# My 75 gallon tank build thread!



## Shrimplett

Hey guys, this is my first tank build thread and this is also my first El Natural tank 

A little bit about my tank

Tank size: 
75 gallons

lighting:
T5HO

substrate:
topsoil & gravel cap

Plants: 
Ruffle plant, Java fern, Java lace, Hornwort, Anacharis, a few swords (don't know the names), Anubis, water wisteria (or sprite), and a few other that I cant remember the names of.


Fish:
4 angels, 6 banded rainbow fish, 6 turquoise rainbow fish, 6 salmon red rainbow fish, 12 otocinclus

Some pictures 

















*click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Tomorrow I am going to add plants, do a little DIY, and fill the tank with water. There will be more pictures to come. Thanks for checking out my thread and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask


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## DanielG

That's a great looking tank!

You mention T5HO, but how many bulbs are you running and what is the wattage???

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk


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## qwe123

Mineralized topsoil or plain topsoil?


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## Shrimplett

@ DanielG 
Thank you for the kind words Daniel! The ballest runs two bulbs, one is a blue light and the other is a white light. Each bulb is 54 watts, so I have a total of 108 watts. Once the blue bulb runs out I will probably change it to a white bulb as well. 

@ qwe123
It's just plan topsoil that I got from my local garden store. It's not minerlized, I just dumped it in straight from the bag. The brand I think was "Frugal", but I am not totally sure. The ingredients were sand and garden compost.


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## Shrimplett

Alright, well I got to planting the tank today as well as filling it halfway with water. Unforchantly, I ran into a problem. As I was filling the tank with water the wood started to float ruining my scape. So untell the wood is waterlogged (which it was not when I put it in), I am going to have something really heavy to keep from floating. I tried a slate tile I had lying around, but it did not keep it down the way I wanted. I guess it does not matter as long as its not floating, but I would like to have it become waterlogged the way I want it already.... If you know what I mean. Plus the slate peice is a huge eye sore, not to mention it could slip and crack the tank. Oh well I guess, I will figure something out. I will have some more pics up tomorrow.


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## Karl M

Some wood can take a long time to get fully waterlogged. The fastest way is to boil it but that doesn't work if you have large pieces. When I set up my 55 gallon it had wood that was too big for me to boil so about 1 month before I set up the aquarium I put the wood in the empty aquarium and filled with water and kept it weighed down. Even after a month it still would float. When I set up the aquarium I got some suction cups and used rubber bands to hold it to he bottom then I added the soil and gravel. It worked well. The only thing was the rubber bands only lasted about 1 month and then they started breaking. Luckily the wood stayed in place. So you might use something other than rubber bands.


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## GadgetGirl

I saw someone on YouTube who fastened a suction cup to wood with a stainless steel screw. He was making a moss wall with branches and attached it to the back of the aquarium. It was pretty cool! I just ordered a large Manzanita branch that I can't boil, so watching this thread!


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## Shrimplett

Unforchanitly I can't boil these pecies, there just to large. And I could not soak them before time because the only place they could stay submerged was the bath tub. I did not think of soaking them in in the tank before hand though ](*,). I have seen guys on amazon selling mansineata branches attached to big slate tiles. Of course I already have my gravel and soil and would rather not stur that up. I will figure something out though.


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## draftzero

Not sure how big those pieces are, but you could try boiling them in a turkey fryer (you can get them at home depot for about $30?) 

If that doesn't work, you can still weigh them down with stones. This is what I did for a few of my pieces. After about 6 months? it removed them and they stayed in place no problem.


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## Kerry

You could use some fine fishing line and tie the branch to a heavy rock at the root end, and, to another at the lower branch where it splits in two. That might keep it down in close to the position you have it until it will stay on its own. Later clip the fishing lines and remove the rocks, or, just make the rocks part of the scape. BTW, that is a nice piece of wood!


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## Shrimplett

Thanks guys! Those are some nice suggestions. That's a good idea Kerry! I was just trying to weigh it down with things I had on hand. I have a couple rocks in my 40 that I could use. They have brush algae on them though. Anybody know how to get that off without transferring the algae to the 75?

Update

So time for a little update. My build is not going as smooth as I thought it would, but I guess that's how it goes sometimes. A couple pictures:








Here it is planted.









*click on the pics to enlarge.

And here it is know. Not exactly how I would like it to look. I had to move some of the plants because the tile was blocking the light. The wood is actually three different pieces, and the two largest want to float. There will be more updates to come!


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## atc84

looks like a good project! Best luck to you


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## Shrimplett

UPDATE TIME!!!

