# Starting with a blank slate



## susankat

A new tank build, this is what I am starting with. A 220g 72X24X30


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## JIM

*I really think that huge tank will cause your floor to fall through,*L1, Maybe i should come pick it up and put it on a firmer foundation at my house. *r2. No really.....looks "Great!!!! , and i know you will have a ball setting it up and getting it stocked.*


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## mdmorash

Any idea of what's going in there? *pc


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## phil_pl

i agree with jim its going to be too heavy it would go good in my basement though!!!

tank looks good. i like the canopy

what are you planning on keeping in it?


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## susankat

Thankful that I have cement floors . This is going to have plant wise, different vals and swords. The stock will be Angels, bolivian rams, cardinals, otos and L66 plecos.


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## Shotgun

YOU FINIALLY GOT UR 220g!!!!!!! what room in your house is it in?


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## susankat

This one is in my living room as it will be my show tank. All the other tanks are in the fishroom/dining room which we don't use it as.


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## orion

beautiful sell you a 110 for a sump lololol


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## susankat

hahaha, not gonna run a sump on this.


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## orion

lolololol thats cool cant wait to see it up and runnin


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## susankat

I'm going for the smaller species of vals like crystal val, Italian val. contortion val. I also have some anubia that will be going in there. Xmas moss and some others but not java moss. And a piece of driftwood at each end as soon as it's ready but will be a couple months soaking. There is also a big sword that I have that will be the center piece. Its growing out of the top of my 30 gal.


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## obscbyclouds

Wow, I'm jealous, wish I could afford a tank that size (or even fit it in my apartment). My angel tried to eat my oto's, but in a tank that size, you may have a different outcome. Good luck, and have fun stocking it!

What are you planning to do for a substrate?


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## susankat

Substrate is going to be a fine grade black sand.


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## susankat

No it's going to be black beauty blasting sand which is a fine grade of it.


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## susankat

I don't know if welding supply would have the black, but I am going straight to the source and getting it for $11 for an 80lb bag, and its going to take 3 bags.

I found the source by doing a google for blasting sand tulsa and it brought this place up, then sent a few emails to make sure that they would sell to the public.


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## Dirty_Pond

susankat,

My hats to you building the thing by yourself. Did you build the stand and canopy too?

They are look wonderful. 

A quick question. I see that you use sand in you other tanks too and they are heavily planted. I am trying to set up my first tank and want to put lots of plant and fish and trying to figure what substrate to use. I like sand (the look of it and usually its very cheap) but I read that with sand plants don't grow as good as they do in gravel or other substrate because sand compacts and hinders root development. 

From your experience what do you think?


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## susankat

Well if you look at pics of my tanks most are sand of some type and most have lots of plants. With sand you want to make sure that you have some with a good root system to it like swords and put a plant tab under the root it will help it grow better and the roots will help keep the sand from packing down. With plants that have small root systems take a fork and poke the sand to keep it loose. You can do this while doing your water changes.

On the big tank, I purchased the tank, stand and canopy at one time. They were special ordered by me with the vendor so got it at the lfs cost. I wouldn't attempt to do a stand like that as I don't have the tools for it.


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## jrodriguez

wow that is a pretty good sized aquarium...it doesnt look that big but if i were to be standing next to it it would be the size of shaq...jk


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## Dirty_Pond

susankat said:


> On the big tank, I purchased the tank, stand and canopy at one time. They were special ordered by me with the vendor so got it at the lfs cost. I wouldn't attempt to do a stand like that as I don't have the tools for it.


Nice. Which vendor if you don;t mind my asking.


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## susankat

aqueon (spelling) but did it through my lfs.


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## susankat

Have put some sand in the tank, but needs a couple more buckets on the left side. Will finish that tomorrow and plant the dwarf chain sword.


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## Shotgun

are you using black sand? if you are, then that would create a very nice difference in color.  what type of fish do you plan on keeping there?


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## jrodriguez

where do u buy the sand???

btw what kind of substrates are there that arent that expensive???


