# 125G Angel Planted - update



## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Hey guys, I will be purchasing a 125G tank this weekend and i'm really excited about the extra space from my 4 footer 77 gallon. Figured I'd start a journal right from the planing phase.

Tonight I started drawing up an idea for the scape. The idea is based off of a few tank's I've seen that created valleys between planted sections and I want to utilize the eco-complete in my current tank as well as use a lot of white sand. The hard part will be separating the two. My first idea is to use polished stones, but I don't think they will do the trick. The next idea would be to get acrylic deviders made up and installing them onto the glass before adding anything. I'm undecided right now what to do. Has anyone successfully separated sand from substrate before without putting in solid dividers?

My plan for the tank will be:
my current 5 angels plus probably 3 or 5 more. 
I have 6 clown loaches... probably add 4 more
All my plecos except the sailfin - 3 BN's, 3 clowns, 1 royal, 1 tiger panaque. 
6 Bolivian Rams - add 10 more?
Large group of cardinals, rasboras, or cherry barbs 
10 Otto's 
2 ****** Loaches

Floura:
Vals, dwarf sag, pogostemon, hygrophilia, big sword, - then probably some java moss on driftwood - maybe java fern as well

Here's a pic of my drawing so far - ok i only drew the crappy top view, got my girlfriend to draw the elevation 










What are my chances of actually keeping the sand and eco-complete separate? 
Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

You can actually make a flexible divider using strips of thin acrylic and siliconining it to the tank bottom to keep them seperate. I've got some Pogostemon erectus available if you're interested . It's a slower growing stem plant.

Best regards,

Stuart


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## stonedaquarium (Jun 11, 2011)

hey mike ... good luck on the rescape i have seen and tried this technique... where you fill one portion with eco complete have a cardboard separate the sand... once you fill the portion with sand... you can pull the cardboard out and it wont mix itself.  

hope that helps


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

CRS Fan said:


> You can actually make a flexible divider using strips of thin acrylic and siliconining it to the tank bottom to keep them seperate. I've got some Pogostemon erectus available if you're interested . It's a slower growing stem plant.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Stuart


thanks Stuart, ya i saw your post... i actually just happened to get a few of them from my buddy neoh right before you posted that.

The acrylic strip is what i'm thinking too... only sure fire way i think of separating them, also it will help the dwarf sag stay where i want it instead of shooting into the sand.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

stonedaquarium said:


> hey mike ... good luck on the rescape i have seen and tried this technique... where you fill one portion with eco complete have a cardboard separate the sand... once you fill the portion with sand... you can pull the cardboard out and it wont mix itself.
> 
> hope that helps


That's pretty slick... i'm just worried about once the water goes in and after a few water changes if it still stays separate. Plus I want to make sure the carpet doesn't spread into the sand and follows the line i'm trying to make.


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## stonedaquarium (Jun 11, 2011)

i havent seen mine really mix in yet... for the carpet... you would have to trim em... hehehe...... thats the tricky part with carpet plants lol


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## neoh (Apr 22, 2010)

monkE said:


> That's pretty slick... i'm just worried about once the water goes in and after a few water changes if it still stays separate. Plus I want to make sure the carpet doesn't spread into the sand and follows the line i'm trying to make.


Have an inert sand to stop the spread and keep up with trimming. I'm going to have a similar setup as well, and I'll try to give you a hand on Sunday if I am available.

A piece of plexi-glass to divide is not a bad idea to prevent it from spreading out.


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## Pamela (Apr 21, 2010)

Great sketches, you're so organized!

They sell these Buy Sand Banks from DrsFosterSmith at Drs.Foster & Smith. I've never used them so I don't know how well they work, but they look kind of neat. You could do some sort of DIY project that resembles them.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Great scape, but I'm sorry to say that with plecos in there, there's no way to keep the substrate separate long term. But it'll be really neat in the first while.


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Mike,

Congrats on getting a bigger setup,iam sure the extra space will come in handy stock and plant wise.Great sketch of the final look,did the same myself and listed what i needed inventory wise and price as well.Dont know if you have a budget in mind or expenses dont matter,but list those down on a side sheet as the final numbers get up there.So pretty much everything from the 77G will be introduced here? As for seperating the two substrates, my thoughts are to go with just one.Mentioned already by Gary, your plecos and loaches will have their own decorating ideas themselvesThis coming from my own experiences as i house a variety of them and they do what they want.Stuck fighting a losing battle with the overall look.Theres the option of taking them outta of the picture and doing this,but thats your call.This two-tone substrate idea could be difficult some maintaince time as well,something to think about too. Try adding more wood pieces or stone/rock work to it, or go heavily planted x2 like your 77G.Go through some of the journals here,do a bit more research,and then fine tune it to your liking.Look forward to the updates,and keep us posted!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Pamela said:


> Great sketches, you're so organized!
> 
> They sell these Buy Sand Banks from DrsFosterSmith at Drs.Foster & Smith. I've never used them so I don't know how well they work, but they look kind of neat. You could do some sort of DIY project that resembles them.


thank you pamela, those sand banks actually look pretty neat, I like the raised section idea, might have to think about that one... as far as being organized, every other tank I've done so far has been completely by the seat of my pants and I was always disappointed later when I wanted to change something but it was too late. Just figured I'd try to get it right this time 



2wheelsx2 said:


> Great scape, but I'm sorry to say that with plecos in there, there's no way to keep the substrate separate long term. But it'll be really neat in the first while.


thanks Gary, I was worried about that... hmmmm don't want to leave those guys out, but I really want to try and make this work



Luke78 said:


> Mike,
> 
> Congrats on getting a bigger setup,iam sure the extra space will come in handy stock and plant wise.Great sketch of the final look,did the same myself and listed what i needed inventory wise and price as well.Dont know if you have a budget in mind or expenses dont matter,but list those down on a side sheet as the final numbers get up there.So pretty much everything from the 77G will be introduced here? As for seperating the two substrates, my thoughts are to go with just one.Mentioned already by Gary, your plecos and loaches will have their own decorating ideas themselvesThis coming from my own experiences as i house a variety of them and they do what they want.Stuck fighting a losing battle with the overall look.Theres the option of taking them outta of the picture and doing this,but thats your call.This two-tone substrate idea could be difficult some maintaince time as well,something to think about too. Try adding more wood pieces or stone/rock work to it, or go heavily planted x2 like your 77G.Go through some of the journals here,do a bit more research,and then fine tune it to your liking.Look forward to the updates,and keep us posted!


