Starting my second tank, a 40 breeder!

I’m setting up a 10 g and plan to try to get it densely planted from the start. I’m taking my time so wish me luck lol!

Good luck and please post pics I would love to see!
That whole taking your time part is the most difficult (but important)

 

Impressive!
Now, the "Hardest" part.
"Patience"
Leave it alone, no fiddling, let it grow.

 

I'm running 2 36" Aquasky's on my 40B. Also stole the light settings from a video and I'm really liking them. I was having a pretty rough diatom outbreak. My poor stem plants... I've started cutting off the leaves when they get bad rather than trying to wipe the algae off, getting good growth back, but they're looking "patchy" right now. The light settings seem to have calmed the diatoms down pretty effectively. Here's the settings, I don't do blue all night, and running the 2 fluval lights, I do weird stuff with timings (40B #1 comes on at 9am, off at 5 / 40B#2 is 2PM - 9PM to sorta mimic the sun moving across the sky).

 

Impressive!
Now, the "Hardest" part.
"Patience"
Leave it alone, no fiddling, let it grow.

Totally! I just had that conversation with my wife that we have to just let it grow. Will be tough but we won’t touch it for a while, except to remove the melted leaves

I'm running 2 36" Aquasky's on my 40B. Also stole the light settings from a video and I'm really liking them. I was having a pretty rough diatom outbreak. My poor stem plants... I've started cutting off the leaves when they get bad rather than trying to wipe the algae off, getting good growth back, but they're looking "patchy" right now. The light settings seem to have calmed the diatoms down pretty effectively. Here's the settings, I don't do blue all night, and running the 2 fluval lights, I do weird stuff with timings (40B #1 comes on at 9am, off at 5 / 40B#2 is 2PM - 9PM to sorta mimic the sun moving across the sky).

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That’s great you got the Aquasky, do you find it bright enough for your plants?

I was torn between getting a second Finnex, an Aquasky, or a Hygger but ultimately wanted the Aquasky for the programming capabilities as well as the fact that it’s waterproof. My Finnex is programmable but can’t fine tune the timing very well, so my idea is to set the Aquasky for the sunrise/sunset and have the Finnex on a wall timer for a 5-7 hour blast while the Aquasky is running. I was considering the Plant 3.0 but I think I really need two lights with the 40B and no way I was spending that much.

Thanks for the settings, you mind posting a link to a vid, I watched him do a Fluval Fresh one but I don’t think it’s the same vid.

How’s your tank(s) coming along? Those stem plants should fill in hopefully

 

That’s great you got the Aquasky, do you find it bright enough for your plants?

Absolutely, for a 40B. I keep my white light down to 25% at it's brightest. I have another Aquasky on my 54 corner, which is 24" deep... the Aquasky doesn't hit the bottom of that one with enough light, but for a 16" tank, it's a whole lot better. If I decide to plant that corner tank, I'll have to bump myself up to the Fluval 3.0. I do love the way these things do the day / night though. The fish behave differently depending on the "time of day" (example: my lemon tetras "play" in the outflow from my canister's spray bar "late in the afternoons" or about 7pm real, local time) and everyone seems to siesta when the lighting is the brightest. I've never seen fish do that in any of my tanks before.

 

Absolutely, for a 40B. I keep my white light down to 25% at it's brightest. I have another Aquasky on my 54 corner, which is 24" deep... the Aquasky doesn't hit the bottom of that one with enough light, but for a 16" tank, it's a whole lot better. If I decide to plant that corner tank, I'll have to bump myself up to the Fluval 3.0. I do love the way these things do the day / night though. The fish behave differently depending on the "time of day" (example: my lemon tetras "play" in the outflow from my canister's spray bar "late in the afternoons" or about 7pm real, local time) and everyone seems to siesta when the lighting is the brightest. I've never seen fish do that in any of my tanks before.

That’s amazing!

 

Tank is cycled, and added my first group of fish, about 15 harlequin rasboras. They look awesome! Starting to color up already.

