thedarkstar Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 what a nifty looking tank, alot more organized than my planted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsFard Posted January 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 (edited) what a nifty looking tank, alot more organized than my planted thank you... questions!!!! -do my plants look like they are going somewhere or are they just 'getting-by'? -my gravel.... I like the two-tone thing and I like the brown/tan spectrum there... but its getting messy and I just read that size of pebble isn't good for my cories (which by the way i was told were julii but are actually peppered- had to do a little home work....but i like the look of this breed better anyways...), ok, I'm wondering again ...soo, how can I fix that without sacrificing tons of $$ and/or beauty ???? - oh, and should I be counting my cories in the inch of fish thing? or is it still humane to kinda go half way between with the bottom dwellers don't count and that? Edited January 4, 2009 by violet c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedarkstar Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 -do my plants look like they are going somewhere or are they just 'getting-by'?-my gravel.... I like the two-tone thing and I like the brown/tan spectrum there... but its getting messy and I just read that size of pebble isn't good for my cories (which by the way i was told were julii but are actually peppered- had to do a little home work....but i like the look of this breed better anyways...), ok, I'm wandering again ...soo, how can I fix that without sacrificing tons of $$ and/or beauty ???? - oh, and should I be counting my cories in the inch of fish thing? or is it still humane to kinda go half way between with the bottom dwellers don't count and that? -They seem to look fine to me, what exactly do you have for plants? -Usually with cories and most digging fish, even plants seem to like it better, sand or a fine gravel works best. I bought a bag of the SIL-9 sand (although more a small gravel) for my tank, and it seems to do the trick for the plants but for my dwarf cories its still almost too big lol. - As for the inch of fish rule, its just a guideline and the rule is different for each person. My father told me it was square inch of fish, some say length, etc... not to mention plants usually give you the ability to overstock a tiny bit without it affecting you if you do regular changes, given you over-filter. Then there's also the rule about levels in the tank... surface, midlevel, bottom where you dont wanna overcrowd one level of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsFard Posted January 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 -do my plants look like they are going somewhere or are they just 'getting-by'?-my gravel.... I like the two-tone thing and I like the brown/tan spectrum there... but its getting messy and I just read that size of pebble isn't good for my cories (which by the way i was told were julii but are actually peppered- had to do a little home work....but i like the look of this breed better anyways...), ok, I'm wandering again ...soo, how can I fix that without sacrificing tons of $$ and/or beauty ???? - oh, and should I be counting my cories in the inch of fish thing? or is it still humane to kinda go half way between with the bottom dwellers don't count and that? -They seem to look fine to me, what exactly do you have for plants? -Usually with cories and most digging fish, even plants seem to like it better, sand or a fine gravel works best. I bought a bag of the SIL-9 sand (although more a small gravel) for my tank, and it seems to do the trick for the plants but for my dwarf cories its still almost too big lol. - As for the inch of fish rule, its just a guideline and the rule is different for each person. My father told me it was square inch of fish, some say length, etc... not to mention plants usually give you the ability to overstock a tiny bit without it affecting you if you do regular changes, given you over-filter. Then there's also the rule about levels in the tank... surface, midlevel, bottom where you dont wanna overcrowd one level of the tank. I am not 100% sure about what plants two of them are...I got them at petcentra for 3.50 each :thumbs: .... I would say two amazon swords and a green hygro(the fullest one)....the other ones are java fern, java moss, and green rotala the dwarf rasboras seem to spend 75% of their time playing in the filter water and being at the top of the tank.... and there are two surviving brigette rasboras that school with everyone else.... do you think they would behave differntlly or should I say seperately if they had a bigger school? I am still on the hunt for ember tetras..... and from the pictures i have seem they are mid-level dwellers. oh, my pygmy cories are always hiding and swimming up and down the lower back wall of the tank...should I be concerned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsFard Posted January 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 -do my plants look like they are going somewhere or are they just 'getting-by'?