I would like opinions on the hardscape ive built so far and any advice i can get on it would be appreciated. The right side of the box in the picture is the actual size of the tanks height. I was limited by material length for replica tank space.
Opinions on hardscape please!
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Good idea in principle, I can see, to a degree you took inspiration from zoo exhibits.
I am not sure though, whether it was such a good idea to include the caves and cover parts of the wood completely. I see traps for the kind of detritus you don't want and anaerobic zones.
Visually it's interesting though.
What animals is it for?
I am not sure though, whether it was such a good idea to include the caves and cover parts of the wood completely. I see traps for the kind of detritus you don't want and anaerobic zones.
Visually it's interesting though.
What animals is it for?
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Looks like its an apartment for plecos
Its a 60 gallon Community that im setting up for Apisto.Cauc, celestial pearl Danios a small group of Otos and either a Clown or some variant of bristle nose pleco. Ideally id like a small herum of apisto.C triple reds . The outflow on the tank if faced from the front comes from the back right corner on an angle and hits the front left corner dead on. I had to angle my outlet like this to keep the tank lid on. Ill include a picture of the tank being rescaped. The occupents will be going into my twin 40 gallon and ill be restocking the cube.
I should have also added that behind the rock where and "tree" will be filled in with crushed lava rock, then aqua soil then caped with black and reg flourite sand by seachem. So in short raised bed in back
What spots should i eliminate? I know what you mean by dead spots, i did the same with my last build on accident making a crater bowl in the center of the build(same cube tank) and the flow doesnt hit it so i get this weird little white fungal growth on the sand, pairing that with rapidly rotting chola wood that i built into the crater its needs to be redone and im trying to be final on this build so i can move onto my next project(15gal cube lol) i have a few other tanks im satisfied with but ive noted dead zones and id preferably like to avoid having them, thats why i explained the way the tank will flow to see if it helps. I appreciate the help tho plus talking your ear off lol.
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If the caves are for Apistogramma, this is not going to work out. Female Apistos need a cave entrance as small as possible and will often take sand to dig a little hill to make the entrance smaller. With plecos and caves like these, the Apistos will end up homeless and spawn somewhere you don't want them to. Generally Plecos and Apistogramma is probably not the best idea.
Also if the tank is a cube the structures might be problematic as Apistogramma are still territorial fish and need fitting structures to set borders and evade each other. So if you are going to go through with this, just get one male Apistogramma. The setup doesn't look like you want to breed, so don't bother with keeping a group.
So now the actual problems:
The caves are detritus collectors. Botanical detritus from leaves and seedpods is ok, but say you add a clown pleco. Woodchips. And you can't just siphon the inside of the caves.
The possibly anaerobic parts will be the parts of the wood "inside" your river bank.
I still like it as a design, but these two impracticalities... it would be too much of a risk for me to try.
I think i know what you meam like the piece in the back right which will be buried in the sandbed and a few other pieces. How bad do you think the build up will be? The other parts that are showing will be uncovered. I undertstand about the caves now. Was actually hoping to try and breed them but its not necissary and i prefer to just keep them(meaning i dont have a need to bread but id be a welcome accident) obviously i have more to learn though with what you said. So long as you dont mind me picking your brain maybe i can rework this if you dont mind? I reaaaaallly appreciate that insight you have no idea
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So for instance i didnt know the behaviors of the female with the caves i thought my caves in my last tank where jusy collecting alot of junk. Hence why i built them into the wall so hopefully they wouldnt collect anything that would rot. Guess i made that very mistake with the pleco tube. I know their caves need to be able to be removed so adults dont eat the eggs, wasnt intrested in breeding them more than having cool bottom dweller for clean up. Probably going to add a couple dozen amanos or ghost shrimps but we shall see, havnt researched how a little pleco will do with them. And forgive me my knowledge of aenerobic bacteria is minimal but from what im to understand its the build up of bacteria in the substrate that leads to gas build up and eventually an expulsion of said gas that can kill tank inhabitants. Any ideas on alleviating this? Maybe with snails that burrow in sand to help aerate it? Or should i just move the wood and maybe try and reposition the pleco cave? Apisto caves are alittle to dug in and unless i want to go spend a fortune on seachem epoxy brown ill have to leave them though i do have more individual caves
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Breeding or community/display tank. Not both. Especially with Apistogramma you have to decide. May I ask for the tank dimensions? (only the footprint, height doesn't matter.)
It wouldn't even be a problem with the mulm if the the caves were removable.
Whose eggs have to be removed? Plecos and Apistogramma are best left with their spawn. Many experts in breeding apistos recommend not pulling the eggs and let the mother do their thing. And I concurr.
I see you are into the concept of clean up animals. Try to make yourself free of it. The fish you chose are not Aquascape material, they have needs that should be met, otherwise please leave the fish you chose and stock something else.
It's not the gas itself, it's the other soluble waste products that a gas eruption would bring into the water column.
Just use chopsticks. Burrowing snails don't go as deep as in your plan. Those also replicate heavily.
Well... what can I say...
2ft x2ftx 2ft, marineland 60gal cube. Yeah i understand and i figured maybe apistos eggs maybe left with them. I only assumed plecos eggs be removed based on a youtuber i watch every now and again who breed and removes their caves to hatch. Not interested in breeding plecos though. I do like a good cleanup crew but more so to maintain plants and clean delicate spots, otherwise i clean with w.c every week and filter once monthly. I try and leave the tank alittle "dirty" so stuff like my otos have algae on the glass or shrimp have alittle to clean up but nothing that general hangs around for more than a day in the tank. But i understand what your saying now about the tank setup that it should be one or the other, i always looked at if a certain species i keep attempts or successfully breeds its a sign their doing well and tank conditions are optimal. I dont activly try to breed any of my fish, i present them with alittle opportunity so they may feel comfy but id be just ask happy if everyone in my tank is happy but doesnt breed. Just trying to replicate good living conditions, i could probably eliminate mulm build up in caves so long as im not breading it would take alittle vaccuming with thw water python to fix that. Just switch to fill and spray it out. I like the chopstick idea im going to use that. Ill focus on the community tank but im thinking i might for go the apisto and maybe look into another type. Ive kept rams before, i really like kribs and shell dwellers. Any suggestions for me?Breeding or community/display tank. Not both. Especially with Apistogramma you have to decide. May I ask for the tank dimensions? (only the footprint, height doesn't matter.)