They are babies and most of them are very small, but I witnessed some interesting behavior already, I saw a couple of them go inverted underneath Anubias leaves. Could this be spawning behavior? I know nothing about breeding them but they seem young. Not to mention I just added them last night I would think they would be too stressed to be doing such things lol.

Also, tank is growing in nicely! Lots of new growth, not as much algae or melt. Vals and Anacharis up to the top of tank already, hydrocotyle japan taking off, and pogo octopus is much bigger. Had to remove one of the Anubias as it was blocking light to plants that need it more.

 

I can't believe I didn't notice you had recently started a tank too! Again, love the substrate and I almost wished I would have done something similar. Also did you superglue the moss to the wood? You might have said you did somewhere and I missed it. I am planning on doing little strips on mine when I get it in and hope it doesn't get awful looking like the last time I tried to grow moss in my tank.

 

I can't believe I didn't notice you had recently started a tank too! Again, love the substrate and I almost wished I would have done something similar. Also did you superglue the moss to the wood? You might have said you did somewhere and I missed it. I am planning on doing little strips on mine when I get it in and hope it doesn't get awful looking like the last time I tried to grow moss in my tank.

Haha no worries, thank you!
I did superglue the moss to the wood. It’s just a little clump of Java moss I pulled apart.
The first few weeks the moss turned yellow and then brown and looked completely dead, I was like REALLY?? of all the plants I can’t grow, JAVA MOSS?? Lol.. however last week it started perking up again and now there is a ton of bright green new growth! It looks nice now and is starting to spread out

 

Haha no worries, thank you!
I did superglue the moss to the wood. It’s just a little clump of Java moss I pulled apart.
The first few weeks the moss turned yellow and then brown and looked completely dead, I was like REALLY?? of all the plants I can’t grow, JAVA MOSS?? Lol.. however last week it started perking up again and now there is a ton of bright green new growth! It looks nice now and is starting to spread out

Hmm that must be why I never felt like I could grow Java Moss correctly because in all my tanks they looked awful, though the last time it was covered in algae and I had no idea how to clean it. Maybe I just didn't give them enough time to look good. I am doing Christmas Moss this time around to see how it goes.

 

Coming along beautifully. Can we get a full tank shot? I really love the shape of that manzanita that you picked up.

I got my 54 filled back up and started cycling, so I can finally start pulling some of the extra filtration off my 40B. I wanna go slow on that one though, I'm still letting the canister cycle on the 40, so I don't want to pull too much off and end up setting off a mini cycle. I had 1 of my crypt Balansae's melt all the way back, but the other 2 are putting out new leaves already and I think those are my favorite new plants (they're the grass looking things on the far right). Bonus cichlid begging because they never, ever get fed.

 

Hmm that must be why I never felt like I could grow Java Moss correctly because in all my tanks they looked awful, though the last time it was covered in algae and I had no idea how to clean it. Maybe I just didn't give them enough time to look good. I am doing Christmas Moss this time around to see how it goes.

Nice, Christmas moss is nice looking. I might get some spiky moss at some point

Coming along beautifully. Can we get a full tank shot? I really love the shape of that manzanita that you picked up.

I got my 54 filled back up and started cycling, so I can finally start pulling some of the extra filtration off my 40B. I wanna go slow on that one though, I'm still letting the canister cycle on the 40, so I don't want to pull too much off and end up setting off a mini cycle. I had 1 of my crypt Balansae's melt all the way back, but the other 2 are putting out new leaves already and I think those are my favorite new plants (they're the grass looking things on the far right). Bonus cichlid begging because they never, ever get fed.

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Thank you much, the manzanita is beautiful, smaller than I originally envisioned but with all the plants it ended being a nice size.

Your tank looks very nice, I’ll have to check out the balansae. My crypts bounced back quicker than I expected.

What kind of cichlid is that? I’m looking forward to my Bolivian Rams, I heard they beg for food and have pretty interesting personalities

A few full tank shots:

 

If you haven't ordered bolivians yet- Look for laetacara araguaie- a very beautiful dwarf cichlid, its on my bucket list.

 

If you haven't ordered bolivians yet- Look for laetacara araguaie- a very beautiful dwarf cichlid, its on my bucket list.

