All of Zombie's Tanks

So at this point, my tanks are stable. I wanna drop off the other threads where so much bad stuff happened and move on.

First, my "camera" is my smartphone, a Samsung Admire - White SCH-R720 ... a bit old for my general liking but it's white! xD Please excuse the digital noise and general ... kinda "meh" look.

So ... here's where we're at:

55gal - heavily stocked ... moderately planted[technically HEAVILY in spots, but eh ... either works] - 200W heater, 108W T5HO light & SunSun HW303-B Canister Filter


plants:
Jungle val
Cryptocoryne Wendtii
Amazon, Kliener Bar & Argentina swords
Java fern - regular & "Windelov"
Java moss
Anubias BarterI 'Nana'
Rotala Rotundifolia
Hornwort
Anacharis [from the wild, not sure what kind ... but it grows INCHES a day]

fish/inverts:
1x Calico Fantail Goldfish
1x Albino Krib
1x Pearl Gourami
3x Dalmatian Mollies
1x Bumble Bee Platy
2-3x Guppies
3x Gold Barbs
1x Harlequin Rasbora
1x Gold White Cloud Mountain Minnow
3x Zebra Danios[all longfinned, 1 gold]
1x Neon/2x Glowlight Tetras
1x Clown Pleco
2x BN Plecos
1x Whiptail/1x Featherfin/1x Raphael/1x SA Bumble Bee Cat
1x SAE
1x Dojo Loach
2x Nerite Snails[+ Pond, Ramshorn & Malaysian Trumpet Snails]

I had more of a definitive stock, but the ich took away a good chunk of it. Oh well ... for now, my focus will be on getting schooler numbers back up eventually. With that said, I don't believe fish need to be in big groups, but it looks better to me when there's a small group of each different kind[4-7 depending on size, how many live out of a batch, etc.]

15gal - Nano-Reef, 96W Quad-Bulb T5HO light, AquaClear 30, Koralia Nano & 100W heater


"Plants":
Grape calupera ... I think that's it
Lots of pink/red & green hair algae[for the pods] and because IDL the look of empty rockwork
Coralline algae coating the equipment and finally on the glass again

Animals:
[20LBS live rock, 10LBS live Aragonite sand]
1x Blue Damsel
1x Yellow Tip Hermit Crab
1x Zebra Turbo/10x+ Dwarf Cerith Snails
Bristleworms & Asterina Starfish
Green implosion/blue & silver palythoas, green zoanthids & purple dot mushrooms

[both these tanks have glass thermometers, glass lids, black trim, pretty close despite having different water sizes & looks/water types - 15 was bought last year[2012] and 55gal was bought in 2008]

5gHex heavily planted stock kit:


plants:
Rotala Rotundifolia
Red tiger lotus
Java moss
Dwarf Sag

fish/inverts:
1x M crowntail betta
10x+ Red Cherry Shrimp
Pond, Ramshorn & Malaysian Trumpet Snails

all these tanks have little things scattered thru them. Fossils, marbles, anything I don't wanna misplace in the black hole that is my room.

Other projects that I'm not going into detail about:

100gal Pond[yep, my big idiot dog is in the top right hand corner]:

40gB:

5gFBH:


And then there's then newer 5.5gal:

 

Your tanks look beautiful.... I need to get a light setup for plants.

 

Nice Work!

 

You should have people pay to visit your home!

Sweeeeeet job!!!

 

Awesome!

 

Thanks, you guys! It's taken me a year, really to get the tanks this nice, but they FINALLY are and stable! I couldn't be happier with how all of them have come out.

My mom is crazy, tho. She's talking about possibly having an apistogramma tank and/or a guppy tank. I told her I voted to just add a couple more guppies to my 55gal[totally forgot to add I have a FM in there] and the apistos to the 40gB if we ever can get it a good filter. The AT was hit by lightning in 2010 and never replaced because ... well, it works and we never really had the money. I quit my job shortly after I got the T5 light for her[all my tanks run either T5s or CFs depending on how big they are]. Still, we'll see. My eventual plan is to go ahead and upgrade my reef to a 46 gallon bowfront or 72gal bowfront but that's gonna be ... heh ... interesting ... and IDK what I'd do with the 15[probably just give it to my mom since she wants it so bad and it was an expensive little thing? xD ].

