Support NeoGAF

[Natetan]

I currently have three aquariums set up.

One 10 gallon-ish tank with mostly mollys and a few guppies with some coridoras. Also some used to have a bunch of red cherry shrimp in there, but i think as the guppies got bigger they at them. they're eating some of my plants now too.

-The other tank is a small 8-ish gallon tank with three stinkpot turtles. They are cute, but getting surprisingly big. They are very dirty, so i have to clean the tank/filter completely every week.

My biggest tank is about a 29gallon. I've got some pure black and pure white angelfish, a bunch nice colored gouramis, and a nice school of rummynose and bleeding heart tetras.For the bottom i have some glass shrimp, some corisoras along with two tiger nerites (who are laying too many eggs) Had some dwarf cichlids on there but they died off, prob because of the angelfish. The angels were also eating a lot of my plants so we got some big broad leaf ones that they don't eat anymore.

Any other aquarium holders here?

 

[deadbeef]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=427334 <-- some aquarium owners in this thread.

I've got a 55 gallon tank with about 7 or 8 African Cichlids (mbunas) and a pleco.

 

[DJ_Lae]

Slightly older thread here too - http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=414243

We shut our last tank down, which was a 75 gallon reef tank. After the skimmer went while on vacation and almost all of the fish died, and we had our daughter, it was just too much to babysit all the time. While it was great to look at, it sure was a pain in the ass to maintain.

One of the last shots of the messy thing, and a video of some of the inhabitants.

 

[Borgnine]

I had a moon themed one years ago.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

My girlfriend bought me this for my birthday this past January:

****ing awesome, if I do say so myself.

 

[Natetan]

Just took some (crappy iphone) photos:

 

[Red]

I have an empty 55 gallon tank, not sure what to do with it. Was thinking saltwater because they tend to look nicer, but I don't really have the cash for that kind of investment. I have most of the needed parts except a protein skimmer, and luckily was given two filters with the tank (one under gravel). I may be back to this thread once I figure out what I'm doing with it.

 

[Natetan]

I have an empty 55 gallon tank, not sure what to do with it. Was thinking saltwater because they tend to look nicer, but I don't really have the cash for that kind of investment. I have most of the needed parts except a protein skimmer, and luckily was given two filters with the tank (one under gravel). I may be back to this thread once I figure out what I'm doing with it.

I've always wanted to try a saltwater tank, but unless I had someone to set it up for me and maintain it, I'm pretty sure I would kill everything. Always wanted to try. I bought a ten gallon when I went to college and set it up as a saltwater tank, but I gave up pretty quickly.

I grew up with aquariums, and am just now many years later having fun with it again. Maybe I'll graduate to salt water eventually, but thought I should start out with easy stuff first.

 

[Red]

I've always wanted to try a saltwater tank, but unless I had someone to set it up for me and maintain it, I'm pretty sure I would kill everything. Always wanted to try. I bought a ten gallon when I went to college and set it up as a saltwater tank, but I gave up pretty quickly.

I grew up with aquariums, and am just now many years later having fun with it again. Maybe I'll graduate to salt water eventually, but thought I should start out with easy stuff first.

Ten gallons seems way too small for a saltwater tank. I thought generally they should be 50 and above.

 

[DJ_Lae]

Ten gallons seems way too small for a saltwater tank. I thought common thought was 50 and above.

The bigger they are the easier they are to maintain, definitely - the water volume compensates for you being a bit lazy with topping them off, adding supplements, having a slightly clogged skimmer, etc.

20 is about the smallest I'd want to try. Any smaller and your margin for error is tiny.

 

[Natetan]

Ten gallons seems way too small for a saltwater tank. I thought generally they should be 50 and above.

yeah, it was a tiny dorm room. would have had to sleep on the floor if i got a tank that size.

in retrospect it was a stupid idea.

 

[Red]

The bigger they are the easier they are to maintain, definitely - the water volume compensates for you being a bit lazy with topping them off, adding supplements, having a slightly clogged skimmer, etc.

20 is about the smallest I'd want to try. Any smaller and your margin for error is tiny.

Hm. I also have a 35 gallon vertical tank that's currently unused. I'd like to have that one set up instead, since it takes up less space, but I was afraid to use it as a saltwater tank. May try it out just to see.

