# My first journal; Multiple tanks - Video updates



## Azaezl (11 Apr 2008)

I thought I would finally start a journal on here, I will be documenting 4 seperate tanks in this 1 journal rather then doing 4 seperate journals, I'll have enough trouble remembering to update this one never mind 4 of them 


So to start with is my largest tank which I've named 'Cory alley' because of the little pathways I've made around the back of the tank for them to weave in and out of. I had a lot of trouble with the larger corys knocking over some of the plants because I had planted them rather sporadically wheras now they have set paths going from 1 cave to under bogwood to around the back of more wood and so on. So the shy ones can get from hiding place to hiding place clearly without having to dodge several plants or as was the case knock over most of the plants.

Tank - Plain glass tank, non branded(second hand, looks very old)- 39" x 14" x 16" - approx 130Litres 

Lighting - 2 x 28 W T5 unit with built in reflectors, wrong bulbs at the moment, one is blue the other is 12,000K, again second hand unit which must have been used on a mraine setup, I will be changing the bulbs soon but so far plant growth has been fine. Lighting period 9 hours.

Filtration - Aqua pro 2, 800L/hr.

Dosing - Tropica plant nutrition + 

CO2 - 2 x Nutrafin cannisters & Flourish Excel 

Plants;

Straight Vallis
Twisted Vallis
3 x Unknown Swords
Java Fern
A little Saggittaria
Egeria(will probably remove this evetually)
Lots of Hygro polysperma

Fish / inverts
 5 Corydoras Melanotaenia(beautiful golden corys, highly recommend them)
 5 Corydoras Aeneus
 7 Otocinclus
 6 White cloud mountian minnows(+ 1 WCMM fry)
Plenty of Malaysian trumpet snails

This is the tank before I started;






Then when I'd removed all of the plants and started planting the vallis as well as moving the bogwood to the left;





Plants all back in, well the ones I'm using anyway as well as the addition of a large sword & some wood out of one of my other tanks;





And with a black background;





now I'm just waiting for some wood & hygro to turn up in the post so i can fill it out, I'm expecting the wood today but the plants I probably won't get until next wed / thurs.

The next tank is my goldfish tank, I haven't started on this one at all and I don't really know what I want to do with it yet, I'm going to do the others first and then see what plants I have left over and take it from there.

Tank - Hasn't got a name on it but I'm assuming it is some sort of brand as it came with a nice looking hood & cabinet, I think maybe it's an old fluval tank or something. 32" x 14" x 16" - approx 105Litres, guess I was slightly off with the 30G after adding sand etc the PFK volume calculator says it's 28G oh well close enough 

Lighting - 2 x 20W built in lighting.

Filtration - Fluval 305

Dosing - Tropica plant nutrition +(half dose as the goldies are high waste producers)  

CO2 - Just Flourish Excel

Plants; - I can't remember them all off hand it's a bit of a jungle in there, once I've re-scaped I'll give a list.

Fish / inverts
2 x fancy goldfish
Half a dozen Malaysian trumpet snails






16G(I thought it was 18 but after checking, it's not, silly me!) next, this has yet to be scaped as well but I do have a plan, fairly similar to the setup in the 35G but in a smaller space.

Tank - Clearseal tank 24" x 12" x 15" - approx 60 Litres

Lighting - 1 x 18W arcadia 'freshwater' bulb.

Filtration - 2 x fluval + at the moment,I'm waiting on a Tetratex Ex600 to be delivered for this.

Dosing - Tropica plant nutrition + 

CO2 - Just Flourish Excel

Plants; - 
Hygro siamensis
Egeria
Straight vallis
Swords
Saggittaria
Bacopa monniera
Hygro polysperma(to be added)

Fish / inverts
6 Corydoras Panda
5 Corydoras Trilineatus
10 amano shrimp
5 or 6 Malaysian trumpet snails






5G shrimp tank, this is the tank that set me off re-doing all of the tanks, I'm not at all happy with the tank so decided to get some mini landscape rocks for it and then decided to get some stuff for the other tanks.

Tank - No idea, again secondhand, I got it free with the 35G, it has a sticker on the back with the words Moby blahblahblahblah 

Lighting - 1 x 8W built in bulb.

Filtration - Stingray elite 5, I hate this filter, it's big, it's ugly but it does the job so it'll have to stay until I get a cosmetically better one.