Hey Luke, great advice on the price list... I should probably plan the costs out for sure. Awww crap, I really want to try and make this work, and honestly with the cost of the tank, i didn't want to have to buy another 50lbs of eco-complete.... I'll have to put some more thought in here for sure. There definitely will be more wood work than i have illustrated, just can't plan it out completely right now.


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## onefishtwofish (Apr 21, 2010)

yup. plecos came to mind as well to me.


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## rich16 (Mar 25, 2011)

Nice upgrade Mike, looking forward to seeing the progress. I like how organized you are! My wife approves!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

rich16 said:


> Nice upgrade Mike, looking forward to seeing the progress. I like how organized you are! My wife approves!


thanks Rich! I'm always glad when your wife is happy  lol

It's going to be a busy weekend man! Peter (Cowis) said he'd help me out and he'll bring his camera so we should have some good pics up by the end of the weekend.


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## zhasan (Oct 28, 2010)

That looks like an awesome plan Mike!! Looking forward to see the paradise unfold!!!


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

enjoy your new tank Mike, I'll check back in a few weeks to see pics of what you've done with it


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Got the tank tonight!!!! oh man is this thing ever big! the pics don't do it justice. Thank you very much Mike (mferko) for the great setup! 
I've spent the last 5 hours or so tearing down my 77, moving all the fish into a big plastic tote for the night (with the filter and heater running on it)

I also got the new tank to the point where I can start planting it in the morning... i wanted to get it filled tonight to run the filter for a while before adding fish, but it is almost 1:00 in the morning and I'm exhausted. The new filter was running on the tank up until today so it will not have to be cycled although I will be monitoring my numbers to avoid any problem.

Here's some pics I took along the way so far.

Tank in its final resting place








Using a heat gun to shape acrylic strips to form the substrate barrier
















Test fit








Trimmed down a little








Glued in place and filled with sand








Now the real work begins! 

















































Plants and fish go in tomorrow!


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## zhasan (Oct 28, 2010)

Wao that tank looks super nice!! Good going!!


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## snow (Apr 21, 2010)

Great looking set-up so far.


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## lotus (Apr 22, 2010)

It should be stunning after the tank is complete...I really like the driftwood!


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Quite the undertaking and great pre-planning. It's going to look so good since it's been well planned out from the get go. With that big of a tank, how big of a shoal of tetras you planning? The fish are going to thrive in this nice tank. Keep the pictures and hopefully some vids coming.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i had over 50 tetras in there at one point and it wasnt nearly enough, probably ~100

hes got a huge filter on that tank too


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## cowis (Apr 21, 2010)

looks awsome Mike! wish i cuold have come down to help. Tanks looks like it coming along i cant wait to come take pics of the final poduct.


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

Nice looking design Mike, keep the pictures coming so we can watch it progress, it's easy to forget the pictures when you get caught up doing the set up and putting it all together. Going to look great !!!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

zhasan said:


> Wao that tank looks super nice!! Good going!!


thanks man! 


snow said:


> Great looking set-up so far.


Thanks!


lotus said:


> It should be stunning after the tank is complete...I really like the driftwood!


Thanks Lotus! 


jobber604 said:


> Quite the undertaking and great pre-planning. It's going to look so good since it's been well planned out from the get go. With that big of a tank, how big of a shoal of tetras you planning? The fish are going to thrive in this nice tank. Keep the pictures and hopefully some vids coming.


Oh there will be plenty of pics on the way! I just got 60 neons today, it's not as big of a group as I thought once you get them into that big tank! lol 


Mferko said:


> i had over 50 tetras in there at one point and it wasnt nearly enough, probably ~100
> 
> hes got a huge filter on that tank too


ya i got 60 today and that's definitely not enough! lol 


cowis said:


> looks awsome Mike! wish i cuold have come down to help. Tanks looks like it coming along i cant wait to come take pics of the final poduct.


sounds good buddy, almost there


Clown Lover said:


> Nice looking design Mike, keep the pictures coming so we can watch it progress, it's easy to forget the pictures when you get caught up doing the set up and putting it all together. Going to look great !!!


thanks Laurie! Oh i'm pretty good about stopping for a couple shots... you'll see on my next post


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

So it's been a long day everybody! The tank is now populated and running and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out! Plus, my girlfriend likes it so its that much better! lol

Here's a bunch of pics from the planting and setup:

Didn't know how many of these I had till i separated them all!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)




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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

Looking good Mike . Keep up the good work .


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## beN (Apr 21, 2010)

Holy crap , looks really really good mike, can't wait to see it in person, great job!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)




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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Been pretty busy today from the looks of it Mike. Looks great dude! Great job & great journal too!


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## neoh (Apr 22, 2010)

looks good Mike. Sorry I couldn't be there to give you a hand, I've been out all day.


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## rich16 (Mar 25, 2011)

Wow, that's great work Mike, that tank looks AWESOME.


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## stonedaquarium (Jun 11, 2011)

Awesome rescaping mike what did you eventually use for the partition of the eco complete and the sand?


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Diztrbd1 said:


> Been pretty busy today from the looks of it Mike. Looks great dude! Great job & great journal too!


crazy busy day man! lol after that I had to clean the apartment back up before my girl killed me! 


neoh said:


> looks good Mike. Sorry I couldn't be there to give you a hand, I've been out all day.