Don't want to end up needlessly killing fish, though.

 

[q_q]

I've got two freshwater tanks. One a 30 gallon with fake plants, the other a ten gallon with live plants. I'll post pics when I get my hands on a camera. I really want to get a nano tank for my desk (probably around 7 gallons) and get a few of these cute guys (Pea Puffers):

 

[DJ_Lae]

Hm. I also have a 35 gallon vertical tank that's currently unused. I'd like to have that one set up instead, since it takes up less space, but I was afraid to use it as a saltwater tank. May try it out just to see.

Don't want to end up needlessly killing fish, though.

You could always start with fish only saltwater, as it's generally the corals that are pickier about mineral supplements and the like, and surprisingly it's them that produce more waste than the fish do too, in terms of skimming.

The only issue you may have with a vertical tank is the lighting - you'll need stronger lights or a lot of live rock or other filler to raise the corals up.

That's the one thing I never really got into - the hard corals, as they're even stricter with light strength and spectrum and minerals and are really obnoxious to care for.

 

[BaDJuJu]

April of 2010

April of 2011

My kids wanted to get fish, so we got an O.B Peacock, a Taiwan Reef, Red Jewel, Cant remember what the other two are.

We are getting an 80 gallon tank now, my wife is pretty stoke about it. We would like to some day get a reef tank, I am sorry you have to get rid of yours.

 

[Hazaro]

Glad there is a thread for this. Probably mostly dead, but neat.
I'm setting up a tank right now, here's a snapshot from the corner of it.
Going to add Aquasoil, rocks, and shrimp soon.

Hopefully everything doesn't die from the ammonia spike and pH change...

 

[Emerson]

I'm a bit of an aquarium nut myself, limited only by the funds available to me. I've got a 30 gallon FW community tank and a 10 gallon crab tank. I've posted pictures elsewhere and maybe I will again later but here's one I just took.

 

[Drewsky]

I need to get one. I love them, there's something so relaxing about them.

 

[Baraka in the White House]

I need to get one. I love them, there's something so relaxing about them.

Yep, sometimes just the sound of the filter doing its thing is the most relaxing thing in the world. They're difficult to start correctly but in my rather biased opinion they're worth it.

I'll throw up some new pics of mine later.

 

[Drewsky]

Yep, sometimes just the sound of the filter doing its thing is the most relaxing thing in the world. They're difficult to start correctly but in my rather biased opinion they're worth it.

I'll throw up some new pics of mine later.

Yup. The only real experience I have with them is when my uncle went on vacation and put me in charge of feeding fish. I'd just go in and get hypnotized by it sometimes.

 

[ChiTownBuffalo]

A very long tme ago, I installed a 110 saltwater tank , with a biostack filter, wave maker and currently cycler into a wall.

That kinda sucked.

 

[Baraka in the White House]

A very long tme ago, I installed a 110 saltwater tank , with a biostack filter, wave maker and currently cycler into a wall.

That kinda sucked.

Sounds awesome, what went wrong?

 

[Emerson]

I think he was just saying it was a pain to install.

 

[pseudocaesar]

Ive got a 220L tank with some Discus and Angels, I have had a few other tanks and different set ups over the years, but I cut down to one a few months ago. Definitely my favourite tank so far

 

[balladofwindfishes]

I have one 25gal and one 10gal

The 25 gal is basically a community tank of mismatched species (nothing incompatible, just a bunch of very small schools and single fish) I bought a ton of before I knew better. They originally all lived in the 10 gallon until it got ridiculous and now they live in comfort and peace in a well taken care of, established 25 gallon with lots of room.

In the old ten gallon is now an established tank with a platy, a male betta and a gazillion snails.

Both planted, because that's really the best, most beautiful, healthiest way to go.

