the pic is of a 180l jewel rio (40g) i bought about a yr ago. it has gone through many changes. this is the way it looked about 7/8 months ago. it looks a bit different now but i havent got a pic of it yet

i think the plant u refer to is echinodorus quadricostatus (cuban broad leaf chain) a lovely plant that grows well with added co2. good foreground plant that spreads quite quickly if conditions are right.

the heater and spray bar are at the back of my tank. i also have a slight gap running along the back as a refuge for fish and to allow water flow around the tank. personaly i dont think it annoys the fish. the flow goes mostlly along the mid and top of the tank so the bottom is still relatively slow flowing. if anything my fish enjoy the flow along the top and mid of the tank. the cories especialy, they love to play in the current. i also hate to see equipment in a tank. i like my tanks to look as natural as possible and keep all equipment hidden.

here is an 'unfaded' pic of my tank as it looked then. i was very proud of the way it looked then, i even submitted it to a planted tank site and was chosen as tank of the month, lol

just had a thought regarding the film ontop of the water.

does ur tank have a tight cover or is it open to the atmosphere.

on all my tanks i have tight fitting lids apart from one that doesnt even have a drip tray. the uncovered one seems to get a film on it quicky. in my circumstances i suspect that it is probably partly, or even mainly due to the fact that the tank is in an often smoke filled room and that the film is related to this.

Well, You deserve to be proud. A belated congratulations on Tank of the Month! That is a great looking tank! It's the sort of thing I set out to achieve, but probably is only getting there now (after 3 years!). I planted in groups, and although it looks good aesthetically, it's not quite 'natural'. I need more randomness. I think I'll be having a few peeks at that pic, in the coming months.

Have you seen the Takashi Amano tanks?

I've forgotten why I took this pic, but it's elsewhere in this Forum. It sort of shows my Tank Lid. It essentially seals, except for a 1 1/2 inch slot along the rear, against the wall, for leads and pipes. No smokers in the house, but we're on a main road, and get a bit of yucky black dust over time.



It also shows my out of control plants right now. Big trim and replant coming up very shortly! Then again, not too bad, considering it's only been a few months since an 'Algae cure' decimated half of my plants!

looks nice altho cant realy see inside it. what size is it?

u may know this, but i'll mention it just incase ... to take a tank pic so the inside is visible, put ur camera on a tripod, turn off all lights in the room and close the curtains to stop any reflections, and dont use the flash. it will be a longish exposure hence u need the tripod plus the fish that move will blurr, but it is best way to get a pic of the inside. u might have to correct the colour balance of the pics slightly as u may well get a colour cast from the tank light/s but this is easy done in most pic editors.

i have heard of Amano and seen one or 2 tanks. i like the way he does them. i am no expert when it comes to design but i am a photographer so i have an eye for what is nice. what i tend to do is buy a 1 bunch of each type of plants that i want (i have a tight budget ) and as they grow i spread them about a bit. i like a look that doesnt look too articialy set up, so i just move things about till i think it looks good and 'natural' at the same time.

i have recently started to sell some of my excess plants on ebay and have made a few bucks - thought i'd mention it seeing as u say ur about to do a trim. why throw the trimmings in a bin when u can sell them and make another fish keeper happy.

bad luck at the 'treatment' killing ur plants. what was cure?

the main road may be causing some of the film on ur tank, but from what u say and from what i've read it is more likely the flake food that u feed ur fish that causes a film. as far as i know it is harmless but if u want u could try limiting the flake food a bit and try using more pellets, granules and dried or live foods.

one last thing i noticed that i am curious to ask u about. i see that u appear to have guppies and an angel in ur tank. i have never owned angels and am thinking of buying a couple but i am concerned they will attack and possible kill my beta and guppies. i have been told that this can happen. although i've also heard that if u get the angels small and young and have them grow up with other small fish and large finned fish then they might get on. is this what u did? have u had any problems with 'killer' angels?

oh, i also ment to attach a pic. this is just a tank i saw online somewhere, i have no details on it but i had to save the pic as i thought i was the most awsome tank i have ever seen and dream of owning something similar one day.

it is one of the most 'natural' looking tanks i have ever seen, plus it has to be the biggest, lol. at a guess i'd put the tank at 10' x 4' x 4' which must hold at a guess close to a thousand gallons and weigh about 4 metric tons. no wonder it has a heavy steal frame and a pretty solid looking base.

There are a few local outlets with tanks that size, only one I can think of is comparable in setup. I'm not sure if my wife would appreciate a tank that requires me to don a snorkle and flippers to do my maintainence. Especially if I put it in the Lounge! "BOMB DIVE!" I suppose I could charge admission tho'.



There is a link to Amano in this forums Plant section.

My tank 250 litre. 48x18x18. Ehiem 2217 Cannister Filter. Sera 300w Heater. CO2 is from Bread Yeast, applied through a Bubble Maze.

Yep, know about pic taking. I've got some better ones in another thread:

Only registered users can see links on this forum! Register or Login on forum!

. The pic above was to demonstrate my 'overgrowth'. Which is another reason you can't see in - no light!

The cure to losing my plants was, buy some more. I did haggle with the Algaecide Manufacturer for a few days 'tho. If you mean the Algae, I'll refer you to the Plant section again - Red Algae thread. Nice pics there.

Angels & Guppies. Standard stuff, if it fits in the mouth, it's Angel poo! My Angels have all had very distinct personalities. I current have four. One, 'Silverwing', likes a bit of space around himself. He will scare fish out of his 'space', but won't attack. His attitude to 'Moonglow' (an Angel) however, is quite different. It's very push and shove. But he doesn't pick on 'Shadow' or 'Charcoal' (yet!).

If we see any fry, we move them to another tank, and then return when they are 'bigger than mouth' size.

Plant trimmings - more often than not, they do go to other fish keepers. I have a couple of friends that've have never had to purchase a plant. I don't worry about selling them. I'm not that interested in the money, and my laid-back attitude to Algae may leave the goods somewhat 'tainted'.

Nick, your planted tank is exactly what my goal is for my tank in the future. Right now I'm making do with fake plants, since we might be moving this year, plus I'm planning to upgrade to a larger tank and use the 55G for the hermit crabs.

And the picture of that swimming pool - er, huge tank almost made me fall off my chair!

looking closey at the pic of the massive tank several things occur to me.

i am not sure but the guy standing at the tank looks awfully like Mr Amanno, the tank also looks like it could be one of his, the ultimate 'nature tank' one might say.

regarding the fish, i think i can see a few angels plus a few types of shoaling fish.

i'd so love a tank like this. it is a 'real' slice of a river bed and big enough that the shoaling fish would shoal most of the time like the tend to do in the wild.

i'd be tempted to do 1 of 2 things with it. make it into a completely amazon tank, with only plants and fish that u find in the amazon or perhaps have it as a cold water tank and particluarly a Scottish cold water tank. it wouldnt be big enough for salmon but it would certainly be big enough for brown trout and rainbow trout.

the trouble is i'd find it difficult not to harvest the odd brown trout and eat it, lol. i LOVE eating fresh brown trout fried in butter with black pepper, herbs and a twist of lemmon, yum yum, hehe

LOL