Bubblegum's 40b Community Tank Build

HI ya’ll, bubblegum-heart here, aka Marie, here with my first community tank build! Woot! I am so excited, I cannot wait to get this thing “officially” started – since right now I only have a few things. But, for the most part, I have everything else picked/planned out. So, without further ado, let’s get started! (Also, because I'm one of the few people that doesn't use the app, I have links for everything!)

TANK 40 gallon breeder

STOCK 3 Pearl Gouramis (1:2 male to female ratio) | 14 Penguin Tetras | 1 BN Pleco | ? </= 8 Nerite Snails -- I already have a thread dedicated to stocking for this tank, you can find it here, or you can chime in below!

FOOD Omega One Shrimp Pellets, Freshwater Flakes, Veggie Rounds, and either Blood worms or Brine Shrimp (both will be freeze dried) | ZucchinI | Other veggies...? (Recommendations welcome!)

FOOD ACCESSORIES Veggie Clip | Bamboo Skewers

FILTER | (I'll be using cylinder air stones, which I already have) - with Seachem Denitrate

LIGHTING Beamswork LED Light

HOOD Zilla Fresh Air Screen Cover -- I went with this because it’s cheaper than getting a glass hood, and I think the Pearl Gouramis would benefit more from this than a glass hood (because of their labyrinth organs)


SUBSTRATE Sand -- we'll be making a Lowe's run later this week to get some black sand; it'll probably be blasting sand, unless they have pool filter sand


CONDITIONERS/FERTILIZERS Seachem Prime, Stability, Paragurad, Flourish Root Tabs, and Flourish Excel | NilocG Aquatics Thrive | gH Booster* | Methylene Blue (just to be safe) HIKARI Betta Revive


HEATER Aqueon Pro Heater 150W

PLANTS Hairgrass | Micro Swords | Amazon Swords | Water Sprite | Banana Plant (?) | Dwarf Onion Plant | Java Fern | Java Moss | Moss balls | Anubias (?)

OTHER DÉCOR Spiderwood | Driftwood | Some rocks of various sizes | cave for the pleco | Maybe for smaller fish | Maybe | Actually, cave

So, that's the list of things I'll be getting for this build. While I was typing this my mom, whom I'm working on the tank with, ordered the filter, air pump, heater, bubble wall, and python. Later this week we'll be going out to Lowe's to get the sand for the substrate. My hope is that I can have the cycling process started by next week!

I already have Prime, Stability, Dr. Tim's Ammonia Chloride, a thermometer, and the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. The water out of my tap has a pH of at least 8.8, 0.25 ppm Ammonia, no nitrites, and my Nitrates sits somewhere between 20 and 40 ppm. So, we'll also be getting some RO/DI water too.

Lastly, here's a pic of the tank on it's stand. The table is VERY sturdy, I have minimal worries about it not being able to hold the weight. I'm still working on the design plan in GIMP, so whenever I get that finished I'll share it with you all!

40B Tank 01 - Nothing in it

• bubblegum-heart
• Apr 10, 2017
• 2

My tank on it's "stand", a little table. We put it diagnally because the table isn't long enough...

(the tank is no longer on this)

*The nitrates coming out of my tap water are EXTREMELY high. One of the ways I’ll be combating this is using partial RO/DI water, and, according to the NilocG website, I’d need the gH booster.

 

Sounds good! Good luck!

How many sponge filters are you going to install?

 

Sounds good! Good luck!

How many sponge filters are you going to install?

Thanks! And just the one - it's a Hydro IV Sponge Filter. So it should do enough on it's on... but if I have to get another one it shouldn't be a problem.

 

I think it's going to be fine, might be wrong.

 

I think it's going to be fine, might be wrong.

I hope so!

While I was at Sprouts last night with my parents we grabbed some nitrate free water - you know, the RO/DI stuff. Of course, because it was Sprouts, it was 99 cents a gallon. Partly because of that, and partly because we didn't want to carry 20 gallons of water to the car, we only grabbed three gallons. I wanna stock up on as much RO/DI water as I can, mostly for future water changes, so that was another reason for the three gallons. (The final reason is we grabbed a smaller cart because we weren't planning on getting a lot.) I also checked out there veggies... They didn't have regular zucchini, but it was some other kind, but I can't remember what it was off the top of my head.

So, I've been going over my stock list and double checking the preferred temps for all of the fish I have on the list. The penguin tetras are fine with the BN pleco, but I'm a little worried about the pearl gouramis. Should I start looking at something else or will they be fine at the extreme end for both of them? (77 degrees Farhenheit.)