No worries brotha, you know where I am! swing by any time


rich16 said:


> Wow, that's great work Mike, that tank looks AWESOME.


thanks Rich  


stonedaquarium said:


> Awesome rescaping mike what did you eventually use for the partition of the eco complete and the sand?


thanks stone, look back through the thread, I got some acrylic strips and shaped them then glued them to the base of the tank before I put the substrate and sand in


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

bonsai dave said:


> Looking good Mike . Keep up the good work .


thanks a lot Dave!


beN said:


> Holy crap , looks really really good mike, can't wait to see it in person, great job!


thanks buddy, come on by anytime!


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

*Yes!!!*

Wow ! it was worth all the work, looks awsome man.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Thanks Laurie! 

I just realized that I never wrote anything down about the equipment on this tank.. 

Lighting: I'm keeping my old 48" Hagen GLO T5HOx2 fixture as well as 4 one meter long LED light strips the tank came with
There is also a submersible moon light for night time ambiance - set on an opposite timer from the main lights

CO2: 5lbs pressurized cylinder about 2bps - ceramic diffuser 

Fertilizer: Simple daily dose of Flourish Comprehensive

Filter: Eheim 2080 Pro3 - By far the best filter I have ever had! This thing is absolutely massive! 

Heater: EcoPlus 300w - very cool heater, it has a controller and thermostat separate from the heating element


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

How are you going to manage with a 4 foot light on a 6 foot tank? That's always been my dilemma. Especially since your plants are on the ends and the light will be in the middle?

The 5 lbs will be ok, but you have more plants and lighting than my 125 and I use a 20 lb tank...but it lasts me a year, so the 5 lb should last you maybe 3 months at a time?


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> How are you going to manage with a 4 foot light on a 6 foot tank? That's always been my dilemma. Especially since your plants are on the ends and the light will be in the middle?
> 
> The 5 lbs will be ok, but you have more plants and lighting than my 125 and I use a 20 lb tank...but it lasts me a year, so the 5 lb should last you maybe 3 months at a time?


haven't figured the light out yet obvously... you voiced my exact concern, the plants are on the ends, but the light is only over the middle. I'm thinking that i can hang it from the ceiling and that would help spread the beam but realistically i think 2 36" fixutures is what i'm going to need. Just don't have the funds for that right now. I'm hoping the LEDs provide some light to help but i doubt it, they aren't very powerful i don't think. 
As far as the CO2 tank goes, it's going to take some getting used to to find the right bubble rate for this big tank. Then ya a few months and i'll have to fill it


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

The problem with raising the light is that it'll lower your light intensity more, and since the reflectors run along the tube, the light spread will only go "across" the tube, not off the ends. I totally understand about the funds part...have you looked at the triple tube with LED's that Charles and Pat are selling? Pretty good deal considering they include timers and tubes. Just sell your GLO and you would get your money to buy one of those and then really only have to pay for the second one.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

just looked at them, is that the odyssea ones? they actually look pretty nice! and at $120 that's pretty reasonable. That has just become the new plan for this tank! lol thanks Gary!


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Fish seem very happy already in the tank.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

Yes, and since you are at marpole, you are more than welcome to come and see them in person. I have a demo one on and you can test it out.

comes with LED moonlight as well.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

charles said:


> Yes, and since you are at marpole, you are more than welcome to come and see them in person. I have a demo one on and you can test it out.
> 
> comes with LED moonlight as well.


ok charles I'm going to meet pat right now for those apistos i messaged you about... I would definitely like to come by and see them. Will you be around today?


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

well after stopping by Charles' place I came home with two new light fixtures to solve the problem that Gary brought up. I'm pretty happy with these lights so far. They are Odyssea brand, 3 bulb 36" T5HO, complete with 4 blue LED moonlights and a built in timer. The built in timer allows you to set an On-Off time for 1 bulb, then you can set a separate On-Off time for the other two bulbs, and then still set a separate time for the led's to come on. The only thing I don't like is it does not have the functionality to allow for a siesta during the day where the lights shut off, but I am going to play with the timing between single bulb and all three to find a happy point. I don't want to blast this tank all day with six T5HO bulbs. The lights also came with some handy mount system that would be great if you are running an uncovered tank because they allow you to actually tilt the light up and out of the way for maintenance, but they won't fit on mine with the glass tops on.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

jobber604 said:


> Fish seem very happy already in the tank.


thanks man, they've definitely seemed to take to the tank pretty quick. I reused alot of the water from the old one, the filter was already cycled, I didn't quite get the temp right at first but they all settled in quite well, no stress deaths anyway!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

I also picked up these apistos from Pat yesturday, beautiful colour on them! Exactly like the pics you see on their site.


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

Nice light, looks great, the lunars are very cool! ya I give my tanks a 2-3 hour t-5 break thru the day.


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## Chappy (Apr 21, 2010)

The tank looks *AMAZING*, Mike. Nice job.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

good job mike, i like the apistos


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Clown Lover said:


> Nice light, looks great, the lunars are very cool! ya I give my tanks a 2-3 hour t-5 break thru the day.


Thanks Laurie!, I used to do that but we'll see how this goes, i think i'll just play with my CO2 and fertz if I start to get an algae issue


-N/A- said:


> The tank looks *AMAZING*, Mike. Nice job.


Thank you very much Shelly! you're near by so feel free to swing by and have a look if you like! 


Mferko said:


> good job mike, i like the apistos


Thanks Mike, it's coming along nicely  Have to find another small fish to school in the upper stratum

Anyone have any ideas of another fish that I could get a large school of for a decent price? I would prefer something from South America to fit with the biotype that i've tried to stick with (except the clown loaches of course) but really and cool looking colourful fish that will school and not get eaten up by my Angels


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Nice updated pictures. Those lights does complete the tank and those jungle vals are going to look so good once they start growing from the right and across the top towards the centre and left of the tank.

Kicking back and enjoying the new setup yet? Been working hard these past few days putting it together.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

jobber604 said:


> Nice updated pictures. Those lights does complete the tank and those jungle vals are going to look so good once they start growing from the right and across the top towards the centre and left of the tank.
> 
> Kicking back and enjoying the new setup yet? Been working hard these past few days putting it together.


oh yes it was a very busy weekend! not only the tank but once Shem found out I'd be selling off the 77 she immediately decided that she wanted to re-decorate the room, so we then went to IKEA <facepalm> and i spent last night building a new large bookshelf to take the wallspace that the old 77 took up (after I dragged the empty tank accross the room of course!)

