Recent content by Alyssa

I left two spaces in the background for the mechanicals. On the far right is the uptake for the canister filter, behind the tall protrusion. Just to the left of center the outflow from the canister and the heater sit behind a wall that extends beyond the break in the background. So the...

Nice find! Will you try doing a background for this one?

Aww that's adorable! Thanks for the giggle.

Oooh that's really cool. I bet the fish love getting under those ledges! I agree this project was messy and time consuming and I too had a tough time waiting at certain stages. I said in a different post that I probably would have given up entirely at one point if I didn't have so much money...

Thanks KD! What kind of foam did you use? I don't know if a hair dryer would have affected mine too much. If I do it again I might try to find foam that is easier to work with. Mine was the big board used for insulation.

Thanks Wy! I bought 4 bulbs when I bought the live plants and they are growing like crazy. I think I'll try some more bulbs. I'm looking forward to having some lush growth in there. Andjak, I bought everything except the marine resin at Lowe's. I bought the marine resin directly from West...

I also created the foreground pieces at the same time with the same process so it would look uniform, and just siliconed them to the floor of the tank. I just have a few mollies in there at the moment but they seem to be really enjoying their new home. :)

Thanks! I'm really delighted with how it turned out. I followed the directions found at Faux Stone Aquarium Background at Ken's Aquariums & Pond The marine resin was a bit expensive but well worth it IMO. Carving the styrofoam was way more difficult than I anticipated. I broke several heat...

Added a few plants I added a few plants over the weekend which seem unaffected by my clumsy cycling efforts. :whistle:

Awww so cute!

I've only ever I kept one at a time. My new tank is a 55, probably too small for two, do you think? I would love to watch them interact if they don't really fight.

Oh they are just beautiful! Do they not fight? Do they each have their own home?

Thanks! I'm like a kid at Christmas right now. :D

It's been a long time coming but tonight I put in the substrate and filled it. (I let the background soak for a day with no substrate first. Ph = tap water Ph (8) after 24 hours. Ammonia 1 ppm.) Rena Filstar xp4 and Aquaclear 70 HOB both primed and started without a hitch. Heater heating...

And thank you so much for your kind words. This project has had me in tears on more than one occasion, but I'm a pretty stubborn cuss when I set my mind on something. If you have any planting suggestions I would love to have them. I haven't kept many live plants in the past so it's a whole be...