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Wandrag
18-08-2010, 18:15
Ok,
I've jumped from Saltwater back to Fresh water for various reasons.
But hey - so here I am.

It's now running for 4 days - so nothing to see yet. :blink1:

Specs:
300 l - 1200 x 450 x 450.
It will be a planted system with loads and loads of neons. (I might consider getting a pair of Discus - will get them small).

You will see the background is still full of Coraline algae, but at least it's a lot better than before. It's getting better by the day....
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TGwC7lUqqhI/AAAAAAAABOA/8ptte2k8ePQ/s640/DSCF6104.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TGwDaIZK88I/AAAAAAAABOI/7noOlH15A5A/s640/DSCF6105.JPG

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TGwD66LDKII/AAAAAAAABOM/x4esCmS5zZI/s640/DSCF6106.JPGhttp://lh5.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TGwEcrbK9UI/AAAAAAAABOQ/I1sd5YstceE/s640/DSCF6107.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TGwFA0vp6QI/AAAAAAAABOU/2TBI8Fnl2aY/s640/DSCF6108.JPG


http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oLLx3voivPT5TeOhrk6ZhA?feat=directlink

Zoom
18-08-2010, 18:21
Hi there,

Nice looking tank you have there.

LOT'S OF POTENTIAL

Do some research before you get discus and neone together. They not compatible.

Q89
18-08-2010, 18:34
Rather get Cardinals with the Discus. What Discus you planning on getting?

Vis
18-08-2010, 18:59
Agree on the cardinals. The neons around at the moment are diying like there's no
tomorrow.
Really good looking tank, would look great fully planted

Zoom
18-08-2010, 20:07
Neons don't like the temperatures that Discus prefer. Hence my recommendation against them.

Wandrag
19-08-2010, 06:21
Mmmhhh...
To get a discus....Or not to get discus...oi - all the choices in live...:rolleyes:


So far I'm VERY lucky with my Neons. I currently have a small Nano tank (+-30l) with 20 Neons and some plants in. This is a little setup that I've created about 6-7 months ago, and I've only lost 2 neons in this time. :-)
I do water changes every 2-3 weeks on this tank.
So for now I'd like to stick with the Neons, as they are cheap and they seem to last in my hands.:bigsmile:

I'll move these neons from the small tank to the new setup once my water is ready...

Vis
19-08-2010, 06:45
My neons of six months back is the only ones left of 25 I bought in the last
3 months. Just quarentine the new ones you buy before adding them to the big tank.

Wandrag
19-08-2010, 09:52
My neons of six months back is the only ones left of 25 I bought in the last
3 months. Just quarentine the new ones you buy before adding them to the big tank.

Yip -that's the plan...:cool:
I'll use my Nano to quarantine any new fish before I add them to the big tank.
How long is a safe time to keep'em quarantined?

TankMaster
19-08-2010, 10:17
Since you've kept a Marine tank, I think you will handle Discus very well.

TM

Wandrag
27-08-2010, 07:41
Hi,
Ok so it's now week 2, and I've moved my Neons from my small 40l tank to this setup. (Surprised to find that of my 25 neons 24 survived for 6 months in the small setup. And more surprised was the growth of my plants in this small tank :-)

I must still clean the back glass... :-(
And I still want to add a black background...

(1)
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/THa3-qfEgDI/AAAAAAAABPE/mEZ3qcREZfQ/s640/DSCF5282.JPG


Not sure if this little oke is doing that great - (I've done the snail treatment on it.)
(2)
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/THa4FdlyNcI/AAAAAAAABPI/zlRT9YO3LOU/s640/DSCF5283.JPG

(3)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/THa4JzcVuhI/AAAAAAAABPM/cW5Qb_HA5ZM/s640/DSCF5284.JPG

(4)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/THa4ON68j4I/AAAAAAAABPQ/SEhfiInTqmc/s640/DSCF5285.JPG

(5)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/THa4XGWckmI/AAAAAAAABPc/sBYEHEzDcm0/s640/DSCF5287.JPG

(6)
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/THa4aon1ZII/AAAAAAAABPg/Xg8LoWbN5JM/s640/DSCF5288.JPG

(7)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/THa4e2TVVgI/AAAAAAAABPk/uyMgInyo-Bo/s640/DSCF5289.JPG

(8)
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/THa4jWW2j7I/AAAAAAAABPo/k255iPMVlsU/s640/DSCF5290.JPG

Zoom
27-08-2010, 07:48
Nice set up.
Nice substrate too. Looks very fine!

