# “Hagrid’s Woods”, 50 gal tall.



## Shurik

Hello! :-D

22 of March of this year I signed up for this forum.
After 20 days of reading my first 20 gal Planted Tank was launched. (12 of April, "As good as it gets")

I wanted to say many thanks to all my friends and people I don't know. Without this forum I would be totally lost. I greatly appreciate every comment and bit of advice. I am still learning and enjoying every minute of my hobby. This is very nice to see all of you, who love it too. 
And now&#8230; here is my 50 gal.

*Main challenges: *

1)	I don't know what I am doing!

2)	This tank is for my two Goldfish and they eat plants&#8230; I have two common goldfishies, Hagrid and His Pet. (Hagrid is a character from "Harry Potter" book) .Most of the plants I used are coming from the tank they are sitting right now and I know they will live it alone. So they are moving in with their own furniture, so to speak. But some of it will get eaten and I am ready for it!

3)	I don't know how to classify my tank, it is somewhat low tech, somewhat El Natural, but I might be wrong. I do have a filter and T5 lights, and for now this is it. No dosing with anything and no CO2 injections. If I am not in the right part of the forum, I apologize for that.

*Lights:* I have two T5 light fixtures sitting on top of the tank, 2 x 24W and 2 X 39W, but for now I keep the lights down and photoperiod is&#8230; undetermined.

*Filtration:* AquaClear HOB with cured media, but I do have Eheim 2026 running if I need to use it.

*Substrate:* I mineralized some Home Depot soil for about three weeks in the trays sitting in my living room on every flat surface I could find. The recipe is from AaronT, and he was nice enough to even mail me some dolomite, potash and clay, and that was really great! Thank you, Aaron! 

For those who would like to do the same thing, I would strongly recommend doing it outside, and not only because of immediate danger of stepping into those trays in the dark in the middle of the night, (this is a minor complication), but because of the dirt drying out at extremely slow pace. Some sun light would be great.

I capped it with Eco Complete.

*Rocks* are sitting right on the bottom of the tank, *not on the substrate*, all of them.

*Sand* is a Desert Sand from Mosser Lee Company and I think I should replace it with some bigger grain something.

*Plants* (for now):
Saggittaria Subulata 
Some Vallisneria 
Crypt Spiralis
Rotala Mini
Rotala Rotundifolia 
Mayaca Fluviatilis 
Limnophila Aromatica
Hemianthus Micranthemoides
Hygrophilia Difformis
Anubias petite
Java fern needle leaf

Yea, I am creating a salad bar again, but in this case my fish might really enjoy it. 

*Set up process:*

*25 of may*. 









We started at *10 PM*. For some reason I thought 2-3 hours would be enough to finish it up. Who was I kidding? Building up the islands.










Some time later - my help, support and inspiration Chris looked so tired, I discharged him off to bed immediately at this point.










*Midnight*. All by myself, :violin: continuing to fiddle with the wood and everything else.










*2 AM*. Most of the plants are in, or so as I thought.










*3 AM*. More plants went in. Suddenly I realized this Island on the left shouldn't touch the glass, it just didn't look right to me. 
I had to drain the water and fix it all over again. It was unbelievably messy and I had to change the water a few times because my soil got all over the place.










*5 AM* - Finally everything is in place and looks OK. It takes forever to fill it up. When I was so close to my victory, redid the Island and cleaned up the mess, the left branch of wood FLOATED even though I used epoxy, glue, wire, rocks and everything I could think of to hold it down. My General Meltdown momentum. :heh:










*6 AM*. After an hour of fight, I gave up. I took the branch out to take a picture. It is light outside, as you can see, the window is on the left. Yup, the sun is up.

After this painful and SLOW going process, I couldn't look at the tank for two days.

*27 of May, two days later:*
Removed some reg. Java fern, added some more plants in. 20% water change.










Front










Right side.










Left side.

*June 1*, the update.

Yesterday I got rid of HOB, switched to Eheim 2026, added some Blyxa Japonica in hope it will take and will not get eaten. Added some more plants, increased the time I keep the lights on. 
No algae, none of any kind yet. But some white fuzz on the branches.










Front










Right










Left










Right side only










Left side only










Proud Owner

If this thread is not going to blow up the entire server, I will be happy to hear from all of you.

*Thank you!!!:* :-D


----------



## Tex Gal

Nice job! I would have given up way before daylight. It will wait for you. Love the islands. I always think they look so good but can't bear the thought that the sands/dirts will get all mixed up by the fish and replanting. So I resign myself to one substrate with different levels. Kinda boring but it can stand the test of time and puttering.

I didn't think L. Aromatica or Blyxa Japonica are low light. How are they doing?


----------



## bratyboy2

Wow Shurik im so amazed by first the journal you gave on the setup, second by the photos, and third by the amazing tank in which you have created. i almost hate seeing the goldfish go into this amazing tank. is there another option?

im so happy you are the proud owner of this tank now all i need to do now is get you a plane ticket and get you to come up here for when i get to do my rainbow tank.

best of luck shurik! great work and see what you can do about the golds:mrgreen:


----------



## helenf

It's beautiful! 

I wish my goldfish would let me do something like that in their tank without total destruction.


----------



## Shurik

Tex Gal, I got so caught up fighting with the wood and rebuilding the Island, that I haven’t notice it was getting light outside! Plus I created such a horrible mess I wanted to finish it up before Chris wakes up and sees it in such a misery. :heh:
As of two different substrates, I got a hand of it in my 20 gal. If you separate them really well with the stones, there is no mess and nothing gets mixed up. 
I do move plants a lot, in 20 gal and here just as well it is a constant process of catching the floaters and shoving them back in etc, but it is not bad at all. In fact, what you see is the original sand I placed in the very beginning, and I didn’t have to clean it from the eco complete yet. 

L. Aromatica is doing fine, I had it in my 20 gal for over a month now and once it gets going, it is growing like crazy. I had few little stems (1"-2"-3" max) in the beginning; I got them from Jeff P as a part of a package. I looked at the description and figured no way I can have it – too difficult, needs too much light. But I gave it a try. (I can’t stand throwing out any plants). Now I have the whole jungles of it. I think that this plant was “overrated” for difficulties and light requirements. Or… my light intensity is underrated because it is T5 bulbs. 

As of Blyxa… this might get eaten just as L.Aromatica! And I don’t know what’s going to happen. When I got it, it was very pale green. Now it is getting some golden brown reddish color. Well, we’ll see what’s going to happen to it. 

These are two plants my fish is not familiar with. They might like it. 

Helenf, do you have fancy goldfish? Mine are common ones. Do yours really eat every green thing in the tank? What about some ferns? This is how mine started out, they used to chew everything. It’s just they eat every new plant and then kinda get tired of it and quit. And I am more patient then them. 

Yea, I know, I know, Bratyboy2, I know it is boring fish, does not look good, but I think I got stuck with them. All the options I had for them where not good enough. And I guess I got used to them...


