# 72 Gallon Bow (first build)



## iadubber

This is my first real venture into aquarianism? I bought this used and it was pretty dirty. 

72 Gallon Bow with matching stand
Pool Filter Sand Substrate
FluVal 405
Freshwater
Going to go with a large school of Zebras, Rasboras, and a few cory cats to start when the cycling is done. 

Here it is in our dining room:

IMG_0286 by iadubber, on Flickr

Hoping to start setting up the substrates tonight and get the fishless cycle going. Lastnight I spent a few hours scrubbing and rinsing all the components with warm water and steel wool. 

I bought some amazon sword and java fern at PetCO that needs to get in there soon. 

I purchased some rock on ebay 
Aquarium Stone-Tiger Stripe Rock- Cave Kit Sale 20+ lbs | eBay
and a nice piece of driftwood. It's going to be tough filling this baby up right away.


----------



## KG4mxv

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*

I highly recommend that you inspect the top center brace for signs of 
UV damage from florescent lighting. 
if it has an band of lighter color where the light is directly over it be careful not to
pull or put any vertical stress on it or it will break and the tank will useless.

Also if it is used I would put it out outside on a patio or deck and fill it and mark the water level and put the cover on it. and leave it for a day or two and check the water level to see if it leaks.

Also I would get rid of the old florescent lighting and get LED lighting.
that will extend the life of the tank.
I suggest the marineland series of LED lights.
Pet smart sells them for 100 bucks or so and I love mine.
So does my plants.


----------



## iadubber

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*


IMG_0295 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0294 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0292 by iadubber, on Flickr

It's a little bare now. The driftwood and rocks that are coming should fill it up a little better. I need to ditch the Emperor 400, dang thing is so loud. I've fiddled and filddled with it and it's not any better. I have an email into Marineland, but I can't deal with it for too many more days. I'd like to get my cycle going with a new filter.


----------



## KG4mxv

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*

I use a fertilizer called flourish and it works great. 

I have an canister power filter that is in the stand of the 46G bow front I have and I love it .
it is very quiet. 
I forgotten the make and model but here is a picture of it. 
it holds a lot of media in 3 baskets inside of the filter. 
each basket has a velcro mesh bag that holds the media in the basket.
I do 2 of them are carbon and 1 amo-carb that absorbs ammonia.


----------



## SuckMyCichlids

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*

not a bad start! cant wait to see what comes next lol


----------



## majerah1

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*

Looking nice!


----------



## jrman83

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*

You did a great job cleaning it if it was very dirty. 

If the center piece ever does break the tank is not useless. You can fab up your own center brace or even better, order a new rim for the tank from your lfs.


----------



## iadubber

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*



jrman83 said:


> You did a great job cleaning it if it was very dirty.
> 
> If the center piece ever does break the tank is not useless. You can fab up your own center brace or even better, order a new rim for the tank from your lfs.


The center bar is perfectly fine. It was just coated in deposits so it's a little discolored. I'm excited to get this going!  It's been a couple years I've been wanting to start this hobby.


----------



## iadubber

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*

Just purchased a FluVal 405 so I can ditch the emperor. I may opt for an AQ50 or 70 in the future for double filtration, but I like the idea of having the tank up against the wall better for now.


----------



## Summer

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*

looks good!


----------



## Rob72

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*

very nice job on setup looks great


----------



## iadubber

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*

Got the FluVal 405 today and my god I'm in love already. Glad to get rid of that Emperor 400 biowheel and enjoy whisper quiet filtering. Now I just hear my air pump.


----------



## TypeYourTextHere

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*

I wasn't sure if that was your Java Fern that is planted in your sand so I thought I would mention that the root stem thing(forgot the name of it) should not be buried in the substrate. It will do much better tied to a piece of driftwood or something. I used fishing line to tie mine down and it does great.


----------



## iadubber

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*



TypeYourTextHere said:


> I wasn't sure if that was your Java Fern that is planted in your sand so I thought I would mention that the root stem thing(forgot the name of it) should not be buried in the substrate. It will do much better tied to a piece of driftwood or something. I used fishing line to tie mine down and it does great.


ok, thanks. I'll tie it to my driftwood when it comes and I'll pull it out of the sand for now. Glad to have you guys!


