# Lego's 40 Breeder Journal - I'm back, baby!



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

I finally talked my bosses into letting me set up another display tank at my work, a sweet 40 breeder tank this time . The plan for this one is to keep it fairly low maintenance with easy plants that we sell at the store.

Light - Coralife 36" 96W CF fixture, 6700K
Filter - Marineland C-220 canister
CO2 - 10lb tank
Regulator - High purity dual-stage Victor/Milwaukee hybrid
Heater - Rena Smartheater 150W
Substrate - Topsoil, capped with Eco-Complete

Jfrank85 and I put together a pretty sick hardscape, if I do say so myself










So whatcha think?


----------



## Hyzer (Mar 9, 2010)

Looks great, I'll be following.


----------



## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

I've recently developed an appreciation for well placed driftwood. Very nice! Look forward to seeing the plants go in.


----------



## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Welcome back to the world of immersed plants Adam. haha The scape looks fantastic man. Subscribed.


----------



## EntoCraig (Jun 7, 2010)

Love it.


----------



## LICfish (Oct 9, 2010)

Looks really nice.


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks everyone! A couple pieces of the wood are wanting to float, so they're being held down by rocks at the moment. I'm hoping to get some of the plants in the tank tomorrow if it's a slow day at work.

I'm working on a deal with my distributor so I can get plants directly from FAN like I used to do. If that works out, I'll be getting lots of _Microsorum_ and _Anubias_ in the next couple weeks for this thing

Sent from my Ally using Tapatalk


----------



## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Following this bad boy!


----------



## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

Good start lego.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Initial planting is done and the first few fish are added. 5 _Nannostomus beckfordi_ and 5 _Otocinclus_. The rock on top of the driftwood is only there until the the wood decides to finally sink on it's own.










_Nannostomus beckfordi_. Not my best pic, but the ambient lighting kinda sucks, so I had to go with a high ISO and low shutter speed.










This tank fully cycled in a whopping 6 days. Believe it :icon_smil


----------



## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Great start bro. Now we wait for the storm. 

The calm is gonna be NICE. 

Those pencilfish... are they active? The ones I've seen are not too active and just float most of the time.


----------



## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

sWeEt SeTuP aDaM! What type of rock is that? I really like the feel that it gives the tank.


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

speedie408 said:


> Great start bro. Now we wait for the storm.
> 
> The calm is gonna be NICE.
> 
> Those pencilfish... are they active? The ones I've seen are not too active and just float most of the time.


Thanks Nick! The pencils are fairly active. Not like Rummynose Tetras or anything, but they shoal from one end of the tank to the other quite a bit. The males display to each other almost constantly 



JakeJ said:


> sWeEt SeTuP aDaM! What type of rock is that? I really like the feel that it gives the tank.


Thanks Jake! I can't remember what rock it is. It's like lace rock, but it's not calcareous so it won't harden the water any more than it already is.


----------



## Svynx (Nov 8, 2010)

I'll be following this one as I am starting a 40 breeder as well. Substrate is in, just waiting for my plant order from Sweet Aquatics.


----------



## JCoxRocks (Mar 22, 2005)

legomaniac89 said:


> _Nannostomus beckfordi_. Not my best pic, but the ambient lighting kinda sucks, so I had to go with a high ISO and low shutter speed.


Thats still a pretty good shot. What kind of camera/lens did you use?

J


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Svynx said:


> I'll be following this one as I am starting a 40 breeder as well. Substrate is in, just waiting for my plant order from Sweet Aquatics.


Do you have a journal for the tank? I love to watch 40 breeder scapes progress.



JCoxRocks said:


> Thats still a pretty good shot. What kind of camera/lens did you use?
> 
> J


Thanks J! I shoot with the Canon XS. That shot was taken with the 100mm f/2.8 macro lens.


----------



## Svynx (Nov 8, 2010)

legomaniac89 said:


> Do you have a journal for the tank? I love to watch 40 breeder scapes progress.


