I moved on 4/21 and finally the never ending process of moving and setting up tanks is DONE; the 75 gallon has been set up for almost a month, the 33 gallon long, just under 3 weeks. I rehomed my Colombian tetras and kept the marbled hatchets, sterbais and checkerboard cichlids. Unfortunately, two sterbais died and FOUR of my seven hatchets jumped out of the temporary tank. I'm mad at myself for that one, sorry little dudes.
75 gallon clearwater ([STRIKE]that's a lie at the moment[/STRIKE] finally clear!)
Temp - 78.5 F
Filtration - Eheim 2217 + Fluval 304
Lighting - Finnex stingray 48" + Finnex stingray 36"
Substrate - pool filter sand
Plants - Brazilian pennywort (temporarily anubias and java fern until I decide if I want to do a planted tank or not)
pH - 6.0, maybe lower
TDS - [STRIKE]35ppm[/STRIKE] 45-50ppm
GH/KH - 1/1
Fish (updated stocking list 8/16/17)
7x Biotodoma cupido
6x Corydoras sterbai
0x Carnegiella strigata (moved to my 33 gallon long)
16x Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis
2x Farlowella vittata
This 75 gallon is supposed be more brightly lit with crystal CLEAR water, but as you can see, it's not. The wood I used was not previously soaked or used before, so they're leaching tannins like crazy. I was changing water every other day for a while and I think that kept upsetting the bacterial balance; the tank is still a little cloudy. I put a packet of Purigen in each filter and they were saturated brown in 4 days. I wanted a good expanse of sand for the cupid cichlids, they're benthophagic and will be pecking constantly for food. I might add some leaf litter under the branches, but I'm not sure...I'm trying to keep the sand nice and clean in this tank.
The hatchets don't show up in the gloom and the sterbais are too nuts to photograph. More pictures will be forthcoming, everything will be easier to photograph when the tannins finally dissipate.
The 33 gallon long was set up to be tannin stained and murky and dirty. The water is nicely stained, but somehow the 75 gallon has a lower pH and TDS, not sure how or why. I have 40-50 magnolia leaves in the tank, I plan to add 20-30 more. There is some hair algae growing in the pennywort, which isn't a bad thing, but I don't want it to get out of hand. And the wood and leaves have weird fuzzy fungus growing on them already, the tank looks really "lived in" already, I'm surprised. I'm going for a grungy natural look for this tank, no siphoning out any detritus, no Purigen, keep it funky.
Temp [STRIKE]-83 F[/STRIKE] lowered to 81.5F
Filtration - Eheim 2215
Lighting - Sunblaster 48" T5 (toned down since these pictures with pet proof screening covering 60% of the light)
Substrate - thin layer of play sand, 1/2" -1" deep
Plants - Brazilian pennywort, duckweed (hitchhiker, but I may leave it in)
TDS - 45-50ppm
GH/KH - 2/2
pH - 6.4
Fish
7x Dicrossus filamentosus (4F/3M) [lost a female]
[STRIKE]18x cardinal tetras[/STRIKE] all dead, had some very severe and heat resistant ich
[STRIKE]4x German blue rams - maybe in two months when the tank matures[/STRIKE] yeah, maybe not
7x neon tetras (10-12 planned)
2x marbled hatchetfish (8-10 planned)
75 gallon clearwater ([STRIKE]that's a lie at the moment[/STRIKE] finally clear!)
Temp - 78.5 F
Filtration - Eheim 2217 + Fluval 304
Lighting - Finnex stingray 48" + Finnex stingray 36"
Substrate - pool filter sand
Plants - Brazilian pennywort (temporarily anubias and java fern until I decide if I want to do a planted tank or not)
pH - 6.0, maybe lower
TDS - [STRIKE]35ppm[/STRIKE] 45-50ppm
GH/KH - 1/1
Fish (updated stocking list 8/16/17)
7x Biotodoma cupido
6x Corydoras sterbai
0x Carnegiella strigata (moved to my 33 gallon long)
16x Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis
2x Farlowella vittata
This 75 gallon is supposed be more brightly lit with crystal CLEAR water, but as you can see, it's not. The wood I used was not previously soaked or used before, so they're leaching tannins like crazy. I was changing water every other day for a while and I think that kept upsetting the bacterial balance; the tank is still a little cloudy. I put a packet of Purigen in each filter and they were saturated brown in 4 days. I wanted a good expanse of sand for the cupid cichlids, they're benthophagic and will be pecking constantly for food. I might add some leaf litter under the branches, but I'm not sure...I'm trying to keep the sand nice and clean in this tank.
The hatchets don't show up in the gloom and the sterbais are too nuts to photograph. More pictures will be forthcoming, everything will be easier to photograph when the tannins finally dissipate.
The 33 gallon long was set up to be tannin stained and murky and dirty. The water is nicely stained, but somehow the 75 gallon has a lower pH and TDS, not sure how or why. I have 40-50 magnolia leaves in the tank, I plan to add 20-30 more. There is some hair algae growing in the pennywort, which isn't a bad thing, but I don't want it to get out of hand. And the wood and leaves have weird fuzzy fungus growing on them already, the tank looks really "lived in" already, I'm surprised. I'm going for a grungy natural look for this tank, no siphoning out any detritus, no Purigen, keep it funky.
Temp [STRIKE]-83 F[/STRIKE] lowered to 81.5F
Filtration - Eheim 2215
Lighting - Sunblaster 48" T5 (toned down since these pictures with pet proof screening covering 60% of the light)
Substrate - thin layer of play sand, 1/2" -1" deep
Plants - Brazilian pennywort, duckweed (hitchhiker, but I may leave it in)
TDS - 45-50ppm
GH/KH - 2/2
pH - 6.4
Fish
7x Dicrossus filamentosus (4F/3M) [lost a female]
[STRIKE]18x cardinal tetras[/STRIKE] all dead, had some very severe and heat resistant ich
[STRIKE]4x German blue rams - maybe in two months when the tank matures[/STRIKE] yeah, maybe not
7x neon tetras (10-12 planned)
2x marbled hatchetfish (8-10 planned)