evenflow Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 (edited) Hey everyone, Thought I'd share my little adventure that has kept me very busy for the last two weeks. After years of having a 1.5ft tank I have finally decided to start a real aquarium! Not much in it yet, just the rocks and wood. Depending on whether I put big fish in there, it will most liekly end up with a combo of anubias and java fern. Most of it was cheap from Gumtree apart from the new canister filter running at 1200L p/h. Repainted the stand and did some heavy cleaning, and it has come out looking pretty well! A 4fter, though quite small given it only has a capacity of 180L. The tank has been cycling for nearly a week and should get there soon. I'm not entirely sure yet what fish to put in as yet but I think I've narrowed it down to two options: 1. A general community tank with tetras, bristlenose, corys, loaches, rams, kribs, rainbows etc or 2. A few big fish ie 1 of each flowerhorn, red devil, texas and an oscar... If anyone has any opinions about the setup or more importantly that combo of big american cichlids I mentioned, it'd be highly appreciates. Thanks Edited April 19, 2014 by evenflow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelandbrittany Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Having a fh in that mix won't end well, not sure if.there will be enough room for the oscar and devil to get along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinnyman Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Nice looking tank there mate, Love the driftwood. i would go a community tank, maybe some German blue rams, plenty of different types of tetras. much better option then having one large aggressive fish that will out grow the four footer, then again its a good excuses to upgrade to A 6x2x2 lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 A better mix IMHO would be a gold saum rivulatus, jack dempsey, gold severum and a big geo like a horsehead of some type. Its a great looking hardscape though, almost a shame to put big cichlids in there. hoplos, festivums and a big school of emporer tetra ftw! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evenflow Posted April 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Wow. Thanks for the quick replies! Yes, I was thinking the cichlids were a no go. I think I'll just stick to the community and move up. There is plenty to do in that field for someone who's only done livebearers and goldfish in the past. Also a thanks to all the fellers at Age of Aquariums in getting heaps of stuff to me super cheap and super fast. This hobby is much more accessible to tight arses like me thanks to businesses like you! One last little cool thing I'll show you. Here is a closeup of one piece of driftwood that I love. To me it looks like some sort of camouflaged kraken! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicmacd Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Looks nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mq_camo Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Earth eaters would look nice in there. Looks good!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
th3f0rg0t3n Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 something that likes to chew on wood, could do pretty well in that tank : ) (pleco of some sort perhaps) lol. Looks great!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obeice Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Looks good mate will look even better with fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blocka Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 something that likes to chew on wood, could do pretty well in that tank : ) (pleco of some sort perhaps) lol. Looks great!! termites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blocka Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 And nice looking tank I like the idea of green terrors and some geos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRISSY Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Looks great! I agree eartheaters would look great in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tristan Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 I can really see a school of Clown loaches really popping off of the more neutral tones you have running through the tank. I think they look brilliant as a part of a larger group! I also see some silver dollars or archerfish looking quite nice to brighten up the tank a little bit and also agree that some nice plecos would work great in there! That way you have a range of bottom and top range swimmers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatSalvatore Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 Nice landscape! I'd probably just have a big school of good electric yellows in there but am a newb with fishkeeping compared to most... A bunch of clown loaches dancing around together with them would be cool! Not natural as one's african and the other asian, but still cool in my opinion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tristan Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 For me I love african cichlids in bright poppy landscapes... blue backgrounds and white rock/substrate etc I think this one has such a nice subdued neutral feel to it which may not compliment the african cichlids... (although the strange thing is colourful discus probably would work in this display in my opinion) I guess the great thing about aquascaping is how subjective it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilviss Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 That hardscape is badass, would love to se it full of anubius and tetras, some big bristlenose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo89 Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 You really have a million and one options in terms of fish man, and everyone has their personal interests. I'd suggest just heading out to a high quality store like smith's or atlas aquarium and basically