Stocking a 16 Widescreen

[Nils]

Originally Posted by Brookster123

Looks good man!

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Thanks!

I am kind of surprised at how much growth I am getting even without Co2, good lights and any advanced fertilizers. This tank has turned into an almost maintenance free system, all I have to do is the weekly water change, filter cleaning, fish feeding and the occasional plant trim.
Besides that, the hornwort I starting to really make a comeback. Does anyone else have problems with Amano shrimp eating stem plants and plants like hornwort? I had a whole sand which bag full of it in there, they made short work out of it. Had one stem floating and that's what is coming back. Lol I don't mind because if it keeps growing at the rate it is right now I'll have bucket fulls in a couple months!

[coralbandit]

Your tank and ram look great!
I never bought any hornwort but found one stem(my wife loved) and boom! months later I sell hornwort!
Then months later gone again.
I think it can really come and go for those of us who are not all on top of the plants.


I wonder if co2 really effected your ram.
I have seen multiple threads on many sites asking about just that!
I want to put some of my rams into my display tank but since I inject co2 I really wonder?
I know (I think I know) members with co2 and rams but would not be surprised if even on an individual basis that rams just may not tolerate the co2 as well as other fish?

[Nils]

Hehe I got a surprise


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[Nils]

cats out of the bag! Got a BN pleco today, looks like a gold nugget almost but he doesn't have the gold solid stripe on the dorsal and tail. Anyway just wanted to show a pic, more when he feels like actually getting in a good spot lol


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[skylane]

Originally Posted by Nils

Attachment 277490Attachment 277491Attachment 277492Attachment 277493Attachment 277494 The Blxya japonica is really going nuts, I don't mind. Those are just some pics of the GBR, he was showing off for me


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Nice tank!!! Good looking fish and plants. Nice going dude


Clem.

[Gillie]

Originally Posted by Nils

Attachment 277512cats out of the bag! Got a BN pleco today, looks like a gold nugget almost but he doesn't have the gold solid stripe on the dorsal and tail. Anyway just wanted to show a pic, more when he feels like actually getting in a good spot lol


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Definitely not a gold nugget, they are not in the same genus as bn's. I hope you didn't pay for a gold nugget.

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[PoppaRyno]

Originally Posted by coralbandit

Your tank and ram look great!
I never bought any hornwort but found one stem(my wife loved) and boom! months later I sell hornwort!
Then months later gone again.
I think it can really come and go for those of us who are not all on top of the plants.


I wonder if co2 really effected your ram.
I have seen multiple threads on many sites asking about just that!
I want to put some of my rams into my display tank but since I inject co2 I really wonder?
I know (I think I know) members with co2 and rams but would not be surprised if even on an individual basis that rams just may not tolerate the co2 as well as other fish?

I run a DIY Co2 in one of my 20L with a pair of rams in it. The yellows i got from you, coral. What are your guys thoughts/worries? I have not seen any ill effects, myself. I dose co2 through the aquavitro fert line on my 150gl big girl, with the other 2 pairs of rams as well as discus. No ill effects there either.

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[Nils]

There's Eisenhower


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[PoppaRyno]

Eisenhower... I like it. Why'd ya name it that?

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[coralbandit]

Originally Posted by PoppaRyno

I run a DIY Co2 in one of my 20L with a pair of rams in it. The yellows i got from you, coral. What are your guys thoughts/worries? I have not seen any ill effects, myself. I dose co2 through the aquavitro fert line on my 150gl big girl, with the other 2 pairs of rams as well as discus. No ill effects there either.

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I can't say I know of an issue especially understanding co2(in my limited fashion).
Without a good answer besides "how frail" rams are I really don't know,but I get many questions(rambandit) and really do wonder.
I don't keep my own rams in my DT or with co2.
I keep them in my tap...
Nils what is your opinion on the co2 and your ram?
Eisenhower?
Fish names almost always have a reason.

[PoppaRyno]

Hey, man... Eisenhower is a Kansas legend.

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[PNWaquarist]

Nice! BN Plecos are awesome.

You may already be aware that plecos are poop machines. Given that, the size of your tank, and your GBR, you'll want to keep an eye on your water parameters. If you have a kit filter that came with the tank, consider upgrading to an AquaClear 30 or adding a small sponge filter.

I put a Clown Pleco in my 20 high recently and found that I need to gravel vac the substrate twice per week so that it's not covered in poop.

[Nils]

Thanks guys!
Coral, I probably wouldn't do DIY Co2 with my ram or any rams again unless you have a way of measuring the Co2, like a drop checker or bubble counter. The reason it didn't work for me is because I just stuck it in there and it lowered the pH too fast and too much. A pressurized system is probably the best because you can control how much goes in and you don't really that option with DIY.
Eisenhower was just the first thing that came to mind I thought of naming it Gilbert or something but Eisenhower is a good name.
PNWAquarist, thanks for the heads up! I did take into consideration the fact that he will get pretty big (5 or 6") and I have a plan for that. I have the space and money to set up a 20 or 29 gallon if necessary. As for a better filter, if I notice the water quality degrading and the ram starting to show signs of stress I will definitely upgrade to a better filter.
One question about the BN Pleco? Do I need to get some sort of wood for it to rasp on? I was thinking cholla wood would be good because it doesn't release tannins and I could fit a few pieces without having to do a total rescape. Or do I need actual driftwood instead of cholla wood?

[PNWaquarist]

Yes, all plecos need wood to rasp on. Get a piece of bogwood from your LFS. They're not expensive and what's sold there is (or should be) aquarium-safe.

Glad to hear that you have the option of upgrading. If there's enough vertical room, I'd go with a 29 over a 20 long. The extra volume gives you more flexibility with stocking and water changes. (Plus, I've always thought that short, long tanks look weird of 2.5' aquarium stands.) Budget an AquaClear 70. With the pleco, you'll want really good filtration.

[big b]

The bn looks a bit skinny. But other then that, I like everything. Especially that big sword .

[Gillie]

Originally Posted by big b

The bn looks a bit skinny. But other then that, I like everything. Especially that big sword .

That's because it's like an inch long

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[big b]

Oh, I didn't know that.

[Nils]

Originally Posted by Gillie

That's because it's like an inch long

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Lol, he won't be skinny for long. I'm getting some kind of wood, is cholla wood good? It should be right? He's happily sucking on the glass right now and hangs out on the sword. The GBR leaves him alone for the most part, just stares at him every now and then.

[big b]

He just stares at him? Like a staring contest?

[Nils]

Haha yeah I guess, the place doesn't stare back, just its there.
GBR is back to begging for food. Plec is mostly night active, but this was expected. The moss wall in the 16 is doing meh, not the best, but not bad. It has a couple baby java ferns growing out of it that somehow got mixed in with the moss. I'm just leaving it in there because I don't really expect it to grow anymore. But it's not hurting anything. So anyway that's what's going on right now. Getting some dwarf water lettuce and some other floaters sometime this week or on the weekend in the mail, going to throw most of it in the 5.5 but if I have any left over I'm going to put it in here.