And, of course, this happens right has I'm starting to really fall in love with pearl gouramis... *sigh*

 

Subbing to follow.

 

Subbing to follow.

Thanks for joining in on the adventure!

 

Following along Looking foward to watching this tank progress. As for the Pearl Gourami, I think they should be fine with your other fish at 77F. Temp range for them is about 75-86.

 

Following along Looking foward to watching this tank progress. As for the Pearl Gourami, I think they should be fine with your other fish at 77F. Temp range for them is about 75-86.

Thanks! Yeah, I am too! Okay, awesome. I'll probably keep the tank between 75-77 degrees. I only mentioned it because I saw somewhere that preferred temps of at least 77, so I started freaking out... but if they take a little lower that should work too!

Also, guys, the python arrived today! I swear, I just sat in the living chair and held it for like half an hour. No more filling or emptying tanks by bucket! YASSSSS! I'm so excited! All I need is the sand and filter and I can finally fill this thing up!

EDIT So, I decided I should add one of those air driven bio-sponge filters to this tank - and then I'll be grabbing one for the QT and my betta tank as well. All three will just be a secondary filter, or the main filter and the sponge filter can be the secondary one. My question now is would I have to get special bio pellets that eliminate nitrates or would the pellets that come with the filter be enough?

 

Today my dad and I walked down to the creek so I could pick up some rocks. I have some small bags of rocks I picked up at Dollar Tree, so I wanted something bigger. Later this week I'll be soaking them in a vinegar + water mixture for a day, and then soak in water for a few days. Take them out, let them dry, and then soak for yet another day.

I did it! I finished drawing up a rough aquascape for this tank!

40B Rough Aquascape

• bubblegum-heart
• Apr 12, 2017

Keep in mind that this is a rough visual. I plan on having way more plants and I didn't want to draw all of them... especially since I'm not very good at it! I may replace the hairgrass with narrow swords, or I'll put them someplace else.

The cave that's in front of the hairgrass I'll be making out of all of the rocks that I have. I plan on trying to dig out some of the sand that'll be under it so that's it nice and deep. We may use this as the cave for the pleco instead of buying one, it just depends on how it holds up. If we do that, then the driftwood will go where the other cave is - the one that's in front of the bubble wall. If not... I'm not too sure where the driftwood will go. I'm still thinking about that. XD

 

The reason why people say to use vinegar is to test if it will change your pH, gh, or kh. Soaking the rocks in the vingear for one day will probably waste some time. All you do is put a drop of vinegar on to the rocks. If it fizzes, it will change the parameters. If it doesn't fizz, it won't change the parameters of the water.

Then, you boil the rocks, or soak it in bleach to kill off the organisms living in the rock.

 

The reason why people say to use vinegar is to test if it will change your pH, gh, or kh. Soaking the rocks in the vingear for one day will probably waste some time. All you do is put a drop of vinegar on to the rocks. If it fizzes, it will change the parameters. If it doesn't fizz, it won't change the parameters of the water.

Then, you boil the rocks, or soak it in bleach to kill off the organisms living in the rock.

After I posted I started doing some research on cleaning rocks and then I realized it would be a waste of time. I read that boiling rocks can cause them to explode, so I was just going to scrub with with a new toothbrush (using really hot or boiled water). Though I could probably do a bleach + water mixture as well, just to be safe. As I don't have bleach or vinegar right now, the only thing I can do for now is clean the rocks with boiling water... and I don't want to clean rocks that I can't use. This weekend when we go out grocery shopping I'll make sure we grab some bleach and vinegar though. Just three more days...

 

Are the rocks porous? If not, you can just pour boiled water over the rocks in a 5 gallon bucket and let it soak overnight, that's what I do

 

Some of them are, I think. Right now all of the rocks that we've collected from outside are in a one gallon bucket soaking. Tomorrow morning I'll dump the water out and really look them over, and then I'll do what you suggested with the non-porous rocks.

 

Do you have access to bleach?

 

Not tonight. Tomorrow I may try asking grandparents, if not I'll get some this weekend.

 

I didn't bleach my rocks. I gave them a good scrub and wash in water. I did the vinegar test though.

 

AngelTheGypsy That's what I plan on doing after the vinegar test. Then I'll scrub them with water and some bleach, soak in water, dry out, and then soak again just to be safe.

 

If you use bleach I would soak them in water overdosed with prime a couple times. Soak, dump water and soak one more time. That way you're sure to get rid of all the chlorine.