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## susankat

What I am using is called Black Beauty blasting sand. I got it for $11.00 for an 80lb bag. I bought 3 bags of it but don't think it will need more than 2, which is ok as I have 5 other tanks to set up after this one.

I plan on planting this tank with vals and dwarf chain swords for right now, then later adding co2 and high light then will plant others. It will be stocked with angels, bolivian rams and some cardinals. Later when the c. rabutti get bigger they will go into the tank. That will be a school of 20 cories there.

There is no background on this either. I plan on letting the vals do that for me. It will be filtered by a Rena XP4 and a 300 gal sandbed filter till I get another rena to add on it.


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## susankat

Thanks for the advice, I only put 2 inches of sand down. This blasting sand doesn't compact like playsand and its easily stirred. I have some sort of sand in 10 tanks so I know which one does best with the least problems that is why I chose this type.


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## jrodriguez

11 dollars for that much...pretty cheap isnt it


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## orion

if you need any help let me know wifey and i are just a hop skip and away


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## susankat

Cool, will do. Still waiting on the vals. May end up swimming in the tank to plant those. . Will be glad when its done so I can move fish over. Got more fish coming in during the next 2 months so need to have them ready.


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## Shotgun

$11.00 for an 80 pound bag!?!?!?!?? Where did you buy it for soooo cheap?


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## susankat

Went right to the place where they package it. Mohawk Materials here in Tulsa. They also have one in Oklahoma City.

Black Beauty blasting sand is nothing but coal slag actually. Just do a search for blasting sand in your area. They have many different colors. You can even check welding supplies, and if they don't have the black or the color you need find out where they get it from.


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## susankat

Its filled with water and a few plants now


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## Shotgun

that will look so cool once they grow into eachother.

MORE PICS PLEASE!!!!!!!!


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## susankat

Probably won't be anymore pics till Sunday or Monday. Right now working on getting this new canister going. Hooked it up and its leaking a lot. I think the seal isn't sealing it right. Anyone know anything about the filstar xp4?


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## jrodriguez

wish i could get one like that


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## Dirty_Pond

what kind of plant is this?


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## Dmaaaaax

I guess it it too late to suggest a bag or 2 of the Seakem flourite black sand, as some mineral (iron) rich clay based sand? 

Tank is looking great so far. What kind of filters do you plan to run?


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## susankat

The vals came in today, so going to get them planted. The plant that is in there is dwarf chain swords so should fill in nicely.

Dmaaaaax the black beauty sand has iron traces in it. So that should help some, also using some plant tabs under the sand since most of the plants are heavy root feeders. The filters I am using is rena filstar xp4 x 2 got one now and will get the other one next payday. The first one has to be replaced since it leaks like no bodies business.

Will post pics after the val is planted.


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## Mermaid

Looking good so far! I wanted to have black sand originally but my fish are dark in color.. it would not have worked out well! *r2


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## Dmaaaaax

Sounds like a good plan with the root tabs. 

I figured as much about the plants, since you only planted them in the foreground. 

Sorry to hear about your Rena, but I think in the long run, you will enjoy the XP4 as much as I do my XP3....which is pretty much every time I clean it. I see just how much it filters and how well the flow is controlled (little to no bypass) compared to some of my other filters.


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## susankat

The new filter should be here today, I also put a small powerhead with a sponge to keep the water moving. The vals are in but they are small. Most didn't have roots yet. Oh well hope they do good.

Since the sand bed is only 2 inches I have resorted to putting the swords in clay pots. The dwarf chain swords should grow enough around them that the pots won't be visable once they start growing. 

Here are a few new pics.


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## Diego Ocrass

nice tank , the discus fishes are nice for that tank ..


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## susankat

You shouldn't for a little while. Let them get settled and see how they do.


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## susankat

Well my filter didn't come in, but did take the sword out of the pot and added another plant. So here is some more pics.


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## susankat

More pics. Since I am also running a seeded filter on the tank I went ahead and started moving fish to it. I think I am going to use some flat slate and build corner beds that will be about 3 to 4 inches taller than the the rest of the substrates and put the swords in those.


