# 100 Gallon Corydoras Community (formerly 40 Breeder High Tech)



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Incidentally for this tank I am buying in RO water from a nearby shop that sells it (having my own RO unit is out of the question in my drought stricken California coastal town. Too much waste water). I am using Seachem Equilibrium, Alkaline Buffer, and Acid Buffer. 

Water parameters

GH 80 ppm
KH 40 ppm
pH 6.5

My fish are ordered and arriving on Wednesday! As I said, I had initially thought to do a huge grouping of different species of Corydoras, but now that this is so thoroughly planted I am not sure that is the best idea. So my initial stocking will be:

20 x Hyphessobrycon elachys (reed tetra)
6 x Hyphessobrycon megalopterus (black phantom tetra)

Also ordering Otocinclus, and 5 x Corydoras eques, who will wait in my quarantine tank until the 40g is ready for them. I'll see how the Corys do before I decide if I want to get any more of them. 

Not 100% committed to how I will stock the rest of the tank. Some thoughts are a school of Hyphessobrycon amandae (ember tetras) or Hemigrammus bleheri (firehead or rummynose tetra), a few Dicrossus filamentosus or other dwarf cichlid, a school of Corydoras hastatus (to swim around with the reed tetras), and a few Farlowella vittata to help the Otos with algae control.

Nothing set in stone however and I am very tempted to just add a bunch of cardinal tetras even though I have another tank with them. But I love them so much. Have to stay strong and get something different!


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Looks great. I had a hard time finding checkerboard cichlids. Apisto's are pretty awesome though and you could do a pair or trio in there.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

There are no decent LFS anywhere near me so I end up mail ordering all my fish trough The Wet Spot. They usually have them and a wide range of Apistos too.Was really nervous having fish delivered via post the first time I did it but now I am pretty comfortable with it and have been happy with the results so far. Checking their availability list as it is updated each Friday is about as exciting as visiting a well stocked LFS and checking out all the tanks.


----------



## geektom (Dec 17, 2012)

Triport said:


> There are no decent LFS anywhere near me so I end up mail ordering all my fish trough The Wet Spot. They usually have them and a wide range of Apistos too.Was really nervous having fish delivered via post the first time I did it but now I am pretty comfortable with it and have been happy with the results so far. Checking their availability list as it is updated each Friday is about as exciting as visiting a well stocked LFS and checking out all the tanks.



I always use a LFS when I can, but if you have to order, Wet Spot is the way to go.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah I spent most of my life living in or near large cities (NYC, LA) so always had lots of choices for great LFS. But the past 11 years I have lived on the central coast of California about 4 hours away from both SF and LA so there sadly is not much here. The few times I did buy from one of the stores ended badly so now I just do most of my ordering online. Order is coming tomorrow. Can't wait!


----------



## dru (Mar 9, 2013)

Nice start, will be following along


----------



## viwwo (Jan 15, 2010)

OOOOoooOOOOooOOOOOOOooooooh looks a little like what I have now. Horn wood is so fantastic and I had no problem sinking it. I can't wait to see how yours ends up.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah actually I had some old manzanita from another tank that I had removed and was originally going to use that. But getting it water logged again was taking forever. After like 5 weeks in water it was still floating. So I decided to get the hornwood. I like the look a bit better anyway and it all sank right away. And of course as soon as I got the hornwood all the manzanita got waterlogged. Oh well. I'll use it for my next tank maybe.

Bump:

Bump: short preview video of this tank


----------



## ILikeRice (Jul 9, 2017)

Some moss would look good on that wood :]------


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I would really like to get Fissidens fontanus eventually but I decided to wait until the tank is more established and has gone through its possible early algae bloom. When I tried that moss in the past it was really susceptible to getting smothered in algae. I also kind of want to see if the Hygrophila pinnatifida that I have planted all through the center of the pieces of wood works out. I'll decide where to put moss based on how the Hygrophila fills in.


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Hygro Pinnetifida was a pain for me. It did well in my shrimp tank with DIY C02, but then rotted away quickly in my 75 gallon high tech. Its really nice when it cooperates.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

The Dude1 said:


> Hygro Pinnetifida was a pain for me. It did well in my shrimp tank with DIY C02, but then rotted away quickly in my 75 gallon high tech. Its really nice when it cooperates.


Yes I have had awful luck with it myself. I think part of the problem was I always bought it from places that sent stems with emersed foliage and it never made the transition to being submerged. Would rot away and die before it even got its underwater leaves. This time I am trying TC plants that already have roots and underwater foliage. I am not using tap water either on this tank. Don't know if that will make a difference but it may for some plants. So far so good but it has only been a week. 

I love the look of it so I really hope I can get it to work. Frustrating to see so many videos online of it looking beautiful. Even one in a low tech tank the other day.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Fish arrived today. 

20 x Hyphessobrycon elachys (reed tetra)
6 x Hyphessobrycon megalopterus (black phantom tetra)
8 x Otocinclus macrospilus

A bit concerned that the flow (277 gph) might be too much for them. I'll give it some time to see if they get more settled in but may want to switch from the spraybar to a just a regular pipe output that maybe can be directed a different direction.

New Fish for the 40g by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Wow that tank is looking great man. The angles of the wood are perfect. 

By the way your front yard is the tits. I'd love to have mine landscaped like that. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Thanks! Of course I only show it from the nice angles. It is definitely a work in progress! 

Fish seem to be doing well. Now that they have been in the tank for 24 hours they are swimming around more and not letting the flow push them to one corner. So I think I may leave it alone for now.

This afternoon I lowered the photoperiod by about an hour and a half and lowered the intensity of the Current LED lights by 50% across all the spectrums. Does anyone know how I should go about raising it? Wait for the plants to fill in more? Raise it by 10% weekly or something? So far no algae growth of note but I figured I would get in front of it and try to keep it to a minimum.


----------



## sevendust111 (Jul 15, 2014)

A couple of questions...

1. How do you like the Nilo Rex Grigg? I hate diy so I was thinking of buying one.

2. What do you think of your Plus Pro's? I have an 18x18x18 tank with two of them, which is in effect similar to you, and I am finding that I am raising the intensity weekly. I started at 60% on all channels for both and my stems along the back are struggling. I am up to 70% with the back strip and they aren't doing that much better. 

Nice tank btw. I dig the sand.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I love the NilocG Rex Grigg. I was looking into making one myself and there were so many broken links and unclear directions on how to make them. I thought for sure there must be one I could buy somewhere and finally I found his site. I was a little confused about some aspects but he always responded to my emails and questions quickly. It was suuuuuper noisy the first day or two and I was like "Oh no what have I done? This is worse than fizzy bubbles!" but he said it was just air trapped inside and it would go away and sure enough it did. There is a small knocking noise sometimes when the Co2 is running that I probably could get rid of if I turned the unit upside down or jiggled it a bit but I have it bolted in my cabinet so not worth the trouble. It isn't bad and in fact I don't remember hearing it today so it might be gone. Definitely thinking of getting them for all my high tech tanks. Just not having to clean/replace the diffusers regularly makes it amazing and I can't think why this isn't something that big companies are making.

The Plus Pro's were super expensive but so far I like them. But really it is way too soon for me to be sure I am happy with them. Love the controller (even though a bit confusing setting the timer and light intensity) and love the look. I need a few months before I know if I am happy with the plant growth. So far no algae problems yet so that is good. Love that they can be dimmed and definitely love the look compared to my old BML lights.


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Triport said:


> Thanks! Of course I only show it from the nice angles. It is definitely a work in progress!
> 
> Fish seem to be doing well. Now that they have been in the tank for 24 hours they are swimming around more and not letting the flow push them to one corner. So I think I may leave it alone for now.
> 
> This afternoon I lowered the photoperiod by about an hour and a half and lowered the intensity of the Current LED lights by 50% across all the spectrums. Does anyone know how I should go about raising it? Wait for the plants to fill in more? Raise it by 10% weekly or something? So far no algae growth of note but I figured I would get in front of it and try to keep it to a minimum.


Until you get plant mass where you want it, it will be a guessing game. If you give it too much light it will take a week to see the algae.. and even then it's dependant on C02 and fertilizer dosing. As long as plants aren't reaching I would stay more on the low end. I wouldn't increase lighting without a commensurate increase in plant mass. Maybe every couple weeks go up 10%? I have C02 coming on at 7am - 5pm and lights from 830 to 5pm. I had to cut it back this week.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah I was kind of figuring I would wait a week and see what the growth looks like. They are growing I can see that much but obviously just a little bit. And of course the Pogostemon helferi is melting. Because of course it is. But everything else looks great so far.


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Downoi, for me, was very temperamental. I could only grow it in shrimp tanks and it was a set it and forget it plant. After a couple months it started growing like crazy and splitting off crowns everywhere. I'm not sure if that one can be grown emersed, but I would make sure the plants you purchase are fully submerged growth. I've even had Buce that was emersed fail to transition to submerged after months of being in the tank.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

All the plants were tissue cultured. I am just going to leave it alone and hope it will be like Cryptocoryne and regrow. There do seem to be some living bits amongst all the melted leaves.


----------



## viwwo (Jan 15, 2010)

My Fissidens Fontanus is so dark and I don't know what is up. I may be cutting it to much and taking away the new - lighter - growth. I told myself I wont cut it for a month...


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I am not even going to try it until I am certain I have any early algae problems under control. But it is my favorite moss. I definitely want some on the wood eventually.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

*Video*

Here is a video taken the other day of the new fish.


So far everything is going well with this tank.No algae, plants are pushing up growth, fish are doing well. May turn up the lights by 10%.

Bump: I can sort of see the appeal now of just a focus on plants with just a simple stocking of one or two types of fish that is so common on videos of scapes. It is very unlikely I will stick with it myself but it is nice for now. Already considering a school of ember tetras and pencilfish.


----------



## CobraGuppy (Sep 23, 2007)

Nice start and nice video! What kinda of paint/film did you use for your background? It might be due to the lighting, but I really like the look of it contrasted with the sand. It's like a very dark, dark blue almost.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

It is just black acrylic paint bought from an art supply store. Takes about 3 or 4 coats but dries pretty fast. I have used spray paint in the past but I hate masking the tank off so I just use acrylic paint now. Do all my big tanks with it.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Close up video of the fish eating a sinking wafer I dropped in. 

Raised the light level 10% up to 60% today. A lot of the stem plants are putting on growth so I think it was the right move but I'll keep an eye out for any algae growth. 

I can't get over how good all the plants look. My first attempts at high tech planted tanks I already had algae explosions and rotting plants at this point. So I feel like I am least learning from past mistakes. And I am thrilled with tissue culture plants.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Surface scum is pretty bad so I bought an Eheim Skim350. But of course there is something wrong with the motor or impeller and it doesn't work. Getting fed up with mechanical purchases not working. I am at the point where I automatically save all of my Amazon boxes assuming that I am going to have to send something back. 

Any other brands to recommend or should I just get a replacement and hope for better luck?


----------



## slipfinger (Jun 8, 2016)

Triport said:


> Surface scum is pretty bad so I bought an Eheim Skim350. But of course there is something wrong with the motor or impeller and it doesn't work. Getting fed up with mechanical purchases not working. I am at the point where I automatically save all of my Amazon boxes assuming that I am going to have to send something back.
> 
> Any other brands to recommend or should I just get a replacement and hope for better luck?


I have Skim350's on all my tanks (3) and I've never had a issue with them.


----------



## Frank158 (Oct 1, 2013)

slipfinger said:


> I have Skim350's on all my tanks (3) and I've never had a issue with them.


The only issue I have with the 350 is the suction cups. Eventually like all suction cups they lose their ability to stick but Eheim does not sell replacement cups so I had to jimmy rig another suction cup to make it work. Otherwise it works great but is another thing in your tank.
@Triport
Did you try to get it going in a bucket of water, maybe take the sponge filter out to just get it going. Perhaps an air lock or something?


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah I took it all apart. Impeller does this sort of flipping around and jiggling thing and makes a grinding noise. Going back via Amazon tomorrow. I think I will try to just have them send me a replacement and if the next one doesn't work either I'll ask for a refund.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Harumph. This is annoying. The other items that weren't working I was able to have UPS just pick the return packages up at my front door. For this Eheim skim350 they are making me bring it to a UPS store to return. I guess because of the vendor it came from. As a result of this inconvenience I think I will not order another one from them and will just figure something else out.


----------



## Nlewis (Dec 1, 2015)

Triport said:


> Harumph. This is annoying. The other items that weren't working I was able to have UPS just pick the return packages up at my front door. For this Eheim skim350 they are making me bring it to a UPS store to return. I guess because of the vendor it came from. As a result of this inconvenience I think I will not order another one from them and will just figure something else out.


Is the magnet loose from the impeller? The last one I got, I had that issue right out of the box. I superglued the magnet to the impeller and all is well and been operating fine for months.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I dunno. The box is all packed up and going to the UPS store tomorrow.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Ordered a stainless steel lily pipe set with a skimmer built in. Going to set it up with a spare Eheim Ecco filter I had lying around. I think it will look nicer than the Ehim skimmer or any of the other brands. Hopefully it will work!

Overall really happy with the state of growth on my tissue cultured plants. Growth seems good so far and particularly in stem plants they just seem a lot more natural looking and are adapting a lot better than the usual emersed growth stems I have purchased in the past.

That said the P. helferi did melt but there is new growth coming up so I am hopeful. One Ranunculus inundatus also fell apart and melted but the rest look OK so far. Fingers crossed it was just a fluke. No algae so far but I am always on the look out. From experience it always sort of just explodes one day. 

Aerial views 10 days after my initial photos show how much fuller and greener the plants look. I am especially happy with how great Staurogyne repens and Hygrophila pinnatifida look since these are plants I have never had luck with in the past when I bought them as individual stems. They are two of my favorite aquatic plants and it would be nice to be able to grow them. The Cryptocoryne 'Flamingo' has some beautiful new pale pink leaves coming in. 

Aerial view of left side by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Aerial view of right side by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Did 50% water change today with my RO water mix. Last night I dropped in an algae wafer because I was a bit worried that the Otos wouldn't have enough to eat. This morning I found the remains of it in one of the clumps of Staurogyne repens and the plant was half melted. Oops. Won't be doing that again. Those Otos are on their own.


----------



## geektom (Dec 17, 2012)

Triport said:


> Did 50% water change today with my RO water mix. Last night I dropped in an algae wafer because I was a bit worried that the Otos wouldn't have enough to eat. This morning I found the remains of it in one of the clumps of Staurogyne repens and the plant was half melted. Oops. Won't be doing that again. Those Otos are on their own.



Use a thin slice of zucchini held to the substrate with a wooden skewer or plastic fork instead- great way to catch any snails, too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Fortunately no snails because the plants were all TC. But that reminds me that I have some dried kelp for my bushy nose pleco (and strangely enough my Corydoras love it too).


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Got my Jardli Stainless Steel Lily Pipe with Surface Skimmer today. Was worried that they were more for a rimless tank and wouldn't work but it worked out fine. The plastic pipe holders fit perfectly onto the rim of my tank and rest on the ledge. I hooked it up to a spare Eheim Ecco because I didn't want to mess with my Eheim Pro's tubing if it turned out it wasn't going to work. And a little extra filtration never hurt anyone.

It isn't perfectly silent. There is a bit of a suction noise that can be dealt with by modifying the amount of water that comes in through the in tank strainer vs. the surface skimmer. You can tweak it so it is mostly quiet but there does seem to be a bit of suction noise from time to time. I don't mind because the tank is in my fish room and not a bedroom or other room in the house. 

Within 3 minutes the surface was beautifully clear. The stainless steel hardware is attractive. It does stick out more into the tank than a regular pipe but it doesn't bother me and should be concealed by plants soon enough. 

Before and after pics.

Surface Scum Removal by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

View of the JARDLI surface skimmer from the top. 

JARDLI stainless steel surface skimmer from above by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

Thanks for the review on the stainless hardware! You got me into thinking of getting a set of them. I'm real annoyed that the outflow is not adjustable though. Got me thinking that I'll need to cut/saw it.

Oh, and great job on the crypt flamingo you have. Congrats on the pink leaves. I dunno what it is that I've got even though it was sold to me as crypt flamingo. Whilst its got its own charm, it sure hasn't gotten bright pink like yours yet!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah if you are not seeing pink leaves I don't think it is Flamingo. I wouldn't even say it is a matter of light or other conditions because I had a few extra bits that I planted in my low tech quarantine tank and another in one of my little Betta tanks and they are just starting to get the pink leaves as well.

New pink growth on Cryptocoryne 'Flamingo' by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

Jealous! Congrats! Who was your supplier if you don't mind me asking.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

This one I got tissue culture from Buceplant. Aquarium Plants Factory and ADA Aqua Forest Aquarium in SF were my other suppliers of tc plants.


----------



## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

thanks!


----------



## hunterlook (Feb 21, 2013)

geektom said:


> Use a thin slice of zucchini held to the substrate with a wooden skewer or plastic fork instead- great way to catch any snails, too.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


What on earth kind of Ram is that in your profile picture?


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Looks like a Bolivian ram. 

Comparison of the plants on day 1 and day 21. This is one of my favorite things about digital cameras. It makes it so much easier to document and compare changes in time in a garden or aquarium. 

I am actually kind of surprised at the difference. When you are looking at it every day growth seems so slow. But looking at day 1 I can really see how far things have come in just 3 weeks. The only plant which has not grown much is Cyperus helferi which is a slow grower. 

Pogostemon erectus is starting to put out some longer stems, a few Pogostemon helferi are starting to come back from melting and put out their standard submersed growth. Right now I would say that the plant in the worst shape is Ranunculus inundatus. One completely melted and fell apart and the rest are not exactly robust. But I am hopeful that they are just the sort of plant that needs to put its energy in root growth first and it will eventually come around. 

Do eventually want to do some Fissidens moss on the wood but will probably wait at least another month to see how the Hygrophila fills in. Purposely left the front an open sandy area in consideration of Corydoras but now that I probably will limit the amount of Corydoras in this aquarium I may do some sort of carpeting plant across the front. Have to think about it more and look at some images and videos and see what I like best.

21 Days of Plant Growth in the 40g Aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

It's looking fantastic! At 3 weeks all of my tanks are algae inundated cesspools. That's what inwas going to mention about fissidens. It's beautiful, but in newlywed up tanks with low plant mass they can really get trashed with algae. Then again your tank isn't the algae farms that mine are at that point. It's all relative to total plant mass. Once you've got some it's easy to get new things added and dialed in. The Corys will love that open area. I always liked how that looks, but I almost always end up planting something there. I've got crypt Parva in the top tank in the front. The bottom one doesn't really have an open area.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah that is why I am waiting on the Fissidens. My experience with it in the past was not good. I may even wait a few months to introduce it when all the rest of the plants are big and full and more of the back is concealed. You can't tell from the front but the wood is completely filled with Hygrophila pinnatifida so I need to see where that fills in to figure out from a design standpoint where the moss will look good.

Honestly I am kind of surprised at how well this tank is doing as far as growth and lack of algae is concerned. I chalk it up to about 3 years of hard work and trial and error and watching video after video of scapers on Youtube and seeing how they do things. My first high tech attempts 3 years ago were mixed. All of them ended up algae nightmares in the first few months. Some recovered. Others did not. In most cases I ended up caving and going with simpler plants. 

I tried Aquasoil, Flourite, black Flourite sand, regular sand, different types of wood and rocks, different brand lights, different types of fertilizer. And pretty much every type of plant that I thought looked cool from every different online vendor I could find. 

I am going to attribute my success so far with this tank to using RO water (with Seachem planted tank additives), lights that are adjustable, and tissue culture plants. I was worried that the single non TC plant I tried (the Rotala wallichii) was going to bring algae but so far it has been fine. But it is still fairly early days. There is still plenty of time for disaster to strike!

Oh and I have used Crypt. parva in the past. Was pretty happy with it in my old 29g high tech (which had been my most successful tank in the past) but just last week I removed it from my 36g tank. They were growing well and had amazing roots but they just grow too slowly and I was starting to see BBA, string algae, and green spot algae on the leaves. I could have tried to deal with it but instead I got rid of it. The rest of that tank has been going pretty well so I don't want to court trouble.


----------



## geektom (Dec 17, 2012)

hunterlook said:


> What on earth kind of Ram is that in your profile picture?



Yes, Bolivian ram.


----------



## hunterlook (Feb 21, 2013)

geektom said:


> Yes, Bolivian ram.




Great coloring, nice looking fish you got


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Plant growth has been good and still no signs of algae so I raised the light intensity on the Current USA Satellite Plus PRO lights to 70% today. I'll keep it here for at least a week and see how things go.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Not sure how clear it is in the photo but wider leaves are starting to form now on the new growth of Proserpinaca palustris. Hard to photograph it clearly because it is in the back and the fish always photobomb when I try to get photos from the front. 