 

Right! Yeah, I read somewhere that you need to soak them in dechlorinated at one point, I guess it just slipped my mind in all of the excitement of getting the tank put together. Thanks for reminding me!

Though, I am impatient, so tomorrow I may start scrubbing them with warm or boiled water anyway, even if I haven't done the vinegar test. It's bath day for my dog, Harry, tomorrow, so why not clean the rocks while I'm at it? (Well, I'm hoping that I'll get around to give him a bath.)

My dad is getting a shot in his eye tomorrow, so I may not be on much until late. He's got cataracts, and after the shot will need some help getting around since he still won't be able to see for several hours. (When he had the first one last week he had trouble seeing for the rest of the night and a little bit in the morning.) Hopefully, I'll get to Harry's bath tomorrow morning and scrubbing the rocks while he's at the doctor's office. If not, then Friday hopefully he'll be able to see a little better, and then both Harry and the rocks will get a much needed bath.

I haven't gotten to Harry's bath. But I took the rocks out of the bucket and laid them all out. Looking at them all I realized I didn't have what I wanted to make a cave... so today my sister and I are going to the creek to get even more rocks.

I took a picture of the rocks, and I place a few quarters around them so you have a general idea for size. And, the sponge filter, air pump, bubble wand, and heater arrived today! I took the filter out of the box to see how big it is holy cow, it's huge! It's literally the width and height of the box it's in. Not to sure how I'll hide it... yet.

40b Rocks 1

• bubblegum-heart
• Apr 13, 2017

The rocks I collected from a nearby creek and some my mom picked up while she was on vacation.

40b Filter N Things

• bubblegum-heart
• Apr 13, 2017

Look at what arrived today!

 

Dad's doing alright. His eye is really bloodshot, which is apparently normal, but we'll see how it heals up tomorrow. He's keeping ice on it for a few minutes, then going off of it for a few minutes.

I grabbed some wider and thinner rocks from the creek. I rinsed them off with the hose in the backyard, and then put them in a pile with the others outside. (As I wanted to rinse out the bucket I've been using to hold all of these rocks.) I'll get a picture of the new ones once everything has been cleaned.

I'm working on a new aquascape design, especially since the giant sponge filter came in. I'm not finished with it yet, but the plan is try to use a piece of driftwood and the rocks I've collected to make a giant cave. I'm still doodling it, I'm not sure when I'll get it down.

My mom and I have agreed to do the second filter - an for 40 gallons. I'm also thinking about grabbing some bio pellets that specifically remove nitrates so that we don't have to have a ton of RO/DI water on hand, especially for water changes.

So, with that being said... I'm thinking about adding another BN pleco. I'd have to get another cave, and more driftwood, but that shouldn't be a problem. I'm also fine with doing more water changes, since plecos are pooping machines. I couldn't find anything that said the minimum tank size on two BN plecos, so I figured with a 40B I'd be good... but I'm still fairly new at this. Anyone with experience wanna chime in?

 

BN are a smaller pleco, so I think that will be fine, depending on the rest of your stock.

 

That's what I thought. Their max size is about 5", and the tank length is 36" so hypothetically, it should work. Especially if I get them while they're young and they grow up together. But I wanna be sure, you know?

 

It should be ok as long as you stock the rest of the tank keeping that bioload in mind.
They will breed if male and female so that is a consideration too.

 

Right! I'm thinking to lower the pearl gouramis to 2, not getting the snails, and probably leaving the penguin tetras at the 14... Or maybe switch to a different schooling fish...? (The penguin tetras are for mom, since she loves penguins.) Mom took today off work so we're going to get the sand, bleach, vinegar, and we're running to the LF/PS to really see what we could get locally.

EDIT
So, my mom and I went the LFS that's pretty close to our house. We broswed around their freshwater section, mostly looking at the fish we're thinking of stocking. They had some pearl gouramis - though they were young, I'm pretty sure I could spot the males and the females - and the bn plecos! They were so little and adorable, I just stood there watching them suck on the glass for like, five minutes. Of course, they didn't have any penguin tetras. (I couldn't even find their rummy nose tetras either.) But we found a cool piece of spiderwood and got a kH/gH testing kit, so it was a fun trip. We also narrowed down the things we'll be buying online vs. locally. Next stop was to a hardware store to get some sand. (So I can start cycling the tank.)