----------



## Dustymac

I'm always so happy my plants are growing at all that I never really care about what to plant where, and how that can be so aesthetically pleasing. Then I see pictures like yours...



> Main challenges:
> 
> 1) I don't know what I am doing!


You're not fooling me! 
Jim


----------



## fishyfingers

A damn nice aquarium. 

I only spent about 2 hours setting mine up. I had all these ideas about how it was gonna look, but then it got really tedious so I just bunged all the plants in any old how. A few of them have lost the bottom of their stems and are just clinging on by their roots... I wanna see what becomes of them.


----------



## dinesh

its beautiful 

Keep the good work going

Dinesh


----------



## davemonkey

Wow, Shurik! That tank looks GREAT! You did a really good job on the layout. Very impressive!!!!!


----------



## cah925

Wow, this is a very beautiful layout. I'm curious what you have tied to the branch on the right. It looks kind of viney.


----------



## AaronT

I'm glad you finally got everything setup. I must say that I really like the rock work you did. It looks very natural.


----------



## Shurik

Oh wow, how nice to see so many visitors! :cheer2:

*Davemonkey*:
I was fussing with the moss, but for now I decided to wait on mossy look because it doesn't look right to me. Perhaps later, when every single plant will get eaten, :mrgreen: I will have to come back to anubias, ferns and moss (out of desperation). granted I got anubia farm, thanks to Jeff P! 
After reading your "moss"thread, I got just about every single thing mentioned there to use for moss attaching.

*AaronT:* I am so happy to see you!  And also I already see some results from going through your recipe of soil preparation. First of all I don't have any ammonia spike as I had in two other tanks with the soil; second of all plants took off really well, third of all... No algae yet. What else&#8230; Everything behaves very well.

*Cah925:* I wish I remembered the name of that viney plant, hehehe, what a shame! Bacopa australis?

*Tex Gal*, now I am going through temptation of letting my fish in&#8230; Please tell me not to! :heh:

Any ways, here is my L. Aromatica. Note that white fuss on the branch. How elegant, huh? uke:
I don't know if I should do something about it, perhaps it will clear up itself. That would be great!










And this is my poor Blyca japonica, going brownish-pink. I wonder what it means. 
I timed my lights, for a couple of days it was up to 6 hours a day. (I started from about 4hours a day).









*To everyone: *Two month into this hobby, I really don't know what the heck I am doing, but I guess should pretend I do. But honestly, everything I learned is from this forum. This is great! :grouphug:

Dear *Goalcreas*! I know you are busy right now, but I am really waiting to hear what you say about all this. You spent so much time tutoring me!


----------



## yum

Those are some great colors! I'm jealous! Nice layout. I can tell you put a lot of thought and effort into it. Have you decided what kind of fish yet? It looks like a shrimp paradise. You wouldn't have to worry about your moss with shrimp, but then again you would be really limited to your fish choice.

Where did you get the sticks? I'm planning a little experiment soon and was wondering if you found those sticks and treated them for the tank use?

In my experience with the hair algae you have is that the algae that is in there now will continue to grow if you leave it. If you pick it out whenever you find it, when your plants eventually settle in, they will out compete it and it will not come back. I had a horrible time with it choking my java moss and I kept thinking it would go away but after I removed it, it didn't come back... at least not there. I have a tiny bit forming on my swords now but not anywhere near the choking growth I had before. So, just pick it out and you should be fine. A toothbrush is recommended to easily tangle and remove the stuff. I didn't have a spare so I just used my fingers and it came out pretty easily. Otherwise, I hear Mollys will eat it as well as Amano shrimp.

I love the seamless corners of your tank. It makes such a huge difference. Good stuff. I'd never have known you were only in this for 2 months.


----------



## Shurik

*Dear Yum!*

I got plenty of hair looking coarse green algae in my *20 gal NPT*. Also I've noticed today some pinholes on Red Temple and slight whitening of my pogostemon helferi. Oh great! 

So I guess I need some potassium and iron for 20 gal now, and probably I will try some root tabs, I am really not so crazy about dosing the tank every day, I really would love not to. But yes, I am into growing plants for the whole two month and few days now, so&#8230; I was planning to add some shrimps in there too, ether Amano or Cherry, but now I am in process of reading about them. My head is delightfully empty  and I really need some info on everything.

I remember you had some problems with potassium as well, how do you deal with it?

As of *fish choice for this 50 gal*, Bratyboy2 is absolutely right I am on my path to stupidity. :mrgreen: This 50 gal is set up for my Hagrid and His Pet, and they are common GOLDFISH!

I know&#8230; *But Goalcreas is usually the one who takes me off this path, and he is missing in action!*  And my goldie don't have anywhere else to go. They are sitting in 10 gal now waiting for their plant festival to open.

I got some *Manzanita wood from FishandTurtlejunkie*, he has great packages for all tank sizes and usually he is sending some extra branches. He can also put together some "custom" packages for you. I got enormous pile of wood left over, but they are pretty big branches, thick, long and straight and I don't know if you'd like them at all for your experiment.

Both of my tanks are SeaClear acrylic. They have funky precut holes on top and you may have some difficulties to fit your equipment in because you can not temper with it, you have to use those holes. Modifying the top of it will compromise tank integrity and it will bulge out. But it is all good to me, I am not a pro.


----------



## jmontee

Shurik, IME the red temple, alt. reineckii, can be very finicky. I wouldn't worry about what you're doing wrong to get the pin holes. I had some beautiful plants growing for a few months. I dose NPK, CSM+B, 30ppm CO2, good water circulation and now all the older leaves have spots, GSA and some brown spots, pinholes and some are just melting away. I have also read, by Hoppy, that in his experince they have also been a bit of an algae magnet. Oh well I am probably going to top the current plants and get rid of the older rooted portions. We'll see what happens.


----------



## StevenLeeds

Your tank really turned out nice...


----------



## Kubalik

I have to agree with Bratyboy . Dont let the goldfish destroy this !!! Put some angels in it or maybe even discuss ...It is really wonderful tank.


----------



## yum

Shurik said:


> *Dear Yum!*
> 
> I got plenty of hair looking coarse green algae in my *20 gal NPT*. Also I've noticed today some pinholes on Red Temple and slight whitening of my pogostemon helferi. Oh great!
> 
> So I guess I need some potassium and iron for 20 gal now, and probably I will try some root tabs, I am really not so crazy about dosing the tank every day, I really would love not to. But yes, I am into growing plants for the whole two month and few days now, so&#8230; I was planning to add some shrimps in there too, ether Amano or Cherry, but now I am in process of reading about them. My head is delightfully empty  and I really need some info on everything.
> 
> I remember you had some problems with potassium as well, how do you deal with it?
> 
> As of *fish choice for this 50 gal*, Bratyboy2 is absolutely right I am on my path to stupidity. :mrgreen: This 50 gal is set up for my Hagrid and His Pet, and they are common GOLDFISH!
> 
> I know&#8230; *But Goalcreas is usually the one who takes me off this path, and he is missing in action!*  And my goldie don't have anywhere else to go. They are sitting in 10 gal now waiting for their plant festival to open.
> 
> I got some *Manzanita wood from FishandTurtlejunkie*, he has great packages for all sizes and usually he is sending extra branches. I got enormous pile of wood left over, but they are pretty big, thick and long and I don't know if you'd like them at all for your experiment.
> 
> Both of my tanks are SeaClear acrylic. They have funky precut holes on top and you may have some difficulties to fit your equipment in because you can not temper with it, you have to use those holes. Modifying the top of it will compromise tank integrity and it will bulge out. But it is all good to me, I am not a pro.