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## 07candyr6

WOW! first time Ive seen this thread and I cant stop looking at the pics! looks great and cant wait for finished pics and any update(with a pic)!!!


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## Oldman

That tank is coming along very nicely Susan. At really like the side to side contrast you have with those very different plants.


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## susankat

Thanks Oldman, I have some more of the lilies to put in there, but am going to make some walls to put the sand deeper for them and the sword so it will be a few days.

Heres a video of the fish


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## orion

absolutely beautiful girl wifey and i were looking and givin you major cudos lets all go to the aquarium today over in jenks


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## Shotgun

wow. the fish will really love that once the grass and plants grow in. What else do you plan on stocking it with?


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## susankat

More plants, Then when I decide to thin out the angels I want to put a bunch of cardinals in there.

Also planning on some driftwood as soon as I find a piece I like.


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## Dirty_Pond

what type is that large plant on the left side?

Its really nice looking. I have to get one for my aq.\

Also how big/old are the angels?


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## susankat

The plant is a nymphia rubra aka red lily. The larger angels are about a year old. The juvies I'm not sure of as I have had them for about 8 weeks and were pea and dime size when I got them. The larger ones are about 4 inches not counting the fins. and the smaller ones range from a quarter to half dollar size.


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## j.j.j

Will your lily bear flower? Will it bloom above water?


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## susankat

It's suppose to but I have never had one bloom. Of course I usually trim off leaves that reach the top.


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## susankat

Well got the new filter in and guess what, it leaked also. I ended up getting my money back and spending a little more for a Fluval FX5 rated for 400 gals. My lfs and I decided that the Filstar FX4 must have a flaw in them as he had sold 3 and all 3 had problems.


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## Oldman

I have never had any problems with any of my Rena Filstars Susan. Maybe there is something about the XP4 but the XP1, 2 and 3 that I have are all dead quiet and run great with no leaks at all. I will need to keep your experiences in mind if I ever want to go really big. Maybe I'll just use a pair of the smaller filters instead.


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## susankat

Oldman said:


> I have never had any problems with any of my Rena Filstars Susan. Maybe there is something about the XP4 but the XP1, 2 and 3 that I have are all dead quiet and run great with no leaks at all. I will need to keep your experiences in mind if I ever want to go really big. Maybe I'll just use a pair of the smaller filters instead.


Thats why we decided there must be a flaw with the XP4, anyway the fx5 gives plenty of circulation and is rated for a 400 gal tank.


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## Cheffish

That Fluval is VERY cool - Have one in my 120gl and love it - I also have a hot mag in there too plus a powerhead.

I have a "show piece" of true African root driftwood if you'd liek to purchase it - It leeched too much for my liking plus with the Cichlids it works against the ph for me - plus I have two other pieces in the tank.

Let me know - It's like 26-30" high about the same in width.

Nice tank

Here's mine - 
YouTube - African Biotope of Cichlids


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## susankat

That tank looks great, love the rock work. Got a pic of the wood, wonder how much it would cost to ship the thing?

Got some manzanita wood that I just got, and getting it ready to go into the tank. Then I will take another pic of it.


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## rglens

Susan,
Keep the info and the pic's comeing...it's great to watch you do it and explain what you are doing. The tank is looking great so far.


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## susankat

Sure am on the black water, got peat in the filter now. The manzanita that I got is 4 branches, and I just siliconed them together and on a piece of slate to keep it down, so it will be a couple of days. I know that stuff is expensive. One piece that I wanted was 50.00 but 119.00 to ship. I found this at one of my lfs as her father brings some everytime he comes for a visit. Once its ready to go into the tank, I plan on putting some moss on a couple of places and hope it looks good. Still have some more plants to get.

The emerald cories I put in there decided last night was a good time to lay eggs, and with 5 females and 7 males there was a lot of eggs when I looked in there this morning. The angels had a big breakfast. Until it grows out a lot I don't think eggs will survive that tank with so many angels.