Long story short, we went to both Ace Hardware and Lowe's and neither of them had black blasting sand. GAH! But the Lowe's was next to a Petco, so we figured we'd try there. They only had two five pound bags of black sand, and black sand for saltwater aquariums. But, the trip wasn't a total waste. The LED bubble wand was on sale, so we'll be using that instead of the bubble wall. (My mom really likes the bubble wands, she wanted to go with that originally but I suggested bubble wall because it's cheaper.) I also grabbed some Seachem Denitrate, I'm hoping that'll work with the second filter.

I'm babysitting for the rest of the night, so Mom is going ahead and ordering two bags of Eco Complete, and the second filter. Hopefully she'll pick up the vinegar and some more toothbrushes so I can really start putting this thing together!

 

Lfs do not stock everything that is available to them. Most will special order for you.

 

Lfs do not stock everything that is available to them. Most will special order for you.

We didn't get to asking them that while we were there XD I realized that right after we left we forgot to ask.

 

Okay, so the wood we got wasn't spider wood, but manzanita wood. (I checked the fish store's Facebook page, they update it whenever they get something new.) It's still really cool though. The Eco-Complete is arriving Sunday, while the filter is apparently going to take a week. I won't start the cycling process until the second filter comes in - I don't want to deal with all of those nitrates messing with the cycle. On the upside, I have a few more days to get everything clean, though my mom really wants to start getting fish by the end of May.

But I also have a chance to go back over stocking. So, I figured regardless I'd try to keep the tank between 75 and 77 degrees - for the pleco. Here are possibilities for stocking:

2-3x Pearl OR honey gouramis
14x penguin tetras
1-2x BN plecos (I love them, but my mom is leaning towards just the one)
6 Corys - only if getting one pleco
? </= 8x Nerite snails - only if getting one pleco

Thoughts? Should I tag the experts?

 

Okay, so the wood we got wasn't spider wood, but manzanita wood. (I checked the fish store's Facebook page, they update it whenever they get something new.) It's still really cool though. The Eco-Complete is arriving Sunday, while the filter is apparently going to take a week. I won't start the cycling process until the second filter comes in - I don't want to deal with all of those nitrates messing with the cycle. On the upside, I have a few more days to get everything clean, though my mom really wants to start getting fish by the end of May.

But I also have a chance to go back over stocking. So, I figured regardless I'd try to keep the tank between 75 and 77 degrees - for the pleco. Here are possibilities for stocking:

2-3x Pearl OR honey gouramis
14x penguin tetras
1-2x BN plecos (I love them, but my mom is leaning towards just the one)
6 Corys - only if getting one pleco
? </= 8x Nerite snails - only if getting one pleco

Thoughts? Should I tag the experts?

Looks good to me, but I am definitely not an expert.

TexasDomer is one that has helped me a lot with stocking questions.
She can recommend who else is good with balancing the parameter, temperament and temperature needs to make sure the stock is compatible and happy in the environment. I hope I got the numbers right going by memory) helps a lot of folks too. There are others so as I think of any, I will edit and add.

 

I could only find the BDBS at Tractor Supply Co. No one else carried it near me. So hopefully you have one close by. I had to drive an hour to get mine, but I had a doctor's appt in the same city, so it wasn't too much of a hassle. It is worth the search in my opinion. Looks so nice.

Black Diamond Medium Blasting Abrasives - For Life Out Here

 

Only thing I can add, is to start soaking that driftwood. Unless you want dark water. You should have plenty of time to soak a lot of the tannins out of it. If you want t

 

I could only find the BDBS at Tractor Supply Co. No one else carried it near me. So hopefully you have one close by. I had to drive an hour to get mine, but I had a doctor's appt in the same city, so it wasn't too much of a hassle. It is worth the search in my opinion. Looks so nice.

I just Googled it, and there's a Tractor Supply store in a town twenty minutes from where I live... and my mom and I were actually in that town last night. I might be dying. Next time though... Not just because we've already ordered something else, but because I don't think we'll have time to go and get in the next week. (I don't have a license, and my mom is really busy during the week between work and classes.)

Only thing I can add, is to start soaking that driftwood. Unless you want dark water
. You should have plenty of time to soak a lot of the tannins out of it. If you want t

One of the pieces of driftwood I'm adding is currently in my 10 gallon - the one that I was originally going to use for a betta tank. (I've been waiting to tank it down because some of the sand is going into this tank, as well as the piece of driftwood. I haven't checked the water parameters, but every day or every other day I add a couple drops of ammonia to keep the cycle going for the filter's sake.) That piece I boiled for ten minutes and it hasn't darkened my water - though I've kept the lights off so it's been hard to tell. The lady at the LFS said I didn't have to clean the piece I got today, but I figured I'd scrub it, maybe soak it, later just to be safe.