So my tank has gone though some uglys. The water was horrible with white stuff covering the top of the water and had clear film over everything. Today I decided to a full water change, and this time I filled the tank up all the way. Some pictures...

Here is the nasty film I was talking about. 








And my tank after the water change 








*click on pics to enlarge (I don't know why they are so small)

I am quite happy with the way it looks now (even with the slate tile in there). I was able to put all the plants back in there original spots, and the wood wants to float even more now. I have one question for you guys ....What is that white film and how do I keep it from coming back? Thanks


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## Tugg

Fungus. I'm assume this word wasn't boiled. It should go away as the tank cycles and the wood cures.


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## Shrimplett

Thanks for the response Tugg  The wood is a little over 4'.... to large to boil


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## Shrimplett

So yesterday I got myself a filter for the tank  Its a HOB, is made for aquriums up to 90 gallons and filters about 400 gallons per hour. I am thinking about adding my 2 filters from my 40 gallon later on, but it's still a thought. Oh, I also added a nano power head that I had laying around. 

I have everything for my tank now, so I will just be doing waterchanges and waiting for it to cycle. I will update when something interesting happens


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## atc84

ah, someone else with the useless fungus. Always happens, i think it might be a product of silica or wood idk. Anyways i got that on my sandbed both times the 2 days i set up an aquarium until i added fish, which killed it off. 

Have u considered screwing a flat something like plastic to the bottom of the wood and cover that with the gravel? will help the scape in the meantime. 

Probably wont need the 40 gal filters unless youre seeding the tank and if you have a large bioload. Well, thats assuming you have plenty of plants... 

really nice thread, im watching it as it goes along!


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## Shrimplett

Thanks for fallowing atc84  

I have thought about screwing something to the bottom of the wood, but I would rather not disturb the substrate. I think the wood is slowly becoming waterlogged anyway. My water in the tank is also a slight tea color today, good old tannins  

I will update soon!


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## Shrimplett

UPDATE

So I have noticed that the tank water has been improving. The film on the top of the water is gone, and the fungus is going away. Pond snails have been breeding like crazy and little hydra are growing on the glass. I tested the water and the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite were all 0, and the ph was 7.6. I did a water change and added 3 halequin rasboras to the tank today and I am going to see how things go. The plants have also been growing like crazy too.

I have a question for you guys. I was originally thinking of getting 4 angels, but I worry about getting an overly agressive pair. I have asked this time and again, if that keeping 1 angel is fine or not? I have been assured in the past that a pair in this tank should not be a problem and angels should not be kept alone. I just don't want to have them turn agressive (I don't like agressive tanks), but I don't want my current angel to be lonely. What do you guys think I should do?


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## atc84

I have a lone angel and he enjoys the company of my other fish. It's kinda hard to tell loneliness in fish also.


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## Shrimplett

True. My angel is in a tank with a mirrored back so he "talks" to his reflection a lot. When I covered the mirror with a black backing he acted like he was searching for his reflection and would seek out areas were the mirror was exposed. I truly think he would like company, but aggression could result. I don't care if they pair I just dont want them to constantly harass my other fish. Anybody else have thoughts on this?


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## Shrimplett

Bump. 

Has anybody had paired angels in community tanks? Were they really aggressive (as in chasing the other fish all the time or something similar)? Should I just keep the one angel I have or get four like I planed?


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## Karl M

Many years ago I had 3 angels in a community tank. Two of them paired off and I had to move the third angel to another tank. One of the pair was aggressive but not violently so. Though he was pretty aggressive towards the third angel. They mostly stayed at their end of the aquarium and didn't want most of the other fish to invade their space. It was strange that there were some fish that they completely ignored. For a short period of time there was a betta in the tank and the angels acted like they didn't even see him. They ignored the corys as well. I never did get them to spawn.

I should add that I have had angels that were very aggressive especially towards other angels even without pairing off. I think a lot of it has to do with space. I had mine in a 55 gallon and that just wasn't enough space for large angels.


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## Shrimplett

Thanks Karl! I will more than likly go with my plan and get 4 angels. I have heard that some color varieties are more more aggressive than others. Like koi and black angels are the most aggressive, while veil angels are pretty laid back. Is this true? 

Also dose anybody know of an oddball fish that could go in my tank? I like knifefish, eels, bichers and plecos to give you an idea. I have no hood on my tank and would rather not get one (unless I am deadset on a fish  ).


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## Karl M

I don't know about the aggressiveness of different varieties. I have only had two different color varieties. The ones that paired off were veil tails. I don't know the name of the other variety. They were all white with some yellow along their back. The most aggressive angel that I ever had was one of the white ones.