Dosing - Tropica plant nutrition + 

CO2 - Flourish Excel

Plants; - 
Lots of Java
Alot of diferent plants in here but I think once I re-scape I'll just have java fern, just have to wait and see 

Fish / inverts
A dozen cherry shrimp & malaysian trumpet snails





So that's the tanks, I'm expecting my delivery from Aqua Essentials today so I shall be re-scaping the 5G but the others will have to wait until I get the plants next week so watch this space!


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## Azaezl (11 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

Well I got my order, I'm very pleased with the shape of the wood, was slightly concerned but it's exactly what i was after. Had a good laugh breaking up the rock, I managed to chisel a few bits off before asking my husband to help, of course he just slammed the hammer down, broke it into a few bits and shards went everywhere including a bit up his nose 

Anyway here is what the 5G looks like now, I'm not happy with the placement of the rocks & the java but I had 30 mins to do it(lunch is nearly ready) so I'll have a good fiddle about later. Any suggestions?


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## Garuf (11 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

If I we're you I'd replace the java some some anubias petite some moss and some Echinodors tennelus, the smaller scale will help to make those amazingly well placed rocks really shine.


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## Steve Smith (11 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*



			
				Azaezl said:
			
		

>



I would be tempted to move the sword.  Its very central at the moment.  It definately needs some more plants to fill it out but its a great start   Something bushy in the right corner perhaps?


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## Azaezl (11 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*



			
				Garuf said:
			
		

> If I we're you I'd replace the java some some anubias petite some moss and some Echinodors tennelus, the smaller scale will help to make those amazingly well placed rocks really shine.



I agree, the java just doesn't look right, it's too large not just for the rocks but the tank itself, I was limited though because it's a very very low light tank and I only have java no anubias but I'm sure I could spend just a little bit more money to get a few more plants  It took me ages to place the rocks and I'm still not happy with them, I'll probably move them around again once I get some replacements for the java.



			
				SteveUK said:
			
		

> I would be tempted to move the sword.  Its very central at the moment.  It definately needs some more plants to fill it out but its a great start   Something bushy in the right corner perhaps?



As you will see below I did move the sword, it was very overpowering the way it was positioned, I think the wood helps blend it in more. I'm hoping the 100+ plants I'm waiting on will help fill it out  but I am quite pleased with how it looks at the moment.

right onto the photos, I decided 10 mins before going shopping that I just had to see how the wood would look so I put it in and then of course i had to move a few plants around, move the wood, stand it up lay it down etc, after 20 mins I ended up with this;





Left side;




Central;




Right side;




Then when I got back from shopping(an hour ago) I figured i may as well do the other, I'm not happy with how I've placed the wood in this one but I have to put my daughter to bed soon and I'll be fidlding with it once all the new plants arrive anyway so it'll do for now;


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## Egmel (11 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

Looks much nicer with the wood, seems to add more structure 


			
				Azaezl said:
			
		

> I'm hoping the 100+ plants I'm waiting on will help fill it out


I had that theory with my 2ft tank, ordered 2 collections of 70+ plants each and a couple of specimen bits and pieces, I used almost everything and what I didn't use I can fit into my breeding net while I decide what I want to do with it!


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## Azaezl (11 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

I orded 50 hygro polysperma & a 63 plant collection, from the last order I did (200 fast growers) I know that this should be enough. The tanks aren't completely bare as you can see and I only really want the background densly planted. Not to mention I have all the plants I took out of the  35G floating around in my goldie tank until I know whether I need them or not, ideally I want to stick to just a few different plants rather then dozens and dozens of different ones, the tank looked too messy, wheras now I think it looks alot tidier 

I wish i'd ordered more wood now though, just isn't enough for the look I wanted, although all these setups are only temporary, everything will be moved about / uprooted in august / september to go into larger tanks and then I'll be getting rid of a few tanks. although i won't really be cutting down on the tanks as I'll be buying another small tank later in the year as well


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## Egmel (11 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

Cool, well I look forward to seeing it, where are you getting your collection from?


			
				Azaezl said:
			
		

> ideally I want to stick to just a few different plants rather then dozens and dozens of different ones, the tank looked too messy, wheras now I think it looks alot tidier


That was my plan too by getting 2 of one collection rather than 1 larger collection, not sure it's entirely worked but seeing as I'm going with the 'plant it and see' attitude at the moment it doesn't matter really.