In regards to the potassium, I've finally gotten some potassium supplement from Will5 but I've been hesitant to put it in the tank as I heard there were some issues with shrimp death but I'm going to start slow tonight and put in tiny amounts to see what happens. I was going to try root tabs but they all seemed to have some amount of copper which will kill shrimp.

Cherry shrimp are really easy in my experience thus far. I wanted to add a few amano to the tank but the LFS recommended I leave them out. He said they can get aggressive with the smaller shrimps and bully them and I have read someone on this board reporting the amano's actually taking nips at his fish.

Ok, I've got to get back to work. I'm actually in a meeting and almost got caught...


----------



## cs_gardener

The layout looks great! Isn't it amazing how such a (seemingly) simple project takes so much time. I've done the exact same thing, thinking an aquarium project would only take me about 3 hours and then finishing up 6-7 hours later (plus time for cleanup).

I can't believe you're going to put herbivorous fish in there. It's just too pretty to use as a salad bar. Maybe you have room somewhere for another tank for the plant munchers?


----------



## Tex Gal

2 months into this!... you are a natural!!!

I dose EI (Potassium) in my plant grow out tank. I have blueberry shrimp and amano shrimp in there. They do fine. Perhaps its the Crystals that have a hard time with it. I don't does anything in my chrystral tank. The amano shrimp are usually the 1st to eat when I feed the shrimp, but they don't hurt anyone. I can't imagine them hurting fish. I did have some red nose shrimp once that did catch and eat fish but they grew to 3". They were sold to me as feeder shrimp but multiplied in my tank.

OK - NO!!! DON'T put your fish in yet!! (How's that?) Now it's your turn to tell me!  Oooooooh how I want to put them in!!!


----------



## BryceM

Very nice for a first try! It looks like you are poised for success with this...... at least right up until the fish eat all the scenery. Don't do it. Buy another tank for the goldies. Do yourself a favor and get a nice shoal of rainbows or tetras, or just about anything else.

BTW, it's good to see someone here from Worcester. I set up my first planted tank while we lived there about three years ago. We lived in the Holy Cross neighborhood. If you'd like a list of some local resources send me a PM sometime. There are several good people in the surrounding area that keep some nice tanks. It's too bad that NEAPS doesn't really exist anymore.

The white fuzz on the manzanita will go away on its own. The red coloration in the Blyxa is desirable, and is an indicator of a healthy plant in good light levels.


----------



## schaadrak

Awesome job.


----------



## Bunbuku

Beautiful _aquascape_ and very tastefully/skilfully done! I like the sense of space you achieved by not putting in a foreground carpet plant. I love it.


----------



## Revernance

I don't know what to say. I'm just so speechless. 

WOW. That is one sexy tank.


----------



## Shurik

Thanks for all the kind words! 

Now I got some home work to do, I need to learn more about shrimps, lights, ferts and all other stuff, you really keep me busy with new things to read about, and I just love it!

*StevenLeeds*, thanks for these lava rocks, they do look good. I got to mention to everyone how nice you where sending me that second package of them. The first one just disappeared in the mail and it was very upsetting they lost it. I can only imagine someone is opening it some place else and&#8230; what-tah! ... Rocks, but not diamonds, alas! :heh:

Any ways, Steve kindly sent me package #2, even though he didn't have to and this time it was with the tracking number and all, and the post office treated it better. Thanks! 

*Yum!* I had sooo many problems with uncontrollable giggling on line while working in the corporation type of environment, it wasn't even funny! So I got rid of that type of job before they got rid of me. 

So shrimps are sensitive to heavy metals, some fertilizers, Excel and all other things, hmmm&#8230; 
I am not ready for them yet.

I am expecting some Yellow Sulawesi snails,

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/.../51935-3-new-sulawesi-snails-added-store.html

I hope they where shipped today, because I asked to ship them on Monday so they don't get stuck in the post office and I catch the shipment on time. But I never got any conformation email. 

*Jmontee:*
This sounds like a good idea to me to top the Red Temple plant and get rid of the older rooted portions. They did attract algae at some point in the beginning and older leaves are still kinda green because of it. And the pinholes are located on the older leaves too. This is very bold looking plant to me. I got it without any knowledge or experience just to have something red in the tank. I had no L. Aromatica at that time and no hope to get any reds at all, so I ended up ordering random plant just by its description. Now it is taking half of my 20 gal.

I just removed several stems and shoved it up into 10 gal where my gold fish are sitting for now. :evil: But they have no interest to this plant either.

*Guaiac boy:* Yes, yes, I hope I am not the only one with planted aquarium in Worcester area because sometimes it seems that way to me!

Yup... my fish... 
I basically don't know what to do with my "fish choice" because I feel responsible for Hagrid and H.P. Because of me, they had horrible childhood, their teenage years where not any better. The pond they where meant to go to is a mess right now. On top of that it got frozen all the way to the bottom past winter (it never happened before) and all the fish died in there. 
Hagrid and H.P are two stunted creatures no one will ever need and this is all my fault. They are smart and recognize people and actually&#8230; they are not as bad.

I guess I'll get rainbows when I get 125 gal tank, just like Tax Gal. 

*Everyone: **I got totally scattered throughout all your threads now, so many great tanks to look at, so many things to learn about it! *

*Oh, I forgot my question of the night:

Tips of my needle fern got somewhat transparent. It happened before to me. Is it too much light? Will they even survive? I think it is too bright for them, it might be. 
On the other hand, I never have seen my plants pearling. Ever! Oh well&#8230;*


----------



## Shurik

Yet another stupid question:

Are there any other companion creatures out there for my goldfish? (besides snails) 
Sounds like they eat everything…


----------



## tinman

Shurik said:


> Yet another stupid question:
> 
> Are there any other companion creatures out there for my goldfish? (besides snails)
> Sounds like they eat everything&#8230;


Perhaps zebra danios or white cloud minnows.


----------



## BryceM

All varieties of java fern will have translucent tips. It's part of how they grow. No worries!!! They're supposed to do that.


----------



## dwalstad

Shurik,

Gorgeous tank. You and others are starting to convince me that maybe NPTs can be aquascaped. 

I was pleased that you told us that you rocks on the bottom glass, not on the substrate. Very good!

Keep us posted.


