Staffylovers multiple tank thread

[Staffylover]

So the Superfish Qubig 60 that is in the hallway has been a total fail, I am really not impressed with the build quality, it looks great but from a practical point of view it's hopeless, the main problem is the unsupported front corners, a few weeks after set up (so possibly they were there from the start) I noticed some tiny stress cracks outside only in the front corners 1 each side, they are tiny and have not got any worse so don't think they will cause any issue, it's been like that for months now, still it's not ideal, I don't like scraping algae off the glass as the whole tank rocks if I am not careful, then last week the light broke it still works but has slid down in the casing so now only half of it lights the tank, it's likely I could fix that but I'm not going to bother, had enough of it, I've got myself a primo 70 to set up instead,
If any forum member with a tank log wants a free tank let me know but be quick about it, likely be advertised locally soon

.........

Onto the new project Primo 70 tank, I didn't like the supplied stand so got myself a slightly oversized one I liked better, stand is 60/40/40 tank is
60/30/40 so close enough
First here is how the 60 looks now



My overall plan for this tank (and fish keeping in general) is to concentrate on wild type livebearers, I already have a group of Ilyodon Furcidens in the shallow stream tank, and have some Montezuma Swordtail waiting in QT that should end up there as well, also in QT is a pair of Limia Islai, the plan is for them to go in this new tank, hopefully I will get a few more and get a colony going

Other fish in there are dwarf spotted danio which will be moved to the 100l in the kitchen, there will be space to get a few more which will be nice, I think they are little stunners
I have a group of Oryzias Javanicus - lamp eye ricefish, they can stay, I am hoping they will breed, the small group of gold tetra can stay as they are so small, I plan to move the Espei rasbora in here at some point for a bit of colour but that won't be for a little while, the pair of Sawbawa Resplendens will have to be rehomed

Here is the progress so far, backing is on, stand assembled, plus I put a run of tape across the top to hide the water line



I have some pre used wood to go in stuff on left, plus a new piece of spider wood I could use but not sure if it will look a bit odd, might filtch an extra piece of bogwood from the big tank then it will all look similar, think I have enough rocks and sand already so just need to run out tomorrow for a bit of gravel to go under the sand and give a bit of height, should be able to post an update soon

[Staffylover]

Busy tank day yesterday, I did run out to get the gravel that I wanted, I also got frozen and live food, honestly the fish eat better than I do, and a few more plants, a few new fish might have snuck in aswell, later on it turns out I already had bags of gravel under the sand so didn't need to get any! Still I always enjoy wandering around a fish store.

Tank changeover was fairly simple although a bit time consuming, it looks like a really deep layer of sand, but it's not, it's all bags of gravel with a thin covering of sand, the tank is tall for the width I think, I've ended up with a really steep hill front to back which wasn't really intentional, but I didn't want a big area of open space at the top,
sand is just what I had left mostly Nyasa from Unipac, but also some lighter colour finer grain sand from Maidenhead, the few rocks were re used, I pinched a piece of bogwood from the big tank so none of the wood is brand new, the plants were re used plus I got some Guppy grass and a red leafed plant that I was able to split into 3 from my trip to the LFS, there is so much wood that I didn't actually need many extra plants, these Dutch style aquascapes are not for me!
It's a bit cloudy at the moment but not too bad, it will look a lot better when I get the livebearers in, it looks a bit empty at the moment, anyway this is what I have come up with

[DuzMano]

Looking good. I ordered my tank today, the leddy 60xl so same size as yours 60x30x40. Comes with a lid as I'm scared of jumpers so took this option over a true scaper style tank. Ordered some substrate and a few other bits and bobs. Also got a nice piece of driftwood from eBay, and as an experiment also a piece of artificial twiggy stuff intended for floristry just to see what it's like, was only a couple of quid but I assume live thin twiggy stuff degrades pretty quick and becomes fragile so maybe this is a simpler option that will have some longevity. I also got some capata? Leaves, and one of the soils/substrates I ordered suggests it helps reduce hardness and ph... It's intended for bonsais I'm happy for experimenting, I'll not be adding any livestock for a couple of months. Going to wait till plants are established and converted to immersed growth and developing new shoots then I'll start to get a cycle going. Once I got the cycle established it'll be time for a few wcmms to ease up the bio load adding a few more each fortnight till I got a dozen or so, all being well. I'm going to be keeping a journal of the build and progress as it happens.

If I can get mine looking anywhere near as good as yours for my first Scape I'll be thrilled

[Staffylover]

@DuzMano thanks for your kind comments, the Leddy tanks are great I really like the set up with the lid as it has little hooks so you can stand it up whereas with the Jewel ones you have to left the whole thing off, can't remember what the issued filter is like but usually with a kit the filter needs upgrading, WCMM are great fish I currently have 4 standard colour ones, I also like the golds both are nice, I will add another 4 now I have moved them to the 100L, they also prefer it cooler so that works well with other fish that I keep, I look forward to your tank log you have a lot more patience than me

[DuzMano]

The filter shall we say is 'adequate', I'm hoping I can fashion some sponge guard to protect my future inhabitants from the intakes which are more open than I'm especially comfortable, but I'm confident it can be sorted. If not a replacement will be sought. I have opted for a mini sponge filter meant for smaller tanks to run together with the supplied kit filter and hopefully in tandem they will do a job between them and I'm hoping the nano sponge can be hidden away behind plants and the only sign it exists will be the oxygenating bubbles coming out the top and it being an extra host for some bacteria...

[Staffylover]

Have added a couple of plants in at the top so it looks not quite so empty


the rice fish seem to enjoy the roots


First pair of Limia are in and look great will have to try and get a better pic as they have a nice sparkle to them under the tank light but it hasn't come out in this pic.


Still plan to add the Espei rasbora think I might need something for the bottom, Cory maybe and perhaps a BN pleco or whiptail, the shrimp have turned into beasts! they are easily as big as the Limia, they seem happy anyway, so far so good with this tank.

[fr499y]

looking good