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## susankat

I like that one. Mopani around here is hard to find, especially when I want a big piece. I've got one big piece of stump that I thought about putting in there, but its so big and heavy it would take 3 people to put it in with one standing in the tank. It looks almost like a volcano.


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## susankat

Here is the piece I was talking about, but we decided to keep it for another tank we want to get. a 150 square.


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## susankat

That is a sweet looking piece of wood.


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## susankat

Well got the manzanita in the tank now. Put some anubia on it at the places where I had to use silicone on it to hold together. I also put in some black slate tiles in the corners and plan to use those to raise the sand bed for the swords. Still need to fill them with the black sand. 
Here is a new shot of the tank that I took tonight. Not that good as they were watching tv so there is a lot of light reflection. You can see the manzanita on the left side.


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## susankat

A pic of the manzanita I put in there










My double blacks decided the tank must be perfect for them


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## rglens

Looking very nice, Susan, very nice.


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## Dmaaaaax

What kind of lights do you got in there?


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## susankat

Right now just shop lights, waiting for my other lights to come in.


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## paronaram

Awesome tank!!!

Susan, what was the treatment for the black sand before you put it in the tank?
Did you boiled, or just washed 

Thanks


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## susankat

I just washed it till the water ran clear.


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## AmyLynn

Ohhhhhh DROOLING DROOLING DROOLING over that gorgeous piece of art.


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## fishfish

That's a cleaning nightmare. How do they clean those huge tanks anyway?!


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## susankat

It isn't an easy job. 

Guess what I did today, went and bought a 90 gal metal frame tank for 150.00, the only thing I don't like about it the metal frame is black. wish it was silver like the older ones. Oh well this will be a cichlid tank once I get a stand built for it.


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## rglens

Ooooh, nice Susan


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## cheri900

Very, very nice tank!! I really like the way you showed us your aquascaping in stages. You make it look so easy and I know it isn't. I was gonna say I can't wait to see it finished...but they never are really "finished". Looking forward to more progress pics. Thanks for sharing.


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## susankat

Its not really that hard, all it takes is the right tools. I had to buy a pair of long handled planting tools since the tank is so deep I couldn't reach the bottom.

Plants are starting to grow in now, so will be taking some more pictures soon.


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## susankat

Well I got another surprise today in this tank. The marbles paired up and laid eggs all over the intake tube. So if they hatch I will be pulling the fry out and putting them in a different tank.

I think everything has decided it was time to breed. My royal sturisoma is fanning eggs and should be hatching in a couple of days. Albino bristlenose is fanning eggs. Ruby green female is holding. killie fry in the 50 gal. and the shrimp just keeps having babies.


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## fishfish

Oh... caviar. lol


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## MediaHound

Cool... congrats


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## jrodriguez

very cool...this is a one of the nicest and BIGGEST tanks that i have seen that is freshwater...it is pretty hard to beat a reef tank

cant wait to see everything grown in and everything


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## susankat

Here is an updated pic of the tank and some of the inhabitants. Still haven't found the right piece of driftwood that I want for the right side. Seen several, but didn't quite do it for me.


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## jrodriguez

Wow... All those fish are beatlutiful!!!


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## susankat

Some of the plants in the tank




























couple of the otos









3 of 14 cories


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## susankat

A video of the tank


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## WhiteGloveAquatics

You got camera hungry fish,hahaha.

Susan it looks very good, the crypts are freaking HUGE.

Nice corydora at the end. I love it when my small army of corydoras decide to surface at the same time, its neat, and the other fish hug the glass while this is going on, usually startles the angels and they go on their scardy cat swim pattern.


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## susankat

With those fish as soon as you step near the tank they are right up front. They are pigs and want to eat all the time.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics

My angels are the same way, when the vultures aka fancy guppies get fed the angels have the big tank in an uproar because they didnt get theirs first.


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## susankat

Here are some updated pics of the tank.


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## susankat

A quick update pic of the tank, will get some better ones later.


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## Sweet Tee

Well I started viewing this thread from the beginning and it's FABULOUS! Great job! Seeing larger tanks makes me itch for a house and many more tanks 

In due time I suppose!


