# New Acquisition - 42gl Tank



## bolram

First be warned this will be a lot of jabber as have so much to say 

As many of you know I have had some problems with my tanks in the past one broke and had to find a quick replacement which is my 26gl tank that has guppies, my betta (mr magoo), black neons. However because of the size ive found it very restraining in size which is damn annoying. So I started to look for a cheap but larger upgrade, my largest tank is a 33gl fluval tank i personally find it lovely and didnt thing i would go any bigger, well yet anyway.

But after some painless searching i have finally bought a new tank *w3

I managed to acquire a 42gallon tank (159 litres to us englishmen lol)
100cm x 30cm x 53cm

I paid £36 for a setup with pretty much everything included although no lighting, which gives me room to play around with will probably just start with a basic T8 lighting then when money lets me i will hopefully upgrade this to a nice T5 fixture (probably over the next 6 months as money is tight with so many bills at the moment *frown)

Well I found it on ebay and thankfully its the same town as me so will ask my friend with a van to help pick it up in the next day or two.

I havent seen it in person yet but heres a couple of pictures to show what it looks like and what is included

The tank front view:










The contents included:










As you can see its nothing special just a standard tank but i reckon the potential will pay off in the end. So in the price i got the tank, lid, heater, two pumps (i can only work out the stingray?? one), ocean rock, plastic plants, stones for bottom, breeding box, and the food as seen in photo. Oh and the stand its on in the photo, apparently thats what they were using for it, im feeling get some nice wood spruce the look of it up and also the strength (ill get my friend over and see what he thinks as he is good at building things).

For the price i think its a steal (well over here anyway ive seen a couple of you in the states getting some gorgeous tanks for next to nothing prices on her, i am jealous haha). I made sure i put my bid in the last 45seconds of auction 

Well anyway thats as far as i get. Im stumped as to what i have planned for it. Im tempted to do the 'beaslbob'? build and use heavy planting (possibly with some minor filtration). The only thing i cant find is the peat moss people use in tanks (anyone know stores in the UK that sell it?).Play sand is at the supermarket so thats easy and ill use standard gravel for the top base. Planting wise still unsure on. Fish wise also unsure on am thinking of getting some other types such as different cichlids and move my bolivians into there as well. But thats yet to work out.


Anyway thought i would share this with you all especially you holly as i know how intrigued you get with your popcorn eating and seeing new tank setups. *pc

When i pick it up and get it home and give it a good clean i shall upload a new photo for you all to peruse at *r2


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## holly12

First of all, congrats on the new tank! It's really nice and looks HUGE!!

Secondly: 



bolram;1F06089 said:


> im feeling get some nice wood spruce the look of it up and also the strength



LOL! Now, normally I have no problem understanding you, but either you were really excited about the tank and typing fast, or you had a stroke...... I'm hoping it was excitement! Lol!!! *r2


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## bolram

It does look rather large 

Oh i do apologise, its just some southern english slang. What i mean is the stand its on in the picture looks quite plain. So im planning to get some decent wood and create a structure around it, creating a cabinet to make the stand look a bit more decent and also to create extra strength to the stand itself


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## majerah1

Very nice!Hey so since your English,if I say



MAIDEN!!!!

Do you know what Im talking about?

Anyhow back to the tank.What type of breeder box is that?I bet you will get some use out of it with the guppies.


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## bolram

When i read maiden i se so many different meanings to the word. I see maiden name, maiden as in a woman as well as iron maiden lol. Any of those what you are thinking of?

Im guessing it is just a bog standard plastic floating breeder box, but im unsure i'll find out when i pick it up. Ive already got a one floating breeder box never use it though as i prefer to let nature take its course with the fry as i would rather not be over run haha.


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## majerah1

Haha,no actually I meant Dr.Who.A few seasons back,the Dr and I think Donna were meeting Agatha Christie.And he kept hollering MAIDEN!!!! Hahaha.


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## bolram

Ooh i was never into Dr. Who, so yeah wouldnt have a clue lol.

