29g Planted hex build

[fishenthusiast]

My only problem with black neons is that there won't really be much for color. I have a white angel and some kuhli loaches whenever I can find them. That gives me black and white for colors.



I could throw some wild guppies in there though.. That might give a decent splash of color.



What do you guys think about substrate? Black diamond blasting sand, pool filter sand, or a white silica sand?

I'd go with the black sand. It will complement plants and fish nicely. About the fish, wouldn't the Angelfish try to eat the neons?

 

[ImACoolguy]

I'd go with the black sand. It will complement plants and fish nicely. About the fish, wouldn't the Angelfish try to eat the neons?

+1 to black sand.

This is a long debated thing. If the angel matures with the neons it greatly reduces the chance of that occurring.


Caleb

 

[Oscarr19]

I think white sand would look good against the cement background.


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[Brookster123]

If the neons hit their full size before the angel does I doubt they'll be viewed as a meal. My largest was almost 2" and plump..

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[Mebbid]

If the neons hit their full size before the angel does I doubt they'll be viewed as a meal. My largest was almost 2" and plump..

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My angels are about the size of a quarter right now. Still small.

 

[PassengerTN]

2 12 hour days in a row puts a damper on aquarium work. Its going in tomorrow for sure though!

How did it go?

Jesse

 

[Mebbid]

How did it go?

Jesse

I've been fighting with it a lot. Trying to find the right balance between consistency of concrete to give good coverage and keep brush strokes from showing up. I've sanded it down a few times because I wasn't happy with it and finally got it okay. Then I put in the seams which was a bit of a hassle with the shape of the tank and it looked terrible all over again. I am going to make a trip to get some different concrete soon then I will drain it and put a finishing coat over the rough spots to smooth them out.

But, here it is right now.

 

[PassengerTN]

I think it looks great as is bro. The different depths add a nice natural balance of shadows and highlights. I would be stoked if I could achieve what you got there.


Jesse

 

[Mebbid]

I think it looks great as is bro. The different depths add a nice natural balance of shadows and highlights. I would be stoked if I could achieve what you got there.


Jesse

Thanks!

We are our own harshest critics I guess

If you want to do something like it though, go for it I would suggest giving it a practice attempt on a sheet of styrofoam before going for something that goes in your tank, but it's super cheap and not complicated. Just time consuming and a bit of a learning process.

 

[PassengerTN]

I want to try it, but my rectangle tanks are too narrow as is, and I want to go a different route with my 65 hex. One day though! How much money would you guess you had in the background as this point? UniversalRocks and other brands are super expensive!

Jesse

 

[Mebbid]

I want to try it, but my rectangle tanks are too narrow as is, and I want to go a different route with my 65 hex. One day though! How much money would you guess you had in the background as this point? UniversalRocks and other brands are super expensive!

Jesse

Maybe $15 - $20. About $10 for cement, $8 ish for styrofoam, and whatever the caulk cost. It's more than enough to do a few tanks. I would estimate I got enough stuff to do a 6 foot tank with that. A 55g is my next project after this.

 

[Brookster123]

Looking good, maybe a few different colors and patterns to liven it up a bit??
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[Mebbid]

Looking good, maybe a few different colors and patterns to liven it up a bit??
Clear your inbox

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I am gonna go driftwood hunting for it on tuesday. There is a tree that's down nearby that I'm thinking of pulling some roots off of which should look really nice.

And inbox clear

 

[PNWaquarist]

What about black neons? No one rocks black neons..

I rock Black Neons and they look fantastic in dimly lit tanks. They're more colorful than one would think.

 

[Brookster123]

I rock Black Neons and they look fantastic in dimly lit tanks. They're more colorful than one would think.

I'm going to rock them one day!

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[mikem691]

Hey Mebbid If I recall right I seem to remember reading that the cement will leach for a while causing PH readings in the high 9's to low 10's. I guess it just takes letting it soak with daily 100% water changes for a week or two to correct it. Have you heard any thing like this??
It looks great.

 

[Mebbid]

Hey Mebbid If I recall right I seem to remember reading that the cement will leach for a while causing PH readings in the high 9's to low 10's. I guess it just takes letting it soak with daily 100% water changes for a week or two to correct it. Have you heard any thing like this??
It looks great.

Thanks!

And yeppers you are absolutely correct about that