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## choylifutsoccer

Wow, that is definitely something!


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## jenmad

Wow, what a lovely tank! Usually I don't really like black substrate but I guess I have to change my mind 

Greetings
Jennifer in Sweden


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## orion

coming along very nicely*pc*pc absolutely gorgeous *w3*w3*w3 lovin the cold weather are you hahahahhaha*r2*r2*r2


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## susankat

Hey stranger, long time. Cold weather right. spent 5 days without power to the fish room, took that long to get someone out here.

Got baby bristlenose just hatched in the big tank, hopefully the angels don't decide to find them before they get big enough to stay out of the way.


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## orion

u have pm


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## MediaHound

Love the tank! The video was great, I like how you kept the camera on long enough to catch that cory at the end dart up to the surface. Blink and you miss it. 
I love the veiltail angels also, they are gorgeous. 
Bravo!


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## Dmaaaaax

1. Looking great
2. Trim those plants if you want them to bush up. Do not let them get near the top or the bottoms begin to get thin.
3 How does the discus do with the angels...since both are chiclids I hear you ocassionally run into problems unless the discus is larger. I had one angel and 4 discus and he would always be more aggressive during feeding, so the discus would wait for food to drop rather than eat from the feeding cones. Once I got rid of the angels they all come to the cone for food.
5. What ferts are you giving and how often as they start to grow more aggresively?
6. How long did it take to get your temp back up in that tank after the power failure and how much did it drop? (at least it was during the summer, good for fish but bad for you and AC)


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## susankat

Dmaaaaax said:


> 1. Looking great
> 2. Trim those plants if you want them to bush up. Do not let them get near the top or the bottoms begin to get thin.
> 3 How does the discus do with the angels...since both are chiclids I hear you ocassionally run into problems unless the discus is larger. I had one angel and 4 discus and he would always be more aggressive during feeding, so the discus would wait for food to drop rather than eat from the feeding cones. Once I got rid of the angels they all come to the cone for food.
> 5. What ferts are you giving and how often as they start to grow more aggresively?
> 6. How long did it take to get your temp back up in that tank after the power failure and how much did it drop? (at least it was during the summer, good for fish but bad for you and AC)


Do trim the plants weekly now since they really started taking off. Going to have to start selling/giving cuttings away, running out of room in the other tanks.

Sadly I lost the discus. Was doing good then all of a sudden just dropped. He was up at the top feeding all the time with the angels. I think he was lonely as he was the only one. But never could find any healthy enough that I wanted to get.

The angels, I have gotten rid of all but two, need to say no when someone in the club wanted a couple.

For ferts been using Rex's dry ferts and dose every other day. Not heavily though as there is no co2 and still not high light. But still do 50% water change each week. I also put fert tabs under the swords. Most of them doing good except for one which just sits there and not growing. May toss it and get another ozelot sword for that side.

The power outage actually was in December and just that one room so it didn't affect the big tank, Used a lot of extension cords to the other tanks to keep them going and also put a room heater in the fish room. It turned out to be the aluminum wiring in this house and all the electrician had to do was to tighten the wiring to the breaker. Wish we could afford to have house rewired with good wiring but it would cost about 15000 to do it.

I'll get some updated pics up soon so everyone can see how much it has grown.


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## Dmaaaaax

Ohh, whoops did not see that your last post date was in January...and I've been afk from the forums lately.

Sorry to hear about your discus and angels. So what schools of fish are you focusing on now?...and how long did it take for you to catch an angel in a tank that size?!

Last time I went to Rex's site it was down. Do you know if he changed his site, or if he went out of business?
*EDIT* Nevermind his site is back up..must have just been maintanence.

Speaking of which, I need to update my tank pictures also! It has been too long, and my Discus have grown.


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## susankat

His site is back up. Was having some server problems I think. 

It didn't take long to catch the angels in there, as soon as I walked up to the tank they were right there.

I think what I may do is do the tank with large schools of threadfin rainbows. I plan on moving the 2 angels to a 40 gal blackwater tank that I have a couple of red points in growing out and they will move to one of the 50's.

