Fishenthusiast's 30 Gallon Asian Biotope Tank

[fishenthusiast]

Today is the first step in creating my Asian biotope. I will be adding an extra inch of Eco-Complete fine-grade black substrate today. By doing this, I will allow my heavy rooting plants to have more root space. I will be taking out some plants too, so it'll look more open (that'll be short-lived though). After the CO2 is hooked up next month, I'll be placing a huge plant order.

I'll be posting a before and after picture today to start showing you guys the progress!


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[fishenthusiast]

And so it begins...


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[theycallmekhan]

lol, Coursair so true about the gouramis. One of the gouramis has a rounded fin, a foolish attempt because it so obvious that it's male, and fishenthusiast most gouramis are very peaceful to other fish, my 2 gouramis don't try to attack any of the other fish so they should be fine with shrimp or so. And so far so good with the tank.

 

[fishenthusiast]

The gravel adding process has been completed. The next step for this tank will to be to add the new driftwood, and then add the CO2 (end of December). After that, I'll add new fish and more plants.


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[fishenthusiast]

I will be adding CO2 sooner actually. I just ordered a CO2 system from Green Leaf Aquariums, so it should be set up prior to Christmas. Here is the CO2 system that I got: http://greenleafaquariums.com/products/gla-gro-co2-system.html

I hope that this will make my tank look awesome!


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[Brookster123]

If move the java fern, nothing dead center.. looks very unnatural.. what's the digital readout under water? Thermostat?

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[fishenthusiast]

If move the java fern, nothing dead center.. looks very unnatural.. what's the digital readout under water? Thermostat?

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Oh, that's just temporary. I'm going to let it float for a while until I attach it to some driftwood. It will probably be in the back corner (right) of the tank after I finish off the scape. Lots to do! And yeah, that digital device is just a digital thermometer.


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[Brookster123]

Cool, no offense.. just throwing it out there.. so it's meant to be submerged like that? What brand?

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[fishenthusiast]

Cool, no offense.. just throwing it out there.. so it's meant to be submerged like that? What brand?

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None taken haha. Here's a link to the thermometer: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3744+25527&pcatid=25527

I've never heard of the brand before, but the thermometer is pretty nice since I can get accurate readings of the temp.


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[FWFishTanks]

What are the hardscape plans? Any rock work?

 

[fishenthusiast]

What are the hardscape plans? Any rock work?

I really haven't thought about that recently. I'll have to though. I have two nice pieces of driftwood that I plan on adding to the tank, and I'll probably add some lava rock too. I'll sketch out a plan over the weekend.


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[Sk3lly]

Key to a good aquascape is lots of careful planning in my opinion


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[fishenthusiast]

Key to a good aquascape is lots of careful planning in my opinion


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Very true! Here is a sketch of my aquascape plan. What do you think about it?


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[fishenthusiast]

Here is my final stocking plan for this tank:

4 Panda Garra
6-7 Kuhlii Loaches
1 Dwarf Gourami (don't know what color type yet)
10 Harlequin Rasboras
2 Assassin Snails
Some shrimp of some type (probably Amano)

I don't think this tank would look busy with this stock. My Panda Garra practically occupy every level, and by adding two more of them, it'll be entertaining for sure. The Kuhlii Loaches will be fun to watch, and I've always wanted to see shrimp skim over the plants. The Harlequin Rasboras will contrast the plants nicely, and the Dwarf Gourami can be the centerpiece fish. The snails can help eat up the nuisance ponds snails.


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[Brookster123]

Looks good to me!!!

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[fishenthusiast]

Looks good to me!!!

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Great! The plan is set. I'll likely be making a fish run sometime around New Year's, and I'll order all the plants by February at the latest.


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[fishenthusiast]

My CO2 system arrived today. It will be only a matter of time before I have a great looking aquascape!


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[fishenthusiast]

A couple of hours ago, I did a much needed tank cleaning. I removed a ton of algae from the spray bar and from the glass. I also think that I've eliminated the Java Moss population from my tank...finally (fingers crossed). My next step after installing the CO2 will be to try to remove all of the nuisance duckweed. Once I get something to way down my wacky-looking driftwood, everything will be set to add more plants/fish.


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[fishenthusiast]

Here is a new aquascape plan that might actually look better than the first one that I made:

What do you think? It might have a little bit less red, but I still think it'd look awesome. The Cardamine lyrata would provide for a uniqueness to the tank. Note that I will have various Crypts in the midsection of the tank such as Crypt Wendtii 'red' and 'bronze', Crypt blassii, etc.


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[Thumper828]