----------



## KG4mxv

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*

Yes thanks for the java fern tip. 
I have heard that java fern does well in brackish water and I plan on stewing up a brackish tank soon.


----------



## iadubber

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*

So I'm pondering what we are going to stock this bad boy with when the cycle is done. 

I am kind of confused on something. Ok, so in doing the fishless cycle we introduce ammonia to create the beneficial bacteria to consume the ammonia when actual fish are introduce. 
I would assume that you need to have a certain amount of fish to provide enough ammonia for the bacteria to stay alive. 

This would be my proposed stock, any issues I will have? Will they all get along? Are the numbers correct? 










Also another question I've been wondering about. Our tap water is softened, so I have to go outside to our faucet to get unsoftened water. It's pretty cold. How do you guys acclimate the water temp when you have fish before pouring it into the tank? A separate heater for the bucket?


----------



## TypeYourTextHere

By adding the ammonia to your tank you start the cycling process. As you continue to feed the beneficial bacteria with the daily doses of ammonia the bacteria multiplies to the appropriate amount of nitrites to consume the ammonia, and the same is true with nitrates consuming nitrites. The cycle eventually completes.
At that point you have a decent amount of Beneficial bacteria to support the bio load of your fish. If you add 10 fish then the beneficial bacteria will either increase or decrease depending on the amount of ammonia your 10 fish that you just added produce. This is exactly the reason when you add fish to an established tank that you do a few at a time, opposed to 15-20 at a time so the bacteria has time to adjust to the increased bio load. 
I hope that makes sense.

Edit: That is 29 fish that you are planning to start off with. Just make sure that the level of ammonia that you are cycling with is high enough to produce the amount of BB to support that many fish.


----------



## KG4mxv

*Re: 75 Gallon Bow (first build)*

Well I am planning on having a 55G plastic drum to condition the water.
I have a source of used food grade drums (lucky me) 

I plan on putting it in my workshop and running a 1/4 tube to each tank
using a windshield wiper pump.
I know it will be slow but adding new water to a tank slowly is a good thing. 

Two 200W submersible heaters and a aerator.
A water heater insulation jacket. 
During the winter this will be a must. 

Thankfully I have a 4 inch conduit in between my house and the shop.
That runs from the utility closet on the house to the shop. 
I just have to insulate the tubing under the house.

I already have two whole house water filters that have activated carbon. 
I plan on using them to fill the barrel 

Then my wife can do water changes with a turn of a valve.


----------



## iadubber

TypeYourTextHere said:


> By adding the ammonia to your tank you start the cycling process. As you continue to feed the beneficial bacteria with the daily doses of ammonia the bacteria multiplies to the appropriate amount of nitrites to consume the ammonia, and the same is true with nitrates consuming nitrites. The cycle eventually completes.
> At that point you have a decent amount of Beneficial bacteria to support the bio load of your fish. If you add 10 fish then the beneficial bacteria will either increase or decrease depending on the amount of ammonia your 10 fish that you just added produce. This is exactly the reason when you add fish to an established tank that you do a few at a time, opposed to 15-20 at a time so the bacteria has time to adjust to the increased bio load.
> I hope that makes sense.
> 
> Edit: That is 29 fish that you are planning to start off with. Just make sure that the level of ammonia that you are cycling with is high enough to produce the amount of BB to support that many fish.


I suppose that makes sense. I wasn't planning on adding the 29 at once. I was looking that to be about the quantity I want total. 

Finally got the water under control after putting the FluVal on. My ammonia was off the charts for some reason. I didn't have an ammonia test kit when I added the recommended 2tsp. So I did a 25% WC and that brought it down some. I did another 20% WC and now it's around 4ppm.


----------



## iadubber

Finally have the ammonia under control. What temp is recommended for a fishless cycle? I've been running mid 70s. 

Pic of the anubias. 

IMG_0300 by iadubber, on Flickr

Pic of some rocks I pulled from our landscaping, boiled and brushed them off. 

IMG_0307 by iadubber, on Flickr

Gotta give this beauty a shout out!