----------



## Shurik

*Thank you, Diana! * 

My cheerful unawareness gives me somewhat of an excuse to do all sorts of strange things. But I am definitely trying to avoid some potential serious problems. Some plant getting eaten is not that upsetting to me as loosing my fish. This is why I've mentioned about those rocks. Perhaps some other people will try to aquascape NPT (because it's tempting![smilie=l or use soil in their high tech set ups, either way I wanted to say it is not a good idea to compress the soil with anything heavy. The potential for the substrate to go anaerobic and toxic is a big scare to me. I was going to get some Malaysian trumpet snails to help oxygenated water to get into the substrate. I learned it on the forum but I think repeating and confirming it wouldn't hurt. 

Also this is why I am not using huge quantities of driftwood - to avoid any potential rotting problem.

And this is why I am using a canister filter; my goldies are messy fish and plants alone unfortunately may not be effective enough as a filter.

Plus I hated that HOB, I just couldn't stand it any longer! 

So it [B]might[/B] all work out together OK because goldfish are also excellent fertilizer generators and hopefully I'll get some good Co2 from them just as well. 
Aquarium ecology is really fascinating thing - it is closed eco-system and every little thing I do can lead to some serious consequences. Perhaps I am doomed to a failure, I don't know.

Ohh&#8230; no one likes my goldfish idea tough! 

*Tinman:* danios and goldfish??? I do have leopard long finned danios.

Dear *guaiac boy*, imagine how neurotic and hypochondriac I am! Even transparent tips of some fern give me an anxiety attaches! 

I just discovered your 180 gal tank thread and got completely mesmerized by it.  This is awesome!

OK, I really should shut up and listen to everything people tell me, I am talking too much. 
I hope people will keep posting their opinion on just about everything, I can really use it.

Cheers! :-D


----------



## bratyboy2

Kubalik said:


> I have to agree with Bratyboy . Dont let the goldfish destroy this !!! Put some angels in it or maybe even discuss ...It is really wonderful tank.


can you take them to a local petstore? or do you have anyone you can that will take them for a pond?

Shurik i would love so see some community fish in this tank like the angels or discus!!! that tank calls for them! dont let me down girl try to hold out on putting the gold fish in there and FIND THEM A NEW HOME!!! you can do it!


----------



## BryceM

About the goldfish issue.......

It's not that they take a little nibble a bit here and there. What they do is more like what a 4 year-old would do with a pair of scissors in a lace shop. Wholesale destruction, mass hysteria, dogs & cats living together...... you get the idea.


----------



## Shurik

Yea, I know what those creatures do in the fish tank, I had them for 2 years stuffed up in that 10 gal and this is why now I can’t go to the gold fish forum – they will execute me slowly, painfully and publicly. :icon_hang

So pretty much I got no way out of this but getting another like 125 gal tank for those rainbows, discuses and other beautiful species. This sounds like a brilliant idea to me. :mrgreen:

I feel like my fish – I just don’t fit in anywhere I go to. out:
Its just I don’t look at them as a piece of furniture to complement my tank nicely, I look at them as my pets. 

Well, I guess I got no support on this part of my tank journey.:yield:


----------



## BryceM

Obtaining and setting up a ginormous aquarium is a well-established pathway to unrivaled lifelong bliss. Of course, there's the weekly two hour-long trim, enormous recurring expenses, infrequent algae disasters and the occasional $400 fish dieoff. Apart from that it's a laugh a minute. 

It looks like your options are to be slowly executed here for desicrating a beautiful aquascape with lowly (and hungry) goldfish, or die a slow and painful death on the goldie forums for keeping them in crowded, but better conditions than those enjoyed by 99.9% of goldfish currently on the planet. I know a guy who keeps two in a blender with a little sign that says "I can't stand the stress!"


----------



## Bunbuku

Shurik said:


> Yea, I know what those creatures do in the fish tank, I had them for 2 years stuffed up in that 10 gal and this is why now I can't go to the gold fish forum - they will execute me slowly, painfully and publicly. :icon_hang
> 
> So pretty much I got no way out of this but getting another like 125 gal tank for those rainbows, discuses and other beautiful species. This sounds like a brilliant idea to me. :mrgreen:
> 
> I feel like my fish - I just don't fit in anywhere I go to. out:
> Its just I don't look at them as a piece of furniture to complement my tank nicely, I look at them as my pets.
> 
> Well, I guess I got no support on this part of my tank journey.:yield:


Not at all. In my Iwagumi tank, I have a school of rummy noses and a pair of blue rams. The latter definitely does not fit the theme. But I they were my pets before I rescaped, so I kept them even though they dug up the HC a bit. Just part of a pet owner's responsibility. They have more "personality" that the schooling fish anyway. Whenever I come near the tank they expect to be fed the little pigs..its probably a Pavlovian thing,


----------



## Shurik

Dear *Guaiac boy*, for now my entire apartment is in the size of 125 gal, I think. 

OK, I made up my mind. 
I choose to be slowly executed here, at home, surrounded by my dear friends. :drama: They will hold my hand, wipe the sweat off my forehead and perhaps someone will bring me some fluid to drink while I will hear quiet suppressed sobbing coming from other threads through closed doors. [smilie=l:
(Instead of execution by strangers at the Gold fish forum, where people will shove me up in the blender without any sedatives).

[B]Bunbuku[/B], thanks for visiting my personal chamber of shame! 
I went to see your Iwagumi. I love blue rams and your tank looks great. Your Blyxa is going really crazy and everything is turning into real nice tank, except it is not as boring as a regular iwagumi tank everyone already has&#8230; perhaps due to your fish choice? :loco:


----------



## Red_Rose

Hello Shurik!

You know, I've read up a bit on goldfish(not a lot, but a bit!) and I've heard different things about them. In some sites that I checked out, a couple of the people there want to set up a planted tank with goldfish in it but were afraid to because they could eat the plants. The one thing that stuck out in that one particular site was a comment that someone made about that and here it is: _"Some goldfish eat plants, or attack plants...and others wont touch them. It just depends. Watch your goldfish and see what they like and do not like."_

What I like about this comment is that just because some people say that your goldfish will destroy your tank, it doesn't mean that it will happen. I was told something somewhat similar when it comes to bettas and snails. When I wanted to add an apple snail to my betta's tank, I was told that they are not good tankmates and that my betta will attack it. Well he absolutely loves his snail roomies and he actually sulks when I have to remove them from the tank for whatever the reason may be. Just monitor your goldfish to see how they are in there with the plants and maybe offering them veggies a little more often may get them to stay away from the plants.

I also found this little site that you may be interested in. It has a list of plants that you could try adding to a goldfish tank.

Good luck!


----------



## meghan

very pretty!
i have a 40 or 50 gallon (not sure exactly, it was given to me) that's got a decent amount of plants with fancy goldfish and they don't really tear anything up too much, except for some riccia moss i have tied onto some drift wood. every once in a while i have to replant something but it's not bad at all.


----------



## SKSuser

Your tank looks very nice. Thank you for the pictures of the sides. It really helps to see the side. Why doesn't everybody do that? Anyway, I had a friend who kept goldfish with his plants. They didn't give the plants a problem unless he didn't feed them well. Give it a try. The goldfish are your friends after all. 

