Slough Shark Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 (edited) Hey all, I'll set up this thread to chart the progress of my 30 Gallon tank, since it's beginning in late 2007. It has gone through many changes and titles from a Bornean Hillstream Tributary Biotope, to a Mekong River Biotope. Several different species have come and gone, all of which were interesting to watch and learn from. The tank is your standard 30 gallon- 36 x 12 x 15. I started it out with some cheaply bought Target Play sand ($5 for a 25kg bag), some average river rocks, an Aquaclear 70 and a Nova Extreme 78 watt T5HO lighting fixture (that's 2.6 wpg). The first inhabitants were my two Weather Loaches (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) brought over from my 20 gallon, a single Schistura mahnerti and four Black Kuhli Loaches (Pangio oblonga). As well as a couple Leopard Danios introduced first to cycle the tank. I stacked up the rocks to form territories for each of the fishes, put a sponge over the filter intake to keep the slender pangio loaches out, and let the tank progress! Below is a shot of the tank in October of '07. Between then and the end of the year, I added all of the contents of my 20 gallon which was just some bogwood, a heater and an Aquaclear 20. I also added some bamboo, bought at a craft store, a couple plants, and a few goldfish (waiting to be served as supper to my Bornean Leaffish, Nandus nebulosus which was later to be added to this tank as well). At this point I wanted to make the tank a Bornean Hillstream Tributary Biotope which included fish that were hard to obtain and sometimes expensive, so it never really came into being. Vaillantella maassi, a strikingly handsome loach, was to be the centrepiece fish, but I could not locate one. Same goes for Gastromyzon sp., a loach adapted to life in the fast flowing hillstreams of borneo. I did manage to find Kryptopterus minor, the common Glass Catfish, this was an interesting fish that I highly recommend. Below is the tank in this period November-December of 2007. At the turn of the year, I decided to fill in the tank more. I added even more bamboo, and bought a rather large chunk of Mopani wood. I also swapped the Aquaclear 20 for another Aquaclear 70, adding more water flow and oxygen to better mimic a river's conditions. I planned to add a couple powerheads on the left side of the tank, providing an adapted "water break" in the middle of the tank to slow the current and create a refuge for the fish less adapted for life in the fast flow. Here is the tank then, this time last year... The tank experienced a slow reduction in numbers as I introduced my Bornean Leaffish, which proceeded to eat all of the glass catfish. I then moved this tank's entire contents to my 20 gallon as can be seen below. My Leaffish eventually managed to trap itself between my Fluval 4 internal filter and the side of the aquarium. The filter then sucked the scales and much of the skin off of the side of the fish. When I finally went to look for the fish and founf that it was not simply hiding, it was too late to help it. After a few months with this setup in the 20 gallon, I moved everything back to the 30 gallon. With the exception of the Mopani wood everything fit back nicely in the tank, I do not like the amount of tannins this wood produces in such a small tank, so I will save it for a bigger setup. Before moving all of the contents back to the 30 gallon, I constructed a tile substrate for the tank out of styrofoam, silicone and tile. This was meant to mimic the commonly rocky bottom of a hillstream biotope. Construction seen below. At this point, the tank has all of the same decorations (river rocks, bamboo, bogwood) as near the beginning. I removed one of the Aquaclear 70's for the Fluval 4. Here is the tank with the new tile substrate in early July 2008... The tank is now a Mekong River Tributary Biotope. Over the next few months I made very few changes, I simply let the algae grow and enhance the natural look of the tank... In August 2008: October 2008 with a new addition, a Rainbow Shark (Epalzeorhynchos frenatus): I added a powerhead to further increase water movement in November 2008: And here is a shot of the tank currently: In the back, there are roots of Pothos hanging into the water to add to the biological filtering. The tank has a very established algae community, with many different and interesting (to me anyways) varieties. I am happy with the way it turned out, and am just about ready to try something new with this tank. I hope you all enjoyed watching the journey, it was a good learning experience for me! Thanks for looking, Taylor Edited January 10, 2009 by Slough Shark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayen Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Sweet progressing Taylor. So you sure you want to go ahead with something new on this tank ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted January 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Now for some shots of the inhabitants as they came and went. First off, a few shots of the only constant denizens of this tank, my Weather Loaches and Black Pangios... Pangio Weather Loach #1 Weather Loach #2 Glass Catfish Rainbow Shark And finally, my Bornean Leaffish I guess that's all folks! (For now leastwise) Taylor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted January 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 LOL, Kevin, you posted before I was done Thanks, yeah I'm pretty sure, I don't want to get stuck in a rut. Hopefully I'll be putting some African Cichlids in, but it'll still be a river tank (this time a true river tank). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayen Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Or so you told me the other evening . Going to be for the fish that you got / going to get from fairdeal ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedarkstar Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 The concept of a river tank has been tempting me for the past few months. Just looking at all the different types of hillstream and fast-water loaches has made me appreciate this type of tank. I do enjoy seeing all the different progressions, you did a wonderful job. But something in me seems to scream 30 gal just isn't a large enough tank for a river tank. I've actually been looking into construction to build my own large stream tank someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishful Thinking Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 Taylor, I love seeing the evolution of the tank. Which africans are you specifically contemplating right now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted January 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 (edited) Darkstar- it sounds like you have been inspired the same way I have. The main problem as I stated earlier is that many of the hillstream types are difficult to find and you may have to ship them in (though I believe Bottomdweller fan could help you out there, when the time comes for you). The only common hillstream sucker type loaches are Beaufortia kweichowensis and Sewellia lineolata, as far as I know. This is the best possible site on loaches, here's a link if you haven't already been there: http://www.loaches.com/ The species index and articles on river tanks are very helpful. I plan on modifying the river tank manifold design (as seen on that site) slightly for my next setup. And you are right, 30 gallons is definitely not the optimal size. Definitely the minimum if you want a big display, I would go at least 50 gallon next time. If you want to custom build, make sure you make the tank longer rather than tall, hillstreams aren't deep! Greg- thanks! I think it's nice to see the progress laid out like that too, gives me a sense of accomplishment. I plan to use Buffalohead Cichlids (Steatocranus casuarius) in this tank now, after I get a pleco to clean the algae up so I can restart. Kevin- yep, going to be the Buffalohead Cichlids from fairdeal. Edited January 10, 2009 by Slough Shark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedarkstar Posted January 10, 2009 Report Share Posted January 10, 2009 The neatest design, I think I found on that site was an angled tank to make a downstream section of a river. And apparently Danios act like salmon lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnaw Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 awesome, just awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted January 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Thank you kindly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted January 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 I ripped up this tank today. Scraped off all of the algae, moved the tank to a new spot and switched up everything inside in preparation for the new fish. I will do a new journal for the tank once I get the cichlids. So that's it for the setup, it was a good learning experience for me and I hope you enjoyed it while I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishful Thinking Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 As you know, I was a big fan of this tank, but I am looking forward to the new version of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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