Those are incredible looking, I’ll talk to my LFS

 

laetacara araguaie

I just saw a breeding pair for sale on Aquabid that ended yesterday for them. I'm kinda in the market for a pair of Laetacara (I'm not set on one sub variety, curviceps would be fine) to go with my Keyholes.

 

Thought I’d share some recent pics of the tank. It’s almost fully stocked, I’ve lost some harlequins so want to beef up that stock and just got Pearls last week and Sterbai Corys yesterday. Have had the Bolivian Rams for a few weeks. Some plants didn’t do well and some did really well. It is very difficult not moving stuff around and trimming as some things grow so fast. My Pogostemon were taking over so I hacked them down now they are struggling to rebound. AR never made it and Ludwigia didn’t look great so I have red tiger lotus and ozelot red sword in their place. But all in all I think it looks great here’s a few pics. faydout hows your 40b coming along?

 

Gorgeous! Love how natural all the plants look in placement.

 

Thought I’d share some recent pics of the tank. It’s almost fully stocked, I’ve lost some harlequins so want to beef up that stock and just got Pearls last week and Sterbai Corys yesterday. Have had the Bolivian Rams for a few weeks. Some plants didn’t do well and some did really well. It is very difficult not moving stuff around and trimming as some things grow so fast. My Pogostemon were taking over so I hacked them down now they are struggling to rebound. AR never made it and Ludwigia didn’t look great so I have red tiger lotus and ozelot red sword in their place. But all in all I think it looks great here’s a few pics. faydout hows your 40b coming along?


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This is you're second tank It looks sooo gorgeous. You really have inspired me. I love the carpet plant! What type is it?

 

Holy crow that's stunning. Just, amazing. I just don't have the eye to be able to pull that kind of scaping off. I was just working in it this afternoon, it's in no condition to be taking pictures of. Everyone in it are fine, the Keyhole's are really starting to get big (for them, they're pushing 3.5 - 4" now)... I'm just reevaluating what I'm doing in there, and have pulled about half the ludwigia (it grows well, but it also seems to collect a lot of muck) and hygro willow (same) out. The hygro compacta is doing really well. I just pulled some apart and ended up almost doubling what I'd started with. I pulled a clipping off of one of my water lily's in my 54 and got it in the 40. The 54 is the other half of this project that I started along with the 40B. I just got some Strebai and a pair of Apistos in there last week (first fish in). I ordered a tiger lotus for each and some banana plants (already have a few going in the 54). The 54 is starting to look amazing, and different than a standard planted tank. I'm holding off on posting pics of it while things are growing in, but got my first 2 lily pads on the surface over the past 2 weeks.

 

This is you're second tank It looks sooo gorgeous. You really have inspired me. I love the carpet plant! What type is it?

Thank you! The carpet is Pearlweed, I love it too. I actually got some for free, and didn’t think much of it. I had thrown a bit of it in the foreground along with dwarf sag. And for a few weeks the Pearlweed looked really sparse and wasn’t doing much. And then all of the sudden, it exploded. So much so that I pulled out all my other foreground plants so I could work on the carpet. Of all the plants in my tank Im most proud of that Pearlweed carpet! If I don’t trim it on a weekly basis it starts getting too tall. It’s incredibly healthy and you can hack it down as short as you want, and replant the clippings or if you you’re not patient enough for that, it starts spreading on its own anyhow. And the oxygen bubbles are just flowing off of it all day, it’s pretty cool.
I think I saw you on another thread asking about carpet plants, this one is really easy for a low tech tank!

Holy crow that's stunning. Just, amazing. I just don't have the eye to be able to pull that kind of scaping off. I was just working in it this afternoon, it's in no condition to be taking pictures of. Everyone in it are fine, the Keyhole's are really starting to get big (for them, they're pushing 3.5 - 4" now)... I'm just reevaluating **** I'm doing in there, and have pulled about half the ludwigia (it grows well, but it also seems to collect a lot of muck) and hygro willow (same) out. The hygro compacta is doing really well. I just pulled some apart and ended up almost doubling what I'd started with. I pulled a clipping off of one of my water lily's in my 54 and got it in the 40. The 54 is the other half of this project that I started along with the 40B. I just got some Strebai and a pair of Apistos in there last week (first fish in). I ordered a tiger lotus for each and some banana plants (already have a few going in the 54). The 54 is starting to look amazing, and different than a standard planted tank. I'm holding off on posting pics of it while things are growing in, but got my first 2 lily pads on the surface over the past 2 weeks.