> I wish i'd ordered more wood now though, just isn't enough for the look I wanted, although all these setups are only temporary, everything will be moved about / uprooted in august / september to go into larger tanks and then I'll be getting rid of a few tanks. although i won't really be cutting down on the tanks as I'll be buying another small tank later in the year as well


I know the feeling, nothing ever arrives quite as you'd imagined it, it's one of the bugbears of not having a local shop you can just walk into and pick things off the shelves.

New tanks, lucky so-and-so


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## Azaezl (12 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*



			
				Egmel said:
			
		

> Cool, well I look forward to seeing it, where are you getting your collection from?



I'm getting my collection from greenline as usual, I've always had great service form them in the past, so if it ain't broke don't fix it 



			
				Egmel said:
			
		

> That was my plan too by getting 2 of one collection rather than 1 larger collection, not sure it's entirely worked but seeing as I'm going with the 'plant it and see' attitude at the moment it doesn't matter really.



I did that with my first collection, and ended up with this in my old rio 240;




after a few weeks;






			
				Egmel said:
			
		

> I know the feeling, nothing ever arrives quite as you'd imagined it, it's one of the bugbears of not having a local shop you can just walk into and pick things off the shelves.
> 
> New tanks, lucky so-and-so



Oh I have a local shop, just I figured I may as well buy the wood from AE get some aqua points and free postage, the wood I got was a really nice shape and 1 piece in particular was exactly what I was after, a nice arch for the corys to hide under 

The tanks aren't really new I bought a secondhand double 4ft stand with 2 4ft tanks on it(bargain at Â£45!) I don't know what kind of shape the tanks are in now as they are being stored in a relatives garage and well last time I checked he had allsorts of crap ontop of them and they looked very dirty. Good thing about clearseal is if the tanks are badly scratched it will only be Â£100 to replace both. I've also estimated it's going to cost around Â£360 to set them both up and that's not even with pressurized Co2, why did I have to become addicted to such a pricey hobby!


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## Azaezl (14 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

Well the java fern has been taken out of the 5G it just did not look right, I've replaced it with....

 ALGAE   

 I broke up a Cladophora aegagrophila and tried to make a grass effect, not quite managed it but it looks better then before. I need to place it on the rocks a little better, the right hand side is ok it's the left I couldn't do. Any suggestions on plants to add plus where to position the Cladophora would be more then welcome, I still have lots of it left as well so I can add more if recommended.

Before;




Java removed(sorry about the reflections);




After(blurry pics and the waters a bit cloudy, will get better pics soon);


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## Egmel (14 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*



			
				Azaezl said:
			
		

> I broke up a Cladophora aegagrophila and tried to make a grass effect, not quite managed it but it looks better then before.


That's a really interesting idea, did you have to weight it down in any way or is it just resting on there?


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## Azaezl (14 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

On the substrate it's just resting, on the rocks I've tried to cram it into little nooks & crannies, it sinks naturally so I did't need to weigh it down 

Managed to get a couple of clearer pics;









I definately need to thin it out on the substrate, it looks too high and it needs flattening down on the rocks more, it just doesn't look right.


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## Arana (14 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

that's wonderful can't wait to see it progress   well done


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## Azaezl (14 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

Thanks Arana  

One thing I definately need to do is get rid of that internal...I hate it! it's so ugly! but it will have to do for now, I'll just remove it when taking pics until I can replace it.


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## LondonDragon (14 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

Nice colection of tanks  they all look pretty good and I like the last one posted also, keep us updated with more photos


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## Azaezl (14 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

Thanks Dragon  I plan on doing video updates as well. I wish my new plants would hurry up and get here  ....roll on thursday!!!

Tonight to keep me busy I shall be re-scaping the goldfish tank, moving the wood over a little adding some java fern to it. The vallis has grown alot since the last photo I took so I'll space that out a bit more(vallis just loves the goldie tank). I really hate the cabomba but it will have to stay until I can get something I like to replace it.


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## TDI-line (14 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

Nice work Azaezi, i don't know how you keep on top of all your tanks.


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## Azaezl (14 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

Thanks  It's simple really, water changes on monday nights(using back breaking buckets), major plant trimming on thursday nights. I've done all the water changes already so tonights free for the goldie tank to be done.

Any other days / nights I will be fiddling or adding ferts or whatever needs doing, or like last night a late night filter clean. I could quite easily look after twice the amount I have now, it's just having the space for them that's the problem


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## Azaezl (14 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

Well all I can say is I'm very annoyed, I hate how the tank looks now even more then I did before, the thing that annoys me most is I can't get a backgorund on this tank and I'm stuck with my bright red walls as a background!