I am also going to be adding a shoal of 20 wild caught and F1 sterbai shortly. Someone just offered to me for free. I have also got 5 clown loaches in there now that people have given me.

Here is a bad pic that I took this morning. One side of the lights are off the tank at the moment. Need new bulbs for it.


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## Big Dog

Very very nice planted aquarium. Keep up the good work.


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## Dmaaaaax

If you go for rainbows....look for these. Very unique, and cool...yes green rainbows:









These look great in combo with Boesmani and/or Trifasciata rainbows!


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## Big Dog

That is one sweet fish.


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## susankat

Those are sweet, How big do they get? Normal size?


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## WhiteGloveAquatics

you need some competition around here Susan, I will unleash my 210 very soon on this forum. On a side note, I managed to get the half wild fry over to the 40 cube and they are going to grow out in there.


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## susankat

Well when can I expect some from you?????


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## kevinpilon1

wow this has been a great read for me as I am new to the hobby. Thanks for all of the pics, if you want to send some cuttings to the frigid north I would gladly pay for them


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## Mr_Pat

Love the Tank.. I had a 195 set up wit Oscars for a few years .But when we moved to our current house i was worried the floors wouldn't support it . So it now houses our 16 foot reticulated python. At least till we can buy a house more suited for us. Then the plan is planted tank with lots of tetras and a few angels


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## Molly Man

susankat said:


> A new tank build, this is what I am starting with. A 220g 72X24X30


Awesome tank, I am so jealous.*flaming Best wishes with it...:cheer:


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## majerah1

Yeah Susan has great tanks and plants.Id love to have a tank that big.My largest is a 30 gallon,lol.


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## GetITCdot

I usually don't stray very far from the salt section but I must say the tank looks awesome!


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## petlover516

Wow susan, I think this is the best fw tank I've ever seen. But than again dmaaaax has an awesome tank, too! And hopefully I get to see whitegloveaquatics' tank


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## i4yue

anymore new pictures? =D


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## susankat




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## automatic-hydromatic

out of curiosity, what are the tall slender leaved plants on the far right and mid left?


tank looks great!


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## saltydad

It's so thrilling to see that huge and empty tank and have the joy of populating it into a living showcase still to come. Congrats!!


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## susankat

That plant is willow hygro. I will probably end up pulling that out though as it needs constant trimming as you can see. But not at the moment. Come spring time I am going to redo the tank.


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## i4yue

are you going to throw it away?!!? the willow hygro i mean.


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## susankat

No I have 46 other tanks to split it between and sending a little to a friend of mine as soon as all this weather clears up.


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## i4yue

tooooo bad =)


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## J-Pond

Just read through the whole thread, what an amazing transformation. I loved the video with all the angles, sorry to hear you got rid of most of them. What are your plans for the redo?


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## susankat

Rainbows not decided on which yet. Going to add more substrate. several swords and vals. The clowns and cories will stay, also have some grass guppies in there right now, will probably leave the guppies in the 55 when I move all the fish from the 220 to 55 while redoing the tank. I also want to add more wood to the tank.


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## Eric Liu

hey , what are you going to keep in your tank ? Coral Reef or saltwater fish ? haha , i am expecting your new pictures :fish-in-bowl:


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## susankat

I haven't even started yet with the redo, waiting till late spring/early summer. Now I have to get another 50/55 and get it going to move the fish into while I do this. Its going to stay freshwater as it would cost me an arm and leg to set it up as salt.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics

Ill sell ya my 55 flat back hex........(need to make room for new tank)


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## susankat

Not gonna pay shipping on that  A club member has a 50 for $50 and couple of stands that I am getting for $40, just getting a way to haul them.


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## retiredsemi

susankat said:


> aqueon (spelling) but did it through my lfs.


my hats off to you susankat go girl and i am jealous too would look real good at my cabin *r2 jk have fun and keep us posted as to the progress

*old dude


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## Subaru4wd

Great build! Love the progression. A planted tank beats a reef tank anyday in my opinion!

