65L Tank Revamp

[damanax]

I've decided I need to revamp one of my 65l tanks and since it's going to take a few weeks to get everything ready I figured I'd make a journal. I finished working on my first sort of planted tank yesterday and finally have some funds to fix this one up. A pic of the tank will come tomorrow when I have enough day light to take a decent photo. I'm planning for it to be similar to the 65l tetra/betta tank I've just set up.
 
I've moved the wood around a little but this is the tetra/betta tank
 

 
The tank I'll be fixing up is currently against a horrible flamingo pink wall, is fairly dark and has ugly plastic plants  

 . Thankfully my taste in decor has changed a lot since I set this one up 18 months ago. I'm going to be replacing the multicolour substrate with black gravel, giving it a black background and putting a lovely piece of goldvine in the centre for contrast. I'll also be planting some baby tears and some vallis around (I'm extremely limited in plants I can use due to quarantine laws). 
 
I've already bought the gravel, ordered the driftwood as well as a light since the tank gets no natural sunlight. I can use cuttings from the baby tears I already have and need to buy some more vallis. I also need to buy a storage container which I can keep my fish in while I'm working on their tank. It's going to take a few weeks to get everything ready but I'm planning on getting it done as quickly as possible so I can move the fish back into their home. Hopefully they'll appreciate the effort I'm going to put into it 

 
Pics will be coming soon.

 

[damanax]

The tank currently. Pretty bad picture but it's hard to get a decent shot of it.
 

 
 
 
Here's the gravel I'm using. Ignore the cat litter 

 

 
I also picked up a 25l storage continer to house the fish while I'm doing the revamp 

 
Sorry about the bad quality pics. My camera isn't the best 

 

[damanax]

A few things happened today.
 
I took a trip down to my LFS and noticed they had recently gotten a new selection of plants in. Instead of the baby tears, I'm now planning on using brazillian micro sword. Hopefully they still have it when I'm ready to do the revamp. Also bought some root tabs.
 
Still waiting for my driftwood to arrive. The LED light came today but it doesn't want to work with the timer I bought so I'm going to have to fiddle around with it some more 

 
This morning I noticed that China, my dwarf gourami, had a perfectly round hole in the middle of his anal fin and he was looking really pale. This afternoon I went to check on him and he sadly passed. I had him for a year and buried him under my rose bush. RIP little guy 

 

[Ch4rlie]

Aw, really sorry to hear of your DG, China, passing away.  
 
Sad when that happens.
 
It's nice that you buried him under your rose bush for you to remember.
 
Hope when you start doing your tank revamp you will be happier.

 

[damanax]

Thanks. As much as I like DG I don't think I'll be getting anymore. China was the third I've had pass away quickly and with weird symptoms

 . I honestly never heard about DGD before coming to this forum.
 
On a happier note, my goldvine came today! I never even got an email saying it was on it's way so coming home from work to find it was quite a nice surprise. I've currently got it soaking in the bathtub since it's never used 

 

 
The bath is a bit overkill but it won't fit into any of the sinks/buckets. I'll be doing my revamp once my light arrives 

 
I still need to get the background and the plants but that will be happening the day of the revamp.

 

[damanax]

Due to circumstances (mainly my father wanting his laundry back) I've had to go ahead with most of the revamp today. I managed to bribe my boyfriend to help get it done faster (yay for coffee frappes)
 
Moved my fish into the 25l storage container with the filter and heater. Added some stress coat and put a dark towel over the container.
 

 
The fella cleaning the tank
 
 
 
 


 
Nice and clean.
 
There is currently ich is the tank with the plants I was planning on using. Needless to say, I'm not going to be using those anymore. The LFS has nothing at the moment but my new light still hasn't arrived either. This tank is not going to have any plants for a while I don't think 

 
 


 
I'm waiting for the cloudiness to go away a bit before I place my fish back in. I don't want to leave them in the container too long. I don't think the lack of plants at the moment is a problem though 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Looking good so far, will look amazing when you get some plants!
 
Must be annoying, all these delays in your orders!
 
Why is the water level so low?
 
I'm sure the fish will appreciate the change

 

[damanax]

It will look 100% better once I get some plants. It's looking very dark at the moment 

 
I expected my light to be here by now. I suppose it doesn't matter though, the LFS has no plants anyway 

 
I was halfway through filling it when I thought to take a picture haha. It's cleared up now and I've put my fishies back in. They seemed kind of scared to look around at first but now they're swimming everywhere! It's a nice sight to see 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Aha, okay
They're probably just exploring, it is a big change for them!
 
Oh well, hopefully they will both arrive soon!

 

[damanax]

A nice change I hope
 

 
So far the fish seem to be enjoying it. Seriously needs some green though 
 
Ignore the corys, they're just temporary residents while my friend finds another tank after hers exploded  

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Exploding tank? Wow, that's not something you hear about everyday
 
It definitely will look better with some plants, have you considered ordering online? I know there are several Aussie plant sites, though I can't remember what the names of them are >.<
If you want to find them out, shoot a PM over to TallTree01, I'm pretty sure he knows there names.

 

[damanax]

Haha yeah. She had to explain it to me while desperately trying to get me to take them. She had 20 cories in her 55g tank. These 3 are the only survivors or the tankocolypse

 
 
I can't order plants online . Quarantine laws are strict here so I can only buy plants already in the state

 .

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Awww, her 17 other corys
 
Really? I would have thought that as long as they were already in Australia they would be fine
Don't worry though, NZ is just as strict >.< Don't even think there are any online plant sellers LoL.
If you don't mind me asking, what state are you in?

 

[damanax]

Nah, some states have individual quarantine laws. I'm in the Northern Territory and I need a permit to import any life plants/fish. So I technically can but the paperwork is tedious and would have to be sent to Darwin anyway. I have friends interstate and they keep offering to send stuff but I can't take it 

 I have had the petshop here order in specific things because they're already have all their permits sorted, but they still can't get certain things. It's what I get for having fish in the middle of the desert 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Nah, some states have individual quarantine laws. I'm in the Northern Territory and I need a permit to import any life plants/fish. So I technically can but the paperwork is tedious and would have to be sent to Darwin anyway. I have friends interstate and they keep offering to send stuff but I can't take it 

 I have had the petshop here order in specific things because they're already have all their permits sorted, but they still can't get certain things. It's what I get for having fish in the middle of the desert 

 
Oh, that's a pain
Good that you have your petshop that can order things in though
 
Ahaha, I loved the NT when I was there, I spent most of my time in Darwin, found the bombing history very fascinating, as well as the aviation museam (forgotten the name of it)
Wish I could go back there, especially in the winter time