Hey Guys, Im New :)

[RichyJ]

Hey guys, just started to redesign my fish tank. Got rid of my beloved angels which I've had for years, but limited me to what else I could put in there with them. I want some shrimp, and some small fish, so I have started fresh. I used to have all live plants, with sand, but fancied something a bit easier to look after (for now at least). Got all silk plants, a large battleship (bit too large lol), and a few bits and bobs. Please excuse the dirty glass.. have only just finished putting all the bits in, so haven't given it a good clean yet. Its not looking too bad, but I dunno.. missing the live plants and sand I guess.

I love my new fighter tho He's lovely! And really friendly. Was hard to take a photo of him side on, coz he kept looking at the camera.

See pics below:
(Sorry not best pics, camera on my phone - will dig out my digi cam when I clean the tank up).

 

[mattyeatsmatts]

try uploading them to imgur

 

[RichyJ]

Thank you matt, sorted

 

[FishFanatic04]

nice

 

[crazyforcordoras]

Personally, I don't like fake ornaments, but yours looks AWESOME! The ship looks so cool with the cardinal tetras! Awesome!

 

[RichyJ]

Thanks for the comments

I much rather live plants, and a more natural look; with wood and a mix of stones.. etc. But wanted to try something which was a little easier to look after. You can never achieve the gorgeous look with fake stuff, but for the time being I think it looks alright. If your going for fake plants, silk ones are the only ones to get. They look so much more realistic. The battle ship is a bit too big for the tank like I said, but I bought it as a bit of an impulse buy lol. I had to get something, my poor fish were sitting in an empty tank at the time. I may take out the rock cave thing on the left, do you think it looks a little too busy with that there?

Im waiting for my new cleaning stuff to arrive, so I can give the tank a good going over. Will take some nice clear photos with my proper digital camera then. The pictures above are a bit blurry to say the least.

If anyone has any advice on decorating my tank, tank mates.. etc. Please feel free to comment, I like to hear the good and the bad, so dont be shy.

I have a list of fish that I spent a bit of time on, but not 100% sure if they will all be friendly with each other and will not eat the future shrimp I plan on getting. At the moment, all I have are some Tetras, Male Fighter, Bronze Cory, Pepper Cory, Albino Cory, Not sure what the other cory is called (anyone know?).

 

[RichyJ]

Argh, Ive just noticed from the pictures (and then turning around and looking at the tank lol), that my back light is not working. Bloody thing. Will try replacing the starter later, I think I have a spare bulb somewhere too. Thought it looked a bit dark. Cant even see the floating lilies.

Thats one thing I havent got a clue about. If I have to get a new bulb, any recommendations? The front one is a really bright white light. Should I go for the same one, or is there anything else worth getting; with a different spectrum/colour.

One more question, sorry. The guy at the aquarium said that I could glue the end back onto my spray bar. What glue is best to use, that isnt going to poison the fish over time? Or is glue ok in general, and its just sealant that can cause that issue?

 

[ZoddyZod]

welcome to the forum!

 

[fluttermoth]

One more question, sorry. The guy at the aquarium said that I could glue the end back onto my spray bar. What glue is best to use, that isnt going to poison the fish over time? Or is glue ok in general, and its just sealant that can cause that issue?

Superglue; a cheap, cyanoacrylate one.

 

[FishFanatic04]

Nothing wrong with having the fake ornaments. I do think you could try without the cave, it might free up some space and look a little neater. lol With a good sense of humor, the sunken ship is amusing. Someday if you want to put in real plants, you could easily add a few at a time to see if you even like taking care of them

You have placed the silk plants nicely. I have to say I could put that tank somewhere and would enjoy looking at it.

 

[RichyJ]

Fluttermoth - thanks for the advice. Ive worried about using anything such as super glue in my tank. I will take off the spray bar, give it a clean and glue it up.

FishFanatic04 - thank you for your comments, you are very kind I have had a few different planted setups over the years. I could never strike a good balance of growth though. I was forever trimming them down, and java moss just used to grow crazy fast. I have ordered a few moss balls (live) to pop in there. But I think I am going to stay with the silk fake stuff for a while at least. I am thinking of getting a nice shrimp tank towards the end of the month, and will be planting that. I will have to have a good read up on the forums about co2 to figure out where Im going wrong. As Im sure in the past the co2 content has been way too high and thats why the plants have just grown extremely fast and out of control.

Im enjoying looking at the tank in its new setup though. Its really nice to have some little fish for a change. Although I loved my angels very much (I even bred a few of them myself), they did limit me somewhat with tank mates.

I think for the next week or two Im gonna clean everything up so its sparkling, and post a new topic on my prospected tank mates and get some feedback on what you guys think. I have a shortlist. I will grab it off my laptop and post it later on.

I have to say your tank looks great btw FishFanatic04. Youve got a really nice natural look going on. It looks "show room" perfect

 

[FishFanatic04]

Thanks!! I'm learning a lot in that tank, it was my first large tank and planted effort. It's a very low-light, slow growth tank. I don't use co2 there or anything so I don't have to trim plants often or really do much in it.

Just to confirm and make you feel better...I use super glue all the time with my tanks.

 

[RichyJ]

I didnt know you could get a low light bulb. What do you use? And what amount of time do you leave the lights on for per day?

 

[FishFanatic04]

My tank came with the bulb..its a T-8 30 watt bulb on a 46g. I have the light on entirely too long, but since there hasn't been an outbreak of algae, I'm not worried over it. Somedays I forget and it's on from 7:30- 8 or 9 at night. I try to aim for about 8 hours though.

7:30 am - 8 or 9 at night, that is...

I'm certainly not very knowledgeable on lighting. Just beginning to learn in that area.

 

[RichyJ]

I hear ya. It never crossed my mind to try a low watt bulb. hmm.. will try it out when I get the shrimp tank. if all goes well, I will prob end up with live plants back in my big tank.