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40 Gallon Community Journal (L260 Plecos are in!)

9682 Views 61 Replies 14 Participants Last post by  Newman
7
Hello,

This is my old 40 gallon community tank.
Current FTS:


Current Stocking:
1 Black Angelfish
6 L260 Juvenile Queen Arabesque Plecos
1 Juvenile Albino BN Pleco
1 Juvenile BN Pleco
1 Mickeymouse Platy
6 Lemon Tetras
2 Neon Tetra
1 Cardinal Tetra
1 Juvenile Pygmy Corydoras

Equipment:
40 gal Flatback Hex Tank
75w Marineland Heater
Aquaclear 70
Tetra Whisper 20i
9w Cree LED DIY Fixture(dimmable) retrofitted into stock Canopy


The tank used to be planted a year ago or more. It had several planted phases. Here is a look into the past:


And then:



Then:



Looked like this at some point:




Thanks for any advice and suggestions guys!
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anyone have any ideas?
id go for a driftwood hardscape with attatched moss and a vallisneria background for half of the tank then have the other half or quarter carpeted in dhg with open water above
can you do a sketch in Microsoft paint for me? it would help visualize the scape you mean :)
yup will do
I'd go a mangrove-esq hardscape with a few plants that flower above the water. Add some Indian almond leaves and go for a tea colored look and then many many dwarf puffers (i have a puffer problem...)
Thank so much!

@leblue: that sounds great, but wouldnt i have to lower my water level in order for that to look its best; to see the flowers?
Also i can't really put anymore fish in here haha, or swap fish out. puffers wouldnt work because i like my sulawesi snails in here :D Too many pest snails, yes, but the puffers would go after my prized snails too :(
Thank so much!

@leblue: that sounds great, but wouldnt i have to lower my water level in order for that to look its best; to see the flowers?
Also i can't really put anymore fish in here haha, or swap fish out. puffers wouldnt work because i like my sulawesi snails in here :D Too many pest snails, yes, but the puffers would go after my prized snails too :(
You might be able to get away with not lowering the water if you made some sort of faux background to mount the plants to instead of putting them on the bottom. Also finding a way to make a lattice as if you were growing pothos ivy out of a hob filter.
not my photo btw
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excuse my un artisticness everyone lol

Rectangle Grass Slope Terrestrial plant Art


i would have vals at the rear right expanding over half the tank with a striking piece of dw with a dhg carpet to keep it all simple
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I would definitely try to use more of the vertical space since it is so narrow.

You can either use bigger rocks or make a pile of rocks to increase the vertical range of the hardscape. The rockscape you have now is a little bland and lacks drama. If you had more of them you could make some caves etc...also getting similar rocks will make it less distracting.

Driftwood could also be great for using the entire height of the tank. You could have big sticks descending down to look like submerged roots, or you could do a tree stump scape.
all sweet suggestions guys, thank you!
I tried to do the pothos in HOB setup once, but the plant didnt grow too well which was odd...

I really like that scape, EnigmaticGuppy92, I might try something like that.
Would I have to improve my lighting, or will my current 18W work?

I am going to have to locate a source for a good piece of DW like that, some vals and DHG.
Also what kind of moss should i use?
thanks again!
What is a good place to get manzanita wood like that? a website, or thread on here?
thanks newman
nt to sure of a good place in the us you could always go foraging and disinfect the wood and clean it yourself iv had alot of success doing this
if you want the tank anything other than low light i would go for upgraded lighting
id go for xmas moss
It'd look great with a nice piece of manzanita in there! Ifound mine at a LFS, but there should be some vendors that would be able to hook you up!

I had a hard time vertical space as well...but as you can see in my Ebi...a nice piece of manzanita with moss works well. Anubias petite at the base along with java fern growing out behind it would be cool.
Yes, I think i will put manzanita in here. I ordered a nice big piece on [Ebay Link Removed] wasn't too expensive. It will arrive some time next week. In the meantime i will be gathering my vals, hairgrass and choosing what moss to put on the DW.
My LFS will get some vals in on thursday this week, so I'll pick some up soon =)

Unfortunately anubias does not do well in my water for some reason...it hates my tap and melts after a week in my tank. i have tried multiple times and failed. java fern is in here now. not sure if i will use it for the scape though...

Planned plants are Vals, Moss, and Dwarf Hairgrass. keeping it to 3 plants is a good idea and should look nice.
Simple is always good! Can't wait to see the rescape.
Ok started to work on it today. vals went in, other plants were removed, two rocks went out.
didnt get hairgrass yet. DW is shipped, will arrive next week.
Still unsure about which moss to use. christmas moss? mini christmas moss?
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how do you guys feel a blue background would look? I can just flip my black BKG - its blue on the reverse side. i think it might look interesting. I've had this black for 3 years now lol.
seems like my sulawesi snails might make planting this tank more difficult than expected. they may be eating my plants lol.

At any rate, I put in dwarf hairgrass and the DW branch that i found. waiting on the branch to sink. will happen soon.
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