# MY NEWLY TRANSFORMED 30 GAL RED BELLY PLANTED TANK



## ICEMAN330824 (May 30, 2006)

Hello my fello Pirahna members! I am new to keeping red bellys so I am looking for any help or advice on my tank and its setup. Before I give you the tank description let me say that this 30Gallon tank has been set up for 6mths and is murky/dusty looking because of the new sand I just added, I previously had a gravel substrate but I wanted a more natural look. I followed the preportation procedure as best as I could for the sand and the driftwood as suggested on this site. I collected the driftwood from my local river here. I am sorry about the murky water picks; I took them a few hrs after adding the sand & driftwood last night, but I will post some more in a few days when the water clears up. I also included a pick of how I mounted the driftwood with the help of my fine fiance'.







Moving on..lol.

Ok the tank has a total of 5 baby red's 1" in size, a few plants(swords & grassy plants) as you will see. The equipment I am running with this 30 Gal is a ecllipse hood with built in filter and biowheel, with built in flourescent lights ( 2- 20watss) and a big heater. I just added a Hagen CO2 system, and I have on the way a new power compact light fixture (2-65watts=130watts + 1 moon light) and a 9watts Turbo Twist UV light with powerhead. Basically that is my tank, I have about 50 lbs of lowes playsand, and 10lbs of fert substrate mixed in for the plants, & 7 ghost shrimp to help clean the sand. I also have all the iron, phos, excell, flourish excell you could ever need. I haven't started using them yet but will shortly pending a water test to see what I need to dose.

Thats it! Thats my tank! Please feel free to give me any hints/tips/reviews that you think would help me out with this tank. Oh, also let me know what you think my tank is rated at on a scale of 1-10, 10 being perfect. Thanks again in advance!

--ICEMAN
















Before the sand change pictures------------------
View attachment 109404

View attachment 109405


After(Current pictures)------------------------------
View attachment 109414

View attachment 109391

View attachment 109392

View attachment 109393

View attachment 109394

View attachment 109395

View attachment 109396

View attachment 109397

View attachment 109398

View attachment 109399

View attachment 109401

View attachment 109402

View attachment 109403


----------



## B-rock (Mar 31, 2006)

Wow nice fiance!! lol your tank looks good, water should clear up soon.
Bri


----------



## ICEMAN330824 (May 30, 2006)

B-rocks Rhom said:


> Wow nice fiance!! lol your tank looks good, water should clear up soon.
> Bri


Thanks Bri. It was more clear this morning. Those pict's were taken a few hrs after setting it up with the sand and driftwood.


----------



## awfraser (May 13, 2006)

looks nicemaybe a couple more plants? i liek the fuller look


----------



## jobeak (Jun 3, 2006)

Pretty nice set up. You've given me some nice ideas for driftwood placement. I could do with a few more pieces.


----------



## kryton2005 (May 5, 2006)

looks nice.. But i get a feeling u have too much of wood in there to cut out the swimming space.


----------



## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

Plants look fine but I'd say way too much driftwood. There's no room for the fish to swim.


----------



## ICEMAN330824 (May 30, 2006)

b_ack51 said:


> Plants look fine but I'd say way too much driftwood. There's no room for the fish to swim.


Thanks. But I think there is enough room for them to swim since their so small right now. Barely 1" Big. I know I will need to upgrade once there growning around 2" -3" etc. Thanks for the input tho.

ICEMAN


----------



## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

Looks great. Love the driftwood setup. Would look better with some Endlers in it.


----------



## NickNick (Apr 18, 2006)

nic ebut you do have allot of wood in there wow


----------



## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Im sorry to say this, but that mondo grass is not a true aquatic plant, and either is that sword with the white on the leaves
petsmart sells that stuff, and it makes me sort of mad because it is a form of false advertizing..


----------



## ICEMAN330824 (May 30, 2006)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> Im sorry to say this, but that mondo grass is not a true aquatic plant, and either is that sword with the white on the leaves
> petsmart sells that stuff, and it makes me sort of mad because it is a form of false advertizing..


OK THANKS FOR THE INFO. ILL LOOK INTO THAT!

ICEMAN!


----------



## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

^^I would take them back to the store with at least printed out info on mondo grass, and the other one is certainly not an aquatic plant either.. I would try and get my $$ back


----------



## s1edneck700 (Jan 5, 2006)

u will need more filtration.


----------



## ICEMAN330824 (May 30, 2006)

s1edneck700 said:


> u will need more filtration.


LOL, NO I DONT SAND JUST WAS SETUP SAME DAY AS PICTS' IS WAY CLEAR NOW.


----------



## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

If your gonna run those lights in that tank your gonna need a ton more plants, great dosing regime, good quality ferts and some pressurized co2. Otherwise, your asking for one hell of an algae outbreak.


