# African antics... NA120



## Iain Sutherland (8 Aug 2015)

To cut a long story short i decided to run a low tech african tank just for me a while back, it was nice to have my first 'fish tank' rather than worrying about plants, co2, ferts etc..   Just something i could sit in front of with a beer and enjoy.  I dont even have a photo of it but will get hold of one someone else took to add to this journal just for the sake of continuity.

Then came the holiday, that along with my brothers being here from oz and starting a new business it went a little south.  So a week ago i decided to give it a big clean which, unlike me, turned into a spur of the moment rescape.

Its a lot brighter than the old one, no master piece but quite natural feeling.  Its currently has 24/7 low levels of co2 and low light. There are loads of bulbs in the back yet to sprout... hoping for a red bank of nyphaea behind the wood.... time will tell.

african by iain sutherland, on Flickr

banded bards by iain sutherland, on Flickr

and my favourate fish and photo of the moment...... Anomalochromis thomasi

african butterfly cichlid by iain sutherland, on Flickr

hope you like


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## Sentral (9 Aug 2015)

Love it! Real nice fish 


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## Iain Sutherland (9 Aug 2015)

Thanks Sentral.

Also have a good group of congo tetra, some microsynodontis polli and a few Synodontis nigriventris.  Neither of the synos i see much of but its a nice treat when they do come say hi.

This was from before the rescape and a repost....
congos by iain sutherland, on Flickr

I really happy with the fish is here, aside the congos being too tame, just have the 20 lampeyes to go in when they are big enough so they dont get eaten and its done.... maybe 

Before people ask, the pics arent photo shopped, the futura light gives an amazing luminescence especially in the front inch of the tank.  I do have the saturation up a little on the camera though.


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## Chris Jackson (11 Aug 2015)

Very nice Ian


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## Edvet (11 Aug 2015)

Those congo's could be a reason to make an African tank for me
Question: is that a HQI light?, aren't Congo tetra's jumpers?


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## Dantrasy (11 Aug 2015)

Lovely shapes, hope you manage to keep the arc.


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## Wendal_spanswick (11 Aug 2015)

Really nice Ian as usual. Great fish as well.


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## zanguli-ya-zamba (14 Aug 2015)

Hi Ian
An other great scape!! 
I have kept many times Congo tetras, but now almost ten years I didn't. Your picture have given me the thought to go back with them ! 
Now I have almost three years of learning aquascaping and growing plants without fish and now I want fish. 
As I am in Congo it s hard for me to have "fancy" fish that you guys can get in your LFS. The only option for me will wild fish from the Congo. 
I first wanted to put  butterfly barb, but I am a bit concern about a flow too strong for them. As they usually live in slow rivers or natural "pond" I think they will have a hard life in my tank with a FX5 (tank 90cm). Also I am concern about food for these small fishes. 
Do you know a bit about these fish, will they survive in this type of tank ? 

So I think it will be better to put some Congo tetras or some yellow tail Congo tetras, as they will suite better my type of tank, with strong flow. As they naturally live on the lower part of the Congo river (pool malebo) where flow is stronger and also theirs body shape is more for strong flow. I also know that they are easier to feed they do well with dry food (flakes). 

I don't know why I am writing all this in your journal ...? Maybe you have inspired me and give me the want to put back some fishes in there. 

If you have other idea about Congo fish I am open mate. 

Cheers 


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## Iain Sutherland (26 Aug 2015)

Chris Jackson said:


> Very nice Ian


cheers chris, nice to have a hassle free tank however seeing all the IAPLC entries is giving me a high tech itch...



Edvet said:


> Those congo's could be a reason to make an African tank for me
> Question: is that a HQI light?, aren't Congo tetra's jumpers?


Still running the giesemann futura, i love it but really need to sort some par reading soon as i havent quite worked out how much light i can get away with still...
Do it Ed, only thing id really like is an African butterfly fish,  Pantodon buchholzi, i had one years ago in my juwel vision and loved it.  Feeding it crickets never got boring!! Open top its a non starter though.
Congos havent shown any inclination to jump although they do splash a lot of water around at feeding time.