And congrats!
You've gotten Dianna Walstad to comment on both your tanks!!! Aieee!!!!!


----------



## Shurik

Many thanks to everyone for the comments. :clap2:

I got unexpectedly busy and disappeared for the whole two days. I am finally back...
I just wanted to say I understand and agree with both sides of this goldfish issue – yes, it is inappropriate fish for this set up (aesthetically), but it is even more inappropriate for me not to care about where they are going to etc. Since the pond option is not an option any more, I will… 

Oh! I just got a brilliant idea! I can always photoshop the discuses in![smilie=l:

I should post some picture updates soon any way. 

And I really appreciate everyone talking. It really helps.

(Off to read whatever I missed in two days) :high5:


----------



## Shurik

Quick picture update. It's been *two weeks *since set up night.

Sorry for my picture quality. It is really hot outside and my central air is not working. No side pictures either.  They just didn't came out OK, and I already put everything away.









Front









Left









Right.


----------



## BryceM

Certainly this is the single most beautiful object in Worcester. Very nice.


----------



## Tex Gal

Looking great!!!


----------



## Shurik

Thanks! 

I think it is not THAT difficult to create single beautiful object in Worcester. It just should be a little bit better then ugly – and voila! This city is very… unfortunate, if it is the right word to use. 

I just let my fish in. Yes, I did. :heh:

Oh BryceM, I can’t stop laughing, you mentioned 4 years old running with a pair of scissors in a lace shop, and it perfectly describes the situation I am witnessing right now. [smilie=l: [smilie=l: [smilie=l:

The only great thing is that I let the plants to grow in and they are those type of plants these two orange dummies don’t really care about. I never realized how orange they are. Now all my plants look pale and my red L. Aromatica doesn’t stand up as it used to. 

We all are having fun. 

I can’t find any data about gold fish and sand. They got used to eco complete, but never where exposed to anything finer than that. I looked all over the Internet and couldn’t find anything about it. Is it bad for them? I hope not.


----------



## bratyboy2

shurik in just that amount of time i cant believe the growth!!! wow are we still doing goldfish?


----------



## Shurik

You are right, Braty, it did change a lot. I believe it has a lot to do with the way I prepared the soil. I had almost no ammonia this time and all the plants took off like crazy. Also there are absolutely no algae. It is even scary. 
No CO2, moderate light, no ferts, so plants get everything from the soil and algae got nothing to thrive on.

And yes, my fish is in already and I was thinking of making the video.  
It is not THAT bad at all. Actually it looks nice because they are funny to watch and they are very happy to get into 50 gal  Running with a pair of scissors... :mrgreen:


----------



## cs_gardener

The tank looks great! Everything is so healthy and the layout is very well balanced. I'm so glad the goldies aren't particularly interested in the plants you have in there, I was afraid they'd tear them up and destroy the beauty you've created. I'm glad you and your fish friends are having fun, it certainly is a lovely tank to enjoy.


----------



## Shurik

Hello, friends, I got some moving picture update. Hope it works.

This is my first video ever! 

I don't know how to post my video in here, so I am going to try this:





Please *have your sound ON*, this is somewhat important. Not that it is really important, but&#8230; It meant to be played with the sound on.

Also if it doesn't play at all, please tell me.

Thanks!


----------



## Tex Gal

LOVE THE VIDEO! Music is so funny. What in the world are you doing up all night filming gold fish?! Your life sounds as exciting as mine! When the plant floated up to the top I thought, "Oh no! It starts!" It really seemed like the fish came up to visit you when you put your hand in there.....


----------



## cs_gardener

You did a great job with the video! Do those goldies every slow down? They sure get into everything. It doesn't look like they're doing major damage, I'll keep my fingers crossed that they don't.


----------



## The old man

I have a goldfish pond with 2 adults and 7 about 3" in length that grew up in it. They have about devoured all the hornwort I keep adding and even eat the roots off the Water Hyacinth, but they sure are all healthy.  They have been thru cabomba, anacharis, etc. Love them all. Good luck!


----------



## Shurik

BryceM said something really funny about gold fish in planted tank. I kept laughing and laughing and I just had to do something with this bloom of cartoons inside of my head. [smilie=l:

Thankfully they haven’t damage anything as of yet. Yes, I faked anubias floating up and in some places I had to speed up my video a little. (but this is a backstage secret). I had a great fun making it though. Hehehe, discuses!.. [smilie=l:

Yes, these guys are pretty hyper and curious like tree years old. This is how Hagrid got his scar on his left “shoulder”, I was changing the water and he just wouldn’t leave the hose alone. In this quality of youtube video you can’t see his scar though. 

They ate all the nuisance little snails I had in this tank (got there with plants), but all the plants are fine. They know most of them and already bored with them. 

So my aquascape will survive! 

P.S. Yes, they will definitely eat hornwort. All of it. And the duckweed too. And they will not stop until it is all gone.


----------



## Tex Gal

I think I need to borrow them for my duckweed and pond snail!


----------



## Kubalik

Aww great video Shurik !

And i must say i like those goldfish of urs . they seem so happy )) i hope everything stays that way


----------



## davemonkey

Those are some ACTIVE fish! Cute video.


----------



## HeyPK

When I think of Hagrid's woods, I think of a dark, gloomy overgrown place with fog. It just so happens that I have a tank that fits that image perfectly. 









No fish in it, just leeches.:madgrin:


----------



## jackh

shurik i really like the tank good job and sorry the setup took so long


----------



## BryceM

Oooh, leeches are nice........... or not.


----------



## Shurik

My 50 gal will probably get to the state of HeyPK’s aquascape. Any tech specs on it? 

Actually I did planned it as low light anubias-crypt-moss green woods like arrangement because of my fish, but accidently I got more light and they don’t care about L. Aromatica and Blyxa Japonica either. 

Well, planning doesn't always work.  I never planned to have these two orange savages either. They eat so much they may get that "discuss look" pretty soon.


----------



## Brooklyn Plant Guy

Very nice. An excellent job, especially for someone with little experience. You are obviously a natural at this.


----------



## dirrtybirdy

Nice progress on the tank!!


----------



## Shurik

Well… I just ruined my tank! 

I wanted to see what’s going to happen if I replace the sand with some gravel. It was actually easy and I vacuumed the sand out in one second. It was very light and I wanted to replace it with something havier any way.

The small river rocks looked horrendously ugly and a total mismatch. I picked all light colored ones out and it looked better with the darker ones. I added a little of eco-complete, but it is still not a natural looking match… 

I got tired and now I don’t know what to do. Batteries for the camera are charging but I hope I’ll figure out what to do with this ugly situation before that. :faint:

I really like river/stream looks, but I can’t find any match with my lava rocks other then smaller lava rocks I don’t have. 

What a crisis! [smilie=l:


----------



## davemonkey

I have total faith in you that you'll get everything looking fabulous by this afternoon!  You have a natural green-thumb (or I guess a blue thumb for aquariums?). Anyway, sorry to hear about the un-matched substrate/hardscape, but your's still probably looks VERY nice.