----------



## kryton2005 (May 5, 2006)

Id suggest you to remove some wood and dim the lights


----------



## Guru (Apr 20, 2004)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> ^^I would take them back to the store with at least printed out info on mondo grass, and the other one is certainly not an aquatic plant either.. I would try and get my $$ back


Dippy's right, if I were you I would get those plants out of the tank because they will eventually rot and screw up your water column.

Nice tank.


----------



## brutusbeefcake (Dec 8, 2004)

everyones missing the main point here... hes got 5 lil reds going into a waaay to heavily decorated 30g!!! your gonna have to upgrade tank size next week!!! really neat lookin setup tho... get a 75g for your reds and put a small serra in the 30...


----------



## ICEMAN330824 (May 30, 2006)

TheGame said:


> everyones missing the main point here... hes got 5 lil reds going into a waaay to heavily decorated 30g!!! your gonna have to upgrade tank size next week!!! really neat lookin setup tho... get a 75g for your reds and put a small serra in the 30...


4 NOW, LOL. I KNOW ILL BE UPGRADING SOON. I LIKE IT NOW THO, ITS PRETTY!









ICEMAN!


----------



## 90blackcrx (Mar 30, 2005)

What kind of wood is that, I like it.


----------



## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

TheGame said:


> and put a small serra in the 30...


Or better yet, get some endlers like I suggested









Seriously though, it looks like you are setting up the cart before the horse, and going waaaaay too fast. Get rid of those lights and practice with some normal bulbs and work your way up to the CF's. 4.3wpg! You do need pressurized Co2 at those levels, no getting around it. You are really setting yourself up for a diasterous algae out-break that will ruin your experience of keeping live plants.


----------



## ruger345 (Jul 8, 2006)

I like the tank and decor, but you know very soon it will have too be a bigger tank. Also I agree that you can get you a smaller P and put on your 30gallon.


----------



## ICEMAN330824 (May 30, 2006)

Tibs said:


> and put a small serra in the 30...


Or better yet, get some endlers like I suggested









Seriously though, it looks like you are setting up the cart before the horse, and going waaaaay too fast. Get rid of those lights and practice with some normal bulbs and work your way up to the CF's. 4.3wpg! You do need pressurized Co2 at those levels, no getting around it. You are really setting yourself up for a diasterous algae out-break that will ruin your experience of keeping live plants.
[/quote]

LOL.







I am only running one 65 watt light. So thats like 2.16wpg, which is not to bad. I have to post some updated pict's of the tank now! Man the Hagen CO 2 system did the trick. My plants are growing like their on STERIODS no BS. I am a true beliver in CO 2 now in a plated tank. Its rediculos plant food. My plants grow like a 1/2" a day or more it seems. I do constatly clean the tank and do have some spirts of hair algae as you said. But I have a 9watt turbo twist UV light running and still have hair algae. I guess I am dosing to well and I need to cut back on the 12hr or so light cyle I have the tank setup on. No way should I have hair algae with a UV light.

Oh, and for everyone that told me I would need a bigger tank in a month or 2. Well your right, everything in my tank is growing, plants & fish. I just bought a 135g glass tank out of dallas, tx. with sump & boi balls , lights, canopy, & stand. For get this $308 on e-bay! WOW what a sweet deal. I just bought a house so I was tight on money but I couldn't pass that deal up. But I havn't set it up yet. But I will post picts of it soon.

ICEMAN!


----------



## brutusbeefcake (Dec 8, 2004)

damn Dude! that is a sweet deal for ya! i was looking into getting just a bare 125g tank to replace my current one with(scratches) and they were 325!!! instead i just drained the tank down and turned it around.... lets see that tank!


----------



## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

Awsome f*cking deal man, I wish I could find something like that.

Also, I would reccomend you start looking at removing some of that driftwood. Even though it looks awsome as your plants grow you will want to shift your focus for the center piece from driftwood to plants. I know in my planted 29 I started with 7 pieces of driftwood, and now I'm down to one.


----------



## ICEMAN330824 (May 30, 2006)

Tibs said:


> Awsome f*cking deal man, I wish I could find something like that.
> 
> Also, I would reccomend you start looking at removing some of that driftwood. Even though it looks awsome as your plants grow you will want to shift your focus for the center piece from driftwood to plants. I know in my planted 29 I started with 7 pieces of driftwood, and now I'm down to one.


YEP IT WAS A GREAT DEAL I COULDN'T PASS UP. ILL POST PICT'S OFF THE 30GAL NOW B/F I BREAK IT DOWN AND MOVE EVERYTHING INTO THE 135G TANK. PROB. NEXT WEEKEND ILL BE DONE WITH THE SWITCH. THE 30GAL WILL BECOME A SALTWATER SETUP REEF. YES. ALSO I WILL BE KEEPING ALL OF THE DRIFTWOOD IN THE 135G. THATS WEIGH BIGER THAN THE 30GAL THERE IN NOW. SO I KNOW IT WILL BE WAY MORE SPACED OUT. BUT I LIKE THE DRIFTWOOD LOOK. HOPEFULLY I WONT BE TEMPED TO PUT MORE WOOD IN THERE, LOL. I DONT THINK I WILL THO B/C MY 2 REDS THAT ARE LEFT OUT OF THE ORGIONAL BATCH OF 7 THAT STARTED AT 1/2"-1" ARE NOW 3" AND 2" IN LIKE A MONTH. LOL. REDICULOUS, LIKE MY PLANT GROWTH. IM OTTI, BUT ILL REPOST SOME PICT'S SHORTLY.

