Scottyhorse's 25 Gallon Community Build

[Scottyhorse]

Originally Posted by Tippytrampoline

Hiiiii Sydney, mind if I tag along? I'm rescaping my tank to live plants soon myself, and the advice here is so far invaluable I'd like to keep up with you as well!

Go ahead!

So, there is a minor set back, my mom had me not order the plants last night. Since there is so much snow, and she has a wimpy car, she wasn't sure she could make it into Petsmart tomorrow. But I am hopefully going to order them tonight!

[bud29]

Originally Posted by Scottyhorse

Go ahead!

So, there is a minor set back, my mom had me not order the plants last night. Since there is so much snow, and she has a wimpy car, she wasn't sure she could make it into Petsmart tomorrow. But I am hopefully going to order them tonight!

Nice! Have you ordered the ferts yet?

[Scottyhorse]

Originally Posted by bud29

Nice! Have you ordered the ferts yet?

No.... Last night I was calculating how much everything I will be needing is, and I have no idea how I am going to get it all at once! Also, I couldn't make the account on TPT for some reason, I e-mail the site so hopefully that will get figured out.

[Scottyhorse]

So a (good) update! I just bought that plants! Since my order was over $50, I got second day air for $9.99! So, hopefully they will get here before Monday, since I ordered them later in the week. We'll see..... Maybe they'll end up getting here on Saturday, but I have a feeling they will get here on Monday. Oh Well......

[Tippytrampoline]

Originally Posted by Scottyhorse

So a (good) update! I just bought that plants! Since my order was over $50, I got second day air for $9.99! So, hopefully they will get here before Monday, since I ordered them later in the week. We'll see..... Maybe they'll end up getting here on Saturday, but I have a feeling they will get here on Monday. Oh Well......

YAY! I'm so excited for you!!

[Scottyhorse]

Originally Posted by Tippytrampoline

YAY! I'm so excited for you!!

Thanks! Got almost everything today, here are some pics!



Okay, that one is upside down, but in addition to the tank kit, I got Water Conditioner, Food, Test Kit, (Tap tests out at 7.4-7.6 ph, okay for rams?) and a few other things.



FTS with lights out in my room. Comes with BRIGHT lights.
Also ignore that box on the left. lol


I have 'temporally misplaced' the second suction cup for the heater, hopefully I find it!

I think I have a few more pictures, I may upload them in the morning if they are helpful for anything.

Also, the kit that I got had some liquid plant food. I just ordered the CSM + B dry ferts from bobs. How do I dose this for 25 gallons?

[Scottyhorse]

Oh, I forgot to add:







at Petsmart, I was looking at the fish, and they actually had GERMAN RAMS! and Bolivians, but I want Germans. They were about 1 inch, had really nice colors coming in, and they were pestering each other. They were old enough to sex them, too. Do you think they would be okay to buy a couple, instead of ordering them online?

[Lardeelion]

I'd wait a few months on the rams. They like an established tank. It'd be such a shame for them to die. That happened to me when I was starting out but I didn't have the forum to tell me what the problem was. I was terribly bummed. They're just really sensitive, as you know. Plus, you hate to lose one of the more expensive fish.

[Scottyhorse]

Originally Posted by Lardeelion

I'd wait a few months on the rams. They like an established tank. It'd be such a shame for them to die. That happened to me when I was starting out but I didn't have the forum to tell me what the problem was. I was terribly bummed. They're just really sensitive, as you know. Plus, you hate to lose one of the more expensive fish.

Oh yeah, they are the last fish I am going to add. Is my PH at an okay level for rams? I am going to buy some Indian Almond Leaves to put in the tank to lower it a bit, maybe do a little black water.
Everywhere I have looked, even Petsmart, they are about $6.

[Tippytrampoline]

Originally Posted by Scottyhorse

Oh yeah, they are the last fish I am going to add. Is my PH at an okay level for rams? I am going to buy some Indian Almond Leaves to put in the tank to lower it a bit, maybe do a little black water.
Everywhere I have looked, even Petsmart, they are about $6.

Haha! I spent $15/20 on all of mine! The gold one I had was $25! But I got them from a local pet store because my petsmart doesn't carry GBRs

[Scottyhorse]

Originally Posted by Tippytrampoline

Haha! I spent $15/20 on all of mine! The gold one I had was $25! But I got them from a local pet store because my petsmart doesn't carry GBRs

Haha! Yeah, I have noticed that the Gold and Electric Blue ones are pretty expensive....



