Lush Hopefully...

[SMAUG]

I really loved my 4 foot planted, but it never really looked as nice as it should, due to scatched 2nd hand glass.

having a little smalltalk with someone at the lfs- i managed to grab my dream tank

a 300 L, 2 foot cube
with metal halide lighting- 150 L sump, pumps, powerheads, filter media, heaters and a bid ol' box of fish goodies.

the tank is now cycled and planted-
ive since aquired:
150W, 6000k globe,
new 300W heater
flourish red substrate, river sand, and onyx sand.
UV steraliser.

The plants have been moved from the now empty 4 foot, and a pressurized co2 kit is in the post
the loaches have moved out and the current stocking is:

5 neon tetra
10 yellow barb
5 raspora
10 white cloud minnows
2 discus- bright orange
1 royal whiptail
1 small senegal bichir

i am dosing with flourish iron and aquasonic daily gro
EI seems very involved and i don't yet fully understand it

Plants were all grown in the old tank, and i am not expecting much growth until i can get stable co2 and reduce the water agitation.

the tank was origonally a marine setup. i think i will stay with the sump as it declutters the tank, and keeps the water so much cleaner than a cannister.
there is still an eheim pro, if i do decide to change.

well thats the story.
had to share the word. hope you enjoy the tank.
the intent is to have fish emerging through the vegetation , so that you never really know what or how many are in there

as it is now
fish are a little hidden and plants with leaves closed as i just turned the lights on:

I'll update in a month or 2 and see how it progresses. don't expect any huge overhalls- just lots of green happy plants and colourful fish.....lush hopefully

 

[SMAUG]

a few more while i had the camera out:

 

[aaronnorth]

that looks great, and good pics too

cubes are great to scape,

thanks for sharing.

 

[Million]

Really nice tank you have there - the birchir is very cool, nice selection of plants too

 

[Phage]

I really like your setup Nice fish too.
What is the smaller plant on the left side with the picture of the discus? Above the birchir pic. And is that pennywort on the left side of the tank?

 

[guppy_man]

Looks really nice. I would love a cube that size, maybe in the future

 

[SMAUG]

Thanks for the replys guys

The plants are growing beautifully. all the leaves are becoming so wide and bright.
i think that the pressurised co2 is doing the trick.
running about 1.5 to 2 bubbles per second, i may step it up, see if things go better still.
While i love the colour and intensity of metal halide, proximity of plants has a big difference on growth.

I'm sorry i can't help with the names of plants guys. i bought those all so long ago. they are the ones i found grew well with my old setup.
while i love my planted tank- it has to remain easy.

The growth of the fish has astounded me too. Bichir grows so quickly! always has a little belly bulge. even the discus are such ravenous eaters- and they look so bright and coulourful for it. its gotten to the point of hand feeding! (relax, only tested this once).

well ive no new pix yet. i'd like there to be a noticable difference first.

tchao
-T

 

[Miss Wiggle]

great looking tank

 

[Themuleous]

What a bargain! Would make a nice *cough* marine *cough* tank

Sam

 

[Davo86]

Amazing setup

Is that bichir staying there for life or is it just a grow out tank for him?
As if he is staying i see it munching through half of your stock in the future
(5 neon tetra, 10 yellow barb, 5 raspora, 10 white cloud minnows)

 

[SMAUG]

Themuleous: your too right, it was origonally a marine tank and realistically would be better suited to it. maybe in the future?

Davo86: they definately do look appetising to him! Bichirs are so very expensive where i live, that those fish were bought to be disposable. while i love the colour and activity they bring, i do beleive that the birchir will decide their fate. its a little cruel, but its oh-so natural

 

[SMAUG]

2 quick pix

from my old point and shoot-not the best quality

angelic discus:

Royal whiptail:

 

[SMAUG]

Update- 17Jan 2009.

Everything is growing very nicely. have found ferts that work well for me.
pressurized co2 and all lighting on digital timers.

had a lttle vegetation disaster when co2 ran out and near enough no one in perth will fill it. so most of the foliage fell off- some plants didn't make it

Haven't taken photos in a while, this was just a little warm up for me:

the tank as it stands:

my birchir has grown up quite a bit:

Discus still getting on really well:

Discus crack me up, they are so aware and curious. I stuck a peice of blue-tac outside the glass, so that they would stay in fromt of the camera... and they were intrigued for about 5 minutes...

 

[Gill]

Lovely Cube, The Contrast between the Color of your Discus and the Plants is Great