25 Gal
55 Gallon Filter

- Female Betta
- Platy
- 3 Panda Cories
- 5 Neon Tetra
- 1 Java (Black Kuhli) Loach
- 4(?) Ghost Shrimp. I haven't seen one of them in weeks, so I'm not sure if they are still around. I might get some more, I thought they were cute and they don't really make much waste at all. They may be hiding in the moss...
- 1 Otoclinus
- 2 Mystery Snails (Black and White)
- 1 Nerite Snail
- Lots of Ramshorn snails

Like I said, a mismatched bunch of rouge fish from my inexperienced days. Imagine them all in a 10 gallon, YIKES

 

[jstevenson]

Ive got a 220L tank with some Discus and Angels, I have had a few other tanks and different set ups over the years, but I cut down to one a few months ago. Definitely my favourite tank so far

Did Discus for years, finicky as hell, but awesome and beautiful

 

[Hazaro]

I have one 25gal and one 10gal

The 25 gal is basically a community tank of mismatched species (nothing incompatible, just a bunch of very small schools and single fish) I bought a ton of before I knew better. They originally all lived in the 10 gallon until it got ridiculous and now they live in comfort and peace in a well taken care of, established 25 gallon with lots of room.

In the old ten gallon is now an established tank with a platy, a male betta and a gazillion snails.

Both planted, because that's really the best, most beautiful, healthiest way to go.

25 Gal
55 Gallon Filter

- Female Betta
- Platy
- 3 Panda Cories
- 5 Neon Tetra
- 1 Java (Black Kuhli) Loach
- 4(?) Ghost Shrimp. I haven't seen one of them in weeks, so I'm not sure if they are still around. I might get some more, I thought they were cute and they don't really make much waste at all. They may be hiding in the moss...
- 1 Otoclinus
- 2 Mystery Snails (Black and White)
- 1 Nerite Snail
- Lots of Ramshorn snails

Like I said, a mismatched bunch of rouge fish from my inexperienced days. Imagine them all in a 10 gallon, YIKES

Panda Cories are so adorable. I can't stand any 'pest' snails.
What do you have planted? Do you do CO2? Any plans for cherries/yellow/amano shrimp?

Here is my current mismash, I need to add substrate which is cycling.

And some container to keep Cherry Shrimp in before I add them to main tank (also for babies).

 

[ChiTownBuffalo]

Sounds awesome, what went wrong?

The install and everything was OK. It was the upkeep and maintenance.

I did it for my high school AP Bio class.

It was hard to keep algae at bay in a tank that large and just the time required to take care of things like fireworms, etc.

Also, stupid kids tapping on the glass would drive me bonkers.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

Panda Cories are so adorable. I can't stand any 'pest' snails.
What do you have planted? Do you do CO2? Any plans for cherries/yellow/amano shrimp?

dawwwww
They really are the cutest fish ever.
Also a Neurotic Otoclinus is cute. Everything MUST be clean, clean, clean, CLEAN all day every day, moving all over cleaning every surface in the tank. He also schools with the cories, which confuses me, but whatever. They sleep together and move around together, despite their obvious differences and feeding habits.

I'd love a Bamboo shrimp, but I just can't justify the price for a critter that lives a year and a half. My fish store hasn't had Amanos and Cherries in awhile, so I've basically stuck with Ghosts.

Let's see, my 25 gal aquarium is entirely full of plants (don't know how they exploded, I have like a 10 watt bulb...). I don't do anything special, they just grow. I also picked all low light plants.

-3 Swords (one of these is MASSIVE (50% of my aquarium), one is medium sized and the other is tiny)
-1 Ocelot Sword
-2 Banana Plants
-Lots of Java Moss all over
-1 Anubias that won't die even though the sword mentioned above is 3x its size and growing on top of it.
-1 very small piece of Hornwort that acts mostly as snail food these days
-1 very small Watersprite, also does that
-A bit of duckweed

And 2 nice pieces of driftwood and some medium sized decorative rocks

Absolutely no plastic. I got rid of everything plastic, all my decor is real these days.

All of them started as little tiny buds, but all of them for unknown reasons just grew and grew and now it looks like a thriving river bed. I love it, and it helps keep algae out of the walls (but not my decorative rocks for some reason, they're coated in algae, but that's good food for the Otoclinus)


My "pest" snails keep the algae away and also trim the dead leaves on my plants. They do a nice job, and I'm at a good point now where their population seems to be in check. Also they make basically no waste.

 

[Hazaro]

I'm sure someone near you had some shrimp, just a matter of finding them.
I say 'pest' snails because they becomes pests when there are 80 in your tank and you can never get rid of them...

I have some wood and lava rock I got, need to replan my plant layout.

I can't stand algae so I guess you have it easy on you that way. I do about three 50% water changes a week and was super careful about all the plants I put in.
It's just planted but I'm being super careful about my setup since it is the hardest part.