Wandrag
27-08-2010, 08:12
Nice set up.
Nice substrate too. Looks very fine!
thx
It's river sand.... :idea: I've used it in my marine tank.

Donny
27-08-2010, 08:49
looks awesome

Wandrag
17-09-2010, 18:22
Hi,
My tank is now running for a couple of weeks - without any fish loss.
Currently I have:
34 Neons
5 Rummy Noses
10 Glowlights
12 Head and tail lights
3 white clouds
3 pleco like fish (apparently they don't get as big as pleco's - but they look the same)
2 Apple snails
And some plants...

Most of my plants are doing great - growing like made!! (Especially the one - will post a photo)

It will be cool of you guys can help with the identification of these plants!

This is my setup now:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TJOKPthSw8I/AAAAAAAABRY/yJxCGe83lIE/s912/DSCF6182.JPG

---------- Post added at 18:09 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------

The plant in the middle is the fast grower in my tank!
It is almost 20 bigger than when I got it.
Everyday I see a new leaf growing to the water surface! I'll have to trim it before it take all the light for itself!

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TJOKR906FSI/AAAAAAAABRc/r4TAvN2gNN0/s912/DSCF6183.JPG

---------- Post added at 18:09 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------



---------- Post added at 18:09 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------

The plant at the back showed some growth, but not much...
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TJOKL7cSIYI/AAAAAAAABRQ/wGCR7Mql8EQ/s912/DSCF6180.JPG

---------- Post added at 18:09 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------

This "grass" like plants is doing better now. At first it looked like it's dying.
But it's doing better now:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TJOKHgOzcXI/AAAAAAAABRI/ab2POMjCiKw/s912/DSCF6174.JPG

---------- Post added at 18:09 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------

This one is not doing so great....
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TJOKCgb2eBI/AAAAAAAABRA/ZdoX9t3vmuo/s912/DSCF6172.JPG

---------- Post added at 18:09 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------

In the last 2 weeks this plant have some strange algae on it...Not sure why, but none of the rest of the plants have it on them, and they were all in the same small system for a while!
How can I get rid of this, and what is it?
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TJOJ-a_KYKI/AAAAAAAABQ4/W1AE_-a_eyU/s912/DSCF6168.JPG

---------- Post added at 18:09 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------

Some of the Fast grower's leafs on the water surface:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TJOJ7-4zKsI/AAAAAAAABQ0/AEOY4C2w5lQ/s912/DSCF6166.JPG

---------- Post added at 18:09 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------

This plant is not showing any signs of growth nor decaying:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TJOJ6N0W4XI/AAAAAAAABQw/oPh7u7VKY7A/s912/DSCF6165.JPG

---------- Post added at 18:09 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TJOJ3IMZ0aI/AAAAAAAABQs/eVxm1FJkToQ/s912/DSCF6163.JPG

Wandrag
17-09-2010, 18:45
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TJOJiW5-pBI/AAAAAAAABQM/JnIw1AlstSE/s912/DSCF6150.JPG

---------- Post added at 18:09 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TJOJeo7X8TI/AAAAAAAABQE/oPyYLyvP338/s912/DSCF6147.JPG

---------- Post added at 18:09 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------

This plant is not doing that great at all!!!
I had 2 pieces - one is already dead- and this one....well..is not looking that cool:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ltpufMPzyaA/TJOJbzL-70I/AAAAAAAABQA/Gjo0F3QS__k/s912/DSCF6145.JPG

Zoom
17-09-2010, 19:07
That last pic is not doing to well because I don't think it's an aquatic plant. If it is aquatic, then you would need very high light and pressurized CO2 for the tank, as most plants with red/purple plants need this

Wandrag
17-09-2010, 19:31
That last pic is not doing to well because I don't think it's an aquatic plant. If it is aquatic, then you would need very high light and pressurized CO2 for the tank, as most plants with red/purple plants need this

You think that I must rather take it out?
Will it foal the water?

mattie
17-09-2010, 20:44
Great setup, well done.

Zoom
18-09-2010, 13:12
Yes, I would remove it... but maybe wait for someone else to confirm my suspicions.