It wouldn't even be a problem with the mulm if the the caves were removable.
Whose eggs have to be removed? Plecos and Apistogramma are best left with their spawn. Many experts in breeding apistos recommend not pulling the eggs and let the mother do their thing. And I concurr.
I see you are into the concept of clean up animals. Try to make yourself free of it. The fish you chose are not Aquascape material, they have needs that should be met, otherwise please leave the fish you chose and stock something else.
It's not the gas itself, it's the other soluble waste products that a gas eruption would bring into the water column.
Just use chopsticks. Burrowing snails don't go as deep as in your plan. Those also replicate heavily.
Well... what can I say...
Oh my... I see, we have quite different approaches. Or rather come from different sides of the aquatic spectrum.
My maintenance boils down to a weekly waterchange, cleaning only the front glass and removing dead leaves of the living plants. The filter is cleaned when it cloggs. Since I switched to canister that's once every three months tops. That's it. No cleaning crew either, although the cichlids keep the leaf litter moved around a bit.
My maintenance boils down to a weekly waterchange, cleaning only the front glass and removing dead leaves of the living plants. The filter is cleaned when it cloggs. Since I switched to canister that's once every three months tops. That's it. No cleaning crew either, although the cichlids keep the leaf litter moved around a bit.
Well, I would say, this is not that easy. The chance of accidents is too high for my taste.
You are aware there are about 100 recognised species of Apistogramma with a wide variety of requirements and needs?
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Yeah i know theirs a huge amount wuth color varients making it even more diverse. I always do research enough to know proper paremeters etc and if they can be housed together in the same tank if they go. I love most of the cichlids but have had minimal experience with them. I currently keep orange flash apisto. C pair In a 40g Bow front by themselves
and some mystery snails and otos. That was the tank where i had the caves in the sand and just a bit of detritus would get into the mouth of the cave hence the revamp on my bigger tank which is a fail i guess though i dont mind the cleaning. But do you have a suggestion or better yet what would you stock with this setup? And if you could what changes would you make if you could pull stuff apart what would you do. I see the problems now id like to find solutions rather than keep this conversation focused on those issues maybe you can help me solve!
Yes thank you Rye3434! Just trying to get ideas or maybe rework the design if need be. Just exploring all options! Thank you both rye and macz!
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Sorry for the butt in but I need to say something. "Cholla wood" isn't driftwood or a wood at all but the skeleton of a cactus called a cholla. We have them all over here in Colorado (so basically I get free "driftwood"). The reason I say this is due to the rapid degradation of it. Some driftwood can last 30 yrs but cholla typically doesn't last more than 5. I've had cholla, I collect my own as I said earlier but I don't use it as hardscape because it "rots" too fast. Hope this helps
Yeah thats why im removing what i had put in theur and redoing the scape. You can butt in i appreciate the advice, i learned that about chola last year when i set the tank up and once i found out alittle more i regretted it and started planning a redo lolSorry for the butt in but I need to say something. "Cholla wood" isn't driftwood or a wood at all but the skeleton of a cactus called a cholla. We have them all over here in Colorado (so basically I get free "driftwood"). The reason I say this is due to the rapid degradation of it. Some driftwood can last 30 yrs but cholla typically doesn't last more than 5. I've had cholla, I collect my own as I said earlier but I don't use it as hardscape because it "rots" too fast. Hope this helps
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what’s the goal stocking? The apistos ?
I know you want apistos and that’s fine, but you mention cpd’s and ottos/plecos. What’s the main goal? If it’s a community tank then stocking could be rethought .
Did you make the original set up yourself ? That’s impressive ! I see your idea and it’s a great one, but does this cover your full 60G tank floor size ? I see why others have said what they have and it’s valid. I think your skills are awesome ! but need tweaking to work with what you want the stocking to be.
In all honesty, you can’t ask what others, what would you stock ? As people have different preferences / parameters / abilities to provide different set ups . If you want cac’s and that your main goal then go with that and tailor the tank to them, just don’t have any other bottom dwellers. But that’s a large tank to dedicate to them !
I know you want apistos and that’s fine, but you mention cpd’s and ottos/plecos. What’s the main goal? If it’s a community tank then stocking could be rethought .
Did you make the original set up yourself ? That’s impressive ! I see your idea and it’s a great one, but does this cover your full 60G tank floor size ? I see why others have said what they have and it’s valid. I think your skills are awesome ! but need tweaking to work with what you want the stocking to be.
In all honesty, you can’t ask what others, what would you stock ? As people have different preferences / parameters / abilities to provide different set ups . If you want cac’s and that your main goal then go with that and tailor the tank to them, just don’t have any other bottom dwellers. But that’s a large tank to dedicate to them !
I
It could be apistos but i could go with anything else. Id like a bristlenose pleco and i already have C.P.D to put in. Maybe that helps some. Looking to do a comunity tank around those two in a 60. Would like a nice colorful cichlid/dwarf cichlid. Does that help any blacksheep?
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Colourful cichlids could be kribensis or just about anything really. Your water parameters should influence what you choose so they are happy and healthy
Random Great Topic!
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