Help rejuvinate our tank ie spend someone elses $

[Misskiwi67]

Hey all,

I used to keep and breed bettas and angelfish in high school and undergrad, but I've gotten out of fish since I started veterinary school. I still love fish though, so when the opportunity came to help refurbish the fishtank lobby fishtank, I jumped at the chance. Well qualified veterinary students have been trying for several years to make this tank look nice, and there have been rumors of tearing it down if its not fixed up... This is a beautiful setup, and I figure if people have been trying for years, then there must be something wrong that nobody has thought of. So this is where you guys come in. Here's a list of what I know, and I want you to tell me what else you need to know.

My idea for the tank is 1-2 pairs of angelfish and a large school of rasboas. I prefer to keep it as a planted tank, although I'm wondering if someone has given up on that idea due to the plastic plants that arrived this week. We can't get anything except java moss to grow well, even java ferns waste away and die.

Tank is quite large, in the 200 gallon range
Fluval Canister filter with a smaller filter backup
Very expensive lighting system (more details later)

Water is high pH (about 8.5)

Stocking:
6 platies
1 giant danio
1 misc. corydora
3 large tetras
1 redtail shark
1 big black large-finned surface fish
4 rasboas

I'll get more details on the parameters later when I have greater access to the tank. Mostly right now I'm just looking for ideas...

 

[houndour]

Hi,

We really need to know what kind of light you have to help with some plant recommendations, but given that you only seem to be able to grow java moss you're probably looking at low light levels.

I don't know why your fern would die. Do you have any test kits?

Do you know the nitrate levels? phosphate levels?

Even with low light you could have a really good planted tank with a little design and imagination.

You can get some really nice pieces of wood and attach anubias to it. Anubias comes in different sizes. Its a slow growing plant, but only needs low light levels and apparently is hard to kill. I think it's a lovely plant too.

For some inspiration... http/www.naturacquario.net/amano/
Allestimento 2 - picture 5. I know its not the final thing, but I think that alone would look impressive. If you get the right wood and rocks...you could use java moss to cover some of it and plant anubias sp around.

Just some ideas.

 

[Misskiwi67]

I'm working on getting more specific info from the person currently in charge of the tank. You'll find out as soon as I do...

As far as test kits go, yes, we have them. I just need to get a key and open up the cabinets to find out what we do and don't have. Sorry I'm so ahead of myself, but I've always loved a good project, and couldn't wait.

The tank might look low light right now, but apparently the reason is that there is a large coat of algae in the glass that seperates the hood from the tank. They can't remove the glass because there is too much evaporation without it I know its a very expensive fixture, but I don't know anything about lights, so I didn't remember what it was when I was told. I'll let the experts tell me if its any good or not.

 

[Walt]

200 gallons....

dang, that thing could be sweet

8.5 ph is deff high...

 

[zig]

The light fixtures are obviously fine but they may just have the wrong type of tubes in them for growing plants, so you may have to buy new tubes of the correct spectrum for growing plants, so if you can find out no1. how many tubes are under the hood no2. what wattage and make they are, and thats really where i would start, its really all going to be down to the lighting at the end of the day as to what you can grow.

So if you can find that out that would be a good start and then post back in a day or so.

 

[Misskiwi67]

Another forum told me I should give it up and try cichlids, so I'm really hoping you guys can help out. I don't want to rehome all the fish currently in the tank, and I REALLY don't want them to tear the tank down because its become an eyesore.

Also, since we're all busy graduate students, I thought I'd add a little note that all ideas need to be minimally work intensive. We've got a dozen or so people to stay on top of water changes and regular maintenance, but trimming plants and educating people on CO2 and such would be a real pain... The people caring for this tank changes yearly, and I really want to get something started that looks nice enough that future caretakers won't change it too much... at least until after I graduate

Still waiting for a reply from heather... I REALLY want to get started too.....

 

[Yenko]

Personally, If I had a 200 gallon aquarium to set up, I would add Bala Sharks, but It's up to you. They're usually not too expensive, and would do well in an aquarium that large.

 

[Nospherith]

I think you have a very good idea about what fish to stock. The cichlid pair/shoaling fish combo never fails. Although, it looks like the water hasn't been changed in a while, if not try filling the water level to the top. Weekly 50% water changes might decrease algae levels and give your plants more chances of surviving. All aquariums need regular weekly maintenence, for instance if there's algae growing on the glass then scrape it off with an old ID card or something.

As far as the aquascaping/planting goes, my advice would be such: Take out all the "plants" and rocks that you have in there now. Vac the gravel, do a big water change then rearrange the rocks so that you make kindof a zen garden with them. After that go to a fish store and see if they have any Anubias. This plant is really hardy, doesn't require much light and it looks great in a tank with lots of rocks and driftwood. You don't have to get a bunch of plants. A few big rocks interspersed with a few smaller rocks, a piece of driftwood, and a few huge anubias plants (anubias barteri) would make the tank look 1000x better. You could also try getting some vallis as well, this plant does well in hard water.

 

[Misskiwi67]

Actually, that tank gets water changes fairly regularly, at least every 2-3 weeks except for vacations and finals week. It was changed 2 weeks ago, just prior to new student orientation. The water just evaporates THAT fast.... Weekly water changes might be hard to pull off, but I have at least two other dedicated students that might be willing to help me out.

I definately want to get away from the stem plants, they look aweful. Would larger rocks and larger pieces of driftwood be good additions to fill in the tank, or should I just stick with whats currently in the tank?