Andyh's 190l Lounge tank (update 20-09-11)

[andyh]

Re: Andyh's 190l Lounge tank (update 06-09-11)

i think ive nearly read all 34 pages of post , and my god that tank has never looked anything less than show worthy , i would love for my tank to look like this , just dont know if i would have been able to come with the brightness of the ada pendant ,because that was super bright haha , i love the orange fish that you have aswell (sorry forgot the name) and where abouts did you get them i have never seen them befre , are then malawi cichlids that are in a community tank ???

Firstly well done for reading the 34 pages! The ADA Solar was awesome and would have another one at the drop of a hat. Thanks for you kind words, i am glad that my journal has been useful.

The orange fish is a Apistogramma Agassizii 'fire red', its a dwarf cichlid. (Not Malawi) I purchased this from the chaps at Aquajardin at Gloucester. You don't see that many of them to be honest. They are very cool, and always get lots of interest. I bought them as a pair cost £16.

Great journal, it has been a long read but I feel I've learnt so much thanks for taking the time with your journal and your tank is amazing.
Tom

Cheers Tom, its good to get feedback as keeping the journal going is sometimes hard work, but i am glad some of the stuff i have learned here on UKAPS can be shared with others

 

[andyh]

Re: Andyh's 190l Lounge tank (update 06-09-11)

So as i mentioned i had a moment of madness about 2 weeks ago and ripped out all the tall plants from the back of the tank The reason being that the tank is over a year old now and the plant mass had got a little dense. I also fancied a change!

This is what it used to look like:

Untitled by andyh_2011, on Flickr

So i carefully removed the the plants, and boom massive clouds of dirtiness! I completed a huge water change. The next day did another 50% water change and cleaned the filters as they were full of brown dirt from the disturbed substrate. I then after another 3 days did another small water change. This was to eliminate the risk of an ammonia spike.

I then ordered some new plants to fill the space from TGM

I purchased some Tennelus, Ranunculus was given some Cryptocoryne parva (cheers T ).

I spent an age splitting the Tennelus into individual stems the pots i received from TGM were massive, i then planted them individually.

So here is the tank as of this evening 2 weeks on since the "moment"


After the removal of all the stems by andyh_2011, on Flickr

The End View, which is my favourite. The depth from this view is amazing!

End View by andyh_2011, on Flickr

If you look you can see where i have planted the Tennelus & Ranunculus along the right hand side all the way along the back. Its already sending out runners after only just 7 days. Once it starts to fill in should look better, i am going to allow it gain a little more height at the back to give a little more feeling of depth and a more natural transition.

Slightly Wider End view

End View 2 by andyh_2011, on Flickr

I really like the open space and it creates a great area for the Cardinals to shoal in, plus the carpet which is a mixture of Hairgrass, riccia, and tennelus really pearls well. The main mound of plants on the left provides plenty of hiding places for the fish and shrimps. I feel that once a few of the new plants have grown in and a little more creative pruning and it should look sweet! I have one more piece of wood cultivating with a nano java moss in my holding tank and plan to add this later this week.

anyway thanks for looking
Andyh

 

[ashcarter89]

thanks for the name ,and where to get them , do they only get them in ever so often do you know? just they dnt have any at the moment. Really want some now haha ,will want to be the first to know if you manage to breed them

 

[andyh]

thanks for the name ,and where to get them , do they only get them in ever so often do you know? just they dnt have any at the moment. Really want some now haha ,will want to be the first to know if you manage to breed them

They can order them in for you !

 

[andyh]

Mini update, been adding easylife ferro (iron) on a weekly dose and the redness of the tunnels (hahaha bloody predictive text, should say Tennelus!) has really begin to show!

The plants are growing really well especially the ranunculus.

Also anybody need any ricca let me know!

 

[RossMartin]

Hi Andy,

Loving the tank!

Any particular reason why you ditched the ADA Solar I?

