I should've left it ALONE!

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Mlani

Mlani

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Dec 1, 2011
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Anyone else get into their tanks thinking "I know exactly what I'm going to do!" Then after a couple hours and a few soaking wet towels later you sit back, look at it and think .. Why didn't I just leave it alone!!? I've made one heck of a mess in my 80gal and now I have NO idea how I'm going to fix it. My poor fish are going insane! My 9year old son even said "MOM WHAT DID YOU DO!!?" I haven't a clue how I had all the stuff in there that I did, can't seem to figure out how to get it all back in right either. So I'm sitting here looking at the mess I made wondering how I'm going to fix it. Lol!
I'm about ready to shut the lights off and pretend its not there lol!
 

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Mlani said:
Anyone else get into their tanks thinking "I know exactly what I'm going to do!" Then after a couple hours and a few soaking wet towels later you sit back, look at it and think .. Why didn't I just leave it alone!!? I've made one heck of a mess in my 80gal and now I have NO idea how I'm going to fix it. My poor fish are going insane! My 9year old son even said "MOM WHAT DID YOU DO!!?" I haven't a clue how I had all the stuff in there that I did, can't seem to figure out how to get it all back in right either. So I'm sitting here looking at the mess I made wondering how I'm going to fix it. Lol!
I'm about ready to shut the lights off and pretend its not there lol!
Click to expand...

Haha just ask a few of us around here!! Not meaning to laugh AT you by the way. I re scaped my tank probably 20 times. It happens. It's good for you and the fish! Change things up. If you can't fit everything then don't!! Save it for the next time ;)

You'll be fine!! Sit back take a deep breathe and relax!! :cool:
 
I've been sitting here staring at it for (what feels like) an hour. I put the boy (my son) to bed cause he was just adding to my frustration. Mean mommy I know lol! I look at the tank and it seems like I have two separate tanks in one. There's no flow the half rock half sand substrate isn't helping matters either.
 
I honestly feel your pain. Sometimes you gotta walk away and pick up tomorrow. I have to ask and sorry if it strikes a nerve but were friends right?! :flowers:

What's with the half n half substrate? :hide:
 
Mlani said:
I've been sitting here staring at it for (what feels like) an hour. I put the boy (my son) to bed cause he was just adding to my frustration. Mean mommy I know lol! I look at the tank and it seems like I have two separate tanks in one. There's no flow the half rock half sand substrate isn't helping matters either.
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I look at the tank and can see some good things. I think a good night's sleep will help to clear your mind and give you some inspiration.
 
Convict2161 said:
I honestly feel your pain. Sometimes you gotta walk away and pick up tomorrow. I have to ask and sorry if it strikes a nerve but were friends right?! :flowers:

What's with the half n half substrate? :hide:
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LOL!! K funny story.. This tank started out being my sons tank. He begged and begged for months to his daddy to get one. So..the half and half is because when we were setting it up he wanted gravel and I wanted sand so out of his mouth " we co-operized!! " I know that's not a word but he was sweet and met me in the middle. What choice did I have after that??
&& of course were friends!! :p ;-)
 
jcolon said:
I look at the tank and can see some good things. I think a good night's sleep will help to clear your mind and give you some inspiration.
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You're being kind! Thank you! I'm still messing with the darn thing..I don't think I'll be able to sleep until I get it right. I'll be up there wide awake laying in bed thinking .. I should move that plant here and the stone there..lol!
 

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Lmao! That was there out of frustration lol! I didn't even dig the thing down. These plastic plants are crud! They're stained they're so old. If I didn't have such a tight budget I'd be VERY tempted to try real ones! I know Trooper (my discus) would love real ones!
 
I give up!! I'm going to take some great advice and go to bed. Hopefully something will come to me in my dreams.. On a good note my 65 is finally starting to clear up nicely. At least I think it is.
Yes I turned my bubblers back on. Lol! Power head is still off though. ;-)
 

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That last one looks great! If you wanted to get into live plants, a carpet would look awesome.
 
Easy (and cheap) live plants like Java Fern/Moss, Crypts, Anubias, and Anarcharis.

I don't keep Discus, but shouldn't they be kept in groups? Or is it okay to just have one?
 
Mlani said:
I give up!! I'm going to take some great advice and go to bed. Hopefully something will come to me in my dreams.. On a good note my 65 is finally starting to clear up nicely. At least I think it is.
Yes I turned my bubblers back on. Lol! Power head is still off though. ;-)
Click to expand...

Now that's looking good ... I see the rocks are more layered. Consider moving the tall plant in the front left towards the back, maybe have smaller sized plants in the corners.
 
I've had really good success with java moss (was hard for me to find), java fern and anubias. I've split my anubias twice already and need to split them again. The Java moss won't stop growing and my java fern I need to figure something out for cause its doing 'meh'. I recently got some anacharis and it is EXPLODING in my tank. I don't dose CO2, I rarely put in ferts, and I have about 80 watts with T-8s (bulbs over a year old) on a 65 gallon tank. I think I've spent about $40 on plants total in the last year. Super easy to grow.

As for the aquascaping... I can't help you, I'm terrible at it :p Your later pictures are looking better though. I like the mixed substrate, it makes it more interesting.
 
looking good! I would suggest you go ahead and move you heater down so its right behind eye lvl of your rocks and completely horizontal. It won't reduce functionality at all and should hide it enough so that doesn't draw the eye :popcorn:
 
phishfriend said:
looking good! I would suggest you go ahead and move you heater down so its right behind eye lvl of your rocks and completely horizontal. It won't reduce functionality at all and should hide it enough so that doesn't draw the eye :popcorn:
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I agree, I try my best to hide every piece of equipment.
 
The last pic was of my other tank lol! The big green plant in the front corner is my female nubilia's hiding spot. Can't move it right now as the boys are harassing her and its her only comfort. I will be getting more females soon and will probably shift it at that point.
As for the discus being solo, you're quite right in saying they do better in groups. However this guy (hence the name Trooper) was the only survivor from two batches of discus to pull through culiminarus and ich. So I decided not to risk any kind of additional stress on him and have given him the castle he so rightly deserves. He plays with everyone in the tank and rules his roost. Lol!
I'm definitely going to hide the heaters, I thought you couldn't have them close to anything because of the heat?
I have (on both tanks) the 15+ year old standard hoods/lights so if I wanted real plants would I have to upgrade those? Have to say the "dosing" part of plants has been a big deterrent for me. You say you don't do any of that? I'd like to know more about your set up :)
This is what I woke to this morning .. The "silent scaper" didn't visit last night. So it looks like I'm going to be up to my arm pits in water again lol!
Sorry it's such a poor picture. Using my phone and the sun is up now so plenty of reflections.
 

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Mlani said:
Anyone else get into their tanks thinking "I know exactly what I'm going to do!" Then after a couple hours and a few soaking wet towels later you sit back, look at it and think .. Why didn't I just leave it alone!!? I've made one heck of a mess in my 80gal and now I have NO idea how I'm going to fix it. My poor fish are going insane! My 9year old son even said "MOM WHAT DID YOU DO!!?" I haven't a clue how I had all the stuff in there that I did, can't seem to figure out how to get it all back in right either. So I'm sitting here looking at the mess I made wondering how I'm going to fix it. Lol!
I'm about ready to shut the lights off and pretend its not there lol!
Click to expand...
I been there, i'm sure a lot us have, if were honest!!!. Is it the scaping your talking about or the equipment or both??
PS.... I decided to install LED strips at 9pm on Christmas Eve.. Big mistake!!!!
 
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