When I get home tomorrow my mom and I will discuss the "final" stocking list. (In this hobby I'm pretty sure there never is a "final" stocking list, because it's always changing, but one can hope.)

 

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! I didn't get to much fish things, I spent most of the weekend with family, but today I got to do some serious work on the tank! And by that, I mean we moved it.

I thought about how much the tank would really weigh, especially with those rocks. Somewhere around 400 pounds is my estimate. So, we moved the table the tank was sitting on and the tank is now sitting on the dresser that we originally planned on putting the tank one when Mom and I discussed a community tank for the living room. (At first, it was only 20 gallons. As you can see, we easily doubled that.) The dresser is back in that corner now, because it was originally by a window, vent, and a major walk way.

Now that's out of the way... I can finally start working on the rocks! (Pics to come once I sort out the ones that passed the vinegar test.)

 

I can't believe it, but all of the rocks passed the vinegar test! I dropped two-four drops on each rock, and nothing happened - so I assumed that meant they were good. I scrubbed some rocks, but then remembered that they probably needed to soak first. So, all of the rocks are sitting in a one-gallon bucket with boiled water and a lil bit of vinegar. (The vinegar was not boiled; I poured the vinegar in first, then added the water, and then topped it off with about a tablespoon of vinegar. I may of added too much.) They'll sit there for a day, maybe two.

Tomorrow or Wednesday I'll dump the water, maybe rinse the rocks (with hose water, because it's the easiest way for as many as I have). I'll let them dry out, then scrub them with a toothbrush (a vinegar + water mixture), then soak again in water treated with Prime twice, maybe three times. Or do you think they'll be good without the toothbrush scrub, considering that I may of overdosed on the vinegar with the soak? (I'd still soak them with Prime two or three times regardless.)

And, I'm pretty sure this our set stock:
2-3x Pearl Gourami
2x BN pleco - hopefully I'll be getting one of bizaliz3 yellow ones!
14x Penguin Tetras
Maybe a nerite snail

EDIT
Forgot to add the latest rough aquascape for this tank! I think I like this one just a bit more.

40B Rough Aquascape Draft B

• bubblegum-heart
• Apr 17, 2017

Because of the giant sponge filter, the bought cave will be further forward than the one I'm going to try to build. I also hadn't bought the second piece of driftwood, so it's just a giant brown square, but it'll go around there.

 

Maybe a regular scrub brush instead of a toothbrush for a quick scrub. I just scrub, boil rocks in straight water (no vinegar), and scrub a little more and add to tank.
I think you could add a shoal of cories or kuhlI loaches. You don't seem to have bottom dwellers other than plecos.

 

Maybe a regular scrub brush instead of a toothbrush for a quick scrub. I just scrub, boil rocks in straight water (no vinegar), and scrub a little more and add to tank.
I think you could add a shoal of cories or kuhlI loaches. You don't seem to have bottom dwellers other than plecos.

I may do that. The toothbrush is really filthy, right now it's sitting a vinegar + (hot) water mixture to hopefully get some of that... whatever was on those first few rocks I tried to scrub. I wanna get everything cleaned today so tomorrow I can combine the substrate. (The bucket that I'll use to combine is currently holding everything I need to clean - heater, filter, airline tubing, driftwood, etc.)

I'd like to go with cories, but it might take awhile before I can get them. They'll probably be the last thing I add. I'm thinking Panda Cories.

Okay, I'm done procrastinating. Time to clean!

 

Whew, all of that cleaning was exhausting! I pulled some of the rocks out and a few - mostly the ones I had scrubbed with a toothbrush yesterday - were noticeably cleaner. I'll share the pic of the rocks again so you don't have to try and find it again.

40b Rocks 1

• bubblegum-heart
• Apr 13, 2017

The rocks I collected from a nearby creek and some my mom picked up while she was on vacation.

You see the triangle-ish shape, black rock that's right next to the quarter in the upper right hand corner? Yesterday it was that color. Today it was grey. (I'm only slightly horrified.) I double checked the vinegar test, just to be safe, and it's still good... so apparently the thick layer of mud (and... other stuff) didn't affect the vinegar test.

