Janky's 55 Gallon Build

[janky]

Hey everybody! Just thought I'd make a log type thread for my 55 gallon build.

I found the tank off CL with all the equipment (filter, heater, lids, lights, air pump, etc) for $100. We previously had some Glofish Danios and Guppies in a 12 gallon hexagonal, and I wanted to do something bigger so I bought it and started learning.

The glofish and guppies have relocated to a 10 gallon long so they have more swimming room. The 12 gal hex is now my quarantine tank

Initially I wanted discus, but after some searching and education I realized that they are a little pricey for my taste, especially as a newb to freshwater. Paying $100+ for fish that I need 5+ of seems like quite the gamble.


I've decided to go with some angelfish, smaller and less-aggressive cichlids (apistos), and the school of 10 x-ray tetra I currently have living there. I also have 3 japanese clear shrimp, and a random, unidentified pleco that craps way too much!


Here was the tank with a couple plants and the bottom mostly cleared out for a "semi-bare bottomed" discus setup:

I've since removed the gravel entirely (which sucked!) and laid some silica sand. I rearranged my driftwood, rock cave, and plants as well and I'm really happy with the new layout!

We just finished up, so as soon as the water isn't so cloudy I will take pics!

I currently have this little cichlid (id? Panda? Ninjessi?)

And a mid-sized black and silver, red-eyed angelfish in quarantine.


Sorry for the novel, future updates will contain more pictures, I promise!

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Wow nice find on CL for one hundred bucks! I like the DW and the decision to switch to sand. Its probably just me, but I'd probably change the background to something dark and solid.

 

[janky]

Wow nice find on CL for one hundred bucks! I like the DW and the decision to switch to sand. Its probably just me, but I'd probably change the background to something dark and solid.

Agreed!! My gf and I were just discussing that yesterday!
I do want double-dark angels though, so a black or super dark background may not be ideal. We're still at a crossroads on the topic.

Anything you'd recommend that wouldn't completely hide the all black angels?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

How about a medium/dark blue? Id have to go a LFS to see the options. Or check out some youtube vids and search for black angelfish aquariums. I found some good ones right off the bat.

Here's one with blue bg:

Here's a blue bg on dr fosters as another example:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=19785

 

[janky]

Thanks Brian! Those are pretty cool!! I'm thinking maybe something like a slate grey? That way the dark angels will still stand out..

Here's a pic of my poop factory pleco (Can anyone ID?)

The pet store said he's "butterfly" but that was from Petco, so I dunno about that. I've google imaged butterfly plecos and seen some in lfs, and they look *nothing* like my guy.
I don't think he's a common, cause he's pretty small for a pleco.

Here's the only surviving angel in QT (got a bad batch of fish from a lfs )

Not the best pic, but he's a red-eyed black and dark grey striped with some kinda fancy spotted tail... (you can tell I'm great with the whole genus-naming lol)


And here's the tank re-arranged with sand:

I'm a lot happier with this layout, and will probably keep it this way. The driftwood we have is pretty cool cause one piece is shaped like a giant J so when I laid it out flat like that it has a little half C kinda cave and all..

I'm looking into backgrounds and possibly new lights. That, and looking forward to getting my apisto and angel out of QT soon!

 

[janky]

Everything's going good so far, nothing new to report yet.
A couple of questions though...

If one of the fish in my qt tank had ich, but died, how long should I continue treating the tank for? I have it at 86 degrees and have been dosing 8 drops of quick cure after 50% WC's wth the filter media removed. It's only been a couple of days though. Should I go the full two weeks, or is that not necessary

No fish in there currently show signs of ich.

Also, what's max stocking capacity for angels in a 55 gal? 3? 4?

Thanks for any input!

 

[paytertot]

$100 each for discus? Wow, where do you live? Lol mine were about $40 each sometimes 50.

 

[mrwizard]

Very nice tank, and a bargain 2! Looks alot better with sand 2 IMO. 100 pound for 1 discus? Wow, I can get 6 discus for that price lol

 

[janky]

$100 each for discus? Wow, where do you live? Lol mine were about $40 each sometimes 50.