IMG_0303 by iadubber, on Flickr


----------



## TypeYourTextHere

Again, I am being to lazy to look, but I recall setting my heater to 78-80 degrees when I cycled my tank. Double check that though.


----------



## KG4mxv

Look great so far.


----------



## iadubber

Got my little piece of driftwood. I need something bigger. Hopefully getting my rocks Wednesday to build some caves. 

I tied my Java Fern to the driftwood. It's currently being held down with a rock. 


IMG_0339 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0342 by iadubber, on Flickr

I need a black background soon. 

Did a DIY LED Moonlight mod to my light. I drilled 5 holes in the reflector for the LEDs. Wired them in series with a 12V power supply. I still need a switch to turn them off. 

This is the best representation of how it looks. Really neat. 


IMG_0343 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0345 by iadubber, on Flickr

Longer exposures on a tripod below

IMG_0355 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0356 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0358 by iadubber, on Flickr


----------



## jbrown5217

The tank is looking fantastic


----------



## iadubber

jbrown5217 said:


> The tank is looking fantastic


thanks, i'll be hiding the airstone or getting a smaller one when my rocks arrive. It's just there to oxygenate for now.


----------



## iadubber

Is there anything you would add to this stock list as a final? I will probably start with the cory cats and zebras first. Problem is I am driving to my nearest LFS that's an hour and a half away at the recommendation of my wife's friend so I only want to have to make 2 to 3 trips to get fully stocked. 

Will the shrimp and cory cats get along?


----------



## jbrown5217

I personally have been really digging gouramis lately, especially the Flame Dwarf Gourami and I think that one of those could be a great addition to the tank, you would however need to get some more plants in there (they like heavily planted aquariums for hiding and what not). And also males are territorial, so having more than 1 male gourami isn't suggested unless you have a large enough tank (which you definitely do). 

The cory cats and shrimp I don't have a clue about how well they get along. Some other suggestions I would make are swordtails (males are similar to male dwarf gouramis, with territories),some sort of Loach possibly, or some sort of hatchet fish, idk I like them. Those are my suggestions I guess, but once again that is just reading about that particular species of fish and limited info I read.

So basically what I am saying is do yo research


----------



## iadubber

jbrown5217 said:


> I personally have been really digging gouramis lately, especially the Flame Dwarf Gourami and I think that one of those could be a great addition to the tank, you would however need to get some more plants in there (they like heavily planted aquariums for hiding and what not). And also males are territorial, so having more than 1 male gourami isn't suggested unless you have a large enough tank (which you definitely do).
> 
> The cory cats and shrimp I don't have a clue about how well they get along. Some other suggestions I would make are swordtails (males are similar to male dwarf gouramis, with territories),some sort of Loach possibly, or some sort of hatchet fish, idk I like them. Those are my suggestions I guess, but once again that is just reading about that particular species of fish and limited info I read.
> 
> So basically what I am saying is do yo research


Thanks! I guess I have a more narrowed question when stocking. Is it best to stock a large school of one or two species at first or a smaller school of several species? 

Say I want 10 total Zebra Danios and 5 or 6 total Corydoras. Later I would want say a dozen or more neon tetras. Do I just do the full stock of the Danios and Corys then add the tetras, cherry barbs, harlequin rasboras later, or do you do like 6 Danios, 3 Corys, and 6-8 tetras etc. in multiple stockings. Hope that was clear as mud right?

Also got some mature media from my finally located LFS. He gave me a couple large ceramic bio things and a half sack of gravel. Hopefully that will give me a cycle kickstart along with raising my water temp to 80.


----------



## jbrown5217

I don't think it particularity matters. I know it is best to stock your tank with all the fish you plan to put in it once the nitrogen cycle has completed (if doing a fishless cycle). If you want to add more after that, I believe it is best to do multiple stocking of like 2 -3 fish at a time if I am not mistaken.

That is more or less what I have read throughout various postings and informational stickies on the forum.

Once again, do yo research


----------



## iadubber

Well good news. 24 hours after adding my mature media my Ammonia dropped to 2ish ppm and nitrites are starting to show up. 