It will eventually foul up the tank by rotting away.

shihr
18-09-2010, 15:34
yep, its not an aquatic plant..

Wandrag
20-09-2010, 06:32
yep, its not an aquatic plant..

Damn LFS!
Will remove it tonight!

What about the rest of the plants?
I really want to put a name to the plants...
Can you please help me out on them?

Thanks

Donny
20-09-2010, 09:01
Tank looks awesome Wandrag .

Wandrag
20-09-2010, 11:12
Tank looks awesome Wandrag .

Thanks!

Wandrag
25-11-2010, 13:47
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ChHn46rRO-BjlUQfoccWXw?feat=directlink55445545554655475548ht tp://purevb4.tropicalaquarium.co.za/images/misc/pencil.png

Just some updates on my tank...

johan008
25-11-2010, 14:02
The tank is looking great and the plants all nice and green

Go-Big
25-11-2010, 14:44
Black background would work lekke with the neons
.

Rickus
25-11-2010, 14:55
May i ask, what lights do you use???

Wandrag
25-11-2010, 17:13
May i ask, what lights do you use???
Yip... :-)

80W T5's... 2 White and 1 Blue. (not sure about the make anymore -bought it more than a year ago for my marine tank)

rixtrix
25-11-2010, 18:31
My discus love neons.....

Killing them that is!

Have tried big schools small schools, they all meet the same fate.

Wandrag
26-11-2010, 06:37
My discus love neons.....

Killing them that is!

Have tried big schools small schools, they all meet the same fate.
Yip - Neons is Discuss food...

I thought about getting some discuss - but I love my neons way to much! :-)

Wandrag
26-11-2010, 06:49
Ok - I thought about it...
And maybe - just maybe I must create another setup like this...
But instead on neons and other fish I'll only want to go for microrasbora brigittae.....

But the question is - do we get them here in SA?
I've asked around - but no luck...
Also - if they are available - what will the price tag be?

Go-Big
26-11-2010, 09:12
That purple plant......maybe its hemigraphis Colorata ' broadleaf' ???

Whipme
26-11-2010, 15:27
Dolphin can get Microrasbora Brigittae, but be aware that they're realy small. And quite expensive at around R20 to R30 a fish.
I've got a small school of Galaxy rasboras in my 3ft that definitely school, but they hide away more than anything else.

Wandrag
29-11-2010, 09:03
Dolphin can get Microrasbora Brigittae, but be aware that they're realy small. And quite expensive at around R20 to R30 a fish.
I've got a small school of Galaxy rasboras in my 3ft that definitely school, but they hide away more than anything else.


Thats fine - I want to get between 20-30 fish for my 300l tank... Going to try to breed them.... :-)
Thanks - I'll ask Dolphin.

Wandrag
18-01-2011, 16:11
6305

Some Updates....

Wandrag
18-01-2011, 17:00
6306

Damn internet is soooooo slow... loading these photos takes ages! :-(

speedz
18-01-2011, 17:10
wow nice stuff. What is that brown purple plant that reaches the surface?

Wandrag
18-01-2011, 17:12
6307

More...

Wandrag
18-01-2011, 17:31
wow nice stuff. What is that brown purple plant that reaches the surface?

To be honest.... I have no idea...

azurekoi
18-01-2011, 17:37
Think speedz meanz the "Pixie lilly Bulb" in the centre of the scape...?

Mic.E
18-01-2011, 17:48
Hey man. very nice setup; looks like youve got a couple of java fern. lol that the only one i can id.

Wandrag
18-01-2011, 17:53
6308

And one more....

Wandrag
18-01-2011, 17:55
Think speedz meanz the "Pixie lilly Bulb" in the centre of the scape...?

oh....is that what it's called!
I would love to get an id on all my plants.....

azurekoi
18-01-2011, 18:01
Yip, a Nymphea spcs... A night flowering lilly from the East.... the under water leaves have the reddish colouration - the surface leaves get to be almost 30cm across(@ least mine did) -Nice blue flower if you feed it enough...

Wandrag
18-01-2011, 18:01
6309
Apple snail (one of 4)

Wandrag
18-01-2011, 18:02
6310
Feeding time...
(Busy with a spirulina tablet)

Wandrag
18-01-2011, 18:07
6311

This is very shy little fellow...