-my gravel.... I like the two-tone thing and I like the brown/tan spectrum there... but its getting messy and I just read that size of pebble isn't good for my cories (which by the way i was told were julii but are actually peppered- had to do a little home work....but i like the look of this breed better anyways...), ok, I'm wandering again ...soo, how can I fix that without sacrificing tons of $$ and/or beauty ???? - oh, and should I be counting my cories in the inch of fish thing? or is it still humane to kinda go half way between with the bottom dwellers don't count and that? -They seem to look fine to me, what exactly do you have for plants? -Usually with cories and most digging fish, even plants seem to like it better, sand or a fine gravel works best. I bought a bag of the SIL-9 sand (although more a small gravel) for my tank, and it seems to do the trick for the plants but for my dwarf cories its still almost too big lol. - As for the inch of fish rule, its just a guideline and the rule is different for each person. My father told me it was square inch of fish, some say length, etc... not to mention plants usually give you the ability to overstock a tiny bit without it affecting you if you do regular changes, given you over-filter. Then there's also the rule about levels in the tank... surface, midlevel, bottom where you dont wanna overcrowd one level of the tank. I am not 100% sure about what plants two of them are...I got them at petcentra for 3.50 each :thumbs: .... I would say two amazon swords and a green hygro(the fullest one)....the other ones are java fern, java moss, and green rotala the dwarf rasboras seem to spend 75% of their time playing in the filter water and being at the top of the tank.... and there are two surviving brigette rasboras that school with everyone else.... do you think they would behave differntlly or should I say seperately if they had a bigger school? I am still on the hunt for ember tetras..... and from the pictures i have seem they are mid-level dwellers. oh, my pygmy cories are always hiding and swimming up and down the lower back wall of the tank...should I be concerned? um.... if i did get actual sand would it fill up my filter? and would the cories uproot my plants? I have black flourite and that beige generic stuff right now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedarkstar Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 I am not 100% sure about what plants two of them are...I got them at petcentra for 3.50 each thumbup.gif .... I would say two amazon swords and a green hygro(the fullest one)....the other ones are java fern, java moss, and green rotala They seem to be doing fine to me... as far as I can tell lol the dwarf rasboras seem to spend 75% of their time playing in the filter water and being at the top of the tank.... and there are two surviving brigette rasboras that school with everyone else.... do you think they would behave differntlly or should I say seperately if they had a bigger school? Can't say how that'd work, they might form two separate schools of rasboras or they may form one giant school lol oh, my pygmy cories are always hiding and swimming up and down the lower back wall of the tank...should I be concerned? Nope, thats what the cories do. Pygmy ones aren't quite as bottom-dweller as the other cories, they tend to school more and swim about. But they're just like cories in that they go to the surface to gulp air. if i did get actual sand would it fill up my filter? and would the cories uproot my plants? I have black flourite and that beige generic stuff right now.... The only way sand works with a filter is if you have a pre-filter over the intake to stop it from sucking up. With a pre-filter there's usually no issue with sand being sucked up. As for the uprooting, I've never seen a cory do it in my experience, but strange things happen lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 You can get a bag of Target Play Sand at Home Depot for $8 or less - it's perfect for tanks... plants and cories LOVE it! Just trade it in for your gravel. Your plants look good, are you adding CO2 or Excel? If not, they'll start to take off when you do (and add ferts). If you are worried about the sand being sucked up by the filter, just do what darkstar mentioned: cut a piece of sponge and stick it over the intake, and rinse it out at every WC. Look like you're off to a good start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsFard Posted January 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 I am not 100% sure about what plants two of them are...I got them at petcentra for 3.50 each thumbup.gif .... I would say two amazon swords and a green hygro(the fullest one)....the other ones are java fern, java moss, and green rotala They seem to be doing fine to me... as far as I can tell lol the dwarf rasboras seem to spend 75% of their time playing in the filter water and being at the top of the tank.... and there are two surviving brigette rasboras that school with everyone else.... do you think they would behave differntlly or should I say seperately if they had a bigger school? Can't say how that'd work, they might form two separate schools of rasboras or they may form one giant school lol oh, my pygmy cories are always hiding and swimming up and down the lower back wall of the tank...should I be concerned? Nope, thats what the cories do. Pygmy ones aren't quite as bottom-dweller as the other cories, they tend to school more and swim about. But they're just like cories in that they go to the surface to gulp air. if i did get actual sand would it fill up my filter? and would the cories uproot my plants? I have black flourite and that beige generic stuff right now.... The only way sand works with a filter is if you have a pre-filter over the intake to stop it from sucking up. With a pre-filter there's usually no issue with sand being sucked up. As for the uprooting, I've never seen a cory do it in my experience, but strange things happen lol pre-filter? is that like the sponge I have on the intake thingie? how do you clean it too? i could only imagine the fun it would be with the vaccum.... oh, and if i mix sand with the flourite will the cories be able to dig? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Just set the sand up like you have the gravel. It will eventually mix, but that's fine. If you want, you can put a dish or use acrylic to make a sandbox for the cories. To clean your prefilter sponge, just unplug the filter, pull off the sponge and rinse it under the tap - you're not using it for biomedia, so cleaning it under the tap isn't a big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsFard Posted January 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Just set the sand up like you have the gravel. It will eventually mix, but that's fine. If you want, you can put a dish or use acrylic to make a sandbox for the cories. To clean your prefilter sponge, just unplug the filter, pull off the sponge and rinse it under the tap - you're not using it for biomedia, so cleaning it under the tap isn't a big deal. would it be too complicated to make the shape I've got now with the acrylic? oh, and i don't suppose the sand your talking about has a color simular to that of my gravel....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsFard Posted January 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 You can get a bag of Target Play Sand at Home Depot for $8 or less - it's perfect for tanks... plants and cories LOVE it! Just trade it in for your gravel. Your plants look good, are you adding CO2 or Excel? If not, they'll start to take off when you do (and add ferts). If you are worried about the sand being sucked up by the filter, just do what darkstar mentioned: cut a piece of sponge and stick it over the intake, and rinse it out at every WC.Look like you're off to a good start. I am making a DIY c02...just waiting on my bro to drill the cap...how much (approx.) are those ferts you listed earlier? corys are soo cute! and now they dig! :smokey: awesome little critters.... I am trying to talk myself into this light: http://www.coralreefsupply.com/index.php?a...&detail=498 is it sufficent? i can't thank you guys enough for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 1, 2009 Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 Acrylic is easy to cut, and can be held in place by the sand itself - it will shift, however. You can use rocks to hold it in place. Target Play Sand is a natural color, a lot like the gravel you have. In a 50 gal I had with cories and eartheaters, I used a combo of rocks and acrylic to make the front corner into a sandbox, worked perfectly! The light you're looking at is great - do they ship to Canada, do you know what shipping cost will be? Check out BigAlsOnline or JL Aquatics, too. They often have great prices. Also, check out CanReef.com in their buy/sell forum - they often have good lighting for sale - it's like AA, except Canada-wide and for SW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsFard Posted January 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2009 (edited) Acrylic is easy to cut, and can be held in place by the sand itself - it will shift, however. You can use rocks to hold it in place. Target Play Sand is a natural color, a lot like the gravel you have. In a 50 gal I had with cories and eartheaters, I used a combo of rocks and acrylic to make the front corner into a sandbox, worked perfectly!The light you're looking at is great - do they ship to Canada, do you know what shipping cost will be? Check out BigAlsOnline or JL Aquatics, too. They often have great prices. Also, check out CanReef.com in their buy/sell forum - they often have good lighting for sale - it's like AA, except Canada-wide and for SW. I just realized the light I linked to you doesn't have a hood! (there was another one i was looking at but they don't ship to CA) My asteticly pleasing, but, useless hood is only 20 watts...is there anyway i can tweak it up? where do i get arcrylic? thanks for the sites... Edited January 1, 2009 by violet c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 2, 2009 Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 You'll probably want to get a glass top, or go open-top; then get a light that'll work for you. Acrylic can be found around - plastic pieces will work as well. You just need something that'll keep the Flourite and sand separated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsFard Posted January 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2009 You'll probably want to get a glass top, or go open-top; then get a light that'll work for you. Acrylic can be found around - plastic pieces will work as well. You just need something that'll keep the Flourite and sand separated. why a glass top? just outa curiousity....and wouldd a disected ice cream pail be sufficient?http://www.bigalsonline.ca/BigAlsCA/ctl3664/cp17355/si3665099/cl0/caribseasupernaturalriogrande20lb would this stuff be too big? I might just start over with the substate for that one....I really like these colors and with a sandbox of a lighter shade,; it could be really neat... better than the colors I have now ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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