Long story short, the rocks are now in three piles: Store bought rocks (a handful will go into the QT tank), "Nearly there" rocks, and "Major Need of TLC" rocks. The store bought rocks have been set aside. I finished the "Nearly There" rocks today. (There's about six of them.) I scrubbed them with hot water and alternated between a rag and a toothbrush, let them sit in hot water with two capfuls of Prime, and the scrubbed them again, this time with boiled water. (I strongly regretted the decision for the first five minutes.) I also alternated between scrubbing with a toothbrush and a rag again. I started the "Major Need of TLC" rocks, but didn't get very far. Those rocks were put in a bucket with boiled water and two capfuls of Prime. They sat for most of the evening. I started scrubbing them, but the one I started with had a lot of... mud (and... other stuff) on it, so the rag I used quickly turned brown. I decided to call it a night after that. All of the rags I used today are in the wash (actually I'm about to move them into the dryer), and I topped the bucket with hot water and another capful of Prime. (For reasons.)

Tomorrow the game plan is to finish cleaning the "Major Need of TLC" rocks, start cleaning the other supplies, and then combine the substrate so I can start aquascaping. (I won't start the cycle yet. I'm still waiting on the second filter to arrive.) And, hopefully, I'll actually remember to get my camera out and take some pictures!

 

Short update! I forgot to add that yesterday I checked the kH and gH of my tap water!

The KH was about at 71.6 ppm, according to the conversion chart. (I wasn't too sure on the color. "Bright yellow" is not very specific in my opinion, so I wasn't sure if it was four or five drops.)

GH on the other hand was right at 6, so 107.4 ppm. (Again, "green" is not very specific, but this was a lot easier to tell. It went from like a orange-brown to a green pretty quickly.) I'm hoping that's good and not too low, but I'm going to double check now!

EDIT
So, it looked like the KH was fine for everything but the plecos, but I only checked LiveAquaria. (As I had rocks to clean...)

Rocks are slowly coming along. I got one of the last group done, the rest are sitting in boiled water again. (They're nearly there. There's just one more stubborn layer of grum and... other stuff left. It's not coming off with scrubbing, so I figured they needed to soak again before I scrub them one last time.)

I went to check the mail and lo and behold, look what arrived! The second filter! Woot!

And, here's a pic of the tank in its new spot with the pieces of driftwood.

Tank N Things

• bubblegum-heart
• Apr 19, 2017

Tank in "new" location with pieces of driftwood and filters.

(The power strip you see is the one I'll be using for the tank. I tied it to the railing with an industrial tie. So far it's holding up. Later I'll be adding more industrial ties or some zip ties to keep it up there, just in case!)

 

Busy day cleaning! Then I went ahead and moved the sand from my ten gallon into a bucket to combine with the Eco Complete. It looked like a lot, so I didn't combine the second bag. Once my dad and I got into the tank I realized that I needed the second bag. It's not as mixed up as I would've wanted, but it's really hard to tell the difference between the Flourite Sand and Eco Complete!

I soaked everything going in the tank in hot water before I put it in the tank. (The bubble wand and heater I held under hot water because of the cord. I did the same with both pieces of driftwood.) I finished cleaning the rocks and...

40B Aquascape Unfilled A

• bubblegum-heart
• Apr 19, 2017

A front view of the tank with the rocks, filters, bubble wand, and heater in place. I haven't...

(^front view)

40B Aquascape Unfilled B

• bubblegum-heart
• Apr 19, 2017

A side view of the tank with the rocks, filters, bubble wand, and heater in place. I haven't...

(^side-ish view, I moved the veggie clip because it was in the way, I'll move it back to the center later)

So, the cave I wanted to make didn't really work out so well. Instead I went with the grotto look - I'm sure the tetras will LOVE them! (Sarcasm not intended.) (My mom also really liked it, and I do too. I may keep playing with the top one, I'm not a big fan of that white rock compared to the rest...)

Lastly, we started talking stocking again. Since I don't think I can make two caves happen - which I figured is a must if you're having two plecos, of any breed - we'd do the one cave on the right side. That being said, I brought up stocking some cory cats. I mentioned the two I wanted - Panda and False Juli, but I also really like Skunk, but they need cooler temps - and Mom looked them up. She loves the Pandas, so we're probably gonna go with those!

Okay, so my question now is would two plecos still be okay with just one cave, or just the one? And I'm thinking 8-10 cories, but that number also depends on the number of plecos... Thoughts TexasDomer and Anders247 ?

(And here's the rest of the planned stock:
3x pearl gouramis
14x penguin tetras
Maybe a nerite snail or two)

 

I would add more caves. At least one for each, but I'd also add more for them to choose from.