First attempt at a 55 gal

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Update - I found some rocks near my house and added them to the tank last night. It is slowly coming together.

I also added 6 Buenos Aires tetras last weekend to cycle the tank. They are very active and go crazy when its feeding time.

55g012210.JPG
 
Everything in the tank was washed, soaked, and/or boiled multiple times before going into the tank. The driftwood soaked for almost 2 weeks but still made the water a little brown but its clearing up.
 
New pics. The school of Buenos Aires Tetra's are really developing some nice color. The red is coming out in their fins. I moved the Leopard Pleco from a 20 gal to the 55 gal. He was getting too messy in the 20 and very territorial. I also moved around a couple of plants.

Yesterday I moved the JD to the 55 as well. He would not leave my coworkers Bichir alone and we were afraid it would lead to the Bichir getting hurt or stressed and eventually losing him.

The lights are bothering me now. The left is really red/orange and the right is a blue/white. The bulbs are only 18" and I would like to get that really crisp light that I see in so many tanks. The current setup sit directly on the glass cover of the hoods.

What can I do to get a really crisp looking light? Should I go with a single strip with multiple bulbs? I plan to buld a hood in a few weeks, so I will have more options if needed.

I am also thinking about changing the substrate already...maybe some black ColorQuartz.
 
Another update - added some moonlights

I picked up a blue led light kit from the auto parts store for about $14. I found an old 12v power supply and wired them up.

They are much brighter than I expected. The tank is a little out of order due to the separator to keep the JD from going after the FM, but I attached a pic.
 
dontgetbit;3849577; said:
New pics. The school of Buenos Aires Tetra's are really developing some nice color. The red is coming out in their fins. I moved the Leopard Pleco from a 20 gal to the 55 gal. He was getting too messy in the 20 and very territorial. I also moved around a couple of plants.

Yesterday I moved the JD to the 55 as well. He would not leave my coworkers Bichir alone and we were afraid it would lead to the Bichir getting hurt or stressed and eventually losing him.

The lights are bothering me now. The left is really red/orange and the right is a blue/white. The bulbs are only 18" and I would like to get that really crisp light that I see in so many tanks. The current setup sit directly on the glass cover of the hoods.

What can I do to get a really crisp looking light? Should I go with a single strip with multiple bulbs? I plan to buld a hood in a few weeks, so I will have more options if needed.

I am also thinking about changing the substrate already...maybe some black ColorQuartz.
Click to expand...

Unless you are planning a planted aquarium you don't need to replace the light fixtures, just the bulbs. Most pet supply stores will have a selection of lamps to replace what you have. If you like the cool (blue) light, look for something >7000k wavelength.

Zoo Med has a decent selection of lamps, here's a link:

http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/S...ting&Heading=Aquarium&Search.x=24&Search.y=20

Basically, the higher the wavelength the cooler (bluer) the light is.

I like cool lighting and am happy with 7100k.
 
Mazcote Yarquest;3869877; said:
Unless you are planning a planted aquarium you don't need to replace the light fixtures, just the bulbs. Most pet supply stores will have a selection of lamps to replace what you have. If you like the cool (blue) light, look for something >7000k wavelength.

Zoo Med has a decent selection of lamps, here's a link:

http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/S...ting&Heading=Aquarium&Search.x=24&Search.y=20

Basically, the higher the wavelength the cooler (bluer) the light is.

I like cool lighting and am happy with 7100k.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I actually picked up a GE Daylight 6500k bulb from Lowes on Saturday to replace the left side (it was only 2700k). I really like the new bulb with its crisp white light, but with the tank separator up its difficult to tell which one I like more. I think I will leave it for now until I can decide between the 6500k or the 9325k.

All of these bulb specs and kelvin talk make me feel like I am back in college. The standard in the print industry is 5000k for accurate color matching on printed material.
 
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