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## Shrimplett

So today I added 4 more harlequin rasboras, for a total of 7. The 3 I had were big wimps in the tank and they would not eat. As soon as I added the rest they were all over the tank and were no longer afraid of me. I believe they will eat tomorrow


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## atc84

hahaha, big wimps... 

are they acting normally besides not eating?


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## Shrimplett

Ya, they look and act fine. They are afraid of me again though, and still wont eat :mmph: Now I have 7 big wimps


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## tonnakpil

A black ghost knife would be a great odd ball. Really beautiful creatures.


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## Shrimplett

tonnakpil said:


> A black ghost knife would be a great odd ball. Really beautiful creatures.


I have wanted one of these for so long! I just worry that my 75 would be to small for it. What do you guys think?


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## DRDuck

ghost knife is a great fish, but you probably wont see it much. It prefers a retreat, like a tunnel (there are even knifefish plastic tunnels available), during the day it hides and comes out to eat at dusk. Notice that they have very small eyes - sure sign of nocturnal behavior. If you really want one and want to be able to see it, get a cork bark tunnel. You can secure it under water using strong suction cups and zip ties. If you cut it in half, you can attach it to the side of the aquarium where you can view the fish while it is "hiding" during the daylight hours.


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## Shrimplett

Tank update

Sorry for the lack of updates guys, I have been sick recently . So the tank is doing good so far. A few weeks ago I had a little ammonia in the tank. I did a 20 gallon water change and let it be. Sense then the water has been fine. I tested yesterday and I had no detectable levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. So I did a 50% water change and added 3 banded rainbows that were in my 40 gallon an hour later. I have not been watching my levels in my tank close enough, so I don't know how cycled my tank is, but I am going to watch closely so my bows are not exposed to anything. Its possible that my plants are consuming it all because they are growing like crazy! I still have that dumb tile in the tank, but I plan on getting a few river rocks to weigh down the wood instead. There has been algae, but I can easily scrape it off the glass and a few otocinclus will probably eat what's on the plants. I do have hair algae on my hornwort though! I honestly don't like this plant, but I am not going to throw it away. What causes hair algae and how do I get rid of it?

Time for some pictures  As usual click on the pictures to enlarge them 

As you can kind of see, my plants are growing a ton!








A little bonus from my banana plant. Its a Lilly pad and this is the underside of it. 








My male banded rainbow. 








SNOW!!!

So we have been expecting snow for a couple days. Where I live in Oregon we don't get snow to often, so its always a treat when we get snow  We got 6+ inches, and here that's a good amount! It snowed until 3pm, and it did not melt off like it usually does. Here are a few pictures 

LOTS AND LOTS OF SNOW!!!








Someone else likes the snow too


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## atc84

very nice (and cute haha). Interesting about the banana plant, didn't know it would be purple...

I think you should add some more plants!


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## Shrimplett

Thanks atc84 
I think I have enough plants on the left side of the tank, but I agree that the middle and right side of the tank need more plants. I plan on moving a couple plants to different spots to fill it in a little bit more. I also have some more java fern, hornwort, and a few other plants that I have from my 40 gallon. So things will fill in eventually, though a few more plants cant do any harm 

I was thinking that this plant could be my grass like plant once it spreads, but I am having second thoughts. The adult leaves look like small ruffle plant leaves and I wonder if it will give the look I want. Mirco Swords might be a better option. 








Do you know what kind of sword this is? How large they will get will tell me how many more plants I need. 








Yesterday, I had a carpet surfer, a little harlequin rasbora  At least it was not one of my rainbowfish. On a lighter note, my tank parameters are in check and my harlequin rasboras are spawing


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## atc84

those plants to me seem like crypts, but im not sure. micro sword is a great carpet plant. If you're looking for a really nice carpet it's best to buy a large amount to expedite the process. 

Not sure about the sword, but if it's not growing tall since you started i would assume it will stay a similar size. 

Sorry about your fish. Maybe if you can grab some babies you can make up for it haha.


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## Shrimplett

They could be crypts, I am not really sure. The LFS had the little plant labeled as a tutas plant.... or something lol! The other one is a sword, I am not sure what kind though. They are not exactly growing very fast either. If they are a smaller sword, then I can move them to the front of the tank. 

