Sputnick's 45 Gallon Tall

[sputnick]

Well I figured I have a Journal for my 10 gallon and I should probably start one for my larger tank. My tank is a 45 US gallon tall tank. Dimensions are 36"x12"x24".
 
First Phase: I don't have any pictures of when I first set it up but lets just say it looked like a typical beginner tank, with colorful gravel and plastic ornaments with tropical fish.
 
Second Phase: Then It transformed into an african cichlid tank with lots of rocks with play sand as a substrate. I quickly got bored of it though. It was just too dull and boring. It was also difficult to fill the top of the tank because it was so tall.
 
Third Phase/Current Phase: I got rid of all of my cichlids and went back to tropical fish. I wanted real plants so I bought some real plants and a piece or two of drift wood and Aquascaped that. The scape has changed a few times since then but nothing major as I'm happy with the overall look. I just wish I could grow some decent looking plants. Although this batch has lasted quite a while and have shown some growth. For stocking I have 6x Snakeskin Barbs, 4x Odessa Barbs, 5x Black Neon Tetras, 1x Bolivian Ram, 1x Bristlenose Pleco, and My two new fish, which I just added last weekend.. 2x Angelfish! My LFS finally reopened after it had burnt down a few months ago, I walked in and was mesmerized by these two fish. One is a Smokey Angelfish and the other is.. Get this!! an ALTUM! 

 

 

The owner had gotten a shipment the previous week but their bags had no water, and they were in very rough shape to be kind. Only one survived the ordeal and after a week of recovery it looked to be healthy again. After a while of talking with her, as I have the habit of doing because she is just so nice, I asked her how much for both. She told me $25 for each fish. My mouth dropped as for an altum I thought it was a good deal. Maybe I'm wrong but I'd have paid more had she said more lol. So a few hours later they were happily sitting in my tank. 

They adjusted very quickly and ate the day after with no fuss or hubub or picking on each other. I have yet to see the Larger one pick on the small one even during feeding time. All of my barbs leave them alone as well. I have had no problems with fin nipping or any problems at all actually. Anyways I'm going to shut up now.. or in this case stop typing and show the goods 

 Also Please excuse all the algea.. I'm have a horrid time trying to get rid of it.. any pointers are welcome!
 
 
Here is what my tank used to look like: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/420257-my-tank-updated/
 
Here is what it Looks like now: 
 
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Here are my new fish! 

 
 
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[BerryAttack]

very nice, just for two angel fish you'll most likely have issues because of the size. they will become territorial and one will try to kill the other. if they pair up then you won't have to worry about this, but if it does happen then you'll have to rehome one.
I would say that having a 40 tall for two angels is too small.. one angel should have a min of 30 gallons to itself. BESIDES that i would say fantastic tank.. and the algae you can do a 3 day black out.. then scrub the glass, and boom all gone.. but you'll have to find the root of where it is coming from.

 

[Dreamer03]

I love your angel fish!!! Bit i do agree that it might be too small, unless they partner up then the fighting wont be an issue. But such an awsome tank!!!!!

 

[sputnick]

hanks for the compliments gals, i thought the general rule of thumb was 30 gallons for one and an additional 10 for each angelfish? so far there have been no territorial issues from either fish. which i was concerned about but i either got lucky and have a pair or my hunch is right, i thought that since maybe one is from the wild and the other has quite a bit of wild blood still in it i thought that they might get along better.

regarding the black out, i have live plants wont this affect them? and im not sure where the algea is from. i thought it might be from too much sun light but ive kept the shades in my room closed during the day all summer. my lighting period is about 9 hours give or take so it might be that. but im not sure.

 

[sputnick]

Alright so I'm not very happy with my filter turn over rate with my Eheim Classic 60. I was thinking of adding an Aquatop CF4-400UV or the Aquatop CF4-500UV. Which If I'm not mistaken is pretty much the same as the All pond solutions canister filters. Here is a link to the 400. Does anyone have any opinions on this filter? I think the UV bulb will help with my algea problem as well.. But any Input is welcome!

 

[sputnick]

Well its been around 4 months since I took out all of my wood and rocks and cleaned out all the debris hiding in there. So I decided to do that today and while I was at it try something new. I moved the plants in a way that they will hopefully grow better. Let me know what you guys think! 

 
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[sputnick]

alright well Here is a little update. Everyone is doing very well. But I also have some sad news. I'm going to be taking this tank down in the next month or so and setting up my new 75 gallon. I've decided to get rid of this tank and go with saltwater in my new tank. I figure if any time to switch over would be the right time, its now. But for now I'm enjoying my angels who get along just fine. There is a little territorial aggression once and a while but its a short chase of 6 inches at the most with no nipping or bullying. I think I really lucked out with these two. The both eat like champs too, I feed them freeze dried blood worms every other day along with flakes everyday. They seem to love both. Here are some pics that I took today when I was bored and did a small photo shoot lol