 

[Staccat0]

Finally! Some shit I know about! I have to run top work, but I'll post pics later.

I'm ready for some raging battles about no-fish cycling and some nerd rages over betta fish in community tanks.

 

[Hilbert]

I almost started one a few years ago, bought some books, went and looked at tanks. Then I decided to work on gardening more. In fact I was mostly interested in growing plants in the aquarium.

The photos here are lovely though! Perhaps I should think about getting one again.

 

[Davedough]

This is the longest stretch (1 year) that I haven't had a tank going since I was 13 (I'm 37 now).

I have an empty 125 gallon acrylic seamless tank and stand that once I get into a permanent residence in my new town, I'm hoping to turn into a full African Cichlid tank.

I've had many many different tanks ranging from fresh to salt from reptile (turtles) to amphibians. Its one of the most relaxing and rewarding hobbies I have.

 

[Hazaro]

I almost started one a few years ago, bought some books, went and looked at tanks. Then I decided to work on gardening more. In fact I was mostly interested in growing plants in the aquarium.

The photos here are lovely though! Perhaps I should think about getting one again.

The Planted Tank is a good starting resource.

Then just get to know the pH and GH of your tap water, what light levels you want, your substrate, shrimp, decide if you want a CO2 system, etc...

Put in some time and effort and maybe you will end up with something nice looking.

 

[Hilbert]

The Planted Tank is a good starting resource.

Then just get to know the pH and GH of your tap water, what light levels you want, your substrate, shrimp, decide if you want a CO2 system, etc...

Put in some time and effort and maybe you will end up with something nice looking.

Those are some beautiful pictures! I might start it in the distant future, but I have enough projects at the moment.

 

[Leunam]

Holy crap. I'm really tempted to get started on a tank now if I can replicate one of those tanks up there.

 

[Hazaro]

First image has an absolute absurd amount of HC (Hemianthus callitrichoides) which is a absolute wondrous foreground plant if you can give it the light and CO2 + time to carpet the bottom. If you are pumping enough CO2 into your tank you can get them to 'pearl' as well.

Images 2, 3, and 4 are simple enough setups. Just get your parameters right and keep the water good. Dose some CO2 and have a light cycle.

Grass and moss (on the trees) are super hardy. A lot of it comes down to what light fixture you have and the beauty of a rimless glass tank with clear water in it (just do good water changes).

It's the time and upkeep for trimming involved. Also partly knowing what you are doing and looking out for.

Right now I'm trying to rearrange my tank to center on a new piece of wood. I'm trying to think which parts of it I should cover in moss. Hard to do in a 10G...

 

[olore]

Always wanted to get an aquarium, more so now that we have our daughter and furry pets are a no-no

 

[Hazaro]

Do it!

Start with some cheap guppies or platys, throw in some java moss and java fern. Feel good nothing is dying!
Then work your way up from there.

 

[iceDragon7]

Those planted tanks make my 10 gallon look like a 5 year olds aquarium. I recently set up this 10 gallon about 2 months ago so I'm still doing my tank cycle with fish.

I've been doing water changes to keep ammonia levels low but after 2 months I still see no sign of nitrites/nitrates. Anyone on GAF know how long it usually takes with fish?

I also plan to upgrade to a 29/30 gallon as soon as I find a deal on a full set up.

 

[DonMigs85]

Those planted tanks make my 10 gallon look like a 5 year olds aquarium. I recently set up this 10 gallon about 2 months ago so I'm still doing my tank cycle with fish.

I've been doing water changes to keep ammonia levels low but after 2 months I still see no sign of nitrites/nitrates. Anyone on GAF know how long it usually takes with fish?

I also plan to upgrade to a 29/30 gallon as soon as I find a deal on a full set up.

I guess that old rule "a gallon of water for every inch of fish" really does still apply. As long as you don't overfeed or overstock the tank I don't think you'll have to worry about nitrites.

 

[Ace Harding]

Amazing Pics.jpg

In that second to last set, the final pic shows the tank without all the gear. Is that just for the photo, or do you get to a point with a heavily planted tank that you don't need it anymore?