 

Love your hex tank, I just set mine up yesterday/today. Glad to see you have a betta in it. How did you fix your filter? Mine's a little strong.

I need more plants! lol

 

Sweet! What all do you have in yours?

Initially I only wanted to make this one a reef, but conditions made me turn it into a betta tank[the divided 10 I had for 3 halfmoons kinda went under so I put the last one in here] and I just kept it like that. Anyways, it has a sponge pre-filter which makes the intake less stressful for a betta but untouched as far as flow goes. Radiation, the betta has a lot of calm spots because of the plants.

 

Well, I made a judgment call today. I got a farlowella & a new clown pleco for the 55gal and then was noticing the condy anemones & tomato clownfish which were both at really good prices so I grabbed them.

I sat it down, tentacles up and the foot came out so obviously, I didn't put it in right. xD Still ... He moved pretty quickly.


and here's the fish pair:


I'll eventually get some pics of the cats, but all my tanks can use their water changes so pics will be sparring. xD

 

I got a new FTS of the 15gal:


and where it's positioned in my room:


I know the 5gHex & 55gal aren't gonna look much different after their cleanings so IDT I'm gonna post them. Buttt ...

Spyder!:

 

So I moved the reef on it's real stand by my computer desk:


I think I like it better like this. Still, for now ... I've been contemplating what's all gonna happen with stocking the tanks -- future plans and stuff. Pretty much coming to the conclusion I'm gonna end up with more tanks. xD

 

I got a few new fish for my 55gal today ...

Whiptail:


Albino krib:

[and of course I got the cambomba in that pic too]

 

I wound up being bad and at WM, finishing off my funds picking up some stuff I wanted, I got another CT betta. He's gold, blue/green & white. HI'm & Radiation got put in the divided 5.5gal as 2 of my dad's crowntails did rather great in that setup.

So here's the tank:


And them:


I'm pretty sure my 5gHex will get a DT or HMDT or HMDTPK[hopefully] and that'll be sufficient for me with betta needs. xD I know my 20gL will get recommissioned sooner or later for my GF's 5 bettas and then I still want a GSP tank and our 4 green tiger barbs[+ more] & albino krib could use their own tank I think.

 

I re-worked my 5gHex & 5.5gal today. The only thing I have left to do is put a thermometer in the 5.5.

Pics:




And now to the more established tanks:

 

WHY DO YOU WIN SO HARD AT THIS?! DX

<3 I love your work! It really represents your character at patience and craft!

 

Thanks hardcopy! <3 It's taken me a while to get everything where I like it, but I think it's FINALLY getting there! In consolidating so many tanks and sacrificing numbers over quality, I'm happy with them.

 

Well, he really takes after his name[Chameleon]! xD

 

Well, I've got some plans in the works. Very limited funds ... but plans nonetheless. xD Today, we should be going to the pet store and for once in a good long while, I wanna put a bit more work in my reef.

I'm gonna take it down to sand level[read: tear down] and add another bag of aragonite sand. In the 2 years I've had this bag, a lot of it has been pulled out from algae and dissolved so it's time to add more. And I'd like to do a pretty good WC & clean the equipment thoroughly. I also wanna scrub the LR down pretty good and clean out a lot of this algae. I'm severely tempted to get a sixline wrasse, but 3 fish in a 15 who all have similar temperaments will be interesting. lol I hear they get to be little devils when they mature too but so do damsels and clownfish.

The plan has always been to get a 40gB[really would want a 72gal bowfront but ... yeah ... xD ] and set it up as a FOWLR for the 3 + a green spot puffer but at this point, I really don't see it happening. If/when I do get a green spot, he needs his own tank[probably his own 40gB xD ].

I've also been thinking about the 5gHex's centerpiece fish since the CTs now live in the 5.5gal. I really love HMDTPKs so we'll see if I can't make that happen as well if I can find a nice healthy one.