Micro swords might work, but they may not. The wood causes a shadow so low ground plants can't really grow under it well. That's why I am using more leafy plants at the moment because they can grow past the shadow. I have heard that micro swords do best in sand, not gravel as well. Micro swords are food for though I guess  

Thanks. I am not to upset about the rasbora, they weren't in my original plan anyway. To see them spawn is a good sign to me though. It tells me that the tank levels are stable enough for them to be happy and spawn. They never spawned for me in my 40 gallon, maybe the presence of my angel spooked them. The male fallows the female all over and try's to get her to go to his chosen spot. She inturn will swim upside down and deposit her eggs on the plant were the male fertilizes them. It's very cool to watch  

I moved a few plants around today. I had to take into consideration the plants that are still in my 40 gallon, most of the plants I have grow pretty tall. I need some small plants for crying out loud lol  

Question: Do you think I could get away with just 2 angelfish instead of 4? I am hoping that even if they did not pair there would be enough territory for the both of them to get along fine.


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## atc84

ah yeah, your gravel is kinda large, so a couple foreground options wont work.

lol, at my LFS the foreground plants always sell out first. You could try online haha.

I have a lone angel and it gets a little territorial after feeding towards the mollies (not the guppies though ) so it kinda nips their fins but other than that hes pretty chill. Based on a lot of what i read on other forums a lot is based on the angelfish and how planted the aquarium is. By breaking the line of sight with decorations they wont act as aggressive. IMO i would go for it and see what happens as long as you're willing to take action if they get mean...


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## Kerry

If you are looking for a smaller sword plant, I recently bought some Vesuvius swords. They are very hardy and grow fast, yet top out at less than 12". The best thing is that they grow very curly spiral leaves! I love mine. They will grow a long spike that will grow small adventitious plantlets along it that can be weighted down to root, or, cut and planted elsewhere.


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## Shrimplett

My angel is a butt head! He chases my rainbows before and after feeding time. He nips there sides! I was just thinking about having just 2 because I could still let my angel have company (if he wishes), but get around pairs forming. While my angel can be a pain, if no food is present and they are not in his way then he is fine. I may just try it and see how it goes. 

You must be brave having an angel and guppies together! My angel nipped the tale fin right off my guppy! He had no tail what so ever and would wedge himself under decorations to keep from spinning out of control. I had to put him down, I did not want him to suffer anymore  

I was actully hoping that the swords I have would get large. I put them right in the middle of the tank to break the lines of sight for the angels. I am not so sure how large they are going to get though, they are growing pretty slow. Thanks for the suggestion though Kerry, I could look into those.


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## atc84

To the contrary 1 of the tip of a fin of my angel with ripped a week ago. I fed it extra protein so it grew back. I guess the guppies are bullies haha.

I've heard that adding an angelfish to an already existing one can be problematic because of territorial, but since they are being added to a new tank together it should be fine. Also try to get the same size.


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## Shrimplett

Interesting.... you have a well-mannered angel. The same cant be said for your guppies  :rofl:

I think I will just get one more angel then. I believe that there will be enough territory for them both if they decide they like there own space. My current angel may be male, but I am not sure.

Alright so, I added my two turquoise rainbows today. My water was in check, so why not. I will be watching closely though, just to make sure I am not going to fast.

A few pictures... enjoy


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## Shrimplett

Also I still have that ugly fungus. How do I get rid of it? Its an eye sore.


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## Yo-han

Shrimplett said:


> Also I still have that ugly fungus. How do I get rid of it? Its an eye sore.


I know you ain't gonna like this answer but the best way to get rid of the fungus is to get rid of the angelfish. I think their fungus is caused by a low immune system because of the constant stress from the angelfish. Those fish are not meant to live together in such a small aquarium. Some people have well mannered angelfish, but in the end they remain cichlids. It is like you need to live in a bathroom for the rest of your life, with a few people having ADHD. You will start nipping their fins And if you keep nipping long enough, they get stressed and sick too.

If you really want something like this to work, you need lots of wood and lots of plants. They should not be able to see eachother most of the day.


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## Shrimplett

Yo-han said:


> I know you ain't gonna like this answer but the best way to get rid of the fungus is to get rid of the angelfish. I think their fungus is caused by a low immune system because of the constant stress from the angelfish. Those fish are not meant to live together in such a small aquarium. Some people have well mannered angelfish, but in the end they remain cichlids. It is like you need to live in a bathroom for the rest of your life, with a few people having ADHD. You will start nipping their fins And if you keep nipping long enough, they get stressed and sick too.
> 
> If you really want something like this to work, you need lots of wood and lots of plants. They should not be able to see eachother most of the day.


Umm.... My angel is not even in the 75 gallon yet. He is by himself in the original 40 gallon.