Oh and Holly you dont realise how hard it is to dial down my slang, but after working in the summer camps out in Pennsylvania ive realised how little of our slang is understood. It took me my first year learning to use sneakers, soda, pants amongst other things and avoiding using english terminology *r2

But yeah i cant wait to get my hands on this tank, my colleague from work is going to be buying my 26gl of me for the same price i paid for the 42gl


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## bolram

I have finally got my new tank  So happy with it, it looks nice, and so much bigger than i pictured 

This is just a picture i took when i got it home











Since then ive scrubbed it up a bit, painted the wooden board thats on the stand white to make it more neutral instead of the chip board effect color lol. Tomorrow im going to start putting it together or seeing what i need anyway


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## holly12

When I went back and read what you said, it made more sense. Lol, maybe I just read it too fast.

And, you'd have to use even different words here in Canada. We don't say 'sneakers' we say 'shoes' or 'running shoes' or 'runners.' And we don't say 'soda' we say 'pop'. Lol. Pants is still pretty much pants.... some older people say 'slacks'.

It's funny how we have different words for things, lol.

Keep up with the pics! Can't wait to see what you do with the tank!


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## bolram

Haha well i feel less bad now *r2

We use trainers or shoes not sneakers. We say pop as well as just fizzy, but we use the brand name more than anything so coca cola would be prime example lol no othr name not soda, not pop just coke. Pants over here means your underwear in general lol, we use joggers, tracksuit bottoms, trousers (slacks for work clothes).

I do find it fascinating how words have completely different meanings depending which country you are from.


Oh you know me i do like to keep these sort of threads full of photos and updates.


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## holly12

Pop is more of a generic thing.... "Do you have any pop?" But we say the brand name if we want to be specific, "Got any coke? Sprite? Dr. Pepper?"

For underwear, we say underwear or boxers, briefs (for men) or for girls, panties.... I hate that word!! LOL, it just sounds dirty to me for some reason! My husband says I'm weird.


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## bolram

yeah i just use brand names, for underwear we have pants, briefs, boxers for men, and knickers, thong or g-string (absolutely hate that term though lol) for girls. The list of different words we use could go on, even in the UK depending where you live varies on the words, northerners use slightly different dialect/slang compared to us down in the south east (we dont even understand what they mean sometimes and we are from the same country lol)


Anyway lets not take this to much off topic haha *r2


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## holly12

(We have the same name for girls underwear too, lol.)

Anyway, back to the tank...... any idea what you're doing for a background? Black, blue, foliage?


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## bolram

The tank came with a reversible backing either plain blue or under water scene, but i will be planting this tank quite a bit so will be sticking with the plain blue. Not sure on substrate, was thinkin just the play sand and gravel as i weirdly dont have anywhere nearby that sells suitable peat moss. Planthin will probably be random as im not sure what i want yet


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## holly12

That's cool. I thought about just sand, but heard it can get stagnant and cause lethal gas pockets unless you stir it up. 

Actually, the same can happen with gravel. I'm kinda' wondering if I need to stir up my 20g gravel, since it's 3-4 inches in some places, and I haven't done any gravel vacuuming because it's cycling. (Don't want to put everyone in and then have them die from gas pockets.) Maybe I'll poke around the gravel a bit tomorrow.

Do you use white sand or a more beige/brown? Both are cool. I've seen some people do gravel on the sides, with a 'stream bottom' of sand in the center. It makes it look like you have a dry river bed in the middle of the tank. Kinda' neat effect. (May be hard to keep the 2 substrates separated though.)


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## jrman83

Scanning through this thread and my eyes lock onto the word panties and I forget what the thread is even about....damn, I'm a pervert.


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## bolram

holly12 said:


> Do you use white sand or a more beige/brown? Both are cool. I've seen some people do gravel on the sides, with a 'stream bottom' of sand in the center. It makes it look like you have a dry river bed in the middle of the tank. Kinda' neat effect. (May be hard to keep the 2 substrates separated though.)


Thats a good idea, ive used white sand upto now. Once you mentioned keeping the substrate seperate ive been thinking what i could use. Large stones buried in the substrate creating a sort of wall is my first though how i could do it. I like your idea lol will have to see now


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## majerah1

I know someone who bought actual lawn borders,and used those to make a wall with.It looked really good too.