 

I always love seeing pics of your tanks. :3 keep em coming.

 

Sorry for the late response, but thanks Corine!

So some changes are definitely happening. The 15gal has a new bag of live sand and I'm just waiting to progress[IE feel good enough to do the tear down] because of something devastating, my time has been a little restricted[past little bits of prowling FL among other stuff].

Anyways ...

My 20gH is definitely getting set up soon as well. Stock is a bit weird and would be better in a 29 or even 20gL but I don't have the space for a 30" tank or even a 29gal to spare.

 

The time has come!



I actually have a few other Freshwater chores to do so I knocked the hardest one out first -- cleaning the 5gHex, which came out like this:


and I literally got THIS many snails:

out and put them in the 55gal xD Nothing in there really messes with snails so I figure that's their safe place.

So now the 55gal gets a few leaves removed with it's usual gravel vac/WC & the 5.5gal gets pretty much the same thing. The 40gB and 5gFBH could use their WCs too but I'll get to them. Probably gonna go ahead and start onto the reef's deep clean/additions.

 

I got maybe 70% of the pink algae removed off rocks so we're off to a great start!

In retrospect, there's a ton of things I'd do different but whatever ... as long as my animals do ok, I'm fine.

Here's the tank as it sits:

 

All done. xD

 

The rein of pictures stops after this post as I broke my phone today[I dropped it in the grass and yes, it was in it's case which is weird cuz I have thrown it with a direct glass impact[it lagged! xD I know I should have never thrown it but meh] and it's been fine up until now]:


But I wanted to post some of my random thoughts ...

I'm thinking my sig is about gonna be the gist of my tanks.

So:
55gal planted community that's theme is kinda dark/grassy for the catfish and goldfish[bigger leaf plants = less chance of being eaten by the monsters]
46gBF planted semia ggressive community[kribensis, tiger barbs, gold wonder killi, african butterfly fish, & yoyo/zebra/skunk loaches with the stump piece of DW as the focal piece with the skulls around it. It'll have mostly just congo fern, anubias ... and that's about it. xD
20gL FM betta community - now, me and my GF have more then 1 FM betta and they're already together with very few issues. This tank will be full of hygrophilas and some random driftwood so hopefully the sorority will stay at piece. We'll probably just have 13 FMs and see where that gets us. In my 15[and in my friend's 29[or is it the 26?]], the bigger number always did better then smaller numbers. They went so far as to stop even noticing each other and there was no order. Just a bunch of pretty fish. I do feel kinda weird about this tank, but the bettas can and would be adopted out if it came to that.
20gH green spot puffer tank -- self explanatory. This tank will probably just be a Saltwater FOWLR with whatever macroalgaes can survive under T8 lights. I might put a domino damsel in here too to test if he can get along with fish[it's said they're more docile in Saltwater environments] but we'll see.
15gal Nano-reef - yep. xD Tomato clown, blue damsel, sixline wrasse, soft/SPS/LPS corals, a CUC, feather duster, the usual fun stuff that's in a reef.
5.5gal divided CT betta tank - Neon themed. There's easy live plants.
5gHex HMDTPK betta/shrimp tank - dragon themed, myriophyllum mattogrossense, rotala rotunidfolia, ludwigia repens, marsilae minuta, java moss and that type of thing.

I found this little guy in my house as well so I've been debating his final fate. I've been trying to baby him and he's much stronger now ... might go ahead and let him go outside now:

 

they all look so great ty for posting your plants look gorgeous!!

 

Thanks, April!

I'm just contemplating the supplies needed to finish these few tanks so I can move on to others. Fun. xD

 

I ended up making a sudden last minute change of plans. As most of you know, my 55gal isn't gonna have any FM bettas so again, putting a HMDTPK in there seems fine so that left my 5gHex "empty" besides the RCS/snails ...

Well, I've rescued snail after snail out of there trying to save most of them but I found 2 dwarf puffers at my LFS today. Pretty epic! So I bought them[thanks to my parents ] and put them together in the tank.