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## Shrimplett

Yo-han said:


> I know you ain't gonna like this answer but the best way to get rid of the fungus is to get rid of the angelfish. I think their fungus is caused by a low immune system because of the constant stress from the angelfish. Those fish are not meant to live together in such a small aquarium. Some people have well mannered angelfish, but in the end they remain cichlids. It is like you need to live in a bathroom for the rest of your life, with a few people having ADHD. You will start nipping their fins And if you keep nipping long enough, they get stressed and sick too.
> 
> If you really want something like this to work, you need lots of wood and lots of plants. They should not be able to see eachother most of the day.


Oh oh oh.... I get it! I miss under stood your post. Anyway, I was not talking about a disease, I was talking about this fuzzy white stuff that is growing on my wood pecies


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## Tugg

That's just part of the curing process I believe. If I'm not mistaken it will go away within a few weeks.


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## atc84

LOL i was really confused also by that post. Your misunderstood reasoning is still a little extreme...

That fungus is literally unknown to the fishkeeping world. Everyone gets it, but no one knows why or what it does... You could rub it off for now, but i believe it comes from wood or silica, since i got it on my sand substrate which has silica. It went away when i added fish, i guess yours is more stubborn...

Your rainbows are awesome. Wish i had some... 

Surprised your wood isn't sinking yet. Hopefully it will soon


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## Shrimplett

You misunderstood my post or YOHAN'S post? 

I have rubbed it off and it comes back some.

My wood is getting better. I have not checked how soaked in it is in a while so I may do that tomorrow. I cant wait for the tile to be removed!!!

Thanks  here is my male in all his glory!


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## atc84

yo-han's. 

can't wait to see the end product of all your efforts


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## Shrimplett

atc84 said:


> yo-han's.
> 
> can't wait to see the end product of all your efforts


That's what I thought, just wanted to be sure 

Me too! Thanks for following


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## GadgetGirl

Don't know if this will help our not with your fungus problems, but I have Nerite snails that literally never leave my driftwood. I must have the cleanest, tastiest dw in town! 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4


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## Shrimplett

GadgetGirl said:


> Don't know if this will help our not with your fungus problems, but I have Nerite snails that literally never leave my driftwood. I must have the cleanest, tastiest dw in town!
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4


It may help? I was planing on getting some nerites anyway, so we shall see


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## atc84

@GadgetGirl how's your tank coming? havn't seen an update much


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## GadgetGirl

Hey atc! Gonna post a 2 month update soon. It's doing great! Thanks for asking! 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4


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## Shrimplett

Hey guys 

I have been having trouble with the forum the past couple days, so that's why I did not update. The tank is doing good, water quality is in check. Besides that there is not to much else going on. I was able to remove the tile...... FINALLY  The tank looks so much better without it!









What do you guys think of the tank so far? I think I need more plants


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## tonnakpil

Hi shrimplett, the tank looks nice. Yes, i think it needs more plants. The drift wood gives it character. A dense vegetation behind the drift wood would make this tank stunning! IMO.


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## Kerry

Looking good! Love the buff-boy rainbow!


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## Shrimplett

Thanks for the comments guys  
I may be able to get some more plants today. I need a large bushy plant to put in the tank to break the lines of sight when I put my angel in there. Other than that I am thinking about some more mid-ground plants. If I get more plants I will be sure to update with pics


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## Shrimplett

Hey guys, its about time for an update don't you think? My laptop has serious issues with APC.

So.... I added my angel and I bought another one  My current one is a male koi, and I got a neon blue female, I think I got the gender right anyway  Anyway they are getting along very well. The male is more skittish, while the female is mild-tempered and confident. I am thinking about raising some fry, if they pair, just to see what they would look like. You know, since one is a koi and the other is a neon blue lol. I added my three otocinclus too, and there will be more to come. I also bought some more plants and added the rest of my plants from my 40 gallon. Today I took down my 40 gallon tank too, it has been up for 3.5 years so its weird not having it up. I am not upset though, my 75 is really shaping into what I want  As usual I have pictures, though I don't have a pic with all the new plants in the tank. That comes tomorrow 

My new neon blue female 








Both of them together








My old algae infested 40 gallon 








And my pride and joy 








Now, I am not going to let my 75 gallon become algae infested lol  Oh, and who ever finds the 3 otocinclus in the last full tank shot first wins!!! Thanks everybody for following/posting


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## atc84

wow, very pretty angels!  Also your anachris compliments the wood placement. Great job!


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## Shrimplett

atc84 said:


> wow, very pretty angels!  Also your anachris compliments the wood placement. Great job!


Thanks


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## Tugg

I just wish it was a clearer pic. I can only find 2 otos. One is taking a nap on the lower right branch. The second is on the back glass 45 degrees down to the left. That third one is hiding.

