Xander's 46 Gallon Build?

[Xand3r]

Two months later after I got a marineland 46 gallon bow front tank I'm finally putting it together. This will be the home of my two juvenile angels and my two Rams. So far, I don't have much going on so I will basically describe my equipment, and other things that I have. I would appreciate some criticism and stocking Ideas.

Tank: Marineland 46 gallon Bow front
Filter: Fluval 306 cycled
Heater: Aqueon pro 200 Watt
Lighting: 36" trio T5 HO right now I'm only using two bulbs (10000K) and I plan to keep it that way, at least for a while.
Substrate: a small amount of peat moss (my water is pretty hard so it doesn't affect my pH) about 30 lb of EcoComplete and black sand (black diamond blasting sand, this stuff is pretty dirty, I spent about 4 hours washing a 50 lb. bag) on the top.
Thermometer: Nutrafin glass thermometer
A piece of drift wood found in my yard ( Boiled for 3-4 Hrs. and soaked for about 2 months)

Plants: 1 Amazon Sword, some Anubias 1 attached to driftwood and one to lava rock (I will probably put the one on driftwood in my 29), a couple of stems of money wort and about 20 stems of wisteria.

Note: I have successfully kept all of these plants for about 8-9 months (in a different tank) I was using the Hagen Plant Grow Natural System with CO2 (some people told me that I didn't really need any CO2 and that an air stone should be enough but I did the experiment and my plants starting to look sick an example of this is my moneywort which was growing pretty quick and it stopped growing, I'm back to the DIY CO2 and the plant is growing again) and I was dosing with Aqueon Aquarium plant food (I was using half the amount suggested)

The tank was put together thursday night and the pics I'm going to post are from that day so the water may not look 100% clear.

I would like to add some more plants to cover the background and maybe add some more color (red ludwigia?) and shapes. So any stocking ideas fish and/or plants, comments and critics will be appreciated

I've noticed that most people here use flourish, do you think that I will get better results with that, or should I keep using the aqueon product. I'm always open to new ideas.

 

[Xand3r]

Even if no-one replies I'm going to keep posting just to track the progress of my tank. I guess that I could just type it in a word processor or blog, but I'm still hoping that someone will give me their opinion and/or criticize my tank.
This what I've done for the last five days
Sunday I made a PWC just to get rid of some small particles that were floating around my tank before adding any fish. Since the filter was already cycled I did not want to leave the tank without fish for a long time So I transferred my pair of cherry barbs (I know schooling fish.... I never get more than three fish at a time so when I bought them I got three, but since then one die and now I only have two which are very active and love snails )
Then yesterday I added some ghost shrimp (cleaning crew) in the morning, and then In the night I added my rams. The only thing left to transfer would be my pair of angels and my otocinclus, but I don't think I will be adding any more fish to this tank before the weekend.
Today, I went to my LFS to see if they have any malaysian trumpet snails, and they did. I've always seem snails like a problem, but today I was glad I found those. So while I was there I bought a couple of plants (red ludwigias) and they gave me some snails. I've read that this plant requires good lighting but I have also seen it in similar set ups to the one I have, so I'm going to try it and if it doesn't work I will either plant it somewhere else or give it away ( who knows I might even use that 3rd bulb I have).

The tank is starting to look different, my water is dark again (caused by the peat moss) and the wisteria and sword are growing. Unfortunately I had to send my light today for an exchange so I'm back to the stock light for a while (~ 2 weeks).

That's all for today, any comments, Ideas, criticisms or general advice will be appreciated.

Rams going after the MTS

MTS

 

[TheFishBoss97]

I posted well, just now

great start looks amazing, lovely rams, lucky you, I can never find a good source for them, mine always stop eating after a few months and pass away

looking good, plants look happy and healthy. was fluval 306 accidental or are they selling those now!?

great start though, and can't wait to see everything grow in

I love how everything flows with the DW etc. once you plant in the middle, it will look amazing

just a suggestion, maybe a pile of rocks(small) in the center surrounded by plants?

 

[Xand3r]

Thanks!
My Rams are kind of picky hopefully they will keep eating, and I hope that someday they breed, I think they are M-F but I'm not sure sometimes they look like two males.
The fluval 306 are being sold everywhere now, even Petco has them. I bought it on Amazon.

To be honest I have always been afraid of using rocks since I found one oto death under lava rock. But I would like to try a smooth rock. On the other hand I don't know what kind of plants I'm going to get for the middle. What kind of rocks and plants would you suggest?

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

Following! Looks really good. I kind of like the minimalistic look, honestly.

