Andy D
Member
- Joined
- 27 Apr 2013
- Messages
- 1,458
Hi All!
The tank is not here yet so you'll have to be patient (like me!). However I thought I would add a few details as I miss adding to a blog.
First of a little background for those that don't know. Up until a few weeks ago I was running 6 tanks plus a bowl. Here is the blog - http://forum.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/showthread.php?t=89433 I decided (for a number of reasons) to reduce these to 1. (Well 2 but the other will house Fire-Bellied toads).
My plan for the tank (inspired by Tom's Bucket O'Mud and Alastair's Chocolate Puddle) was to go for some emmersed growth in the form of some popular house plants and a blackwater style bio-tope for the fish. The tank will house my Ember Tertras, Chilli Rasbora and hopefully my male Betta. My eventual plan for this tank will be to house a few female Betta Splendens - hence my title.
First task was to decide on the tank. My initial choices were an ADA 60P or TMC Signature as I wanted a decent brace-less tank. The TMC would not fit in the space I had so that left the ADA. At £150 per tank I was not sure I could justify the expense for a 2ft tank. In the end I ordered two tanks from ND Aquatics for almost half the price of the ADA. They are the same spec as the ADA - 60 x 30 x 36cm - but with 10mm glass. The front panel will Opti-White whilst the rest will be standard glass. These are being delivered on the 24th June. 🙂
Whilst I have been waiting for the tanks to arrive I have sold most of my other tanks and have been getting the bits together for the new tank. The bits I have so far are:
Lighting - 2 TMC Aquabar 500's with dimmers. It was really important for me to have control of the light intensity as this was lacking with most of my previous tanks. They will be mounted with TMC Tank Rim Mounting Brackets. My only concern will be whether the emmersed plants get enough light. Time will tell. I can always tweak it.
House plants being used are Peace Lilly, Ficus, Maidenhair Fern and Calathea. Looking at them I am not sure whether they might take up too much space. I am considering just going with a row of Peace Lillie's. I think I will give these a go and see how I get on.
Hardscape will be a couple of my salvaged pear branches but I may replace these with manzanita later on. I am planning to go with a soil substrate capped with either sand or cat litter. I am not sure which at this stage. Plants will be various Anubias and Java Ferns. The surface will be covered with floating plants. The emmersed plants will be attached to the back wall using 'bathroom organisers'. They will contain clay balls capped with soil and sand.
Filtration will be via one of my current Fluval Nanos and I have bought a 75w Aquael heater which looks quite discreet for a heater.
I am planning on going with 100% re-mineralised RO using this formula - http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/RO.htm. This will give me a gH of 5 and a kH of 1 although I am going to increase this to two. I did consider a pre-mixed formula like TMC Re-min but I think this will be far more cost effective. The chemicals and scales cost about £20 and should last over 2 years.
Current plan is to keep the tank open topped but I have had some covers fabricated from polycarbonate just in case.
I just need the tanks now...
The tank is not here yet so you'll have to be patient (like me!). However I thought I would add a few details as I miss adding to a blog.
First of a little background for those that don't know. Up until a few weeks ago I was running 6 tanks plus a bowl. Here is the blog - http://forum.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/showthread.php?t=89433 I decided (for a number of reasons) to reduce these to 1. (Well 2 but the other will house Fire-Bellied toads).
My plan for the tank (inspired by Tom's Bucket O'Mud and Alastair's Chocolate Puddle) was to go for some emmersed growth in the form of some popular house plants and a blackwater style bio-tope for the fish. The tank will house my Ember Tertras, Chilli Rasbora and hopefully my male Betta. My eventual plan for this tank will be to house a few female Betta Splendens - hence my title.
First task was to decide on the tank. My initial choices were an ADA 60P or TMC Signature as I wanted a decent brace-less tank. The TMC would not fit in the space I had so that left the ADA. At £150 per tank I was not sure I could justify the expense for a 2ft tank. In the end I ordered two tanks from ND Aquatics for almost half the price of the ADA. They are the same spec as the ADA - 60 x 30 x 36cm - but with 10mm glass. The front panel will Opti-White whilst the rest will be standard glass. These are being delivered on the 24th June. 🙂
Whilst I have been waiting for the tanks to arrive I have sold most of my other tanks and have been getting the bits together for the new tank. The bits I have so far are:
Lighting - 2 TMC Aquabar 500's with dimmers. It was really important for me to have control of the light intensity as this was lacking with most of my previous tanks. They will be mounted with TMC Tank Rim Mounting Brackets. My only concern will be whether the emmersed plants get enough light. Time will tell. I can always tweak it.
House plants being used are Peace Lilly, Ficus, Maidenhair Fern and Calathea. Looking at them I am not sure whether they might take up too much space. I am considering just going with a row of Peace Lillie's. I think I will give these a go and see how I get on.
Hardscape will be a couple of my salvaged pear branches but I may replace these with manzanita later on. I am planning to go with a soil substrate capped with either sand or cat litter. I am not sure which at this stage. Plants will be various Anubias and Java Ferns. The surface will be covered with floating plants. The emmersed plants will be attached to the back wall using 'bathroom organisers'. They will contain clay balls capped with soil and sand.
Filtration will be via one of my current Fluval Nanos and I have bought a 75w Aquael heater which looks quite discreet for a heater.
I am planning on going with 100% re-mineralised RO using this formula - http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/RO.htm. This will give me a gH of 5 and a kH of 1 although I am going to increase this to two. I did consider a pre-mixed formula like TMC Re-min but I think this will be far more cost effective. The chemicals and scales cost about £20 and should last over 2 years.
Current plan is to keep the tank open topped but I have had some covers fabricated from polycarbonate just in case.
I just need the tanks now...
