So this is my 60 gallon tank so far.


This is just after i brought it home and got everything together


In this picture you can see the layer of pete moss and the layer of sand.


This is after i tucked the sand around the pete moss so it wouldn't be visible from the outside of the tank.


And here it is with water added. The things on the floor of the tank are pantyhose with gravel from my 30 gallon established tank.

The plants will go in there after my cycle is complete. I am also planning on getting a piece of drift wood to add for my pleco. There will be more pictures added as something in the tank changes. Anyone have and constructive criticism?

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do not pretend conclusions are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable.

Nice start! Hopefully the cycling doesn't take too long.

What plants do you plan on using in your tank?

which direction does that window face?


My wife has been eyeballing that set up for a while at the LFS. Very nice choice, cant wait to see more of it.

Very nice start. I really like the white sand against all that black. What are the dimensions of the tank and how much past moss did you have to buy? Any ideas on fish stock yet? I can't wait got the updates. Good luck

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my 75g build---->http://www.aquariumforum.com/f45/fin...ild-18272.html
75g beasolbob tank peat moss & safe-t-sorb 5congo tetras,2bristle nose plecs, 2 German blue Rams

Sweet, nice set up.... I see that your a white guy,lol. Just an observation,lol.

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Jons4real

http://www.youtube.com/user/jons4real

Looking good!!! Are you adding anything else to help the cycling other then the gravel and the filter media. I would suggest adding 2 flakes of food per day. Love that you blended the layers. Did you find the peat moss a pain in the ass?? I found when I tried to add water to the top of the peat moss the moss all just floated on top of it. Next time I think I'm going to wet it and make it into a mud like substance first then add it to the tank. Take this time to figure out your plants and their placement. Also, keep in mind the type of fish that you are putting in. Some fish like to eat some types of plants so this is also a good time to look into that. Me, personally, would also go with low light plants that will not require any co2 or anything like that. For planting the whole aquarium I would go with tall in the back medium to tall on the sides and short in the front. That way you can fill the tank without putting it out of balance. Add the driftwood first and that way you can balance that as a focal point of the tank.

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10gal fry tank planted with Wisteria, Java Moss, Anuabis and Anacharis
35gal Sponge Bob tank with live bearing tropicals (daughters tank)
15gal planted with Swords, Java Fern, Wisteria and Red Rubin housing 10 fry and 2 bladder snails
55 gal with Oscar (future planted tank with angels and flowerhorns)
55 gal Community tank (platys, mollys, guppys, glass catfish, angels, phantom tetra, red eye tetra and swordtails)

Im not really sure about what plants to go with yet, i was at the fish store today checking some out but they didnt have anything labeled. They were just "potted plants"

The window faces north, my wife got it for me for my birthday from petsmart. Its really nice, i cant wait for it to be finished cycling!


Thats what i was going for. At first i was planning on black beauty sand, but i think that would have been too much black. I like the contrast of white sand. The tank is 48" long x 12" deep x 24" tall. I just bought 3 sq yards for $10 at home depot. I actually only used about 3" of that. I have a lot left over. If you know anyone in the baltimore area and needs some peat moss let them know they can swing by and take the rest of this of my back porch!

LoL, quite observant. Yes i am a white dude

I have an auto feeder on the back adding about 2-4 flakes a day. I already have some fish to add to it, although i would love to start over i just cant get rid of the fish that are already here. I am going to get a piece of drift wood, i was at the fish shop today looking at some pieces. My plan was to plant heavily on the left side of the tank and taper off to bare sand on the right side where the drift wood will sit. The peat moss was indeed a pain in the ass, i just laid the dry moss on the bottom of the tank, then washed the sides of the tank because of the dust. Then i laid the sand (which was wet from attempting to wash it) on top of the peat moss and that held it down pretty well. Although i do get quite a bit floating on the top of the tank, i'm hoping that will stop by the time the tank is finished cycling.

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do not pretend conclusions are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable.

Most fish stores will take fish off your hands for store credit.

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10gal fry tank planted with Wisteria, Java Moss, Anuabis and Anacharis
35gal Sponge Bob tank with live bearing tropicals (daughters tank)
15gal planted with Swords, Java Fern, Wisteria and Red Rubin housing 10 fry and 2 bladder snails
55 gal with Oscar (future planted tank with angels and flowerhorns)
55 gal Community tank (platys, mollys, guppys, glass catfish, angels, phantom tetra, red eye tetra and swordtails)

I think the winter will give you alot of natural light in there, keep a tab on that tank one missed small observation can bring out a helluva algae bloom.

