hi everyone

[WendiDell]

i've now ordered the tank and will take about 10 days to get here. its 107 gallon 1.5metres long 0.5 metres wide and 0.65 metres high. I feel like a five year old whos about to have a birthday party im so excited

That's a good size,. It will give you some good options. I'm really happy for you , HAPPY BIRTHDAY, let us know when it gets there.
Have you given any thought to what your going to put into it. Not the fish part, but the filters, the background, the gravel or sand etc,etc, etc. There will be a lot to play with even before you can put your fish in and it's all fun.

 

[Kondoe]

That's a good size,. It will give you some good options. I'm really happy for you , HAPPY BIRTHDAY, let us know when it gets there.
Have you given any thought to what your going to put into it. Not the fish part, but the filters, the background, the gravel or sand etc,etc, etc. There will be a lot to play with even before you can put your fish in and it's all fun.

honestly i have no idea as far as filters and heaters and stuff go i wouldn't know where to start. with gravel or sand and stuff, i've read somewhere that some fish eat the gravel which we don't wont happening. so not sure what to do there. background im not sure of either but the wall the tank will be against is kind of a dull red.

 

[WendiDell]

OK, it's time for research, on a tank than size you'll need at least 2 filters and 2 heaters. If 1 stops working all your fish won't die while your fixing or replacing the other one. Also, If one does break buy 2 more. If one goes out the other probably isn't far behind.
Also, do you want just day lighting or do you want moon lights too. The LED moon lighting looks so cool on a tank that size.
The gravel depends on the fish. Not all fish eat gravel and there are pros and cons to both sand and gravel. If the fish your getting like a higher pH there are crushed shells that maintain an alkaline water, the shells look nice too, especially under the LED moon lights.
In one 55g tank I have natural looking small river rock, in the other 55g tank I have a mix of small blue and lavender gravel. I like both, even though they are very different looks.
But to help keep the pH up in my Cichlid tank I'm going to mix the shells with the small river rock.
There is one thing no Aquarist should be without, a water changer. Trust me you don't want to lug buckets of water back and forth, it's a huge PITA. I did it for years before I found out about water changers, what a revelation. I no longer dread cleaning the tanks.
There are basically 2 types of water changers and they work pretty much the same way. One is a Python and the other is an Aqueon, both hook onto your faucet and first it sucks out the dirty water and you flip a switch and it fills the tank with clean water. The water changers also allow you to keep the water temp stable during the water change. A change more than a degree or 2 will stress out your fish and give them all ick.
That's enough to make your brain hurt so I'll stop for now. After you decide on this stuff I'll tell you about more decisions you'll need to make.
Have a great weekend, LOL.

 

[Kondoe]

ok two filters two heaters and a water changer. Based on the research i have done a pH level of about 6.8-7.0 seems best suited for the fish im looking to get, and if the LED moon lights make a tank look better then i don't see why i shouldnt add them in too

 

[WendiDell]

OK two filters two heaters and a water changer. Based on the research i have done a pH level of about 6.8-7.0 seems best suited for the fish I'm looking to get, and if the LED moon lights make a tank look better then i don't see why i shouldn't add them in too

Sounds good to me.
A pH of 6.8-7.0 is extremely narrow, most fish have at least a 6.5 -7.0 for the difficult ones and for easy fish it usually a pH of 6.5-7.5. you need little wiggle room with the pH.
The PH comes out of my tap at 7.5, so I need to raise it or lower it depending on which tank I'm working with.
the liveaquaria site is a good one to find out the pH range of the fish your planning on. They have all kinds of useful specs. on fish.
Are you planning on building caves and terraces from real rocks or buying the caves and rocks to use as decorations?
Again it's one of those things where there's pros and con's to both.
Do you know what type of background you may want?
You need to start seeing the tank finished in your head. Some people like draw out plans. I just see it all in my head, what I want it to look like.
For this part just go to www.bigalsoline.com, click on fish supplies. Then you'll see a list running down the left side of the page. It says things like Additives
Accessories
decorations
filters
Gravel and so on. you see what there is and go I like this but not that. That would look great in the center or those are cool plants. Big Al's has a wish list so you can check off all you want and need without buying all at once or right away. But still organize what you want to do. You can go back and change your wishlist as often as you want, until it's perfect.
You're going to need most of it to cycle your tank after you get it.
For the gravel/sand I found that it's about 1lb of gravel for every gallon of water. It gives you enough to cover the the bottom and to keep the decorations from floating around. So for your tank you can round it down to 105lbs or up to 110lbs it's up to you. It comes in natural or almost any color you could want. They also have this gravel that's natural, but polished like like a jewel stone. All the colors come out and just shine. If I didn't already have my tank cycled with the gravel I have, I'd switch to the natural jeweled stones. They would look amazing under the moon lighting, great shimmering.
I haven't slept all night and it's 9:30am. So good night and I'll check in when I wake up.

