# 40 gallon breeder near window



## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

This will be my first adventure with a planted tanks. About 6 months ago the we were at Petco with the kids, and they had their annual $1 per gallon sale. We bought a 10 gallon tank with blue substrate and a few plastic plants. We have enjoyed so much that we have decided to graduate to a bigger setup.

After much research in this forum (kudos to all posters and maintainers) and other sources I settled on getting a 40G breeder tank (36"x18"x16"). Did not liked any of the stands so I ended up building one (inspired by the ones build by Kim Cadmus and Rohan Beckett). The tank will be housed in our living room need several large north facing windows (not much direct sun), which I understand is not optimal.

I am planning for a lightly planted tank with a few rocks and branches. Seeking recommendations on what type of plants would be good for such a setup. I was not planning on adding CO2. Filter will be an Eheim Ecco 2234.

Many thanks in advance,

-- JP


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## TeamTeal (Mar 31, 2010)

nice stand!


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

I agree. Where did you get it?


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## pinecone (Dec 16, 2009)

Love the stand! Can you make one for me? 40 gallon breeder stands are hard to find


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

Thanks. The stand is a DIY job, oak construction, mortise and tenon joinery, with steel corner braces for reinforcement. Still need a glass panel for the door. Inspired by this:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rbeckett/AquariumStandProject

and this

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2546/3700582927_675a16e2b6.jpg


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## kcrossley (Feb 22, 2010)

Beautiful craftsmanship. Did you draw up some plans and if so would you be willing to sell a copy?


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## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Nicely done on the stand. I am looking forward to the build as well. 
SUBSCRIBED!


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

I have a forty gallpn breeder right now! Glad u joined the clan lol.

If ur wanting some easylants I would go with crypts, anubias, and bolbitis for sure. Look at my journal. I did a soil tank. I love it!

Subscribed!


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

kcrossley said:


> Beautiful craftsmanship. Did you draw up some plans and if so would you be willing to sell a copy?


I did not create formal plans. I did an initial concept drawing in 
SketchUp and lots of scribbles in my notebook. I will be happy to share details pictures of the stand and provide you with dimensions if you like.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That stand is awesome.


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## Reginald2 (Mar 10, 2009)

Agreed the stand is awesome. If you're worried about excess light, you may want to reconsider co2. 

My tank used to be in a real bright room (very little direct sunlight most of the year). The plants seemed to lean toward the light, but other than that I didn't really notice anything. That being said, even the smallest amount of direct light will blow our puny fixtures out of the water though.

It may also be a good idea to _go for broke_ when it comes to plant load. You can use shorter foreground plants and big rocks to minimize the visual aspect. The bad thing is that, generally speaking, if you make a good environment for plants you're also making a good environment for algae.


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## snausage (Mar 8, 2010)

I agree with the other poster about crypts and anubias. Bolbitis can be a little hard to find and gets pretty large. Attaching some java moss to the branches with thread or fishing line is always a nice touch.

Overall, there really isn't much flora variety if you want to do med-small low light varieties. The only other plant that immediately comes to mind is java fern. You could also try some swords, as long as you purchase them while they're small. Most swords are pretty hardy and as long as your lighting is somewhat close to 40 watts, they should be ok and will grow very slowly.


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

*Compromises*

Finally got the tank filled in this weekend!

Saturday went shopping for substrate and plants. Sorry to say there is not much to choose from around here. I ended busing generic black substrate which I placed 1 " thick over 1-2" of CaribSea Floramax. The wife liked some pieces of Mopani wood, so I have those soaking to remove tannins. We also got a couple of Anubia Nanas, about the only thing that looked nice. 

Plan to put Anubia Nanas and crypts in the front and on the wood, and Cypernus Helferi on the background. I guess will look at mail order plants.

Also, still need to go by the glass shop to find a frosted glass panel to finish the door.


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

*Up and running*

Tank has being running for a few days now. I seeded the tank from the filter of my 10 gallon tank and placed a small school of tetras on it (they look happy so far). Mopani wood is in and releasing lots of tannins and has also developed a cottony fungus cover, which I have read is part of the "cycle of life" for driftwood, and should go away soon enough. Placed a few river rocks in front of the wood.

Plants came from aquariumplants.com: anubias nanas in the wood and rocks, a couple of java ferns, and jungle vals on the background.

To deal with the tannins (and aside from water changes), I am planning on adding an Aquaclear 50 filter loaded with Seacherm Purigen, which I have read should help.

Also planning on adding a light strip at the top so we can enjoy the tank in the evenings, and take some proper pictures.


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

*Lamp arrived today*

My lamp arrived today. Its a Marineland led double bright lighting 36". Here is a shot of the tank with the light on.


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

Tank is making progress. The water is finally clearing up after bacterial bloom. I have added the cories from my 10 gallon tank and the dwarft gourami. The all look happy. The gourami seems to like munching on the fungus which was growing on the wood. The wood fungus seems to be finally going away too.

Plants look happy as well, a few new leaves on the anubias. The LED lights make the tank look nice when they are on, since e the water is still darker with the tannins. I am doing 50% water changes twice a week.


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## snausage (Mar 8, 2010)

Looks really good thus far, especially for a first try. 