All the Pogostemon helferi that initially melted are putting out tiny new immersed growth leaves. A few larger ones on the left and adorable tiny ones on the right. Also decided to play around with the new text editor on Flickr so I can label the plants in my photos. 

Aerial View of Left Side by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

And the right side of the aquarium. Thrilled that Hygrophila pinnatifida is doing so well since I could never get it to grow before. The only plant that is questionable is Ranunculus inundatus and there is enough healthy looking growth that I think maybe it will be OK. Just some of the older stems are melting. 

It isn't in view of this photo but one other thing I am contemplating is the Cyperus helferi. It basically takes up the entire back wall of the aquarium behind the driftwood. I have had a single plant in the past in another tank get huge. Because this is tissue culture it actually ended up being something like 15 plants! It isn't particularly fast growing but once it fills in it might be overwhelming. I am considering taking out the plants in the right back corner of the tank and replacing it with a stem plant with red leaves. Possibly something like Rotala 'H'Ra' which I ordered but came in all rotten so didn't use. Might wait on this though. Planning to reboot my 60P Do Aqua tank as possibly an Iwagumi design so I might just wait until I need to order plants for that tank.

Aerial View of Right Side by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

We are having a heat wave here on California's central coast and the temperatures that are usually 60-70 year round have shot up to 100 for 2 days (back down into the low 80s today). Few here have AC (it just isn't needed) so temperatures have shot up in my tanks from 75-76 to 81-82. The plants are pushing lots of new growth in the warmer temperature so I increased the lighting to 80%.

The warmth also seems to have stimulated the reed tetras to breed so they are all racing around the tank in a frenzy. Males flaring at each other and chasing females into the plants. Since the tank is so well planted I guess there is a chance some eggs might hatch but I am not sure any fry be able to avoid being eaten since there are so many tetras in the tank. I have had a few baby cherry barbs reach adult size when their parents were the first fish introduced to the tank so we'll see.

Also introduced 13 Amano shrimp and 8 crystal red and crystal black shrimp. The Amanos should be OK but not so sure about the crystals. I thought the tetras were too small to be much threat (all 1" or smaller) but I already found one of the crystal reds ripped in half and it was one of the larger ones. Most of them seem to have made a base of the driftwood and rocks so maybe they will find hiding spots.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Today the tank is 1 month old. Love comparing the growth to the first day. So far the plants and fish are doing well. Since bringing up the lights to 80% I had my first case of pearling last night (tried to post a video but for some reason it was bugging and not posting the thumbnail) but there is also a light dusting of algae on the sand. So I think I will keep it at 80% for some time. I don't see any algae on the plants or rocks or wood though so that is good. 

Really can't wait to see how the 2 month mark differs from now. At this point even the Cyperus is putting on some growth so in another 30 days I suspect I will have to give some of the stem plants a trim. 

Still thinking long and hard about what other fish I want to add and how many. Thinking I might make this a bit of a color schemed tank and only add fish that either black/red/white or some combo. But we'll see. That might be kind of silly and when I have tried to do gardens with color schemed in my yard I never stick to it. I suspect the same will go for the fish. 

40 gallon Breeder 1 Month Growth by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Another side by side comparison. This time of Day 1, 21, and 30.

Day 1, 21, 30 of Planted 40 gallon Aquarium. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

You did a great job with plant placement. I love the open area in front. It adds so much depth.


----------



## ChrisX (May 28, 2017)

Looks great. Is everything just planted in the inert subtrate?

The biggest problem I have is with managing growth. High tech with soil substrate, growth is too fast, I have to trim 6" a week. 

Maybe my next tank I will consider not using soil.

------------------------------------------------------------

Low tech + inert substrate = poor growth
Low tech + soil = good growth
High tech + inert substrate = good growth
High tech + soil = insane growth


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah my first attempts at high tech I of course used ADA Aquasoil. I ended up hating how it broke down over time and would sometimes get stirred up by the fish. At the same time in my lower tech tanks I had started using sand for the first time and loved it. Once I learned there were people who used sand for high tech planted tanks I made a switch. This sand in particular is Caribsea fine powdery stuff and is a dream to plant in. It holds the stem plants so well.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Another attempt at getting a video thumbnail to work correctly. Nope. Not sure if it is the forums or Youtube but sometimes it just won't work.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

10 gallon water change earlier today. Since I am not good at doing weekly water changes (more like every other week or once every three weeks) I usually do a 50% water change but since this tank and my 36 both get RO water that I buy in from a shop it is kind of a hassle to have to go refill the bottles (and pay for it). So I'll see if a 25% water change works for now and now and then will try to do a 50%. 

Since increasing the lights to 80% there has been some algae on the light golden sand. Some of the Otocinclus are making an effort to clean up the sand but I stirred it up a bit too. I think once I add some Corydoras to the tank they will turn over the sand a bit.

For the first time there was also a little bit of green algae on the left side glass but only a small amount and I don't see any on the plants or hardscape. So far this has been my best result with a new tank. At this stage normally everything is covered with goopy string algae. I am a huge fan of lights with a dimmer feature. Between that and the fact that the plants were almost all tissue culture I think it helped immensely. 

The only downside with this tank is the surface skimmer sucks air into the filter which can get a bit noisy. But I have it hooked up to an Eheim Ecco which is very easy to prime and remove the air. Also the Rex Grigg Reactor sometimes makes a bit of a knocking sound sometimes I imagine from a large Co2 bubble trapped inside. I could unscrew it from the cabinet and sort of jiggle it but it doesn't really bother me too much. The pros of the reactor and the surface skimmer outweigh this small nuisance.


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

That would be a pain. I started doing like 35% changes every 6 days just so I can leave all the filters and stuff running and it only takes a few minutes to pump it out and then pump new clean 78* water back in. I would bet that the RO water has helped with accumulation of organics that encourage algae growth. I can tell by a couple spots on the substrate when its time for a water change


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

*5 Weeks*

At the 5 week mark now. Everything is still doing really well. I think in another month or so the Pogostemon erectus in the center and the Cyperus helferi on the right will have filled in enough that the back of the tank looks balanced. Meanwhile the stem plants on the left are going to need a trim soon. 

Probably going to place an order for fish for next week and I am really debating getting a big school of ember tetras. My nature is always to like a busy aquarium with lots of different types of fish. But I see the appeal now of having the focus on the plants. At any rate I will definitely be getting a school of Corydoras. I just have to decide which species. 

40 Gallon Planted Aquarium at 5 weeks by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

And can't forget the side by side growth comparison. This has been fun to keep track of.

Day 1 - 37 of my planted 40g Aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Nice progression of pictures there, interesting to see the timeline and growth. 

Looks to me like things are right on schedule. Nice work.


----------



## mbkemp (Dec 15, 2016)

I love those pictures. Progress!! What kind of Cory’s have you decided on?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

90% sure I am going to go with a half dozen C. loretoensis and a half dozen C. concolor. Going to get some rarer (and more expensive) ones for my 20g Cory tank. 

I think I am going to skip the ember tetra school for now too. May get 10 for my Cory tank too. For this tank I may try to get 4 male black phantom tetras since for some reason they sent me 6 females last time.


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Choosing schooling fish is brutal. I always wanted Cardinals, but Neons are alot less and seem to be halthier... I always wanted Rummynose, but Bloodfins are cheaper and healthier LOL... And I want a school of dwarf rainbows and a school of lemon tetras... and... you know how it goes.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I just need more tanks. I want everything.


----------



## Frank158 (Oct 1, 2013)

Triport said:


> 90%]For this tank I may try to get 4 male black phantom tetras



I had a school of black phantom tetras in a 15 gallon years ago when I first started in this hobby. I got them because they were cheap and easy to find locally so I think a common fish but full of character. I really enjoyed having them and think I might add a school to my 200L tank. The sparring and mating dances they do are fun to watch.


----------



## beckyhiker (Mar 30, 2017)

Would you believe that at the LFS near work they had signs for $7.99 PER cardinal and 4.99 PER neon? Good thing that I don't particulary want either. Phew! I couldn't believe it.

My favorite schooler, really shoaler, at the momment is my silvertip tetras. Actually, they pretty much fail at even shoaling unless they are really scared, but they have great personalities and I think they are really pretty.


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

beckyhiker said:


> Would you believe that at the LFS near work they had signs for $7.99 PER cardinal and 4.99 PER neon? Good thing that I don't particulary want either. Phew! I couldn't believe it.
> 
> My favorite schooler, really shoaler, at the momment is my silvertip tetras. Actually, they pretty much fail at even shoaling unless they are really scared, but they have great personalities and I think they are really pretty.


That's more than Petsmart... the LFS by me that is the only place I will purchase from does Cardinals for $3 and Neons for $1.... and it still adds up fast. Their prices are very good, but they tend to run out of Cardinals, Neons, Rummynose, and many of the popular schoolikg fish days after the order arrives. You are left to either buy.and treat and hope for few losses or wait and maybe pick up 2 or 3 at a time. It's good business for them. They aren't having to always absorb the huge losses. When I saw the Lemon Tetras for $1 it was tough to stick to the plan. I'm headed back today. I know they have no Neons and I'm not buying anymore cardinals or Rummynose... so maybe more Panda Corys?


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

The Wet Spot has neons @ 10 for $22.50 and cardinals @ 10 for $25. Of course you have to pay for shipping too which is quite expensive. That is why I always buy a large box of fish so it sort of spreads the cost out.


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

I'm sure Wetspot has good fish, but at $1 a piece total... Neons are still costly when you have the inevitable losses... and that's without factoring in shipping. I keep drooling over the Lemon tetras... I need another tank... or to setup a 300 gallon here while I finish school. 
This LFS has great prices on Tetras. 
I want the Red and Blue Columbians they're $2 each
Lemon $1 each
Neons $1
Cardinals $3
Rummynose $3.
I'm thinking about asking them to do some Bloodfins. I'm sure they would be $1 and they blend in with the Rummys.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I've heard that Columbian tetras can be nippy and lemon tetras like to nibble on plants. So be careful.


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Triport said:


> I've heard that Columbian tetras can be nippy and lemon tetras like to nibble on plants. So be careful.


Thank you! That's all I needed to hear. I am not dealing with plant nibblers. 
What are your thoughts on the impact of substrate on Corys? I originally had all black sand... then I added a few bags of eco complete and floramax... 
I'm wondering if that is part of why my Corys arent as active as I remember and aren't roaming around in a group... I also have very little "open" area and I have crypt Parva growing there so I don't really want remove that substrate. Even with high light, ferts, and C02 that stuff takes a long time to fill in... I don't want a tank full of unhappy Corys that aren't playing though... these guys are nothing like the others I had. They are all very small though... I'm up to 12 I think.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Hmm...I don't know. My 36g has 9 large corys and about 20 pygmy corys and there isn't much open sand for them to swim on and they don't seem to mind. But I do have sand. I wasn't fond of Eco Complete because it was a real pain to get stem plants to hold. So I only use sand now. They seem pretty happy with it and seeing how they suck it up in their mouths and then it is expelled out of their gills I can see why people recommend sand for them. 

My Crypt parva I had to remove from that tank because it kept getting infested with various algaes. That tank had a BBA problem so I don't want to encourage it.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Let's try a new video and see if I can get the thumbnail to work properly. If not just click the link.

Also just placed an order for more fish. Just went with the 6 Corydoras concolor and 6 Corydoras loretoensis for this tank for now. I will wait another month or two to think about what other fish, if any, I want in the tank. Think I will skip the ember tetras for this tank (ordered some for my 20 long instead) but may still do rummynose and/or some species of pencil fish or other small tetra. I do still want to do maybe 10 Corydoras hastatus because their markings match the reed tetras but The Wet Spot has been out of them the past few months. Also still thinking of a group of checkerboard cichlids.


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

That looks fantastic. You've got some great action in that tank. That's what I'm hoping to attain.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I ended up having to order 6 more black phantom tetras. I hope they are all or mostly males. If I get another 6 females I am going to be hella pissed! Also ordered 6 Corydoras concolor and 6 Corydoras loretoensis. They arrive Wednesday. 

I am proud of myself for not going crazy getting a million different types of fish for this tank. (though really I could have gone with just one species of Cory). I hope I can stick with it.


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Triport said:


> I ended up having to order 6 more black phantom tetras. I hope they are all or mostly males. If I get another 6 females I am going to be hella pissed! Also ordered 6 Corydoras concolor and 6 Corydoras loretoensis. They arrive Wednesday.
> 
> I am proud of myself for not going crazy getting a million different types of fish for this tank. (though really I could have gone with just one species of Cory). I hope I can stick with it.


This is something I struggle with as well. Once you make a choice its hard to rehome the fish and try something else. Or you end up with a crazy mish mash of fish. I will say there is a planted tetra tank on YouTube that has pretty much every tetra I know of and it looks pretty cool.


----------



## geektom (Dec 17, 2012)

I️ think black phantoms are really underrated- they look awesome in a school!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah I have a ton of different fish in my 36g and it looks nice enough but also quite overstocked. But normally I quite like lots of different species. I do have some Hyphessobrycon amapaensis that are quite geriatric and a bit boring (even though they are pretty). I kind of wish they would just die but strangely enough out of all the different tetras in this tank and all the various things that have gone wrong and resulted in other fish dying I have never lost a single one. I still have the same 12 fish that I got over 2 years ago. 

But since this tank is supposed to be more of a plant showcase I am going to try really hard not to go overboard. 

And yes black phantoms are pretty cool. I had them back when I was in college and again about 13 years ago. But part of the appeal of them is the long fins of the males and the way they joust with each other.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Added my 6 male black phantom tetras, 6 Corydoras concolor, and 6 Corydoras loretoensis. When the lights came on the water was full of little particles so I assumed that the Corys had stirred up the detritus that had been collecting around the bases of the plants and it would eventually clear up. But later I realized that the Eheim Ecco that the JARDLI skimmer is attached to is messed up. I guess the air getting sucked in must have messed up the impeller or something. I tried priming it a few times but eventually it just started spitting out millions of little air bubbles. So I turned it off and hope things clear up tomorrow. So that seems like a flaw in the design. I will have to figure something else out. Hopefully everything will be OK. 

Meanwhile fish!

Corydoras concolor.

Corydoras concolor by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Corydoras loretoensis.

Corydoras loretoensis by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## geektom (Dec 17, 2012)

Beautiful!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Six Weeks now! 

Finally had my first issues with this tank. My JARDLI surface skimmer kept sucking in air and it finally did a number on the Eheim Ecco Pro. Despite efforts to prime it the filter started spitting out millions of air bubbles and lots of detritus so the tank was a mess. I removed the filter and skimmer. As nice as it made the tank look at first I can't recommend this type of product for a filter. Oh also it was a shrimp killer. I found at least half of my Amano shrimp dead in the filter. I think they were too small to get sucked into the regular strainer so they were clearly crawling to the top of the skimmer and falling into the big whirlpool of doom.

I cleaned the fine filter floss of my main filter and it helped a bit but there was a lot of detritus collecting on the fine leaves of Rotala wallichii and Pogostemon erectus and the other plants. So I put in my Marineland Magnum water polisher. I'll leave it running for 48 hours or so and the water should be crystal clear. This is a very strong filter so I was worried it would destroy the plants or kick up the sand but I positioned it so it sprays against the front glass and it isn't too bad.

I am overdue for a water change so I will probably do one in a few days. The Rotala is almost reaching the surface so it is finally time for a trim. I think I will also maybe move around a few Pogostemon helferi that are poorly placed and squished between the Staurogyne and the stem plants. They are doing so well now they really should be featured better.

Day 44 of Planted 40 Gallon Aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

And the comparison:

Day 1 - 44 Comparison of Planted 40 Gallon Aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

Sorry to hear that the skimmer setup didn't work out for you. I've actually acquired my own stainless set since seeing it in your tank. It was off fleabay and and it's not the jardli but something similar branded 'mufan.' Looks the same. There's probably a chinese factory that's just hammering it out for all sorts of resellers. Haven't installed yet -- will let you know what happens for me. Something else I thought I'd mention is that if shrimp is falling into your skimmer from the top, most of them will sort of have this problem.  What some of us have resorted to is wrapping the top section with a little cutting from a clean bath pouf. 










This type of mesh probably isn't fine enough to stop smaller shrimps but it might just save an amano. You can try with various meshes but if you get a little too fine, the holes will clog and it will interfere with the ability to skim properly.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Thanks. I think in the long run the biggest issue was the air getting sucked into the filter. Not sure what I am going to do now. Was thinking of those Seachem HOB filters but they have this annoying bit of bright blue plastic on them that would be hard to hide. Not sure what idiot designed that. Also not sure how well the skimming feature works on them.


----------



## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

The Eheim skim 350 isn't half bad. It should fade into your black background -- somewhat.


----------



## lbacha (Apr 13, 2011)

*40 Breeder High Tech*



ipkiss said:


> The Eheim skim 350 isn't half bad. It should fade into your black background -- somewhat.




I did t want to add the 350 to my rimless cube due to aesthetics for ages but I bit the bullet and I'm kicking myself for not adding it earlier. It isn't very noticeable and it keeps the surface spotless. I only run it at night so I'm hoping the fauna is less active and won't go trough the blender 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I bought one of those but it came broken so I returned it and got the JARDLI instead. I read that shrimp and small fish often get murdered in it which did not impress me as I have both.


----------



## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

lbacha said:


> I did t want to add the 350 to my rimless cube due to aesthetics for ages but I bit the bullet and I'm kicking myself for not adding it earlier. It isn't very noticeable and it keeps the surface spotless. I only run it at night so I'm hoping the fauna is less active and won't go trough the blender
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk





Triport said:


> I bought one of those but it came broken so I returned it and got the JARDLI instead. I read that shrimp and small fish often get murdered in it which did not impress me as I have both.


See my earlier post with the pouf mesh. That actually is the intake of the 350 with it. It will easily protect fish and larger shrimp. Small shrimp.. not so much.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Ended up running my Magnum water polisher for 2 days. Even though I haven't had an algae problem there is this sort of weird maroon/pink sort of detritus collecting at the bases of the plants and growing in the spray bar. A different color that the usual gunk in the tubing and pipes of the filter. Not sure what the story is with it but it was pretty abundant at the bases of the plants and kept collecting in the foliage. I kept knocking it out so it would get sucked into the filter. Weird. Anyway tank looks much cleaner now. Will do a water change soon and my first trim and move a few things around. 

A pic of the Magnum in action:

Water Polisher by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

The Staurogyne are so big now they are almost all connected and forming a big mass. The one that melted has grown back nicely and all the Pogostemon helferi are growing nicely too. I guess they just melt like Crypts do and if you leave them alone they will leaf out again from the roots. I bet a lot of people rip them out because they think they are dead but if they just left them alone they would grow nicely. 

Aerial view of Staurogyne repens and Pogostemon helferi, week 6. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Chlorophile (Aug 2, 2011)

I have the skimmer Lily Pipes, I got them from amazon.. 
Does yours have the adjustable opening at the bottom? 
I put the floating skimmer part in with the entire "bubble" area full of air and then slowly close the bottom inlet vents until it starts taking a very thin layer of water down the walls of the skimmer tube. 
Works great for me!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah I adjusted it the same way but it still would suck in air gradually until the filter would start making noise and then finally failed.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Week 7 and pleasantly surprised that still no disasters in this tank. I did want to do a water change today but I had a nitrite spike in my quarantine tank and had to do a water change and it set me back a bit (think the problem was removing too much filter media to cycle my 20 long). 

So plan to do a water change and the first trim this weekend. kind of hate to do it because everything has grown so perfectly up to this point but I need to trim the Rotala wallichii and the Ludwigia repens as they have reached the surface and also look out of scale. Probably could use a trim on some of the Hygrophila pinnatifida as well. 

Plan on moving the Pogostemon helferi around as some of it is looking quite lush but it concealed by the Staurogyne repens. So a few foreground plants need to be shifted and a minor rescape attempted. 

Also definitely plan on removing some of the Cyperus helferi on the right side of the tank and possibly replacing it with some sort of red Rotala. Either tissue culture H'Ra or Sunrise from ADA. Maybe I will look into trying out some moss type plants. Mini Pellia or Fissidens perhaps?

40 gallon planted aquarium day 51 by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

And of course the comparison shot as well:

Day 1 - 51 40 gallon planted aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Ben Belton (Dec 12, 2008)

I love how your Hygrophila pinnatifida grows in this tank. I don't remember seeing it so stem-like before.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I love that it is growing at all. It is one of my favorites and whenever I bought it before it was always emersed growth that would rot rather than transition to submerged growth. Tissue culture is obviously the way to go.


