My ever-evolving tank (picture heavy)
 

I am finally closer to creating just what I have been envisioning for my tank. :) (edit: The tank measures 48" x 17.75" x 24".) It's been in the works for a year! It started with a 30 gallon tank complete with dying plants and sick fish found on craigslist for $30. Of course at the time, I knew nothing about fish and had no idea they were not healthy.
Anyway, it has been quite the journey thus far, and I have learned that fish keeping is not as easy as 1-2-3. No, you can't just drop fish in the tank and throw in some food here and there, topping off the tank as the water evaporates. No, you don't just put all the fish that you liked at the fish store in the tank without running into huge complications because not all fish are compatible! No, you can't cheap out with desk lights or anything similar and expect to have living plants and there is not a species of fish you should buy to replace you cleaning your tank!

Anyway, I am the proud owner of some driftwood! YEAH! So, I have begun the process that will bring my vision to life! Here is what is happening:

I rinsed my dishwasher 4 times in a row then added the driftwood and on the highest setting, let it rinse in the dishwasher 4 times. It's been soaking in a tub since. No tannins! Just needs to sink. I've cleaned all my rocks collected locally this past summer and am now testing them to be sure they are aquarium safe. I have gotten my water chemistry stable, although it is noted the KH needs to be a little higher; working on that. I have posted in the WTB/RAOK thread a list of plants I need for my tank. I am still researching potential inhabitants to replace the Denison Barbs I have, which are currently 5" long. No rush there.

Tonight I added black Echo Complete to just under half of the tank and in 3-4 days I will be doing the same to the middle, then the other half. After that driftwood and rocks :)

Here's a couple pics.
Before:
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After:
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It is a looooong way from finished and the water is a bit cloudy from the 1/2 tank change. None of the plants and wood are in their place. It's just temporary until I get the substrate finished.

I am sooooo excited!

Update: 11/17/12 All the old substrate has been removed, some plants added as well as some Manzanita, rocks, and Mopani dw. Not finished, but close :)

Looks good! I actually plan on doing overhaul of my substrate soon to replace the regular gravel in there currently. Except.. Mine is stocked with fish.. Lol

But good work and best of luck.

Those Roselines are going to need a larger tank at Least 4 ft I keep mine in a 72g and I plan on upgrading to 125g+ 6ft tank in the next year or so as they grow. I would recommend a school of a smaller fish like cardinal tetra,rummy nose tetra or harlequin rasboras. These fish seem to school the tightest you could easily keep 20 of them in your tank. The angels are going to outgrow the tank as well.


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Hey thanks! Good luck to you when you start! :)

Thank you for your recommendation :smile: The tank is 4 ft. The dimensions are 48" x 17.75" x 24", but I keep the water line at 21". The tank was sold to me as a 100 gallon, but of course, the tank is only good for between 77 and 80 gallons because of the length and width measurements, being that the height doesn't count for much.
I have been planning to exchange the Roselines for something else because I don't like them much. They are a nice looking fish, but not a good match for our home. As far as I know the tank could potentially have a school of 6 Angelfish without risk of being over stocked, but I do not want my tank "full". I prefer to keep it understocked so everyone has "happy swimming" room. I have been concidering Harlequins, but haven't made up my mind yet. Rummynose are soooo cute, but a no-go because my grown Angel snacks on them. He/She ate my last school nearly completely before I removed a few to take back to the LFS.

I am in no rush to stock the tank with anymore inhabitants until the rescape is complete. I plan to take the Roselines back to the LFS soon, if they will agree to give me credit instead of exchanging the fish for something else right away. I appreciate your suggestion about good schoolers.

Good luck with your 125 gallon! Your Roselines will love it since they will be able to swim further down the tank. What other fish do you keep with your Roselines? I have always thought Roselines look incredible in a tank with Rummynose and/or Odessa Barbs. Quite stunning display.

Thanks again! :)

Heres my wood. I am just thrilled to have it! The Angelfish and my sweet "Gwen" the Betta will loooove the wood. I made sure to find a piece tall enough to offer hieght for the Angels to swim through when they cruise the top section of the tank.
Attachment 56171

I thought I'd add a couple more of "the crew" hanging out on the "new" side of the tank. They all seem to prefer this side to the old Ha Ha. So cute. Oh, and the floating plants have always been there, it just got a little denser after uprooting a few more. The cluster of floating plants will be planted when the hardscape is set in place. I hope to find some floating plants to replace them.
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Next morning after everything settled
 

Just turned the lights on. Everything has cleared up. Check it out.
Attachment 56177

It's going to drive me crazy waiting to do the rest of the substrate! HaHa!

This is a good idea for changing out your substrate. I might have to try this. Are you testing your water parameters while you do this? I've heard that a large disturbance in the substrate of an established tank can cause an ammonia spike, or a mini-cycle... Just something to think about?

Lol I thought it was still the 30g I misread.

I keep cardinals, Bn pleco's , Amanos, and ottos


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Yes :smile:, I am keeping track of the parameters and all is good! That's great! I have read the same thing myself about the mini-cycle/amonia spike, so I am being careful, taking it slow and breaking it up into three parts. I am due for a PWC tomorrow and will wait to do the next step until the day before the next PWC, so rather than 3 days, I've just decided (since reading your post ;) ) to wait for 6 days before I do the next section; simply because I don't need to rush it risking hurting my fish.
Breaking it into parts, I think it's important to be careful not to disturb the substrate on the other side of the tank, if that makes sense; wordings a little off. I also chose to keep the rocks and wood that had already been in the tank inside and so I just relocated it inside the tank.

Ah, I see LOL! I thought it was my horrible tank pictures. To me, the tank looks so small in my photos. I don't get it.

Your tank sounds great. I love Amanos. I wanted some, but unfortunately my Angels will eat them.
I have been interested in Albino Long Finned BN plecos for quite sometime, but I'm worried about the spikes they have. In an event that I had to remove them from the tank, I would hate to have them get stuck in the net. My spotted sailfin got hooked in the net and it was awful! Trying to cut the net off of her was really risky. She'd get still, I'd start carefully cutting, then suddenly she'd thrash scaring me half to death. I never want to go through that again. So, the next pleco I've been thinking about is the Butterfly Pleco. This one isn't so spiky as far as I know. Not as cute as the BN though.

I just one a raok of 10 baby Bn plecos I could send you one or two for the cost of shipping once they arrive if you like.

They may have to sit in quarantine for a week or two it may be stressfull to unpack and ship back out right away.


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Oh wow! Congratulations! 10 BN! Thats awesome. Thanks a million for your offer! Extremely kind of you! I would loooove to have them :) But, first, I am still unsure about the spikes. Have you ever had trouble with them getting caught in nets? Also, the weather just turned and its 38 degrees, windy, snowy and the planes haven't been shipping the last week.
I trully appreciate your generousity. Thank you sooooooooo much. :):)

I've never had one get coughs but I always pull whatever ornament(dw,rock etc) out of the tank and hold a Rubbermaid full of water for them to drop into(which they will once out of the water) and that way no worries about them getting fought in nets. I could throw some heat packs in for small extra charge(I will have to pick some up not sure what they cost)



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You can also talk to acro he had 60 to give away in the raok and only 20 were claimed i think. He knows a lot more about bn's than I do and would probably give you some if you ask. The only downside is he doesn't take PayPal I had to send a money order for shipping.


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