75 gallon build

I did something bad today. I basically guaranteed myself that I'm upgrading next year. I couldn't help it. It is my favorite fish.

 

Oh he's going to be fun !

 

Oh he's going to be fun !

I promised my wife I wasn't going to get one. She wisely knew I would.

 

I separated the hairgrass today. New plants arrive yomorrow.

 

The tanks not even finished and I'm already jealous .

I did something bad today. I basically guaranteed myself that I'm upgrading next year. I couldn't help it. It is my favorite fish.View attachment 529507

What is that?

 

The tanks not even finished and I'm already jealous .



What is that?

It is a black ghost knife fish. Awesome fish if you don't mind a future 2 foot fish.

 

Added some honey gourami (and a sunset honey).

 

The star of the tank is here.

 

Can't wait to see him in the tank !

 

He took some fin damage at the lfs. He should heal up nicely.

 

Whooo that's a gorgeous pleco !

 

The black ghost is tough to photo.

 

New plants are coming today. I'm putting a number of Florida-native plants in. Of course, they are being shipped from California. That makes perfect sense.

 

Plants are in.

 

He took some fin damage at the lfs. He should heal up nicely.View attachment 531126

Unfortunately this guy was not well. He was dead when I came home today. I double checked the water and everything is good. 0 ammonia and nitrites. Less than 5ppm Nitrates. I'll be going back for a refund. Hate losing him though.

 

Darn, sorry to hear that.

 

New guy is here. He is a bit healthier looking.

 

The honey gourami are settling in finally. They took about a week to feel comfortable enough to hangout towards the top.

 

I'm not so sure the standard lighting I have on my tank is enough. The plants seem to be having a harder time growing than I expected. I ordered a Beamswork 48" LED light. With the CO2 injection, I should be good to go.

 

I decided to finish my stock with turquoise rainbows.

 

There was a single Boesman Rainbow left with the turquoise. I couldn't leave him behind.

 

They look great !

 

The new light is in.

 

I've hit a couple roadblocks. The first was having way too little surface agitation. I've added a powerhead to help. The second is slow plant growth and some plants being killed off. Even with my new light, I still need more. I ordered a second light which will be plenty of power . I want to add a couple female BoesmanI rainbows, but having no luck finding any.

 

I believe I finally have the light I need. It is probably overkill. I'm sure I'll be fighting algae soon as I try to figure out the right balance.

 

I use these dimmers on my beamsworks DA FSPEC ;

They actually work on all my leds that have separate power source .

 

I believe I finally have the light I need. It is probably overkill. I'm sure I'll be fighting algae soon as I try to figure out the right balance.View attachment 536416

It looks really good ! Once the plants grow out some more it'll be perfect.

 

Thanks. I have one more thing to add. I am adding a CO2 reactor to finish up the hardware. Then I have to stop spending for awhile or the wife will not be happy.

 

All of the fish have been settling in. I'm getting to see this guy out way more often.

 

So I ordered a co2 reactor online and it arrived cracked. I was extremely frustrated so I started making my own. I'm still waiting for a few pieces to finish.

 

Fighting Ich.

 

What are you doing to combat the ich ?
Tough to see on a spotted fish ! I would guess impossible if that pleco had white spots !

 

What are you doing to combat the ich ?
Tough to see on a spotted fish ! I would guess impossible if that pleco had white spots !

So I read up on a couple of thought processes on it. The first option is using heat to speed up and kill the ich. This involves pu.ping up the heat 2 degrees over 12 hours to 86 degrees. Some people also introduce aquarium salt.

The second option is medication. I opted to use Nox Ich medication. I increased the temperature to 82. I am using half doses of Nox Ich which is a type of malachite green. Most of my fish are scaleless, so half doses are a must. The main reason I opted for this is some of my fish could be really stressed with 86 degree water. Some of the strains of ich are also heat resistant. So I believe the Nox Ich treatment to be the safest choice. The malachite green is supposed to be less harmful than some other meds to your bacteria and less stressful on the fish. It will likely kill invertebrates though like my ghost shrimp. However, they were just feeders anyway.

 

I have used rid ich plus for years and my clown loaches are 10-16 years old !
I usually do half dose day one and if everyone seems ok I go full dose day 2 .Never had a problem with loaches or cories [they were never the infected fish either ].
Good luck ,I am the med guy myself ..

 

Thanks. Everything is going well so far. Everyone is still active and eating. The gourami are not very active but they never are. I have also pumped oxygen into the tank to keep any potential stress down.

 

Day #2. All fish are still looking good. Everyone is still eating normally.

 

I had ick a couple weeks ago
I just raise the temp up

Or u could dose salt but I don’t think it’s good for the pleco

 

On day #3. Everyone still seems great. Two fish show signs of ich from what I've seen. My pleco is the worst. I also have a serpae tetra with a couple spots.

 

Keep treating till you see nothing on any fish for 3 days minimum .
Don't be fooled and do an extra day if you are not certain .
Ich hides best in the gills where it is not visible .

 

I fully expect to be doing this for up to two weeks. My meds tell me to skip tomorrows dose. Then I will do another 3 days.