They're enjoying their finest hour[cowering xD ] but I think they'll come around:


This rendered the GSP idea kinda ... futile so I don't have to set up another tank, yet I have puffers! I'm gonna work on getting them the rest of the plants for this tank, soon. I want marsilae minuta, rotalla wallichii[maybe] & myriophyllum mattogrossense.

 

So ... things have been adjusting pretty well. The 2 puffers haven't turned vicious[they chase each other, but not really to the point of hurting the other] and the RCS still seem accounted for.

I was amused, tho.had this to say:


It said my 5.5gal was 100% stocked with 2 M CT bettas[figured xD] and my reef would be 79% stocked with the 3 fish[sixline, blue damsel & tomato clown] ...

I'm not even trying my 55gal. 4 fancy goldfish, 2 angels, a GBR, a HMDTPK betta, swordtails, platies, mollies, guppies, gold barbs, harlequin rasboras, wcmms, zebra/leopard danios, phantom/von rio/neon/glowlight tetras, clown/bulldog/BN plecos, whiptail/featherfin/raphael[x2]/SA bumble bee cats, SAE, weather loaches & nerite snails[+ MTS, pond & ramshorns] xD I've been contemplating the upgrade to a 125gal or a 110gal, but IDK just yet.

 

It is odd how said your reef was under stocked. IMO all of the fish you have need at least 25-30 gallons, but your tank looks very roomy, so I guess it works!

 

I saw you lived in Arcadia. I live in Orlando. Your reptilian looks like a house gecko... You guys have those in your area?

 

Yep, we have house geckos here. I feed him well & kept him hydrated for a few days and then released him.

Anyways, about the reef, it was basing them off the fact that my tank is big enough for their bioloads ... the sixline & damsel are fine size wise, but I know the tomato gets to a pretty good size. Still fine for a 15 tho, IMHO.

I honestly don't care about common advice[I've been doing this for 8 years and advice just tends to get more ridiculous] or... I was just bored. xD My tanks do better when I tend to ignore the "common sense" and do what I feel would be best for the fish involved.

 

Cool! I love house geckos!

I play around with AqAdvisor, too. Apparently 50000 Bamboo Sharks aren't suitable for a 10 gallon! Seriously?!

 

They're very cool little creatures for sure! The randomly get trapped inside here and sometimes end up looking rough ... I didn't notice the baby really looking bad when I caught him, but he was in better shape when I released him outside. Very alert and jumpy. xD

Anyways, wowww ... Definitely no bamboo sharks in 10s here. xD Still, It's a very good general advice advisor, but it also should be taken as just what it is. An advisor.

You have me wanting to ramble a bit tho, one of my plans a few years ago for when I got my own house was to have it based around an indoor pond system ... technically being 2 types ... 1 koi pond & 1 bamboo shark pond. With the amount of technology I have around tho, probably not a good idea. xD

 

Quite a few updates within the last little while ... xD Relating to fish[technology hasn't been playing nice, but I think I've got everything fixed but the bluetooth in my laptop] here's the current list of additions: 1 jewel cichlid[Fry], 1 panda garra[Shane], 1 panda moor[Morpheus/Morph], 3 von rio tetras & 1 orange Cambodian FM betta[I'm thinking about just calling her Ostrich].

I ultimately lost the dwarf puffers & my M red/blue/purple CT betta Radiation. I tore down the 5.5gal from being an aquarium until I found the FM betta and completely redid the 5gHex. It was really bad.

So tank pics:
55gal:


15gal:

5gHex:


5.5QT:

[yes, no equipment because the more she has, the more likely it is to fail. It's just not needed now and would stress her out even worse. No medicine in the water, just keeping an eye on her and gave her salt to help her grow her fins back faster]

20gH RES/jewel cichlid tank - pending upgrade:


fish:





So ... about the fish, the von rios & garra are perfectly normal! xD I always planned to get some eventually and I just ... did ... xD

Ok ... panda moor ... I did NOT expect to find one. When I did and I looked at him, I knew I had to have him! The FM betta I bought early yesterday[she rode with us around Port Charlotte and sat in the car while I got the other fish/drinks] ... in the store, she looked ... off ... I wasn't and I'm still not sure if she's gonna make it, but she's got a chance. If she ends up stronger, she's gonna go into the 55gal but if not, I have an excuse to set up a 20gL. xD