 

[Kondoe]

I'll take another look at bigals for some more ideas but at the moment in my head I see a couple of large rocks/caves (the real stuff) and plenty of plants to make it nice and green taller plants at the back of the tank and a few small plants scattered around towards the front. Background I'm still not 100% sure on I'm thinking plants and rocks in the background but with open spaces to make the tank look deeper. The gravel I'm thinking something natural. Pale colours with a few small rocks submerged in the gravel.

That's all I can come up with for now you need to get some sleep sweet dreams

 

[WendiDell]

Thanks, I slept really well for a change.
Are you planning on real plants, plastic plants or silk plants? I know nothing is simple.
If you get the plastic plants, which don't need upkeep and your fish won't rip them apart, get plants that are different shades. They look more realistic when inside the tank. The flat green look, well flat. Some of the taller twisted grasses look good. Remember everything looks really different in the water.
To make my new 55g set up look like there is more of it I used a background that looks like it's underwater. But at the top of the background it looks like you can see the surface. It makes it look like there is water past the taller plants. But the foil backgrounds look amazing with the LED moon lights.
I'll type at you later it's 2:30am and I'm not staying up on the computer again.

 

[Kondoe]

Most probably plastic plants for now, keep things a bit more simple to start with. I will get a good mix of colours such as green red yellow and so on.

 

[WendiDell]

QUOTE=Kondoe;1262190]Most probably plastic plants for now, keep things a bit more simple to start with. I will get a good mix of colours such as green red yellow and so on.[/QUOTE]
Cool, try and stay away from the solid dark green. They look the, I don't think fakest is a word, but you know what I mean, cheesy.
There are some fake floating plants that are beautiful, if you can find them. Some have delicate little flowers, others look like English Ivy, both look like they are dripping from a trellis. They look best in tanks over 75g, like yours. But they can be difficult to find. They sell out fast when they do get any in.
I was thinking about the background. Those little pictures are so hard to see. I don't know if they will do this or not but ask some of the online suppliers if they would be willing to send you, like a 4" strip of 3-5 of the ones you think you may like.
If they won't, I could go to my not so LFS and trim a few backgrounds for you and mail them to you. You won't get the whole picture but you can get a better idea of colors and the size of things in the background. Some of those itty, bitty pictures are a joke. Especially for something as important as a background.
Oh I'm attaching a picture of what the LED lights look in a set up. Now this is a pic. of a new 220g build. But it will give you a good idea of what it could look like in your tank.
I don't have any yet but as soon as I've saved a few pennies I will be getting some for both of my 55g tanks.
My 55g Cichlid tank has a terrace that I can hide them under perfectly. I'm not sure on the soon to be Platinum Veil and Black&Blue Pinoy Angelfish tank.
I should say thank you. while I was looking at fish for your tank I found some Danios to put in with the Angels. Because the Angels I'm getting are Platinum and Black, I wanted a lot of little brightly colored fish swimming around them. But they can't be to small or the Angels will eat them.
First I'll put the LED pic. up. Then on the nest post I'll put up the pics. of the fish you helped me find.
These photos are courtesy of hdultra's awesome 220g tank build. She deserves all the credit for how her Cichlid tank turned out.

 

[WendiDell]

These are the absolute fish so far, for the new 55g set up.
The Platinum Veil Angelfish and the Black&Blue Pinoy Angelfish and the Gold Veil Tail Widow Tetras and the Zebra Danio.
If there is enough room after all of those I may add a few Long Fin Leopard Danio.
What do you think? Actually what does anyone think? I researched them all and they should be compatible (lol). And they all like slightly acidic water and that's good. I just don't want fin nippers which the Gold tetras aren't suppose to be. And I don't want the any of the other fish to be so small that they become a snack for the Angels. So the Danio should be a good size, not to small, not to big.
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[Kondoe]

wow they look realy cool. I especially like that last one blue and yellow . and the tank pic you posted earlier looks amazing. I want a similar setup to that pic except i want some taller thin plants aswell.

 

[WendiDell]

many things

wow they look really cool. I especially like that last one blue and yellow . and the tank pic you posted earlier looks amazing. I want a similar setup to that pic except i want some taller thin plants aswell.