I can't wait to see those vals grow and grow! I removed A LOT of plants from my old tank and didn't use them in the new one...wanted a little more open space, but now that i see it, i just want it to grow back in lol


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

One solution maybe to light the tank by side. ie, 8 hours on the left and 8 hours on the right with the dual lights, with the singles filling in the gaps. If you overlap the dual T5 light periods, you can have 4 hours where you're running the entire length of the tank with dual lights and the other parts with 1 light on 1 side and 2 on the other and vice versa.


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## beN (Apr 21, 2010)

Hey mike how big are your loaches in there?


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> One solution maybe to light the tank by side. ie, 8 hours on the left and 8 hours on the right with the dual lights, with the singles filling in the gaps. If you overlap the dual T5 light periods, you can have 4 hours where you're running the entire length of the tank with dual lights and the other parts with 1 light on 1 side and 2 on the other and vice versa.


not a bad idea Gary, thanks I might just do that


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

beN said:


> Hey mike how big are your loaches in there?


the big ones are only 2" right now 3 about that size and 3 @ 1 1/2


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Mike,

Nice additions and update, those light fixtures are impressive as i was eyeing them myself the other day i was at Charles place.LED's look mighty fine,and tempted to get one.Hows the 'two tone sand setup' holding up? any of your residents decide its time for a reno? Looks nicely layed out,but iam sure you will still wanna tinker with it for while right? Thanks for sharing,and keep the updates coming!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Luke78 said:


> Mike,
> 
> Nice additions and update, those light fixtures are impressive as i was eyeing them myself the other day i was at Charles place.LED's look mighty fine,and tempted to get one.Hows the 'two tone sand setup' holding up? any of your residents decide its time for a reno? Looks nicely layed out,but iam sure you will still wanna tinker with it for while right? Thanks for sharing,and keep the updates coming!


thanks Luke! the lights are great so far, I would definitely recommend them. comes with the 6700k bulbs but the led moon lights are a great plus! I LOVE how my tank looks at night! 
I'm liking the layout for sure... I'm going to try and be patient with this one and let it grow in but who knows... patience is not my strong suit 
so far so good with the substrate separation, none of the fish have mixed much at all... the rams and loaches sift through the sand but never really drag anything across.. the acrylic barrier that is hidden behind the stones actually stands about an inch above the surface so it's tough for them to drag anything across....


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## thefishwife (Apr 21, 2010)

Beautiful scaping!!!! Lighting was always a problem when I had my 125, looks like what you got will do just fine.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

hey Mike I recommend Hatchets for large top-schooling fish, just make sure you keep those glass-tops closed, they can be jumpers


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## Jasonator (Jul 12, 2011)

Incredible effort and fantastic results!!
You have inspired me!!

wow I love this forum!! 



.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow Mike, just keeps getting better everytime I look at this. Love the super reds, been wanting a pair of those myself. Extremely jealous right now lol


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## rich16 (Mar 25, 2011)

Looking better every time I see it. Love the apistos, they look great. *JEALOUS!*


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

A big shoal of lemon tetras would look so nice in a big tank.

Sent from Samsung Mobile using Tapatalk


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

thefishwife said:


> Beautiful scaping!!!! Lighting was always a problem when I had my 125, looks like what you got will do just fine.


Thank you very much Kim,



Mferko said:


> hey Mike I recommend Hatchets for large top-schooling fish, just make sure you keep those glass-tops closed, they can be jumpers


I thought about the hatchets, not sure if they'd be ok with the amount of current and surface movement in the tank


Jasonator said:


> Incredible effort and fantastic results!!
> You have inspired me!!
> 
> wow I love this forum!!
> ...


thank you very much jason! 


Diztrbd1 said:


> Wow Mike, just keeps getting better everytime I look at this. Love the super reds, been wanting a pair of those myself. Extremely jealous right now lol


Thanks buddy! come by and see it in person some time! I think Pat has a bunch of those apistos still... though they only have males. I might get some more when another pay cheque rolls around. 


rich16 said:


> Looking better every time I see it. Love the apistos, they look great. *JEALOUS!*


Thanks Rich! you know what, every day i come home from work it totally looks better and better! 


jobber604 said:


> A big shoal of lemon tetras would look so nice in a big tank.
> 
> Sent from Samsung Mobile using Tapatalk


thanks for the suggestion... i'll have to look up lemons.... can't picture them in my head


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Peter (Cowis) stopped by today and was nice enough to bring his fancy DSLR camera. Here are some of the shots we got. Oh yeah and I got 4 new firemouths and 4 new kribs. Thanks buddy! I know you're not going to like me posting this many pics and probably not the ones you would have chosen but guess what... too bad! lol

We took like 50 shots and these were my favourites


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

And here's a cool attempt to get the leafs logo reflected off of my television


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## beN (Apr 21, 2010)

Pete sure is one with the cam, good shots guys! Awesome Mike!


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

Hey Mike nice pictures by Peter for your tank Journal. Your pretty good with that Camera Pete, if your not careful Shawn might hire you as the official camera person for the forum.


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## cowis (Apr 21, 2010)

i am always willing to meet new people and take pics!!!!


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## Victor (Apr 21, 2010)

nice shots, peter. Nice tank MonkE, but is that a maple leafs logo at the bottom right?! lol


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Some nice and clear shots, looking good! Quite a few additions to the setup huh,liking the bolivian rams and firemouths personally.Healthy, vibrant,and colourful.How did the previous angel breeding work out for you? are the pair(s) in here now?


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Victor said:


> nice shots, peter. Nice tank MonkE, but is that a maple leafs logo at the bottom right?! lol


oh ya it is 


Luke78 said:


> Some nice and clear shots, looking good! Quite a few additions to the setup huh,liking the bolivian rams and firemouths personally.Healthy, vibrant,and colourful.How did the previous angel breeding work out for you? are the pair(s) in here now?


