My 75 gal tank build. Lots of pics

[rainbowcharmer]

My new Eheim arrived today - undamaged! Yay!

It actually had packing material in the box - so when UPS threw it around this time, it wasn't just bouncing around in there. I was a little concerned becauset he box had some damage on one side, but the filter did not show any damage, so that makes me very happy.

Took me about 3 hours, but I managed to get it put together correctly. Those instructions were worthless though.

I also got Hornwort in today from someone on the AC here - yay! - except all the little pieces are flying around the tank now that the filter is running. Hopefully that slows up soon! I have a nylon stocking over the intake so that it doesn't get full of plant matter. Don't want to clog up the new filter.

Probably tomorrow I will see where the ammonia is (I added a little bit, but haven't checked levels or anything - just wanted to get it moving). Have to get to bed for now, but I am going to take the aquaclear apart tomorrow and move the filter media to the tank to help get the cycle moving a bit faster. The water level is down by about 15 gallons (plus whatever the Eheim holds) because I was trying to vacuum out as much of the free-floating (or well, sunken at that point) plant matter as possible before starting up the filter. Got it pretty well cleaned up, but when the filter was turned on, it started blasting those little needle like leaves off the hornwort like nobody's business. Hopefully at least a bit of the hornwort will survive this Eheim! It's got a very powerful (and super quiet!) flow!

I also realized that I need to change the light bulb in the fixture that came with the tank. This one makes everything look very yellow.

 

[rainbowcharmer]

Tonight I checked the ammonia (again) on the tank, and it's still high, so no need to add more yet. I did add the filter media from the aquaclear to help jump-start the cycle, but it's not much media, so I don't know how much it will help considering the volume of this tank compared to what it's meant to handle. But if it helps seed the eheim, I suppose it will work out OK.

I also realized tonight that the lighting is severely inefficient for this tank - a 40 watt light (not daylight even) and my plants were already starting to die off.

So my honey stopped at the store and got me a 4 foot, 2 bulb shop light fixture which holds 32 Watt bulbs, and also picked me up 2 daylight (6700K I think? Or 6500K - will have to go find the package and double check that) 32 Watt bulbs, and the difference in the way the tank looks is AMAZING!!!!! The reflection of the light fixture I am sure has a lot to do with it as well. I do not know yet if this will be sufficient light, but it's a heck of a lot better than what I had, so for now I'll see how it does.

Attached are pictures of the tank before (one 40 watt crappy strip bulb) and after (2 32 watt daylight bulbs).

I also received more plants today (watersprite), which is fantastic. Hornwort is still flying in the tank, but hopefully that will settle soon. I've been emptying the pantyhose trap a few times per day so far, and I hope eventually it will stop shedding.

Anywho - must get to bed! My next step is really just to get the tank cycled I think. And to decide on a stock list. I still have no idea what I want... Or well, I know a lot of fish that I want, but not all are compatible, so I must make some choices...

 

[BigFishKeeper]

If I were you I'd have:
- 1 flagtail proch
- 1 bichir (Senegal or ornate)
- 1 Severum
- 3-4 uaru
- Black ghost knife
- striped rapheal catfish

 

[roscoe70]

Looking good, hope you enjoy the tank. It is amazing of oftentimes the replacement sent is properly packed, don't know why some places haven't realized that yet and just send it properly the first time.

 

[rainbowcharmer]

I hear ya Roscoe!! I don't know why it was so hard to stuff packing material in there the first time around, but I guess the important thing is they did finally get me a working unit.

And that stock sounds nice, but my main concern with some of it is the plants - don't some of those fish have a habit of destroying plants? I am hoping to keep it fairly densely planted.... I'm still really tempted by the smaller cichlids too - apistos and such... but at the same time I love the big fish!! I just need another tank... really, just one more... lol

 

[rainbowcharmer]

Updated pics of the tank. I'm part way through the cycle. Planning to add fish after Christmas. I am guessing the cycle will finish a week or so before Christmas, and if that is the case, i don't want to add fish right before we leave for vacation (gonna be gone 5 days for Christmas), so I am going to wait and add them after we get home. If it finishes sooner than that, we may add them earlier, but we'll see how the cycle goes.

A few pics of the cycle progress, and then some pics of the quartz rock that we added (free from the back yard!). I soaked the rocks in bleach water for an hour, rinsed, and soaked again in bleach water for an hour (well ok maybe longer), then rinsed and scrubbed the rocks with a stiff-bristle brush, then boiled them for about 15 minutes, then let them cool, rinsed and added dechlor to the rinse water, then added the rocks to the tank. Was a long process, but well worth it! We did two batches of rocks so far - the first I had found over the summer with the mower, and the second I went hunting for late last night. If I find more in the future that are good sized, I will probably add more since I think they look really nice. Pics are throughout the process so some have only the first batch of rocks, and some have both. Also some pics of the driftwood that I bought on here, and some of the plant life.

A question - how do you keep the hornwort from flying around the tank? It gets caught in the current and whirls around in circles.... can I secure it to the rocks or driftwood or anything like that? Or does it have to be free-floating? Right now it's stuck on some of the rocks in the tank, and I haven't freed it yet since I'm thinking it might be OK like it is?

Comments/suggestions always welcome.

 

[Rbishop]

Nice looking.

 

[BigFishKeeper]

cool can't wait to see it with fish in it.... decide what to stock it yet??
-Alex

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Like your motivation, was worried for a moment when I saw the glass top but hay if it works its good enough. Love the tank setup but was a little surprised at the high ammo and nitri numbers having used cycled media usually should only reach 1 or 2 PPM for a week tops. Well as long as you get there your new fish will sure be surprised on such a nice setup.

 

[roscoe70]

It is odd that the readings have spiked so high given the plants in the tank. Any water changes ongoing at this time, if so I missed them in the thread. Good luck.