Thanks

Ross

 

[Alastair]

Tanks looking great as always mate. Love the open area though, if anything it melts the tank look bigger...on a side note I must say I'd have been saddened to give that balansae away, it's gorgeous, huge and in great condition but looks great in my tank now ha ha ;0).
@Ross Martin I'm sure it's because he has a little one and the lights could easily blind. I have halides on mine and give me a head ache if I'm looking too long at the tank. I could be wrOng though and thinking of someone else who got rid for that reason ha ha

 

[andyh]

Hi Andy,
Loving the tank!
Any particular reason why you ditched the ADA Solar I?
Thanks
Ross

Alastair is right, had problems with my little one getting blinded by it.

Tanks looking great as always mate. Love the open area though, if anything it melts the tank look bigger...on a side note I must say I'd have been saddened to give that balansae away, it's gorgeous, huge and in great condition but looks great in my tank now ha ha ;0).
@Ross Martin I'm sure it's because he has a little one and the lights could easily blind. I have halides on mine and give me a head ache if I'm looking too long at the tank. I could be wrOng though and thinking of someone else who got rid for that reason ha ha

Cheers mate, glad you like it. Also glad you are happy with the Balanese, its a great plant. Make sure you give it good nutrients at the root and she will grown well. Where are the pics of your tank?

 

[Alastair]

Yeah I do mate. Makes me want to get sone nice shaped branchy wood and do the same now. Mines pretty much a collectoritis but want something with structure now. I've got jbl rootballs at the base of them and no sign of melting or anything, and my water being soft it's not made them twist or shrivel so pretty chuffed :0)
Ermmm pics yes....page 2 of this thread but go easy ha ha.,http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15255&start=10.
Oh almost forgot mate, when you had your halide on, did tour cardinals tend to shy away at all? I've noticed mine do when they come on

 

[Ian Holdich]

love this tank Andy, i hope mine looks half as good when mature. Those crypts look stunning mate!

 

[andyh]

love this tank Andy, i hope mine looks half as good when mature. Those crypts look stunning mate!

Cheers Ian, yeah the crypts are getting better with age most are over a year old.

 

[andyh]

i like this pic i took with my iPhone 4


A quick photo with my iphone4 by andyh_2011, on Flickr

Shows you don't have to have mega bucks kit

In this photo there is 8 species of plant Can you name them all?

 

[Joecoral]

Shows you don't have to have mega bucks kit

I could buy a pretty decent DSLR camera for the amount of money an iPhone 4 sells for

Tank is looking good though

 

[Mark Evans]

I could buy a pretty decent DSLR camera for the amount of money an iPhone 4 sells for

true

looks great Andy.

 

[andyh]

Shows you don't have to have mega bucks kit

I could buy a pretty decent DSLR camera for the amount of money an iPhone 4 sells for
Tank is looking good though

True- but i think of it as free on my contract and my point was it was a not a bad pic considering its just a phone

I could buy a pretty decent DSLR camera for the amount of money an iPhone 4 sells for

true
looks great Andy.

Cheers Mark

 

[Alastair]

I think it's a great pic for an iPhone mate. Wish mine looked like that off mine lol

 

[andyh]

Greetings

So i set about stripping down this set up yesterday and boy was that a big job, catching all the fish at the end proved very challenging the Gobies are insane! So fast and they just disappeared into the substrate.

I will be listing some kit here in UKAPS first, i.e 90x45x45 Optiwhite, cabinet and Arcadia light etc

I will be starting a new journal soon, with my new tank soon!

Thanks for all the comments and questions can't believe this journal has had over 12000 views!

Cheers


Andyh

 

[Alastair]

Real Shame mate I loved this tank

 

[Westyggx]

Andy is there a breakdown of the plants in here somewhere?

cheers

 

[andyh]

Andy is there a breakdown of the plants in here somewhere?
cheers

Probably so big not sure where, what is it your after? I amy be able to help, also the plants evolved a lot so may not be accuarate ?