Wandrag
18-01-2011, 18:12
6312

Some thing is eating my "Nymphea spcs.."

azurekoi
18-01-2011, 18:16
I noticed that... Maybe those "unmentionable molluscs" that are from a variety that includes Starking,Golden Delicious and Granny Smith? - otherwise any of their smaller cousins abound? Any Pleco's or Bristle noses?

Wandrag
18-01-2011, 18:49
Nope - No "unmentionable molluscs" in my tank... (that I'm aware of in any case... :-)
It might be the ansistrus (Not sure about spelling here) but he is in the photo in #46

I do feed some baby marrow every second/third day which helped a bit...

Wandrag
18-01-2011, 18:52
Last pic for now....

6314

Wandrag
18-01-2011, 19:21
Ok... I've just spotted this flower...


6318
6317

speedz
18-01-2011, 19:29
from which plant did that flower stem?

azurekoi
18-01-2011, 19:38
Looks like Aponogeton spc. to me(the flower...).... maybe crispus? = Good going! - Damage to the lilly could be your BN or the "unmentionable - fruit" snails - try feeding them a bit of baby marrow daily in stead of every 2-3 days... Otherwise check for Makaysian sand snail after lights out...

PS: Hats off dude for this tank after switching back from Marine...

Wandrag
19-01-2011, 06:55
from which plant did that flower stem?

I really feel bad by answering again with: "Not sure.... :-("

Guys - I need your help with identifying all my plants - so that I can at least answer your questions a bit better... :-)

I'll start to take photo's tonight of each plant and will post'em here for you guys to identify them for me!

---------- Post added at 07:01 ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 ----------


Looks like Aponogeton spc. to me(the flower...).... maybe crispus? = Good going! - Damage to the lilly could be your BN or the "unmentionable - fruit" snails - try feeding them a bit of baby marrow daily in stead of every 2-3 days... Otherwise check for Makaysian sand snail after lights out...

PS: Hats off dude for this tank after switching back from Marine...

I'm feeling a bit stupid - again....
BN - what is that?

This "unmentionable" creatures that your talking about - I'm sure that I don't have them....
Unless I do have them but just don't know about it...
Can you maybe help me out a bit by giving me a bit more details? (I know that I can probably google it... :-)
I really don't want black listed stuff in my tank - and will remove them if needs be!

---------- Post added at 07:01 ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 ----------


Looks like Aponogeton spc. to me(the flower...).... maybe crispus? = Good going! - Damage to the lilly could be your BN or the "unmentionable - fruit" snails - try feeding them a bit of baby marrow daily in stead of every 2-3 days... Otherwise check for Makaysian sand snail after lights out...

PS: Hats off dude for this tank after switching back from Marine...

Ok - just google'd the unmentionable - fruit snails and there I saw my beloved Apple snails...
Please tell me that they're not blacklisted.... :-(

---------- Post added at 07:01 ---------- Previous post was at 07:01 ----------

oops....
Apple snails are black listed....
I'll just shut up about them for now. :-)

Zoom
19-01-2011, 07:10
Nope - No "unmentionable molluscs" in my tank... (that I'm aware of in any case... :-)


Picture in post #45 is an "unmentionable mollusc" (Mollusc = snail, unmentionable = BL)

---------- Post added at 08:01 ---------- Previous post was at 08:01 ----------

ALL Molluiscs are BL in SA

azurekoi
19-01-2011, 07:17
Sorry Wandrag - was trying to be as civil about your BL snails...Therefore all the "beating round the bush"...

BN is short for Bristle Nose catfish - Ancistrus (i think yours is) dolicopterus

Wandrag
19-01-2011, 07:22
Picture in post #45 is an "unmentionable mollusc" (Mollusc = snail, unmentionable = BL)

---------- Post added at 08:01 ---------- Previous post was at 08:01 ----------

ALL Molluiscs are BL in SA


Sorry Wandrag - was trying to be as civil about your BL snails...Therefore all the "beating round the bush"...

BN is short for Bristle Nose catfish - Ancistrus (i think yours is) dolicopterus

Thanks... :-)
I'll be sure not to mention them again...
And I'll be sure to destroy all their eggs. (Well they won't hatch in any case as they lay their eggs so close to the lights that the eggs are all dried out each time)...

Wandrag
19-01-2011, 07:34
PS: Hats off dude for this tank after switching back from Marine...

Thanks!