It seems there is always at least one you just CAN'T find and have to wonder if it's dead. I have 4, but can only ever find 3... yet it's not always the same three.


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## Shrimplett

It's there! I found it! I will give you a hint  you see it's white belly, not its brown back.


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## Tugg

I thought that was camera flash. Just a little up and left of lazy. Sitting on the front glass.


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## Shrimplett

So I don't really have anything new to tell about my tank. I just wanted to share how my angels have been acting lately. My female is full of eggs, but she was like that when I bought here and that does not mean she is going to lay them. My male seems to be claming an area in the tank and gets upset when my rainbow intrude that area. My female seems much more agressive today too, chasing my bows more. My bows are not very good at taking a hint so they get chased more  Sense introducing them together I notice that my angels flare there gills. The male seems to do it when chasing fish out of his territory while the female does it at the male. I dont know why my female does it at him, because my male does not flinch a muscle when she does it. It does not appear to be aggression, but more like a display. The male will also do it as a display, but much less often. When he does it the female comes running and inspects him. He will pop his mouth during the process and it maybe a way to get here to accept him as her mate. He likes to wiggle his body in an odd way too, like tale slaping. I have yet to see them lock jaws, but I have seen the male peck at her mouth. He also nudges her side, I think to encourage spawning. They are not exactly glued to each other, but they are around each other a good deal of the time. I have not see them cleaning any spot yet, so I don't think there that far in the process. My male actually seems slightly intimidated by her today but at the same time not at all, so i dont really know whats going on. He may just not know what to think of her aggression. We shall see if the female excepts him, but if they spawn I am going to rase some fry to see if they turn into neon blue koi angels lol


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## Shrimplett

So today I noticed that my female angel is staying more around the males chosen area. See seemed to be checking around the java fern quite heavly, but I think my bows spawned there. She still though seems to be staying in the same area. I know I said that I didn't want a pair, but I may be eating those words lol. Oh well, pair or not I love them


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## Shrimplett

So I got some new additions today  Two little turquoise rainbows! They are only about 1.5 inches long and look like minnows next to my other bows, especially the big male turquoise. Here are some pictures:

One with flash to show color. 








One to show size comparison with my not even full grown, banded rainbows. 








And both of them together. 








I am pretty much 100% positive that the one in the back is a male, while I am hoping the one in the front is female. They both looked like males at the LFS, but they are honestly to small to say what gender they are yet.

My angels are getting along great! They seem to like each others company. I am wondering if they will pair or not. My female looks like she is going to explode she has so much eggs! Oh well, we will see 

I am starting to see a variety of algae in my tank :mmph: I guess I need to start dosing excel or start DIY co2. What's your opinion on DIY?


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## Shrimplett

It's been a while! But I am afraid I have bad news  

So my tank came down with flukes. I am treating it with Praz-tastic and I caught it in time for most of my fish. I said MOST  Sadly, I lost my male koi angel tonight. His condition was to far to fix. He struggled for a week before taking his last breath. It's very sad, but after a week I could tell he was not going to make it. I had him for two years and he was very beautiful. He will be missed


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## Kerry

I'm very sorry for your loss! It is very sad to hear! Glad you were able to save the rest, though! The new rainbows are lovely!


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## Shrimplett

Kerry said:


> I'm very sorry for your loss! It is very sad to hear! Glad you were able to save the rest, though! The new rainbows are lovely!


Thank you. It does stink, but I cant do anything about it so...

On a lighter note, my tank is doing good (besides the flukes). The plants have slowed there growth for some reason, may be time for more excel. My anachris plant died for some reason too. I still need a tone more plants, but I am getting there. I am still new at growing plants so finding the right balance to keep the healthy and growing is not easy.

My newer bows I believe are growing! I think they are both male, which stinks. I was hoping for at least one female. I have a tone of males and one female lol! Better figure that out


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## Shrimplett

Ok so today I did a 50% water change and I added my younger sisters male betta. He was not getting very good care in his little 3 gallon and I figured he would be much healthier in my 75 gallon. If my koi angel was still alive this would not be an option because he would harass other bettas by picking at there tales. My female angel on the other hand is much more laid back and does not bat an eye at him... thankfully!!!! The betta has not been in a community tank in a looooong time so he has been hiding most of the day. Hopefully tomorrow he will become braver and then I can gage everybody's behavior more.


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## atc84

hows the growth coming?