Dantrasy said:


> Lovely shapes, hope you manage to keep the arc.


Thanks, good trimming should keepthe shape.  Background bulbs are putting out leaves now so should be visible soon, however all of the red nymphaea are doing nothing which is frustrating.... maybe duff bulbs?



Wendal_spanswick said:


> Really nice Ian as usual. Great fish as well.


The fish are really good fun wendal, sadly one of the butterfly cichlids was found behind the tank all crispy the other day.  They are a bit agressive with each other so im not overly surprised, time for some corner covers.



zanguli-ya-zamba said:


> The only option for me will wild fish from the Congo.


Cant have it all i guess, while you dont have the choice we might have, id love to be able to go and collect fish locally.


zanguli-ya-zamba said:


> I first wanted to put butterfly barb, but I am a bit concern about a flow too strong for them. As they usually live in slow rivers or natural "pond" I think they will have a hard life in my tank with a FX5 (tank 90cm). Also I am concern about food for these small fishes.
> Do you know a bit about these fish, will they survive in this type of tank ?


I did consider them to however all advise is either a species tank or well considered community, certainly not big boisterous fish.


zanguli-ya-zamba said:


> I also know that they are easier to feed they do well with dry food (flakes).


they seem to eat anything upto and including my arm when it goes in for maintenance!!


zanguli-ya-zamba said:


> If you have other idea about Congo fish I am open mate.


wish i could, i really just went with the fish i could source over here or find info online about.  I guess if you can collect wild then you would find far more in an area than i found in the shop where african fish aside cichlids are few and far between.  

Saying that i really wanted to add lampeyes which can work if they are big enough, they were in the last incarnation.  However i cant  find any large enough so i have cheated/compromised and just added 20 eye spot raspora, Brevibora dorsiocellata, who are holding there own and have really finished off the tank with upper level activity, all be it non african activity.  The uneducated eye would never know though 

will add a crappy phone pic from water change in a mo...


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## Iain Sutherland (26 Aug 2015)

Quite tempted to keep the water level low.


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## Wendal_spanswick (26 Aug 2015)

What's the biggest plant sticking out above the tank rim please Ian? Love to know what other plants are in there if you get a chance.


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## Martin in Holland (27 Aug 2015)

Wow, I really dig the natural look of this tank, I like the congo tetra and I would got them for my tank, but I'm to scared for my shrimp. Awesome photo's too....


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## Iain Sutherland (15 Sep 2015)

Wendal_spanswick said:


> What's the biggest plant sticking out above the tank rim please Ian? Love to know what other plants are in there if you get a chance.


Hey Wendal, the large plant out the top is Anubias Hastifolia which is getting pretty huge, the leaves dont dry out too much though which is nice.

rest of the plants, tried to stay roughly african but havent been rigid with it... off the top of my head.... anubias nano/petite/coffeefolia, and a couple i dont know, mixed crypts, crinum calamastratum, aponogetum boivinianus, aponogetum capuroni, mixed nyphae and going in tomorrow is nasea red stems.  The background has taken for ever to grow in but will be above the wood soon enough.



Martin in China said:


> Wow, I really dig the natural look of this tank, I like the congo tetra and I would got them for my tank, but I'm to scared for my shrimp. Awesome photo's too....


thanks martin, i never see the shrimp but there were over 100 in there when i redid the scape so they are pretty good at hiding out...

few shots from last night...

FTS by iain sutherland, on Flickr

congo by iain sutherland, on Flickr

cichlid by iain sutherland, on Flickr

banded barb by iain sutherland, on Flickr

congo 2 by iain sutherland, on Flickr


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## Chris Jackson (15 Sep 2015)

I really like this one Ian, it has a delightful balance and a true "nature aquarium" feel to it in my opinion. Like!


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## Alexander Belchenko (15 Sep 2015)

Awesome photos!


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## DanielC03 (16 Sep 2015)

Beautiful aquarium and beautiful photos. Cichlid that is?