----------



## mbkemp (Dec 15, 2016)

Good info right there!! It always rots for me as well. I appreciate the insight 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah for whatever reason Hygrophila pinnatifida, Staurogyne repens, and Nessaea pedicellata always rotted for me when I bought them as emersed plants. I tried them all multiple times from different sources and same result every time. Now growing them as tc plants I am having zero problems with them. I love that you aren't introducing any new algae or snails with tc plants too. Have definitely had issues with that from some sellers of plants before.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Did a 20 gallon water change and did my first trim of this tank. Talk about nerve-wracking. I knew it had to be done but I hated to touch anything since it was all growing so well. Trimmed the Ludwigia repens, Rotala wallichii, and Hygrophla pinnatifida. Removed a few clumps of Proserpinaca so I could make the Rotala clump wider. Moved all the P. helferi (downoi) out from behind the Staurogyne and put it in the foreground to the right of the Crypt. 'Pink Flamingo'. Swapped two Ranunculus with the largest clump of Lagenandra.

Tank looks a bit bleak now in comparison to the before shot but it will grow back.

First Trim and minor rescape of 40 Breeder by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Aerial view of the new foreground planting.

Aerial view of new positioning of foreground plants. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

A little bit frustrated with this aquarium this week. My Eheim 4+ 350 Pro is clearly struggling with having both the Rex Grigg reactor and the inline heater. Flow is reduced and there are free flowing particles in the tank which drives me crazy. I really love my tanks to be as clear as possible. I went ahead and bought a backup filter, an Eheim Classic 2215/350, that can run unhindered and hopefully do a better job polishing the water. Kind of annoying but otherwise the tank still looks great.

In the meantime enjoy this photo of my Cryptocoryne 'Pink Flamingo'.

Cryptocoryne 'Pink Flamingo' by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Mathman (Apr 5, 2009)

Great looking tank! How much are you dosing for macros and micros? Thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I am just going with the full Seachem line and following their dosing schedule and it seems to be working well. I am always a proponent of under-fertilizing rather than over fertilizing plants in general so this system seems to work for me. So far I have not noticed any deficiencies and the plants are growing at a pace I am happy with (ie I do not have to trim the stem plants ever other day!)


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Heck ya it looks great!! I've cut down on ferts quite a bit as well and I'm much happier. Most of my plants are slower growing anyway. It seems like once they get going they grow at a logarithmic rate. For months the sword in my lower tank didn't do anything. It didn't top 6". Now it looks to get about 30% bigger each week. It went from looking puny to causing me concern that I may have to rip it out in a few weeks. That H Pinnetifida is really looking good!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah since I topped it the H. pinnatifida is sending out lots of side runners. I will probably try to keep it more compact. Thinking of taking all the Cyperus helferi out now and replacing with some stem plants.


----------



## Conrad283 (Dec 10, 2012)

Great looking tank


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Day 58! About 8 weeks. Still very happy with this tank and can't believe it is mine and nothing too drastic has happened. Still no algae to speak of and good plant growth. Looking good after the trim and rescape last week. 

Got my second filter today and already set it up. An Eheim Classic 350/2215 with Purigen. I am hoping this clears up the water in the next few days. I really want it to be as crystal clear as the rest of my tanks. I set up the outflow/intake tubes on opposite sides of the tank. Can't have too much filtration right?

Right now the thing I am most obsessed with is the Rotala wallichii. Since pruning it last week it just looks so nice. I only saved the tops and just replanted them. Didn't bother trying to save any of the lower stems to get branching. Had tried this plant in the past and failed so it is really nice to have it looking so nice.

Probably going to place an order tonight with ADA for 3 new stem plant tissue cultures for the right side of the tank. I will try to fit all the Cyperus helferi in my 36 and 46 gallon tanks for the time being. I think the tank will look more balanced this way. More details to come when the new plants arrive.

Here is the picture at 58 days (8 weeks):

40 gallon planted aquarium day 58 by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

And the comparison pictures. This is getting a bit big so I may start condensing it next week. Don't need to see all the weeks. Just a reminder though if you click the link and take it to Flickr and then click it again it will expand to a much larger photo and you will be able to see details.

58 days plant growth in 40g by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

And a closeup of the left side of the tank with labels to show off the Rotala wallichii. Look how pretty it is. Just look at it!

40 gallon aquarium after trim (with labels) by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Spiffyfish (Jan 30, 2014)

How many individual stems would you say are in each of those staurogyne repens clusters? I made a carpet in my tank but am looking to cut it down to something similar to yours so I can have room for other plants.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Hard to say. The clumps are all different sizes but maybe between 10 and 30 stems each. If you look at my Flickr album there are some aerial shots that should give a pretty good idea. I need to think about trimming them next but they look so nice right now I didn't really want to mess with them.


----------



## mbkemp (Dec 15, 2016)

Sorry, I am too lazy to look back at dosing and parameters. Do you have soft water? Ei?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

That REALLY looks good. I love how you showcase the flamingo crypt. Very cool.
Do you have no Corys in this tank?? That front sandy section is screaming for them.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

mbkemp said:


> Sorry, I am too lazy to look back at dosing and parameters. Do you have soft water? Ei?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I am using RO water (that I buy from a store in town. there is a water shortage here and making your own RO produces far too much waste water). I use Seachem Equilibrium, Alkalinity Buffer, and Acid Buffer to get the water to about 5 GH, 3 KH, 6.5 pH.

Using the full lineup of Seachem fertilizers. I am not someone who is consistent with weekly water changes so I know EI is not for me. So far it is working pretty well.


----------



## mbkemp (Dec 15, 2016)

Your rotala and erectus like it. I am working to understand the plants like the fish. I appreciate your help


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

The Dude1 said:


> That REALLY looks good. I love how you showcase the flamingo crypt. Very cool.
> Do you have no Corys in this tank?? That front sandy section is screaming for them.


I have 6 Corydoras concolor and 6 Corydoras loretoensis. 

Corydoras lineup by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Thought some of you gardeners might appreciate my outdoor landscape today.We are just getting into Aloe blooming season. I "rescape" my yard as frequently as my aquariums. Never fully satisfied with how things turn out, always wanting to tweak and remove or move things. Latest victim was an iceplant that got too big. Earlier this year removed a Grevillea that did the same and replaced it with more Aloes and smaller ground covering succulents. A bit more difficult and time consuming to redo the yard but I do it constantly. 

Front Garden by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Triport said:


> Thought some of you gardeners might appreciate my outdoor landscape today.We are just getting into Aloe blooming season. I "rescape" my yard as frequently as my aquariums. Never fully satisfied with how things turn out, always wanting to tweak and remove or move things. Latest victim was an iceplant that got too big. Earlier this year removed a Grevillea that did the same and replaced it with more Aloes and smaller ground covering succulents. A bit more difficult and time consuming to redo the yard but I do it constantly.
> 
> Front Garden by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


That looks killer. I love succulents. I built a 3 tray garden that is along the wall in our backyard with a bunch of different kinds. Looks pretty cool now that it's grown over. I'd love to be able to do that in my yard... but in Fl it's grass... well my yard is covered in some kind of weed / clover thing right now. I need to get the weed killer spread out there and get it cleaned up. Never enough time.


----------



## Spiffyfish (Jan 30, 2014)

I must need to upgrade my lighting too, I'm running 2 current USA plus but not the pro model. My S.Repens leaves are not as broad as yours. I think my lights aren't up to par though. I also ordered a set of the Jardli pipes and the darn skimmer is impossible to get working properly without it bouncing up and down or sucking in air.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yah I have the mid range model on my tanks with Crypts, Anubias, Java fern. Seems OK for them but anything else I think you need the Plus Pro. Good lights but I hate the naming scheme. I wish they just numbered them and called them the 100, 200, 300 or something easy like that.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Just 36 hours after adding the second Eheim with Seachem Purigen the water is almost crystal clear. Wish I had done this sooner. 

Crystal Clear Water by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Took about a million photos with my Nikon trying to get a reed tetra in focus. Not an easy task as they move fast and the camera makes them skittish. This was the best I could get. A trio of males were displaying for each other in their adorable little mock battles and I got a decent snap of one of them almost in focus. 

Hyphessobrycon elachys (male) by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Spiffyfish (Jan 30, 2014)

I may ditch the current USA all together it's kind of a pain with two sitting on top of the tank and getting inside the tank. I want to wait a little bit and see the reviews on the new aqua illumination lights for freshwater. Your tank is looking really good.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Thanks! Not really a fan of lights that are suspended over the tank in any way. It looks nice but I find that they always blind me when I am sitting in front of the tank trying to enjoy it. Not really sure how people manage it to be honest.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Short video of the tank in action. I love the way the Pogostemon erectus sways in the flow of the second filter.


----------



## LRJ (Jul 31, 2014)

Great looking tank and excellent fish selection. Don't know how I missed this tank before.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Got my ball joint Eheim connector for the second filter and new Eheim Installation set modifiable spray bar for the original filter today. 

The spray bar that came with it is attached via a very rigid piece of 16/22 tubing that makes it impossible to rotate at all. When I set it up it was sort of directed down into the tank which contributed to the film on the surface. 

The Eheim installation sets are pretty cool and you have more options when using them. The spray bar will now be made up of 4 separate segments that can all be rotated in different directions so I can have some skimming the water surface and some angled down into the tank. Sadly the tubing where it attaches to the hose that connects to the filter is about 2 inches shorter than the existing one so I don't have enough hose to attach it. Arrrrgh. I had a feeling this would happen and thought about ordering some new hose but I got cheap and didn't. New hose won't arrive until Monday. Oh well. I will be plenty busy setting up my new 33 long and when the new shipment of plants arrive (probably tomorrow). 

Eheim Ball Joint Hack by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

I hadn't seen that. That is exactly what I need for my 11.4 Gertrude tank. With the spray bar all facing the same direction there is more current and disruption than I want. I took off the spray bar and just let it come straight out of the tube, but that really moves the substrate around and blows the sand out of areas. Good find


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Feeding time in the tank. The food pellets always end up under the plants. My Amano shrimp are pretty bold now and get in on the action too. I ordered some more to replace the ones that got sucked into the skimmer.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

A lot of work today rescaping and trimming in 3 of my tanks. It really is a wet, miserable, back-breaking job to scape a tank isn't it?

Here is a before of the 40 breeder. I removed the Cyperus helferi (put it 2 other tanks) because I felt like the background was unbalanced. I wanted the entire background to be stem plants and I felt like I needed more red on the right to balance out the left.

Before rescape and trim by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Here is an aerial view of the right side of the tank with the Cyperus removed. From above you can see that it really isn't that big a space and I kind of wish I was working with a 75 gallon instead of a 40 gallon! You can also see how thick and lush the H. pinnatifida is growing in and on the driftwood. Since the trim I did it is sending out lots of new runners. It is very orange when viewed from the front because the underside of the leaves and stems are visible but from above it is a beautiful deep green. 

Cyperus helferi removed by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

All three new plants are tissue culture from Aqua Forest in San Francisco. This one cup of Rotala sp. 'H'Ra' ($9.99) gave me 13 clumps. Also got Miriophyllum sp. mini Guyana (I think about 20 clumps. I had to put some of the leftover in another tank) and Ludwigia 'Pantanal' (not as vigorous or well rooted. We'll see if it makes it).

Tissue cultured Rotala sp. 'H'Ra' by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

And finally an aerial view of the entire tank with the new little plants added on the right. Look at that Pogostemon erectus in the center of the tank. Is there anything more beautiful? I am so in love with it. Also from this view you can see why so many people love having open top tanks. The plants really are very pretty from above. But not me. I hate dealing with evaporation. 

New plants from above by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

While I was working on the tank I also gave the Nesaea a trim. The Staurogyne needs a trim as well but I think I am going to use the cuttings in my new 33 long when I set it up so I think I will wait a bit. 

Tiring day but I hope it pays off and the right side of the tank will fill in quickly.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Tweaked the light intensity a few days ago. 
Sunlight 85 (+5)
Full Spectrum 80 (same)
Crisp Blue 70 (-10)
Deep Water 90 (+10)

Did a slight increase in bubbles per second on the Co2 as well.

Plants have started pearling now. H. pinnatifida quite heavily (since it was pruned). But R. wallichii and S. repens leaves are always covered in bubbles before lights out and L. repens 'Super Red' is pearling lightly. 

Installed the new Eheim Spray Bar. Quite a pain getting under my tank and adjusting the filters because of the position of the tank in the corner and my 29 quarantine next to it but I managed. 

Picture of the tank at 65 days.

40 gallon planted aquarium day 65 by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

And I just realized I don't really take side view pics because the 29 partially obscures it but this gives an idea of how it looks from the side.

40 gallon planted aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Ordered some Fissidens for this tank which should arrive by Monday.


----------



## mbkemp (Dec 15, 2016)

Very nice. I really like the concolor with the red tetras and black phantoms


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Got 3 pieces of Fissidens fontanus on stainless steel mesh screen and wrapped them around my hornwood. I am hoping that this method will work. I am not a huge fan of gluing plants to hardscape because it leaves little white globs if you change your mind later. 

Ordered from Buce on their Black Friday sale and my shipment was supposed to come Saturday via Priority Mail but the Saturday mail man got lazy and decided he didn't want to deliver to my house and lied and said there was no access. I literally stood watching him do a U-turn on my street and go stop at two houses up the block. I should have run after him. Anyway my poor plants were in their box for 5 days because of this and I was really concerned but luckily they all seem OK. Thankfully I live in CA and it has been cold but not freezing.

Fissidens fontanus by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Just added 24 Amano shrimp and 7 crystal red and crystal black shrimp to the tank. The crystal shrimp are tiny and the black phantom tetras did eat at least one from my original order so they may all get eaten. But there are a number still alive from that order (some of them are full quite large now) so hopefully some will make it.

Was going back and forth between getting more shrimp or going with checkerboard cichlids at some point and for now the shrimp have won.


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

24 Amano shrimp in just this tank?? I'd love to add some to all my tanks, but at $3 a piece and none surviving so far I'm hesitant. I think I added 3 or 4 at a time. I may try to pick some up tomorrow now that I'm thinking about it. How do you gaurantee that all those shrimp are getting food? Tetras of every type are voracious eaters.
I've always wanted a big group of dicrossus filamentosus, but they are hard to come by unless you do out of state shipping. They are gorgeous and with as small as they are you could probably get a pretty cool community going on in a 40 gallon. I'm going to keep my eyes open for them. I'd like to get 8-10 for my lower 75 gallon. I can't raise the temp to 80* for GBR's or EBR's and I've killed enough $50 pairs of Apisto's.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Initially I bought 10 Amanos and 6 crystal red/crystal black but I lost a bunch of them to surface skimmer of doom. Since I am no longer using that I figured it is safe. The remaining shrimp have grown quite large in a short time and are happily roaming the tank. There are at least 3 Amano left from the first batch and 3 or 4 crystal shrimp. I am hoping that they will do a lot of grazing of algae and detritus on the plants but I also do drop in sinking pellets for the Corydoras and I have seen the shrimp get in on that feeding frenzy. Also when I feed the fish golden pearls I mix it up in a cup of water first so it ends up in the water column instead of just floating on the surface and no doubt some of that makes its way to them. I dunno are shrimp big eaters? I had red cherry shrimp and Amanos in a pretty over stocked tank of Asian fish once and they did well.

One of the large older Amanos already found his way to the Fissidens.

Amano shrimp found the new Fissidens fontanus pretty quickly by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Pretty much everything is pearling to some degree by the end of the evening. Was trying to get a good photo of the Rotala wallichii but it is further back in the aquarium and I have a harder time getting the camera to focus on it because the fish keep photobombing. This one came out OK. 

Pearling on Rotala wallichii by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## planted101 (Dec 13, 2015)

I'm really amazed at how healthy your plants look, especially with a simple sand substrate. I always thought some kind of aquasoil and special substrate fertilizers were needed. My next tank will just have sand like yours  

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk


----------



## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

I've got to say, this is one of the fastest nicest starts to a tank I have seen. Only a little over two months and quite impressive. Nice looking healthy plants and presentation. 

Well done!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

planted101 said:


> I'm really amazed at how healthy your plants look, especially with a simple sand substrate. I always thought some kind of aquasoil and special substrate fertilizers were needed. My next tank will just have sand like yours
> 
> Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk


Yeah I just prefer sand. I prefer the look, it holds the stem plants really well, and I didn't like the way that Aquasoil broke down. So far all the plants I have been growing in it do just fine. Including all the Crypts I have grown which some say are heavy root feeders.

Bump:


Greggz said:


> I've got to say, this is one of the fastest nicest starts to a tank I have seen. Only a little over two months and quite impressive. Nice looking healthy plants and presentation.
> 
> Well done!


Thanks that means a lot. I am so pleased with how things have been going. Of course you should have seen my first high tech attempts a few years ago. The results were rather grim! But I was determined to make it work! Now that I sort of have an idea how things work I have lots of ideas and plans for tanks in the future.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Day 72 (about 10 weeks!). Tank is still looking good. The new plants are filling in nicely on the back right side but they probably won't be visible for another week or two. There is a very light amount of thread algae on some plant leaves but I think it will stay contained. Some of the driftwood is a bit green but the Amano shrimp are constantly grazing on it (new shrimp look to be settling in well), there is a bit of green spot algae on the front left glass but I will scrape it off with the next water change. 

I need to do another trim on the tank. Probably this weekend and then I will do a water change early next week (I need to go fill my RO water jugs). 

40 gallon planted aquarium day 72 by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Close up of the Staurogyne repens:

Staurogyne repens by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

My first attempt at Amano's in the top tank didn't go well. I found about 5 pink shrimps in 5 days. Haven't seen one since. I've added 5 or 6 to the lower tank and only 1 didn't make it. It was dead within a couple hours. Have you lost any? How are you acclimating them?


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I just drop them in. I don't acclimate them. I got so many and there are so many hiding places but I see them all over the tank so I think most of them are fine. Even the little crystal shrimp that I thought might get eaten I have seen a number of them.


----------



## Ben Belton (Dec 12, 2008)

I think that is the biggest fattest healthiest Staurogyne repens I have ever seen.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Ben Belton said:


> I think that is the biggest fattest healthiest Staurogyne repens I have ever seen.


Your comment came just in time for a brutal hair cut! 

I trimmed all the _Staurogyne repens_ and all the stem plants (except the _P. erectus_). Replanted a few stems of Staurogyne to fill in some areas to make a denser carpet and added a few stems on the right to see how it looks (might remove it in the future if it is too much). The _Rotala wallichii_ grows so fast so I cut it way back and replanted the tops. Added a few midsection cuts too to see if I will get some branching and more stems. It is at times like this I wish I had an extra planted tank with room. Maybe something to think about for the future. Just a planted grow out tank. Though that would end up just being something extra I would have to maintain so maybe not the best idea!

40 Gallon Aquarium After Trim by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

While I was trimming I took some more photos from above. The left side of the tank showing the new Staurogyne stems I added:

Aerial view of the left side after trim by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

And the back right to check on the growth of the newly added stem plants. _Rotala_ 'H'Ra' looks excellent and I think in another week or two will be visible from the front. _Myriophyllum_ Guyana is looking nice too. _Ludwigia_ 'Pantanal' looks like it is deserving of its reputation for being difficult and looks a bit sad. Not sure it will make it. Oh well. It was worth a shot.

Aerial view of the new plantings at the back of the right side by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

When plants are growing really well it always makes me a bit nervous to hack them back or rip them out and replant but it has to be done. The more experience you have doing it the easier it gets. When I first started gardening I never wanted to move or even touch the plants in my garden but now I am always ripping things out and moving them around with wild abandon. Obviously this won't work with some trees or shrubs but any small shrubs, perennials, or succulents it is usually not a big deal. It isn't always easy to get the placement right. Especially when you are not familiar with a plant. So sometimes tweaks are needed.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Close up view of the hatchet job I did. It looks pretty grim now but they should grow back even thicker than before. And it was overdue. Cutting them back helped to get out the detritus that had collected in their dense growth. 

Closeup of cut back Staurogyne repens by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

It's really filling in and looks amazing. Any chance of pics of the Kribs and their tank? Are the two tanks with logs the only planted ones?

The hygro Pinnetifida is looking awesome. Apparently you figure out what it likes.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I have 7 tanks. The 40 breeder, the 33 long, 46 and 36 gallon bowfronts, a 29 quarantine tank (that is home to some rainbowfish and rasboras), and 2 small Betta tanks. 

This is the 46 and 36. The kribs and African tetras are in the left tank and the right tank has keyhole cichlids and South American tetras. You can see the reflection of the 40 breeder in them because they are on the other side of the fish room from it. 

Planted 46 and 36 gallon bowfront tanks. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Those are fantastic... I love the variation in plants and hardscape between them.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I am reasonably happy with them. Especially considering the awful state they were in 6 months ago (I had let the Co2 tank run out for a while. The tank on the right had absolutely no plants in it and had BBA the tank on the left just had that big Crinum and the Bolbitis was in a sad state without Co2). But these bowfront tanks are not the easiest sizes to scape in. The 36 in particular I am not fond of. Once I get more settled I would like to replace them with a pair of 65 gallons or something along those lines.