The jewel cichlid ... heh ... wasn't bought ... I found him in a small puddle on a concrete sidewalk and I had to look at him ... when I identified him, I knew I could do whatever with him cuz he was a jewel cichlid[another invasive species like my turtle], so I brought him home. I put him in the 20gH for now in the thought that Bender wouldn't be able to get him and TBH, he doesn't even care. This sparked the decision to, when I get a bigger tank, keep fish with the turtle. Only cichlids, tho.



Just one more thing, he's a LOT of fun! He stalks my finger. xD

 

I'm so done with WalMart and their supplies/fish.

My orange FM Cambodian died shortly after an upgrade to the 20gL to improve her quality of life[she was in an empty tank, but getting better so I thought she'd make it]. I also found my last harlequin rasbora dead.

Also done with Petsmart & Petco. There's only one pet source I'm going to support now. Fish I've lost from them have been few & only because of my tanks, not because the fish were sick to begin with.

I'm on the fence with the 20 now. It's lost the fun and I just feel like tearing it down & breaking it into a million little pieces. I'd put the cichlid in there if I wasn't afraid he'd catch the same thing as the girl & die.

 

I lost the calico goldfish, Predator in the 55gal a few days ago. She was in between a rock & the glass so IDK if she got caught or just was dying anyways. She was a pretty weak fish[read: from walmart] but she grew & was doing so well in here. Atleast my moor seems fine even if lonely.

It seems so weird not having her all of a sudden after being used to seeing her every day for the last almost year ... life goes on I guess, but I'll definitely miss her. Tank is still chugging along:


I also took some time and fully planted my 20gL:


and worked on the 5gFBH[moving it in my room with Okami]:



the 5gHex is coming into it's own pretty quickly:


I'm debating on using the 20gL as a temporary QT tank, going to WM and picking up a small school of rasboras & a couple of new platies and finishing up stocking the tank. Another dojo loach, some gold barbs & gold WCMMs for sure, but I'm also debating on reuping my tetra schools & maybe getting another centerpiece fish or two. In short, this tank is almost done. I just wanna add some more schoolers for sure & maybe get another goldfish for Morpheus. Might have to try to resist getting a GBR, angel or FM or HMDTPK betta but we'll see.

The 20gL will, after a couple weeks, get a green spot puffer who will be named Trioxin[anyone know what that's from? xD ] and then I think my Freshwater tanks will be done.

 

I just did a bit of work in the 55gal. Stem plants tend to not do as good as rooted plants in here, so I pulled all but 1 piece of Cabomba and planted the majority in the 5gFBH[and stole it's java fern to make the clump in the 55 bigger] & put the one left in the 55gal with the anacharis[that plant does great cuz it grows so fast, it can actually compete with the hornwort] and pulled the crypts out of the 20gL and put them in here. I'm not sure what to do/how to proceed with that tank for now. It's temporarily being a QT tank for my moor. He's not acting right so if I loose him, I'm done with goldies. They're the stupidest fish I've ever owned. Cool looking, but they're just too lame to wanna keep on with.

 

Your tanks look great! Thanks for the updated pics.

Sorry to hear about your goldfish though.

How in the world did you find a jewel cichlid in a puddle??

 

Thank you for the comment/compliment! It really sucks about the goldies ... I don't dislike the actual fish but I dislike how they're mass produced only to sell so as a result, they are WEAK and it's so ... annoying that they're fine one day, sick the next, gone the next. He didn't suffer long tho, he's gone now. I'm not gonna get another one ... after my GFs 4 are gone, that's it, I think.

Still, it's funny about the jewel cichlid because they're an invasive species here! I don't know how it happened so perfectly that I just ... got him ... but it's highly amusing that it worked out like that.

This is literally the only picture I have of it ... s/he's really quick on his fins in that tank. xD

 

I love your 55 gallon! It is so beautiful! Mine is pretty plain in comparison...