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## Deano3 (16 Sep 2015)

stunning  love the natural looks you have a real talent


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## Iain Sutherland (16 Sep 2015)

The tank is primarily a fish tank and an aquascape second which probably helps it feel more natural. On the whole I like a tank that isn't too manicured, mostly because I'm a lazy git but also due to lack of time. Hopefully the background will fill in before I have to break it down in a few months...

Daniel, The cichlid is Anomalochromis Tomasi. They are supposed to get on in groups which they mostly do but I wouldn't call them friendly to each other.

Cheers Deano, how's things with your tank fella?


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## Ady34 (17 Sep 2015)

Looks great Iain, love the Congo tetras too, they look stunning under the lighting 
Have you any extra nutrients under the sand where the plants are at the rear? Also ive heard of others using c02 24/7, and im setting up another planted tank and am considering this for stability, is this new for you or have you done this on other tanks? Also do you add any extra surface agitation during lights out or is all well without, and do you do any c02 adjustments at water change or does the c02 level rise again naturally at what im guessing is a reduced injection rate?......sorry for the barrage of questions but 24/7 c02 is an interesting topic  
Cheers,
Ady.


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## flygja (18 Sep 2015)

That's a nice one Iain. I'm guessing the lights are on full blast when you take photos? Because that doesn't look like low light at all!


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## Iain Sutherland (18 Sep 2015)

Ady34 said:


> Looks great Iain, love the Congo tetras too, they look stunning under the lighting
> Have you any extra nutrients under the sand where the plants are at the rear? Also ive heard of others using c02 24/7, and im setting up another planted tank and am considering this for stability, is this new for you or have you done this on other tanks? Also do you add any extra surface agitation during lights out or is all well without, and do you do any c02 adjustments at water change or does the c02 level rise again naturally at what im guessing is a reduced injection rate?......sorry for the barrage of questions but 24/7 c02 is an interesting topic
> Cheers,
> Ady.


hey ady, great to see you around again fella, cant wait to see what your up to mate.

There is about an inch of John Innes No3 along with some root tabs around the bulbs, as heavy root feeders they would struggle without.
The idea of 24/7 co2 is new to me also.  I heard Stu was doing it and after seeing the images of that tank i signed up to try it pretty quick.  It has been set at a pretty slow rate, about a bubble a second through the AM1000, considering the high tech rate was uncountable its a slow and steady amount.  For surface agitation, its pretty heavy all the time, i figured i need to off gas as much as i inject to stop co2 climbing to dangerous levels.  I would guess that a drop checker would be dark green if i had one in there, which the inhabitants seem pretty happy with.  Havent adjust the co2 much after turning it on, i started really low and tweaked it up a little in the first few days but i have no interest in pushing it.  I still treat the tank like a low tech with a waterchange every couple of weeks, sometimes longer, surface film lets me know when its over due.  Ive also got SAE and ottos to help algae management and the synodontis and barbs help stir up the bottom levels for the filters to do their thing.
Always happy to help if i can fella, be sure to start a journal for your new one pal.



flygja said:


> That's a nice one Iain. I'm guessing the lights are on full blast when you take photos? Because that doesn't look like low light at all!


Lights are the normal running level, exposure makes them look brighter, they run at around 20% with the greens and reds a bit heavier.  I not sure but my guess is PAR  around 20-30 at substrate.
lights by iain sutherland, on Flickr


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## Ady34 (18 Sep 2015)

Iain Sutherland said:


> There is about an inch of John Innes No3 along with some root tabs around the bulbs, as heavy root feeders they would struggle without.
> The idea of 24/7 co2 is new to me also. I heard Stu was doing it and after seeing the images of that tank i signed up to try it pretty quick. It has been set at a pretty slow rate, about a bubble a second through the AM1000, considering the high tech rate was uncountable its a slow and steady amount. For surface agitation, its pretty heavy all the time, i figured i need to off gas as much as i inject to stop co2 climbing to dangerous levels. I would guess that a drop checker would be dark green if i had one in there, which the inhabitants seem pretty happy with. Havent adjust the co2 much after turning it on, i started really low and tweaked it up a little in the first few days but i have no interest in pushing it. I still treat the tank like a low tech with a waterchange every couple of weeks, sometimes longer, surface film lets me know when its over due. Ive also got SAE and ottos to help algae management and the synodontis and barbs help stir up the bottom levels for the filters to do their thing.


