RightTurnClyde's 29 Gallon Build!

[pittbully13]

Great job, tank looks great and everyone is healthy. I upgraded from a 10 to a 29 with no issues. I added more filter floss to my 10 hob filter weeks before the swap in preparation for the new and bigger filter. I keep RCS in my 29 and they all do well with my single platy, 8 neons, 5 red serpae tetras, 4 white clouds, 4 otos, and 3 recently added tiger endlers. I know overstocked, but right now everyone is good.

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[venymae]

At long last, here is a pic of the tank as it is now. What was fairly densely planted in my 10 gallon is looking sparse now. I'll be getting some tall background plants ASAP!

I like it! I think it actually looks kind of nice with the sparser look! I also like the pool sand LOTS and did you tie the java(?) moss to those rocks yourself? YLooks great!

 

[RightTurnClyde]

Thanks Pitbully. That's your java moss on the rocks. I kept a small "reserve clump" behind the lava rock too.

 

[RightTurnClyde]

I like it! I think it actually looks kind of nice with the sparser look! I also like the pool sand LOTS and did you tie the java(?) moss to those rocks yourself? YLooks great!

Thanks! Yes, I tied the java moss to the rocks. I bought a huge ball of it from Pitbully13. The stuff is so lush and green, I love it. I put it on fairly thick on the left rock, and really thin on the right one. Just experimenting to see which one grows in better.

 

[venymae]

Thanks! Yes, I tied the java moss to the rocks. I bought a huge ball of it from Pitbully13. The stuff is so lush and green, I love it. I put it on fairly thick on the left rock, and really thin on the right one. Just experimenting to see which one grows in better.

Cool! I just tied a bunch of my own to some drift wood, but I never thought about putting it on rocks. You'll have to let me know how it turns out for you.

 

[pittbully13]

Thanks Pitbully. That's your java moss on the rocks. I kept a small "reserve clump" behind the lava rock too.

I thought your screen name looked familiar. Sorry I didn't recognize it earlier. Lol im glad your enjoying the moss and your tank is super nice. Looks peaceful, Zen like!

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[RightTurnClyde]

Update: The tank is still healthy and doing fine except for what looks like some brown algae on the Anubias.

My big battle now is to try and quiet the rattle on my AC 50 filter! Tonight I even used some teflon plumbers tape to take the slop out of the plastic impeller and coated the impeller shaft with a ton of vaseline, but it only helps for about 15 minutes and it goes right back to rattling again. I even switched to using the motor from my AC 30 which was running nice and quiet on my 10 gallon. Maybe I have a bum impeller assembly? My research tells me the only option left is to get some silicone plumbers grease and use that instead of the vaseline on the impeller shaft. Hopefully that will stay put and resist the water better.

 

[Brookster123]

The filter will quite down in time, let the tank slime it up a bit!

 

[venymae]

Is it new still (like 90 days?) if so, exchange it for a new one. Nobody likes sub-par products. And returns/exchanges are the way to go!

 

[venymae]

The filter will quite down in time, let the tank slime it up a bit!

I've never had a new one rattle, juuuuuuust saying.

 

[RightTurnClyde]

Yeah, I have my doubts that it will ever stop rattling on its own. My AC 30 was quiet from the start. I don't know if returning/exchanging is an option at this point, since I've already modded it and thrown the box away. I still have some tricks to try though. Just haven't had time with being busy at work and family commitments/closed stores today on Easter.

Back to the fun: I ordered some Brazilian Pennywort, a Watersprite, and a school of 10 Cardinal Tetras that will be arriving at my LFS for me on Tuesday. I'll post more pictures once they are introduced.

 

[RightTurnClyde]

Tank update! I got a nice Water Sprite and some sad Brazilian Pennywort to try to fill in the background a little more. Hopefully they will grow in quickly.

And... 10 Cardinals! Put them in yesterday evening after acclimating them for as long as I could stand. They were extremely shy and scared at first, staying on the bottom and hiding in the cave or behind the lava rock. But today when I got home from work, they were mostly hanging around the middle, just looking pretty, like I imagined they would. Excited to have some more life in the tank. Here's a current pic:

 

[prinzlerr]

Your tank looks great, and I really like the mossy rockwork. I have a spare 29 in storage that I've been trying to figure out what to do with, and this is giving me some ideas.

To chime in on the AC filter noise, I own two (AC30 and AC50) and have never had issues with any noise, or issues whatsoever, aside from the intake occasionally getting clogged with detritus. I believe I have read that their customer service is outstanding, however, so if the noise continues to be an issue, even without the box and with the modifications done, it might be worth a shot to contact them.

I don't believe that this has been pointed out, but if that is anacharis planted in the back center, it may become more of a nuisance than anything. It grows EXTREMELY fast, even in low tech setups. One of the guys at my LFS just picked some up for his 125 low tech, and he claims it's growing 1-2 inches every couple of days. This was in line with the growth I experienced in a 40 breeder I used a couple of years ago. Mine was running along the top of the water in what seemed like no time.

 

[RightTurnClyde]

Glad you like it! Thanks for the tip on the customer service. I'll give them a call. I think I've narrowed down the problem to a lemon of an impeller. Maybe they'll send me a new one so I don't have to spend the 8 bucks on Amazon.

And yes, that is anacharis. It's only now starting to show growth for me. Not fast at all. But then again, I dose with excel every other day, and I've heard it's sensitive to it.

 

[RightTurnClyde]

Figured I would update with some pics on how my tank has changed over the past 5 months or so. Just did some big rearranging. I had to remove my Water Sprite and Anacharis. It just wasn't growing for me and kept melting/dying. Got some nice Jungle Val and an Amazon Sword from my LFS and just last night got a plant package from FresH2O. Added Bacopa to the background and a bunch of Star Repens and AR mini to the front left. I have my eye on a nice piece of driftwood at my LFS and will probably put that in the empty space next to my mossy cave on the left. I'll probably have to rearrange/move the AR mini.

Full tank:

Left:

Middle:

Right:

 

[Fresh2o]

Everything looks nice and crisp and colorful. Wow, 5 months between posts is quite a gap. The bacopa should fill that back wall in no time.


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[RadMax8]

That's a nice looking tank! Did you ever add the RCS? I'd be curious to see how they worked out with your fish


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[RightTurnClyde]

Thanks!

Haha... Yeah, I had a few RCS for awhile and they were fine but then I fell in love with some Green Tiger Barbs and the RCS became food. I have 5 Amano shrimp though and they are doing fine.


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[RightTurnClyde]

I suppose I should also update my stock. I now have:

4 Green Tiger Barbs (need 1 more)
4 Zebra Danios (might be getting rid of these guys soon)
6 White Clouds
2 Julii Corys (need 2 more)
5 Amano Shrimp
3 Tiger Nerite Snails
2 visible pond snails and many MTS.



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[RightTurnClyde]

Holy cow! Just finished my weekly water change and then noticed this. Check out the video. Is that my Jungle Val pearling?? I don't use CO2 injection. Just Excel and some Seachem ferts.