Thank you And that is sweet! It sounds like they’re coming along really well. I’m looking forward to lily pads too. How are your Sterbai doing? Mine seemed to be doing great and all of the sudden 4 of them died today. I still have the other 4 but I don’t have a ton of faith. I know Corys sometimes have trouble acclimating but that was a bummer.

 

I just read through your stocking thread and this one as well. I found it because i was looking to stock a tank similarly. I'm saving up for a 75 and was going to do the same thing but just get bronze corys instead of the sterbais. Your tank looks awesome!

 

I just read through your stocking thread and this one as well. I found it because i was looking to stock a tank similarly. I'm saving up for a 75 and was going to do the same thing but just get bronze corys instead of the sterbais. Your tank looks awesome!

Thanks! I’m glad you were able to read through the threads, hopefully it helps you with your build! Good luck and once you get it up and running post some pics

 

Hi guys, just an update on the tank. We moved the tank to our new house on Sunday, what an undertaking! It took about 6 hours, fortunately no fish casualties. Originally I wanted to keep the substrate in so I didn’t have to replant but then I realized 1) I don’t want to risk having the tank fail when lifting it and 2) the tank was being taken over by cladophora and it needed to be torn apart anyhow. I don’t know if it’s because my flow was too low or it was such a jungle the plants were not getting enough light, but that stuff started embedding itself in the moss and the Pearlweed so I had to toss that. I had to toss a bunch of other plants as well. Unfortunately I was left with only some Vals, swords, crypts, Bacopa, and a red tiger lotus. Although it was difficult to lose so much $ in plants, I really learned a lot about what worked and what didnt... I have a fresh start and will do it a bit different next time. The new tank is a far cry from the earlier pics in this thread, however it’s neat and clean and I can always move stuff around and get some different plants if need be. I was more concerned about getting the 30 something fish back in the tank then aquascaping. It’s amazing how much this tank has evolved since July! I now have 20 harlequins, 6 Sterbai cories, 3 Pearl Gouramis, 2 Bolivian ram, and 1 BN pleco. 2 nerites and I only saw 1 Amano shrimp when I drained the tank. Until the next update ....

 

Looking Good!

 

Looking Good!

Thank you. It’s simple but fish seem to appreciate the change in scenery too.

 

I did the background today—I had some 1/8” hardboard lying around so I cut it out and spray painted it the color I wanted (dark green) and I friction fitted it between the top and bottom rims in the back—fits perfect no tape needed!

This is an awesome idea!! If you don't mind I am going to probably steal this idea because I am scared of painting the glass and potentially ruining the aquarium glass.

Beautiful tank by the way!! I am actually in the process of setting up my 40 Gallon Breeder as well! I may have overlooked it but where are you ordering your plants from?
There are a few online stores I am interested in getting and/or maybe just going to one of my LFS that sells good aquatic plants.

 

This is an awesome idea!! If you don't mind I am going to probably steal this idea because I am scared of painting the glass and potentially ruining the aquarium glass.

Beautiful tank by the way!! I am actually in the process of setting up my 40 Gallon Breeder as well! I may have overlooked it but where are you ordering your plants from?
There are a few online stores I am interested in getting and/or maybe just going to one of my LFS that sells good aquatic plants.

Thank you! I have noticed the hardboard has lost some of its friction fit over the past 6 months but nothing a little bit of clear packing tape won’t solve.

For plants I HIGHLY recommend Vishaquatics on this forum, he will provide an amazing plant package as well as full support and advice for planting the tank and keeping it in top shape.
I’ve also ordered from Dustins Fish Tanks and Aquarium Coop and really liked what I got from both of them. I know others on this forum have had good luck with Marcus Fish Tanks as well.