I added a black background, rescaped, and added rock caves. 

I'd like to find a way to hide the air tube. 


IMG_0376 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0375 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0374 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0372 by iadubber, on Flickr


----------



## KG4mxv

Quite the show pice you have there. (green with envy)


----------



## KG4mxv

AS for hiding the air line, I pushed mine into the substrate until it got to the edge where the heater and intake is for the canister filter and used little suction cups to hold it in place


----------



## jrman83

I would add a few more Cories to your list of the same type. Doesn't really matter the order you add, as long as you add slow.


----------



## iadubber

KG4mxv said:


> AS for hiding the air line, I pushed mine into the substrate until it got to the edge where the heater and intake is for the canister filter and used little suction cups to hold it in place


I will probably do that. Thanks for the tip!


----------



## KG4mxv

Not a problem glad to help.


----------



## iadubber

Just stopped at PetSmart and grabbed black tubing hopefully it will blend in better. We'll see how it looks.

Also just ordered a Hydor 300 inline heater since my 300w All Glass seems to not adjust temp at all anymore. Will be here tomorrow with Amazon prime. <---love A-prime!


----------



## Bee

For gouramis, the rule that has worked for me is 1 is good, 2 is bad and 3 or more is ok. If you only get 2 they will bash each other to death. But getting more kinda spreads it out and they aren't as aggressive. I have 3, and they do just fine.


----------



## SevenNoOni

beautiful tank, I love the bow front tanks, the White Sand is fantastic. Awesome job!


----------



## iadubber

What would be a good centerpiece fish with the stock I chose above? Something not aggressive with the smaller schooling fish I plan on getting (tetras, rasboras, cories, danios). thanks!


----------



## SuckMyCichlids

that is a freakin awsome looking tank, as for a center piece you might want to add a pair of german or electric blue rams? they look fantastic and they are very peacful, perfect for a community tank


----------



## iadubber

SuckMyCichlids said:


> that is a freakin awsome looking tank, as for a center piece you might want to add a pair of german or electric blue rams? they look fantastic and they are very peacful, perfect for a community tank


I did see that Blue Rams will do well. A male and a female. I haven't seen them in my LFS. If I order from a place like liveaquaria how can I specify I want a male and a female?

New planned stock list:
I want German Blue Rams as a centerpiece fish. I plan to do a M and F.


----------



## iadubber

Got bored and redid my main cave. I made it a bit taller and dug a little sand out of it. 

Add a larger rock behind it to hide my airstone underneath it. Put on black airline for the airstone and buried it in the sand. Now it's hardly noticeable coming up behind the filter intake. Also installed the Hydor 300w inline heater today. 


IMG_0382 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0468 by iadubber, on Flickr


----------



## jbrown5217

iadubber said:


> I did see that Blue Rams will do well. A male and a female. I haven't seen them in my LFS. If I order from a place like liveaquaria how can I specify I want a male and a female?
> 
> New planned stock list:
> I want German Blue Rams as a centerpiece fish. I plan to do a M and F.


To specify if you want a male and a female on liveaquaria.com you may need to call them. I didn't see an option to purchase any specific genders.


----------



## iadubber

I get the master kit API delivered today so I can finally get some more precise readings on nitrites and nitrates. I've been using strips for those I have the API ammonia liquid test kit. I need to find out why my nitrates stalled at what says around 40-50ppm on the test strips, yet ammonia is being consumed in 24 hours and nitrites are off the charts on the strips.


Thinking of going with a peaceful cichlid tank now. After reading on cichlid-forum I am more confused than I ever was! I am understanding the African and S/C american differences but can't decide what way to go.

Looking to start with 4 Yellow Lab and 6 Peacocks. A bottom dweller species and add Rusty's later on.