Look forward to more pics!


----------



## AaronT

Man, you rescaped it already huh?  I actually liked the contrast of the rocks and sand. 

There are some black sands that would match your rocks better if that's what you are going for.

Seachem Flourite Black Sand
Tahitian Moon Sand
3M T-Grade Black Colorquartz Sand 

I'm glad to see you're having so much success with the mineralized soil.


----------



## cs_gardener

You haven't ruined it! You can always remove the new rocks if you can't stand them, a pain yes, but not irreparable. I liked the look of the sand too, the contrast really set off the stones and plants. Maybe it's the smoothness of the gravel that looks odd to you next to the roughness of the lava rocks?


----------



## Shurik

It's nice to see you guys do poke in to see what is going on. 

Well, I missed my afternoon dead line to fix whatever I did which means I have to show you the picture. (Oh nooooo!) :heh:

This sight is so disturbing I didn't even bother to try to take a better picture of it; it irritates me so much I don't even want to look at it myself. :icon_oak:

Dear *AaronT* and *cs_gardener*! you are absolutely right about the contrast, it was nice and I wanted only heavier light colored substrate, it had some desert sand in there and it was too dusty. 
This is why I placed light colored river rocks first. In theory it supposed to work out OK but&#8230;
But it looked even worse then it is now because those little rocks where totally wrong textured and way too white. 
I removed all the white ones and left all the gray ones. It looked just as bad. :heh:
So I removed all the gray ones and left all the black ones. Not good again! :heh:
Yes, I was thinking of some black sand too. Now that I got a mix of whatever black in there, I can get a general idea of what the black sand would look like. I don't think it's good at all. I need that contrast!

On top of that my "discuss" fish keep putting it into their mouth so it has to be something not to sharp.

I was thinking of pool filter sand, but apparently there is a problem with it because the pool industry is using now some "silica sand". What is it? I would hate to get 50 lb of it just to see it is not usable in aquarium at all. I never seen that pool sand "in person", I just saw a lot of people are using it.

OK.

*Here is the perfect example of how disgusting badly matching substances can look, and I have to fix it STAT! It looks so stupid now it can even be used in some aquascaping tutorial with before and after pictures in the section of "how NOT to". *
*I think I'll go to Home Depot like RIGHT NOW!* ound:










*P.S. At least Aaron's mineralized soil ROCKS! * :supz:


----------



## JoyfulGirl

Shurik- You're my hero. The downside is now my goldfish are rioting and demanding new improved home. Don't think I have the fortitude to stay up til dawn aquascaping. Going to go look at my goldfish tank now while I reread through this thread  Thanks for your detailed progress of this. It makes a huge difference for me when people document their progress.


----------



## cholly

Shurik said:


> I was thinking of pool filter sand, but apparently there is a problem with it because the pool industry is using now some "silica sand". What is it?


Sand composed primarily of silica grains, rather then being calcium based. It's very fine grained and rather attractive, but will (especially in lower pH water) leach a great deal of silicates into the water. Silicates are fuel for diatoms, sometimes referred to as brown slime algae. I've used it more than once in a reef tank, where running everything else in the tank as nutrient poor as possible kept it from causing diatom blooms. I have no experience with using it in freshwater.

If you'd prefer a calcium based sand, look for bags of a brand called SouthDown. It's carried by Home Depot in many parts of the country so you may be able to find it locally. It's calcium based and available in a number of grades, although the one most often used in aquariums is very fine.


----------



## Shurik

Thank you, cholly, for clarification on “silica sand”. 

Now I need to look at gradation of calcium based sand, I guess this is what I need? 
All of a sudden I feel extra dumb. :retard:

What I am trying to find is the opposite of fine sand, I guess… OK, I am getting lost in dunes! [smilie=p:

Nice to see you, JoyfulGirl, I hope whatever I wrote in here will be some help to you and your goldfish, and yes, they can riot, I know that!:high5:


----------



## cs_gardener

I wouldn't call it terribly disturbing at all. It has lost visual impact because the colors of the substrate and rocks are too similar, but (bright side here) the plants really stand out and your goldies seem totally unfazed. I do hope you can find an appropriate light-colored, large-grained, not-too-sharp sand so you have the contrast back. I did notice in your video that the goldies made some dust storms when they were searching the substrate, I just didn't know enough to realize that it was because the sand was too lightweight.


----------



## bratyboy2

any news?


----------



## StevenLeeds

Shurik,

What rock do you need to finish off your scape? Let me know what you need and if you cover shipping and maybe enough for a cup of coffee I'll send you what you need. I can get you any size you need right down to pea sized pieces.

I'm leaving for vacation Wednesday night and I might be able to squeeze it in before I leave.

Steven



Shurik said:


> Well&#8230; I just ruined my tank!
> 
> I wanted to see what's going to happen if I replace the sand with some gravel. It was actually easy and I vacuumed the sand out in one second. It was very light and I wanted to replace it with something havier any way.
> 
> The small river rocks looked horrendously ugly and a total mismatch. I picked all light colored ones out and it looked better with the darker ones. I added a little of eco-complete, but it is still not a natural looking match&#8230;
> 
> I got tired and now I don't know what to do. Batteries for the camera are charging but I hope I'll figure out what to do with this ugly situation before that. :faint:
> 
> I really like river/stream looks, but I can't find any match with my lava rocks other then smaller lava rocks I don't have.
> 
> What a crisis! [smilie=l:[/QUOTE]


----------



## Tex Gal

You might try some pea gravel with a light tan look. I think it would look good in contrast with your stones. Similar in color but lighter than your rocks. I was at a LFS and the guy said it was #3 blasting sand. Really cheap. It's inert.


----------



## mistergreen

wow.. those are crazy active comets.

Believe it or not, you can have a planted goldfish tank...
have a look at one this.
http://dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/


----------



## Shurik

Oh, I am missing all the activities again! 

Dear *StevenLeeds*, you are unbelievably nice!!!  
Well, this idea would probably work out all right, as I thiught - pea size volcanic little stones, but I'll wait on it for now. I was actually thinking about it myself&#8230; Oh, but you saw all my struggling with it.

But the contrast with light colored sand/pea gravel shows off your rocks in this tank much better, I think. Thank you for your offer and have a great Vacation! :high5: After you come back, I will ask you for more rocks becasue I am short of them any way, the smaller size ones, can I?  I would add more of them around the Islands regardless of what other substrate I use around it. Those are really great rocks, and they look much better "in person" 

For now I replaced that black messy improvised substrate back to the *sand*, this time it is pool filter sand I was lucky to find at Wall Mart. Looks waaaay much better now. And at least it is not constantly floating in the "air". I disturbed everything way too much and as a pay back now my water turned green. uke: Judging by what people say about green water issue I can see it is not all that bad, and I've decided to do nothing about it. 

