f1ea

Hey all,

After some months of preparation... work, research... work. My 200 Gal is ready (96"L x 24"H x 20"D). Its a Natural Planted Tank, set up with a soil substrate topped w/ gravel + some sand pathways; lots of plants.

The main fish is ANGELFISH (p. scalare). My favourite fish BTW...

The tank's been running for about 3 weeks, and right now its going through the NPT "algae phase". Plants and fish have been healthy, but still too much algae; i think in about 10 days the plants should take over the algae and i will be able to post pics without being embarrassed

Fish are:
(7) Angelfish
(8) Black skirt tetras
(6) Serpae tetras
(6) Clown loaches
(1) Rainbow shark
(3) Flame gouramis
(1) Pleco

I think i will add either mollies or swordtails to help w/ algae eating and rehome the Gouramis (they are loving the tank, but they look out of place); also will increase the tetra schools, and maybe add some more angels.

So far i have two questions:

1. Since the tank is outdoors, there's an awful lot of bugs/insects that follow the lights, and some fall into the tank. I have mosquito net to protect the tank, but still some bugs find their way in and fall into the water. The angelfish and tetras rush to action and have lunch... is it safe for them to eat these insects??

2. The Serpaes are kinda nippy. So far, the angels have kept them somewhat disciplined, but there's been the ocassional fin nip. So, would increasing the school keep them away from the angels, or would it increase the fin nipping??

Thanks already for the Fishlore help prior to setting the tank up... and thanks for the advices to come...

eiginh

Nice stocking list, I hope to see pictures soon!

namehater

is it a Walstad tank? sounds awesome, i love your stock list. can't wait to see some pictures! i have a pair of Walstad 10g, but ive really been thinking about setting my new 75g (which would be angel as well) as Walstad. its amazing how easy these tanks are to take care of!!

aquarist48

Hello f1ea. Your tank sounds wonderful and will looking forward to photos.

Insects that fall into your tank should cause no harm. After all they would be eating insects and other things in their natural environment. (with the exception of bees that might sting the fish should by chance one falls in. Glad you have some netting over it.

I don't know that adding more serpaes would curb the nipping or not. Let's get some more responses on this.

Keep us posted!
Ken

TedsTank

Sounds wonderful!!!! Some I'll get there, will have to put supports under the house!!!

As a "headsup", One word of caution and please don't panic! Do they spray for bugs around you? We have regular mosquito spraying in and around us. I had to stop raising mosquito larva...did real good, when the sprayer started running I had to stop. The larva would die every week. Of course didn't want that in my tank!!. They say it is safe for everything except the mosquitos....sure....

Natural insect food is wonderful!!! Mosquito lara was one of my fishes favorite foods.

f1ea

Thanks for the responses,

Yes, the tank is a Walstad style natural tank. But i'm using a 5-ply canister filter + a submersible pump for circulation (will add another pump); and lots of plants.

We don't spray for bugs, so it should be safe insecticide-wise. The only bugs that hang around the tank are those that follow light, so no wasps, ants or bees... i guess it should be fine for them as they eat bugs in the wild also... They eat algae as well, so hopefully they are getting a balanced diet.

I'll post the tank specs and hopefully a few pics later today....

Regards