----------



## iadubber

I got my API master test kit today. I only had the ammonia and was using strips for the rest. My readings are 

11/22/2011	
NO3=60ppm	
NO2=5ppm off charts (but didn't turn purple instantly.) 
Ammonia = 0ppm after 24 hours 
I had a small algae bloom so I did a 15% PWC, my nitrates have been stuck and my nitrites have been off the charts. Hopefully this PWC will get the Nitrates moving again. 

added 4ml amm


----------



## iadubber

I know everyone raves about the API master test kit, but man, the colors of the nitrate and nitrite are so fine I can't hardly tell the difference between 2-3 levels of colors. Maybe I'm partially color blind but some of them look damn close and I can't figure out which color it's closest to.l


----------



## iadubber

Yah! i came home today and checked my levels at the same time I do everyday and I had 

0ppm ammonia
0ppm nitrites
40ppm nitrates!!

Looks like we're cycled. I'll give it a couple more days. Hoping to introduce fish Friday depending what my LFS has in stock. He mentioned he'd have to order Peacocks so I might just find some myself on the boards or aquabid, but he said he had Yellow Labs a couple days ago. 3/19.00.


----------



## xteenagedirtbag

This tank is looking amazing. I love the cave you created.


----------



## jrman83

Congrats in getting the tank cycled!


----------



## SuckMyCichlids

very nice brother, cant wait to see that tank with fish in it lol.


----------



## iadubber

SuckMyCichlids said:


> very nice brother, cant wait to see that tank with fish in it lol.


Hopefully today. I think I'll get most of my stock list. I don't think my LFS has any German Blue Rams in stock though. I have waivered back and forth on a cichlid tank or a community with blue rams. I am going to go with a community and blue rams. Something like this. 










I may just throw in a species of livebearers for a splash of color later on.


----------



## iadubber

went to my lfs today. Picked up 

4 German Blue Rams
7 Harlequin Rasboras
9 Cardinal Tetras

He was out of most corys, only had a couple albinos. I'm thinking I want peppered now. Will probably hit up petsmart to add some color to the tank, get my cories, and grab a gourami.


----------



## jbrown5217

Pictures when you get the tank stocked, sounds like it is gonna be a beauty


----------



## iadubber

iadubber said:


> went to my lfs today. Picked up
> 
> 4 German Blue Rams
> 7 Harlequin Rasboras
> 9 Cardinal Tetras
> 
> He was out of most corys, only had a couple albinos. I'm thinking I want peppered now. Will probably hit up petsmart to add some color to the tank, get my cories, and grab a gourami.


Went to Petsmart later this evening and picked up

6 Sunburst Platies
8 Ghost Shrimp
1 Red Fire Dwarf Gourami 

The tank looks empty still. I still want to get 4-5 cory cats. What else would make this tank pop? Can't wait for the Blue Rams to grow and get some color going. I know some larger plants in back will make it look better. I'll have to look for something tall for the 72 since the tank is so tall.


----------



## KG4mxv

Well if the petsmart near you have a "beta bulbs" I love mine and they grow really quickly.


----------



## iadubber

The PFS really makes it tough to take pictures along with the bowfront glass distorting. I got a few but nothing special. I will try more tomorrow. 


IMG_0552 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0548 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0541 by iadubber, on Flickr


----------



## iadubber

IMG_0600 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0597 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0594 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0590 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0586 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0582 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0581 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0578 by iadubber, on Flickr

Going to start looking for a couple spiny peacock eels


----------



## jrman83

Great shots!! What cam are you using? Have these been worked on in any way in PS?


----------



## iadubber

jrman83 said:


> Great shots!! What cam are you using? Have these been worked on in any way in PS?


Thanks! I use a Canon 5d and a Canon 50mm 1.4 for these. Yeah some work in Adobe Lightroom. Mainly clarity, vibrance, and upped the blacks.


----------



## Russell

Unbury the anubias. It is like the java ferns, doesn't like it's rhizome buried.

Beautiful shots of the fish.


----------



## holly12

Insanely pretty tank! Your Rams are freaking adorable! Sooo tiny! XD

I noticed the anubias was planted - it's another plant that does best if anchored to rock or drift wood. But, as long as it's not buried too deeply, you may be ok.

How many corys did you end up getting - I'd go with 6-9 maybe.


----------



## iadubber

The Anubis isn't planted deep. I didn't get cories. I am thinking of a couple bn plecos to turn the sand over.


----------



## holly12

They are cool too! Lots of different BN species out there to choose from! Starlights are really pretty!