 
It's in the low-tech forum right now. I pm'ed a mod to see if it can be moved to this forum. It's called "and it begins". Not much yet, just a description of what fauna is going in to start with, equipment, livestock...that kind of thing. No pictures yet. Although, the tanks (yes, tanks) are in place and plumbed up, so I might have a few pics tomorrow.

Edit: they moved it.


----------



## AoxomoxoA (Apr 22, 2010)

Wow! Very sick hardscape dude, I'm subscribed. 

I swear I see a Chocolate Poso Tylomelania snail in your FTS... 1/4 of the way from left on substrate directly below where the wood meets the rock.


----------



## Pri (Oct 20, 2010)

Great Hardscape. Will you put more plants in this tank or just let the ones already in there?


My planted tank http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/myTanks/2076-Pri.html
My Cichlid tank http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/myTanks/2075-Pri.html
My DIY project Journal http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/t...88-125g-pond-river-waterfall-diy-project.html
My Betta Pico http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/122780-black-white-planted-pico.html


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Svynx said:


> It's in the low-tech forum right now. I pm'ed a mod to see if it can be moved to this forum. It's called "and it begins". Not much yet, just a description of what fauna is going in to start with, equipment, livestock...that kind of thing. No pictures yet. Although, the tanks (yes, tanks) are in place and plumbed up, so I might have a few pics tomorrow.
> 
> Edit: they moved it.


Looking forward to the pictures!



dirtyhermit said:


> Wow! Very sick hardscape dude, I'm subscribed.
> 
> I swear I see a Chocolate Poso Tylomelania snail in your FTS... 1/4 of the way from left on substrate directly below where the wood meets the rock.


Thanks man! You are correct, I have a lone Poso Snail in here. I'm hoping he'll help clean up the driftwood fungus I've got going now.



Pri said:


> Great Hardscape. Will you put more plants in this tank or just let the ones already in there?


Thanks! I'm definitely going to have more plants in here eventually. I'm working on a deal with my supplier (I work at a LFS) where I'll be able to get plants directly from FAN, and if that works out I'll be getting lots of new stuff for the tank. I have some more Anubias at home I need to put in this tank, I just haven't yet.

Here's how the livestock list stands now: 10 Pristella Tetras, 5 _Nannostomus beckfordi_, 5 _Otocinclus_, 2 _Hemiloricaria fallax_, 1 _Laetacara curviceps_, 8 _Corydoras pygmaeus_, and a couple random snails. The only other fish I want to add are half a dozen gold _Stiphodon_ gobies. I had them about a month ago at work, but a friend bought them all and I'm trying to get more.


----------



## decoman (Nov 2, 2010)

realy cool tank


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

I'll post new pics tomorrow. The fungus is gone completely, but now I'm getting GSA due to the CO2 tank leaking and emptying in 2 weeks. It wasn't even the seal where the regulator connects to the tank, it was where the main knob screws into the regulator itself. Hopefully they'll replace it for me.

I also added a couple more fish: 3 _Tateurndina ocellicauda_ (Peacock Gudgeons), and 1 _Centromochlus perugiae_. The Gudgeons are awesome little fish, the cat I haven't even seen since I put him in the tank. There are so many hiding spots, that doesn't surprise me at all though.


----------



## jacari (Dec 1, 2009)

That scape is sick.!!


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks jacari!

Well I'm sitting here with my _Gerrhosaurus_ plopped down on my shoulder just chilling out, and he told me I needed to post new pictures of the tank. So here ya go.




























Sorry the quality stinks. I really need to improve the lighting around the tank, or learn to take good aquarium pictures.


----------



## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Lookin good man. You need a nice speedlite and a remote flash trigger.


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Tell me about it . A ring flash for my macro lens is my next camera purchase though.


----------



## SpankyMR2 (Nov 11, 2010)

Love your tank. Giving me great ideas for the new 40g breeder I bought a couple of weeks ago. 

How would I subscribe to your thread? I haven't figured that out yet!

Thanks,
Patti


----------



## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

When you do a regular reply, nit a quick reply, you erl see in other options a button that says do not subscribe, drag that down and chose your option,


SpankyMR2 said:


> Love your tank. Giving me great ideas for the new 40g breeder I bought a couple of weeks ago.
> 
> How would I subscribe to your thread? I haven't figured that out yet!
> 
> ...