Still a bit cloudy as I removed all the plants and swirled up the sand alot;


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## Egmel (15 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*



			
				Azaezl said:
			
		

> Well all I can say is I'm very annoyed, I hate how the tank looks now even more then I did before, the thing that annoys me most is I can't get a backgorund on this tank and I'm stuck with my bright red walls as a background!


Can you not slide a sheet of acrylic behind in the colour you'd like.  I know it's not quite as good as an actual background but it might be better than the red.

I had great 'fun' fitting my plain black background... note to self, in future always leave a little more than a hand width between the back of the tank and the wall behind!  Vaseline got on everything, it was a nightmare keeping it out of the tank during the process... and it still has some bubbles which I can't get at


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## beeky (15 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

Vaseline?!

When I put my tank together I tried putting a black bin liner as a backdrop. It looked better than I expected it to, but was just too shiny for the amount of light I had. My wife then came back with some matt black card from a local stationers which looks much better but unfortunately is a little too short so will need a bit more stuck on.


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## Azaezl (15 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*



			
				Egmel said:
			
		

> Can you not slide a sheet of acrylic behind in the colour you'd like.  I know it's not quite as good as an actual background but it might be better than the red.
> 
> I had great 'fun' fitting my plain black background... note to self, in future always leave a little more than a hand width between the back of the tank and the wall behind!  Vaseline got on everything, it was a nightmare keeping it out of the tank during the process... and it still has some bubbles which I can't get at




I have the same problem, I can't get my hand around the back of the tank, I can reach the back on the left / right sides but can't get to the centre. It's beause it's the bottom tank on a double stand and I put it very close to the wall. It was easy enough to do the top tank because I can slide things down the back from the top but can't do that on the bottom tank. 

Took a pic this morning of the goldie tank, nice and clear now but still looks pants 






I shouldn't have moved the wood, I think it looked better where it was, I'll move it back next week, this week I'm concentrating on the top tank.

Here's the double tanks(and my frog tank to the left);





As you can see it's very difficult to do anything on the bottom tank because of the top one.

It's all temporary anyway, hopefully by september I'll have my double 4ft setup, this one will be going and I'll have the goldie tank back on it's original wooden stand.I will remember to order and stick on some black backing before I do anything with any of them. I need to clean that big water stain off the back of the goldie tank as well, it drives me mad but can't reach it to clean it  Once I've moved everything around I'll have a 2ft tank empty, will be fun stocking that


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## Egmel (15 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*



			
				beeky said:
			
		

> Vaseline?!


A brilliant non-permanent adhesive for film backings.  Smear onto glass, apply backing, smooth out with credit card to remove bubbles, seal edges with electrical insulating tape or similar.  Job's a good'un  ... which all works wonderfully well as long as you can get to the back of your tank  

Azaezl, I think the card option is probably a good one, it's cheap, will last until Sept when your new tanks get there and stop you saying... damn, I don't like the red.

The other option is to make the red a feature, get some red plants or ornaments that set it off.  You could make quite a nice Japanese style with the white sand and some black accessories.  That would also contrast really nicely with the natural style of the top tank.


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## Azaezl (16 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

It was annoying at first egmel but the tanks only temporary so I'm not too bothered now, if I can't get a background on then so be it, it's only going to be like that for another 5 / 6 months 

Just a couple of new pics, added some blyxia I got off Andy, haven't decided where to put it so just stuck some in the 35 and the other in the panda tank see where it grows best. I'll be getting my new plants tomorrow so expect some new pics soon and a shed load of new pics on monday as I'll have a good camera then 

The 35;




The 5;


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## beeky (16 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

I love the cladaphora algae in your tank. If it wasn't called algae it would be a must have plant!

Is it growing at all?


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## Azaezl (16 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

I would still say it's a must have 'plant', alot of people have it because it is an algae ball and stays in a ball(unless manually broken up) so any excess nutrients are sucked up by it rather then unwanted algaes but it doesn't cause an unsightly mess. Plus it does really well in very very low light, such as my frogs tank that was lit only by a 40W table lamp next to it.

Another bonus(or bad point depending on how you look at it) is that it's very slow growing, so I estimate that all I need to do to this tank for the next few months is change the water and feed the shrimp, how low maintenance is that!


