I'm Hooked - Here's My First Tropical Tank

[fishtankkid]

lovin the pics, keep them comin btw that is a bristlenose There so cool

 

[bigpee]

Certainly will keep the pictures coming - looking to get some more plants soon. Will give mail order a go (Java plants or Plants Alive) I think.

The little bristlenose was very small and now he's gone missing - can't see him anywhere although he could be hidden on the back of the log as I can't see there! Hope he's ok.

 

[bigpee]

Just found my bristlenose - dead under the log . Poor thing only lasted one day but did look very quiet when he arrived.

 

[bigpee]

Just thought I'd add some new pictures - just got a load of plants from Java Plants. Good service I have to say and I'm hopeful they'll all grow well. I also have 5 new platys since the last pics which are gorgeous. That's me done for fish now with the possible exception of one bigger fish.

 

[arobinson1984]

Nice looking tank, I think yours is roughly the same size as mine, I have the rio 125.

How about a couple of honey gouramis as a centre piece piece to finish the tank of nicely, or a couple of german blue rams?

You will need somebody on here to verify the compatibility with what you already have as I've never had either of them before but both would make a nice eyecatching centrepiece fish.

Andy

 

[bigpee]

Thank you . Tank is about the same size - mine is a rekord 800 which is 110l, although with all my gravel it's nearer 95l of water. Someone else has suggested gouramis - I really like the look of honey ones. I don't have the external filter you have though so am cautious of over-stocking. That said every fish is very happy at the moment. Before that happens though I want to get my plants happy so will make a DIY Co2 system (my tetra optimat one is not very good at all).

 

[-SPB-]

Tank looks really good, coming along nicely. If you get the CO2 system right, i think it will look awesome!!!

 

[Dave_NI]

sorry to hijack ur thread, but can someone tell me about the c02 system, i understand its for the plants but is it really necessary?

 

[waterdrop]

sorry to hijack ur thread, but can someone tell me about the c02 system, i understand its for the plants but is it really necessary?

Carbon is one of the 17 nutrients that plants need to live, but its one of the hardest to deal with. Carbon is needed in much higher quantities than the others because it helps to make the sugars that carry energy to all the cells in the plant. In current practice, there are 3 common ways that carbon can be delivered to the plant. A do-it-yourself (DIY) fermentation system can be made or bought to create CO2 which is then slowly bubbled through the tank. This has low start-up cost but is a difficult pain to maintain in the long run and has poor control over levels. A pressurized CO2 system can be bought (at high startup cost) or put together (less startup cost but still significant) and this is by far the best system for delivering carbon to your plants. Thirdly, you can buy and dose "liquid carbon" products (Seachem Excel or EasyCarbo) which are not quite as good as pure CO2 but are easy to do. This costs a lot in the long run. Liquid carbon can also be used in addition to a CO2 system as it has some anti-algae properties.

Hope this intro helps!
~~waterdrop~~

 

[Dave_NI]

thatnks for the info!!!