----------



## SpankyMR2 (Nov 11, 2010)

thanks


----------



## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

Sick man. Rock on top of wood gone = wood sunk


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Nothing new here. Just a few more pictures.


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)




----------



## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Adam,

That's c. belense in the far corner there right? I can see that plant taking over this tank easily. It looks great so far. How come no foreground plants?

I'd suggest a lighter background if possible... not sure if yours is painted. I tried out a smoked background on my tank and totally swallowed the wood scape. With a light background the wood pops more. 

You need to do another collectoritis tank dude.  I miss your old 20L.


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Nick, that's actually a _Crinum natans_. One of my customers brought it in along with a whole wad of Crypts, and I liked it so much I had to stick it in the scape. The reason I don't have much in the way of foreground plants is because the light I have sucks (Coralife CF 96W). There's a few _Crypt parva_ around the border of the rocks, but that's about all I can grow as far low-growers. I had a nice T5HO fixture ordered, but my boss vetoed it because we already had this one in the store.

The lighter background's a good idea. Know anywhere I can get something like that?

And my collectoritis is being fed by my big emersed growth project. I have something like 50 different species I'm growing out for spring now. If I'm able to set up another collectoritis tank, at least I'll already have all the plants I'd need


----------



## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

OH MAN!!!!

This tank is awesome!

+1 for the asymmetrical setup!!!


----------



## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

I'm thinking I should go low tech now lol great tank


----------



## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Great lowtech tank!
Don't need to have high tech to have nice tank.


----------



## Aubzilla (Mar 2, 2008)

You could try MM as a foreground, it'll grow fairly slowly, but it still fills in nicely under low light.


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks guys! Maybe I'll give _Marselia_ a try in this tank sometime.

Here's a new FTS from today










I also added a single Red Lizard Catfish and 4 _Stiphodon percnopterygionus_, or at least that's what they were supposed to be. I'm pretty sure these aren't a _Stiphodon_, or not a species I'm familiar with anyway. Anyone want to take a guess?


----------



## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

No plans for ground cover Adam?


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

I'm still debating on it. I may pick up some _Marselia minuta_ with my next plant order from FAN, but I'm kind of liking the open space (and the gobies like it too )


----------



## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Why not do a moss foreground?


----------



## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

legomaniac89 said:


>


No guesses on the fish, but I really like the look of this tank. Actually, I think it looks good without a ground covering. :thumbsup:


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

problemman said:


> Why not do a moss foreground?


Eh. I'm not a big fan of moss. I have a bit of Taiwan Moss in the tank, but that's just because little fragments keep popping up and I can't get rid of it 



sewingalot said:


> No guesses on the fish, but I really like the look of this tank. Actually, I think it looks good without a ground covering. :thumbsup:


Thanks Sara!


----------



## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

That is indeed a great tank, I love the combo of wood and lace rock coming from the side roud: The rest of the tank does look a bit bare, but it makes what is in there stand out.


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thanks Chaos! I may try some _M. minuta_ along the back wall on the right side, extending out from the rockwork. That way the scape is extended further out and it looks a bit more full.


----------



## legomaniac89 (Mar 16, 2008)

Okay, time for another update. I've been on a bit if a hiatus lately due to finals, starting summer classes, building a deck and painting our pool, so it's been a busy spring. I finally remembered to bring my camera to work so I could snap a few shots of the tank, which is still slowly chugging along.










The BBA is starting to come under control now that the soil underlayer has stopped bleeding excess nutrients into the water column,but I don't think it'll ever be completely gone until I get a better light.


----------



## FDNY911 (Dec 6, 2009)

Looks good Lego, welcome back.


----------



## Trail_Mix (May 17, 2011)

I know this thread is really old, but is this tank still up and running? I'm all for the asymmetrical look, and I wouldn't add much in the way of foreground plants or a carpet if I were you. I think it looks nice like this, maybe a little more C. Parva. It's all about emphasizing beauty in simplicity!


----------

