My 64 L Tank, With A Pic :)

[tanksalot]

Thought I'd give an update on the newer of my two tanks. I started with a 27L back at the beginning of August (my thread was optimistically entitled "My Doomed Tetra Tank" , for those who followed it) and was helped through my fish-in cycle by members of this board, at which point I was sufficiently encouraged to move up to something a tad bigger, so here it is (or at least a bit of it - can't seem to get a decent full-tank shot yet, any more than I can get the plants to show up as green...they certainly ain't yellow!):

That's Boris, my fat Platy, in the middle, btw. I think I'm pretty much done with stocking it now. I have 6 Neon tetras (lost one of my originals ), 8 Ember tetras (tiny, busy little fish...love 'em!), 4 Panda corys, 3 Zebra nerite snails and 5 Red Cherry shrimp. Sounds quite a lot but only the Platy and the Pandas have any bulk to them, so I think it'll be okay - water stats stay very steady thus far.

Plants have been a bit concerning. I put in fast growing stem plants along with an Anubias, Crypts, Java moss and an Amazon Sword to begin with to try to stave off diatoms but I had a major fail with that. After an initial impressive spurt lasting a week or so, growth stopped almost completely and any new leaves looked very pale and sickly. Then along came the diatoms and it all appeared rather sorry for itself. I scrapped most of the stems, cleaned off the Anubias, Crypts and Sword as much as possible then started dosing trace ferts and things have been looking up since then. Last week I added a Bacopa, some Ceratophyllum "Foxtail" and a Vallisneria "Tiger" and it's looking more jungle-y by the day I've also started dosing Excel to hopefully keep things moving.

It's proving a pretty steep learning curve trying to master the fishkeeping and the plant growing together, but thanks to the great members and resources on this site I think I'm getting there...baby steps, and all that

 

[toshapetriji]

Nice tank.

Good job.

 

[the biffster]

real nice tank weldone

 

[Mo1959]

Lovely tank. For diatoms a couple of oto catfish would be great. Nice small fish for a smaller tank. My anubias were totally covered with diatoms and they are now sparkling green again. In fact, they are so good at eating at it that you usually have to supplement their diet with some courgette, algae wafers, etc.

 

[tanksalot]

Thanks toshapetriji, the biffster and Mo1959.

Mo, I actually have my name down on the waiting list for an Oto at my local LFS - don't seem to be any in my area right now - so it's on the cards. Thing is, my Zebra snails are now doing such a fab job of cleaning the glass, the decor and the bigger leaved plants that I'm not sure there'll be much left for an Oto to eat by the time I get one!

Here's another couple of shots of the tank under daytime lighting:

and a bit of a blurry one under blue LED lighting:

I'm looking forward to when the plants really grow in and mask the filter and heater a bit more - that Eheim Aquaball is effective and incredibly quiet, but it sure ain't pretty!

Anywho, thanks for looking!

 

[frida]

Just wanted to say: WOW! Your photos are fantastic. The tank is beautiful I hope mine looks like that one day!!

 

[Mo1959]

Gorgeous. I know the neons are one of the cheapest fish you can buy but I really like them. I like the little cave thing. Is it made from slate or is it imitation. Looks very natural if it is.

 

[tanksalot]

Thanks, frida! I'm just feeling my way into this at the moment, seeing what works and what doesn't. Knowing me, I'll probably be forever changing it so it's nice to have a record of it before I make a mess of it

Mo, thanks. Neons may be very common, but I still think they're one of the prettiest little fish. Just hope mine can last a reasonable time! The cave is something I knocked up myself from bits of plum slate from a garden centre. I soaked them in boiling water, scrubbed them, sanded down any sharp edges then stuck them together with clear aquarium silicone. With hindsight, I would have been a bit more sparing with the silicone because close up it goes kind of whitish under water, so where I've used too much it does show a bit, but never mind. The Panda corys love bustling through it and resting in it, and I don't think they're too bothered by aesthetics

 

[waterdrop]

Plants looking great there tank! WD