Also,That breeder box is cool.Ive been wanting one:YouTube - ‪Easy Breeding Box‬‏


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## bolram

ooh cool. If its a wooden border wouldnt it rot? Also most are treated with chemicals for weathering?


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## majerah1

I think its more a stone?


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## bolram

Oh i can understand the stone ones, but they weigh a heap and usually are so bulky


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## majerah1

TFH Magazine Forum • View topic - Planted 46gal Bowfront- Betta simplex colony
She used foundation pavers first and then I think moved to something else.Its in this thread.


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## bolram

Thanks for that i shall take a read later on when i get in from work


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## bolram

Just a few photos as i was bored

The two pumps that was included and i spent about 3 hours cleaning up, also 3 nice sized rocks












Now the next two are photos of gravel choice, one is a white multi colour speck, or the other is the natural brown gravel. What would people use out of interest as im unsure what i want. I have both and more than enough of both for the tank



















Im going for a two layer substrate, i wont be using the peat but i am going for a layer of play sand with one of the above gravels as the top layer. Im looking at cheap lighting for the time being probably will have around 72-80w worth of lighting until i can get some decent T5's.


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## holly12

I've heard that bright coloured substrates can bother fish, but I don't know if that's true or not. Tons of people use it. It's personal choice really. If you're going for a lake bottom type scape, I'd use the brown. If you're going for something fun (castles, caves, sunken ships, etc...) use the multicoloured gravel. 

I find it almost worse when there are choices, because as I'm sure you can tell from many of my posts, I am not a good decision maker, lol!

(What gravel do you have in the Ram tank?)


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## bolram

Im going for the natural look in terms of live plants, natural rocks and anything else i can find probably some bogwood i wont have any ornaments they just cost stupid amounts for what they are.

I was thinking definitely the brown, but then looked at the white and thought well actually????? then was like no im not keen on multi colour lets go for the brown, then just looked again and was like hmm actually?? My life is so exciting that i cant choose a gravel colour and its exciting haha.

(also this was a case where our suggested 'Like' button would have gone down great as i wanted to like your post lol)


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## bolram

In the ram tank i have a white/brown natural gravel


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## holly12

LOL! Well, thanks for "liking" my post! 

The natural brown would look great if you are going for the natural look. (I know what you mean though. You pick one and then look at the other and it's like, "hmmm...") Lol!


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## bolram

*w3

It really is, im not even a fan of the colourful substrates, but for some unknown reason when looking at it i thought well hang on it could work. But now thinking of it i dont like it haha (this will in no doubt change agai, but hopefully not as i know i will regret using it). Ive got to try and persuade the mother to lend me some money tomorrow (well today now seeing as its 3.24am haha) to get the sand. I want to start setting it up ASAP


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## holly12

I was just going to say, set it up with the brown gravel and get water in it. Then it's to late to change you're mind! Muahahahaaaaaaa!!! (Evil laughter!) 

And, _what_ are you doing up at 3:30am?! (I'm up that late, but I'm usually in bed reading, lol.)


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## bolram

I shall probably be setting it up over the weekend now. But yeah i still want the brown now ive slept on the decision haha.

Im always up at that time as i have insomnia usual bed time is 5am lol


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## majerah1

I like the natural brown myself.I call the other stuff clown puke.


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## bolram

majerah1 said:


> I like the natural brown myself.I call the other stuff clown puke.


haha so do i. I think its alright(ish) in a kids tank as they like the colour. I just had a moment of madness because i was given it for no reason with my new tank. But i will be sticking with the natural look i assure you


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## holly12

Hahahahahahha! Clown puke! That's good!

Glad you finally came to a decision! (So, you must work nights then if you finally sleep at 5am.) I just had a sleep study done because I may have sleep apnea. I can sleep for 16 hours + with no problem and _still_ not want to get up. Drs. are thinking it could be apnea - if it keeps waking me up, (I may not even know it) then that would explain the excessive sleepiness.


