My 225L Tank

Hello there everyone!

I was encouraged to start a thread for my aquarium so that's what this is. I'll post updates and pics as they happen.

Tank Specs:
90/50/50.
6mm Glass.
Internal Sump compartment of 15/50/50 with mesh on bottom for in-flow.
Custom made tight fitting lid with DIY Light fittings.
1x 30watt T8 Flourescent. (cool white)
1x 20watt (used to be) submersable Flourescent. (red)

Filtration:
Internal sump compartment of 15/50/50
Media from the bottom up:
Filter wool- 7cm
Carbon- 3cm
Filter wool- 10cm
sponge cap- 5cm
Submersable pump for outlet- 400L/h

Substrate:
Normal Black aquarium Gravel with small amounts of brown in piles for diversity.

Decor:
Driftwood
Lava Rock
Plants
Fake decor pieces ect.

Stock: (in order of Rank)
1 Three Spot Gourami
1 Rainbow Shark
1 Kribensis Cichlid
5 Tiger Barbs
4 Bronze Corydoras

Amazon Sword
Java fern
Hornwort (yes I typed it...:embarrest

Other:
I use Tetra Aquasafe and Seachem Prime for dechlorinating
Weekly dose of Seachem Flourish
Flourish tabs for Sword
Ocean nutrition flakes and sinking pellets, Brine Shrimp and peas make up the diet


I hope everyone enjoys my tank!

 

Some pics. Not the best I know. Still learning about aquarium photography!

 

The tank will be rescaped in the near future. The Lava Rock will move to another tank and into the filter and Some new ones will go in. As well as more Driftwood and plants. I'm also upgrading the filter media next month.

 

Good start. Why don't you get a piece of black Perspex and silicone it on the inside of the tank/sump so you don't see the sump.

 

Nice man go do some research on hornwort it will use up all the nutrients in your tank and will starve your other plants. It is also called foxtail. I would dump it if I was you

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

 

Yep thats the plan! I was just unsure of what I can actually put there to block off that view of the sump. Where can I get perspex or something similar that won't leach stuff into the water? Builder's? Chamberlain?

And the Hornwort is quite a bugger as I've learnt! I'll dump most of it but keep a little as I quite like it. I started with 2 20cm strands and now its, well, a lot more!

 

@HeinrichLourens, if you happen to throw out the hornwort, please let me know? I will gladly come pick it up.

 

Ok I'll let you know.

 

Got 2 new little Tiger Barbs today! They acclimated briliantly with no sign of stress at all! Everyone schooling together very nicely! I just cannot get nice pics of them. Been sitting there snapping away forever and now luck.

We also added some Hairgrass to my sister's planted tank and the Sword from mine. I decided not to go planted as it would just be too expensive with the ferts, plants, not to mention lighting...

 

Look for Maizey Plastics. They sell perspex...

 

Bought some Driftwood today and went about soaking it. No idea how long it will take though! I would imagine around a month maybe longer....

 

Quick update

My latest 2 Tiger Barbs are doing very well even chasing the leader of the pack when they feel like it! I've moved 90% of my Hornwort/Foxtail in to my internal sump as I was getting a little tired of it.
The new driftwood is still in the bathtub soaking away.

I plan on doing planted when the rescape is done. I currently have 50watts of T8 lighting. I would love to use T5's but they are quite expensive. I did however see T5 24watts and T8 30watts at our Local hardware store for a LOT cheaper than at the LFS. Is there a difference between those and the ones at the LFS, or are they the same? Where does one find T5 ballasts? If I can do it on a low budget I would rather add 2 small T5's than one big T8.

What wattage should I aim for bearing in mind I'm not injecting C02, will use low light plants and the tanks height is 50cm? I will probably dose flourish and excell.

Heinrich

 

Awesome man glad your tiger barbs are doing fine :nuts:.

For lighting advise you can get 1 x single 39w t5 ballast from Tridonic SA in Jetpark close to Boksburg think I paid like R60 for the ballast and then tubes you can get from The Lamphouse most tubes are going for R45-R50 each. So it is cheap stuff. Then later on you can get another single 39w ballast with tube when you get more plants.

 

Ok nice! I'll look for it. Everyone recommends T5's. Is it the intensity that makes them better?

 

Yeah their is a few things why T5's are better also less energy and less heat from them.

 

Ah yes. My plan is to do something similar to your big tank! That thing is a monster! I'll probably keep adding some barbs up to about 10 or 15 along with my other trio (Gourami, Shark, Krib) and of course my little cories and some ottos. I also really like the Denison Barb, but I'm not sure if they would work in my tank.

 

Thanks man yeah I am chuffed with the Puntius effect, most barbs will do fine together it is just their little less docile buds the cherry barbs that probably wont be a good trio.

Yes the bigger the group the better they are truly awesome fish. I will read up on denison barbs.

 

Apparantly the Denison barb is a relatively new fish to the hobby and they're still quite expensive.

 

Oh Yeah the redline torpedo barbs, they needs lots of space your tank is to small I would put them in anything smaller then a 5 footer.

Still want a few of them someday, they go for about R90-R160 each.

Puntius denisonii Seriously Fish

 

Yup I thought mine would be a little small. Just made a spray bar for my filter outlet. Just waiting for the sillicone to dry then I can test it!