So I just picked up a nice 75g bow front beauty and the plan is to attempt (failures expected) a self-sustaining freshwater ecosystem.
Bought this setup used (oscars, been dry for a few years in a garage) for $150, here's what it came with:
75 bow front tank - almost done cleaning it up.
Stand - paint needed
Flourescent light - 80w I think, will be replacing with LED soon, but will work for now
glass top - may try not to use so I can have plants growing out of the tank
Fluval Canister filter - with a box of biospheres and some seachem matrix, plus foam pad, need charcoal
5 gallons of river rock - should still have some good biology on it no?
All the chemicals and testing equipment I'll ever need.
many odds and ends and a few decorations I probably won't use.
Here's what I need:
Heater - thinking Hydor ETH 300
Substrate - I will use some river rock, but also want to use sand and was thinking Flourite Black as well.
Plants - Lots. Moss walls and driftwood, couple big show plants, hair grass, more hiding places the better
Critters - Introduced from bottom up, bacteria, dapnia (culture currently growing in a jar), snails, shrimp, clams
Fish - something small that reproduces quickly, then cleanup crew, maybe a couple knife fish to eat the little guys, and something bigger and pretty... discus?
First thing i need to figure out is that I want to build in many hiding places and caves where the larger fish won't be able to get, so the smaller critters can stand a chance of maintaining a healthy population. Was thinking to accomplish this with caves made from PVC pipes with entrances covered by plastic mesh. These would be mostly invisible beneath layers of substrate. Also want to build a background. I've seen he styrofoam method, any ideas here would be appreciated.
If anybody has any input on anything up to this point, I'd love to hear it. I'll be posting updates and asking more questions as I progress. Thanks everybody, and it's nice to be back on MFK after years of absence!
Bought this setup used (oscars, been dry for a few years in a garage) for $150, here's what it came with:
75 bow front tank - almost done cleaning it up.
Stand - paint needed
Flourescent light - 80w I think, will be replacing with LED soon, but will work for now
glass top - may try not to use so I can have plants growing out of the tank
Fluval Canister filter - with a box of biospheres and some seachem matrix, plus foam pad, need charcoal
5 gallons of river rock - should still have some good biology on it no?
All the chemicals and testing equipment I'll ever need.
many odds and ends and a few decorations I probably won't use.
Here's what I need:
Heater - thinking Hydor ETH 300
Substrate - I will use some river rock, but also want to use sand and was thinking Flourite Black as well.
Plants - Lots. Moss walls and driftwood, couple big show plants, hair grass, more hiding places the better
Critters - Introduced from bottom up, bacteria, dapnia (culture currently growing in a jar), snails, shrimp, clams
Fish - something small that reproduces quickly, then cleanup crew, maybe a couple knife fish to eat the little guys, and something bigger and pretty... discus?
First thing i need to figure out is that I want to build in many hiding places and caves where the larger fish won't be able to get, so the smaller critters can stand a chance of maintaining a healthy population. Was thinking to accomplish this with caves made from PVC pipes with entrances covered by plastic mesh. These would be mostly invisible beneath layers of substrate. Also want to build a background. I've seen he styrofoam method, any ideas here would be appreciated.
If anybody has any input on anything up to this point, I'd love to hear it. I'll be posting updates and asking more questions as I progress. Thanks everybody, and it's nice to be back on MFK after years of absence!
