# 3ft build



## Alasse

Tank: 3' x 18"x 18"
Filter: Canister
Heater: 1x 300W
Light: 4x 39W T5HO
Substrate: Propagating sand, Flourite, Marble chips, topped with course sand
Hardscape: Wood & Rocks
Plants: Crypts will feature big, other than them unsure
CO2: Yep, DIY and Excel
Fertz: Yep, Trace & Flourish
Livestock: Tiger barbs & RTBS (possibly others, not sure yet)

The basic bones (the java fern will not be staying)









Will update as it progresses


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## Alasse

Updated pic - not too much new


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## Alasse

Updated pic


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## Buerkletucson

Looks nice......

Just my opinion......
I don't care for the looks of a tank that shows heaters, power heads, plumbing, etc. 
My goal in setting up any tank is to have the best filtration and heating system possible but make sure it's not seen at all.........or gets lost in the background. 

To much visible mechanical equipment takes away fom the rest of the natural look.


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## Alasse

Buerkletucson said:


> Looks nice......
> 
> Just my opinion......
> I don't care for the looks of a tank that shows heaters, power heads, plumbing, etc.
> My goal in setting up any tank is to have the best filtration and heating system possible but make sure it's not seen at all.........or gets lost in the background.
> 
> To much visible mechanical equipment takes away fom the rest of the natural look.


I don't like it either 

As stated the tank is still a work in progress, it has no filter, so powerheads are required temporarily, no point tucking them out of the way if they are not staying

By the time it is finished you will not see any of the hardware


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## Buerkletucson

Alasse said:


> I don't like it either
> 
> As stated the tank is still a work in progress, it has no filter, so powerheads are required temporarily, no point tucking them out of the way if they are not staying
> 
> By the time it is finished you will not see any of the hardware


Sounds good......
My mistake, but I don't see that stated in the above posts.....it also says you have a canister filter. 

Glad to see he mechanicals won't be shown in the final version. 
Please post a final picture.


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## robinc

Are the marble chips to keep the sand from sifting down below the Flourite and when you say propagating sand do you mean a course type sand used to propagate seedlings or cuttings in the garden, on the granular size of say perlite?

Love the driftwood. It goes nicely with the plants and rocks. Big enough to be seen well, but doesn't take away from the rest of the display.


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## Alasse

Buerkletucson said:


> Sounds good......
> My mistake, but I don't see that stated in the above posts.....it also says you have a canister filter.
> 
> Glad to see he mechanicals won't be shown in the final version.
> Please post a final picture.


Beg my pardon, i thought i had proposed up in the original post, and i see i do not. I was thinking of a different forum i posted on.....sorry about that 

But yes this is far from complete. It did have a canister on it, but i required it for another tank that had its canister die. I just havent as yet bought a new one to replace the old as its not yet stocked, and wont be for a while. I really want to get the plants and such established before i add critters


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## Alasse

robinc said:


> Are the marble chips to keep the sand from sifting down below the Flourite and when you say propagating sand do you mean a course type sand used to propagate seedlings or cuttings in the garden, on the granular size of say perlite?
> 
> Love the driftwood. It goes nicely with the plants and rocks. Big enough to be seen well, but doesn't take away from the rest of the display.


The marble chips will produce some CO2
The propagating sand is the same type used to propagate terrestrial seedlings, it looks exactly like a coarse sand. 

If you have a look at this photo below, the reddish layer is the unwashed prop sand and the lighter layer is washed prop sand


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## robinc

Alasse said:


> The marble chips will produce some CO2
> The propagating sand is the same type used to propagate terrestrial seedlings, it looks exactly like a coarse sand.
> 
> If you have a look at this photo below, the reddish layer is the unwashed prop sand and the lighter layer is washed prop sand


Huh. That's interesting about the marble chips. Wonder what other kinds of things you could put in a tank to release CO2.


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## Alasse

So I managed to pick up a canister today for the tank, i'll be getting it up and running tomorrow.
I will be also draining the tank tomorrow. I need to slide it along the table some to fit the canister, and naturally cant move it while its full. I will be changing it from town supply water to rainwater while I am at it.

I'll be doing another trim of the weed in front of the rocks, and replanting the cuttings. So another updated pic will probably be coming soon


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## Alasse

Update time

FTS









The foreground weed needs trimming again lol The giant cardamine will also require trimming and replanting....

I will be ordering some more plants and goodies for the tank tomorrow, and they should arrive early next week


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## big b

hmm...nice i love those plants i can see about 5 different kinds what are their name i might buy some.


