# Tank Set Up *Update*



## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

Here's my current tank set up with the plants I recently purchased from Finatics (on sale, buy one get one). Any suggestion on what I can add is more than welcome (plants, deco, or fish).


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## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

Oh by the way, can somebody tell me what type of plant i have in the 2nd and 3rd pic? I got a handfull of them for 5 dollars


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## MT-ED (Apr 4, 2006)

The plant looks like _Hygrophila_.

Martin.


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## jrs (Mar 18, 2006)

I would say that it is Bacopa caroliniana


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

second bacopa.

Get it out it'll take too many nutrients being a stem plant.

Put the anubias on a rock or wood it doesnt like being in gravel. wont die but wont be happy. Otherwise very good job.

If you remove the bacopa dont add any more plants and keep up with water changes and your lights the plants should be ok.

Remember you cant really have plecos and corys and stuff like that with that lava rock in there though. If you want them you really ought to consider removing it. Too easy for them to get scraped.


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## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

I'm planning on removing the lava rocks as soon as I find something to replace them. I went to Betz this saturday. Man, I've never been so confused in my life. 
I ended up not buying anything because the sandstone they had was at least 2 inches thick. Looking for something similar to my lava rocks(hole in the middle) that will be safe for other fishes. Do I need any nutrient supplements for the plants?


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## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

Pablo said:


> second bacopa.
> 
> Put the anubias on a rock or wood it doesnt like being in gravel. wont die but wont be happy. Otherwise very good job.


Yea I figured that out after i planted them. I'll probably move them sometime this weekend, would it be ok if I cut the rhizomes in half and distributed the plant through out the aquarium?


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Yeah you can do that. Do it carefully on an angle with a sharp razor if you can and be gentle. Do it outside the water and rinse the plants after.

Hole in the middle= someone put it there= $$

Ya the sandstone is an inch or two thick. You just have to be creative with it. Just cut it with a hammer (look for the 'grain' like wood, smack it along it, cuts in half) into smaller pieces and stack it like lego. Then if you want you can make fassades for it by making pieces sized to cover the stacks at the front, buried in the gravel, so its nice and neat. You can make some very impressive stuff this way.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Its also a lot more effective in terms of keeping your fish happy.

You can make a huge cave with one 20x7 inch piece of sandstone stacked on two or four (depends on the height you want) supporting pieces. And make caves on top of that, and so on.


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## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

do you think the grey color of the sand stone would match my current tank layout? by the way I just purchased 2 sterba's cory, planning on buying 2 more tonight.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

*sigh*

who told you it was ok to get two of them? You should have as an absurdly bare minimum seven of them. And they're pricey too. You need atleast 7 of any species of cory to be happy. I'd get 8 9 or 10 with your tank.

You're going to need a good bottom feeder food now too.


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## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

I bought three more! probably before you made the above post cmon Pablo, I do my research. Yes their freakin expensive. I saw one for 8 dollars at this pet shop in whitby but the fish section was in horrible condition (algae, rotting and dying fish) so I didnt end up buying any from them. I paid a premium for them at Big Al's (14 dollars each). They are in awesome condition, planning to buy buy 3 or 4 more within the next month or so. 

I bought Hikari sinking wafers for them, but the always end up eating most of them. How do i keep them from doing that?

oh by the way...I also bought 3 siamese algae eaters....I made sure they were siamese and not chinese...


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## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

Hey how do you sterilize your plants before you place them in your tank?


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## Brian (Mar 14, 2006)

Dip it in Potassium Permanganate


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## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

thanks Brian, I actually just bought 1/2 a pound for 7 bucks. Wayyy more than I need. Its awesome snails just fall off.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

If you're going to stick with the corys, you should provide cover in the form of smooth rocks/logs. I'd really get that lava rock out. Make a large section of sand if you can atleast 2 square feet if you can spare it and put their hiding spots in there. Some flat sandstone laid across a smaller piece, logs with hollow bottoms, etc. The lava rock and substrate- especially the rock, really pose a threat to the barbells on the mouths of the corys.


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## Brian (Mar 14, 2006)

Yeah, 1/2 lb. would last you a while, lol.

Where did you buy it?


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## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

Pablo said:


> If you're going to stick with the corys, you should provide cover in the form of smooth rocks/logs. I'd really get that lava rock out. Make a large section of sand if you can atleast 2 square feet if you can spare it and put their hiding spots in there. Some flat sandstone laid across a smaller piece, logs with hollow bottoms, etc. The lava rock and substrate- especially the rock, really pose a threat to the barbells on the mouths of the corys.


I was actually thinking about creating a sand pit for these guys, but then I did my research and found out that sand and flourite doesnt mix very well. I was also thinking about purchasing a small sheet of pond liner to put the sand on so that it doesnt mix with the fluorite. Has anyone done something similar to this?

I might just go with the sand stone laid across two pieces of driftwood. I wil lbe taking out the lava rocks very soon.


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## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

Brian said:


> Yeah, 1/2 lb. would last you a while, lol.
> 
> Where did you buy it?


Theres a guy named raglanroad on pricenetwork that sells them. It was kinda awkward when we exchanged goods because there was cop cars everywhere at that time. It looked so suspicious handing over a clear bag full of black powder to someone for money.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

PalermoPenano said:


> I was actually thinking about creating a sand pit for these guys, but then I did my research and found out that sand and flourite doesnt mix very well. I was also thinking about purchasing a small sheet of pond liner to put the sand on so that it doesnt mix with the fluorite. Has anyone done something similar to this?
> 
> I might just go with the sand stone laid across two pieces of driftwood. I wil lbe taking out the lava rocks very soon.


Obviously sand and coarse gravel dont mix.  Just scoop out about 2 foot square of fluorite and replace it with sand. You can line it with rocks or something.. Pond liner would work but shouldn't really be necessary at all. I wouldnt do it. You'll need more than a pit. It'll have to be enough for them to live on day to day.


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