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## Azaezl (17 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

Well the plants turned up today, I almost ended up with a parcel for the local doctors rather then my plants but I caught the guy in time to get the right parcel.

I'm very very disappointed with the quality of the plants, usually I get really good quality plants but this time they were awful. The 50 H.polysperma I ordered were very very bad, I had to take half the leaves off most of the plants because they were dead / dying. The 63 plant collection I ordered was better quality but was ridiculously small, I'd have been very annoyed if it was intended to setup an entire tank, it's ok for adding to existing tanks but the background plants were smaller then usual, normally when I get vallis from there it's normally  12 inches or so wheras this time it was only 7 inches.

Anyway onto the photos, I've only put an extra dozen or so plants in for now as I was pushed for time(it came at lunchtime) but will add a few more as well as move a few things around later on. So here are 2 pics for now, I also recorded a video but haven't the time right now to edit it, add some music, upload it etc so I'll do that later as well.





Different / closer angle;


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## Azaezl (17 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

right here's that video as promised;



I'm right in the middle of re-scaping the panda cory tank, started about 30 mins ago should be done within the hour so expect some cloudy pics soon


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## Azaezl (17 Apr 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*

Panda tank is now done, haven't got time to do the goldie tank so will have to do that tomorrow, couple of cloudy pics for now but once the filters clear the water I'll take some more;









Here's a poorly exposed video of the tank as well, complete with a few rogue plant leaves I didn't spot floating about


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## Azaezl (18 Apr 2008)

Clear pic from this morning;





The flow from the filters is blowing the vallis in the left hand corner over a bit so I need to turn it down and point it more towards the glass.


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## Azaezl (18 Apr 2008)

Goldfish tank is now complete, totally random placing of the plants, I'll wait a few weeks and then decide what I want to do with it.


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## beeky (18 Apr 2008)

Nice setups you've got there. How many pandas have you got in their tank? Anything else in with them?

I've only got two at the moment but hoping to get some more and then try my hand at breeding them. I've kept fish for quite a long time, but only ever made a token effort at breeding in the past.


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## Azaezl (18 Apr 2008)

Thanks beeky 

I have 6 pandas at the moment and 5 trili corys as well as 10 amano shrimp. I'm looking for a new home for the trilis and will be replacing them for more pandas. pandas can be a bit iffy to breed depending on where they are from, from what I've found out the ones more commonly sold in shops are mass bred / interbred and some are sterile / difficult to breed. They aren't impossible though, just could be difficult if you get the poorer stock.


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## beeky (18 Apr 2008)

Hmm....seems to be the way with a lot of fish these days.

I orginally bought 6 but 4 died within 48 hours. I bought them from a tankful in the shop and when I went back they had 3 left and they didn't give me a refund   Needless to say I won't be buying from there again. I went into a better shop some time later and asked if they ever get pandas in and they said they avoid getting many of the corys in because they can't get decent quality and they don't last very long!


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## Azaezl (18 Apr 2008)

Sounds like a familiar scenario, seems to be a misconception that panda corys are weak and sensitive but IME they are just as hardy as the common bronze but it is the poor quality stock due to mass breeding that's the problem, find a good shop and your set. I used to buy my fish from a local chain shop because it was the lesser of the 2 local evils and pandas were always hit n miss. Then I discovered a good chain shop(maidenhead aquatics) and their stock is very very healthy, I haven't had a single fish die and have never seen a dead / ill fish in the shop.

Good luck with the breeding


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## Azaezl (21 Apr 2008)

Just a very quick update, the new plants are settling in well and growing very fast, it hasn't even been a week since I last trimmed the vallis and I had to cut it again, brilliant  Anyway the hygro survived, I was worried as it looked very sorry for itself, I've only had time to take some pics of the largest tank, I'll snap some pics of the others later tonight. I also finally added the jbl balls, I didn't add them at first incase I decided I wanted to move any of the swords / crypts about but I've decided everything is staying where it is apart from the forground plants that I still need to arrange properly but I want to make sure they are going to grow alright in my tank before I fiddle about planting each individual plant.


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## Azaezl (21 Apr 2008)

Got a quick 5 mins before putting my daughter in the bath so here's the panda tank;





The tannis off the wood is really noticeable in this tank, I'll post another pic of it on thursday after a water change, shouldn't have such a yellowy tinge to it then.


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## Themuleous (21 Apr 2008)

You like sand, dont you! 

Have you got the panda's to breed?