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## Alasse

Thank you

Giant Cardamine, Giant Ambulia, Green Pennywort, Crypt Wendtii, Cardamine Lyrata (the plant, when it arrived, was not fully healthy, so i removed quite a bit of it), Pogostemon Stellata, Crypt Balansae, Swords, Hairgrass, Peacock Moss & an unknown


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## big b

wow,cool i will start looking these up soon.


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## Alasse

Back on track 

Updated pic









Stock

31 neons









3 Juvies peppermint bristlenose









Cherry shrimp









and 2 Dwarf Gouramis


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## robinc

Love love love the peppermint bristlnose. I really like all the bristlenoses. Cute


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## big b

man that tank is wicked!!!i love the 3 peppermint bn plecos.and also where did you find the cherry shrimp?i have been trying to find them for a while now.and let me guess the new plants that are by the shrimp is dwarf hair grass right?


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## Alasse

The peps are cute, they will grow into this  (my largest male Adonis)









Red cherry shrimp are everywhere here, i breed them for my tanks, to feed to me goldies, and also to sell. So got a large supply lol
I also have Yellow cherry shrimp, but they are not for sale at this time.

The shrimp is sitting beside Japanese Hair Grass


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## big b

hmm cool japenese hair grass.sounds all exotic and expensive.and i dont suppose Toowoomba QLD is anywhere close to georgia is it?


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## big b

hmm cool japenese hair grass.sounds all exotic and expensive.and i dont suppose Toowoomba QLD is anywhere close to georgia is it?is he a adonis pleco or his name is adonis?


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## Alasse

Nope, not unless Georgia is in Australia


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## Alasse

So updated pic (The stem plants need a trim, so ignore the straggly bits, they will be fixed up this weekend)










I've noticed a few of the neons are missing, normal thing, they are not terribly hardy sadly. Remaining are eating well and look great though. The 2 dwarf gourami are still playing nice, though i think the blue one is the boss. Cherries are multiplying and their colour is really red.


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## robinc

Really coming along nicely. Such a nice display. I'm going to give co2 some real thought this winter.


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## dhoch

Wow, that is really intense. I really like the Peppermint BN. How big to they get?


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## Alasse

The Peps can reach around 16cm


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## big b

Alasse said:


> Nope, not unless Georgia is in Australia


man no one lives around me and i live no where around me*sad*


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## Alasse

Update: I gave the tank a big trim as it was looking very overgrown

Before 









After


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## big b

wow,next time you do a trim send me some plants lol.


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## Alasse

Updated pic (sorry tis needing another trim)

I have added 4 dwarf loaches to clean up the pesky pond snails that have appeared!


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## Alasse

Update


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## big b

hmm i like the look.you dont have to listen to me about this or not but i think that a banana plant would look good right in front of that "cave" that the plants make.the ''cave" is behind the neons.


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## discusbreeder

Looks like a real good setup for rams or apistogramma.


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## Alasse

Something will go in there, havent found something i like yet lol

Rams/Apistos are planned for the tank, again sourcing a nice quality pair has not been easy


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## big b

look around bobstropicalplants.com and contact him to see if he can get you a breeding pair.he is on one of my other forums and he supplies a lot of the fish to them.i even bought from him once.good fish.


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## Alasse

I'm in Australia  I have bought fish from an online company once, and will never do it again. I ended up losing a tank full of fish and to make matters worse, the fish ordered were not what they said they would be...

I'm now at the, if I cant inspect the fish first I don't want it lol


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## 55 gallon freshwater newb

Your tank looks great I got a lot of good ideas and inspiration from it thank you for posting so many pictures it's nice to see in a timeline


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## Alasse

Update


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## big b

aww sweet.how big are those gouramis?2 inches?2.5 inches?


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## Alasse

Thanks. They would be approx 2.5inches


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## Arthur7

Alasse said:


> Update


I very much like the foreground planting. The lotus in left corner has grown a lot. A very good picture.


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## Alasse

Thank you....I enjoy working on this tank, takes quite a few hours to trim and clean up after a trim lol But I think its worth the effort 

20 new cardinal tetras added, with a bit a settle time and maturity these guys will be gorgeous!


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## Arthur7

Yes, you're right. It is a pleasure to cultivate beautiful plants.
The plants are the most important. If the flourish of success in the fish is already more than half secured.


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## big b

you have a gift,that looks even better with the cardinals.
i just book marked this page


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## Summer

you must think im stalking you, but im just catching up an trying to bump old tanks to generate some conversation and yours are perfect for it


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## Alasse

This tank is no more....the decor went to a 2.6ft and is all now in my 4ft planted tank


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