First attempt at a 55 gal

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
New light - added a 6500k GE Daylight on left side

I can now see the blue in the right side with the 9325 GE Aqua Rays bulb. Now I just need to decide which bulb I like and make them match.

I think the FM is not going to work. Its a nice looking fish but it hides all of the time. I may give him another week or so but the previous owner said he liked to hide, but he was in a tank with 2 Freddys, a GT, a larger FM, and 6 Silver Dollars that was only a 55! Maybe I can get him to swap out for the larger FM.
 
Yet another update to my 55 gal. I decided to change my Home Depot pea gravel to black 3M ColorQuartz. I found it locally for about $20 a bag.

The swap was not difficult at all. After a thorough gravel vac and lowering the water level about 50%, I used a plastic cup to scoop out most of the gravel. The remaining small pieces I just used my hand. While I was removing the gravel, I left the ColorQuartz in a bucket outside with a garden hose constantly rinsing it. I removed most of the rocks, leaving a couple on one end with some plants for the fish to hide in while I was disturbing them. I then used the same cup to scoop the ColorQuartz into the tank, making sure to add a little Prime to take care of any chlorine that may have been introduced in the rinsing process. I also raised the intakes on my hob filters, but for some reason the old Whisper 30-60 keeps getting particles in it. I have cleaned it out at least 5 times now, but its stills not cleared out. I can deal with it for a little while, as I have 2 new AC 70's on the way to replace both old filters.

The JD, FM, and new Con seem to really enjoy the sandy bottom. The pleco does not come out much but he certainly does his share of crapping all over it.
 
lol @ the pleco crapping on your new sand. That black sand looks awesome btw....making me second guess my choice to use natural in my 180. JD is gettin' huge too!
 
nice man, the new substrate looks great!
 
oh, and where did you find this sand at?
 
Arowanana;3901718; said:
lol @ the pleco crapping on your new sand. That black sand looks awesome btw....making me second guess my choice to use natural in my 180. JD is gettin' huge too!
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Its crazy how much waste that pleco produces.

cichlidian1;3901732; said:
nice man, the new substrate looks great

oh, and where did you find this sand at?
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Thanks, I think it makes the tank look much cleaner.
I found it at Quality Construction Products in Raleigh. They have quite a stock pile of it from what they told me. I may pick up a couple more bags just for future use.
 
dontgetbit;3902007; said:
I found it at Quality Construction Products in Raleigh. They have quite a stock pile of it from what they told me. I may pick up a couple more bags just for future use.
Click to expand...

I might do the same!
 
Here is the Convict that I picked up Monday. I'm not sure how he is going to work. The JD owns the tank, but when I separate the JD the Con chases the FM. I just cant seem to get any fish that get along.

I cant get a pic of the FM, as he hides all the time.

Maybe I will trade the JD for a less aggressive one, but I really like him. Or maybe I will just get rid of the FM and Con, then get some more tetras for the school or some Silver Dollars.
 
Glad you went with the buenos aires tetras instead of the silver dollars. I like them more.

Good luck with the tank,its looking great.
 
thanks man, Im going to def going to pick some up...how much does it cost and for what weight....oh and if you don't want your jack lemme kno...i live around you and have a tank with a lot of jacks who im sure wouldn't mind another friend:)
 
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