Also, when you use substrate like that (looks like dirt?) do you ever have to clean/replace it? I've only had gravel tanks, and would "vacuum" them every so often to get all the big gunk out. What's the normal maintenance like on tanks like those in Hazaro's pics? Do the plants and all the other biological filters do all the work?

 

[DonMigs85]

In that second to last set, the final pic shows the tank without all the gear. Is that just for the photo, or do you get to a point with a heavily planted tank that you don't need it anymore?

Also, when you use substrate like that (looks like dirt?) do you ever have to clean/replace it? I've only had gravel tanks, and would "vacuum" them every so often to get all the big gunk out. What's the normal maintenance like on tanks like those in Hazaro's pics? Do the plants and all the other biological filters do all the work?

It's still gravel, just dark and finer. It's best to have a slight slope from front to back so that the detritus is encouraged to roll down towards the front, then you can vacuum it up. But if it's really overgrown with plants you don't need to vacuum anymore.

 

[BaDJuJu]

Here is a pretty sick set up that I watch every now and then. The first video is from 2 years ago when they set it up. This is outside of Denver at 9000 ft elevation. 1200 gallon reef set up.

Little over 2 years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh6Cz_H8Uhg

2 Years later. (a few months ago)

http://www.youtube.com/user/corallite#p/u/20/sncfi4hgnM0


This is the set up at the shop we go too by our house. Its a 600 gallon tank. It is pretty sweet, we take the kids there every once in a while. We are building a cabin on some property so it will be a few years before I get to go nuts and build something like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXE22LsGauo

 

[balladofwindfishes]

I can't stand algae so I guess you have it easy on you that way. I do about three 50% water changes a week and was super careful about all the plants I put in.
It's just planted but I'm being super careful about my setup since it is the hardest part.

50% 3x a week!?

I do one 30% change a week on my 25 gallon


Declorinator must just run you to the bank

 

[Emerson]

50% 3x a week!?

I do one 30% change a week on my 25 gallon


Declorinator must just run you to the bank

Unless you're actively cycling your tank or are pretty overstocked there's no reason to do that many water changes. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's overkill.

 

[Hazaro]

50% 3x a week!?

I do one 30% change a week on my 25 gallon

Declorinator must just run you to the bank

I used to be overstocked massively due to the number of fish I had and my nitrates were (and still are) very high. I've never had an issue with their high levels, but I wanted to get it down since I was going to add some shrimp.

I got rid of a lot of my fish and now I'm about what I should be so I shouldn't have to WC as much now. I have a tap filter that does good work for me too.

In that second to last set, the final pic shows the tank without all the gear. Is that just for the photo, or do you get to a point with a heavily planted tank that you don't need it anymore?

Also, when you use substrate like that (looks like dirt?) do you ever have to clean/replace it? I've only had gravel tanks, and would "vacuum" them every so often to get all the big gunk out. What's the normal maintenance like on tanks like those in Hazaro's pics? Do the plants and all the other biological filters do all the work?

Half and half.
The left items are the CO2 diffuser (Which puts very small CO2 bubbles in the water) along with the heater.
The right is a CO2 level checker (drop checker) and an inflow pipe I'm guessing.

You'd want flow and extra CO2 if you wanted that fast growth and nice colors, but it is not necessary to maintain the tank. Just for the photo quality.

The gravel is probably some variation of Aquasoil or similar planting substrate. Looks like some coarser sand or rocky for the bottom layer.

You don't vacuum since the soil absorbs the ammonia (from fish waste, etc.), bacteria convert it into nitrites, bacteria convert that into nitrates which the plants use. There's a small enough bioload you would only need to do some water changes to be fine.

At least that's what I understand. I haven't been doing this very long and my 1st tank isn't even setup.

 

[Krakatoa]

I am going to be following this thread closely.

I ended up with an Aquarium because my friend could not take it back to Hawaii. So you can imagine i have had a lot to learn.

So far things seem to be going well. I am having one problem though my clown fish keep laying eggs and then a week later eating them. This is now the fourth set of eggs laid… Any advice? I have purchased a net but I am unsure when to net the eggs as they are currently on the Coral. I am guessing I should juts cover the whole rock.

I will upload some pics later when I get home.

Gaf help me save the nemo's

 

[Apath]

Wow, those planted tanks above look fucking awesome. Makes me want to do a 125g Discus tank.

 

[WAWAZA]

[

i want