I am going to get me some of that Black Diamond media blasting for my new 88gal tank. How has your substrate held up since you started this tank?


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## giddetm

How is the redo on your 220 going?


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## retiredsemi

hmmmmmmmmm would loan you my pickup to haul those tanks home only two catches to that though susan would want the big tank put into the truck to take to my cabin and dang I live in Canada*pc *old dude keep up the good work my friend *w3


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## williemcd

Substrate.. using sand as a substrate if fine... IF .. you keep your eye out for pool filter sand. Playground sand can and will compact. PFS on the other hand has been graded to a size of .45 - .55 mm which allows water to flow thru it, hence it's use in pool filters. Some of the PFS's will make your tank cloudy for a day or so if ya didn't rinse it extremely well. The brand I buy, "Lighthouse", can go in the tank without any rinsing and will clear up in an hour... instantly if I add the water slowly. Best of luck! Bill in Va.


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## giddetm

I have always been told not to use play sand or pool filter sand because it has a lot of silica in it?


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## susankat

I have used both pool filter sand and play sand, I like the pool sand better as its finer and softer.

Black diamond has been holding up pretty good, but may be just using it as a base sand with peat on top then pool filter sand, I really haven't decided which way I want to go. I may even decide to put cichlids in the tank.


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## sion342

I never see a thing like that before. Wow is beautiful,congratulations in yours success. For sure it will be a lot of fun with.


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## Brenda

Your aquarium is so elegant. Can't wait to see the new look.


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## stingray

What are the size dimensions for that 220 tank ?
DOH! I should have read the first post (will go bang my head on the wall now)
A new tank build, this is what I am starting with. A 220g 72X24X30


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## williemcd

Great looking tank... I've a 155G long in the same state.. well.. he's currently housing a rescued 12" Pacu... One that was supposed to be picked up over a week ago!....Grrrrr.....
This will be the home to 15 sub-adult discus... http://www.kodakgallery.com/imaging-site/services/doc/5828:857030992213/jpeg/SM/async


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## Summer

wow, that is AMAZING. Great job, my hat is off to you!


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## handsomedan12

where did you get the sand i really like the black, can you put a link to the website?


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## susankat

I got the sand from the manufacturer here in town. It's in 80lb bags. Just google blasting sand for your area and you should find some that way. I don't think the company would ship like that.


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## Kris

Thats a awsome looking tank,I cant wait to get a house to get one that size.Did you set it up and stock it yet if so id love to see some pics.


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## susankat

If you read through the thread you will see photos of it stocked


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## mark8888

Dirty_Pond said:


> susankat,
> 
> My hats to you building the thing by yourself. Did you build the stand and canopy too?
> 
> They are look wonderful.
> 
> A quick question. I see that you use sand in you other tanks too and they are heavily planted. I am trying to set up my first tank and want to put lots of plant and fish and trying to figure what substrate to use. I like sand (the look of it and usually its very cheap) but I read that with sand plants don't grow as good as they do in gravel or other substrate because sand compacts and hinders root development.
> 
> From your experience what do you think?


Hi ,do you know led aquarium light ?i suggest you can buy a led aquarium light for your tank ,it good for your plant's grow and the light is beautiful .


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## susankat

mark8888 said:


> Hi ,do you know led aquarium light ?i suggest you can buy a led aquarium light for your tank ,it good for your plant's grow and the light is beautiful .


NO I don't do led's on that tank, don't want to. And please dont suggest it


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## Mr_Pat

hey handsomedan.. i dont know if you have a tractor suplly near you or not .. but if you do they carry the black diamond sand if thats what your looking for..




handsomedan12 said:


> where did you get the sand i really like the black, can you put a link to the website?


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## katanamasako

all that will look really good with black sand! I plan to mix black and white sand when i get my three hundred gallon to move in my angels when they start pairing off.


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## susankat

This tank is in the process of becoming a cichlid tank now.


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## crozzy

That tank is massive. 
What lighting will you be using


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## susankat

Ok finally getting back to this thread. Lol been too lazy I think. Anyway the tank is now a cichlid tank and here is a couple of videos of it. Just click the pics.