Ya lots of new additions, it's hard to not want to keep adding stuff with all this space! I've never kept firemouths before and i'm pretty impressed by the colours on these guys. 
As for the angels, the breeding pair is in this tank now, in the old one they would lay eggs every two weeks or so, but because it's a community, the eggs never lasted very long. I actually had a 26 gallon tank that I had a second breeding pair in and I managed to hatch and grow a group of 65 angels in that tank. The pics of the 3 yellow ones were from that group. I sold the rest to IPU in Richmond. 
So far no eggs in the new tank but it's only been a couple days so I'm sure they will be back at it in no time.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

Fire mouth might not b a good addition to ur tank. They can get quite aggressive. That might b the reason y ur apisto is missing some of its tail.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

charles said:


> Fire mouth might not b a good addition to ur tank. They can get quite aggressive. That might b the reason y ur apisto is missing some of its tail.


thanks for the heads up charles, the apisto was like that before the firemouth got in the tank... he had a run in with my betta  the other three are doing fine though


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## enzotesta (Dec 20, 2011)

Nice setup...post pics when done


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## rich16 (Mar 25, 2011)

How come you had to ruin a great tank shot with a Leaf's logo?  ha ha ha

All joking aside, looking great, and I really like how you've stocked it. I would echo the others who warn about the firemouth, especially as (s)he gets bigger...I've kept them in community tanks before with wildly varying results. Just something to keep an eye on.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Great pictures. Keep the updates coming. I seem to notice some missing rat-like fish (one's that don't run up your leg and towards your face) scurrying around the bottom in the sand 





































Those Leafs better be picking it up soon, playoffs are around the corner.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

rich16 said:


> How come you had to ruin a great tank shot with a Leaf's logo?  ha ha ha
> 
> All joking aside, looking great, and I really like how you've stocked it. I would echo the others who warn about the firemouth, especially as (s)he gets bigger...I've kept them in community tanks before with wildly varying results. Just something to keep an eye on.


thank you for the kind words.. if you would like a nice Maple Leafs poster or flag for your living room just let me know! lol I have lots!

I'll keep an eye on the firemouths, the reading that i've done on them says that they fight but it's more for show and they don't really do damage to the other fish. I hope with all the space in this tank I won't have a problem.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Here's a quick video of the tank at night under the moonlights that are built into the fixtures i bought off of Charles.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

Those fixtures with moonlight sure looks great. It gives a different perspective looking at your tank and the fish when they are not under a bright light mode.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

So I've had some difficulty with some of the fish in the tank... all my my angels seemed to get effected with some illness that has only been identified as Angel Fish Virus. It seemed to effect their slime coat and didn't really spread to any fish in the tank other than the angels. Rather than attempting to dose the tank with medications which i honestly don't understand, I have just kept doing a bunch of small waterchanges as well as a big one once a week... the illness seems to have subsided but the damage has been done. I've lost 5 Angels.  SO MUCH FOR PARADISE EH? well it happens i know. Anyway It's been a while since i posted on here so I'm over due for the update. 
Enough negatives, the plants are taking off and seem be quite happy under the T5HOx3 fixtures that I got from charles. My Hygrophilia and Pogostemon especially are doing very well. All the rams are pretty happy and but the firemouths have all but taken out all the neons  I should have checked them out before i got them. The kribs are happy, the plecos are happy, the apistos are happy, and the remaining Angels seem to be recovering...i hope.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Too bad about your angels. I hope the remaining ones do recover.

Tank is looking good!


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Ah, was sorry to read about the loss  Rest of the tank still looks amazing though!


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Sorry to hear about the fish loss Mike. Always sucks to run into stupid problems like that. The Tank is looking great!


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Not news I'd want to hear with regards to the angels, but yet, glad to hear the plants are starting to take off. They look so lush and healthy.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

crazy72 said:


> Too bad about your angels. I hope the remaining ones do recover.
> 
> Tank is looking good!


Thanks Crazy, the two Adults and two of the juvis seem to be back to normal, almost, the male adult hasn't got all the red back into his eye yet though, but here's hoping!



Arcteryx said:


> Ah, was sorry to read about the loss  Rest of the tank still looks amazing though!


Thank you very much Arcteryx


Diztrbd1 said:


> Sorry to hear about the fish loss Mike. Always sucks to run into stupid problems like that. The Tank is looking great!


Thanks John, it really sucks but what are you going to do... more room for new fish now I suppose


jobber604 said:


> Not news I'd want to hear with regards to the angels, but yet, glad to hear the plants are starting to take off. They look so lush and healthy.


Thanks Ming, it turned bad one day and I found 4 of them floating  just tried dealing with it before I got back on to here. The plants sure seem happy with those new fixtures, we'll see if the dwarf sag carpet can grow in a little better, i think i have to rethink my CO2 diffusion system cause only one side of the tank seems to be growing strong, and that is the side where my small ceramic diffuser sits.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

You can consider one of those up aquarium inline co2 diffuser. But a co2 reactor would be a effective application. Your plants are going to outgrow the tank..

Sent from my Samsung Mobile using Tapatalk


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## rich16 (Mar 25, 2011)

The tank looks great Mike, plants are growing in very nicely! Sorry to hear about the angels...


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

monkE said:


> i think i have to rethink my CO2 diffusion system cause only one side of the tank seems to be growing strong, and that is the side where my small ceramic diffuser sits.





jobber604 said:


> You can consider one of those up aquarium inline co2 diffuser. But a co2 reactor would be a effective application. Your plants are going to outgrow the tank..


No method is going to work well in a 6 foot tank if there is only one single injection point, unless you're using a huge amount of flow like a Vortech. That's the reason I run a manifold and inject at 2 points, one at either end. The solution is to get a manifold and split the line. This also means that you need a second needle valve and one way check valve.