----------



## iadubber

Lost two cardinals lastnight stuck in the strainer of my filter intake. Going to buy some sponge to put on the end. They must have been weaker of the 9. Water tests perfect. 

0ppm amm
0ppm nitrite
5ppm nitrate

edit: came home from breakfast and lost another. Not sure if it was dead before when I found the other two. This one was not in the intake tube strainer. So I figure they died and were sucked in there by the current. I examined all three. None appeared to be bloated, fins are all intact, and the coloration was good lastnight when we fed. They all seemed to eat fine lastnight. 

Picked up 3 cories today and 3 marigolds today.


----------



## SuckMyCichlids

this is definetly turning into one amazing tank you really put it through from the very first post, i love your stock list, your rams are beautiful. Congrats on gettin it together


----------



## iadubber

Since the 27th I have lost another cardinal and one ram this morning. After reading more and more I am reading that they are some of the most sensitive fish. My readings are 

0,

0,

2.5-5ppm

78-80 degrees

ph - 8

after a 15-20% PWC Sunday. Not sure why I'm having trouble with these two species. The others seem to be doing just fine (well so did the ones that died). I never noticed any odd behavior in either fish prior. The Cardinals were schooling great and playing with the Rasbora. There are no signs of disease. All fins intact, no bloat, no spots, no fungus. Spontaneous death. They seemed fine the first two days and then the deaths started happening. Kinda bummed. 

On another note, I don't care for the platys we have. They always swarm the food when I feed and not much gets down to where the cories and rams are. I don't want to overfeed though. I do a small pinch and if it's gone in a couple minutes I add another. Every few days I put in a brine shrimp cube, but those float. I bought them for my Rams but they don't come up that far for food as of yet. Any way to get them to eat easier?


----------



## iadubber

Well, since last week I've lost 5 cardinal tetras and 2 of my 4 blue rams. I am having a hard time getting the Rams to eat anything. They spit out flake food. So I bought some brine shrimp. Problem is they never come up to get food either. I then tried bloodworms. Tried soaking them in garlic juice and putting them in front of their face. I tried sinking pellets today and they don't want anything to do with them. 

Not sure they are going to make it. One never comes out of this crack she/he found. I moved the rocks around so she had to move out of there finally. The other one looks pretty good yet, but still very inactive and just sits at the bottom of the tank under a rock all the time. 

Tested water and was at 0amm, 0nitrite, and 5ppm nitrate. Temp at 80 degrees. All fish were drip acclimated for over an hour.


----------



## KG4mxv

Grasping at straws but are you on city water or well
if you are on a well do you have a water softener?

for water may be really hard.

The rocks yow have what are they. and if you got them from out side.

were they close to the houses foundation. if so when was the las time you had a termite treatment. 
That stuff really hangs around even if you do boil them for a long time the toxins may still be there. 

When I get rocks for my setups I either get them from the LFS or from a local stream. 
if from the stream I do boil then bake at 300F for 1 hr then raise the temp to 500 for another hr. 
then let them cool overnight. 

Sorry to hear all the troubles,


----------



## iadubber

KG4mxv said:


> Grasping at straws but are you on city water or well
> if you are on a well do you have a water softener?
> 
> City Water. Softened in house, but I get the water pre water softener at an outside faucet.
> 
> for water may be really hard.
> 
> Hardness is off my strips chart. PH is around 8 everytime I've tested it.
> 
> The rocks yow have what are they. and if you got them from out side.
> 
> Some are from outside, some are from Ebay. Boiled them for at least an hour and soaked overnight
> 
> were they close to the houses foundation. if so when was the las time you had a termite treatment.
> That stuff really hangs around even if you do boil them for a long time the toxins may still be there.
> 
> They weren't near the foundation. Not sure we've ever had a termite spray here. three of the rocks were located in some landscaping in the backyard. They could have been hit with a lawn chemical at one time.
> 
> When I get rocks for my setups I either get them from the LFS or from a local stream.
> if from the stream I do boil then bake at 300F for 1 hr then raise the temp to 500 for another hr.
> then let them cool overnight.
> 
> Sorry to hear all the troubles,


All the other fish are doing great and VERY active. The four left of the Cardinals are swimming all over. The Rasboras are SUPER active. All day they just play in the current from the output on the FluVal. The Dwarf Gourami zips around no problem. The Cory cats are always active. It's just been the Rams that don't seem to be acclimating well. There is plenty of shelter. I just can't get them to eat anything. The platys are also doing well besides the two I took back that were nipping the hell out of the cardinals. 