Sam


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## Azaezl (21 Apr 2008)

What can I say, it's cheap  my corys love it as well and I put the fish before the plants 

I'll be going for sand again in my next setups but black sand this time. I have been toying with the idea of eco complete with a sectioned off area of sand just to keep the cost down. 

I haven't managed to breed them but they do show the initial signs of breeding just nothing follows through, bit like my 2 smaller golds, i often see them in the T position but nothing comes of it.


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## Azaezl (24 Apr 2008)

Just a quick update.

Largest tank I've moved that big sword back as it was getting a little too large for how forwards it was, I've also moved the polysperma around a bit and moved the forground plants, first a before pic;





and after;









Next is the panda tank, which wasn't yellow because of the tannis, it's because stupid me had left the setting on cloudy lighting when we were out at the farm saturday, so as promised here are some clear pics;









And lastly the 5 Gal tank, nothing has changed,except I added a little riccia to see how well it would grow I did a water change and thought I may as well snap some pics 









I was going to add a video of all 3 tanks  but for some reason youtube doesn't want me to upload it oh well you'll have to wait


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## Azaezl (25 Apr 2008)

And now for the video;


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## Themuleous (25 Apr 2008)

Love the 5G very inventive 

Sam


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## aaronnorth (26 Apr 2008)

How about a HOB filter for the 5g, Â£10 - Â£20 depending on size from aquatics online.

http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalo ... ilters.asp


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## Azaezl (26 Apr 2008)

Themuleous said:
			
		

> Love the 5G very inventive
> 
> Sam



Thanks Sam 



			
				aaronnorth said:
			
		

> How about a HOB filter for the 5g, Â£10 - Â£20 depending on size from aquatics online.



No can do, the tank is a very fiddly design and the lid doesn't come off entirely, infact you can only take half of it off, the rest is fixed on so I'd have to have a HOF(hang on front)  thanks for the suggestion though 

The tank won't be staying that way for very long, I'm going to move the cherries into my 16G to replace the amanos who will be going in the 35G and then I'll be turning this into a betta tank. The rocks will be going into my arcadia tank when I evetually get it which will be for dwarf puffers.


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## Azaezl (28 Apr 2008)

Just a quick update, if you could call it that, it's just some more pics really, nothing has changed, just a little bit of growth.

The largest tank;




The panda tank;




and finally the goldie tank in all it's random glory;


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## Themuleous (29 Apr 2008)

Looks like you need to get in there with some scissors 

Sam


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## Azaezl (12 May 2008)

Been a while since I updated, my little girl has been very ill lately(ongoing problem) and I've been so wrapped up with keeping an hour by hour record of her and taking her to the hospital that my plants have been neglected a little, I kept up with water changes / dosing but just haven't had the chance to prune them. I still haven't had the chance to have a good go at them as I'm really tired today after a rough night / day but I did my best. The goldfish tank is still a jungle, except it's a very overgrown jungle, I haven't got the time to do that tonight so I'll post some pics on thursday after I've tended to it. Anyway here are the pics, first is the 35g;





The sword I took out of the panda tank has really taken off in this tank, it's grown very big very fast;





left side of the tank;





right side;





I've also removed the bronze corys from this tank, they are in a lovely new home and I'm hoping to get more of the golds, if maidenhead EVER gets them in again, I knew I should have bought more when I saw them! I've also transferred the amano shrimp over from the panda tank, the amanos have become quite aggressive and I don't know why they have basically been bullying the panda corys and stealing all of their food so I figured a change of scenary would be good for all of them.

Here is the panda tank, the trili corys are now gone and I will be putting some cherry shrimp in here at some point, 2 of my cherries are carrying eggs so I'll put the adults in this tank eventually and keep the 5g as a baby cherry tank.





and here is the cherry shrimp tank, as usual most of them are hiding behind the rocks;


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## LondonDragon (13 May 2008)

Tanks are looking pretty good, I prefer the overgrown plants than having them trimmed too much! 
Hope you little one gets well soon, keep us updated


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## Arana (13 May 2008)

Wow they are all growing in lovely...   well done considering you have so much going on at the moment, all the best to your little one hope she gets well soon


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## Azaezl (13 May 2008)

London dragon - thanks  I quite like them overgrown, I think it looks more natural, I've basically just trimmed the tops off the H.Polysperma & Vallis and a few old leaves. It's all going to get stripped down in a few months anyway so I don't mind how mad it goes 

Arana - thanks for your lovely comments  hopefully she will be better soon.