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## zhasan (Oct 28, 2010)

Oh that sucks Mike! I hope the remaining fish recovers fast!!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> No method is going to work well in a 6 foot tank if there is only one single injection point, unless you're using a huge amount of flow like a Vortech. That's the reason I run a manifold and inject at 2 points, one at either end. The solution is to get a manifold and split the line. This also means that you need a second needle valve and one way check valve.


Good idea, but could i not just put a simple "T" in the line after the needle valve, if i can keep the length of hose identical on both sides of the T, then i should be able to inject evenly on both ends


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

monkE said:


> Good idea, but could i not just put a simple "T" in the line after the needle valve, if i can keep the length of hose identical on both sides of the T, then i should be able to inject evenly on both ends


Because without a manifold, whenever you adjust the pressure in one, it'll affect the other. The gas will go to the path of least resistance, and depending on the needle valve you have, might gas your fish.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Because without a manifold, whenever you adjust the pressure in one, it'll affect the other. The gas will go to the path of least resistance, and depending on the needle valve you have, might gas your fish.


I see... looks like I've got some research to do. Thank you Gary.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Manifolds are cheap anyway. A 2 way inline from Pat is $8. Item


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Mike,

Just came across your recent news with the setup, sorry to hear about your losses.Seems like the few that made it look alright,plus there's future opportunities to re stock again once the time is right.Some impressive growth coming from your plants, so green,healthy,and lush! Seems both sizes are doing alright,give or take the left a bit better.I am sure you will figure out a way to get the Co2 properly distributed for all ends of the aquarium.Good on you for not dropping in a bunch of med's and keeping it simple by doing your water changes and other small maintenance.Keep the updates coming!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Luke78 said:


> Mike,
> 
> Just came across your recent news with the setup, sorry to hear about your losses.Seems like the few that made it look alright,plus there's future opportunities to re stock again once the time is right.Some impressive growth coming from your plants, so green,healthy,and lush! Seems both sizes are doing alright,give or take the left a bit better.I am sure you will figure out a way to get the Co2 properly distributed for all ends of the aquarium.Good on you for not dropping in a bunch of med's and keeping it simple by doing your water changes and other small maintenance.Keep the updates coming!


hey Luke, thanks man... you know how it is, you cant save them all. I will be looking into putting a few more guys into the tank after the boat show madness is over and there will be plenty of new pics up for sure! The plants are growing quite fast, I'll have a bunch of hyrophilia and pogostemon to sell pretty soon!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Well it's been a while since I've posted an update so I figure it's about time. The tank is doing great since my recent scare. I've had no deaths since I last reported and everyone including the 3 remaining Angel Fish are doing very well. There are a couple additions to the tank this week. I got a very colourful Gouramais (not sure of the species) and also I bought a school of 100 white cloud minnows. The plants are flourishing and I've actually already trimmed and relocated 3 big stems of pogostemon to the other side of the tank. The hygrophilia is overdue for a trim and if anyone wants to buy some I'll have it up for sale shortly.

Here are a couple new pics that I took yesturday.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)




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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Beautiful colours on the gourami and cac. Good to see everything is back under control.


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## rich16 (Mar 25, 2011)

Looking good Mike. Glad things have stabilized!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Well another day off, another trip to a couple stores, another bunch of additions to my tank!

First off I have been wanting for a while to find a female crowntail betta to try out with Lucifer in my tank. I haven't ever tried to put two bettas together but I figured with a 6 foot tank if she didn't like him there would be plenty of room to keep to herself. If anyone has experience with betta pairs I would love some advice on the subject. Right off the bat the male is extremely interested in her and he is following her around but there has been no sign of any aggression at all by either of them. They seem to just be feeling eachother out which I see as a positive. I figured it would be pretty clear pretty quick whether this was a good or bad choice.

The second addition to the tank is a school of 36 pearl danios. These guys have some great colour and will fill in that upper stratum of the tank that has been pretty empty up to this point.

I also got a couple plants and have no clue what they are but they look great, I will be starting a plant ID thread but if you know what these are please let me know.

Heres the pics from today


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Dude the tank looks so great! I really need to get a 6 footer lol I just filled my 75 waiting for it to clear from the sand I added, can't wait to get some fish in it. I think your Betta's will be fine together in that monster though I have always heard it was best to have more than one female. Love the variety you have in there. the new plants are pretty awesome too. Great job!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Diztrbd1 said:


> Dude the tank looks so great! I really need to get a 6 footer lol I just filled my 75 waiting for it to clear from the sand I added, can't wait to get some fish in it. I think your Betta's will be fine together in that monster though I have always heard it was best to have more than one female. Love the variety you have in there. the new plants are pretty awesome too. Great job!


thanks John, i know your 75 is going to look great too man! Do you have a journal going for that yet? I didn't even think about getting multiple female bettas, but that might be a great option going forward... they are relatively cheap and always look great so I might just go back and grab a couple more. No danger in multiple females eh?


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Oh and I forgot to mention that the Firemouths have been removed from the tank and are no longer a threat to everyone! 

Charles you were right on about them! Thanks for the early warning.


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## dsouthworth (Nov 21, 2011)

monkE said:


> Oh and I forgot to mention that the Firemouths have been removed from the tank and are no longer a threat to everyone!
> 
> Charles you were right on about them! Thanks for the early warning.


And i'm the lucky one who took em off your hands!

A little advise for others with a planted, if you put fish in, don't expect to take them out...


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Just a quick update... my two adult angels have finally picked up where they left off in the old tank and are breeding once again! I just found the first bunch of eggs in the new tank today  I'm extremely excited about this because after the scare I had a month or so ago a clutch of eggs is just proof to me that the fish are all happy and healthy once again. 
A couple quick shots because what's an update without any pics! 








after the first shot I realized it was a really cool angle of the royal pleco so my focus quickly changed! lol


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

monkE said:


> Oh and I forgot to mention that the Firemouths have been removed from the tank and are no longer a threat to everyone!
> 
> Charles you were right on about them! Thanks for the early warning.


I tried to be honest about fish  Glad you took them out.

Nice grow on your plants as well.