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## Shrimplett

Growth is slow but steady. My anachris died, so the tank is just a little bit empty. I have noticed that some of my plants are not really in the right spots, so growth in those is harder to notice. My banana plant is only growing lily pads for some reason. Some plants are doing better than others, I will figure it all out though. I am still learning the whole plant thing, but eventually the tank will be a heathly jungle like I want  

I can get a full tank shot just so you guys know what's happening.


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## Shrimplett

So I added a large mother amazon sword to my tank. I got it for $5 bucks because I had store credit. It had a tone of little baby swords growing off of it too. There are so many I don't know what to do with them! I will more than likely sell them on Craigslist.

Adding the sword was messy though. Made my tank all cloudy. I had to do a water change it was so murky in their. One things for sure, my tank does not need more plants! I am just going to let everything grow in now.


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## Shrimplett

So today I added 3 female bettas. One is crowntail, and the other two are regular. I know most people say you shouldn't, but I know a few people on the forum who have kept 5 females and 1 male in tanks a lot smaller than mine with success. So I thought I would give it a try. My male was really good with them in the bags, minimal flaring. He has been ok with them out. He flares at them, but it seems more like a display then a "I am going to kill you" type of flare. He does tend to chase after them if they run away (which they do), and he chased a female out of his sleeping place pretty aggressively. That's really the only aggression shown so far. No nipping, biting, or tail slapping from my male. A couple of my females have been trying to decide who's the Alpha though. One of my females is a real Omega and does not like to be flared at one bit. Runs away at the slightest hint of aggression. Its only been a few hours so I hope everything works out. I hope the females decide who is Alpha and I hope my male starts leaving the females alone more as time passes. I mean my male has not seen another betta in 4 years and probably not one female since he was little. We shall see how everything works out. Hopefully for the better!


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## Shrimplett

So the bettas are doing well. Not really sure if my male Simon has taken to them. He flares his gills and fins at them, either in a display or tail slapping gesture. He is not the most friendly to them if he finds them in his cave or if they run away though. There is not really enough aggression between the male and females to take the females out, so that's good. Thankfully the tank is big enough to where the females can dart off if need be. The females are still deciding who is the dominate one, clearly my crowntail Fernanda. If Fernanda keeps being a pain I may have to take her out for a few days then re-introduce her

I do have a pictures this time. One for two of the females and a picture of my male. Still need to get a good picture of the other female. Enjoy 

Simon...the butt head








Betty 








Fernanda


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## Shrimplett

Got one! Here is Ruby


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## atc84

really pretty bettas! yeah simon looks a lot bigger than the females. I see a lot of new plant growth in the background lol.


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## Shrimplett

Its kind of funny because the growth is pretty slow for some reason. The amoazon sword just fills it in quite a bit. I need some of the other plants to spread before I amfully satisfied. I am not going to buy more plants though. This is what the tank look like now. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/attachment.php?attachmentid=20223

Yep my bettas are pretty  They seem to get along pretty well. And yes Simon is much bigger!


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## Angie

I think it looks great. Besides isn't slow growth what we want for low maintenance? As long as the plants are not dying.


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## qwe123

You don't add CO2, right? Hence the slow growth imo, but like Angie said, it's nicer than having to trim all the time.

Have you not had algae problems with such few plants, though?


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## Shrimplett

Angie said:


> I think it looks great. Besides isn't slow growth what we want for low maintenance? As long as the plants are not dying.


Thanks  Ya, I don't mean crazy fast growth to where I have to trim it every week, I just mean to fill in the spaces where there is gravel left. Its fine though, some of my plants are not even full grown yet so it will fill in eventually.


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## Shrimplett

qwe123 said:


> You don't add CO2, right? Hence the slow growth imo, but like Angie said, it's nicer than having to trim all the time.
> 
> Have you not had algae problems with such few plants, though?


I do have GBA on my wood in the higher flow areas, but nothing much on my plants yet. I saw a little GSA once, but it was hardly any. That's about it though. I should probably get the GBA in control before it gets crazy though.


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## Shrimplett

So yesterday I got a little koi angelfish  He is a cute little bugger. My female angel is a little aggressive to him, but nothing serious. May just be telling him who is boss.

Its also time to figure out the algae situation. I am finding green spot algae on my plants and I am finding hair algae on my wood. So I need to take care of that. On the subject of plants, I discovered my banana plant died. My second anarchies that I planted is not doing well either, I cant ever grow these plants in the dirt! So that ones just going to float. Something also appears to be eating my ruffle plant  Its either my otocinclus or my few pond snails! And... one of my plants (don't know the name) is thinning and has died or no leaves in the middle of the stems. I don't really know whats up with that plant. My other plants are looking good though. Some more grouth since changing things around.