I'll give you all the short non yuk version of what's going on with her, basically she's been having bowel problems for months, we've been back & forth to the doctors and finally to see a paediatrician last monday. There are 2 possible causes to her problems 1 is severe chronic overflow constipation which can be treated with laxatives & diet, the other is a rare disease which will require a biopsy to confirm and at least 1 maybe 2 operations to rectify it, obviously I'm hoping it's the first possibility, but we won't find out for another month.


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## Arana (13 May 2008)

the waiting to find out is always the hard bit, i'm sure she will be fine...sending lots of good vibes


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## Steve Smith (13 May 2008)

Fingers crossed for her!  All the best  

** Adding to the good vibes **


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## Azaezl (14 May 2008)

Thanks guys  Back at the hospital on monday, long story but we can't get her to take her medicine so we're having to switch to something else but the paediatrician wants to check her over again, then we don't have to go back until june 11th(hopefully).


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## REDSTEVEO (11 Jun 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*



			
				Egmel said:
			
		

> Azaezl said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Hi do you use vaseline to stick the background onto the glass, I have always wondered what the best method was to get the air out between the glass and the background. Once used spray adhesive  won't do that again!

I also fitted a set of castors (heavy duty and lockable) from IKEA I think. You could move the whole tank about after taking about twenty litres out to stop the sloshing around while you moved it. Very convenient for rewiring and getting round the back when you need to.

Cheers.

Steve


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## Egmel (12 Jun 2008)

*Re: My first journal - Multiple tanks*



			
				REDSTEVEO said:
			
		

> Hi do you use vaseline to stick the background onto the glass, I have always wondered what the best method was to get the air out between the glass and the background. Once used spray adhesive  won't do that again!


Yup, smear it over the back of the tank, apply the background then smooth out bubbles with a credit card (or in my case an old loyalty card I don't use any more), then seal the edges with tape, I used black electrical insulating tape. 


> I also fitted a set of castors (heavy duty and lockable) from IKEA I think. You could move the whole tank about after taking about twenty litres out to stop the sloshing around while you moved it. Very convenient for rewiring and getting round the back when you need to.


Oooh, now there's an idea worth remembering.  I really need to get a new stand for my tank anyway, it currently on an old table which I'm sure was never made to take the weight..


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## John Starkey (12 Jun 2008)

Hi Azaezel,firstly i will pray for your little girl and i sincerly hope they sort her out soon and makes a full recovery,the tanks look great under the pressure you have at the moment,regards john.


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## aaronnorth (12 Jun 2008)

I prefer the overgrown look too, good luck to you & your little girl


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## planter (12 Jun 2008)

Couldnt read this Thread without Wishing you and your little'n well. 

Best wishes
Planter


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## Egmel (13 Jun 2008)

Azaezl said:
			
		

> Thanks guys  Back at the hospital on monday, long story but we can't get her to take her medicine so we're having to switch to something else but the paediatrician wants to check her over again, then we don't have to go back until june 11th(hopefully).


Just re-read the last few posts and spotted this, hope everything went well on the 11th and that progress is being made.

Medicine is always a difficult one with children.  I remember that my cousin had to take lots of tablets when he was little, my aunt used to crush them up and mix them with chocolate spread for him   Hope you found/find a way to help your little poppet get what she needs.


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## Azaezl (16 Jun 2008)

Thanks for the well wishes everyone, no change, we've swapped her medication for the 3rd time she's now on medication that is alot stronger (it's not really designed for children under the age of 10) and so far it doesn't appear to be working but she's only been on it a week so I guess it's early days. We have 2 appointments in July, one to see the paediatrician again and another to see her nurse at the bowel clinic which will be a regular thing until she's 100% better which isn't likely to be until at least next year(they told us that she'll need to be on medication for at least another 6 months). It's difficult sometimes, it's her birthday on wednesday and I'm just hoping it won't be a bad day for her accidents because I want her to have a really nice day. We went up to liverpool to visit my relatives at the weekend and they had a little teaparty for her but she was just miserable the whole time and was getting very upset because of her accidents and just clung to her dad virtually all day. We are supposed to be going to a theme park next wednesday as well but I'm dreading it because of how upset she'll get at having to go in a public place. We were hoping to start her in pre-school this september but I don't think it's going to happen as it will just upset her so much being around new people / kids and having accidents. It's really awful so I'm just hoping that this medicine works and soon because I want her to be happy & healthy again and not have to go through all the pain and embarassment that this is causing.