Very nice tank, and a bargain 2! Looks alot better with sand 2 IMO. 100 pound for 1 discus? Wow, I can get 6 discus for that price lol

Thanks, and yeah. The pigeon blood/snakeskin/checker/etc are $100+
I can get lfs blue diamond or juvies for $40 yeah, but the juvies are more sensitive to water conditions, and I don't want 5 blue diamonds

The breeds I really liked (from reputable breeders) were 100+
Angels are like $5-$10

I'm not good enough (or rich enough) yet to spend hundreds on fish. I'd crap bricks if they died

 

[paytertot]

Oh see my pigeon bloods and checkers were the 50 dollar ones lol.

 

[janky]

Oh see my pigeon bloods and checkers were the 50 dollar ones lol.

Did you get them as juvies? Like 2" or 3"

 

[paytertot]

Some of them were 3, others were 4

 

[janky]

^ Very nice. I may have just been talking to discus snobs that only wanted "show quality" fish or something

So back to the ich question... should I keep treating the tank for another week even though the fish that had it died and has been removed?

I'm getting antsy to move the angel and cichlid into the display but I wanna play it safe...

 

[janky]

Some pics I grabbed last night... you can see the X-rays better in this pic. I love these little guys!

Making another CO2 bottle today for the plants. Since I've got an air stone in there to balance out the O2 I think it should be fine. I want these guys to grow!!!!!

 

[paytertot]

You do DIY co2? I have a thread about it, I'm trying to figure out how to do it lol

 

[janky]

You do DIY co2? I have a thread about it, I'm trying to figure out how to do it lol

Yes. Very simple, cheap, and effective!! I'll go find your thread...

 

[janky]

So the good news... I don't see any symptoms of ich since I've been treating with quick cure and the fish that had it passed away. My QT tank is developing white hair algae though, but I'm going to grab a couple snails and hopefully they'll wrap up that problem

The cool part is that since the fish have been in there long enough and don't show any signs of sickness and I've been treating for 4+ days now, I think they are ready to be acclimated into my 55 gal!! Very excited


Also going to volunteer at the Marine Science and Technology center for the local college tomorrow... afterwards I'm supposed to meet with an angelfish breeder and see about a couple double darks!

 

[janky]

Busy weekend! Here's a break down;

- drip acclimated my unknown apisto and mid-size angel to the display tank

- they're still pretty shy, but starting to venture around more

- had a near fatality when the angel wedged himself between the driftwood edge and the glass, right above the bubbler.

- Released angel, but he now has a mark on his upper body from where he was stuck. He sat staring at the tank heater for like 3 hours after, but he's swimming around now

- Took a scrub pad to the quarantine tank and went nuts on the walls. Stirred up all gravel and did a 80% (or more) water change.

- Added a blue mystery snail, a gold mystery snail, and a cool tiger nerite.

- white hair algae is GONE!

- Volunteer work was cool, got to work on aquariums, and realized I want a lumpsucker fish for my nano reef

- stopped by my less than fav LFS; tons of fish riddled with ich or dead. Found one really cool looking apisto cockatoo with no signs of sickness, so I bought him - the guy working didn't even oxygenate the bag, he seriously just blew into it

- met angel breeder. I ended up buying 2, but since they're so small (like literally dime-sized WITH FIN) he gave me a 3rd free.

- He also gave me a pair of endler's and a fry, along with some "duck weed" floater plants (Right on! Free stuff!!)

- Everyone is doing well in QT, tanks are staying steady at 0's across the board.

- Got 2 tanks for $20; a 15 and a 10 gal. Considering transplanting my gf's "colorful" tank into the 15 and using one of the 10's as a QT so we can free up the 12 gal hex for a nano reef!!


Pics tomorrow hopefully!

*whew*

Like I said, busy weekend! Time to relax, grab a beer, and watch a movie.

 

[janky]

Pics as promised:

Damaged Angel (you can see the mark towards the upper body - its really white in this pic but it's greyish-silver up close)

Our new Apisto Cockatoo (So I'm told..) fins are a BRIGHT hi-liter orange color

My unidentified Apisto:

 

[janky]

BONUS! I found out the "15 gal" I purchased off craigslist is actually a 20 gallon tall!
We're probably going to swap my gf's "colorful" tank over to it today, we've been scrubbing and rinsing it all morning.

And I found out that my larger yellow apisto is likely a blue-cheek (eunotus).