setting up my 1st planted tank

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Thats a good idea.....try it both ways. You could even wait till the actual light gets there before you mock it up, this way you can see how much light is dispersed both ways too. Anyway, good luck with that....drop a pic here when you decide...I'd like to see which way you decided and how it turned out.
 
Well...did a 30% water change today and afterwards found a box and mocked up a new hood/housing for the top of the tank. I have a couple options.

Flat Top
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Angle Top
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Or I could add an angle to the front, flatten a strip on the top, and angle back down towards the back.

This isn't completely accurate, but is awefully close. I could just add a hinge on top that would open the top and give me access to the light, feeding, etc.
 
Thanks ryan, I appreciate the compliment....it is still a work in progress. I'll be adding some more plants this weekend and will repost some more pics then.

Hey tj...the flat top looks much better than the angled, however, I thought you said you ordered the 30 inch light and had a 24 inch tank....if I am mistaken, and you did say 24" light and 30" tank, then I would definitely go with the flat.....be sure to leave the back open for ventilation and I would also go with the glass lid for the tank (if you dont already have one).

Thanks everyone for your compliments. Stay tuned, there are more pics to come real soon!
 
go for it....be sure to post some pics when its done...and I think the hinge is a good idea, this way you dont have to remove the lid to feed the fish and do routine maintenance. just have half of the lid "liftable" and have the lights mounted on the second half.
 
Looks VERY nice.

The shot you posted of your Oto looks quite thin. I don't know how long you had him prior to that shot, but these guys really like to eat and new tanks with no algae don't supply them with much. I'd suppliment their diet with some veggie's or other food (algae wafers seem to go over wel with mine).
 
Yeah, he did look a bit thin. I started with 6 last Saturday, and definitely lost one...cant seem to find one of the others (might had also succumb)...but I started to throw in algae wafers on Monday night. One a night and they were definitely eating from them, but the bulk of the wafer was still there the next morning...should I leave it in? or remove it in the morning and replace with a new one the next night???
 
If still there after 36-48 hours I would probably suck it up, but it may just take a while for them to enjoy it (soften and slightly break down). My Oto's also love lettuce. You can buy a head of romaine with the long thick leaves, wash it well in tap water, and then still wet, put it in the freezer. Give it 30min or so to completely freeze through, and then attach it to the side of the tank with a veggie clip, or weight it down. The freezing causes the cell walls to rupture making it easier to eat (and IME more appetizing to the fish).

Since this is a new tank you'll get a diatom outbreak shortly which your Oto's will LOVE. IMO it is their favorite food, and they will all have fat bellies after that starts.

HTH
 
Your tank is beautiful! I really like the aquascape. :)

crispo069 said:
well considering that I have 20 cherry shrimp on the way, I didnt want to overcrowd the bottom of the tank...so I was considering no less than 3 and no more than 5.

You have room for way more than 5 cories. ;) Cories are so much more fun to watch and behave differently in larger groups. Its worth it to get atleast 8 IMO and the shrimp won't take up that much room. Go with 8 or more and you won't be let down. In a 72g bow, seriously, you could have 12+ cories and the shrimp! They don't take up that much space. ;)
 
Thanks for the advice on the oto's 7. JustOne, I would like to have more cories, however, I have plans for a few schools in the tank, and I'm not sure my filter can handle the bioload...I dont want to throw my water out of whack...
 
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