ICEMAN!


----------



## ICEMAN330824 (May 30, 2006)

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE I GOT IN MY 135GALLON TANK YESTERDAY. WOW ITS BIGGER THAN I IMAGED IT TO BE IN PERSON. ILL BE PAINTING IT BLACK THIS WEEKEND AND PATCHING UP THE HOLES IN THE STAND AND CANOPY WHERE THE PROTEIN SKIMMER AND SUMP LINES WENT TO GIVE IT THAT NICE CLEAN LOOK. THEN IN GO THE FISH. I JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO HOOK UP THE SUMP. I NEVER USED ONE BEFORE. ALL HELP IS WELCOMED. IM TOLD ALL I NEED IS A PUMP? I'VE POSTED SOME PICT'S BELOW...135GAL FOR ONLY $308 USD.WOW CANT BEAT THAT!









View attachment 113521

View attachment 113522

View attachment 113523

View attachment 113524

View attachment 113525

View attachment 113526


----------



## awfraser (May 13, 2006)

awfraser said:


> looks nicemaybe a couple more plants? i liek the fuller look


planst should be added gradally and aslo so the fill out


----------



## ruger345 (Jul 8, 2006)

I thought I got a good deal when I bought my 75 gallon setup for $50, but thats a damn good deal you got.


----------



## ICEMAN330824 (May 30, 2006)

ruger345 said:


> I thought I got a good deal when I bought my 75 gallon setup for $50, but thats a damn good deal you got.


I CONCUR I WILL POST NEW PICT'S OF IT PAINTED AND SET UP IN A FEW DAYS HOPEFULLY.


----------



## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

> I have a 9watt turbo twist UV light running and still have hair algae. I guess I am dosing to well and I need to cut back on the 12hr or so light cyle I have the tank setup on. No way should I have hair algae with a UV light.


You can cut back on the lighting a bit, but do it gradually so you don't shock your plants too badly. And don't go under 10 hrs
The UV filter only reduces algea spores in the water column. Some say that it ionizes a lot of micro nutrients. 


> I guess I am dosing to well


I'm not too sure on that. =Most= algea comes as a result of underdosing. The formula goes something like.. healthy plants outcompete algea because they are strong when fed consistently..
So, check your water params, manually remove the algea, and try dosing more micros







or maybe try running the UV when it seems like a green water bout is comming on.


----------



## ICEMAN330824 (May 30, 2006)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> > I have a 9watt turbo twist UV light running and still have hair algae. I guess I am dosing to well and I need to cut back on the 12hr or so light cyle I have the tank setup on. No way should I have hair algae with a UV light.
> 
> 
> You can cut back on the lighting a bit, but do it gradually so you don't shock your plants too badly. And don't go under 10 hrs
> ...


ALRIGHT I TRY THESE THINGS DIPPY. THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTIONS. I AM PAINTING THE 135GAL TODAY AS WE SPEAK. I WILL HAVE IT SET-UP BY TOMMORW AND WILL POST PICT'S ASAP. SINCE IM IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING IT MAY TAKE A MIN TO POST SOME PICT'S BUT THEY WILL BE FORTH COMING.

OH, WANNA HERE SOMTHIN FUNNY. I HAVN'T MOVED ANYTHING INTO THE HOUSE YET, EXCEPT ONE THING. GUESS WHAT THAT IS...THE FISH TANK. LOL! SO NOW TO MOVE THE UNIMPORTANT STUFF LIKE FURNITURE, CLOTHES, APPLIANCES. ETC. THAT SHOWS WHERE MY PRIORITIES ARE, LOL. FISH COME FIRST DARN-IT!! LOL









HALLA. ICEMAN
















PS.- DOES ANYONE KNOW WHY I CANT FIND ANY WHITE SILLICA SAND AT HOMEDEPOT OR LOWES HERE? ONLY THAT BROWN PLAYSAND. EVEN THE PAVERS SAND LOOKS LIGHT BROWN. WHAT THE BRAND NAME OF THE WHITE SAND YOU GUYS BUY FROM HOMEDEPOT SO I CAN FIND IT. ALL I SEE IS QUICKQRETE CONCRETE MIXTURES, ETC. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME ON THIS ONE. I DONT WANT TO SPEND $100 BUCK AT MY LFS FOR SOME. THANKS


----------



## ICEMAN330824 (May 30, 2006)

I AM POSTING THE NEW 135G TANK PICT'S OVER IN THE PICTURE SECTIN OF THE SITE. GO CHECK THEM OUT AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. THANKS


----------

