New 60 Gallon (Now 40b) Build!!

[George9]

Oh my gosh! I swear I was thinking about buying that one! I knew it would be an apisto...
Ah, I cannot think of the species name right now. He looks really good!

Hmm names. I remember SM telling me hes a male. So how about..
Fred! Larry! I'm bad at names lol how about Confutious ?

 

[skywhitney]

Brutus! He's one of the biggest Apistos we have ever had here.

He looks great. The best part is, he's going to show more color than that. Your tank looks awesome. I'm sure your fish love all that plant cover. And wow, you have really had a ton of growth.

He's definitely bigger than i thought he was going to be! His sides are starting to show yellow now too . He's an awesome guy!

Thanks! The plants have taken off! They were growing fast with just a really tiny bit of DIY CO2 but now that i've switched out to a pressurized CO2 system and changed my lighting they're going crazy. I measured the diandra growth for one day at 1/4" just while i was at work. My Ludwiga is starting to lose some of its red though :-(

Oh my gosh! I swear I was thinking about buying that one! I knew it would be an apisto...
Ah, I cannot think of the species name right now. He looks really good!

Hmm names. I remember SM telling me hes a male. So how about..
Fred! Larry! I'm bad at names lol how about Confutious ?

Lol i figured you would i started talking to SM as soon as you told me she still had one available. The actual species is undescribed but he looks a lot like the Rotpunkt. (Severum Mama, correct me if i'm wrong please). He's coming up to the glass when i go over to the tank and has already started eating i'm super stoked about this guy.

 

[George9]

He's definitely bigger than i thought he was going to be! His siders are starting to show yellow now too . He's an awesome guy!

Thanks! The plants have taken off! They were growing fast with just a really tiny bit of DIY CO2 but now that i've switched out to a pressurized CO2 system and changed my lighting they're going crazy. I measured the diandra growth for one day at 1/4" just while i was at work. My Ludwiga is starting to lose some of its red though :-(

Lol i figured you would i started talking to SM as soon as you told me she still had one available. The actual species is undescribed but he looks a lot like the Rotpunkt. (Severum Mama, correct me if i'm wrong please). He's coming up to the glass when i go over to the tank and has already started eating i'm super stoked about this guy.

Haha yeah apistos are super cool. Severum Mama always has the coolest fish

 

[skywhitney]

Haha yeah apistos are super cool. Severum Mama always has the coolest fish

I'll have to keep my eye out for a female Apisto now...

 

[George9]

I'll have to keep my eye out for a female Apisto now...

Are you sure you wanna pair em up? They can get pretty aggressive during breeding and when the eggs are layed

 

[skywhitney]

Are you sure you wanna pair em up? They can get pretty aggressive during breeding and when the eggs are layed

Well the wife really likes him so maybe i can use it to my advantage for another tank.....oh the possibilities!

 

[George9]

Well the wife really likes him so maybe i can use it to my advantage for another tank.....oh the possibilities!

Is he about 2-3 inches? He looks really big lol

 

[skywhitney]

Is he about 2-3 inches? He looks really big lol

I'd say about 2.5-3". He's a beast!

I think he's starting to claim the jungle as his perferred area. He's not keeping anyone out though (at least not yet) which is nice.

 

[George9]

I'd say about 2.5-3". He's a beast!

I think he's starting to claim the jungle as his turf lol.

Haha yeah mine claimed the whole bottom of the tank. They're definitely one of my favorite fish.

I know you just got it today, but when he ate, did he come to the top? Mine won't come to the top to eat. I gotta bring the food to him.

 

[skywhitney]

Haha yeah mine claimed the whole bottom of the tank. They're definitely one of my favorite fish.

I know you just got it today, but when he ate, did he come to the top? Mine won't come to the top to eat. I gotta bring the food to him.

Kinda, he came up about half way. He was pretty unsure what to do though.

 

[George9]

Kinda, he came up about half way. He was pretty unsure what to do though.

Ah, okay.

Did you think of a name for him? I

 

[skywhitney]

Ah, okay.

Did you think of a name for him? I

Not yet, still thinking about it. Here's another pic though. The colors are coming in slowly but surely

 

[George9]

Not yet, still thinking about it. Here's another pic though. The colors are coming in slowly but surely

He's looking great! The yellow tail/partial body and blue patches are such a cool combo

 

[skywhitney]

I named him "Charger" . My favotite football team is the Chargers and their colors are blue and yellow just like this guy.

 

[skywhitney]

He's looking great! The yellow tail/partial body and blue patches are such a cool combo

Yeah it is. His fins and head are really bright now, his body is starting to turn yellow with some blue highlights now too

 

[skywhitney]

On a seperate note i realized last night (don't ask me why its taken so long) that half of the meia in my filter is carbon. This is pointless to me right now since i'm not taking meds or other chemicles out of the water. Now that i think about it i wonder if its been pulling out some of the iron and ferts i've been putting in, possibly CO2... i need to figure this out. Crap.

Anyway, what would be the best fillers for the bakets? I was thinking either sponges, ceramic rings, or bioballs. Any preferences? Should i rearrange the setup of my baskets as well?

My current setup is:
bottom basket - sponges
Second basket - ceramic rings
Third basket - carbon
Fourth basket - carbon

 

[George9]

On a seperate note i realized last night (don't ask me why its taken so long) that half of the meia in my filter is carbon. This is pointless to me right now since i'm not taking meds or other chemicles out of the water. Now that i think about it i wonder if its been pulling out some of the iron and ferts i've been putting in, possibly CO2... i need to figure this out. Crap.

Anyway, what would be the best fillers for the bakets? I was thinking either sponges, ceramic rings, or bioballs. Any preferences? Should i rearrange the setup of my baskets as well?

My current setup is:
bottom basket - sponges
Second basket - ceramic rings
Third basket - carbon
Fourth basket - carbon

My figuration is the sponges on the left side of the canister, or course. Top trays-bio rings with poly fill on top. Second tray-one side bio rings with poly fill, other side all poly fill. Third tray-all poly fill.

I highly recommend poly fill or filter floss. Lots if surface area for bb and makes the water nice and clear

 

[skywhitney]

My figuration is the sponges on the left side of the canister, or course. Top trays-bio rings with poly fill on top. Second tray-one side bio rings with poly fill, other side all poly fill. Third tray-all poly fill.

I highly recommend poly fill or filter floss. Lots if surface area for bb and makes the water nice and clear

Filter floss is dirt cheap as well! I've noticed that lots of stuff makes it through the filter without getting caught (thinking about why is what reminded me i have 4 packs of carbon in there). I think some stuff with greater surface area would help with that.

 

[George9]

Filter floss is dirt cheap as well! I've noticed that lots of stuff makes it through the filter without getting caught (thinking about why is what reminded me i have 4 packs of carbon in there). I think some stuff with greater surface area would help with that.

Yeah, and you'll get more bb too, so that's a plus. And you never ever have to change it. Just rinse it off with old tank water

 

[skywhitney]

Yeah, and you'll get more bb too, so that's a plus. And you never ever have to change it. Just rinse it off with old tank water

More BB is definitely a plus. I read a number of different things on carbon and dry ferts and nobody could really come to a consensus so i'm going to change my media and see what happens lol.

I might end up building a new reactor (better layout, better parts) so if i do i'm going to include filter media in it as well (i forgot to put it in this reactor). I also need to find a new power cord for my lights that way i can put them on a timer. I have the whole schebang, now to fix the minor little things