125g Amazon Tank Photo Journal

[porksnorkel]

just documenting my tanks progress, so please enjoy the pics.
DIY 125g stand and canopy w/ marineland 125 tank
filtration.....twin emperor 400's and fluval fx5
lighting.......twin 96W AH Supply PC's on single ballast w/ 10,000K bulbs
cooling.......DIY mini fan from Skycraft Surplus
heaters......twin Stealth 200W's
timer/pwr....Coralife single digital and Leviton power strips
backround...exterior black paint
substrate....white play sand from Home Depot
rock...........Tennessee river rounds from Pebble Junction
wood..........grapewood and unknown

flora..........Jungle Vallis [to be planted]
fauna[current]........2 angels
9 silver dollars [8 in QT]
5 silver hatchets
2 marble hatchets
1 clown pleco [to be removed if possible]
1 whiptail cat
2 spotted coris
1 glass cori
1 bolivian ram
2 ghost shrimp
fauna[to come]......1 whiptail cat
3 to 4 glass coris
6 bolivian rams
2 discus
10 to 15 small tetras of some sort [may not have room]

 

[porksnorkel]

 

[Zagz]

Very nice! Your angels seem to be enjoying the space

 

[Jaybird]

What did you put below the sand? There is the white plastic grid and what looks like peat moss. Is that it?

 

[Zagz]

The white plastic is egg crate, it is used to support rocks and ornaments without creating pressure points on the glass. I will let the op tell you what the dark stuff is.

 

[porksnorkel]

yes it is eggcrate and peat moss. the eggcrate is in fact for rock support and the peat is for the plants to come.

 

[theotheragentm]

Wow, looks great.

 

[porksnorkel]

ty theo.

i have aquired 3 hydor nano pumps, just to add a bit more circulation. should have them in the tank soon.

 

[porksnorkel]

picked up 5 more green cories. they are in Q right now. sorry bout the crappy pic, but i can't get a good shot in this tank for some reason.

also added the 3 hydor nano pumps for 600+ more gallons of circulation.

 

[porksnorkel]

ty guys. i have rearranged things, as i felt the set up was to cluttery, and left little room for plantings. much of the rock has come out as well as the wood. not sure how i feel about the last piece of wood at this point. i'll have to see it w/ the plants in.

as u can see, there are some nice cory and ram caves. hopefully some will be convinced to spawn at some point.
i have added 2 more angels and the 5 cories that were in Q. also picked up 17 rummy nose tets, 8 scissortail tets, 4 bolivian rams, and 3 more panda cories. all the later are in Q.
on a different note, the last of the clown plecs was traded in, as well as all the silver dollars.

 

[porksnorkel]

woo hooo!!! plants!

 

[mom2reds]

looks good Live plants in a tank always look great IMO.

 

[porksnorkel]

ty mom.

 

[porksnorkel]

been an up and down week in this aquarium. the plants aren't fairing well. i think it is partly do to my substrate, but more so because my glass tops are so clouded that the light isn't getting through. i think i will move the hatchets to my daughter's 20g, and take the glass tops off. hopefully the moisture won't destroy my canopy. i also have a Co2 set up on the way. should arrive today.
as for the fish...i lost most of the rummies that were in Q. i didn't realize they were so sensitive when i got them, and i don't think i can provide the type of water quality they need. also lost 2 marble hatchets, an angel, and a bumblebee cory. they were all young fish. i think decaying plant matter, and possibly overfeeding may be to blame. i'm on 35% weekly WC's. not sure how much to feed, as i have not yet had a tank w/ this many fish in it.
but there was a very high point to the week...
ANGEL BABIES!!

of course, now i have a whole new canno worms! what the heck am i gonna do w/ these guys when they hatch? they will certainly make a nice lunch for the other fish in here. perhaps i can temp them in a 10g till i figure out what to do.

 

[porksnorkel]

update for july...
tank is coming around. i had to mow down most of the plants as they got beat up in shipping, and also the filters were destroying the valls. since then i have moved some of the plants away from the filters, removed the glass canopies, added a pressurized Co2 system, and another FX5. the emperors will go to the other tank, since using them is wasting the Co2. the plants are rooting well and have started to come back. it will be awhile till they get to the top i think.

this is the new FX5 and Co2 bottle. i'm using an Azoo regulator and needle valve, controlled by the timer. the gas is delivered in the aquarium via this easy lil DIY set up. basically i'm using a small internal Elite filter, to diffuse the Co2. it makes a tapping noise when the bubbles pass through it, so a bubble counter isn't really needed.

twin intakes...

current fauna is the angel pair, 5 bolivian rams, 9 scissortail tetras/rasboras, 1 whiptail cat, 4 hatchets[had a jumper and never found him], 1 rummy nose[the rest did not survive] and a mess of cories.
this tank has claimed many lives thus far, some do to my stupidity, and some do to unknown causes. things seem to be getting better though. i will likely order another light kit so i can replace the glass tops. the evaporation is obscene. several gallons a day go missing. also helps stabilize temps w/ the tops on. seems to stay at a nice 80d-F. twas to hot before so i flipped the fan upside down to blow cold air into the canopy. works much better. i have a set of night time LED's now too. should have those on by next week. check back then...
ps...the angel spawn yielded no fry this time...or the filters ate them!

 

[new2betas]

I think things are looking good, Porksnorkel. I especially liked the first picture in the new series. I have one of those mini elite filters and had no idea you put the foam on the outside....newbie me....lol. Looking forward to more pictures.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

I have one of those mini elite filters and had no idea you put the foam on the outside....newbie me....lol. Looking forward to more pictures.

The filter on the outside is for distributing CO2 as seen here:You can see all the tiny CO2 bubbles
Tiny super efficient CO2 reactor - Page 2 - Do It Yourself Aquarium Projects - Aquatic Plant Central

 

[new2betas]

The filter on the outside is for distributing CO2 as seen here:You can see all the tiny CO2 bubbles
Tiny super efficient CO2 reactor - Page 2 - Do It Yourself Aquarium Projects - Aquatic Plant Central

OMG .... that is SO cool! Thanks so much for showing me that. So, I could put this in either of my 10g planted tanks and it would help with my plants??? So cool!

 

[porksnorkel]

was an awesome idea...i should have linked the article, so thank you speed. saved me some money for sure. i originally had it linked on a dual system, but it wasn't distributing evenly.

 

[new2betas]

Matt,
I am making one of these right now...I am so tickled! Thanks!