----------



## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

*40 Breeder High Tech*

Hey @Triport , great looking tank. Any idea of what par range you are running with the two lights? I am going to be changing my lighting for two 24/7 cc’s on my 40 breeder and am trying to figure how much par I could achieve. I know they are not the same but not far off either. Trying to figure what the par differences are from one light to two. I know it’s not exactly linear but could be close. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I only know what they say on their website. About 70 PAR at 18" and this tank is 17". I am not running them at full strength either. No idea what the two combined make it. I looked at the 24/7 but thought that feature was a bit of a gimmick and preferred the slimmer style of the Current USA lights. The 24/7 might be a bit brighter at full strength though, no?


----------



## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

*40 Breeder High Tech*



Triport said:


> I only know what they say on their website. About 70 PAR at 18" and this tank is 17". I am not running them at full strength either. No idea what the two combined make it. I looked at the 24/7 but thought that feature was a bit of a gimmick and preferred the slimmer style of the Current USA lights. The 24/7 might be a bit brighter at full strength though, no?




60-70 par at the same height. The new cc 24/7 allows you to customize the intensities throughout the 24/7 mode which I like. If I don’t use the 24/7 mode I still like being able to adjust the power for $129.99 per light. Hoppy had said the values could be approaching double in light spread cross over but I’m not sure (hopefully not misquoting him) 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## lbacha (Apr 13, 2011)

I have 2 48" 24/7's se's (non adjustable ones) over my 75g. I added the second because the par of 1 was pretty low. I tested it right under the light and it was 100 par at full strength. When I measured at the bottom of the tank it was in the 20's. Not sure 70 at 18" is possible


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

lbacha said:


> I have 2 48" 24/7's se's (non adjustable ones) over my 75g. I added the second because the par of 1 was pretty low. I tested it right under the light and it was 100 par at full strength. When I measured at the bottom of the tank it was in the 20's. Not sure 70 at 18" is possible
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




You’re saying the 48” 24/7 par is 100 directly under the light? 20 par at 18” (my tank is 16”)? I would say your par meter is misreading by a bit. Maybe not modified for LED. I say this from fairly consistent par readings from many sources which put the par at over 400 1” from light, 100 at 10” and 60 give or take at 16”. Possibly your meter or your light are messed up in some way 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## lbacha (Apr 13, 2011)

*40 Breeder High Tech*

It was tested with a seneye while not the greatest it's fairly accurate. I will retest and post up the results it was a while ago when I first got the seneye so maybe I'm mistaken.

I will slide the unit along the strip since location will effect results at 1". 

I have a reef running a SB reef black box and a planted tank with a Kessil a160we tuna sun and it definitely doesn't put out the light that those two fixtures do. (Not fair comparison I know) with 2 fixtures I have a lot less shadowing and much brighter coverage so shadowing could have effected my 18" results.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

lbacha said:


> It was tested with a seneye while not the greatest it's fairly accurate. I will retest and post up the results it was a while ago when I first got the seneye so maybe I'm mistaken.
> 
> I will slide the unit along the strip since location will effect results at 1".
> 
> ...




I hope you’re mistaken lol. I’m hoping to be on the med/high to higher light with the two fixtures on a 40 breeder. Take a look at 
https://youtu.be/UJsYweqNtig
And tell me if you see anything wrong or that would cause false high readings. I have done research but don’t own a par meter soooo... 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## lbacha (Apr 13, 2011)

I'll test it tonight for you since I have the 2 fixtures I should be able to give some comparable results


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

*40 Breeder High Tech*



lbacha said:


> I'll test it tonight for you since I have the 2 fixtures I should be able to give some comparable results
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




“Finnex Planted+ 24/7: 35.8 watts; 108 LEDs total; adjustable color spectrum; adjustable brightness; [email protected]”; [email protected]”; unknown degree lenses; 6 month warranty; Potential issues: Not fully sealed; moisture issues with board and LEDs”

This was written by @Seattle_Aquarist and was a smaller light so the larger 36” or 48” would have slightly higher values. Let me know what your readings are when you have time. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Day 79. Definitely some algae forming which I attributed to the fact that I stopped dosing Excel when I added the Fissidens and then I realized it has almost been a month since my last water change! With 7 tanks it is easy to lose track. I got a little dry erase board for my fridge so I can keep track of water changes and filter cleaning of all my tanks and see at a glance who is overdue. TDS is up to 395ppm! So I made up a batch of RO water and will do a 50% water change tomorrow. May do another one in a few days as well.

The algae is mostly on the back and side glass and a the hornwood so not that bad yet. Though there is some forming on plant leaves too. Hopefully some water changes will get things back on track. Otherwise things are still going well. Everything is responding well to the pruning I did the other day. Within a week or two it will probably be time for a prune on the Pogostemon erectus (which I am kind of dreading because it looks so perfect now). 

40 gallon planted aquarium day 79 by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## klibs (May 1, 2014)

lettin that s repens go buck wild


----------



## underH20garden (Dec 19, 2017)

very nice tank bud! just read the whole thread.
great growth amazing progress shots. very inspiring!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

New video of the Corys eating an earthworm pellet.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Going away for a few days for Christmas so I did another water change on this tank. Here is my water change setup in action. That is my low tech glass bottom "quarantine" tank on the left. 

Water change on my high tech planted aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

I am curious to see how the tank will do without any fertilizing or feeding for almost a week. What am I going to come home to next week? Should be interesting. Especially since the P. erectus is just starting to reach the surface. I don't have time to deal with it before I live though. 

Here is the picture for week 86. 

40 gallon planted aquarium Day 86 by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

The bare bottom QT tank is just brilliance... I somehow havent considered a piece of driftwood with some java fern. Even your QT tanks look awesome! 
What are you doing about feeding? We left at 4am Friday. I fed right before I left (especially concerned about the Gertrude fry) and I have a friend coming over Sat, Sun, Mon, and Tues to feed each tank a single time with preportioned amounts.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

The Dude1 said:


> The bare bottom QT tank is just brilliance... I somehow havent considered a piece of driftwood with some java fern. Even your QT tanks look awesome!
> What are you doing about feeding? We left at 4am Friday. I fed right before I left (especially concerned about the Gertrude fry) and I have a friend coming over Sat, Sun, Mon, and Tues to feed each tank a single time with preportioned amounts.


Nothing! The fish are on their own. Hopefully they will be OK.


----------



## mbkemp (Dec 15, 2016)

I have left pogo erectus for a week a few times. As long as it gets light it should be good. Last summer I had some hair algae so I left it dark. It melted, disaster 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

Tank looks great!! Hopefully it'll fair well while you travel


----------



## Chondropython (Dec 27, 2017)

Great thread... thanks for posting and getting me inspired!


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

You back yet?


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Just got back. Tanks all look decent and I don't really see any fish missing (without doing a full inventory on the very populated tanks which is almost impossible) so I think it is was definitely fine to leave them without even an automatic feeder. Definitely some encroaching algae issues on this tank and the Corydoras tank and this tank is getting pretty overgrown. I'll have to deal with that in the upcoming week. Got to visit The Wet Spot which is always nice. Good to see some of the fish I have been considering getting in person.


----------



## NueoK (Oct 24, 2017)

Great setup! Thanks for posting this for us to see


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Triport said:


> Just got back. Tanks all look decent and I don't really see any fish missing (without doing a full inventory on the very populated tanks which is almost impossible) so I think it is was definitely fine to leave them without even an automatic feeder. Definitely some encroaching algae issues on this tank and the Corydoras tank and this tank is getting pretty overgrown. I'll have to deal with that in the upcoming week. Got to visit The Wet Spot which is always nice. Good to see some of the fish I have been considering getting in person.


That would be AWESOME! I may be confusing Wetspot with another retailer, but don't they ship directly from their Florida fish farm?? I knew they had a retail location. Do they have there full selection at the store? It must be huge


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Their other fish warehouse is right in Portland. Not sure exactly where but probably not far from the store. Somewhere near the airport no doubt. Sometimes they pull fish right from the store for orders but I think mostly they come from the other facility. The store is pretty great. All fresh water. Most of the fish from their list are there and display tanks and hardgoods. They had a really nice selection of plants this time too. Generally it is busy enough that you have to put your name on a list and they will call you when they get to you sort of thing. I wish I could take photos but they have a sign up front saying no photography without the owners permission. There are a few Youtube videos online though.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Day 93! It held up pretty well while I was away for 6 days for Christmas. I am finally going to have to prune the P. erectus and the H. pinnatifida is getting a bit out of control and is escaping the confines of the hornwood. Kind of hard to believe I couldn't get this plant to grow in the past. New plants still haven't haven't made an appearance on the right side. Doing well but that Rotala is is spreading sideways rather than up. 

There is a bright fluorescent green algae coating the surfaces of the hornwood that I am not really sure how to deal with. Otocinclus and Amano shrimp don't seem to be making a dent. I don't think I really want any more vigorous algae eaters so maybe I will dim the lights a bit?

40 gallon planted aquarium day 93 by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Wow... that looks just incredible..


----------



## Spiffyfish (Jan 30, 2014)

Looking good!


----------



## planted101 (Dec 13, 2015)

Previously I had fluval stratum at the back of my tank for plants and Caribsea light sand at the front as a "beach" for my cories. But they always made a mess by mixing both. I was inspired by your setup to swap out all of my ugly fluval stratum with more caribsea light sand. No more worries about my cories being messy! 

Sent from my Redmi Note 4 using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah every time I see someone mixing sand with other substrate I am like "WTF? How does that even work?" I have never had a tank where the substrate didn't get moved somehow. It just seems like it would be a hassle to keep nice.


----------



## StevieD (Jun 17, 2017)

I am using Turface in my planted tank and have had excellent results, low tech lighting and no CO2.

I was able to pick up 50lb of it for $19:99 but I have seen it online at a lot higher price than that so it is always worth calling around.

Thrive added per the instructions along with 50% water changes once a week seems to be doing the trick for me.

Infield Conditioners | Turface Athletics 

It does seem odd that some people can use the same and their results are not as good, not sure why. Maybe it is just down to the local water.

Normally I use rainwater filtered and heated for 24 hours, the ph when brought into the house is running between 5.4 and 7. So checking it is a necessity.

Really enjoying this thread!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Day 100! The tank is very overgrown at the moment because as soon as I returned from my holiday trip I got the flu and was pretty much in bed for a week. I fell really behind and all sorts of things have gone wrong during this period so I am not sure when I am going to get a chance to clean things up in any of my tanks. I have to try to get RO water on Monday at least because I am out of that too.

40 gallon planted aquarium day 100 by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Might be a bit overgrown, but still looking great.

I really do like this tank. Creates a nice mood.


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

So you're knocked down for a week, everything goes wrong, and you fall behind on your tanks and this is the result?! On top of that every time I get excited about a fish or idea you already have it... I think that amounts to envy.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

107 days! So overgrown. I wanted to deal with this tank but instead had to focus on my 36 bowfront. For the third time my Hydor filter has failed to keep a cycle on that tank and I had a nitrite spike (a single Nerite snail was the only casualty this time. I usually catch it fast and dose with Prime to protect the fish). Got an Eheim classic to replace the Hydor and removed a big Aponogeton and Nyphoides 'Taiwan' to open the tank up so flow isn't restricted. Hopefully I won't have any more problems with that tank. Now I have to address the overgrown plants in this tank.

Planted 40 gallon Aquarium Day 107 by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Well this is what my tank looked like with 6 weeks of neglect and the next pic right after a brutal maintenance and water change. Between traveling for the holidays, getting the flu, and then falling way behind with work projects all I had time to do was fertilize and feed my fish. It doesn't take long for stem plants in a high tech tank to get completely out of hand without regular maintenance. 

I am in the process of possibly buying this house (or another one) and will have to make some decisions on how many tanks I want, what sizes, and what fish and plants will inhabit them. After dealing with this I am leaning towards simpler scapes with few stem plants and much lower maintenance. 

We'll see how things go but at least I had a few glorious months of a beautiful high tech planted aquarium.

Completely Overgrown by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

After a much needed trim by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Ive been waiting on a update. Give it a few days and its going to look awesome again. Maintaining nice looking stems requires more time than I'm willing to spend, but they do look nice!


----------



## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Wow that is quite the before and after photo there.......Six weeks is a LONG time in planted tank terms.

Good luck with whatever direction you go.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

About a week of growth on the trimmed plants. Still some work needed to tidy things up. May let things grow a bit and take tip cuttings and replant of the Pogotstemon erectus and Ludwigia.or down the line may just replace them with new tc plants. We'll see how things work out. 

Since pruning at least some Amano shrimp are now visible though I haven't seen any of the crystal shrimp and suspect the black phantom tetras ate them while I was out of town. 

In the past month I have also switched from the Seachem line of ferts to Thrive (shrimp safe version so I don't have to do weekly water changes). Seachem works great I was just too lazy to continue keeping track of which fert on which day. 

Almost a week after cleanup. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Two weeks after cleanup and trim. I really need another water change and have to manually remove some of the string algae that has formed. There is also a film of green dust on the surface of the water since the plants had started growing emersed when they got overgrown. Almost looks like pollen. Kind of strange. 

Tank starting to come around after trimming and cleanup. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Wanted to thank you - your aquascaping skills have been inspirational to me for setting up my 40b tank. 


Great job!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Thank you. That's so nice.


----------



## Alonso14 (Feb 5, 2018)

Beautiful tank you have Triport I have been amazed reading this journal thank you for shearing your experience 
especially those detailed picture where we can see the progress of this journey.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Due for another pruning and water change. Since it became overgrown the surface has been covered with a film of oil, algae, and small green spore-like dust. I bought a little Azoo skimmer but that didn't do a thing. So I brought my stainless steel intake skimmer out of storage and put it back to use. Cleared it up in less than an hour and so far the filter is working without getting air trapped inside. I may put it back into full time use but I am not sure I have room under the cabinet (already have an Eheim Pro and Eheim classic 2215 under there plus the Reactor and Co2 tank). Right now I just have it temporarily set up in front of the tank. 

I am considering removing all the plants on the left side of the tank and starting with new tc plants. Maybe just one or two varieties not planted as densely. 

Surface skimmer by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Ordered some tc of Ludwigia glandulosa and Ludwigia arcuata to replace the plants on the back left. Maybe not that clear from these photos but they are a bit algae covered and raggedy these days and have about a million aerial roots in a big tangle. I'd like to start fresh. When they arrive I'll do a water change and clean up of this tank.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

So fed up with bloody equipment. Something always goes wrong. Pulled out all the stem plants on the left side of the tank to get rid of all the gross goopy algae I was having a problem with, trimmed everything else as well, did a big water change, went to clean the Eheim Pro and the stupid thing broke. Some tiny little part got disconnected and I couldn't get it working again and I got fed up trying to figure it out and ended up tossing everything in the garage to deal with later. Of course this screws up my reactor and inline heater too because they fit that 5/8" tubing. I ended up ordering another Eheim Classic 2215 and new ISTA heater for the time being. 

Added the new Ludwigia tc plants on the left side of the tank. At least the algae is all dealt with and the tank should clear up when I get the new filter going. UGH. 

I've been trying to decide what sort of fish room I am going to have if I buy this place or if I move and more and more I am thinking I will be simplifying things. Fish focus rather than plant focused tanks and put the focus on plants back out in my garden where it belongs. Outdoor gardens are so much easier to deal with (though I do have a pair of deer that have found my garden recently that are pissing me off. Ah well here is the tank now. We'll see how things go in the next few weeks.

Cleanup and rescape of the 40 breeder by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

Thats why I don't clean my filter. 

... 

I kid. I kid. I'm sorry for your filter woes. In actuality, I confess that rarely do clean my filter because I've been subscribing to the, "it's just a water circulator," camp. I have nothing in it but its poret looking foam that it came with and I have pre-filter that I do clean when it starts to restrict flow. I suppose all that will change once I change over to the stainless in/outs that I copied from you -- that you've used and stopped using ^^;; . Would you believe I STILL haven't implemented them yet? I mean, what I have currently works, so I loathe to upset it.

Still envious of your crypt flamingo. Kudos to you for managing to have it look so good. I finally managed to get some dennerle tissue culture of it but .. eh, it's very very slow growing. Might have even had a melt...


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

This Flamingo grew really fast for some reason. I guess maybe it was a larger clump. I just trimmed off the old algae covered leaves to make it look pinker. I do have a few others in my 33 that have been fairly slow but are doing well. 

I did use the stainless steel skimmer on this tank again for about a week to clear off the surface film but it started trapping air in the filter again so I removed it. The surface scum in this case was a goopy algae film so I managed to get it out with the plants I removed.

My new philosophy is going to be "Keep it simple". With less money spent on fancy equipment and fewer moving parts I think I will reduce a lot of stress in my life.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Took some photos of the tank from above so you can see how much I have increased the Pogotstemon helferi by taking cuttings and the new stem plants (Ludwigia arcuata and Ludwigia glandulosa) are visible on the left as well. I think in the future if stem plants get to be too much of a maintenance headache I wouldn't mind doing a tank just with hardscape and some low groundcovers like Staurogyne repens and Pogostemon helferi. They are easy and beautiful once they get going and don't require too much work. 


I just set up Co2 with a diffuser now and the new filter should arrive in the next few days. 

Aerial view of 40 gallon aquarium after trim and cleanup by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Aerial view of 40 gallon aquarium after trim and cleanup by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Rotala bounces back pretty quickly from a brutal hack job. Rotala H'Ra is already looking pretty nice. Not visible in the photo yet but Ludwigia glandulosa is looking pretty good but I am not sure about Ludwigia arcuata. Since taking this photo I got my second Eheim 2215 and hooked my stainless steel skimmer back up. It did a great job clearing up the surface (which was starting to get really grody) and once the air bubble noise started driving me nuts I adjusted the intake to draw from the strainer rather than the top. I guess in the future I can just adjust it short term if more surface scum forms. 

A little over a week after trim and cleanup Rotala H'Ra is starting to look nice again. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

The tank today. Stainless steel intake surface skimmer visible now. I am pretty happy with it now. The Ludwigias on the left are starting to peek up over the Staurogyne and Pogostemon. Rotala H'Ra continuing to look awesome. Still some hair algae on the Fissidens that is kind of a drag and today I scraped some algae off the front and side glass. I think I will try to do another water change next week on this tank. I wish I had time to do weekly water changes but I just have too many tanks and too much going on. I did a big clean on my 33 Cory tank the other day but my other 3 tanks in my fish room are a bit of a mess and in need of some TLC.

40 gallon planted tank by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

It's really looking fantastic. Everything has filled in perfectly and the stems have maintained their lower sections.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Not too much change in the past week. Going to try to do another water change in the next few days. Need to try to get rid of the algae infesting the Fissidens. 

40 Gallon High Tech Tank by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## kamla (Feb 17, 2005)

stunning work !!!


----------



## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

I was really... not expecting this when you were talking about the rescape, but it turned out awesome. And again.... Any chance of pics of the other tanks? Taenatus?? Do you have the lamp eye congo's? You have some of the coolest species and I want to do an African theme for my 265. If by chance you do have them, do lamp eye congos nibble on plants like regular congo's? Thinking of ordering a dozen this weekend


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

This is my 46 and 36 bowfronts after much needed plant cleanups and water changes. They had gone far too long without and were really overgrown and algae filled and the water quality was starting to deteriorate. The African fish are in the left tank (except for 8 Otocinclus) and South American fish in the right (except for half a dozen kuhli loaches and 7 female Bettas). 

Not really sure about the Congos and plants as everything I have with them is pretty tough (Bolbitus, Crinum, Apongogetons, Crypts, Anubias). Someone has nibbled on the leaves of the round leaved Anubias in the past but I have never seen the guilty parties in action. I also have 4 Nanaethiops unitaeniatus in the tank and as they have been moved to the family Distichodontidae and are related to the large Distichodus sexfasciatus (known plant eaters) it could well be them that have nibbled. Overall though black beard algae has been a much bigger nemesis to the Anubias than any of the fish. But softer leaved stem plants may be a problem with Congos especially if they go hungry for some reason (I had my old Congos mow down some Vals when I went away for a week when normally they left them alone). 

The tanks is way too small for this amount of large African tetras (aside from the 11 lamp-eye tetras there is a big male Alestes tetra, a male yellow-tailed Congo and several other African tetra species plus a few other fish. I will probably be buying a house in the next 6 months or so and hopefully will have more room for a bigger tank but the way things are going with the housing market here I may not have the money for a bigger tank for a while after I move! But so far all the fish seem OK. I think the Congos would grow bigger in a larger tank though.