As you can see there is a couple of large plecos in the tank.


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## Keith Westmeier

It will be a beautiful tank. I put mine 28 inches from the wall so I could walk behind & work on it. Then I built a rock wall 6 inches tall & the length of the tank, 5 inches away from the back glass & filled it with Flourite to make a raised bed for my amazon sword plants. I would suggest using three-quarter PVC PIPE to give it the look of Landscape Timbers instead of rock because it is alot lighter than rock. Just stager yuor cuts & use couplings to connect the pievs. Lightly sand the pieces so you can paint them brown. Mine are growing like crazy.


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## susankat

Not really interested in putting plants in this tank as all the fish in there will tear up and eat them. The plecos alone will decimate any plant put in there as the biggest one is 18 inches.


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## Keith Westmeier

all I saw was an empty tank when I wrote the message. Afterwards I saw that you had already put fish in it


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## susankat

Oh okay, sorry. Yeah there is 8 pages on this thread. I had it heavily planted with angels and others then decided to do cichlids and plecos in it. So it went from one end to the other.


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## who8mypnuts

susankat said:


> Oh okay, sorry. Yeah there is 8 pages on this thread. I had it heavily planted with angels and others then decided to do cichlids and plecos in it. So it went from one end to the other.


Can't wait to see it as a cichlid tank! Dempsy's by any chance?


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## susankat

My JD


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## who8mypnuts

susankat said:


> My JD


Whoa!!!!
So nice...and super beautiful! Thank you for sharing!


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## susankat

Here is a video of the tank


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## susankat

A better shot showing some of the fish


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## Dolphielov

wow, i wish i could afford that! (or fit it in my room...) it looks great!


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## guppy5

*guppy5*

I cycled my tank for 21 days. I used ammonia from ace hardware store for the faithless cycling. Thank you for your help.


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## welok

Any new pictures? *pc I'm wanting to do a planted tank, and you gave me some great ideas (then again, my tanks look like :fish-in-bowl: compared to yours ). Thank you for all the pictures! 

Is your tank still cichlid and pleco?


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## susankat

Sorry I don't, had to sell the tank when we moved to smaller house and no where to set it.


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## welok

susankat said:


> Sorry I don't, had to sell the tank when we moved to smaller house and no where to set it.


That's sad. I want my next house to have a slab floor in 1 room (besides the garage) to use as my aquarium room, but I'm stuck in this house for a few more years. Really don't want a slab floor in the entire house...


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## clumsycarp

just buy a house with enough land to build a good sized slab floored fish house...


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## big b

susankat said:


> Have put some sand in the tank, but needs a couple more buckets on the left side. Will finish that tomorrow and plant the dwarf chain sword.


Is that you susan?


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## clumsycarp

nope , it is Grandma Moses......lol


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## susankat

Yes its me, didn't you know I was grandma moses


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## big b

I had to look up grandma moses to understand that, but I'm glad I did. You look like a lovely lady


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## big b

Also, that black sand you used for this tank, I have a question about it. Did the fish waste manage to get down to the plants roots? Or did the plants get their nutrients some other way


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## big b

I figured that if I got to see what Susan looks like then I should return the favor and let people see me. I learned it is not that hard to up load a pic. I hope I didn't do anything wrong when posting it.


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## susankat

Fish waste stayed on top of the sand so it was easy to vac it out. I used fert tabs and dry ferts in the tank for the plants.


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## vreugy

Still waiting on your picture. And don't ask for one of me. I don't have and won't take any of me.


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## big b

vreugy said:


> Still waiting on your picture. And don't ask for one of me. I don't have and won't take any of me.


Look at the album pictures at the top of the site.


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## big b

Never mind, a few pictures have bumped mine off. Here is a link to my gallery.Aquarium Gallery - Me and my 4 y/o neice


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## vreugy

Good looking young man. Is this a recent picture? Cute little girl too.


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## big b

Pretty recent I guess, I don't take very good pictures I think . Thanks, her name is Emily.


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