Bogopolis - 30g w/ 20g sump (Pic Heavy)

[homemadepopcorn]

This is very nice, well done. The espei rasbora are looking quite healthy as well.

[driftwoodhunter]

Looks great! The driftwood is such an amazing focal point...

[RobMc]

Thanks popcorn. I'm taking a natural filtration approach and aside from the color of the water everything is great.

Two of the rams have just spawned and really pushed the remaining 4 to the back half of the tank. I may have to take two out.

[Assassynation]

awesome!

[awcoburn2]

Awesome tank. Love the driftwood coming out of the top.

Congrats on getting the rams to spawn!

[RobMc]

Added a 250gph circulation pump: it is timed to turn on and off randomly at half hour intervals with a (2:1 probability of being off) while the main lights are on. Hoping this will keep more detritus in suspension, stimulate the plants a bit, and provide the fish with some exercise.

[BoxxerBoyDrew]

FREAKIN AWESOME SETUP Rob!!!!!

I have used the air line trick before in a Terrarium before, but I would have NEVER thought to do it in a aquarium like you did!!! Hats off to you!!! The planting of the stumps is looking VERY GOOD TOO!!! The layout of the tank it self is PERFECT!!! It looks VERY NATURAL!!! Honestly it looks just like a area that I swam in when I was a kid called Crappie Island on Ceder Creek Lake in North Central Texas!!! The fish are a bit different, but everything is spot on!

I was wondering what pump you have running the sump? Also is that just Play Sand? You mentioned looking for black sand on the cheep, but I really think the black sand would throw off the very natural look!!! Sure the fish's color would pop a bit more, IMO it is prefect the way it is!!! Also what is the Gatorade bottle for in post #59?

Those Rasboras are Good looking too! I can't tell if they are true Espei or a cross with Harlequin, but they are Pretty either way. With the pic of the rams in post #59 I was thinking that they sure look like they are fixing to spawn!! LOL How are the eggs doing? Rams are some of my FAVORITE Fish!!!

Well keep up the AWESOME WORK, and I am subscribed too!
Drew

[RobMc]

Why thanks much Drew, those are some mighty kind words.

It is just "general use" sand. I agree, at first I was disappointed as I was going for a more stylized look - but the lighter sand has ended up looking quite natural and I like it.

I'm running a Via Aqua 1800 as the return - dialed back a bit.

The eggs are doing well - 4/5 of them appear to be fertilized and are still yellow with little dark dots. Mom is doing a great job, tirelessly hovering over the rock and cleaning the general area. She's digging a small cave/recess in the sand just behind the rock. Dad's a beast and is keeping quite the perimeter. Occasionally they'll swap spots so that she can go grab a bite to eat. All said - I'm not prepared to take care of the fry, but may set something up if this happens repeatedly.

Also, one of the "whisker" shrimp is quite pregnant with a neon green batch of eggs. The young will have a larval stage, unlike many dwarf shrimp - not sure how they'll fare but I've got my fingers crossed.

Thanks again,
Rob

[scapegoat]

Originally Posted by RobMc

I use an overflow box to prevent the siphon from failing and to set the water level of the top tank.

If the pump fails, the water rises in the sump an inch or two, but does not overflow.

Originally Posted by RobMc

nice.

I really like your sump design. are you adding co2 at all? I'll probably use a similar layout for my 125's sump

[RobMc]

My only shame with this tank is that I dose Flourish Excell - about 50% the recommended volume. Hate working with the stuff though - nothing like a little mutagenic biocide before breakfast X_X



PS to Drew: the gatorade bottle is just a little sky-light for the betta that's currently being housed down there. I was worried he'd get trapped beneath the weeds.

[BoxxerBoyDrew]

Cool Deal!

Thanks for the info!!!

Great News on the eggs too! Should be getting close to wigglers!!!
Drew

p.s. GREAT IDEA on using the specimen boxes to build the overflows too! Do you happen to have a pic of it before it was installed? I am guessing you are using plastic or Stainless screws and nuts?

[Wy Renegade]

Tank is growing in quit nicely. Thanks much for the diagram. Love the sump design as well.

[RobMc]

Well the first batch of eggs failed. Not sure if they made it to the "wriggler" stage. I went away for a weekend and they were gone by the time I got back.

However, they've recently tried again - with much more success!

The fry are now a week old (since hatching).
The parents laid the eggs on the large piece of bogwood. While the eggs were maturing, the parents ferociously dug a large hole / nest in the hairgrass X_X down to the dirt. When the eggs were just on the verge of hatching, the parent fish took turns carrying them down into the nest. I observed the wrigglers in the nest for 2 days, then left for a 4 day trip to my girlfriend's place. During this 4 day period the tank received no feeding other than the algae tab I dropped in before taking off. Much to my surprise, I came back to free swimming fry.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated - I don't have a solid plan of what to do if any of them make it to adult hood.







Also, I've chopped down the tall piece of wood - which was quite an upsetting experience for the tank. It is unfortunate, but I did not have an appropriate lighting solution for that setup.



Below, you can see the top of the log replanted with ludwigia sp. red clippings from the tank.

[orchidman]

Cute fry!!! Hope they survive to adult-hood!!!!


That sucks about the wood, but I think with it cut down, it really bring the focus to the tank, which is good!

[Aquaticus]

Awesome tank!