*TaxGal*, if this pool sand I got doesn't work, I'll try blasting sand #3. I hope it is not sharp though. 
*Mistergreen*, this is the problem - my fish is very active and one of them is doing laps and another is trimming plants all the time, but funny enough plants are still growing and everything is still OK. 
Thanks for the link. 
*Bratyboy2*, how are you doing, my friend? 
I really need to get some up to date pictures of my swamp. [smilie=l:


----------



## Shurik

OK, here is what it looks like now.

Approximately one month after set up and one week after green water arrived.
Japonica Blyxa is regularly trimmed by fish, so it is short but still growing, and so as L. Aromatica. Everything else they don't even touch.

Is there anything I should do? I was planning to just let it be and see what's going to happen. But I would love to hear your opinion on&#8230; everything!


----------



## AaronT

Just let the green water run its course. It should go away once the bacteria colonies get established in the filter and substrate. Your tank isn't near a window is it? That can cause green water too.


----------



## Shurik

*Dear AaronT!*  
This is what I thought - I should just let that be. No, the tank is not near window, not really, it is inbetween two north facing windows and it doesn't get that much light from there. 
It all started about three weeks after initial set up, and right after I created some major turbulence by changing sand to light gravel, light gravel to dark gravel, dark gravel to mixture of eco and god knows what else and back to the sand&#8230; Next day it went from absolutely clear to really cloudy and then absolutely green 

My filter is not that new; it was running on 20 gal for a month before I used it here. So I think if I stop poking it so much (which I did already), the water will clear up really quick. It looks better already; it was actually almost none transparent for a couple of days. Will see what is going to happened! To me it is all new and very exiting, even this water bloom

Thanks for checking up on me! 
Cheers!


----------



## Red_Rose

As always, your tank looks beautiful even with the green water! 

Some people use a UV sterilizer to get rid of green water algae. If you have one or know someone who does, you can use that to get rid of the green water.


----------



## StevenLeeds

Shurik,

I'll check in with you when I get back sometime around July 21st or so.

Put together a list of what you want and we'll work something out from there.

Steven


----------



## krisco

crazy how good this tank looks even with the green water.


----------



## Shurik

Oh WOW! 
My water cleared up over night!!! Just as promised!

This is what I was waiting for. 
Ouch, got to go now! 
Will be back soon!


----------



## dinesh

Wow that is good stuff.
regards,
Dinesh


----------



## cs_gardener

Glad to hear your water cleared up so quickly. I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks now.


----------



## davemonkey

Shurik,

Any updates? Where you been the last 2 months?! :bump:

-Dave


----------



## Shurik

HELLO, everybody!!! [smilie=l:[smilie=l:[smilie=l:
I got obsessed with my newest project – “back to school” and it turned out to be very overwhelming thing to do.
My camera is at my relative’s house so I don’t have any new pictures to show. But verbally put, all my fish is doing fine and so as my tanks. 
I missed everyone greatly and since actual studying doesn’t take as much time as applying for this and that, I think I am BACK TO FORUM! [smilie=l:

Now lets' see what's new!


----------



## davemonkey

Welcome back! :clap2:

-Dave


----------



## celticchrys

Shurik, I just found your thread, and your video, and you made me miss keeping goldfish! Excellent tank, great goldies. It's actually essential for goldfish to have some plant matter in their diet. If you get a veggie clip and put in lettuce leaf, thin slices of apple, mango, cucumber, etc, they will eat those as well. I had some goldies that loved fruit. Make sure to slice it thinly. If you do this once a week or so, you will find they eat less of your plants.


----------



## sheshe

Shurik - you give me hope! That's one beautiful tank! I'm just about to plant out my 55g that I use to grow out my pond GF fry - mine are mostly fancies although my son (6) made me get 2 comets who have now been taken out of the tank and put in the pond!

I got here because I got bored w/2 (the only fry I could usually save) little baby GF swimming around in a 55g tank. I now have 7 panda cories, 4 albino cories and Wobbly, my big fat old Blackmoor!



The old man said:


> I have a goldfish pond with 2 adults and 7 about 3" in length that grew up in it. They have about devoured all the hornwort I keep adding and even eat the roots off the Water Hyacinth, but they sure are all healthy.  They have been thru cabomba, anacharis, etc. Love them all. Good luck!


Er - maybe you can send some of your GF over to me??? I have a 100g pond w/3 adult fancy goldfish, 2 5" comets and a 10inch koi (I know, we're digging a 3000g) and I've got so much hornwort and water hyacinth that I don't know what to do with it!


----------



## zha

Wow! lovely tank, and what kind of goldfish is hagrid?


----------



## oddsoxdi

Whoa! Your tank is beautiful! Very artful. Well done!


----------



## DataGuru

I'm glad you decided to move the goldies in!
I agree with you. they're not just ornaments. They are pets!

Here's what my 55 fancy goldie tank used to look like before moved them up to a 120 gallon tank. Consistent with your experience, they like some plants better than others. 









My single tailed goldie are harder on plants.


----------



## gravy9

It took me two days to go through this thread and what a beautiful read. Unbelievable. You have the MIDAS touch. What takes you a whim of a moment takes pretty much a lifetime for other people to learn. I absolutely love your tank and the layout.

Can I ask you to share how you started with your thought process when you started thinking about this layout? Did you already have this layout in your mind before you started or did it evolve?

The rocks look great. I remember that you bought it from someone in this forum. Would you please share that? I'd like to get some of those also.

Keep up your fantastic work. WOW!

regards,
Ravi


----------



## Tex Gal

I think an update is LOOOOONG overdue!


----------



## Shurik

Tex Gal, I am working on the update right now!  Fussing with the wood and whatever I have left of my plants  Busy making DYI CO2 for my 20 gal and basically back in business!


----------



## goldier

Shurik said:


> Hello, friends, I got some moving picture update. Hope it works.
> 
> This is my first video ever!
> 
> I don't know how to post my video in here, so I am going to try this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Please *have your sound ON*, this is somewhat important. Not that it is really important, but&#8230; It meant to be played with the sound on.
> 
> Also if it doesn't play at all, please tell me.
> 
> Thanks!


I really enjoy your video Shurik. Very beautiful NPT! It's so funny to watch them spitting out sand on the bottom. I'd like to see more. The goldfish must be very large by now?



DataGuru said:


> I'm glad you decided to move the goldies in!
> I agree with you. they're not just ornaments. They are pets!
> 
> Here's what my 55 fancy goldie tank used to look like before moved them up to a 120 gallon tank. Consistent with your experience, they like some plants better than others.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My single tailed goldie are harder on plants.


Just as splendid!

That's what I have wanted to setup and yours have convinced me that it is possible to have fancy goldies in a lushly planted aquarium. My goldies were more like puppies, they liked me to pat on their heads. I'm going to have mine in a 120 gal tank too. Can't wait to get started.

Thanks Tex Gal for bringing up this thread.


----------



## Shurik

Yea, I forgot about this thread myself  Thanks, Goldier, I still like my pets and after almost two years I should really do some serious update, especially about the plants, I have to write some very long list of those they ate!  Also, they dig a lot, but it is still possible to have plants. 
I was really busy at school and finally I got back to taking care of this mess. I am increasing my lights a little, because everything went into pretty deep hibernation, and unfortunately crypts don't do well in my water. I also got some new moss and well... Pics are coming soon. Fish is really huge now, and... I don't know, they are just really big!  
But before I do all this, I really need to figure out what is going on with Tex Gal's new tank,  if it came and what is different about it.