 

[jespenguin]

DIY slate cave perhaps? I think your Otos might appreciate some good hiding places. But I really like the clean natural look so far, impressive!

 

[zach_1_6]

Very nice start, i love the black substrate and driftwood/plant placement. If I were you i would use some very smooth river rocks, with a small short type of plant growing around the base of the stones. just my opinions though

 

[WBAC88]

Love the tank! What kind of rams are those? I have a pair Bolivians, but I like the coloring on yours.

 

[Xand3r]

Thank you for the comments and great ideas.

Following! Looks really good. I kind of like the minimalistic look, honestly.

Thanks, I also like some simplicity, aquascapes look really cool and pretty but I don't have the time they require.

DIY slate cave perhaps? I think your Otos might appreciate some good hiding places. But I really like the clean natural look so far, impressive!

The piece of wood has really good hiding spots, a slate cave would be good Idea (I have one in my 29), but I rather use plants they don't take as much space, create complexity for the rams, and provide hiding spots for the fry. Remember that I will be adding my angels and they will get pretty big, so a slate cave would reduce their swimming space.

Very nice start, i love the black substrate and driftwood/plant placement. If I were you i would use some very smooth river rocks, with a small short type of plant growing around the base of the stones. just my opinions though

I would also like that, but unfortunately all the plants I have seen are very demanding and I'm trying to keep it simple; however if I find a plant that I can grow with my current lights and without pressurized CO2 I would definitely get it. Any suggestions?

Love the tank! What kind of rams are those? I have a pair Bolivians, but I like the coloring on yours.

Those are Germans, you can't actually see their real colors with this light. Also the tannins in the water makes them look darker.

 

[zach_1_6]

I would also like that, but unfortunately all the plants I have seen are very demanding and I'm trying to keep it simple; however if I find a plant that I can grow with my current lights and without pressurized CO2 I would definitely get it. Any suggestions?

You could make some nice formations and add some "flow" to the tank with the river rocks, and you could wrap Anubias around the bases and through little nooks and crannies of the rocks. just a thought
Also, I saw you mentioned red ludwigia above, if you want an easier plant to grow as a background one but still has some red in it, you could try a type of rotala.
Hope this helps

 

[Xand3r]

You could make some nice formations and add some "flow" to the tank with the river rocks, and you could wrap Anubias around the bases and through little nooks and crannies of the rocks. just a thought
Also, I saw you mentioned red ludwigia above, if you want an easier plant to grow as a background one but still has some red in it, you could try a type of rotala.
Hope this helps

I never thought of using Anubias of that way. I always thought anubias required some sort of rough surface like lava rock or wood and I was thinking about cutting a little piece of the Anubia I have attached to lava rock and attach it to my DW. But Instead I'm going to try that, if it works and i like the way it looks I will definitely give it a try.
hmm.... since Anubias are slow growers I wonder how long is going to take.

I just googled "rotala" and most of the plants I have seen require "High" lighting. I haven't killed any plants yet so hopefully I won't have to replace the red ludwigia.

The other plant I could use is Micro-sword (Lilaeopsis brasiliensis); however, I'm not sure If I will get better results with my current fixture. I kept it for a while in my 29 (beginners mistake) under low light but it never really spread, I still have it (in a different place).

Thanks, comments really help me to see things from a different perspective.

 

[zach_1_6]

I never thought of using Anubias of that way. I always thought anubias required some sort of rough surface like lava rock or wood and I was thinking about cutting a little piece of the Anubia I have attached to lava rock and attach it to my DW. But Instead I'm going to try that, if it works and i like the way it looks I will definitely give it a try.
hmm.... since Anubias are slow growers I wonder how long is going to take.

I just googled "rotala" and most of the plants I have seen require "High" lighting. I haven't killed any plants yet so hopefully I won't have to replace the red ludwigia.

The other plant I could use is Micro-sword (Lilaeopsis brasiliensis); however, I'm not sure If I will get better results with my current fixture. I kept it for a while in my 29 (beginners mistake) under low light but it never really spread, I still have it (in a different place).

Thanks, comments really help me to see things from a different perspective.

Rotala is a very hardy plant and does not require "high" lighting IME. It is a very easy plant to grow. and for the anubias, i had it cling onto a very smooth rock, to the point where when i removed it, i had to cut the roots away because it was so attached. micro-sword (chain sword?) would also look nice in and around the bases of the rocks, as well as crypt parva, crypt wendtii, dwarf sagittari, dwarf hairgrass, baby tears (not dwarf unless you want to go high tech) or even java moss. you can look up those and see if you like them