[wiona]

Total redo.. Moved away from planted and went with a Malawi style scape.

[STRIKE]This is my first planted aquarium. There was really no vision or plan due to having little knowledge but after finding this website I've made it this far. The only inspiration I had was the space. A half wall between the kitchen and dining room 48.5" wide. The 33 long fit the bill. I'm sure I will stumble along the way but the fish are happy so I am happy.[/STRIKE]

Equipment:
Tank: 33 Long
Lighting: [STRIKE]Modified Clip-on shop lights with four 13 watt 6500K CFL's[/STRIKE] BeamsWork LED
Substrate: [STRIKE]60lbs Eco Complete and[/STRIKE] 40lbs sand
Filtration: Sunsun HW-303B
Heater: Aquatop 200 Watt Submersible
Base: Aluminum box tubing
[STRIKE]Pressurized Co2[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Max Mix Co2 Reactor[/STRIKE]

**Updated** Flora:
[STRIKE]Ludwigia repens x arcuata
Crypt lutea
GrassHydrocotyle tripatria
Jungle Val
Dwarf Sag
Moss[/STRIKE]

Fauna:
[STRIKE]7 neon tetra's
8 harlequin rasbora
1 Upside-down catfish
1 Clown Pleco
snails
3 Assassin Snails (^)
4 Amano shrimp[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]1 Electric Blue Ram[/STRIKE]
2 Bristle nose pleco
15 saulosi cichlid

Dining room

***UPDATE***

[STRIKE]My son thought it would be a good idea to add sand and make it look like a local pond. This is what I came up with. He said it looks like someone chopped down a tree in to the water. The right side is WIP.[/STRIKE]
Front

***UPDATE*** 10/17/14
Changed everything up.

 

[Fiala06]

I would say you did a great job on your 1st planted tank!

Where did you get that tack lighting for the fixtures? Really like the look of it.

 

[wiona]

I would say you did a great job on your 1st planted tank!

Where did you get that tack lighting for the fixtures? Really like the look of it.

Thanks..

It is 1 1/4 PVC. Drilled 4 holes in the bottom for the fixture wires and notched the top for access to connect the wires to an extension cord. "S" hooks and chains allow me to adjust height.

 

[TonyK]

33 long is my dream tank. Your tank and light setup look great.

 

[TankYouVeryMuch]

Awesome tank! Nice bonsai also!

Can you give some more details on how you set up that light rig?

 

[wiona]

33 long is my dream tank. Your tank and light setup look great.

I was looking for a 55 when I stumbled on to the 33 and had to have it. Thanks.

Awesome tank! Nice bonsai also!

Can you give some more details on how you set up that light rig?

Thanks and Thanks..

The light set up is super simple but I have access to a machine shop which makes life easier when doing projects.

I drilled a 1/4" hole to feed the fixture wire in to the pipe and then tied the wire in a knot to the desired height.

I notched the top of the pipe above each hole so I could access the wires to tie everything together. Each fixture is connected to one extension cord and tucked away in side the pipe. The zip tie is temporary.

 

[talontsiawd]

Wow, very impressed for your first planted tank. 33 long is a great choice. I really like your lighting, it takes a simple idea and makes it look sophisticated.

It looks like the tank is a room divider. Is it 2 side viewable?

 

[wiona]

Thank you..

The tank is mounted on a half wall which splits my Kitchen and dinning areas. The first 3 pics in my OP is the dinning area and pic 4 is the Kitchen. Makes it a little more challenging to scape but looks great.

 

[wiona]

Tank is filling in nice. A little bout with algae but a light adjustment and a new clean up crew has helped.

Part of the cleaning crew.

Fat Harlequin.

I can only imagine what it would be like with pressurized Co2. So tempting. Getting a pair of Electric Blue Rams this weekend!

 

[tithra]

lovely tank

 

[GMYukonon24s]

I love the footprint of your tank. The tank looks great!

 

[wiona]

Thank you

 

[jmf3460]

Beautiful tank first of all. I love the asymmetry between the two divided sides. If you are considering GBR's do it!! they are by far my favorite two fish of my 46 community planted. they are so personable and clever compared to tetras and rasboras. You will love them. Make sure to get two pairs though and not three males one female. Great job on your first planted!!

 

[wiona]

Beautiful tank first of all. I love the asymmetry between the two divided sides. If you are considering GBR's do it!! they are by far my favorite two fish of my 46 community planted. they are so personable and clever compared to tetras and rasboras. You will love them. Make sure to get two pairs though and not three males one female. Great job on your first planted!!

Thank you... I really did not have a plan but knew I wanted GBR's from the very beginning. I used what was available (with some local help) and let it evolve a bit before I started manipulating things. Sometimes you need to remove yourself from it and let it do it's thing.

I am hoping to get a sexed pair Electric Blues this weekend but do know there is no guarantee. I'll let them sort it out before I make my next move.

 

[TankYouVeryMuch]

thanks for the info! Id like to do something like that after i move

 

[wiona]

thanks for the info! Id like to do something like that after i move

NP.. I may upgrade in the near future and will give more details and pics when I break it down.

 

[wiona]

Update.. I am injecting Co2 and ferts with good results. Fish are happy and plants are starting to boom. After I relocate my Edge and set up the new 20 long I may change things up a bit in this tank. Not sure what I will do just yet but I have the itch.

 

[wiona]

Updated OP.. My Son wanted me to change the scape.

 

[wiona]

Updated OP... Total redo.