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## bolram

Well its only a 4 hour shift from 7.30pm til 11.30pm. Was working tonight as it happens such interesting things happen there haha. I can easily sleep 16-24 hours and not want to get up still. But 5-7am seems my average bed time now and ill be up no later than 2pm. My body clock is a little disarrayed


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## majerah1

I wish I had a four hour job,lol.I work at home,doing CD labels for people.Doesnt pay much(its actually both me and the hubbs.He places the music on the discs,and prints the labels,but I do the art.)We are also into getting our GEDs so I can do computer work andbe certified.I know how to build them and fix them,program,ect.Just am not certified just yet.


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## bolram

Its not bad on 4 hours 4 days a week, however im in the process of a promotion so will soon be going upto 30 hours a week (but triple the money lol)


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## majerah1

Lucky.My boss wont pay me,lol.

Its my husband,hahah!


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## bolram

demand he pay you even if it were just in cookies haha

on topic though ive just found 15kg of play sand for £2.99 so shall be buying that later on so i can start my setup


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## bolram

I got my sand today so started the process of setting the tank up so far have roughly 1-1.5 inch sand and 1inch of natural gravel. Pictures show it in progress. Tomorrow i plan to do some more including adding water (as i thought it may help if i want fish in it lol) Grab some rocks of the beach today only small ones, put boiling water and left them to soak then replaced the water once it was cool. Shall leave to soak over night then boil them off tomorrow before adding.

1...










2...










3...


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## holly12

Looking good!


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## bolram

This is the most updated photo of the build so far, a couple of stones i collected from the beach have been added but they are only small and had to boil them to ensure they were 'clean'. Still to go is getting all the planting i want and a lighting system that i shall be looking for this weekend. Oh and a second filter will be added when the new media arrives for it. I will be going slightly beaslbob so will reduce the filtration when enough planting has been added (probably to the stingray alone)


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## Scuff

Be wary of those rocks. They look calcium-based, and can have a drastic impact on your hardness and pH.


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## bolram

I was wondering on that to, although were seen to be solid when i was checking them out, if they cause any problems though i will be removing them


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## bolram

After my failed marriage proposal to beaslbob, yes i am utterly heart broken by it by the way :'(, ive been looking into lighting and found that over here where i am using standard depot store light fittings is no cheaper than aquarium fittings.

So ive seen a nice T5 HO starter unit that is a double fitting that takes 2x 39watt bulbs, as my aquarium is approx 38g water capacity (thats after you minus the substrate etc) this would be ideal leaving me 2w per gallon and the advantage of it being T5. I wanted T5 as im having a heavily planted tank (in stages anyway due to money).

The light unit will cost me £35 (which i think is pretty good for T5HO units instore they are about £56)

I do have a question though what would the best bulbs be to use seeing as i have 2 bulb spaces to fill. Do i go for standard white bulbs or pink hue or blue hue or what? heres just a list on ebay for suitable ones Light bulb choice. But if anyone can post links of any other more suitable or different bulbs they would personally use, it would be much appreciated.


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## holly12

Lol - well, if I wasn't married and you weren't in the UK, I would marry you! (Although, I have NO idea what our age differences are, lol!)

As for the lights... I'm wondering if the hues are personal preference? Blue is mostly for marine type tanks aren't they? I would think white would give you the best colouring.


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## bolram

Haha but beaslbob is the only one for me *r2

I was thinking the same about the hues, i think anyway lol. Ive seen blue lighting in FW but only for night time viewing effects


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## holly12

Awwww - Beaslbob is in high demand!!

Night viewing lights would be cool. I've never had them - actually, I've never even seen them, but I think it's a really neat idea!


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## bolram

its a neat idea but only if you had the money to play around with to spend on the extra stuff for such occasions.


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## holly12

Hmm.... I'd maybe stick with white then. If blue is more of a night time viewing effect and I'm guessing pink would just seem to 'warm' things up in looks, then white would give you the most natural effect.