Thanks for that Iain, yeah id heard Stu was doing it somewhere, and to see you doing it too makes me want to give it a go......another way to try and master the c02!!  I bought some reactors a while ago now so may put one to use on this tank, or may just stick with inline for simplicity. 
Thanks for the tips mate, ill utilise surface agitation and perhaps a skimmer too for the dreaded film i always get on all my tanks, should help with oxygen content when livestock goes in.



Iain Sutherland said:


> hey ady, great to see you around again fella, cant wait to see what your up to mate.


Thanks, its been too long but nothing spectacular, the 120 is still running plantless and i love it, so resurrecting the tank it all began in to have another bash at plants, the old fluval studio tank will house a rock scape and minimalist planting. Havnt quite got the right rocks, (or the rocks right maybe), but ill go with what i have and plant it up.....hopefully itll end up something like i imagined 

Cheerio,
Ady.


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## Iain Sutherland (19 Sep 2015)

Plants coming through at the back finally.

colours by iain sutherland, on Flickr
https://flic.kr/p/yQzQNc


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## Chris Jackson (20 Sep 2015)

Good to see your Giesmann light schedule. I'm using a pair of Pulzars and have been steadily winding the output down. Full blast was just too frantic even though they are just 28w a piece. Your Futura must be a total photon torpedo at full power!


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## Iain Sutherland (20 Sep 2015)

Lights up the street on full power Chris,  at some point I'll try full power no livestock just for fun.... Algae farm no doubt. It's great for final images though.

Next time George is over I'm going to get a load of par readings at different power levels, should make choices easier for later scapes.  Also very interested to see how quickly it drops off as I raise/lower the light.




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## Iain Sutherland (2 Oct 2015)

short video ...


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## jarcher1390 (3 Oct 2015)

Wow those congos under the blue light makes them looks like spirits. A cool effect I have to say.


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## Iain Sutherland (3 Oct 2015)

I thought so too, I watched them sparing for hours under the uv. Might have to change the journal name to Spirits of the Congo.


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## Deano3 (3 Oct 2015)

Stunning Iain , love that scape just so enjoyable to watch and plenty room for fish 


Thanks Dean


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## tim (3 Oct 2015)

Really enjoying this scape Iain, it's a great layout with some superb fish, only niggle I have is can you post a longer vid next time mate


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## flygja (5 Oct 2015)

You're making me miss my Congo Tetras. One of the nicest and most interactive "small fish" I've ever had. Even the Mrs loved feeding them because they would snap up food quickly and she'd tell me "That guy's greedy" or "This guy is chasing the others off".


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## banthaman.jm (7 Oct 2015)

Great tank Ian, the fish look stunning under the moon light.
Jim


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## Iain Sutherland (15 Oct 2015)

these guys got excited yesterday and started to show off...

congo2 by iain sutherland, on Flickr

butterfly 2 by iain sutherland, on Flickr


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## Hobbes1911 (19 Oct 2015)

Fantastic tank!!! I love the rock work with anubias, they complement each other very well!

Do you have pictures of the set up before everything was planted - just of the hardscape?


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## Bacms (20 Oct 2015)

Awesome scape mate you may have to open your doors at some point so I can look at all this beauties 

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## Iain Sutherland (24 Oct 2015)

Hobbes1911 said:


> Fantastic tank!!! I love the rock work with anubias, they complement each other very well!
> Do you have pictures of the set up before everything was planted - just of the hardscape?



Thanks Hobbes, no sorry i didnt take any set up pictures as this came about from a water change that caused me to rage and tear the whole scape down and do something new.... turned out ok so far.



Bacms said:


> Awesome scape mate you may have to open your doors at some point so I can look at all this beauties


your absolutely welcome any time Bruno.  Hows your getting on?


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## Joe Turner (24 Oct 2015)

Fantastic, really natural scape! Healthy fish too!


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