# Before and After, drastic transformation (56k warning!)



## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

July 2007 - cycling my tank with some platys and danios. I wasnt really concerned with aesthetics at this time. I just wanted to get some fish in there!









This must've been at least 2 - 3 weeks after the photo above. The bacopa near the middle didn't grow well with the light I have so I got rid of it. Keep your eye on the crypts in the middle and far right side of the tank...









I believe this was taken 2 - 3 months since I got the tank in July. You can tell the moss on the drift wood was just recently tied. I bought those off some guy from taiwan on Ebay. Notice how much the crypts have grown?









This was taken this afternoon. The crypts have grown from a small bush to a tree!, my BN's and apple snails love snacking on the dead leaves.

Don't mind the giant UV sterilizer, I had an ich out break 3 weeks ago so I still have it on for 3 hours a day. I'll probably take it out of the tank a couple of weeks from now.

More current pictures!








fat SAE. There are three in my tank, none of whom actually eat algae. Lazy bastards...








Young male GBR(locally bred). I have four at moment, 2 males, 2 females. The males are 1.24" in length while the females are significantly smaller. I think they've all paired up, but I doubt they'll breed because my PH is too high (7.5)









Same GBR breaking the sound barrier.









Sterbai's. How many can you count? hehe This area is their spot where they hang out and talk about the good old days back at the lfs. I have 18 in the tank.









Sterbai's after getting spooked by the camera man

























Just some toys to keep my tank habitants healthy 

Thanks for looking guys! I'm always open to constructive critisism!


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## Brian (Mar 14, 2006)

I love it, it looks awesome 

I just wanted to ask if you are having problems with the fluval? Looks like it is leaking.


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## dekstr (Oct 23, 2007)

Wow that is a lot of filters! Good looking tank!

Just wondering, do you run CO2? And what lights do you run?


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## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

Thanks for the positive feedback!

Brian-
I had a minor leakage last night after a water change, I think it was because I forgot to moisten the rubber seal ring. It doesn't leak anymore. Despite the difficulty with priming the fluval, I think its a pretty good filter.

Dekstr-
Hehe thanks, you'll never see a particle of debris floating around my tank  
Theres no CO2, I used to supplement with excel, but stopped as soon as I ran out. It was too expensive for the minimal positive effects it had on my plants. I have barely 1.15 watts per gallon, so i made sure all the plants I had were low light. Even my Christmas moss manage to thrive


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## Brian (Mar 14, 2006)

That is a pretty nice low maintenance tank 

I am envious! Come over and do my aquascaping.

Do you find the eheim or the fluval is better?


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## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

lol thanks man, I received a lot of help from many people in different forums. 

The Eheim is definitely a whole lot easier to prime, perform maintenance on and it feels and looks better built. The only drawback I feel is that the filter power is not as strong as the fluval. The intake hose is twice as wide compared to the outake. Large debris can easily fall past the intake, it seems only small particles are light enough to be sucked in. Its a 2217 by the way.

The fluval on the other hand has a stronger intake power and is a lot more versatile in terms of media placements. The baskets really helps a lot in keeping things organized and makes it easy to disassemble. But priming is a biatch and it has a greater tendency to leak compared to the eheim. (for unknown reasons)

All in all, I would pick the Eheim, its positives greatly outweighs its negatives. You'll have to own one to understand. Even if you purchase it used! (which I did for 100$)  Let me know if you decide to buy one!


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Thats looking great dude---- but where have the blue acaras gone? 

Im glad my bag of bacteria propogated such a nice aquarium


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## Brian (Mar 14, 2006)

I have just picked up 2 2215's for 60$ each... one came with quick disconnects 

I love how they make essentially no noise compared to my AC's but I have found that the flow rates are pretty crappy. I might have to leave my noisy AC on my 90gal and run it along side the 2215 

Other than that, I think they are pretty good. I have one on my 35gal shrimp tank and I think the current might be a little too strong... kinda sucks though cause to my knowledge there isn't anyway to adjust the flow rate on it and it keeps blowing my shrimp off their forraging pad - I think I might have to reposition the spraybar somewhere else :S


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Eee! Thats great! Your anubias is putting out flowers? How wonderful!

I love crypts.. I love how they look in that tank as well.


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## Grey Legion (Mar 20, 2006)

One key point to note about Ehiem filters is they are designed to be a lower flow, they were created for the Europe planted tank market where they did not want the flow but more a gentle water current. They are great filters that will last the lifetime of your tank.

Btw - your tank looks great and it really shows just how people can move forward in this amazing hobby.

Keep those pictures coming.


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## PalermoPenano (Jul 17, 2007)

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Pablo - lol I had to get rid of them, along with the gouramis. They were causing too much trouble for the other inhabitants. The original one that we bought did get huge though, he must've been 3.5 - 4 inches when I sold him, I think we bought him at 2". I really appreciate your bag of bacterias, I still use the foams you've given me in my QT tank. 

Brian - yea the quick disconnects are awesome! I heard they're really expensive though, so I'm very careful with mine. The AC's are great for polishing the water, just stuff it full of filter floss.

Ciddian - Thanks! They have flowered a few times before but my SAE's and BN's loves to snack on the white part that sticks out (not sure what its called...) so I end up cutting the flower off because it doesn't look as attractive.  

Grey - I read about that somewhere. I also heard people say it has something to do with higher pressure for better chemical filtration.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

What are 2215's and AC's?



Brian said:


> I have just picked up 2 2215's for 60$ each... one came with quick disconnects
> 
> I love how they make essentially no noise compared to my AC's but I have found that the flow rates are pretty crappy. I might have to leave my noisy AC on my 90gal and run it along side the 2215


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## Brian (Mar 14, 2006)

Eheim 2215 and AC is AquaClear


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