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## bolram

Yeah i will look in the store on friday to see what they have in terms of white lighting whether it is just standard white light or things like the life-glo bulbs and whatever other fancy named bulbs they have haha. If im going to pay out a small fortune on planting i want to make sure the lighting is more than sufficient for growth


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## holly12

I hear 'ya! If you gotta' buy the lights, might as well make sure they are the right ones for growing plants.


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## bolram

Definitely and ive only had experience with T8's so not sure whats available for T5 lighting, although im sure its pretty much the same things


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## holly12

I think so.... but I've never had the T5's either.


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## automatic-hydromatic

nice score!

that stand concerns me a bit... those horizontal bars that the board is laying on; are those just welded to the side of the vertical bars?


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## bolram

automatic-hydromatic said:


> nice score!
> 
> that stand concerns me a bit... those horizontal bars that the board is laying on; are those just welded to the side of the vertical bars?


That was my first thoughts as well. The previous owner assured me though that is the stand she had always used for however many years she had the tank, and ive had it setup fully with water for about 5 days now and can say it actually is more robust than it looks. It is welded but also some sort of screw put in at each join to support the join in bars.


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## automatic-hydromatic

ah okay

just checking 

I've seen some bad things happen from people putting aquariums on "stands" that where never meant to hold much more than maybe a lamp, lol


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## holly12

That. Would. Suck.................... especially if there were fish in the tank at the time!!!!!


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## automatic-hydromatic

holly12 said:


> That. Would. Suck.................... especially if there were fish in the tank at the time!!!!!


yes... yes it does...

ever seen the movie Deuce Bigalow? kinda like that mess...



(this clip isn't in English... but you get the point... BIG MESS)


YouTube - ‪Deuce Bigalow - Dobrej Striptér Akvárko CZ (HD)‬‏


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## holly12

LOL! Yes, I've seen it! That was hilarious! (Although I felt really bad for the fish!!!) Doesn't the fish owner end up accidentally blending a really expensive fish that the other guy put in the blender to keep it alive until he could get another tank?


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## automatic-hydromatic

not the owner, a blind girl, LOL, but yeah... I assume no fish were harmed in the making of that movie... but it is a funny movie non the less


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## holly12

Oh, oops, lol. It was a pretty funny movie! (I think she blended a Lion fish?)


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## automatic-hydromatic

holly12 said:


> Oh, oops, lol. It was a pretty funny movie! (I think she blended a Lion fish?)


lol, yup


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## bolram

Haha yeah i would be gutted if that happened, plus my mum would fill me as my room is above the living room lol


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## bolram

so this weekend has been getting the main things to fully setup my tank. Ive purchased lighting unit, bulbs, and an external filter totalling £110.



















The lighting is as standard, the filter is due to budget and the online reviews from various sources all rate it as a very decent external for the price.

Just thought id share on the progress


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## holly12

Nice! It's always fun to bring home new goodies for a tank! (Setting them up is always a blast too!)


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## bolram

well the light in the pic is 24w but i got the double 39w lol. Ive ordered them all and should have them early next week


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## bolram

so got everything up and running and new planting 















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## jrman83

Jordan - the plant in the left front corner (light green with white stripes down the edge of the plant) is a ribbon plant and a semi-aquatic. It will rot eventually.

Never seen that light before, or at least it looks a little strange in the pics. Looks like it does the job. Looks good.


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## bolram

I thought the same about that plant as well. But i decided to put in for the time being as it looks nice lol, well until i notice some decay anyway.

Its just a standard T5HO ballast unit, ive got 2 plant growth bulbs running of it


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## jrman83

So I see:

Wisteria, some type of anubias, java fern, combomba, some type of vals, blyxa japonica?, ....what else is there and do you plan on anything else?


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## bolram

Im not sure completely it was a lot of 100 plants (1stem =1 plant). I know theres some cabomba, elodea densa (which im putting in the other tank to replace some other) Ill take a picture of groups of species for you haha. Ill upload them after work in 6 hours 

Ive never been good with identifyin plant species ive usually had elodea, cabomba and wysteria so all these plants are different for me


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## holly12

I. Hate. you! Lol, just kidding. Looks great! (Sooooo jealous! Been waiting almost 7 weeks here and STILL can't put anything in mine, lol!)