So, apparently, my plant order is still processing....

[phishfriend]

The only reason you would shy away from rams at box stores would be if you intend to breed. They are known to use Asian suppliers who use a hormone to color up the rams at a younger age. It effects their fertility.
On a positive note. Pretty sure their rams are acclimated to a higher ph of around 7.0-7.2

[Scottyhorse]

Originally Posted by phishfriend

The only reason you would shy away from rams at box stores would be if you intend to breed. They are known to use Asian suppliers who use a hormone to color up the rams at a younger age. It effects their fertility.
On a positive note. Pretty sure their rams are acclimated to a higher ph of around 7.0-7.2

Hmm.... I may not get them then. I mean, I don't really want to breed them, but it would just be a bonus if they did! I was thinking of buying 1 male and two females, and then letting them pair up, but then I would have to find a home for the other female, which would be hard to do considering where we live.

[Scottyhorse]

Just called aquarium plants, and the lady I talked to said my plants wouldn't get here till next Firday!

So, until then, if anyone has any tips on fish, plants, upkeep, the tank itself, etc, post them! I don't want this thread to die....

[maxwellag]

Originally Posted by bud29

The speed of plant growth is the thing that determines the amount of toxins it takes up. The good news is, you are doing a higher light tank which means you'll have faster growing plants. Faster growing plants means more toxins taken up. But still test frequently as you don't want to lose any fish (It looks like you'll be doing this well)

While I agree with you, I would just like to point out that HC and marsilea minuta are a few of the slowest growing plants I know of. They'll need a large amount of them to fully support the bioload, which is why water changes will be especially important when they first start up.

[Scottyhorse]

Originally Posted by maxwellag

While I agree with you, I would just like to point out that HC and marsilea minuta are a few of the slowest growing plants I know of. They'll need a large amount of them to fully support the bioload, which is why water changes will be especially important when they first start up.

Yeah, I know they are slow growing, but really all carpeting plants are. Plus, I made sure all the other plants I am buying are fast growing, and I am going to stock slow after the silent cycle. Which, you know, you should do anyways.

[maxwellag]

Originally Posted by Scottyhorse

Yeah, I know they are slow growing, but really all carpeting plants are. Plus, I made sure all the other plants I am buying are fast growing, and I am going to stock slow after the silent cycle. Which, you know, you should do anyways.

Yeah. What other plants did you order? Just make sure to keep up with the water changes. I have seen many cases where people have a few live plants in their tank and assume that the plants take care of all the nitrates, so they don't do water changes. Just test often to make sure your nitrates are under control and you should be fine.

[Scottyhorse]

Originally Posted by maxwellag

Yeah. What other plants did you order? Just make sure to keep up with the water changes. I have seen many cases where people have a few live plants in their tank and assume that the plants take care of all the nitrates, so they don't do water changes. Just test often to make sure your nitrates are under control and you should be fine.

I ordered A LOT, $65 worth!

1 of : Ambulia (Limnophila indica)
2 of : Baby Tears , Dwarf (Hemianthus callitrichoides)(potted)
2 of : Bacopa australis (Bacopa australis)
2 of : CLOVER, FOUR LEAF (Marsilea quadrifolia) 2" pots
2 of : Mexican Oak Leaf (Shinnersia rivularis)
2 of : Moneywort (Bacopa Monnieri)
2 of : Vallisneria, Italian (Vallisneria spiralis)(sold 10 plants per order)
2 of : Wisteria (Hygrophila difformis)

All of them except the Valls, Marsilea, and HC come in bunches of at least 6 stems, I believe. People say they usually send extras, too, so that's good. We'll have to see on Friday, I guess...

[Scottyhorse]

So, I need a vote! I am trying to decide on the hardscape. Should I do rocks, driftwood, or both? I don't want anything to look to 'modern' if you know what I mean....

[Lardeelion]

Originally Posted by Scottyhorse

So, I need a vote! I am trying to decide on the hardscape. Should I do rocks, driftwood, or both? I don't want anything to look to 'modern' if you know what I mean....

I'd do both. I love the look of a nice piece of driftwood with realistic looking rocks and then smaller pebbles. Rams like driftwood to hang around and flat rocks if they should breed.

And my rams were $30 each! The day I bought them they were marked down to $20. Yikes! My LFS is known to be expensive but the stock is incredibly reliable and healthy. So, it's either them or Petco.