"VARIANCE" - 40B Colectoritis tank by Speedie408

[speedie408]

Last update 11/13/09

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Alright, here goes....

This tank is a continuation of my 39g that is now RIP. It's not much of an upgrade, but at least it looks better, has no scratches, and is one gallon more (depthwise)

How I got this sucker cycled:
First I tossed in 21L of ADA AS for background/slope plants + 6L of Turface gravel for my foreground plants. Dumped in some tap water to about 1/3 full and got everything planted. Filled in the rest with water from the 39g and let it sit for 4 days. After the 4th day, I did a 80% WC using more water from the 39g. At this point I also transferred over the 2217 filter and 2x39W t5ho lighting as well. I'll try these lights out for now to see if things will grow as good as they did in my 39g. If not I'll have to throw in my other 2x39W fixture (utilizing only 1 bulb).

This is my plant list so far:
Rotala sp. 'green' narrow
Rotala macrandra green
Lindernia sp.'India'
Downoi
Blyxia japonica
Cryptocryne wendtii 'miyo'
Lobelia cardinalis 'small'
UG
Nymphaea lotus 'Zenkeri'
E. tennellus
Limnophilia aromatica
Heteranthera zosterifolia
Ludwigia glandulosa
Fissidens fontanus
Polygonum sp. 'ruby'
dwarf hair grass (wild plucked)
& a mystery grass plant, not sure what the name is....

On with the pics:

empty tank


half scaped


Planted as of 8/12/08 - left side


Right side - I ended up using the old DW from my 39g for now untill I get a nice pc of manzinita.


fts


I really do hope this UG pulls through. ATM it seems a little pale but not melted yet so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I really want it to cover the entire slope and foreground area in the future. We shall have to wait n see.

Thanks for looking guys. All feedback is greatly welcome.

[legomaniac89]

Woohoo! Looks awesome so far! I can just imagine what this'll look like in a couple months from now

[speedie408]

Originally Posted by legomaniac89

Woohoo! Looks awesome so far! I can just imagine what this'll look like in a couple months from now

Thanks Adam! 2 months from now, I'm hoping it'll be well overgrown. That's only if all goes well with no algae blooms.

[legomaniac89]

If it's anything like your 39 was, in two months time, plants will be growing out of the top and along the carpet

[monkeyruler90]

wow. great start! the plants and fish already look happy in there. congrats on getting the 40g, great dimensions!

[hydrophyte]

Hey that looks really nice. I like the way that the piece of wood and the stones relate.

Good photography too.

[speedie408]

Originally Posted by monkeyruler90

wow. great start! the plants and fish already look happy in there. congrats on getting the 40g, great dimensions!

Thanks monkey! The fish didn't fuss at all. I guess that's because it's pretty much their old water that they're living in .

Originally Posted by hydrophyte

Hey that looks really nice. I like the way that the piece of wood and the stones relate.

Good photography too.

Thanks hydro! The wood stays for now, I like it the way it is, but hopefully I can score some manzies so I can put moss on. We'll see what happens.

[JakeJ]

Really well done aquascape!

[ZooTycoonMaster]

Wow it looks great! In the last picture, the Crypt and Lilly really blend in with the wood

[speedie408]

Thanks Jake and Zoo!

[speedie408]

Small update for all my fellow PT folks.

Well... the water has def cleared up significantly with the latest WC's. Somehow my plants just won't pearl yet, although there's already some noticable growth. The Rotalas are beginning to take their true form instead of looking all scrunched up. I'll be adding some R. butterfly(shipped me the wrong plants R. Type 2) very soon from bsmith782. Hopefully that will add a bit more color contrast to the tank. Anyway, here are the pics I took today after changing the water:

Mr. Apple eating the scum buildup in my dropchecker. (I've been having a bad case of surface scum lately and I'm not sure why. I'm kinda thinking about getting a surface extractor.


Here's what's left of my UG that I got from gsmitchell. They were yellow when I got them, but it seems like they're coming back to life, slowy but surely. They're green again . It's just tough keeping these to stay rooted because of the cichlids.


I was also finnally able to catch a couple of my Microrasbora erythromicron sparing in the open. These little guys can be pretty viscious against one another. They spar so much they're tearing each others fins to shreads. They love it in the bigger tank.


Here's a nice lookin male. I wish I had a macro lens for these shots.


FTS

[mizu-chan]

I love your scape. Looks great. Hope that UG pulls through for you!

[CAM6467]

I've always liked the look of a 40 breeder, and this has inspired me so much that I'm 100% sure I'll be getting one whenever I get tired of the 10g. Great layout, and I'm really impressed by the hardscape as well as the plant placement. Great tank!

Charlie

[ZooTycoonMaster]

It looks great!

One way to remove surface scum is to add some Purigen to your filter. It'll absorb the proteins and other stuff that make up the surface scum so there won't be any more

[speedie408]

Originally Posted by mizu-chan

I love your scape. Looks great. Hope that UG pulls through for you!

Thanks mizu! I'm really hoping the UG pulls through as well. I'm thinking of temporarily pulling out the cichlids into my old 39g until the UG settles. I like this plant too much to just let it wither away.

Originally Posted by CAM6467

I've always liked the look of a 40 breeder, and this has inspired me so much that I'm 100% sure I'll be getting one whenever I get tired of the 10g. Great layout, and I'm really impressed by the hardscape as well as the plant placement. Great tank!

Charlie

I'm glad I was able to inspire someone . I've got many inspirations on this forum as well. All you have to do is click through the majority of the threads on the first 2 pages in the journals section. 10g's have lots of potential... just use HoustonFishFanatic's 10g's as inspiration.
Thanks!

Originally Posted by ZooTycoonMaster

It looks great!

One way to remove surface scum is to add some Purigen to your filter. It'll absorb the proteins and other stuff that make up the surface scum so there won't be any more

Purigen ehh... After reading Seachems info on this product, they state that it absorbs nitrates as well. Now wouldn't that defeat the purpose of dosing the tank with nitrates? Is this product only used when needed, such as my surface scum case? Or can it stay inside the canister filter all the time? Mr. Logic tells me only when needed, correct?