My ever-evolving tank (picture heavy)

[Amandas tank]

Well, I managed to leave things be until it was time to change out more substrate. What a hard task HaHa! Last night I removed more natural gravel and added more Eco-Complete Planted Substrate. I really love the look of this stuff, and the Mylasian Trumpet snails are crazy for it! They seem to be all "packing their bags" and moving from the "gravel side of town" to "re-modeled side of town" LOL! The fish like the new side better too. Weird...but cool cuz I like it too! Now that we are all in aggreement

Anyway, the water is showing no change, yet. pH is still holding at 6.6 Have to wait and see. I thought it would since the pH raised 1 degree when I added the ECP-substrate a week ago. No biggie either way.

Here's a picture!

[Amandas tank]

Not the best pictures, but here they are anyway!

[Amandas tank]

My little Angelfish is beginning to color differently. S/he is bluish silver during the day and come early evening until bedtime s/he glows with some impressive pinkish/orange hues with bold stripes. Love it!

[Amandas tank]

Goodie, Goodie, Goodie! Plants. Are. Enroute! PWC today.

I am very excited about what's to come! I had to make a change concerning my XL canister filter (never used) because when I set it up yesterday, even though it fits in my stand, the design of the stand will make maintenance a huge pain in the keester and I am aiming for "smooth, enjoyable times" with my tank. Not equipment battles LOL! Also, the 3 bags of substrate will not be enough. So, I ordered 3 more bags of Eco-Complete and 2 Medium Canisters. Should be here around the same day as the plants!!!

Depending on the order on which things arrive, I may have to modify the current plan of action. We'll see.

Here's what I'm hoping for; Eco-Complete order arrives. Remove the fish and get aggressive with the substrate finishing it in time for the plants to arrive! Add the hardscape and hopefully the plants will arrive same day or following day. I have sketched up a couple prospective scapes to assist in aligning everything. Since I do already have fish, I want to get my scape right the first time. A minor adjustment here and there is fine. I just hope I can do this and be happy with the layout!

[hhk12]

gorgerous anglefish. i love the kio anglefish.

[Amandas tank]

Originally Posted by hhk12

gorgerous anglefish. i love the kio anglefish.

Thank you very much The Koi angel is such a sweet heart. S/he is about 8 years old. S/he lived in a building where my husband works in a crammed, mix n' match community, 55 gallon, unplanted, bare tank for all those years with a single Red Rainbowfish and a constant supply of Koi fish, common goldfish, random tetras, Rainbow Shark, common plecos, corydoras (these fish would always die and be replaced over the years) and a few other species! Then the tank broke, and now S/he lives in my tank with an angel buddy, betta and schooling fish. Much better

[Amandas tank]

It would be a better fit I think. Since I was re-scaping I thought to put it in the Aquascaping forum, but since have seen it becoming more of a Tank Journal.

Thank you!

[Learner]

good luck with the tank! looks good so far and your planning seems to be stellar! Not easy getting ahold of plants up here in AK. I have some rotala indica and various others that I can easily send you if you need some more. There are a few of us up here with planted tanks, we gotta stick together.

[Amandas tank]

Originally Posted by Learner

good luck with the tank! looks good so far and your planning seems to be stellar! Not easy getting ahold of plants up here in AK. I have some rotala indica and various others that I can easily send you if you need some more. There are a few of us up here with planted tanks, we gotta stick together.

Hello fellow Alaskan! Thank you for your offer. Very nice of you. My package hasn't arrived yet. I am hopeful when it does arrive nothing will have frozen being that the temps have dropped to the 20's. It has been interesting trying to get plants over the past year. We are so limited on what is sold at the LFS and then there is Petco. Blah. Their plants are stuffed in little tubes and look like they are decaying. It's too bad.

There are a lot of fabulous people here at TPT. I have found some to be above and beyond kind! What a great bunch of people. I am glad to be a part of this group.

[Matt1977]

I love Koi Angels....Yours look big and healthy!
Your plans for your tank sound good, I can't want to see it flourish!
Take your time and lots of contemplation... Remember, you're doing the aquascaping to what you like, because, you'll be the looking at it most

[Amandas tank]

Originally Posted by Matt1977

I love Koi Angels....Yours look big and healthy!
Your plans for your tank sound good, I can't want to see it flourish!
Take your time and lots of contemplation... Remember, you're doing the aquascaping to what you like, because, you'll be the looking at it most

Thank you Matt I have been working on this tank plan for a year+ already. It will be weird when it's finished and I don't have anything left to move around. I will have to learn how to just sit back and enjoy it HaHa! That will be the real challenge

I got the Koi from a tank that had busted and s/he needed a home asap. Just found out from another member that it's dorsal fin is bent due to cramped living situations over a long period of time. They are so right! This poor Angel spent 8 years in an extremely crowded 55 gallon with uncompatible fish.

S/he looks really good now and it's fins are healed (no more tears) and has filled out a lot. Used to be very thin. I love this Angel. So sweet.

[AUvet14]

Originally Posted by Amandas tank

It will be weird when it's finished and I don't have anything left to move around. I will have to learn how to just sit back and enjoy it HaHa! That will be the real challenge

You'll never be done changing. I'm always making subtle changes to my tank and i've had it going on 2 years now. That's part of the fun of it.

Pretty angels I kinda want some angels but my tank isn't big enough, plus, I think I've fallen in love with my school of rasboras and all my shrimp. lol.

[Amandas tank]

Originally Posted by AUvet14

You'll never be done changing. I'm always making subtle changes to my tank and i've had it going on 2 years now. That's part of the fun of it.

Pretty angels I kinda want some angels but my tank isn't big enough, plus, I think I've fallen in love with my school of rasboras and all my shrimp. lol.

True, true. I really do enjoy changing things. One reason I haven't concidered Discus. Very impressive fish, but from all that I have learned about them through reading, they need a very low maintenance tank with plants that don't require too much pruning to keep hands in to a minimum and without constant changes to thrive. We would be a terrible match because I always have my hands in my tank

Thank you for the Angel compliment. I adore them. I wanted some shrimpies but have to wait a looong time before I even attempt it with my Angels. Rivercats successfully keeps Angels with Shrimp, but the tank is full of plants. I will get there one of these days

[Sethjohnson30]

It never ends. I had my tank scapes And all grown in then I got bored,and lazy. I ended up with tons of bga now I'm back to square one rescaling lol

[Amandas tank]

Originally Posted by Sethjohnson30

It never ends. I had my tank scapes And all grown in then I got bored,and lazy. I ended up with tons of bga now I'm back to square one rescaling lol

Oh no! Don't tell me that HaHa!