I really enjoy this tank.
And the amount of work and money that I put into it is almost nil.

I clean the glass once every week - sometimes every second week. I almost have 0 algea growing on my glass pane.
I do a water change every 4/5 weeks (+- 15-20%) - and I clean my filter at the same time.
I don't siphon my tank - I drain the water from the filter outlet pipe...

And lastly - I only add about 5ml of Flourish excel (or something like that) for my plants every 3/4 weeks.

So this is really a very low maintenance, low cost tank!

I've only experienced some deaths last week - but the reason for this was that something went haywire with my temperature.
The temperature shot up to 35 Celsius while I was away on holiday...(And this was actually a miracle - will tell you about it later :-)
My dad (who thought that he is helping out) used water from the fridge and ice to cool the tank off a bit... :-(

I've lost +- 10 Neons plus other fish - not sure what.

But I think everything is back to normal....

riyadh
19-01-2011, 07:47
Lekker tank, I cant wait for my plants to fill up like that

boebie
20-01-2011, 11:26
Can I just add my 2cents... If you only adding Flourish Excel every 3/4 weeks, it wont do much since the liquid carbon only lasts about 24hrs in your tank. Should be used daily or every other day at least.
Your setup looks great btw.

Wandrag
20-01-2011, 12:30
Thanks for the compliment!

I'm only using the Flourish Excel because I have bought in when I've started my tank.
The fish poo is more than enough to get things growing..
This might change now that a bunch of fish died.....
I don't want to add anything that is not really necessary - everything seems to be in balance, and I don't want to create a chemical bath for my fish to swim in..

Wandrag
27-08-2011, 13:37
Some updates on this setup:
10036100371003810039

Wandrag
27-08-2011, 13:43
10035
more...

Wandrag
27-08-2011, 16:25
1004010041

Wandrag
27-08-2011, 16:28
For some reason the attachments are not showing properly?
Can anyone help please?

fiberoptic
27-08-2011, 19:29
Rory could you please help with attachments

azurekoi
27-08-2011, 21:07
Here's some help on your plant ID... All for series of pics dated 17th

3rd one is Bacopa monierii - a nice easy stem plant and an old favourite of mine...
4th - Haigrass - some species of Eleocharis - unfortunately BL... :(
5th looks like Lileaopsis brazilliensis - a slow growing carpeting plant that takes a while to get established - like high light btw..
6th - the "algae" is most probably Diatoms - common problem in new systems - readily eaten by Otocinclus,but will dissapear over time as the silicates they use to build their structure gets used up...
7th - your "Fast grower" is Nymphea lotus - although your surface leaves look a bit different from normal... Otherwise also known as a Pixy lily bulb - cut/remove the surface leaves on a regular basis to encourage the submerged leaf form - and yes,cuts out a LOT of light...Very heavy feeder - put some root tabs at it's base to see it go even more"bos"...
8th is another species that aint a true aquatic - Acorus gramineus(Sweet Flag - a native American plant)... take it out and just go plant in your garden or on a pond edge - no more than an inch of water over the rhizome...
10th is Aponogeton undulatus - one of my fave plants...
11th is good old Java fern...
12th - commonly known as "Purple Waffle" - a bog type plant at best - as Zoom said - chuck it....

Hope this helps...

Wandrag
28-08-2011, 18:54
Here's some help on your plant ID... All for series of pics dated 17th

4th - Haigrass - some species of Eleocharis - unfortunately BL... :(

Hope this helps...
The Haigrass is long gone out of my system... :-)
it didn't really last that long.

Wandrag
28-08-2011, 18:57
Damn - I must really learn to remember these plant names... :-)

Wandrag
28-08-2011, 19:01
10054
Some Rummy Nose. Had 5 of them - lost one three months ago :-(

Wandrag
28-08-2011, 19:06
10055
Another random pic...

Wandrag
28-08-2011, 19:10
What do you think about this rock?
It's home made.. :-)
Want to try to get a market for them.... They really look awesome in Malawi tanks. (My previous setup was full of these rocks - provided allot of hiding spaces of the fry!)
10056

Wandrag
28-08-2011, 19:16
Here is some picks of the older setup (This was about 6 years ago)
1005710058

Wandrag
29-08-2011, 06:45
I've tried to re-load the photos again...But not showing. :-(
Weird.

mattie
29-08-2011, 09:19
beautifull