Riparium setup with Synodontis petricola

[hydrophyte]

Here is another picture of the new fish, acclimating for a little while in the bag.

And here's a close-up of a fat female Poecilia chica.

 

[hydrophyte]

Last night I switched a 40 breeder for the 50 gallon so that I can de-rim the larger tank. I managed to knock a chip from the corner of the 40 by picking it up the wrong way, but I recovered the chip and did a pretty good repair with some super glue.

The switch was a pain because I had only set up the 50 last weekend, but I am stoked to get this closer to a permanent setup.

 

[hydrophyte]

I have been pondering plant selection some more. I think that I found a good candidate fo a centerpiece specimen. This is Cyrtosperma johnstonii.

It's a striking plant. I have some more detail about it in a post on my blog.

http://hydrophytesblog.com/?p=1353

 

[HrHagel]

Looking good so far!

Can't wait to see yet another masterpiece finished! But the process is just as amazing as the finished product in your case!

 

[hydrophyte]

I got a few more pictures tonight and I'm working on them now I hope to return later with another update.

 

[hydrophyte]

So right I really want to get this thing closer to a permanent setup. Tonight I did a quick job that involved the following couple of items.

This is the same 50-gallon that I had set the fish up with originally. It was a pain, but I drained it again just the other night and switched the fish to a 40-gallon so that I could work on it some more.

This is "item #2", a rusty old block plane that was out in the barn. It looks like it could give me tetanus, and it's a lot bigger than what I probably need. We have a newer plane around here somewhere, but I couldn't find it. This one oughta do alright.

What could I possibly have in mind for the tank, and what kind of boneheaded thing am I going to do with that plane?





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[hydrophyte]

I popped the plastic rim off the tank, and put together a thread with a quick description.\\

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3651238#post3651238

 

[the_deeb]

Looking forward to the finished product. I've been trying to visualize a large riparium and am curious to see a display where the tank is mostly water filled (most that I've seen thus far have been less than 50% full).

 

[hydrophyte]

My main objective for this one is to try a setup with a mostly-full tank. For other ripariums that I have done I have left the better part of the aquarium empty to accommodate the emersed plant growth. I think it is probably easier to put together a nice planted layout that way, since most everything is contained within the visual frame created by the tank, but this idea ought to work well too. It will have more room for fish and I think that I can assemble a nice planting too. For this one I do not intend to have any underwater plants, but I do wan to take some time to arrange nice rock and gravel substrates.

 

[hydrophyte]

The other night I took some time to make some room for this new setup. I plan to put it in the same spot where I had my 65-gallon riparium tank. Here is a picture of that one half way through teardown.

It was a little bit sad. I really liked that tank a lot, but I'm stoked for this new one too. I am using the same stand, filter and light fixture for the S. petricola tank. Here is a picture of the 65 from some time ago.