----------



## Perianth

Shurik,

I haven't been on this forum in ages, but it was my lucky day to see your thread for the first time. You've gone far in such a short time. Can't wait to hear of your latest adventures. Hope Hagrid and companions are doing well.


----------



## davemonkey

Tex Gal said:


> I think an update is LOOOOONG overdue!


 :amen:


----------



## braveotter

Very elegant rockwork, I like! Where do you get your rocks from?


----------



## Shurik

braveotter said:


> Very elegant rockwork, I like! Where do you get your rocks from?


I got my rocks from one of the members in here - StevenLeeds his name is. But it was 2 years ago and actually, this is the only thing I still got intact in this tank  Everything else looks really different now.


----------



## Angie

New pictures?


----------



## Shurik

I got to take the pics just to show this mess I got right now  
The fish got really big, and if they used to dig up plants, now they are REALLY diggin it up, like a mad excavators. Plus, the wood is partually disintegrated, so I had to take out some, which creates even worse appearance. Plus, I abandoned it for a while because of being busy at school, so now it is a low light jungles of ferns, crypts, moss and rotalas. 
Recently I upgraded the lights and now I really need to take out some wildly floating things and perhaps plant some more plants I lost due to my own negligence - you see, I got two factors of such a collapse, not only fish-comets, but my own actions as well. 

Almost forgot - I had to start dosing some ferts - I could see some potassium deficiency, and the same thing happened to my 20 gal 
"El Natural" tank. I was doing that for about a week, but you could see the improvement almost right away. Reading about PPS method now thinking of doing that.


----------



## Angie

I love a tank that is as messed with as little as possible. No picture perfect tanks for me. lol
Can't wait to see your pictures.


----------



## Shurik

Hello!
Sorry I've been away for so long, but my biggest news is that I had a beautiful baby boy and he is almost 6 months old now!:cheer2:

And... This is the visual update to my 50 gal tank. (the drum roll) 
The good news is that the fish is OK and Hagrid moved into a nice 24 ft gold fish pond, he is huge now. 

The bad news is that Captain Bob (see illustration below) is left alone to conquer an algae sea monster and I have no plants left at all and can't find the thread with sales :mmph:

I have no plans for this 50 gal yet. I am browsing through here for the inspirational ideas and would love to get some, something low tech and slow going this time. I see a lot of new things like led light use and new layout of the forum etc. and can't wait to see what everyone I know is up to.

yea...... this is the update picture


----------



## tantaMD

this is one of the best el natural scape i've seen so far. it has great depth sense, great focal points with the red ludwigia. if i can ask you for something, please dont put ur goldfish in ur tank. u can put them anywhere and they can still looking good, but please not in this beautiful little wonderland.
and i want to ask ur permittion to use ur tank's pic in my country forum (indoaquascape.com). el natural is not quite popular here, because here usually it is thought that the el natural scape would be a mess. i want to show the other way around


----------



## Shurik

Thank you so much for your kind words, dear tantaMD! And of course you can use the pictures, I'll be flattered and happy! (not that last one please)

Yes, it is a problem to have a goldfish in planted tank, they will ruin it, oh yes they will and they did
Is it possible to somewhat keep it OK looking? - YES, but it limits your plant choice down to the fish taste to it and the way you plant it, plus frustration of everything getting wrecked up and eaten adds to it. I kept it up for pretty long time, but the fish was getting bigger and bigger and required more care and more plants for a snack. Comets are especially wild.
They became my pets and everything was about health and wellbeing of my fishies. This is exactly why after about 3 years my Hagrid went to the nice well kept goldfish pond and now I am basically fishless! The tank is running empty and abandoned and I have a baby to take care of  and it is a lot of fun.

But... I still want to get the tank back to some better looking point and thinking of an easiest way to do that, battling some questions.

Do I take it down completely and keep the filter alive and start everything all over? 
And another question of mine - *did anyone used that "Python" hose,* the one you connect to the kitchen sink and does it make water change any easier? basically this is why everything got so abandoned - I couldn't run with buckets of water anymore being pregnant and fuss over any of it. Even with the Natural setup I still had to do water changes once in a (great) while.


----------



## Shurik

To wrap up my update on 50 gal here is my baby Lev!!! He likes to watch my commotions around the tank


----------



## vicky

Congrats on the great looking boy! Happy fish are an accomplishment, but nothing compares to your own happy family. You done good!


----------



## novianto.sutardi

tantaMD said:


> this is one of the best el natural scape i've seen so far. it has great depth sense, great focal points with the red ludwigia. if i can ask you for something, please dont put ur goldfish in ur tank. u can put them anywhere and they can still looking good, but please not in this beautiful little wonderland.
> and i want to ask ur permittion to use ur tank's pic in my country forum (indoaquascape.com). el natural is not quite popular here, because here usually it is thought that the el natural scape would be a mess. i want to show the other way around


hi tanta!

yes, i agree with you.
this is one of the best el natural scape i've seen also.

and the tips on using rocks to contain the substrate is very useful.

nice work shurik.


----------



## tantaMD

@ shurik : say my hello to lev!! 
@ novianto : hi juga  (kok bro lama ga aktif di indoaquascape nih)


----------



## Bruce_S

Very handsome young man there ... and so much more fun and interesting than _any_ fish!

Thanks for sharing "Hagrid's Woods" with us! (Perhaps one day young Levi will be a Harry Potter fan, and you can crank it up again - with some sort of magical fishes...)

~Bruce


----------



## Diana K

The Python and equivalent products work quite well, when they work. 

Here are a few problems:

Incompatible plumbing. Some older houses have fixtures that cannot be connected. 

Using the Python up or down stairs. Works best on the same level as the tank. 

You can read horror stories about fish keepers who turn on and off the various controls in the wrong order, get too much pressure on a fitting that is not as tight as it should be and something blows apart. 

If there is a problem with the tap water that cannot be instantly fixed. 
For example, as the weather gets cool the water in the supply lines holds more gases. When these gases enter my tank they cause problems for my fish. I need to air out the water for at least half an hour with some strong circulation, and overnight is better. 
Another example: If the GH and KH of your water is not right and you need to dissolve some minerals in it. Not just a pinch or two (that much dissolves fast) but a major change like making my soft water into Lake Tanganyikan water. 
Small water changes that do not result in such large changes in the end resulting tank water might be handled just fine. 

Dechlor can be added to the flow of water running into the tank, and I do this when I do a direct fill. But pretty much all other problems are not so easily corrected, and the Python may not work for larger water changes.


----------



## Shurik

Thanks so much, Diana K, for such a detailed info on Pythons. It should be posted some place easy to find for everyone! 
I am still fussing over my 20 gal and... and I wish there was 88 hours in a day time


----------