Water change, clean up, and trim of the 36 and 46 gallon tanks by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Another trim and 50% water change. The Rotala H'Ra was so beautiful before I trimmed it. The top sides are coppery orange and bottoms of the leaves are pink. All 3 clumps of Fissidens are pretty badly infested with string algae. I tried to cut as much out as I could but if it keeps coming out I may get rid of them. Tiny bit of BBA in some of the older Staurogyne that I trimmed out as well. Definitely not sure the Ludwigia arcuata is going to take off. It is still alive but looks really bad. May replace it in a week or two if it doesn't start to look like anything. Ludwigia glandulosa is slow but at least what is growing is nice and healthy looking. 

40 gallon planted aquarium after a trim and water change by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

So my problem is I always overdo things and get overextended. I have 5 tanks which is way too many to take care of. Especially in the winter and spring when my focus becomes my outdoor garden (since as I have said before I am a garden designer). So in all honesty a high tech planted tank is too much work for me but I am very glad that mine looked glorious for about 5-6 months. 

But sadly it is over now. The tank was so neglected and overgrown (I wish I had remembered to take a before pic) that I had to remove almost all the plants. The only things left are the Pink Flamingo Crypt and the Lagenandra (which is a really cool plant by the way). There are still some remnants of Staurogyne and there are still a lot of bits of rotting vegetation so I have been running my Magnum micron filter the past few days and I am going to do another water change tomorrow and remove the hardscaping, clean it, and rescape. I am going to keep it very simple and go back to the original idea of having this be a Corydoras tank. I am also breaking down my 33 long in my bedroom because it is just too much of a hassle having a tank in a separate part of the house and that tank (probably because I bought some Crypts from Ebay) has a horrible infestation of BBA. But the Corydoras are cool and deserve a nicer home. 

So the 40 breeder currently has 6 C. concolor and 6 C. loretoensis all doing well. 

From the 33 long I will be adding 5 C. eques, 5. C. weitzmani, 1 C. semiaquilus and 3 Scleromystax barbatus. 
From my 36 I will be adding some really nice Corys I have had for a long time. 3 C. duplicareus, 2 C. Cw010 (gold laser), and 4 C. sterbai. 

May add some more in the future. We'll see. Trying to simplify things because I am going to be moving at some point (hopefully in the next year if things work out). 

40 Gallon aquarium after severe cleaning by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Sorry to hear about your algae problems that prompted you to redo your tank but I'm sure your new scape will be a work of art in no time! Your cory's will certainly enjoy the added room plus all the open space!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeesh. I'm a mess. Did another water change today trying to get out as much of the roots and rotting plant matter as I could. Removed the remaining plants and trimmed off the algae infested leaves and took out all the hardscape and cleaned them too. 

Decided I would partially refill the tank before I attempt a rescape and lost my grip on the glass top as I was putting it back on. It fell in the tank and got stuck and I was standing there awkwardly trying to get it out while a pump is filling the tank back up and splashing water all over. Finally get the glass situated and see blood on it and my first thought was "OMG I killed one of my fish. It must have crushed him!" Then I realize the blood is mine and I badly cut a finger on the glass. Later on I realized I actually cut 3 fingers so my hand is covered in bandaids. Working with fish water and open wounds is not a good idea so I put the plants back into the tank with my other hand but the rescaping will have to wait until I am healed. OY!

A little sliver of glass from the top right corner of the lid chipped off and I was afraid it fell in the tank but luckily I found it on the floor and disposed of it before I could cut one of my toes open so I guess that is at least some good news.


----------



## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

Oh no! These fish-keeping tasks can be very treacherous! Lol!
Sounds like you did get to far extended on your tanks, this is so easy to do- been there done that. 
I would love to see some pictures of your African tetras and corydoras. 

It would be so cool to have a long tank like you do and fill them up with some of the rarer species.

I just have group of eques, brochis splendens, and bronze, but hope to get some more soon! 
The Barbatus is intriguing to me, really want to try that variety.
Take care of the "war wounds" and hope this all comes together for you soon.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

This is how it looks now. My finger seems to be pretty closed up now so I think I am going to try to sort out the hardscaping tomorrow. The poor Corys are pretty unhappy without places to hide.

40 Gallon Planted Tank Cleanup by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Well I don't think I am going to win any awards but I am pretty happy with the end result of the new scape. Might add a few more plants but the focus now will be on my Corydoras and the other fish. Glad I was able to get this done today because Corydoras concolor and C. loretoensis are very skittish without any place to take cover and every time I walked across the room they would lose their minds. 

Next step will be to start adding the Corydoras from the other aquariums but I will be doing that in phases. 

New 40 Gallon scape by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Sorry to hear about your accident, who would have thought our tanks could be so trecturous? 

Nice that you were able to get your rescape finished and the cories some cover to hang out in.


----------



## Axelrodi202 (Jul 29, 2008)

Where did you find C. loretoensis?


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

All my Corydoras I mail ordered from The Wet Spot in Portland. They have a pretty extensive list and C. loretoensis have been available a few times.

Bump: Here are some of the C. loretoensis back in the earlier days of this tank.

Corydoras loretoensis by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Axelrodi202 (Jul 29, 2008)

Very nice! How have they done for you? I've always thought they are beautiful but for some reason have had an impression that they're a bit delicate.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

No more difficult than any other Cory as far as I can tell. Like I said they are one of the more skittish varieties so they need some cover but out of the 6 I bought last fall all 6 are still alive. Not too expensive either (relative to rarer species). I think they were like $6 each or so.


----------



## kaldurak (May 2, 2010)

Triport said:


> All my Corydoras I mail ordered from The Wet Spot in Portland. They have a pretty extensive list and C. loretoensis have been available a few times.
> 
> Bump: Here are some of the C. loretoensis back in the earlier days of this tank.
> 
> Corydoras loretoensis by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


I love that store. All the things I have purchased from them (fish, shrimp and plants) have all been excellent.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Just ordered some new plants from Buce for this tank (not much, going to keep it fairly sparse) and a bunch of new fish (mostly Corydoras) from The Wet Spot for this tank. After the new fish have settled in I will start moving my Corydoras from two of my other tanks into this tank as well. Meanwhile my C. eques in my 33 long have laid eggs.


----------



## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

Triport said:


> Just ordered some new plants from Buce for this tank (not much, going to keep it fairly sparse) and a bunch of new fish (mostly Corydoras) from The Wet Spot for this tank. After the new fish have settled in I will start moving my Corydoras from two of my other tanks into this tank as well. Meanwhile my C. eques in my 33 long have laid eggs.




Congrats on getting a spawn from the c. eques! Never have got a spawn out of mine. Are your eques in their own tank? The loretoensis are very striking looking - unusual. Are they about the same size as the eques or smaller variety? What other corydoras did you order from Wetspot? 
The tank looks great- perfect for these fish. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

The C. eques are with a group of C. weitzmani, S. barbatus, and a single S. semiaquilus (who murdered the rest of his kind) but I am guessing that the eggs are from the C. eques based on behavior since doing a water change last week. 

I would say that C. loretoensis and C. eques are about the same size. Medium sized species. 

From The Wet Spot I ordered:

C. CW028 Super Schwartzi
C. hastatus (to school with my similar in appearance Hyphessobrycon elachys
C. CW010 Gold Laser (they call them laser orange but the guy that gave them that designation says this is not correct)
C. similis
C. C020 (skunk)
C. adolfoi

The tank is going to be hopping. When I move I would like to upgrade this to maybe a 75 gallon.


----------



## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

Triport said:


> The C. eques are with a group of C. weitzmani, S. barbatus, and a single S. semiaquilus (who murdered the rest of his kind) but I am guessing that the eggs are from the C. eques based on behavior since doing a water change last week.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Nice haul . Please post video when get them. Would love to see the Super Schwartzi ( along with the others, of course) as I haven’t seen anyone with this in their tank besides YouTube videos. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I am so hoping that the Super Schwartzi arrive alive. When I ordered them last fall they all came in dead and I heard others had similar problems. Fingers crossed this time they ship OK as they are one of the fish I am most excited about.


----------



## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

Triport said:


> I am so hoping that the Super Schwartzi arrive alive. When I ordered them last fall they all came in dead and I heard others had similar problems. Fingers crossed this time they ship OK as they are one of the fish I am most excited about.




From Wetspot? Oh wow! 
Maybe it was the group they got. Some parasitic issue or other. 
I’ve never had issues with acclimating sensitive fish from there. 
I’ll bet they were compromised already and transport was the last straw. 



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Possibly but Corydoras also have that poison that they emit when they are upset or scared and are notorious for self-poisoning. So someone might have just not prepared them properly. We'll see. Hopefully it will work out this time because I have coveted them ever since I saw a video of them.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Last video before the big changes to come.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG7x8mIc_bQ&frags=pl,wn

For whatever reason I can't get thumbnails to work anymore.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Added Homalomena Sekadau South (left and center), moved all the Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red' to the right side of the aquarium behind the rocks so hopefully it will bulk up and form a nice clump, some Bucephalandra Green Wavy at the base of the wood pieces, a small Barclaya longifolia hidden on the back left (which I have been wanting for years but it has always been sold out), and I have some TC of Bucephalandra Red Mini that I am going to try to glue to the wood tomorrow when I do a water change. Fish arrive Thursday. 

My33 is really badly infested with BBA so I don't want to bring over any of the plants but there are some Cryptocoryne spiralis 'Tiger' that might be salvageable. I'll have to see when I break down that tank. I may try to move some of the other cool plants to my 36 which also has BBA so I am not worried about infecting it but I would like to keep it out of the 40. 

Overall I want to keep the planting as simple as possible on this tank so the focus is the fish. The 33 long has too much "stuff" in it and half of the Corydoras just hide all day. There are hiding places in this tank but enough open spaces and enough fish that I am hoping that they will feel secure enough to swim out in the open. At any rate this will be a test and in my next build (hopefully a 75 with Corydoras) I may go even simpler if this tank doesn't work out. 

New Plants added to 40 gallon Aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## fiji (Jul 12, 2018)

Those cories look awesome!!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

New fish arrived from The Wet Spot earlier. No DOA so that is a good start! My lights don't come on until 4PM so I am going to just let them acclimate in the dark but I will post photos later.

New species:

Corydoras sp. CW028 (Super Schwartzi) x 5 (to replace the ones that were DOA last fall)

C. hastatus x 10 (which will hopefully school with my Hyphessobrycon elachys)

C. sp. CW010 (Gold Laser)

C. similis (violet cory)

C. sp. C020 (skunk cory)

C. adolfoi

Also a few non Corydoras

Otothyropsis piribebuy

Hyphessobrycon amandae (already have some in my 33 I will eventually move over so I wanted to bolster their numbers).


----------



## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

Triport said:


> New fish arrived from The Wet Spot earlier. No DOA so that is a good start! My lights don't come on until 4PM so I am going to just let them acclimate in the dark but I will post photos later.
> 
> New species:
> 
> ...


Glad to hear no DOA's ( especially sense were concerned for the Super Schwartzi). I think you will get some better vantage on the corydoras in this set-up-especially with lower intensity lighting and the open spaces the graze on sand.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Shot of the new fish at feeding time.

new Corydoras feeding time by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

and link to a Youtube clip:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-u84Xv-BRw&frags=pl,wn


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

All the new fish are doing well. No losses or any signs of disease. Unfortunately two of the gold laser Corydoras are sort of deformed but they are going to give me a credit for them. That is the price of mail ordering fish. You don't get to look them over before you buy them. When I tore down the tank and moved the Lagenandra I removed a lot of roots and the plants have been melting pretty bad. I was worried but the past few days they are all pushing out beautiful new leaves. I have Co2 set up for this tank but haven't been dosing ferts or Excel at all and lowered the lights to 50% strength. We'll see how that works. 

At any rate since the fish look OK I am going to start transferring the corys from the other tanks soon. 

40 gallon aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Corydoras concolor in back with three of the new fish in front. Corydoras sp. (c020), Otothyropsis piribebuy (black oto), and Corydoras similis. The black otos are so cool. Maybe not as exciting as some of the other fancy otos but very active and adorable. 

Corydoras sp. (C020), Otothyropsis piribebuy, Corydoras similis, and Corydoras concolor. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Added the fish from my 33 gallon today. Was going to break the 33 down but the corys laid eggs again (58 of them this time! Probably the C. eques) so I am going to leave it for now and see if they hatch. 

5 Corydoras eques
5 Corydoras weitzmani
1 Corydoras semiaquilus
3 Scleromystax barbatus
10 Hyphessobrycon amandae
2 Otocinclus macrospilus
1 Hypoptopoma sp Peru

The tank is super active now as C. eques swim all over the tank. They spend a lot of time mid water. C. weitzmani have been active too.

Corydoras Aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Here is a new aerial shot of the Corydoras community:

Corydoras community tank view from above by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

On the 14th I added all my fish from my 33 long and on the 15th I added the corys from my 36 bowfront so now all the Corydoras I own are in one tank. A few months ago I would have said that my African tetras tank is my favorite but that has changed to this tank now. It was actually my initial plan when I got this 40 to make an all Corydoras tank but then I decided to go with a high tech planted tank instead. I don't regret that as I finally had a really successful and beautiful planted stem tank but I love the way it is now.

Here is a list of all the species I am keeping in this tank:

Corydoras species - 

Corydoras concolor
Corydoras loretoensis
Corydoras sp. cw028 "Super Schwartzi"
Corydoras hastatus
Corydoras sp. cw010 "Gold Laser"
Corydoras similis
Corydoras sp. c020 "Skunk Cory"
Corydoras adolfoi
Corydoras eques
Corydoras weitzmani
Corydoras semiaquilus
Corydoras duplicareus
Corydoras sterbai
Corydoras pygmaeus
Scleromystax barbatus

Other fish -

Hyphessobrycon elachys
Hyphessobrycon amandae
Hyphessobrycon megalopterus

Otocinclus macrospilus
Otothyropsis piribebuy
Hypoptopoma sp. Peru

and 2 Amano shrimp

Definitely on the over stocked size but it is over filtered and there are no large fish and snub nosed Corydoras aren't at all aggressive or territorial so there are no conflicts. I think everything will be fine as long as I keep on top of water changes. I would love to keep even more species of Corydoras so I can definitely see a 75 gallon or larger in my future when I finally move.

Bump: Oh and of course since this is a planted tank forum I should include the plants in this tank. I almost forgot! It is much simpler than back in its high tech planted days but I still have a few cool things.

Barclaya longifolia 
Homalomena sp. Sekadau South
Bucephalandra sp. 'Green Wavy'
Bucephalandra sp. 'Red Mini'
Lagenandra meeboldi 'Red'
Cryptocoryne sp. 'Flamingo'


----------



## That70sfishboy (Apr 2, 2013)

I love this thread. Those corys are awesome. I'm glad I found this!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Series of unfortunate events lead to some worry. Didn't quarantine some new gold laser Corydoras and unleashed a plague on my tank. Some sort of weird wasting disease. Lost two of them as well as a C. concolor, two C. eques, and a few tetras. While this was going on my Co2 tank ran out and I had a huge explosion of BBA. Coated the leaf margins of plants, covered the wood and rocks completely and was even on the glass and filter pipes. 

Here is a perfect little edge of BBA on my Cryptocoryne 'Pink Flamingo'. It looks like the trim on a fur coat.

Bearded Black Algae outbreak. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Took all the stones out and gave them in soak of bleach and then scrubbed them. Took all the wood and plants out and sprayed them with hydrogen peroxide. Scraped down the glass, replaced the Co2 tank, and started dosing with Excel again. Things are looking much better and hopefully I have things under control now.

Fish are looking OK now too but of course I am going to worry about them for a while.

40 Gallon Corydoras Aquarium after some setbacks by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Tank has been doing well. BBA seems to be gone from the wood. H202 worked well. Still have some come back on the glass over time but it isn't growing back on the wood, rocks, or plants. Yesterday I did a water change and swapped out the Co2 diffuser and sprayed down the tubing with H202. Then removed both filter intakes gave them a good scrub in hot water and rinsed them with H202 as well. Removed the last few large leaves off of my Lagenandra meeboldii that had some BBA on the edges. Crypt. Pink Flamingo is looking rough, didn't like the H202 treatment, but hopefully it will bounce back and grow new leaves from the roots.

Now I just have to hope that Excel and Co2 will keep the BBA at bay. But once you have had it in your tank it is always there just waiting for conditions to worsen so it can get a foot hold again. 

Here is a picture of the Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red' that started out as tiny tissue culture plants a year ago. Such a great plant and well worth growing. The leaves would be a bit more pink/red under higher lighting but I love the intense fluorescent green of the older leaves in my tank.

Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red' by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Not much has changed since I cleaned up the BBA off the filter intakes. Tank is looking pretty good, there is still some BBA on the left pane of glass that I have to get in and scrape off but so far there isn't any showing up on the hardscape or plants. I have just been double dosing Excel. No ferts in this tank so today I decided I am just going to do a once a week Flourish dose and see how that goes. 

Some good news is I bought a house (it has been a five year journey...ugh so stressful). If everything goes smoothly I am closing in about 2 weeks. It has a large downstairs family room with a tile floor that will be my new fish room. I think it is about twice as big as my current fish room which is a smallish mud room off the kitchen. There is a bar and fireplace I am hoping I can afford to get removed (very 70's) and that will give me a lot of room for larger tanks. I am possibly thinking a 5' long 100 gallon tank to replace this one and maybe a 180 for my Congo tetras/west African fish. I'll have to see how much it will cost and if I can actually swing it. (possibly other big tanks in the future...have to get in there and measure the room). It will depend on timing and the ultimate cost of some of the renovations I have to do but hopefully I'll be able to upgrade and move the fish in January or so. Luckily only 4 minutes drive from my current house so moving will be a pain but I plan on just doing lots of little trips and hopefully I can come up with a sensible way to move the tanks and fish. 

40 gallon aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Bought a new house! Closing tomorrow on it. Very exciting as this has been a very stressful five year journey and I get to stay in the town I have lived in for the past 7 years (and love) which I wasn't sure was going to be possible. In fact it is on the same street just 9 blocks east and is on an acre with a private well. Lots of room for new gardens but also a huge downstairs family room with lots of room for larger fish tanks. There is a lot wrong with the house so I am probably a few months from being able to move in but my plan (if budget allows) is to buy either two 150 gallon tanks (60" x 24" x 25" approximate size). One for my Congo tetras and other west African fish and the other for this Corydoras tank. Or possibly if I want to save a little money I might get a 150 for the Congos and go with a 100 (60" x 18" x 24") for this Corydoras tank. Probably going to go with sumps for filtration on both. Was at a lfs this afternoon getting pricing info but it will all come down to how much everything else costs on the house.

Pic of the new fish room below the wall on the left is 17 feet long, the sliding glass doors straight ahead lead to an enclosed courtyard which will be a courtyard garden and the door on the left will lead to my office which has windows out onto the courtyard. Fireplace on the left (and a tacky 70's bar out of frame) I am hoping I can afford to have removed which will leave room for more fish tanks. But we'll see how it goes. 

New House family room by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

Congrats on the new digs! Look forward to seeing the Congo tank and West Afrcian tank. That is right up my alley.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

The poor African tetras have been stuck for far too long in a 46 gallon tank. I can't wait to get them a larger home. And I'll have plenty of room when exciting new species show up for sale.


----------



## furnfins (Dec 30, 2011)

I have just went through most of this thread and wow what you have done with that 40 breeder. I love that size tank and have one now. Dealing with green hair algae. Love all those cory's and can't wait to see when you can finally set up your fish room!
All the best in your new home!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Tank still doing well. Both types of Lagenandra have really taken off. I wonder if I should up the lights a bit to make it more red and compact but I don't want to mess too much with things. Still keeping BBA at bay. I feel like once you have it you will never truly be rid of it and from time to time I remove older leaves where I see it starting to form on the edges, scrape it from the sand line, or remove the wood and sprits it with H2O2. So far it seems mostly under control though. Really hoping I am going to be able to swing upgrading to a 150 gallon when I move. We'll see. Getting estimate for the new house bit by bit. A little overwhelming. 

40 gallon aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

BBA continues to be a struggle. I keep it knocked back for a while but it slowly creeps back. After my last water change I removed all the worst leaves on plants that were edged with it (mostly the clumps of Lagenandra on the right). I removed the rocks and soaked them in a bleach solution overnight, then scrubbed them with a toothbrush, then soaked them again in water with Prime. Removed the wood and sprayed it down with H2O2. 

First pic is of the tank without the rocks. Second with the rocks replaced. When I move I am now leaning toward upgrading this tank to a 100 gallon. I want to keep all the same plants and decorations so I am thinking of removing the fish and doing that whole "One Two Punch" thing on just the plants and wood. I'm not willing to risk doing it while the fish are in the tanks since the Corydoras are so expensive. The water at the new house is going to be 100% RO (instead of my current RO/Tap 50/50 mix I have been doing. I am hoping that will help with the BBA problem though when I transfer the fish it is going to be impossible not to bring over some algae spores. 