just picking out a couple things you like hey! Other way to do it is choose a centre piece species and stock around that (ie. angelfish, discus, archers, rainbows, larger Americans etc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pk333 Posted April 19, 2014 Report Share Posted April 19, 2014 A 4fter, though quite small given it only has a capacity of 180L. Why the ?!!? are some people talking about large species of fish to go in this tank? It's a freakin small 4 footer. Largest fish I would consider putting in there would be a Blue acara. No way in the world would I even consider putting just one large American cichlid in there as a wet pet. Look, I love the scape. I really dig the minimalist look, and really like the how the logs and stone work together, but you've gone and scaped the tank without taking the fish in to account. What source of ammonia are you using to cycle your tank? Do you know how the nitrogen cycle works? Cycling from scratch without jump starting the process, you're looking at, at least a 4 week process. One week in, is no where close to getting there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo89 Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 Why the ?!!? are some people talking about large species of fish to go in this tank? It's a freakin small 4 footer. Largest fish I would consider putting in there would be a Blue acara. No way in the world would I even consider putting just one large American cichlid in there as a wet pet. Look, I love the scape. I really dig the minimalist look, and really like the how the logs and stone work together, but you've gone and scaped the tank without taking the fish in to account. What source of ammonia are you using to cycle your tank? Do you know how the nitrogen cycle works? Cycling from scratch without jump starting the process, you're looking at, at least a 4 week process. One week in, is no where close to getting there. Some good input there, valuable information, but I believe it's important to empathise with the original poster... As he said it's his first real tank so maybe such a condescending tone isn't really all that necessary? Anyway, agree about the larger Americans, I hadn't read the tank's volume only it's size. That being said 180l is still a world of opportunity, don't be off put by your limitations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evenflow Posted April 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 Why the ?!!? are some people talking about large species of fish to go in this tank? It's a freakin small 4 footer. Largest fish I would consider putting in there would be a Blue acara. No way in the world would I even consider putting just one large American cichlid in there as a wet pet. Look, I love the scape. I really dig the minimalist look, and really like the how the logs and stone work together, but you've gone and scaped the tank without taking the fish in to account. What source of ammonia are you using to cycle your tank? Do you know how the nitrogen cycle works? Cycling from scratch without jump starting the process, you're looking at, at least a 4 week process. One week in, is no where close to getting there. I've been using Stability. The ammonia has gone down to almost zero, nitrite is at 5, and nitrate is starting to come up a little as well. From what I understand, that sounds like it is nearly getting there?? I originally had planned the community tank, but one fish shop on the way back from the Gold Coast suggested that I could get away with that combo of fish... Who can you trust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goneself Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 I've been using Stability. The ammonia has gone down to almost zero, nitrite is at 5, and nitrate is starting to come up a little as well. From what I understand, that sounds like it is nearly getting there??I originally had planned the community tank, but one fish shop on the way back from the Gold Coast suggested that I could get away with that combo of fish... Who can you trust Trust the people who want to help you, or the people who want to sell to you? Personally I'd go with some ember or lemon tetras, corydoras, l397 and some dwarf americans...rams or bolivian butterflies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evenflow Posted April 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 Trust the people who want to help you, or the people who want to sell to you?Personally I'd go with some ember or lemon tetras, corydoras, l397 and some dwarf americans...rams or bolivian butterflies. Believe me, I value opinions like pk333's, more so than the shop's. That's why I ask you gentlemen for input. Mind you, sometimes it's hard to know what to think in this hobby given the variety of opinions that exist out there. After I got home and did some research on the species mentions, I was a bit hesitant to think that all those would go well in a tank like mine. But when someone who's more experienced than you are vehemently believes in what he's saying, it's hard to not at least wonder... You live, you learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goneself Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 There are plenty of horror stories..remember a lot of aquarium staff are hired because they will work for minimum wage, not because they know fish. There are exceptions, of course.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 A couple of veil tail angels take a lot of beating, and are compatable with a mix of tetras. Difficult to beat a veil tail angel Festivum are a fish I often suggest, they are top orientated, and easy to get. Way underrated fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooder Posted April 20, 2014 Report Share Posted April 20, 2014 No more than 6 Orange head taps, big school of lemon tetras and a few cories/plecs... DONT go the larger americans... DO FINISH THE CYCLE before adding any fish, do it right the first time, PLEASE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