My tanks haven't changed much really, again I haven't been keeping up with pruning very regularly so they are all a bit wild and pretty rubbish but I'm setting up two 4ft tanks soon and I'll be closing down the smaller tanks so hopefully by then I'll have more time to keep ontop of things. I did however get the chance to move things about a bit in the panda tank and they must like it because they spawned last week, I didn't save any eggs though as I knew I wouldn't be here to take care of the fry because of the trip to Liverpool. Anyway here's a photo;


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## Wayney (16 Jun 2008)

Hey Azaezl, 
Sorry to hear that your little girl has'nt gotten any better yet, but like you say it's still early days on the new meds.
I'm sure that i speak for everyone in saying that i hope she get's better real soon


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## Bingy_bong (19 Jul 2008)

Good luck with your little 'un Azaezl.

 just read through your entire journal, You can sort your tanks out any time, (although looking at the pics, they dont seem to be doing too badly) the main concern is your little un.


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## REDSTEVEO (19 Jul 2008)

Hi Azaezl,

I must say I love your photo. The tanks look pretty good as well,   Don't tell your husband I said that.

I love the bigger ones with the really white sand. Some of the pictures remind me of snowy scenes out of the Narnia films.

Hope all is well,

Steve.


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## TDI-line (20 Jul 2008)

Hey Azaezi, glad to see your back.

I do hope your little girl gets well soon.

We will all be praying for her health. 

All the best,

Dan.


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## Azaezl (24 Jul 2008)

Thanks for all the well wishes everyone, she's not as bad as she was but still isn't 100%. The medication she's on at the moment is very strong and seems to be working, although when we tried to wean her off it we ended up back at square one so we're having to try a few different things to get her off the stronger meds and onto something a little gentler so that eventually she can be med free but it's not likely to be this year.

Sorry for my complete absence from here, I've been really busy looking after her plus she started pre-school a few weeks ago(wasn't supposed to start until september but the people who run it let her start early). She's super shy like me so I've had to be with her at the pre-school lessons, so that's my days full, my nights are filled with video games, films, water changes and other stuff  so I have very little time to post. I've also been avoiding fish / fish related forums as they all seem to be going down the proverbial toilet and TBH I sort of forgot about this place, glad I remembered as it seems this is one of the few forums that's remained a nice place where you can actually have a joke as well as talk about serious issues and debate in a mature manner.

My tanks look awful at the moment, except the panda cory / cherry shrimp tank, that's still looking ok and everything in there is breeding like mad(including the MTS   ). I was supposed to be setting up my 2 4ft tanks ages ago which is kinda what's stopped me from being too bothered about how rubbish the other tanks look(because I keep telling myself i'm starting over anyway with the 4fters). My husband has been sort of putting me off setting them up and I think I know why... my birthday is coming up soon and he 'picked up' a present(which required help) and when he got back he was very sweaty so I have a bit of a sneaky suspicion he may have got me a new tank, esp. because whilst in the lfs the other day he started talking about my birthday and said 'oh I dunno why the fish reminded me of that' and looked all embarassed and nervous like he was trying to cover up. He also lied about the presents shape, he took a fairly large box with him that he said he was going to hide it in so I couldn't see what it was, well he brought the box back and put it on the bedroom floor, he said it was very very heavy and that's why he needed help with it...but then again funny that he could carry the mystery box alone, then the other day I accidentally bumped into it whilst looking for something, the box moved like it was empty...sooo I know he's lieing about the present...but trying not to get my hopes up but no idea what it could be other then that. If he hasn't got me one then I'm going to get myself a 240ish Litre tank, put everything in it apart from my goldies who will get a slightly larger tank then what they have now same with my frogs.

So there we have it, my long overdue update, oh here's a pic of the panda tank;





I'm also pleased because the canon 400D that my father in law lends me(yet it always seems to be here lol) shall be mine soon(hopefully) he's on the lookout for a new camera and said I can have the canon when he gets a new one, how lucky am I   Oh here's a recent photo of the goldfish tank, which looks awful but hopefully the next udate will be a vast improvement;





and a slightly older photo so you can see the whole tank;


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## John Starkey (24 Jul 2008)

Hi Aezael, nice to see ya,i truely hope the little one gets back to full health soon,hey i bet your hubby has got you a nice setup for you ,regards john


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