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## dsouthworth (Nov 21, 2011)

Do you think it's because the Meeki are out?


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

dsouthworth said:


> Do you think it's because the Meeki are out?


i'm sure that had something to do with it, those guys were pretty aggressive so I can see the Angels not laying eggs in a hostile environment


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Nice to hear that the remaining angels are happy and promiscuous 
Hopefully you'll soon have a huge school of angels.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)




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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice vid Mike! Did you add some new wood? Tank looks great!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Diztrbd1 said:


> Nice vid Mike! Did you add some new wood? Tank looks great!


thanks john, ya i had more wood lying around from my old tank and it was driving me nuts just sitting there! lol it came out pretty nice when i got it piled up properly


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## Sweetpea (Nov 7, 2011)

Amazing tank. I just read through all 12 pages of your journal...inspiring to see it set up from the planning stages, and what a beauty it turned out to be. Congrats.


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## Keri (Aug 2, 2010)

Great tank, lots going on in there, the fish seem really happy!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Sweetpea said:


> Amazing tank. I just read through all 12 pages of your journal...inspiring to see it set up from the planning stages, and what a beauty it turned out to be. Congrats.


thank you very much sweetpea! I was suprised that it turned out pretty much just as it was planned! this was the first tank that i'd spent a lot of effort with the scape when I started it. Usually i just start adding stuff until its full and see what happens. lol



Keri said:


> Great tank, lots going on in there, the fish seem really happy!


thanks Keri, i'm pretty happy with how active this tank is. not many species that just sit in one place for very long.


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## rich16 (Mar 25, 2011)

Mike is banned for...oh wait, wrong thread...

Looks great, like the addition of the new wood, and how active it all is.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

So update time!

I've recently added a bunch of new fish to the tank! I am fully stocked now i think. It looks real full...I'm actually a little scared to list all the fish cause I'm pretty certain i'm actually overstocked, but I've got that big Ehiem Pro3 filter so i figure i'm good.

Picture time!

A young pair of Opaline Gouramis
















7 new angels thanks to fuzzysocks aka Beth
























































leopard ctenopoma - tough little guy to get a picture of








and finally a redtail black shark









The Angels were all added last night and the others were added about a week ago.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

So here's the final stock list... oh man this might take a while 
10 Angelfish (6 fry, 2 adult, 2 young adult) 
36 Pearl Danio
10 Bolivian Rams
10 Neon Tetras
4 White cloud minnows
1 Red Gourami (don't know if its a flame, or honey or what) 
2 Opaline Gouramis
6 Clown Loaches
1 Leopard Ctenopoma
10 Kribs (2 adults 8 juveniles)
2 Khulie (or ******) Loaches
2 Crowntail Bettas (one male and one female) 
1 Red Tailed Black Shark
1 Apistograma 
2 Pea Puffers
3 Bristlenose Plecos
2 Clown Plecos
1 Royal Panaque
1 Tiger Panaque

Holy crap that's quite a list! Ok guys, I'm sure that I'm pretty overstocked... but I'll tell you all right now that I have little to no aggression in the tank. The 2 adult angels get testy when they breed and the crowntail betta chases the apisto around a little but that's basically it! What do you guys think of my community? I've tried in this tank to do mainly species that I've never kept before. It started out as mostly South American but that went out the window pretty quick


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Yea.....I definitely need a 6' tank lol The Opaline Gouramis look great as well as the whole tank does bud! Wish I would have gotten a pair of thos myself


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow, nice markings on that Zebra angel!


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## dsouthworth (Nov 21, 2011)

I'm loving the new look! The driftwood in the center looks great. Brings the whole tank together.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Diztrbd1 said:


> Yea.....I definitely need a 6' tank lol The Opaline Gouramis look great as well as the whole tank does bud! Wish I would have gotten a pair of thos myself


Thanks John, they had lots in Richmond  A 6 footer won't be too far away i'm sure buddy.



Rastapus said:


> Wow, nice markings on that Zebra angel!


Thanks Grant! he had some amazing blue shimmer in his fins as well... the iphone camera doesn't really do it justice


dsouthworth said:


> I'm loving the new look! The driftwood in the center looks great. Brings the whole tank together.


Thanks buddy, i had all that lying around and figured i'd put it all in and see what happens, the clownloaches love it more than anyone i think.. they are always swimming around the wood and now i see them much more than when it was straight sand.


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## cowis (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow mike tank looks awsome!!! You have done an awsome job man!!!


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

The fish you have to watch out for is the red tail black shark. can get aggressive with your tankmates.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

have to agree with Charles about the Shark. Had to give mine away recently because he had gotten to bad about harassing anything that was the same size or smaller. Soon as he hit 4" he got real bad about it. At 6" was even worse. The only fish they co-exist with without any problems is Clown Loaches and most fish that are larger IME. 
I would be more worried about the Leopard Ctenopoma though. Rule of thumb for them is don't keep fish with them that can fit in their mouth. Once he gets big enough to fit fish in his mouth , you will definitely see your smaller fish population start to dwindle down. You will be amazed at the size fish they can and will eat. If it can get it in it's mouth it can and will eat it. At 2.5 " they can devour the tetra's and white clouds pretty easily. Mine wiped out all my glowlights before I got him to the 75g. They are awesome predators and with all the plants you have in there , life will be simple for him lol If the time ever comes you need to rehome him...let me know.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

cowis said:


> Wow mike tank looks awsome!!! You have done an awsome job man!!!


thanks Pete! I think i'm finally done! but i'm pretty bad about changing things constantly so we'll see  


charles said:


> The fish you have to watch out for is the red tail black shark. can get aggressive with your tankmates.


