had laying about at work. Some drilling, screwing and black spray-painting is all it took. The bottoms of the braces rest on sticky rubber cabinet door pads on the rim of the tank. To keep the light from overheating the (black plastic) center brace, I use a little scrap of plastic grocery bag between the brace & glass under the light.
Sorry, but I don't have any pics of the process.
kjr928
Go fish yourself.