At any rate the plants are doing well despite the BBA. Both types of Lagenandra are great and Fissidens has established itself really nicely on several pieces of wood. It even survives the H2O2 spritzing. Not really visible in the photos but along the back right of the tank I have tissue cultured Cryptocoryne spiralis 'Tiger' (or 'Red' or 'Red Tiger' something like that) that is finally starting to grow and get its red markings after a year of pretty much just sitting there and doing nothing. 

40 gallon aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

40 gallon aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

Doin good! Full tank shot still doesn't show BBA so you're good I think  No need to go drastic on that 1-2 punch. Too much risk. Don't use that crutch! Just do some squirting during water change or something. 

Your BBA woes got me thinking. I can tell you to increase CO2 as a kneejerk reaction, but at some point I'm sure you've already tried that, fixed your flow, and probably are topped out. As I am trying to align what I've read in the past couple years, if organics are the trigger, I'm wondering if you are suffering more lately because your plant mass is much less than what it was before, but yet your fauna load has somewhat even increased. Plantbrain used to always preach that if he increased CO2 and applied it properly, he'd rid himself of BBA. At the same time, he preached healthy plants, no algae -- which we've gladly embraced. So, was it that he somehow topped out a certain critical mass via a massive growth spurt that was enabled by proper CO2 that is so efficient at ridding organics that BBA doesn't have a chance to germinate? I mean, we know ridding the spores is a Sisyphean task. So is H2O2. So is cleaning your filters "thoroughly" every week. Well, that's therapeutic to some.. so scratch that for them. I only cleaned my filter last month and probably only more than a year before that, but arguably, my filter is more of a water mover as it only has poret foam in it. I am furiously knocking on wood, but I haven't seen BBA a few years now. I'm not cocky enough to throw a BBA infested plant in my tank to see what would happen, but I daresay that I have an overwhelming amount of biological filtration in my overgrown mossed tank with a poret prefilter and poret foam (only) filled filter and even poret in my reactor! to combat organic waste as soon as it's generated by the mere 8 mini fish I have. So, I'd tell you to plant heavier, but that would ruin the aesthetics of your scape. What if... you increased biological filtration capability via the addition of more filters? At this point, you're not catching debris. Just filters with foam or whatever porous media of the month that's great for housing beneficial bacteria?

Heh, that and a couple of true siamese algae eaters if you're lucky enough to a) find them and b) have ones with the right attitude to scour BBA


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

When the tank was just a full high tech planted tank it didn't have BBA but the 33g that some of the Corys were originally in did so I am sure it was introduced then. Both times the BBA got out of hand (not so bad this time) was when the Co2 tank either emptied or the diffuser was a bit clogged so less was coming into the tank so I am sure that played a big part. If all goes according to plan the new tank will be much larger and will have a sump and will also be using RO water with no tap at all. Definitely won't be adding H2O2 to the tank with fish in it but I may for the plants and wood when the fish have been moved to their new digs. I won't be using the same sand or filters, the rocks I will do a bleach soak so I hope that helps prevent adding BBA to the new tank. 

Don't want Siamese algae eaters in this tank because I want to keep it all South American fish but also because I have heard that they eat Fissidens and other moss and it is finally growing in really well for me.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red' really is just the coolest aquarium plant. I increased the light intensity by another 10% a few weeks ago to bring out more of that reddish pink color in the leaves and it is already working. I'll have to get a picture from above the next time I do a water change. 

Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red' by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Ken Keating1 (Nov 22, 2017)

Triport said:


> Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red' really is just the coolest aquarium plant. I increased the light intensity by another 10% a few weeks ago to bring out more of that reddish pink color in the leaves and it is already working. I'll have to get a picture from above the next time I do a water change.


Wow, beautiful looking plant!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Aerial view of Lagenandra seeboldii 'Red', Homalomena Sekadau South, and Crytocoryne spiralis 'Red'. I may bump up the light intensity a little bit more to get those colors to be even more intense. 

Aerial view of Lagenandra seeboldii 'Red', Homalomena Sekadau South, and Cryptocoryne spiralis 'Red' by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

Wow! beautiful!


----------



## CMcNam (Dec 5, 2018)

This tank has me wanting to keep corydoras in whatever my next iteration happens to be. Something very enticing about your whole setup, keep up the great work.


----------



## tredford (Jun 29, 2018)

Nice pic from above. The colour on that Lagenandra is amazing!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

As I mentioned earlier I bought a new house and had grand plans for larger tanks but renovations ended up costing way more than I thought and I've decided I am going to rent the house out for two years to try to make some more money for further renovations. So I am staying put for now. Things have been hectic as I try to get these renovations done. 

In the meantime the plants in the Corydoras tank have been popping off. Lagenandra meeboldii 'Long Leaf' is massive and looks like huge dark Cryptocorynes. Cryptocoryne spirals 'Red' in the back has finally taken off though right now it is bright green. I raised the light intensity from 60% to 80% in the hopes to bring out more color on the plants. And of course L. meeboldii 'Red' on the right has been stunning for a while now. BBA is more under control. And currently there are some Corydoras eggs on the front glass near the surface (you can see them in the pic). 

Plants have grown quite a bit in the Corydoras aquarium. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## tredford (Jun 29, 2018)

Thanks for the update, the tank is looking very mature and full! Those Lagenandras are definitely show-stoppers.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Oh I have a new Youtube video of the tank too. I never remember how to post videos so thumbnails appear so here is a link:


----------



## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

I was so happy you got in closer with the camera in video because I couldn't see the varieties of the corydoras. Not that I recognize the varieties, but I wanted to see the coloration and patterns.
Those two largest ones really caught my eye- are they corydoras Super Swartzi? Really beautiful patterns. The green lazer really stand out as well because they are so different than all the others in color.
What is the one with the orange spot? Is that c. duplicareous?

Nice to see an update. 
That meeboldii is the most beautiful aquarium plant Ive seen. For me, hands down, the most amazing plant I have seen in anyone's tank on this site.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

You got all the Corydoras right! And yeah I agree about the L. meeboldii. Super easy plant too.


----------



## LadyWonkyMcJankeypants (Nov 7, 2018)

Man, this forum is really dangerous! I'm in the middle of setting up a new 20H and all I can think about when I see tanks like this is "Why didn't I go bigger?!?" I love your Cory collection!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I am so busy with my renovation of my new home and work I haven't had much time to focus on my tanks but I did a water change and cleanup of the Corydoras tank and thought I'd take a short video. The Crpytocoryne in the back is really looking great now and both types of Lagenandra are looking lovely as always. The long leaf one on the left is really a bit out of control.

Things are still up in the air with where I am going to live when the renovation is done. I may stay put and rent the entire property out for a year or two or I may move in. Lots of stuff going on. We'll see.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

And a still photo of the tank as it is now.








[/url]Corydoras Aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr[/IMG]


----------



## RollaPrime (Jul 27, 2018)

Triport said:


> Oh I have a new Youtube video of the tank too. I never remember how to post videos so thumbnails appear so here is a link:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzMsBbtv-i4&t=3s



Easily the best Lagenandra meeboldii red I have seen. What is your secret? Wowzer lol


----------



## Yaboihunt (Mar 27, 2019)

That yard transformation though! Love the tank also!


YaBoiHunt


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

RollaPrime said:


> Easily the best Lagenandra meeboldii red I have seen. What is your secret? Wowzer lol


Honestly it is a very easy to grow plant. Got it tissue culture and it was a bit slow to start out but it really hasn't given me any trouble. In lower light it will be bright green with red underneath but the brighter the light the pinker/redder it gets. Pretty sure my black otos are eating holes in the old leaves but just the old ones so I'm fine with it. I just prune them out every time I do a water change.

Bump:

Bump: Oh and here is one of the renovations going on in my new house that is the first to be finished up. A before and after of my downstairs den that is going to eventually be my fish room. Covered the sheet vinyl floor with luxury vinyl plank (supposed to be waterproof), covered up the fireplace, and removed the 70's bar and mirror in the corner. My plan had been to continue staying where I am now (my rent is pretty low) and rent out my new house and guest house for 2 years. This way I could recuperate some of the money I spent on renovations (which ended up being a lot). But now that it is almost done I am really wanting to move there.








[/url]My New House Renovations: Den Before and After by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr[/IMG]


----------



## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

Love the colors of the floor and wall. 
Definitely brought this room into the 21st century. Great job!


----------



## Yaboihunt (Mar 27, 2019)

Photo wouldn’t load.. 


YaBoiHunt


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Hmmm...I'm seeing it. Anyone else? Can you click the link and see the photo at Flickr? Flickr did maintenance yesterday and was down all day and a bit buggy when it came back up so there may still be some issues.


----------



## RollaPrime (Jul 27, 2018)

Triport said:


> Honestly it is a very easy to grow plant. Got it tissue culture and it was a bit slow to start out but it really hasn't given me any trouble. In lower light it will be bright green with red underneath but the brighter the light the pinker/redder it gets. Pretty sure my black otos are eating holes in the old leaves but just the old ones so I'm fine with it. I just prune them out every time I do a water change.


In all honesty I don't think I've seen it looking that healthy. I love the overall contrast in plant shape and plant color. But again that Lagenandra meeboldii is a stunner. I have never trimmed mine, perhaps that's where I was going wrong?

Good luck with the renovations by the way. I'm looking forward to the fish room updates.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I dunno I'm not doing anything special. It is in sand. I don't fertilize. I do provide it Co2 but I don't think it is needed for this plant. The brighter the light the better the color. It was a bit slow to start as tissue culture clumps but once it took off it grows quite fast now. I actually gave away a lot of the clumps because I didn't have any room in the tank for them. If I had known how nice it was maybe I would have kept them!


----------



## AquaPlantsAquarium (May 27, 2019)

Wow! What a evolution to see how the aquascape progress! I like the current form too. :


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yes big change from its early days. But the current iteration is much lower maintenance. I'm not sure I'll ever go back to a plant with stem tanks. We'll have to see how things go when I move.


----------



## 25cube2019 (Jan 21, 2019)

Am I wrong? I did not see any Albino Cory


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah I don't have any albinos. For the most part my Corydoras collection is some of the more rare and expensive types that I was able to get. Ones that I haven't had in the past. When I move I am thinking of maybe upgrading this tank to possibly a 90 gallon and I will add more and maybe I will add some of the more common species. But in general I am not too keen on albino fish so not sure I will ever have albino Corydoras. I have had them in the past though.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Went to the LFS this afternoon and inquired about a 100 gallon (60" x 18" x 23" I beleive) tank, stand, and sump. They are going to get back to me later this week with pricing and then I am going to order it and have it delivered and set up at the new house. Going to be pretty pricy but that particular size aquarium is pretty reasonable in price because the dimensions ends up with less wastage than other similar volume aquariums.

Hoping it will arrive mid July and my plan is to move by August 1 to the new house. Last work with my contractor was this afternoon. Now there is just the flooring of my guest house to be installed next week, a few small things to have a handyman take care of, and the RO systems going in July 2. This renovation has been super stressful and super expensive but it is almost finished. Glad I will be moving in instead of renting it out for a few years. Would have been nice to make some extra rental income from the property but I was eager to move in. A little nervous about this big expenditure on the aquarium at this time but hoping it will work out.

Buying and renovating a house is no joke.


----------



## Streetwise (May 24, 2019)

How much aquarium-related infrastructure are they putting in? I imagine you spent hours thinking about how to future-proof it!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Nothing too crazy. Going to be more of a showroom/den than a working fish room for breeding or anything like that. There are pictures of before and after on the last page. Removed a 70's bar and covered up an old brick fireplace. Had some new outlets put in. Bar sink plumbing got repurposed for the utility sink which a large RO system (with two large water storage tanks equalling almost 100 gallons) will hook up to. Changed out the flooring to LVP which is supposed to be water proof or at least water resistant. The "fish room" is quite large and ultimately I would like to have several large tanks but we'll see how things go. Around the corner there is an office space for me and behind that there is laundry and I am planning on putting a small fridge there for frozen food (and storage for seeds for my outdoor garden as well) and in this area I will have my quarantine tanks set up. In the future I would love to have some large water storage tanks right outside this area that I can pump water from water changes into and store that water to water the gardens (and capture rain water on the roof as well) but this is going to be a very slow process. Just got an estimate for some infrastructure work for my outdoor gardens and was like "Yikes!" Going to have to do it bit by bit over years.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Just ordered the 100 gallon and sump. Yikes! Expensive and stressful with my move going on but it should be really exciting. Hopefully all goes well.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I ordered a pair of 55 gallon Brute trash cans and wheels to assist with water prep and water changes and now I am worried it was a bad idea. my 32 gallons work perfectly for this purpose but I concerned that the 55 gallons will be too heavy to move around when almost full. I hope they work out because it was quite expensive. 

My RO system is being installed July 2 and honestly I am not 100% sure how convenient it is going to be to use. Fingers crossed it all works out.


----------



## mbkemp (Dec 15, 2016)

I use a pond pump and potable hose to move water when it is heavy. That new tank sounds sweet


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## AcidGambit (Aug 30, 2018)

Triport said:


> I ordered a pair of 55 gallon Brute trash cans and wheels to assist with water prep and water changes and now I am worried it was a bad idea. my 32 gallons work perfectly for this purpose but I concerned that the 55 gallons will be too heavy to move around when almost full. I hope they work out because it was quite expensive.
> 
> My RO system is being installed July 2 and honestly I am not 100% sure how convenient it is going to be to use. Fingers crossed it all works out.


Is the RO system going to be on the same floor as the tanks? If so, you can get away with a really cheap pump to move it to your tank without having to wheel around the Brute cans. "Mixing stations" are pretty common with saltwater tank owners, but I think they have utility for freshwater tanks too (I'm almost done with mine).


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

AcidGambit said:


> Is the RO system going to be on the same floor as the tanks? If so, you can get away with a really cheap pump to move it to your tank without having to wheel around the Brute cans. "Mixing stations" are pretty common with saltwater tank owners, but I think they have utility for freshwater tanks too (I'm almost done with mine).


Well you do have to remineralize the RO water and get the hardness and pH set up so I need some way to do that. I dunno I am going to see how it all plays out. I've never dealt with a sump before either so that may change the way I do some things. But the fish room and the RO source are all ground level and right next to each other so it should be fairly convenient. Biggest thing I learned from having tanks when I was younger was have the tanks all in one place rather than all over the house, have them convenient to a water source, and come up with a system that makes water changes not terrible.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

My order of the substrate arrived today. I would have loved to go with Colorado Sand from ADA via Aquaforest Aquarium but went with Natural Sand from Buceplant instead. Free shipping from Buce vs. about a zillion dollars from Aquaforest and I am in California about the same distance from both places (Aquaforest north of me in SF and Buce is south of me in the LA area).

The natural sand from Buce looks pretty nice dry though. I am excited to see what it will look like in the tank. Other parts of my renovation are falling in line, flooring of my guest house done today, RO systems installed next Tuesday, 100 gallon tank July 9, appliances and cellular shades July 11. Pretty much done. I have been moving in to the main house bit by bit, just four minutes away from my rental so every trip I make I bring at least two boxes with me. Moving the fish tanks is going to be the worst of it. Not going to be fun at all. This is the price I pay though for buying all those tanks before I had my own house. I knew it was going to be a headache and that day of reckoning is upon me.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Had the RO systems installed for the house. Guest house has an under counter one set up under the kitchen sink but for the main house I had them set up a beefier system with two storage tanks that should store about 80 gallons of water so I have it available for water changes. Refills fairly fast but the water pressure isn't the highest so we'll see how it ends up working out. They said they could come back and trouble shoot things for me if I have any problems. 

New tank should arrive next week. Since I am just 4 minutes away I have been moving gradually over the past month. All my heavy books and boxes are moved and bit by bit I have been moving the lighter stuff. Pretty much try to load up my car with at least two boxes ever trip I make there. Moving all the furniture on the 20th with the plan of being fully moved out by Aug. 1. Glad I have a head start but getting a bit overwhelmed at how much I need to move. Ugh. My tanks. Not going to be fun. May get an extra 40 Breeder to help the transition so I can start this week. 

New RO system at new house by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Ugh. RO system isn't working as well as I would have liked. TDS is about 70. It should be almost zero, no? The KH is low but getting a bit of a reading. Probably over 1.5 degrees KH. And the storage tanks should hold about 80 gallons between them and it is more like 30 gallons or so. I have to have them back out to fine tune things. Annoying.

ETA: at least the Nitrate is reading 0. That is the most important thing.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

My new 100 gallon aquarium arrived at the store so I went to pay for it today. They were going to deliver it tomorrow but the pump for the sump was backordered so they are going to deliver it next Friday instead. But I got to see it and it is HUGE. I can't believe I bought this. Cutting it close with my move but maybe for the best because my RO is definitely not working right. Not only are the tanks only storing 25 gallons of water instead of 70-80, not only is the TDS around 44 ppm, but I tested the water today and the nitrates are pretty high. Lower than right out of the well but not low enough that I want to use them in my tanks or drink it. Not cool. Gave them a call and they said they would get back in touch with me about it. UGH. So much to do in my move this week. Stressful.

I ended up picking up a spare 40 breeder so I can start making the move of some of my tanks. I may just use tap water from home for my Congo tank since that is what they currently get. I'll just have to cart it over in the 5 gallon jugs I usually buy my RO water in. 

But anyway here is a pic of the tank in the shop.

New 100 gallon aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

My move has been exhausting. I have until Wednesday to get everything out of my old house. The house is mostly empty (except for two fish tanks), some junk in the garage, and a bunch of plants in the garden I want to dig up.

The new 100 gallon aquarium has been here at the new house for about a week now and I have been too busy to deal with it. I may start to fill it tonight if I am up to it. Very nervous about the sump since I have never had one before. I had saved a good video explaining how to set them up for the first time. I have to search Youtube and see if I can find it again. 

Prepping the 100 gallon aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Jamo33 (Feb 18, 2014)

Triport said:


> Ugh. RO system isn't working as well as I would have liked. TDS is about 70. It should be almost zero, no? The KH is low but getting a bit of a reading. Probably over 1.5 degrees KH. And the storage tanks should hold about 80 gallons between them and it is more like 30 gallons or so. I have to have them back out to fine tune things. Annoying.
> 
> ETA: at least the Nitrate is reading 0. That is the most important thing.


Just wanted to focus in on this real quick. Were these TDS readings from the initial running? Because there is a flushing process that needs to take place on first use. Something like discard 2 hours of water...or until TDS reads 0.
Did you have any luck figuring out why there was 70TDS remaining. Its not truly RO if there is that much junk left over in the water.

Good work on everything so far aswell!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I think I have discarded way more than 2 hours of the water. There is definitely something wrong. TDS is down to about 44 but Nitrates remain much higher than I want. I put a call in to the company and they agreed that it didn't sound right but haven't followed up yet. I've been super busy finishing my move but I will call them again when I am finished and have some time to breath. Super frustrating. I paid a lot for this system and I feel like I should have asked more questions.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Ugh. Setting up the sump was so stressful. I'm not sure I did it right. It is sooooo noisy and the guy at the store said with this setup it shouldn't be. Basically a roaring waterfall noise and my house is fairly open so even though the tank is downstairs in the den I can hear the roaring rapids all through the huge house. He is going to stop by Wednesday afternoon and maybe he can figure out what is wrong. I am actually kind of regretting this purchase a bit at the moment. Not sure what I was thinking. This move is so expensive and stressful and I didn't need to be dealing with this today.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Should I be starting a new thread for the 100 gallon or just do it as a continuation of the 40 breeder? The guys are coming tomorrow to hopefully fix the sump and make this tank useable. Right now I have a Magnum internal polishing filter in the tank just to keep the water moving. Not only was the sump making an insane waterfall noise but water was splashing from the return pipes all over the inside of the cabinet including the electrical outlets. Not safe. Fish are still at the old house. I am hoping tomorrow afternoon the tank will be in working order I will be able to move them over but if not my landlady is renovating parts of my old rental so I'm sure she will be fine with them staying there a few more days. 

Ugh. I'm exhausted.


----------



## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

My vote is for a new journal because I'm excited to follow this new tank adventure.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

They guys from the store came and fixed the sump. They had accidentally put the valve on the wrong intake. Almost perfectly quiet now so I moved my plants and fish over this afternoon. Too tired to go into any more detail but wanted to post a video of the fish getting used to their new home. Kind of weird but in the bigger tank the larger Corydoras look even bigger than they did in the 40. Kind of hoping in this larger tank they will all hide less.


----------



## Jamo33 (Feb 18, 2014)

Lovely mate, I am glad that all worked out. Clearly this is a very stressful time, so I suggest some much deserved tank spectating time. Stop, watch and let the mind drift. 
Theres a reason that fish tanks are so attractive to many, it's that tranquility they bring. Endless hours of staring into them. 

Great work on this, are you having any breeding with the Cory's? Obviously not in the 100, but back in the 40?


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Often after water changes they lay eggs (not sure which ones). But they always get eaten before they hatch.


