[Le duke]

They are natural substrate sifters so they might like a smaller substrate.

I have ~1mm blasting sand in my 75g and they breed like crazy, which I take as an indicator of good health. Luckily I have other fish to eat the eggs, or I’d be overrun.


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[speedoflife]

This looks like an awesome tank to watch progress. Love the tank dimensions and concept, as well as the fish selections. Good luck getting everything aquired and set up.

 

[calhoun3186]

Great journal. I love white cloud minnows. I have a 29 gallon jam packed with hornwort with some in it. I'm going to put some panda corys as well in the tank, thanks for sharing and thanks for the stocking ideas!

 

[Blackheart]

I have the exact same tank with White Clouds too! Along with 50 Cherry Shrimp. I have the gold variety however.

White Clouds are hardy and fantastic fish! I would love to see more pics.

 

[richard.hayward.melb]

I have the exact same tank with White Clouds too! Along with 50 Cherry Shrimp. I have the gold variety however.

White Clouds are hardy and fantastic fish! I would love to see more pics.

Thanks! I'm getting the tank today and the fish in about a month or however long it takes for the tank to be ready. I'll read your tank journal it looks interesting! I was hoping to breed some shrimp for this tank, but I've had a set back there. I'm going to focus some time on looking after my shrimp more carefully and take it slowly with this tank.

 

[richard.hayward.melb]

This thing is keeping me busy now!

Messing around with some gear ... the lid is tightly fitting, and the light will rest on that.

Fun bit ... painting the backdrop!

Waiting for the paint to dry ... I will put a glaze over the top to protect the paint once it's dry.

 

[richard.hayward.melb]

Work in progress with the stone hardscape. Wood all glued in.

 

[Rob23]

Fun bit ... painting the backdrop!
View attachment 1047428

Waiting for the paint to dry ... I will put a glaze over the top to protect the paint once it's dry.

Nice tank! Would like to hear more about the process you used to paint and seal the glass.

 

[richard.hayward.melb]

@Rob23 This pic gives a better view of the painting. I used the cheapest acrylic paint I could buy. I mixed in some PVA glue. With the black paint, I added some black grouting in to provide a thicker coat, close to 100% opacity. I also love the texture, but that's irrelevant really. I mixed up about four different colour batches and tried to blend them with each other. On the upper half, I varied the transparency, between 20 - 30 % so that it's not too dark. Once it was dried, I added a coat of Matte Mod Podge which should help seal it (is that what you meant?). The whole process is not very scientific or technically based. It's achieved what I wanted. EDIT: note the paint is on the outside. I would not want any paint inside the tank.

 

[Rob23]

Thank you for the additional detail. It looks nice!

 

[richard.hayward.melb]

Hardscape is done - tomorrow plants will be bought and water will be added. I'll be going to my local fish stores for the plants in the morning. Then I'll plant them in the evening and fill the tank.

 

[richard.hayward.melb]

Plants are in, and water added!

 

[richard.hayward.melb]

Water Parameters

Parameter	8 Oct 2022	9 Oct 2022	11 Oct 2022	12 Oct 2022	13 Oct 2022	14 Oct 2022	17 Oct 2022	19 Oct 2022	21 Oct 2022	22 Oct 2022	23 Oct 2022	26 Oct 2022	30 Oct 2022	6 Nov 2022	9 Nov 2022
pH	7.4	7.1	7.2	7.6	7.4	7.4	7.3	6.6	7.0	7.0	6.7	6.6	7.0	6.6	7.0
Ammonia	0.25 ppm	1 ppm	0.5 ppm	0.5 ppm	2.0 ppm	0.25 ppm	0.7 ppm	4 ppm	6 ppm	5 ppm	2 ppm	0.5 ppm	1 ppm	0.25 ppm	0.5 ppm
Nitrite	0 ppm	0 ppm	0 ppm	0 ppm	0 ppm	0 ppm	0 ppm	< 0.25 ppm	0.25 ppm	< 0.25 ppm	0.25 ppm	0.25 ppm	0.5 ppm	0 ppm	0 ppm
Nitrate	10 ppm	10 ppm	5 ppm	10 ppm	10 ppm	5 ppm	5 ppm	10 ppm	10 ppm	10 ppm	10 ppm	10 ppm	10 ppm	160 ppm (max)	40 ppm
KH carbonate hardness	1 degKH	1 degKH	1 degKH	n/a	1 degKH	n/a	1 degKH	1 degKH	2 degKG	2 degKH	1 degkH	1 degKH	1 degKH	1 degKH	2 degKH
GH general hardness	4 degGH	2 degGH	4 degGH	4 degGH	4 degGH	4 degGH	5 degGH	5 degGH	5 degGH	5 degGH	5 degGH	6 degGH	7 degGH	7 degGH	n/a
Temp	74.7 F / 23.7 C	73.4 F / 23.0 C	74.0 F / 23.3 C	76.7 F / 24.8 C	71.9 F / 22.2 C	71.0 F / 21.7 C	71.2 F / 21.8 C	70.8 F / 21.6 C	72.6 F / 22.6 C	71.5 F / 21.9 C	70.4 F / 21.3 C	71.7 F / 22.1 C	71.1 F / 21.7 C	72.3 F / 23.4 C	72.5 F / 22.5 C

 

[mourip]

I am curious about the coco mat. Is it synthetic or real natural fiber? If it is natural fiber I would wonder about what happens when it eventually decomposes. Are you using it to avoid scratching the tank bottom?

The background looks great. Very artistic.

 

[richard.hayward.melb]

I am curious about the coco mat. Is it synthetic or real natural fiber? If it is natural fiber I would wonder about what happens when it eventually decomposes. Are you using it to avoid scratching the tank bottom?

The background looks great. Very artistic.

Natural fibre. It's a product intended for potted plants. I am also curious about what happens when it decomposes! Perhaps I'll rebuild the tank before that happens. I like using natural products but I do have some plastic supports in the substrate. Because I'm using rocks I definitely wanted to have support underneath to spread the weight. It's exactly what I wanted for that purpose. It's also got filtration properties and I've used it in my other two tanks. For example, I used it in my Whisker Shrimp tank on one wall to give that guy a way to climb up and hang on. In my Snails and Shrimp tank, I created a deep substrate and I used the fibre mat to create barriers to separate an aquarium soil zone from a filtration zone. Furthermore, it's a bacteria substrate. I really enjoy working with it and it's part of my tank recipe now. I would definitely use it again in a future build and would look for interesting ways to use it.
EDIT: just remembered also, it's a good base for your hardscape, as it holds in place and doesn't shift. You'll need to secure it with aquarium-safe silicone glue first though. This is an advantage compared with using sand since sand shifts around and has a habit of not being where you want it to be. Personal preference plays a part too, I'd never want to use plastic egg crate for example.

 

[richard.hayward.melb]

Alongside the Shrimp and Snail tank.

 

[calhoun3186]

Looking good, I really like my white clouds and panda corys.

 

[richard.hayward.melb]

Looking good, I really like my white clouds and panda corys.

I'd love to see a photo of your 29 if you haven't already posted it.

 

[richard.hayward.melb]

Nitrite production initiated today, ammonia levels increasing.