I had a feeling you'd really like hdultra's 220g tank and what she did with the lighting.
I've never really liked the plain gray rock that you see in many African Cichlid tanks, but I love hers.
She actually did that whole build with a broken leg. Including going out and getting the real river rocks. You may want to read some of her 220g tank build thread. There is a lot of good info on a large build. Since you want real rocks she put some stuff on the bottom of the tank to protect the glass in case of falling rocks. The last thing you want is a leak on the bottom of your tank from an accidental rock drop.
I checked on the LED lights and I was surprised how inexpensive it was to set up. The hub is only $16.99 and they had 2 prices, $9.29 for the smaller one and $15.99 for the other. They come in Blue or Green or Red or White. No clue how they work.
There was also couple of things called Moonlight Aerators. Which sounds cool at first, until you read about them.
Turns out that even though they are under water they make a lot of noise. They constantly suck up gravel, so your pulling them out of the tank and taking them apart, trying to shake the gravel out. So, Moonlight Aerators, bad idea.
Last thing, how tall is your tank? I saw some very cool 24" tall slender plants. They also had a fake Bamboo that was 12"tall also slender with nice small leaves. There was also a Corkscrew & red Ludwigia that was pretty.
I'm trying to figure out how to describe these plants that are like you said you wanted. but because your a guy I'm trying to avoid words like pretty and elegant or beautiful. But these are plants and fish and they are pretty and elegant. I almost wrote dainty about one of them. While in my head I'm seeing you go, DAINTY IS SHE FOR REAL? she's telling me I should get a dainty tree for my Shark tank.
It's just that aesthetically the plants I saw would work well against the back wall of your tank. Kind of reed like so they would move with the water.
So what words should I never use while describing something that looks great and you'd probably like it? But, because I described it in such a girly way that you never even bother to check it out because I made it sound just way to fru fru for you.

 

[Kondoe]

dont worry you can use any girly words you like i have two younger sisters im used to it all and understand them very well

But you got it spot on for what im looking for reed type stuff, i will be getting some with big leaves aswell a nice mix basicly. i will check out the plants you mentioned and the LED lights great price theres loads of places here doing lights and stuff but im not sure how well they work in water ill have to ask around and the tank is 65cm tall

 

[Kondoe]

i looked up the plants you mentioned on google and they are perfect. and the idea of bamboo is superb i didn't think of that, would look realy good thankyou

 

[Mr. Limpet]

i looked up the plants you mentioned on google and they are perfect. and the idea of bamboo is superb i didn't think of that, would look realy good thankyou

You should keep in mind that bamboo is not a true aquatic plant. The stalk will do OK in the water, but the leaves will rot and foul your water. Go to plantgeek.net and there is a wealth of info on aquatic plants (and false aquatics too).

Sent from my Epic 4G using Aquarium

 

[Kondoe]

You should keep in mind that bamboo is not a true aquatic plant. The stalk will do OK in the water, but the leaves will rot and foul your water. Go to plantgeek.net and there is a wealth of info on aquatic plants (and false aquatics too).

Sent from my Epic 4G using Aquarium

thanks for the heads up Mr. Limpet. I will try and find fake bamboo anyway but, i probably would have gone a bought the real stuff and chucked it in the tank

 

[Mr. Limpet]

thanks for the heads up Mr. Limpet. I will try and find fake bamboo anyway but, i probably would have gone a bought the real stuff and chucked it in the tank

My local petco tries to sell it and it's rotting in their display stand, unsold .

If you really want it and your tank is open topped (partial?), don't be afraid to go to a good garden center and see what they have. Semi aquatics are neat to have if you plant/treat them correctly.

Sent from my Epic 4G using Aquarium

 

[Kondoe]

my tank will be closed completely so won't be able to get any semi-aquatic plants. i could try cutting the lid but i would most probably ruin the whole thing

 

[WendiDell]

my tank will be closed completely so won't be able to get any semi-aquatic plants. i could try cutting the lid but i would most probably ruin the whole thing

Hi Kondoe,
Been out of touch for a few days. But, I thought you were going to go with artificial plants? The Bamboo that I saw that I thought would work for you was fake, but cute. It was of course on www.bigalsonline.com. I've found several plants and rocks and other things for you to look at, to get an idea of whats available and what you really like.
I've never been able to do anything half way so I have around 50 pictures of the plants ans rocks and caverns and a terrace.
But I don't think anyone here on AA wants to look through that stuff on a thread. So I'm going to put them in an Album on my personal info page.That way you can go look at the things I found to give you ideas for you tank at your own convenience.
I'm going to send you a PM with the details.