Help To Re-Vamp My Tank Please

[Harlequins]

I have had my 55 gals for a few years now,and after seeing peoples fab tanks,i think mine needs a re-vamp.

Here's a pic of roughly what it looks like,taken last otcober,the only difference really is i've moved the branch thing & log around.I did have live plants,but they dont do well unfortunately,even the small bits of vallis thats rooted into the sand doesn't come up too good,so i pulled most of it out



I have alot of corys,so want plenty of floor space and hidey holes for them...

Any ideas anyone Please??

 

[StandbySetting]

There must be a reason why your Vallis isn't doing well, do you have soft water? How long are your lights on for? How many Watts of light are over the tank? What type of tubes are over the tank?

Try hardier species such as Hygrophila polysperma, but if it's a light related issue, it wont do much better.

 

[This Old Spouse]

IMHO, the best looking tanks are the ones that look most natural. Unfortunately, that would mean live plants! I really like your branch. I found that with my plants, they tended to look a little raggy for the first couple of months. Now they're starting to look wonderful since they're established and finally have a root system going.

How about some decent size stones?

 

[Harlequins]

There must be a reason why your Vallis isn't doing well, do you have soft water? How long are your lights on for? How many Watts of light are over the tank? What type of tubes are over the tank?

Try hardier species such as Hygrophila polysperma, but if it's a light related issue, it wont do much better.

I have hard water,lights are normally on 6am-12 noon ,then back on 6pm-10pm. I have a twin lights,one being 30w T8 power glo,and the other aqua-glo,dimmer but can't see what wattage it is.

I also have an issue with black beard on my ornaments...

IMHO, the best looking tanks are the ones that look most natural. Unfortunately, that would mean live plants! I really like your branch. I found that with my plants, they tended to look a little raggy for the first couple of months. Now they're starting to look wonderful since they're established and finally have a root system going.

How about some decent size stones?

I like my branch,best bit really,although it does have an issue with black beard,but i quite like it,strangely enough....

Will have a hunt around and see what stones are around,could make a cave me thinks....

Thanks so far guys...

 

[StandbySetting]

Black beard algae is generally the result of poor circulation and stagnation of ammonia, twinned with too much light, try a photoperiod of just 8 hours in one straight stint, use a timer if you can.

 

[Harlequins]

I have 2 externals tetratec ex1200 & ex700 running with flow from back to front cross the top,my weekly readings for the past 2 years have been ammonia & nitrite 0,nitrate 40 ph 7.8-8,i always test before weekly waterchange...

Could this still result from poor circulation & ammonia??

 

[This Old Spouse]

I'm certain I have the same rock you have in the lower right photo of your sig! And it looks just the same, covered in algae.

Anyway, Here's a photo of the caves I made just from rocks I found at our local gravel pit and also Lake Superior. And of course that funky rock like yours (in the back on the right). I'm in search of the perfect piece of wood.

My cories love the caves. The great big green cory (center stage) is my enigma. When the heat went out in my 55g and most of my fish died, s/he survived but I've never seen him/her snuffle the sand since. All the cories were moved over to my 15g while I try to figure out how to switch out the gravel for sand in the 55g. That's the only cory that started acting differently since the deep freeze. Strange thing is, it doesn't appear malnourished in any way, so it must be eating when I'm not looking.

 

[mattlee]

Hi.

long time no speak....!

i would personally remove the decor like the bridge etc and replace with bogwood pieces. my corys use to love hiding under the wood and were all over it when playfull. search hard and you will find some great pieces of wood at lfs that will make natural caves for them. also adding a variety of rocks and pebbles will give it a more natural look.

you are right to leave as much floor space as possible for the corys but they will explore more of the tank given the chance. maybe try and find a few long piece of wood that reach up to the surface at a steady angle for them to swim about on. slightly tanned water looks great to with corys

Matt.

 

[StandbySetting]

I have 2 externals tetratec ex1200 & ex700 running with flow from back to front cross the top,my weekly readings for the past 2 years have been ammonia & nitrite 0,nitrate 40 ph 7.8-8,i always test before weekly waterchange...

Could this still result from poor circulation & ammonia??

Are you using the spray bars supplied? If so only use half of it, not the full length, you'll get better water circulation, also it is likely that the filters are kicking out half of what the manufacturer tells you, as generally, they test the flow when the filters are media-less, trace ammonia can trigger algae, these values wont register on a standard kit.

 

[hanny93]

I'm gonna go with mattlee.

et loads of redmoor wood and tangle it all up, with some pieces coming down into the sand and some reaching the surface, that way its like a maze for your cories.

You could try covering them with moss, its fairly easy to grow as im sure you know, and it would avoid the tank looking too 'artificial' as it would if there was just wood in there.

Then put the plants you already have (im assuming plastic) in and around the wood so the bottom of the tank doesnt look too sparse.

Try a floating plant aswell maybe? to add different light depths to the tank

 

[Harlequins]

Thanks everyone for your input so far

I popped into p@h for bloodworm,their assortment of decor wasn't great,but anyhows i did buy a lump of bogwood,which has been soaking for a few hours but doesn't appear to be releasing tannins??? strange...
I also bought some bogwood with anubias on.Their rocks were quite small so i didn't bother with these.

So may hunt the net for something more exciting.Maybe look into live plants again...

I was going to try & move decor about,but my corys are having a mad race around at the mo,think the bloodworm may have exicited them