Thanks for the heads up Charles... you were right on about those firemouths... hopefully i have some time as this guy is still less than 2 inches long, i really don't want to have to catch anything in that tank 


Diztrbd1 said:


> have to agree with Charles about the Shark. Had to give mine away recently because he had gotten to bad about harassing anything that was the same size or smaller. Soon as he hit 4" he got real bad about it. At 6" was even worse. The only fish they co-exist with without any problems is Clown Loaches and most fish that are larger IME.
> I would be more worried about the Leopard Ctenopoma though. Rule of thumb for them is don't keep fish with them that can fit in their mouth. Once he gets big enough to fit fish in his mouth , you will definitely see your smaller fish population start to dwindle down. You will be amazed at the size fish they can and will eat. If it can get it in it's mouth it can and will eat it. At 2.5 " they can devour the tetra's and white clouds pretty easily. Mine wiped out all my glowlights before I got him to the 75g. They are awesome predators and with all the plants you have in there , life will be simple for him lol If the time ever comes you need to rehome him...let me know.


well thanks for the heads up John... I was warned about the Leopard when I got it from IPU but i've never kept them before so i wanted one and I figured I had lots of time before it became a problem. we'll see i suppose.

As for the Black shark, I had one years ago and remember them being pretty aggressive only when protecting their terretory.... was yours just a prick to everyone or just when they came into his space???


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

The Ctenopoma will hit probably hit 3" within a year . He'll grow even faster when he gets a taste of a neon lol As for my shark, he thought the whole damn tank was his territory lol so yea pretty much a a**hole to everyone that was smaller than him. He didn't like that Parrot Cichlid I gave Peter, she was always chasing him around and he hated it lol Took over all the caves and all lol The only fish he never bothered was the clown loaches. You never know, he might be a more peaceful one, I guess time will tell


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## beN (Apr 21, 2010)

Dude! Your tank looks wicked. That's some list you got there..Well Done Boris!


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## PlantedAquariums (Mar 24, 2012)

Hi Stuart,

do you have any Pogostemon erectus left over. I love to get sum.

Email me [email protected]

cheers,

Terrence


monkE said:


> thanks Stuart, ya i saw your post... i actually just happened to get a few of them from my buddy neoh right before you posted that.
> 
> The acrylic strip is what i'm thinking too... only sure fire way i think of separating them, also it will help the dwarf sag stay where i want it instead of shooting into the sand.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

i really like the FTS very nice set up


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

thanks Jay!


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## dssv (Jan 1, 2012)

Great thread. I enjoyed reading all of it. Loved the tank and all the fish. I can see why everyone wants a 120 g tank now.Hope I can get my 90 g close to what yours looks like. Did you ever split the co2 into 2 lines 2 defusers?


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

That's quite the list of fish collection you have in the tank. 
Have the Bolivian Rams paired up yet?


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

dssv said:


> Great thread. I enjoyed reading all of it. Loved the tank and all the fish. I can see why everyone wants a 120 g tank now.Hope I can get my 90 g close to what yours looks like. Did you ever split the co2 into 2 lines 2 defusers?


thanks Dssv! i havn't split the co2 line, i just have the diffuser set up right below the power head so it seems to spread the co2 around pretty good... plants seem to be doing just fine!



jobber604 said:


> That's quite the list of fish collection you have in the tank.
> Have the Bolivian Rams paired up yet?


Thanks ming! ya it took a while to figure out exactly what i had in there! lol I actually havn't really noticed the rams pairing up at all yet... kinda strange, i would have expected it by now but so far nothing.... that being said i have no idea of the sexes of these guys so i'm not sure what the mix in the group is.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

A bit of live blackworms for a few days will give them that extra hormonal jolt 
They look awesome in a big tank like your's.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

ok i'll have to look into blackworms... i'm regularly feeding them frozen blood worms but never yet done live food


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

My cories and tetras love them. Gives them that extra pop in colour. I'm trying to get my gold balloon rams to pair up so I'm leaving some worms for them to pick at within the bush. I use to feed bloodworms, but I found that they don't have the same nutritional value as from the blackworms. I guess I like to spoil my fish with high protein rich food to get them fat and pop out with colour.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

sounds good ming... where do you get them from?


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Try Chucky. I think he's closer to you.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

chucky? you mean charles?


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Haha. Yeah Charles. I think April may have some also.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Or just get the frozen blackworms. More bang for buck than the frozen bloodworms.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

well it's been a while here guys so i should start by updating my two tanks i think.

I did a huge trim today and have some before and after shots

Enjoy!

Here's the before








and the after


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Quite the jungle before the trim, looks like everything and everyone is doing good! Very neat setup indeed, those BNP's love their zucchini Thanks for sharing the updates


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## blurry (May 10, 2010)

Thats a pretty nice center piece you have there.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

Luke78 said:


> Quite the jungle before the trim, looks like everything and everyone is doing good! Very neat setup indeed, those BNP's love their zucchini Thanks for sharing the updates


thanks Luke! everyone in there seems happy and healthy and ya those BN's love to just hang out on that zucchini.... the clown loaches go to town on it too! 


blurry said:


> Thats a pretty nice center piece you have there.


thanks blurry it's actually 3 peices just stacked up but it sure turned out nice. I love driftwood (as you can see) and i'm just trying to figure out a way to put more in there if i can make it look good!


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## blurry (May 10, 2010)

You should try adding in some Manzanita wood would look pretty nice too


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## rich16 (Mar 25, 2011)

Thanks for sharing Mike, it looks great. Some awesome growth on your plants there!


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

blurry said:


> You should try adding in some Manzanita wood would look pretty nice too


ya that's a good idea, and it is pretty regularly sold on here... we'll see what happens



rich16 said:


> Thanks for sharing Mike, it looks great. Some awesome growth on your plants there!


thanks Rich! ya the plants sure exploded with those light fixtures i got from charles.


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

monkE said:


> ya that's a good idea, and it is pretty regularly sold on here... we'll see what happens
> 
> thanks Rich! ya the plants sure exploded with those light fixtures i got from charles.


Hey Mike I'm shutting down a couple of Freshwater tanks, got some nice planted driftwood pieces and some manzanita branches available.


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## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

The Guy said:


> Hey Mike I'm shutting down a couple of Freshwater tanks, got some nice planted driftwood pieces and some manzanita branches available.


thanks for the heads up man! if i decide to add in the next while i'll let you know


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