I also found out today that my male betta has pop eye...again  I don't know why he has it honestly. I tested my water to make sure nothing was wrong, been almost a month without a water change because I have been finishing the last bit of fluke treatment. My ammonia/nitrite/nitrate were all 0 and my ph was around 7.4 to 7.6. So clearly he has pop eye for other reasons then poor water quality. I am thinking that maybe its the females around that may stress him. Though he seems to ignore them most of the time anymore. My female angel every now and then nips at his tail, but not very often so I don't think that's it. Oh well, I guess I will need to treat that. The thing that stinks is that I was almost done with my fluke treatment too. Got to treat maybe 20 out of 25 days before discovering my bettas issue. I am tired of sick fish lol! At least pop eye is easy to treat.

Going to do a water change tomorrow to get the other treatment out so I can treat my betta. Tank needs a water change anyway.

My new angel. I love his half black body and black eye patch on his one side. And of course I love his blushing


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## atc84

Do you have floating plants? I find that whenever i thin out my duckweed and do a little water change i get some algae until it regrows in. 

Hmm, well you have plants dying and algae, so i dont know what it could be. a quick fix could be doing more water changes, but idk if that will help. You have good pH also. Urgg, idk. maybe if it's bothering you enough you could try getting seachem flourish or excel...


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## Shrimplett

I actually use both those products . And no i dont have any floating plants. The algae is not bad, but i have had both thses types of algae litterally overtake my old 40 gallon. And belive me, that tank was not pretty looking because of it. I would rather fix it now before it get out of hand.

I also discoverd who is eating my Ruffle Plant. My big male turquise rainbow! I would have never gussed him! He likes the taste of saled i guess. Better figure out a veggie based food for him to eat instead of my plant  Wonder if he would like lettuce lol?


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## atc84

oh lol, ok well maybe it's your water then, since that is probably one of the only similarities between tanks.

LOL, that would be funny giving him lettuce


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## Shrimplett

So I have lots of info and pictures for the tanks 8 month update. I got some new rainbowfish. These include 2 female (one might be male) Turquise Rainbows, 1 female Banded Rainbow, and 2 fully mature male Bosemani Rainbows. I am now done with fish  In the beginning the big male turquise did not like the new bosemanis and I had to put him in a 15 gallon for a week to combat his aggression. I wasent sure it would work and was looking to get rid of him, but they are all good friends now  

The plants have grown a tone as well as the algae. I got some nerite snails for my green spot algae and they have compleatly cleaned the glass of it. I love them! Brush algae is prevelent on my wood and I have yet to figure out how to get rid of that. It better then that fungus stuff though, thats all gone now. I think the snails got rid of that for good.

My new angelfish (Chester) has grown a bunch. Resently it seems that every few days he grows bigger and bigger. The female still dosent like him as much as the her original partner, but lets see what happens as he becomes of breeding age. Judging from what I can see in the Koi Angel I belive he is male. He will be a very handsome guy as he gets bigger. 

The bettas are all doing great together! Except for Betty who had to be moved to a 3 gallon for her safty. The others where picking on her to much. They have grown a tone and the male Simon have the time ignores them. The crowntail femlae Fernanda is ever so curious bout Simon and is almost always checking him out. She is always full of eggs and breeding ready so I think that may have something to do with it. Simon is an old fart though and could care less about breeding. When he flars at her and runs off the female follows whicch is very cute to watch. I was watching them today and Fernada starts a flaring match with Simon! It was funny because she started it and was even chasing behind him still flaring. She is feisty! No damage was done to them during this, it was all show. 

I havent tested my water in a while so i dont know where its all at right now. 

Enough of my rambling! Time for pictures!


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## Shrimplett

Rainbows

The male Bosimanis


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## Shrimplett

Angels


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## Shrimplett

Tank

















Ignore that pump in the last pick. It was temperarey.


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## Shrimplett

Oh ya, and a few nights ago one of my male banded rainbows jumped out  I wasn't home that night so I didn't catch it. Oh well, I will just replace it I guess.


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## atc84

looks great, and sorry about your rainbowfish.


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## Shrimplett

Thanks. 

So my final tank stocking is different from the stocking I planned on the very first page. The final stocking for this tanks is: 

4 banded rainbows (need to replace the one I lost)
6 turquoise rainbows
2 Bosimani rainbows 
6 harlequin rasboras
2 angelfish
3 otocinclus 
3 bettas (2 females, 1 male)

Here is my final plant stocking:

Ruffle plant
Amazon sword
Water wisteria 
Java fern
Hornwort
And about 4 or so plants I don't know the names of


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