I picked up a 10 gallon QT tank yesterday with filter and heater. So I have a new filter floss in this tank to build up the bacteria for when I need the QT. 

Would anyone recommend taking the rams out and putting them in the QT that hasn't been cycled yet? Or should I just leave them be in the 72 gallon? I don't want to take out a bunch of BB from the 72 to get the QT going if I don't have to.


----------



## iadubber

lost the third of four rams lastnight. She didn't look good before I went to bed. I laid some food right in front of her and she barely even budged. I knew she wouldn't last the night. I guess no more sensitive fish for awhile. Took another water test 0,0,5. 

How often should the carbon be changed in my FluVal 405? 

Is there a better option to go with in the trays besides what is the standard that it comes with which is two trays of carbon and two trays of bio cylinders?


----------



## jbrown5217

Sorry to hear about the loss of fish that stinks, especially since your water parameters seem great.


----------



## iadubber

Well, I ordered Jungle Val, Rotala, and some more Java Fern. USPS was supposed to deliver it yesterday and it never showed up. I'm guessing the plants are going to be frozen by the time I get them. Anyone have luck with plants and cold weather shipping? 

For the past week the tank has been doing very well. All fish are active and happy. Going to be adding some more tetras this weekend and possibly two female yellow labs or a school of Boesmann's Rainbows. 

How it looks right now. 


IMG_0642 by iadubber, on Flickr

Probably going to do a rescape this weekend.

Current Stock List:
7 Harlequin Rasboras
6 Platies of two different colors
4 Cardinal Tetras
3 Peppered Cories
8 Ghost Shrimp
1 DG


----------



## Bee

Mine turned to pea soup because they were frozen. :/


----------



## iadubber

Bee said:


> Mine turned to pea soup because they were frozen. :/


Ugh, that sucks. Was supposed to get it in two days. Now it hasn't been scanned since Des Moines at 1230am yesterday and was supposed to be delivered yesterday. I hate USPS.


----------



## iadubber

iadubber said:


> Ugh, that sucks. Was supposed to get it in two days. Now it hasn't been scanned since Des Moines at 1230am yesterday and was supposed to be delivered yesterday. I hate USPS.


They were pretty frozen. I dropped them in warm water and they don't seem to be dead. Time will tell. 

Got some of the fake plants out and the real plants in. Here's how it looks now. Going to head out of town tomorrow and try to get some boeseman's rainbows. 

I know I need to tie the Java Fern to a rock or my driftwood. I just needed to get it in the water tonight. Tomorrow I will maybe play around with the scaping a bit more. 


IMG_0672 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0677 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0678 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0679 by iadubber, on Flickr


----------



## iadubber

Added a couple bunches of anacharis today and 5 boesman rainbows.


----------



## iadubber

Lots of rescaping. Trying to be more natural. I did a large vacuum is why the water is low. Water is dirty from all the moving. Not sure I like it yet. I want to find a larger driftwood eventually.


IMG_0682 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0689 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0694 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0703 by iadubber, on Flickr


IMG_0704 by iadubber, on Flickr


----------



## holly12

Nice Rainbows!


----------



## xteenagedirtbag

the rainbows are beautiful <3


----------



## iadubber

Can't wait for them to color up!


----------



## iadubber

Well I am retiring this tank from freshwater and making it a FOWLR tank. I am getting a 55 gallon tomorrow to move all this stock to.


----------



## holly12

Noooooooooooo! It was looking so nice!


----------



## Sherry

iadubber said:


> Well I am retiring this tank from freshwater and making it a FOWLR tank. I am getting a 55 gallon tomorrow to move all this stock to.



Don't do that. Your tank looks awesome. You put so much work into it. I will miss it.....


----------

