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Onefish2fish's 40 Breeder Theater

6K views 39 replies 16 participants last post by  aunt kymmie 
#1 ·
well for everyone that didnt know, i moved and left my saltwater tank behind. :-(
however the good news is i have a new 40 breeder set up with freshwater currently cycling. since i have no fish supplies here i ordered all new stuff which hurt the wallet but was nice. i went with the top fin 40 breeder, i taped it off and painted the back glass flat black. i got a 125w jager heater, emperor 400 filter which i put peat moss in the media baskets. 2 bags of black eco complete, a t5 stip was ordered and on its way and a few odds and ends. im just patiently waiting out the cycle. no pictures for now, not much to look at since its in its early stages but i wanted to start a thread to document this ones progress.
 
#3 ·
BOB MARLEY! (i think
 
#4 ·
that would be marley, what a wise man. i actually moved the picture in fear that friends will want to read it and disrupt my tank lol. what i mean by reading it, he is actually made up of all little words, his lyrics to be correct. pretty cool if you ask me. i also have another that hes made up of all little pictures of him.
 
#5 ·
Always liked the footprint of the 40 gallon breeder tanks and have been eyeing one at Petco. look forward to the pogress.
Am assuming softwater fishes are being considered with the addition of peat?
 
#6 ·
Always liked the footprint of the 40 gallon breeder tanks and have been eyeing one at Petco. look forward to the pogress.
Am assuming softwater fishes are being considered with the addition of peat?
yes, my sources pH was high so i added peat to help lower it. hopefully south american and maybe some shrimp. plants will be involved, thats for sure. what i really liked about the emporer 400 is the media baskets where i put the peat. not only will it be lowering the pH, but providing nice surface area in my filter for my bacteria to flourish. i myself really enjoy the foot print of a 40 breeder, hence why i got it but even more so for saltwater setups. i dont know when i'll have another saltwater tank going and if this one ever gets taken down ill have this tank available.
 
#7 ·
for the record i did not use the bio-clarifier packets that came with the eco complete. my tank was not even cloudy when setting up and honestly i prefer not using it ( or anything unless i have to )

i was out yesterday and missed the UPS man to sign for a package ordered. No big deal though, its coming again today. Its weird UPS has you sign and i had fed-ex here the other day with a more expensive order and i had to sign nothing. i dont blame them, i guess company policies are company policies.

i also checked both target and walmart for pure ammonia. neither had it, target had a scented one and walmart i couldnt even find any. ive been feeding the filter but pure ammonia works so much easier and cleaner. im going to have to check my food store when i get there.
 
#8 ·
package came and i now have new lights. i went with a 36'' dual GLO t5 light by Hagen. If i remember right, hagen test kits stink but this light seems to be decent for its price. its going to run with 1x Planta lamp by aquamedic and 1x midday lamp by giesemann for a nice spectrum for plant growth.
i also got another piece of driftwood which im very disapointed in. it doesnt look so bad besides the ends were cut flat with a saw ( or so it appears ) but it wont sink. it was advertised as malaysian drift that was self sinking which it looks to be just not the sinking part. i have emailed the company and im waiting a response on that. i understand it may need a soaking for it to sink but its advertised sinking wood on their site.
heres the wood



and the lights



 
#10 ·
^.^ im liking it already =)
 
#12 ·
here are a few ideas i was playing around with today. the waters alittle murky from stirring things up but no big deal.




\

and the last picture is how it currently sits and may just be staying. keep in mind soon enough it will be full of plants so you wont see much of the wood anyways.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Onefish! How did I miss this thread?? You moved?? Don't tell me you left the state and your tank behind??

Back to your tank:
It's looking great! I know what you mean about the wood. I have the same wood in my display but to look into my tank today you'd never know it. It's all totally covered up with plants. Kind of makes me wonder why I just "had to have it". Your plants are going to go off in that Eco. Looking foward to waching your build. I'm so happy your back!!

Are you still deciding on your stocking plans?
 
#17 ·
i did leave the tank "back home" as well as the state.

as for stocking i would really like to do all south american but i also want shrimp. so maybe s.american + shrimp. im sure there will be a school of tetras, what should i add for a center fish if any? i considered a single angel but im not sure. i guess im still thinking about stocking but i like s.american fish so any suggestions?
 
#18 ·
Beauty so far! I can't wait to see it finished!

Also, I've heard that Cichlids don't tend to mix well with plants..? I don't know much about them, so I could be wrong.
 
#26 ·
i added two plants in today. (three if you count the one on the runner) one is def. a sword but possibly they both are.



Looks Wonderful!!! I love it when I stumble onto these threads and can fly through and see all the progress.

I am going to be adding some live plants to my tank too, they look so much nicer then the plastic/silk plants. When you get one with a runner like that, do you just snip it off and plant the roots of the runner? I mean, it seems obvious but I don't want to just assume.
 
#22 ·
thats a sword baby =)
 
#24 ·
=)
 
#27 ·
@aqua jon - thanks buddy just wait until its jammed full of different plants :wink:

@ inga - yes you can snip it and plant it and it will grow into another plant just like its mother. i personally am letting it go alittle longer. in the wild they will de-attach themselves, float and have the current pull them down stream and root somewhere else. i will actually plant it soon so it survives but its kind of like how a tree has the spinners that float down and land somewhere ( that kids like to stick on their nose ) which are seeds. whats good about having plants in a tank though, not every one needs to reproduce as they would in the wild. for example, anachris can be simply cut in half to achieve 2 anachris stalks, or even larger swords can be too but with alittle more care as they need a root mass on BOTH pieces. if you google whichever plant you plan on keeping im sure its propogation will be explained better there.
 
#28 ·
That sword looks like a Kleiner Bar Sword to me. Byron will have to weigh in as he usually knows at first glance which sword is which. This tank is going to look awesome, heck, partially planted and it already looks that way. Where in the cycle are you currently? I'm looking forward to seeing fish in there!
 
#29 ·
The top photo of the sword with the inflorescence is Echinodorus bleherae [sometimes still seen as E. bleheri though Rataj corrected the name]. The larger (outer) leaves are more likely the emersed form, submersed (new) leaves will be larger as the plant establishes itself and easily reach to the surface. This plant's leaves grow to 60cm (20+ inches); Rataj says the blades are half the leaf length but on my larger plants it is more, not quite 2/3. Once settled, very hardy and will send out 1 or 2 inflorescences sometimes twice a year, with many daughter plants. Will not flower grown submersed. This species prefers being submersed [not sure how they know that, but ...;-)).

The lower smaller plant could be the same, or it may be E. parviflorus, the original native species as opposed to the "Tropica" form that seems to be more common. Both forms are pictured in our profile of this species, listed under Dwarf Sword [I had to make up the common name]. I believe I have this plant in my 90g, I had assumed previously that it was E. amazonicus which is very similar, near identical, to E. bleherae but smaller and the leaves are narrower. I'm inclined to think now it may be E. parviflorus.

Byron.
 
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