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## bolram

Thanks  Am quite pleased with the results of this one for once lol. I must say the performance of these lights is well worth the extra money the output is amazing.

Oh and heres the pictures of groups of plants (back onto earliers talk of what species) There is a fair few photos so please excuse me


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## holly12

Very nice! Happy things are working out so well and so quickly for you!


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## bolram

Thought i do a quick update of the tank heres a quick video for you

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8629J5dIBT4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


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## holly12

Grr! We're on dial up until the in laws bring the high speed hub back from the cottage. I'll have to watch in 2 weeks when they get back..... or sooner if I end up somewhere with wifi.


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## bolram

ah that sucks i could so not live with dial up lol. 
Well the video only shows all the tank and the fish i transferred into it hahaha


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## Rob72

tank looks good man, great job on it, where have you been hiding at the past few days havent seen ya online


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## bolram

Thanks.I work evenings tuesdays to thursdays so rarely venture onto the forum after work, you will notice youll see me more fridays and sundays to tuesdays lol


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## Rob72

thats cool yea weekends i get on much try to spend time with my girlfreind since i work days and she works night, tank is looking good by the way


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## jrman83

Cool video with music and all....although I think you could've picked a song somewhere in this decade at least.....and don't say you were picking one for older people like me!!

Plants all look good and healthy. Do you just like the non-aqautic ribbon plant in the front left corner? I think I remember telling you once before about it....maybe not. Anyway, it will start to rot. 

Good thing you're back....Holly has been going through withdrawals


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## bolram

Thanks rob i actually like the look of the tank for once which is a good sign lol,

haha yeah ben i just like the look of the plant and to be honest its still looking very healthy and growin, like i said before once it causes problems (rot) i will be removing it elsewhere lol


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## bolram

oh and me and holly talk on msn so its not to much of a withdrawal *r2


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## sanling

bolram said:


> I have finally got my new tank  So happy with it, it looks nice, and so much bigger than i pictured
> 
> This is just a picture i took when i got it home
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Since then ive scrubbed it up a bit, painted the wooden board thats on the stand white to make it more neutral instead of the chip board effect color lol. Tomorrow im going to start putting it together or seeing what i need anyway



What aquariums you want to keep in your new tank ?


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## bolram

check the previous page it shows some fish on a video i made of the tank


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## bolram

Just been looking at the species the plant dealer sells and from the list of the possible plants you could get in the bundle ive managed to possibly identify 15-16 species i got

Red + Green Cabomba (definites lol)
Alternantera Reineckii Lilacina Red???
Ludwigia Covalis?
Bacopa Carolina
Water Wisteria
Borneo + Malayan Swords
Vallis Spirallis
Amazon Swords
Radican Swords
Fountain Plant??
Hygrophilia Corymbosa
Stricta?
Green Spade Lead
Java Fern

I went through a list of species pictures on the net and picked out these to the nearest match i could find anyway from the species list the plant dealer had. They are not 100% accurate but look as near to what i have in the tank with a few unsure about and some i just couldn't identify at all


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## holly12

Yes, I've been going through withdrawls! Lol, I've only been able to check the site for like 2mins over the last 2 days!!! 

I think I got heat exhaustion from the concert yesterday.... 46-48 degrees with the humidex (that's 114-118 degrees for you Americans.) Hottest day on record for Toronto!!! Waited in the sun for 3 hours, then in the hot venue for 4 hours... but to be at the front and center.... worth it! Wicked pics and vids!!!!!

Oh, by the way, tank is looking hoooooot!


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## bolram

Haha it does feel weird not coming on here even if i havent said much for the past couple of days lol. You going to be on msn tonight holly?

Thanks, it is starting to look pretty nice


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## Rob72

glad you had fun, know you know how i feel everday fro 9 hourse a day in the heat lol but no concert just horses and grass lol


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## holly12

Awww Rob, how do you not get heat stroke?

And Bolram, I should be on msn and this forums chat this evening. Gotta' go grocery shopping tonight and then will be on.


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## Rob72

that i did yesterday came home early i was dehydrated alittle


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