----------



## Jamo33 (Feb 18, 2014)

Any inclination to save some of the eggs and begin to bolster your numbers?


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Not really because there is a chance that there may be hybrids. If I ever have the time and money in the future I may try to breed certain fish by taking a group out and separating them into a smaller tank but no plans in the immediate future. I have the room for it now though in my new house if I want to though.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Wanted to post some pics of my plants that I transferred over to the 100 gallon tank.

Cryptocoryne spiralis 'Red' (which is actually very bright green) started as the tiniest little tissue cultured plants that sat and did nothing for a full year. Then they took off. They sent out runners and spread across the tank and the picture below shows how big each individual tc plant became. I divided them up and put them in the back center of the 100 gallon.

single clump of Crytocoryne spiralis 'Red' by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Not sure I am a big fan of the next plant. It was sold to me as Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red Long' from Buce Plants but it is very different in appearance and growth habit than my Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red'. This looks more like a massive, fast growing, red leaved Cryptocorne. It formed a dense matt in the front corner of the tank about a foot square. Solid mass of roots under the sand. I pulled out a few of the largest portions and cleaned them up and dumped the rest in the compost. But I am going to keep an eye on this and make sure it doesn't take over too much. Don't want it running lose in the 100 gallon.

Sold as Lagenandra Meeboldii Red Long. From Buce Plant. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

And finally I was very happy to see that my Hypoptopoma sp. Peru 'Orange' is still alive. They are pretty pricey at about 13 bucks each and his two companions instantly died. But this guy has been pretty tough and I've had him now for 2 years. As soon as I can afford to I would like to buy him some friends but they are so delicate when shipping I don't want to throw my money away. 

Hypoptopoma sp. Peru “Orange” by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

The plants are all melting so I put in my Magnum water polisher to clean up all the rotting foliage bits floating around. Very handy little filter to have on hand. Hopefully the plants will bounce back but I'm not too worried about it. Just as long as all the fish survive i will consider this move a success. Had my RO water tested and the nitrates are at 6.25 ppm. Safe for drinking but not ideal for aquarium use. TDS is way too high as well. So they are coming out next week to have a look. The rest of my tanks are in limbo at the moment. Fish are all currently in bare bottom tanks that are not their long term homes but I am weighing my options for who goes where permanently. I just completely finished my move and clean up of my old place yesterday and today mostly took it easy. 

Plants are melting in the new 100 gallon. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## RollaPrime (Jul 27, 2018)

Hey Triport, 

Your plants will bounce back for sure, they're just adjusting to the new parameters. What is your TDS count?


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

TDS of the RO has been between 45 and 70. TDS of the water in my guest houses cheaper, under-the-sink RO system is 1. Big difference!


----------



## Jamo33 (Feb 18, 2014)

Triport said:


> TDS of the RO has been between 45 and 70. TDS of the water in my guest houses cheaper, under-the-sink RO system is 1. Big difference!


That is not good enough. Something must be up with a membrane or the pressures. Just odd


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Yeah they are coming back tomorrow to look at it. When he installed it the guy talked me out of the permeate pump that was supposed to come with it because apparently they make a loud clicking sound. I was so frazzled from my renovations and move that I just went along with him without fully understanding what the pump does. So I am hoping that will take care of the issue. I am more concerned with the Nitrate being 6.25 ppm. Would rather it be closer to zero. 

Meanwhile I just realized that my guest house water has NitrITE. It is the only water in the house that has it and it doesn't have it at the outside hose source that leads to the inside pipes. So I am pretty sure it is from the interaction between the Nitrate in the water and the pipes in that part of the guest house. The RO filter I installed there is not filtering out the Nitrite just the Nitrate. I didn't have that water tested initially because I just assumed all the water was the same (I tested it right at the well). 

So I am going to have to have bottled water delivered for the guest house or something. Super annoying. No more money to throw at it at the moment.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

The 100 gallon is doing OK. Bit of a nitrite spike but I think it is getting better and the fish don't seem at all stressed by it. I've been adding Prime to be safe though. No losses that I am aware of with the entire move so that's a good sign. Sump is a bit of a pain to deal with but I guess I sort of have it figured out. Company that installed my new well pump came and increased the water pressure to the house so hopefully that will help my RO system issues. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. 

Want to make a new thread for the new tank but I just don't have the time so I'll continue to post on this one. Latest video of the new tank. Plants have stopped melting. Not sure if the Lagenandra meeboldii 'Red' will come back but everything else looks good. Still not sure how or if I will inject CO2 in this tank. Added 5 cardinal tetras and 4 green neons from my other tank. Eventually I would like to add about 50 of each as well as some more ember and reed tetras. Not sure when I will have the funds for any new fish though.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Just thought I would post some pictures of my fish room. Currently lots of space and empty tanks. The one wall with smaller tanks I am going to get rid of the tanks on either end (29/20 on the left - acrylic 36 bowfront on the right) and the 40 breeder I will probably make a quarantine tank and will get a 65g on that stand. The 46 bowfront is currently the only one set up and I just got the 45 for sale at Petsmart pretty cheap. There is room for maybe a 75 or 90 on the back wall at the end on the left.

On the other side is my 100 gallon and on the bump out where the shelves and supplies currently are eventually I would like a 6' tank (some day when I can afford it which may be years away!). Would love to have some sort of seating, sofas or chairs in front of the tanks too. Currently I just roll myself out on my office chair to look at the tanks!

Future Fish Room by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Future Fish Room by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Got a fish room cart! Yay! Now the console table thing I was using to store stuff can go back upstairs for my plants. I just wanted a place for food, ferts, towels and other supplies. Trying to get stuff really organized. 

Meanwhile the 100 gallon had quite an algae outbreak. Without really thinking I had the light at max strength. I dropped the light to 50% and cleaned as much algae as I could. Trimmed the bad leaves off the C. spiralis and pulled out the Homalomena. It is just too algae prone. Not too focused on the plants for this tank at the moment. Fish are doing well but I randomly lost a C. loretoensis and H. elachys last week but otherwise everyone seems fine. Some of the Corydoras have laid eggs a few times since moving (but they always get eaten). 

Fish room cart by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Caught some video of my Scleromystax barbatus spawning. Apologies that it is not the best quality but there is a lot of ambient light in my fish room that time of day and I was afraid to try and get a better camera angle because they are very easily spooked. I suspected them of being the parents a few weeks ago when over a hundred eggs were laid but I wasn't 100% sure.

The past few years I have had lots of eggs laid but never do anything about it since I have so many different species in this tank I wasn't sure who was laying or if they were possible hybrids(plus didn't really have the time or energy or resources to raise fry). But now that I was pretty sure it might be these guys I went and got something to put the eggs in. Sadly she laid on the powerhead this time so I was only able to save 18 eggs but it is a start. I love how majestic the males large pectoral fins are in this video.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Not sure if the 18 eggs are going to hatch but the Scleromystax laid another bunch of eggs today (again mostly on the powerhead) so I put them into the brooder I have set up. I'd be happy to get any fry at all. We'll see what happens. I don't really have any grand plans to breed fish. My fish room is more centered on display tanks. But in my office/laundry area where my quarantine tanks are going to be I am thinking of setting up some smaller tanks as well and I may try my hand at breeding some fish. When a lot of my Corydoras are selling for $15 - $30 each it wouldn't hurt to bolster their numbers by trying to breed them myself.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Just checked and at least one egg is hatching. There is a little wriggling tail sticking out of one of the eggs. So that is a first for me and exciting. By tomorrow morning I'll see if any more have hatched and we'll see if I can keep them alive.


----------



## Jamo33 (Feb 18, 2014)

Triport said:


> Just checked and at least one egg is hatching. There is a little wriggling tail sticking out of one of the eggs. So that is a first for me and exciting. By tomorrow morning I'll see if any more have hatched and we'll see if I can keep them alive.


Exciting news!!!!
I envy breeding behavior in tanks. In my experience if it isnt something like guppies, breeding means a nice hospitable environment for them. So well done.
Hope you get some hat hed and raised!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Aw. Sad news. The little wriggler never made it fully out of the egg and stopped moving. None of the other eggs hatched even though they looked viable. I pulled out a small tank and sponge filter and some Methylene Blue and next time that is where I will move the eggs (for these batches I have a hang on tank brooder I was using.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Prepped for a water change today with cooler water to encourage the S. barbatus to spawn again but before I even began they were at it. Did the water change anyway and then once they were done spawning I pulled 48 eggs from the tank. Set up a little 3 gallon aquarium with a heater and sponge filter and added some Methylene Blue. Should know by Wednesday if they are going to hatch this time. Fingers crossed. I would be happy if I even got a few babies. S. barbatus cost $15 - $30 each. They were also one of my dream fish when I was a kid (and they were almost never available for sale) so I am thrilled to be keeping them now and having them spawn for me. 

48 Scleromystax barbatus eggs. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

So far a single baby Scleromystax babatus has hatched. Not sure if the rest will and not sure it will survive but its a start and a better result than the last two attempts.


----------



## Streetwise (May 24, 2019)

Good news, right?


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Definitely a step in the right direction. First attempt none hatched. Second attempt one tried to hatch but died still stuck in the egg. Now at least I have one baby. I'll be happier if a few more have hatched tomorrow but I suspect they will keep laying eggs so I will try again.


----------



## Streetwise (May 24, 2019)

Maybe throw some moss or floating plants in there? Something you can move for your net.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Things didn't look much different this morning but I looked behind the sponge filter and it looks like there are 3 babies together hiding behind it. So 3 is better than 1 at least.


----------



## KayakJimW (Aug 12, 2016)

Congrats! Definitely a cool species of catfish


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Had my fancy camera and was trying to get some photos of fish when I noticed these C. concolor had positioned themselves perfectly for a photo.

Corydoras concolor by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

OK there are definitely 4 baby S. barbatus. They were all hanging out on top of the sponge filter this morning. A few of them moved around the tank the rest of the day so at least they are moving about. Most of the time they just sit there so I am not sure how well they are doing. There are 22 other eggs I added that are due to hatch tomorrow. Hopefully at least a few of them will. They are still super tiny and hard for me to see (very bad eyesight. Especially my close vision) but one just came out up close to the front glass and they are starting to look somewhat Corydoras shaped now with visible whiskers and pectoral fins.

ETA: Actually strike that. There are actually 5 babies. Yay!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Late last night 2 new fry hatched from the second batch of eggs. This morning it looked like there were at least 5. Three of the original 5 are now 4 days old and were out from behind the sponge filter so I shot a short video (also includes my heavy breathing).


----------



## KayakJimW (Aug 12, 2016)

Triport said:


> ...these C. concolor had positioned themselves perfectly for a photo.
> 
> Corydoras concolor by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


Haha, it's like they're about to swim apart and reveal something.
Like a renovated house or a NEW CAR...


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Oldest baby S. barbatus are 12 days old (9 babies total have survived so far) About 1/4" long. So cute. Feeding them powdered dry food and frozen baby brine and trying to do a 50% water change every day with water from the main tank. If things go well plan is to move them all to a 20 long but we'll see.

So cute!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Was able to get one of the big guys in better focus. You can see him do that typical Corydoras eye roll a few times.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Took advantage of Cyber Monday sales to order some plants so I can finally rescape the 100 gallon. Still not sure if I am going to add CO2 to this tank. None of the plants especially need it but it it might be nice to help the plants grow faster.

Before pic with hardscape removed and new plants floating up top.

100 gallon badly in need of a makeover. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Removed 40 gallons to make it easier to scape.

Removed 40 gallons to make it easier to work by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Pretty happy with this. Time to fill the tank back up.

Relatively happy with the new plants and new layout by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Happy with the new layout and new plants. Going to take a while to clear up and for the new plants to fill in.

Added:
2 x Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis'
3 x Anubias barteri 'Coffeefolia'
1 x Nymphaea stellata
2 x Echinodorus 'Rubin'
1 x Echinodorus 'Hadi Red Pearl'
3 x Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia

Will take some time to clear up and for the plants to grow in. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

My male Scleromystax barbatus is very skittish but after I did the rescape he was hungry enough to not get spooked when I took some photos of him eating (center black fish).

Male Scleromystax barbatus (center) finally stayed out in the open long enough for me to get a good photo by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Rescape after it has cleared up a little bit with labels for all the plants. A few more things I want to add but overall I am happy with the new look for this tank. Once my new 120 arrives and my quarantine tanks are freed up I will be able to add some more fish to this tank.

Newly planted 100 gallon aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Baby Scleromystax are 1 month old. A few have sadly died (with no warning or sign there was a problem). Not sure why. Feeding them live baby brine as well as powdered foods. Down to just 6 left. Will be happy if even 3 survive to adulthood. 

Baby Scleromystax barbarous by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

In other news in the main tank I moved my Farlowella vittata over from the 45. Today one of them got chopped in half in my powerhead. Yikes! So awful. I have it turned off for now but I have to figure out some alternative.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Even MORE plants for the 120! The tank isn't even here yet but I had to take advantage of some holiday sales. I got some Vallisneria spiralis 'Leopard' and Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green' for the 100 gallon but all the plants pictured below are for the 120 which will hopefully come between Christmas and New Years (but realistically may not arrive until after New Years...UGH).

A few different Anubias, some more Crypts and an Aponogeton ulvaceus because it was available and I have always wanted one. 

As big as a 120 is I hope I can make all this work into something nice. The 100 gallon is already over stuffed and that is 5' long.

More plants for future build by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Very happy with how the 100 gallon Corydoras tank is coming along. The five surviving Farlowellas seem happy and healthy and get along fine with the Corydoras. I replaced the wavemaker with a more inclosed maxi jet type of power head which hopefully won't kill any fish.

Corydoras and Farlowellas eating by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Look how cute this 5 week old baby Scleromystax barbatus is! In another week I think I will be ready to move him to the large tank as he has been eating standard Corydoras pellets now (they weren't at first). Also feeding them baby brine which they gorge themselves on. The other five seem OK too but they are all growing at different rates despite being just 4 days apart from each other. Some barely seem to be growing at all. So I may hold them in this small tank for a while longer. Also as you can see there are new eggs from the parents. 124 of them! We'll see if any hatch.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Eggs have started hatching of the 124 or so I collected the other day. We'll see how many I end up with and how things go. Hopefully the largest 5 week old one doesn't view them as little snacks!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Was hoping to get video of them bursting out of the eggs but I don't have the patience to sit for an hour shooting video. But here you can see their little wriggling tails emerged. By this morning it looks like over 100 have hatched.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Over a hundred babies this time! There is no way they will all survive though and the sheer number of them and the fact that they are almost invisible at this stage is going to make my nightly water changes difficult. Meanwhile the parents laid eggs again this morning but I will be leaving them in the aquarium for the rest of the fish to eat this time! I don't need any more.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

The oldest of the 6 surviving babies are 6 weeks old today on Christmas. I decided it was time to move them to the 100 gallon. The largest is about the size of C. pygmaeus. The smallest probably half that size but I decided to just move all of them over and hope for the best. I don't think anyone will eat them but I hope they adapt to life in the larger tank and find food.

Meanwhile I have no idea how many new babies I have. It seems like over 100 eggs hatched and I can see tons of babies but they are so small. So we'll see what happens with them.

Scleromyxtax barbatus baby. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Quint (Mar 24, 2019)

Very cool indeed. At that size they should be fine in the big tank. The few babies that survived in my 40B were about that size when I started seeing them on a regular basis.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Got some video of one of the babies. He is in the back at the start near the Farlowella. C. pygmaeus in frame for comparative size and at a few points his parents pop into the video. I put the babies near the big clump of rock work and wood so they could hide but at least 3 of them have been out and about in the aquarium. I was afraid I would never see them and they would just hide all the time but so far that is not the case. I was very worried releasing them into the big tank but now I don't feel so nervous about it.


----------



## Saxtonhill (Dec 28, 2012)

Wow---great thread!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Picture of one of the larger S. barbatus babies. This one was out quite a long time and was happily eating frozen food with the adult fish. I'll post another video later.

One of the larger baby Scleromystax barbatus by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Did a 25 gallon water change on the 100 this afternoon. The Farlowella have been eating the algae off the Cryptocoryne spiralis surfaces but not fast enough so I cut back all the algae covered leaves. Also removed all of the pieces of wood and scraped off all the dead Fissidens. It all died last H2O2 soak I did to deal with the algae. Now that I've scraped off the dead moss it should grow back though. Hopefully no algae this time. Thinking of adding CO2 to this tank just have to figure out how I want to do it.

Water Change on the 100 by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

As promised video of one of the larger babies getting his first taste of frozen food.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Nymphaea nouchali (aka N. stellata). Overall plants have been filling in nicely over the past month. 

Nymphaea nouchali at one month by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## ererer (Apr 16, 2019)

As someone with a 55g planted tank with 20 three-lined corys and 20 cardinal tetras, I love following the progress of this tank! Thanks for sharing photo and video updates, keep them coming!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

There are still at least 4 of the 6 baby S. barbatus alive in the 100 gallon (they may all be alive but 4 is the most I have ever seen out and about at the same time). They are two months old. I was kind of hoping that they would all group up together but for the most part they are solitary (though often I will see two near each other but never all four). The adult males can be solitary and territorial but I believe the young fish are supposed to shoal in large numbers so I thought they would stick together more.

Getting pics is always a challenge because they spook easily or other fish get in the way but this came out OK.

Baby Scleromystax barbatus by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Aerial view of the right side of the 100 gallon. Do you see the Corydoras CW010 Gold Laser beneath the Anubias? Look how intense the colors are from above. Many of the Corydoras spend much of their time hiding under the hornwood.

Corydoras aquarium from above by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Corydoras granti

Corydoras granti by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Corydoras eques

Corydoras eques by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

More eggs laid by my Scleromystax barbatus! Several times a month now but I have no desire to try and raise anymore at the moment. 

Added an Anubias heterophylla (big plant on the back right) on a piece of small driftwood and plunked it in behind the existing driftwood. The Hygrophylla I have in that spot isn't really thriving and this adds some interest. I actually bought it for the 120 but didn't end up needing it in that tank. Really it is such a big clunky and awkward plant that I think probably the best use of it I have seen is to have quite a few of them as a backdrop in a big tank. It will probably end up getting infested with algae but we'll see.

Other plants I have added after my initial rescape are Vallisneria spiralis 'Leopard' in the back left and some Cryptocoryne wedntii 'Green'. I need to replace the Cryptocoryne spiralis in the back center. It has not really taken off in this tank and is just melting away to nothing. Originally I thought another sword but maybe a a nice simple green Rotala would work well too. I'll have to think about it and see what is available that looks interesting. It needs something that will grow tall though.

100 gallon aquarium with more Scleromystax eggs. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Almost bought some Heteranthera zosterifolia to replace the C. spiralis that hasn't taken off in the back center of the tank but then I saw that Buceplant had Cryptocoryne usteriana 'Green'. I already have the red version and it is such a wonderful plant I decided I need to try out the green version too. We'll see how it turns out. Very happy with the GLA CO2 Reactor in my new 120 so I am going to add one to this tank as well soon.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Good news! Since I added the 6 baby S. barbatus to the tank the most I have ever seen out in the open was 4. I knew there was a chance the other two were just hiding but over time I started thinking that really there were only 4 still living. Just was watching the fish eat now and saw 5 all out in the open at once. So there is a chance that all 6 are still alive.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Cryptocoryne usteriana 'Green' to replace my C. spiralis which never really recovered from the move. The C. usteriana 'Red' in my 46 bowfront is probably my favorite plant so I think this is going to be great in such a prominent spot in the 100 gallon. 

Cryptocoryne usteriana 'Green' (in back behind Echinodorus 'Hadi Red Pearl') by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Matt69 (Jul 9, 2017)

Triport said:


> Cryptocoryne usteriana 'Green' to replace my C. spiralis which never really recovered from the move. The C. usteriana 'Red' in my 46 bowfront is probably my favorite plant so I think this is going to be great in such a prominent spot in the 100 gallon.
> 
> 
> 
> Cryptocoryne usteriana 'Green' (in back behind Echinodorus 'Hadi Red Pearl') by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr




That Crypt looks really nice. [emoji4]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Aerial view of the 100 gallon. The Crypts, swords, and Vallisneria are popping off. Going to hook up a CO2 reactor to this tank next week so it should be fun to see how that helps things.

100 gallon Corydoras aquarium from above by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Closer look at the left side from above.

100 gallon left side from above by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Closer look at the right side from above.

100 gallon right side from above by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I added a GLA CO2 Reactor to the 100 gallon since I have been so happy with the one on my 120. I have been wanting CO2 for this tank ever since I set it up but wasn't sure how I wanted to go about it. In the end I went with adding the reactor with an Eheim Classic 600/2217. My sump isn't really large enough to add extra equipment to it and I also feel like the extra canister may help suck up some of the floating debris that doesn't make it to the top where my skimmer is.