With the plants you have, there's really no need to dose any fertilizers, so you're pretty much set as far as I can tell.


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

*update*

Added a new school of fish, 6 red eye tetras. Anubias are growing new lighter green leafs. Jungle vals are loosing some of their old leaves, but new ones are growing in their place. Driftwood is now growing a different type of fungus, short and fuzzy.

Installed an inline heater and shorten all the tubing going to the canister. The Purigen does not seem to be helping much to get rid of the tannins, so water changes are the main line of defense.

Now, if I could only learn to take decent pictures of the tank...


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## Hyzer (Mar 9, 2010)

Good start on the tank. The river-themed tanks are always nice. I really like the stand as well.


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## 4f1hmi (Apr 22, 2009)

That is a rad stand.The love this new design better and looks very sturdy! Well done


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

Here is a picture I took yesterday. It looks about the same as one month ago (I guess things move slowly in low-tech tanks). I have lost most of the long leafs that came with the vals, however they have new ones growing, and a couple have sprouted runners. I wonder if I should use some fertilizer or root tabs for the vals?

I added a Koralia nano 425 power head you can see in the left of the tank to increase circulation. Doing 50% water change once a week now, tannins are still leaching from the wood. Newest tenant in the tank is a bamboo shrimp. 

I have some algae developing on the anubia leafs and the rocks on the side of the tank. Do you think some otocinclus may help clean these up and how many may be prescribed?


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## v369 (Nov 14, 2010)

stand is amazing love the plant selections! did you make plans with the stand?


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

Thanks. I did not made formal plans, but have been meaning to put together some notes on the build with some pictures I took.


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

> I have some algae developing on the anubia leafs and the rocks on the side of the tank. Do you think some otocinclus may help clean these up and how many may be prescribed?


The algae that you have on your rocks is called GSA (Green Spot Algae). Oto catfish do not readily eat this type of algae. I would recommend any type of nerite snail (zebra, olive, etc) to clean it up. They look really cool, clean your tank, and they don't breed in fresh water (yay for no snail infestations!). Try 4-6 and see how they do. roud:

But, it is always good to have otos in any tank to control algae (especially diatoms). So i would also pick up a few of those (5-6 maybe?).


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## agimlin (Sep 25, 2010)

i love 40g breeders i wish i had the room for one. soon tho then i will be hiting you up for stand plans


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## KiDD (Nov 15, 2010)

That stand is nice.. I like your tank also..


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## J-P (Oct 17, 2010)

is it possible to put black construction paper across the back of the tank?

if you start showing signs of algae that will be your first defense.


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

Thanks for all the good suggestions! I see some snails on my future (maybe from the swap and shop area), as well as some otos. 

The way the tank is positioned is between two large windows, so not sure if black paper on the background will make much difference... but will try it to see how it looks.


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

I posed some construction details pictures of the stand in Picassa. I will be happy to answer any questions about it.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jotape65/40GTankStand


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

I purchased 4 Otocinclus fish form Petsmart on Sunday and one died on Monday. Two are still alive and busy removing the algae on the tank. The third one is nowhere to be seen and I presume is dead somewhere in the tank.

I guess the algae on the rock was not GSA, the original picture I took looked a little greener than it should of been.

I have a a few snails on order from my friendly ebay snail dealer deepakjacobi, should be here next week.


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

Five Olive Nerite Snails finally arrived yesterday. They got busy in the tank right away.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

I am curious, why did you add so much crushed coral. What was the affect on the water parameters? What is your tap water parameters?


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

Crushed coral? I did not add any. Maybe another Journal?


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

*Update*

Having a low tech tank requires great patience, nothing happens very fast. 

Tank has being up for a little more than 3 months now. Currently stocked as follows:

4 red eye tetras (lost 2 in the last month)
6 serpae tetras 
1 otto (lost 2 shortly after adding them to the tank)
3 variatus platys
2 draft gouramis
1 zebra fish (only surviver of an old 3 gallon tank)
3 olive nerite snails (leaving eggs all over the place)
5 black kuhli loaches
4 juli cories

Anubias and jungle vals are doing very well, java fern is not growing much, but growing quite a few plantlet on a few leaves.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That is looking great. The broad footprint of this tank definitely makes a nice effect.


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

Thanks, hydrophyte. I love the 40G breeder format. The pictures from the front do not make it justice, so I took a few from an angle this time.


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

So I get home today, and noticed the lights on the tank are not on. I look at the timer and realized I left the electrical strip off since this morning when I feed the fish (everything is plugged into the strip). I turn it back on, and all the fish look ok but the water looks cloudy. I did a 50% water change and everything looks back to normal. Hopefully I did not kill all the good bacteria on the canister. The filter was off for 7 hours.


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## tuffgong (Apr 13, 2010)

You'll be fine. I've left my filter off accidentally overnight multiple times with no ill effects.


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

*one year post*

Here is how we look at the one year mark.


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

Happy birthday tank!


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Beautiful tank and scape


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## jotape65 (Sep 14, 2010)

Thank's 2in10. The vals do need a trim.


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## halffrozen (Nov 4, 2011)

Such a beautiful tank!


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