Sky's 93g Planted Cube

[skywhitney]

I had just recently started redoing my 70g plated tank to bring it back to a point where I felt it was in good shape. After deciding not to switch my Reef tank out into this cube I decided to use it for my FW setup instead, and I'm glad I did!

Here are the current specs of the tank:

Hardware:
Marineland 93g Rimless Cube
Homemade Stand
Fluval 406
Hydor Inline Heater
Hydor Thermostat
Milwaukee PH Controller
Milwaukee CO2 Regulator
Rex Grigg DIY CO2 Reactor
Koralia Powerhead

Fish:
1x Blue Angelfish
1x Clown Pleco
1x Albino Bristlenose Pleco
3x Neon Blue Platy
6x Black Neon Tetra

Plants:
Limnophila Aromatica
Anubias Nana
Cryptocoryne Undulata
Cryptocoryne Wendtii
Ludwigia Glandulosa
Alternanthera Reineckii Cardinalis
Hygrophila Difformis (Wisteria)
Anacharis
Tiger Lily

If there are any questions please feel free to ask!

 

[FWFishTanks]

Nice tank! Love the angel and plants!

 

[skywhitney]

Thank you

I have a school of 15 Harlequin Rasboras in QT to move into this tank soon as well. I'm excited to see that school in there

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[skywhitney]

The 15 Harlequin Rasboras were added today. Everyone seems nice and happy

 

[skywhitney]

I'm trying to make up my mind on some more fish for this tank. I'm heavily leaning towards the SA dwarf cichlids but I'm not sure what type. I love the Apistogramma Cacatuoides but I haven't had the best of luck with them long term before.

Maybe the Apistogramma Rotpunkt? Anyone know much about them?

Other suggestions?

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[Brookster123]

Good morning, don't take this the wrong way. . If you haven't had luck with cacs?? Bad stock? What about bolivian rammies?

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[skywhitney]

Good morning, don't take this the wrong way. . If you haven't had luck with cacs?? Bad stock? What about bolivian rammies?

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It's entirely possible that they were bad stock. At the time I was keeping them I was living in a house that ended up having tons of issues (some of which were with the plumbing and pipes) so that might have played a factor as well. When I say long term I am talking about a year to a year and a half, I'm not sure what the expected lifespan of the cacs are so that may be a factor as well. I had a few spawns with them so I guess it might not have been as bad as it originally seemed.

I've been looking at the Bolivian Rams the last few days, my only hesitation with them is that it appears their coloration can be kind of dull and muted. I have very little experience with them so I can't be to sure of this. I did have good luck with GBRs so those might be an option too.

 

[Brookster123]

ok, you seem pretty good at apistos I think they will expire a bit sooner in less than perfect parameters, 1.5 yrs. Is a decent run. Gbr can be tricky, poor breeding has flooded the market with crap.. if you can get your hands on some locally bred or top bred specimens than go for it! I've seen some beautifully colored bolivians. Guess it depends on environment and diet really? Apisto borelli are nice too!

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[skywhitney]

I want to look into the Bolivians a little more cause I've heard that they are just really personable and interactive fish which is always fun to have. My drawback with the GBRs is that I can't find any local stock so they would be coming from a national distributor which makes me pretty nervous in regards to their hardiness and overall health.

I've been looking at a few different species of the Apisto that all look really nice. Other than the Cacatuoides the species that I'm looking at are the Borelli, Agassizii, Nijsseni, and Rotpunkt.

 

[Brookster123]

Another thing to consider.. in such a large planted tank.. apistos will most likely find a nook and stay there.. bolivians will grow a little larger, may he more out and about too.. keyholes cichlids could be a nice fit. Gouramigirl just picked up some nice med. Size dwarfs as well..

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[skywhitney]

I know that it doesn't really apply to this tank but a 29g biocube should be big enough for at least 1 breeding pair of cacs right?

I guess I'm also wondering how many breeding pairs I could fit in the 93g? A lot of my fish stock in there is pretty old (3-4 years now) so I am also thinking of who the new inhabitants will be once the older generation starts to die off.

 

[Brookster123]

Breeding pairs can be tricky.. theirs always a chance they will battle. Could disrupt the glow of the tank.
29 would be perfect!
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[skywhitney]

hmm... I might just keep the biocube for the apistos which would lean me towards the bolivians for the big tank. I think I'll just need to go and look at them closer to really decide.

 

[Brookster123]

Sounds like a solid plan..Keep us posted!

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[skywhitney]

On as separate note, does anyone have any suggestions on a good LED unit that will grow high light plants? I've been looking around and haven't really come across anything that has enough PAR/PUR for my size tank.

 

[Brookster123]

Build my led..

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[skywhitney]

I like the look of those a lot. Do you have experience using them Brookster?

 

[Brookster123]

I wish...maybe Santa will drop a $500 led down the chimney this year I run a couple finnex planted plus and a couple current satellite plus.

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[skywhitney]

That would be one awesome gift from Santa for sure! Ultimately I think my T5s will do the trick, they've been tried and true for me this far.

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[skywhitney]

I was finally able to get these guys out of QT and put them into the tank

Coloring up nicely

I'll post an updated FTS tomorrow as well.

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