Was a bit of a pain to set this one up. I tried to add an inline heater as well and in the end I realized that just wasn't feasible. Also I tried filling the reactor up with water before setting it up and learned (due to some sort of physics or maths or something that I don't really understand) the reactor must be empty when you set it up or the filter will not be able to prime and get going. So lots of crawling about and cursing and messing with hoses but I finally got it going. We'll see how the CO2 improves the life of the plants (which have been doing fine without but a little boost is never a bad thing). 

Also placed an order with The Wet Spot for some more cardinals and green neons for this tank and a few more Corydoras now that I have quarantine tanks to spare.

GLA CO2 Reactor added to my 100 gallon by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

yea, saw your pic from the other thread and was gonna say, that looks like a pretty big gas pocket in that reactor. was wondering if that pic is in the course of the day or only during startup

surprised, that the pressure lock from that hasnt prevented you from starting the flow if starting and wondering if your dissolution is any good if the pic was taken during the course of operation.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

ipkiss said:


> yea, saw your pic from the other thread and was gonna say, that looks like a pretty big gas pocket in that reactor. was wondering if that pic is in the course of the day or only during startup
> 
> surprised, that the pressure lock from that hasnt prevented you from starting the flow if starting and wondering if your dissolution is any good if the pic was taken during the course of operation.


It was when I just started it. Overnight it filled up and is completely silent now with no air bubbles or pocket. 

Here is the one on my 120 completely filled with water.

Under the hood of the 120 gallon by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

And here is the 120 when it first started so you can see how loud it is initially. For whatever reason it fills rather slowly but once it fills it is totally silent. Makes sense as that was my experience with the DIY one I used in the past (which actually was worse because instead of a whirlpool noise it made a knocking sound).


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Decided to buy some Amazon swords recently for my 100 gallon because I just wanted something fairly large and simple to fill up space. There are so many different species and cultivars of Echinodorus available and it is surprisingly difficult to find photos or video or any information about many of them.

Video in particular is hard to come by for most Echinodorus. I guess maybe they are considered more of a beginners simple plant and not as refined as stem plants? Or maybe many of them are just too big and coarse and people don't have room for them. I settled on Echiodorus 'Red Rubin' because it seems to be one of the more common ones and I was able to get images and some info about it. I also don't think it is going to get too gigantic and unmanageable.

What I didn't expect was how beautiful it is. The leaves don't even look real to me. They kind of look like printed pieces of fabric gently blowing in the breeze in my tank.

Echinodorus 'Red Rubin' (Amazon sword) by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Another feeding time video in the 100 gallon. How many species can you count? Two of the baby Scleromystax barbatus make an appearance alongside their mother. The father pops in at one point as well. Some of the babies are getting quite big now at 3 months old (there are one or two runty ones though).


----------



## ererer (Apr 16, 2019)

Triport, what are the parameters you keep this tank at?

I have a heavily planted low tech 55g community tank with RCS, three lined corys, and cardinal tetras. Plants are thriving (except the java moss, which is doing okay but has hair algae). The tetras seem to be doing fine, the RCS are breeding like crazy, but the corys seem to be doing okay but not thriving, and I've lost a few over the last few months. I have hard water (7 dkh) with a ph of 7.4. I'm wondering if the water is too hard and the ph too high for these guys? They are tank bred, but I'm not sure what the parameters they were raised in were.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

My GH is about 5 and KH is about 3. I've kept both Corydoras and cardinal tetras in much harder tap water (I think about 18 GH and KH) and they did OK as well so I am not sure it is that important unless you are trying to breed fish.


----------



## ererer (Apr 16, 2019)

Triport said:


> My GH is about 5 and KH is about 3. I've kept both Corydoras and cardinal tetras in much harder tap water (I think about 18 GH and KH) and they did OK as well so I am not sure it is that important unless you are trying to breed fish.


Thanks, do you happen to know your ph as well?


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

When I remineralize it I try to set it at 6.5. I am not sure how much it changes over the course of the day. I don't think I have any really accurate pH test kits. I have one of those battery operated ones but I haven't calibrated it in a while.


----------



## PurdueGK (May 16, 2015)

Sweet tank and I love the video of your Cory’s!


----------



## DennisSingh (Nov 8, 2004)

This journal is so great! I love Cory's, ty for all vid n pics


----------



## Quint (Mar 24, 2019)

ererer said:


> Triport, what are the parameters you keep this tank at?
> 
> I have a heavily planted low tech 55g community tank with RCS, three lined corys, and cardinal tetras. Plants are thriving (except the java moss, which is doing okay but has hair algae). The tetras seem to be doing fine, the RCS are breeding like crazy, but the corys seem to be doing okay but not thriving, and I've lost a few over the last few months. I have hard water (7 dkh) with a ph of 7.4. I'm wondering if the water is too hard and the ph too high for these guys? They are tank bred, but I'm not sure what the parameters they were raised in were.



I have the false juliies or 3 line corys and my water parameters are 4KH, 6GH (using remineralizer to bring it up from 1GH) and degassed 8PH. Ive gone from 6 to 9 cories without buying any more and have noticed 3 babies of various sizes in the last couple of weeks. Just my experience. 


@Triport I want a bigger tank so I can get more cories. Awesome little fish.


----------



## ererer (Apr 16, 2019)

Triport said:


> When I remineralize it I try to set it at 6.5. I am not sure how much it changes over the course of the day. I don't think I have any really accurate pH test kits. I have one of those battery operated ones but I haven't calibrated it in a while.


Thanks! So do you use RO water then?



Quint said:


> I have the false juliies or 3 line corys and my water parameters are 4KH, 6GH (using remineralizer to bring it up from 1GH) and degassed 8PH. Ive gone from 6 to 9 cories without buying any more and have noticed 3 babies of various sizes in the last couple of weeks. Just my experience.


Baby corys, now that would be exciting! Is there a difference between degassed ph and ph? Or am I reading your post correctly that your ph is 8?


----------



## Quint (Mar 24, 2019)

ererer said:


> Baby corys, now that would be exciting! Is there a difference between degassed ph and ph? Or am I reading your post correctly that your ph is 8?


Out of the faucet the well water I have reads about 6ph, once the water has a chance to gas off (sit for a couple of days) the ph reads about 8. We have some odd water up here in the Western WA area. It works ok though and is pretty easy to remineralize. I know the PH is at the upper specs for alot of things but chasing PH is a losing game IMHO, or should I say a real pain.

Bump:


ererer said:


> Baby corys, now that would be exciting! Is there a difference between degassed ph and ph? Or am I reading your post correctly that your ph is 8?


Out of the faucet the well water I have reads about 6ph, once the water has a chance to gas off (sit for a couple of days) the ph reads about 8. We have some odd water up here in the Western WA area. It works ok though and is pretty easy to remineralize. I know the PH is at the upper specs for alot of things but chasing PH is a losing game IMHO, or should I say a real pain.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I use RO water for my tanks because my well water has 23 ppm nitrates. The RO lowers it to about 7 ppm nitrate. Not ideal and eventually I wanted to get RODI and get a better storage tank system but I don't have the money at the moment to deal with that. 

It seems like my nitrates are kind of high in this tank. I ordered a new API nitrate test kit as the old one I have doesn't seem to be working. Lost a female S. barbatus to red blotch disease which I believe comes from water quality issues. The rest of the fish look OK but she was fine and then one day she wasn't so I did a 40 gallon water change the other day and will do another one maybe today or tomorrow. Also lost a Farlowella but I am assuming it was one that got stuck in the screening of my overflow for the sump. Farlwellas are really the dumbest fish in the world. Don't have them in any tank with a sump or power heads they will kill themselves. I am down to 3 now it seems.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I've been wanting to get video of this tank with the Vallisneria flowing just so. Finally got some as the lights were dimming last night.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

New fish for the 100 gallon have been in quarantine for about 6 weeks so it was finally time to move them to the main display tank. 

30 Paracheirodon axelrodi (cardinal tetra)
20 Paracheirodon simulans (green neon)
6 Corydoras elegans
5 Corydoras trilineatus
3 Corydoras sterbai
3 Corydoras CW010 gold laser

C. elegans and C. trilineatus are new to this tank. C. sterbai and C. CW010 were added to increase existing numbers. There also were about 5 existing cardinal tetras and 2 existing green neons all about 4+ years old. You can see how much bigger they are than the new young fish. Right now the cardinals and green neons are so small it is difficult to tell them apart but at a few points of the video you can see a slight difference. It will be more distinct as they reach adulthood. The red band on cardinals goes all the way to their head and is wider and brighter and the blue band of the green neons is wider and at certain angles reflects green instead of blue.

Definitely recommend quarantining all fish but it is especially important for cardinal tetras. Over the many years I have kept fish I have had a number of incidents were new cardinal tetras brought a plague that wiped out half my tank. Fortunately this purchase was a success and as far as I can tell (I didn't count all 50 new tetras) I don't think I lost any.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Just a pic of the 100 gallon now. It has been a while since I have posted an update.

100 gallon planted aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I'm very happy with the 100 gallon these days. I've moved my office computer next to it and get to enjoy the tetras and Corydoras and the Vallisneria "blowing" in the wake of the power head.

100 Gallon Aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

100 Gallon Aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Speaking of Vallisneria I did a water change yesterday and decided to measure how long the leaves of the Vallisneria spiralis 'Leopard' can get. One of the was 5'10" tall. Almost as tall as me. Definitely recommend keeping these in as tall and long an aquarium as possible. I also have to remove extra runners of the Vallisneria and some of the Crypts every time I do a water change or they will take over the tank. 

5'10" leaf of Vallisneria spiralis 'Leopard' by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

5'10" leaf of Vallisneria spiralis 'Leopard' by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

And finally a short video of this tank at night when the blue lights come on.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

My 100 gallon aquarium with the cabinet doors open so you can see the hardware below. 

100 Gallon Aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## billb (May 29, 2009)

I really like the look of your tank. That Leopard Val is spectacular. Well done!


----------



## DBridges (Sep 22, 2009)

That Val really is beautiful, flowing in the current like that. Love how the Cardinals/Neons add a pop of color.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)




----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Last remaining Scleromystax barbatus in the Corydoras tank. 

Female Scleromystax barbatus by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr

Not sure what went wrong but first I lost all 6 babies early on during COVID quarantine. I wasn't paying as much attention to the fish tanks so I am not sure exactly when it happened but one day I just noticed I hadn't seen them in a while and then I would sit and watch during feedings and became certain they had vanished. Then one of the females (the one who had been laying eggs it turns out) suddenly died and fairly recently the male died. He was showing signs of stress, limp fins and rapid breathing, and the next day he was gone. This last female looks perfectly healthy so I am not sure what got all the others. It could be the tank is too warm for them but I have had them I think about three years at this point so I'm not sure. I have lost some other Corydoras from time to time and am not really clear what the issue is. one by one all my Corydoras loretoensis died and a few others randomly have died over the past year. Could be nitrite spikes I guess but I would think that the large school of cardinals and green neons would show some sign of stress if that was the case and they are fine.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Closeup of the 100 gallon.

Closeup of 100 gallon aquarium by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## FischAutoTechGarten (Jul 11, 2003)

fascinating how the neons and cardinals don't quite school together, but stick to their own kind. i guess I expected them all to school as one group. interesting.


----------



## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

yeah, in my tank they all hid together and I love seeing them follow a line behind each other


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

FischAutoTechGarten said:


> fascinating how the neons and cardinals don't quite school together, but stick to their own kind. i guess I expected them all to school as one group. interesting.


Yeah it is pretty cool. The green neons hang out toward the top of the tank and the cardinals hang out lower. But they do often form a big mega school together, especially when startled. I think it makes the tank look more interesting to have the two different species as from a distance they more or less read as the same type of fish.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Did a video where I talk a bit about this tank. Didn't really think it through so apologies that it is a bit rambling and not well thought out. Tank is looking great though. My favorite tank at the moment.


----------



## ererer (Apr 16, 2019)

Quite right about not seeing the corys if you have a lot of plants/hardscape. Though I've noticed that some species I see swimming about more often than others. In my tank, I have 4 long-finned paleatus which I see swimming around regularly in a group, 6 sterbai that I don't see out often, though I see them hiding semi-regularly (I think there are still 6, though it's been a while since I've been able to count all of them at one time), and 3 trilineatus, and I'll see one or two of them either swimming around with the paleatus, or swimming in a pair, but not usually all 3 at once. Sometimes I'll see a larger mixed species group swimming around. Makes me want to get more of the paleatus, which is funny as I was originally much more excited about the sterbai, but it would be nice to have a larger group swimming around more often.

Are there particular species you see hiding more often or out and about more often? It would be interesting to know if it tends to trend by species, or if it has to do with fish personalities or other factors.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

It does seem some species are more skittish than others. Most of mine are on the rarer side and are wild collected so they tend to be super skittish. But C. eques are out and about most of the time and are interesting because they often swim at the upper or mid levels of the tank. My C. sterbai hide a lot but they have also been breeding lately so are often chasing each other around. C. concolor I only see when they are eating. I am not even sure how many I have. They tend to each have their own territories or zones they hang out in. C. granti hang out on the left side of the tank, C. adolfoi toward the front middle, C. CW028 on the right side, and most of the rest hide in the plants or under the wood/behind rocks. C. similis have claimed the back behind the Vallisneria and when they breed that is where I see them laying eggs. I think some of the more common species that have a long history of being tank raised are perhaps less skittish. C. aeneus, C. paleatus, etc.


----------



## sewelli (Jun 4, 2020)

Really nice tank! Are there any concerns of hybridization keeping cories of same lineage together? Also how large are the cw028. Always wanted some but was under the impression they grew pretty big. How do they compare in size to the aeneas and sterbai


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

CW028 are pretty big. Actually I have been told by experts that only one is a 028 and the rest are regular C. scwartzi I think. Big big by Corydoras standards is not huge by any means. I have some old sterbai that are pretty large too. Most of them are lineage 9 but I haven't seen any of them look like they are interested in each other across species. From time to time fish do lay eggs but even though the tank is well planted there are enough fish that even if any eggs weren't eaten the babies must be.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Sorry I haven't updated in a while as I have been so busy. But had to take a video and post about this craziness I noticed tonight!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Most of the baby Farlowella vittata are hanging out in the Vallisneria leaves that hit the top of the tank. There are about 10 of them that I can see but possibly many others elsewhere in the plants. This one was hanging out on Anubias leaves so I snapped a pic. One of the adults partially visible in the background. 


__
https://flic.kr/p/2m1973F


----------



## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

Congrats on the new additions!!


----------



## FischAutoTechGarten (Jul 11, 2003)

holy perfect leaves!! that's a healthy plant.


----------



## ElleDee (May 16, 2020)

Love the tank. Can you post a list of all the cory species you have stocked?


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I am not sure the exact numbers anymore. I would have to rip out every plant and net out the fish to be sure since so many of them hide a lot of the time. Depending on the cost I bought 5 or 6 of each species (over 20 of the C. pygmaeus). But as far as I can tell I still have the following:
C. concolor
C. eques
C. weitzmani
C. duplicareus
C. CW010 (gold laser)
C. sterbai
C. schwartzi and 1 C. CW028 Super Schwartzi (this is what they were all supposed to be but I have been informed by experts in the field that only one of them is)
C. pygmaeus
C. similis
C. adolfoi
C. triliniatus
C. elegans
C. C020 (skunk or possibly C. granti)
S. barbatus (only one female left. 6 babies and breeding male and female died. Water got too warm for them)
Also two Otocinclus macrospilus, 1 Hypoptopoma sp. Peru, 4 Farlowella vittata, cardinal, neon, ember, and reed tetras. 
I think that is everyone.

Had C. loretoensis but one by one over a few months they died. Not sure why. Possibly like the Scleromystax they prefer cooler water. 

Before they died the S. babatus laid eggs constantly. Since then on several occasions I have seen the C. similis and C. sterbai breeding but I have never seen any breeding activity from the C. CW010 which is why I was so surprised to find a baby.


----------



## ElleDee (May 16, 2020)

Awesome, thanks for the list! It is neat getting to see so many side-by-side, especially the more rare ones.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

One of the young Farlowella vittata. I think there are at least 10. I noticed a few of them got sucked into the overflow to the sump. Not sure I am going to be able to get them out. Most of them spend a lot of time at the surface on Vallisneria leaves. Cleaned the tank the other day and had to be careful not to toss any when getting rid of some of the dead val foliage.
[Baby Farlowella vittata by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)




----------



## jake21 (Aug 11, 2019)

I would be overjoyed if my orange laser spont. bred in the 40b. I know i have a mix of males and females. I might have missed it but what are your water condition ? My kh is around 3 and gh around 7. I do have sterbai in another tank and they constantly lay eggs but the aspito like to snack on them when they find them. The female sterbai are monsters.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

I would say my kh and gh are probably similar to yours. I use RO water remineralized with Seachem products. Temp gets to as high as 76 during the day and drops to 73 at night. I still have never seen breeding activity from the gold lasers though. Just sterbai and similis. But it usually happens in the morning or early afternoon before the lights come on and now that my computer desk isn't right next to the tank I am not observing it all the time.


----------



## jake21 (Aug 11, 2019)

I almost never see my orange laser. Usually a couple of males will come up front to eat but the tank has too many hiding spots. heck my nanacara will vanish for months at a time only to pop up when one least expects. Maybe i should thin out some of the plants:









Anyway thanks. I also have 12 or 14 pygmy in the tank - maybe when i move next year i'll find a bunch of new ones.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

jake21 said:


> I almost never see my orange laser. Usually a couple of males will come up front to eat but the tank has too many hiding spots. heck my nanacara will vanish for months at a time only to pop up when one least expects. Maybe i should thin out some of the plants:
> View attachment 1030065
> 
> 
> Anyway thanks. I also have 12 or 14 pygmy in the tank - maybe when i move next year i'll find a bunch of new ones.


Oh yeah a lot of my fish I never see until I feed. And even then a few of them still manage to hide. I added about 20 pygmies and they mostly vanished for weeks. I thought maybe they died but now I have been seeing them around. In my old 35 gallon they schooled around together in a big group but for some reason they aren't doing that in this tank. I guess in the old tank they were afraid of my keyhole cichlids and stuck together for safety. And rightfully so as he ate a few of them. Nothing threatening in this tank.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

More babies? Am I going to be overrun?


----------



## jake21 (Aug 11, 2019)

Well there is a solution to this problem - give everyone who has posted in this thread 5 of them !


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Haha! I read last night that they are actually very delicate when small and often don't survive. So maybe I won't have the same problem with them that with some of the cichlids I have kept.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

A baby Farlowella vittata hanging out in the Vallisneria at the top of the tank. From what I can tell there are now three different spawns in the aquarium. This one is from spawn 2. 

Baby twig catfish (Farlowella vittata) hanging out in Vallisneria at the top of the aquarium. by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

If anyone is interested in the saga of the baby twig catfish being born.


----------



## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

Thank you so much for sharing these!! Definitely living vicariously through your experiences. Congrats on your success!!


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Brief update on the Farlowellas. They have grown quite a bit in 3 months.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)




----------



## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

What kind of lilly/lotus do you have there?


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Le duke said:


> What kind of lilly/lotus do you have there?


It was a Nymphaea nouchali but sadly it seems to have died.


----------



## jake21 (Aug 11, 2019)

Triport said:


> It was a Nymphaea nouchali but sadly it seems to have died.


The lily i have frequently go dormant and then pop up when no one expects it. I have several that went dormant for over 9 months.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

jake21 said:


> The lily i have frequently go dormant and then pop up when no one expects it. I have several that went dormant for over 9 months.


Yah I don't see any sign of it though after digging around in that area.


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Found 2 scorpions in my downstairs bathroom next to the fish room so I got a blacklight flashlight to make sure there are no more inside. At first didn't see any but did find half a dozen outside including this big one under my office window (their exoskeletons glow under black light so it makes them super easy to spot). Decided tonight to have another look around downstairs and found a third one indoors behind my 100 gallon aquarium. I think they are cool outside but I am not super excited to have them indoors. I hope that was the last of them.
Scorpion glowing under blacklight by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

New RODI system to replace the old RO system with pressurized tanks. This is a 100 gallon tank with a pump to move the water faster and RODI instead of just RO so I should be nitrate free. Hoping this works better than the last setup.

New RODI system by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

My Farlowella vittata laid their eggs on the front glass for a change. in the past 5 or 6 months they have laid them about a dozen times in the back rear corner of the tank almost out of sight. So I will finally get a close up view and get to see them as they develop. This is day 1.

Male Farlowella vittata guarding newly laid eggs by Kaveh Maguire, on Flickr


----------



## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

What is your water change regimen? Pretty impressive list and total number of cory cats in there. 

What do you feed them? I'm always looking for new food to try. I feed a mix of Hikari Vibra Bites, Hikari Algae wafers and Hikari Sinking Carnivore pellets.


----------