Amie, not in the USA, far and few LFS give credit for anything anymore. I just had to hand over a 15" pleco for nothing while they turn around and make $20 bucks off it. I know alot of LFS's wont give credit just from the breeder forum I am on.

I wish that were true! I actually called my local fish store (exotic aquatic Exotic Aquatic) and they pretty much laughed at me. I have 1 8-10" common pleco, 6 guppies, 1 dalmatian molly, 5 red eye tetras, 1 siamese algae eater; and a fancy gold fish and they said they would gladly take them as a donation. I have to discuss that with my wife. We have had our eye on some peacock cicklids but we don't want to spend $60 per fish when were pretty well stocked right now. Its not like i wanted a ton of money for my fish that cost $.99/per, but a little credit would have been nice.

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do not pretend conclusions are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable.

You think the placement is going to be a problem? The tank i have right now is about 2 feet to the left, next to a window that is facing east and i havent really had too many problems. The window facing north is about 12' away.

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do not pretend conclusions are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable.

On a side note, my wife is hinting towards getting me a new filter for the new setup for another bday gift. How do i tell her i want a fluval 405? (man i'm lucky)

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do not pretend conclusions are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable.

get an eheim pro3 2080, 400 bucks of awesomeness.

actually I am wrong, the sun is in the south sky during the winter I apologize for being a dummy. If you see algae growth or have an issue keeping it away, could you (yes from man to man and it will appease the wife) put up a curtain that looks like those fancy lace ones. it will let ambiant light in but diffused where it will never be an issue on the aquarium. I put up wax paper and that did not go over well with the wife at all. we got the lace things instead.

A magnum 350 pro will do good as well, When i was buying my canisters i found you get less for more with fluvals.

Already have woman curtains man...


EDIT: Dont mind the giant hole in the ceiling, tropical storm took the roof off a few days ago. 8+" of rain on the Chesapeake bay pwned my roof.

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do not pretend conclusions are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable.

yep woman curtains they is.

I had a place in huntingtown,MD while I was stationed in SC. Family lived there while i was on base all week then drove home and back every weekend.

I was gonna say, alot of rain, pissed off racoons or hillbilly attic vent.

Ha, i live pretty close to Baltimore City (about a mile away), so we don't really see many raccoons. We call our hillbillys "baybillys" because were on the chesapeake bay. So it would technically be a baybilly attic vent.

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do not pretend conclusions are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable.

It felt like there were more country folk in calvert county md then it did down at columbia.

If your not knowledgable on plants your best bet is to get them online and have them shipped to your house. The odds are your LFS doesnt really know much about them and half the time they sell you plants that arent truely aquatic and in a few days they rot in ur tank. There are a bunch of sites but ive used aquariumplants.com a few times and everything i got was really good. I also ordered my center peices of drift wood from there, i had to soak them for like a month but they are good now.

I would sooooo not recommend buying plants online if your new at it. I'm new at it too and I ordered some plants online. I've had them for a month and still not sure if they are alive or dead. You have a bigger chance of them being damaged by buying them online. I would go to the store, scope them out, remember the names and then come home and research them. That way you will have it figured out by the time you are ready for them which ones you want. If they have them all labeled just as potted plants or whatever research first what each plant looks like or take pictures at the shop and come home and put pictures with names.

If the store won't give you credit what about just selling them privately?? Or, you could always get the cichlids and that will take care of them soon enough anyway ;)

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10gal fry tank planted with Wisteria, Java Moss, Anuabis and Anacharis
35gal Sponge Bob tank with live bearing tropicals (daughters tank)
15gal planted with Swords, Java Fern, Wisteria and Red Rubin housing 10 fry and 2 bladder snails
55 gal with Oscar (future planted tank with angels and flowerhorns)
55 gal Community tank (platys, mollys, guppys, glass catfish, angels, phantom tetra, red eye tetra and swordtails)

I guess its just personal pref.....

Just staying with my local stores I'm stuck with the same old plants. Even some of the more basic, easy to maintain, plants you can't find.