# Updated planted tank shots



## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Just was hoping for some input. I think I'm going to end up getting rid of the tall plants in front of the heater and keeping all the tall plants on the left of the driftwood. That way there will be more of a balanced transition from left to right in the tank. The plants aren't in the best of condition but I didn't have time to carefully monitor fertilizer for about a month so they suffered a bit in the mean time. Algae on the side walls are to prevent my rhom from getting a chin bump trying to get at the reds or the cichlids respectively. I don't want to hear no bitching about it, it took me a month to get that kind of growth and I'm very proud of it


















Input is appreciated.

And I liked this shot but didn't want to give it a whole new thread, sooo...


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## NegativeCamber (Nov 29, 2004)

Richard-- once again, excellent photography!!







Man, whats up with the algae on the side of the tank :rasp: .. j/k

looks good and I am sure your rhom is happy too!


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## malicious1 (Jul 4, 2005)

atleast your plants worke dout for you.. i planted mine in sand to see if they would live.. guess not. im going to get some black gravel an some soil i guess..anyhow looks nice, good job


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## Cobra (Sep 25, 2004)

Awsome shots as usual.







What are those grassy plants? They look sweet, are they hard to care for?

What happened to that big hydra in the back? That was one of my favorite plants, it looked so vibrant and healthy all the time.

Just a suggestion about your set up...

The powerhead and heater kinda clutter up your tank and makes it look less "biotopish". You could get an XP2, XP3 or even a fluval 404 to replace the ac300 and the powerhead. One of those cannisters will provide just as much if not better filtration than an ac300 alone. Plus the cannister's output flow will replace that bulky powerhead for current.
And all u will see is 2 tubes in the back of your tank. Plus the fluval 404 has grey tubes wich are even less noticable. As for the heater, maybe try getting a black plastic cover for it. This will give you 2 benefits: Your rhom will never get burned again. And the heater will be far less noticable, especially with that black background.

Wow, that was alot of typing! U asked for input and u got it buddy!








Props again on the nice pics, Ive always said you are one of the best on the site when it comes to snapping pics, so keep'em coming!


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## mr.bearhasyourlady (Jun 1, 2004)

i like it


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## FishStix (Apr 11, 2005)

looks great, almost as nice as your rhom. what kind is it, peruvian, high black, diamond? seing that pic makes me want one.


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## JPZ28 (Aug 10, 2004)

Nice tank and beautiful Rhom!!!









What size tank,btw?


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## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

JPZ28 said:


> Nice tank and beautiful Rhom!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


its a 40BRD(36x18x16)

beautiful rhom, as always

im all for plants, but jeeze, your tank sure looks messy :rasp:

i think it needs some aquascaping

and ackaully, i kinda like that algea, it looks cool

BTW:what is with people leaving algea scrapers on the tank, im seeing that alot lately are they really that lazy to remove it off and put it underneith the stand?


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## pyrokingbrand (Nov 30, 2004)

Excellent pics fo sho. Those gold and silver scales on your rhom are exquisite as well.


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Cobra said:


> Awsome shots as usual.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The hygro is still in there in back. I trimmed it way way down for the time being though while I figure out if I want to keep it or not. It was vibrant but it was also huge, the thing took up fully a third of the tank before I trimmed it way down.

Can't get rid of the powerhead since it turns off with the lights. Gives the fish a rest and saves on electricity. Might be bad turning the filter off every night







I don't mind the equipment really although I can see how some people would find it distracting. I might shuffle the heater around a bit.

And yeah dude, thanks for the input, I apprecaite it.

Oh the grassy plants are saggitaria subulata and echinodrus tennelus. They're not hard to care for really but they grow a bit rampant. There was only two or three bunches two months ago...



FishStix said:


> looks great, almost as nice as your rhom. what kind is it, peruvian, high black, diamond? seing that pic makes me want one.
> [snapback]1152068[/snapback]​


No idea. Saw it at big als, liked it, and then bought it











Tibs said:


> JPZ28 said:
> 
> 
> > Nice tank and beautiful Rhom!!!
> ...


The whole point of having the scraper is so I don't have to open the tank and take the lights off to scrape it. If I were to take it out all the time, there's no sense in bothering to get a magnetic one IMO.

What do you mean needs aquascaping? What would you change? I have some changes planned for the next time I net the rhom and take him out, but that'll be a few more weeks I think.


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## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

why would u have to remove the top??? cant u just open the lil door, and just hook up the magnetic scraper???

thats what i always do

as with the aquascaping, i dunno it just looks like you just "plopped" the plants in, with no thought of what looks good, you cant barely see the drifwood. im not bashing u man, your plants looks great! i just think your arrangemen could be helped

BTW: i read you only have a ac300, which i do know may be "enough"(its rated for like 70gs i believe), but twitch, doeznt that seem a lil scimpy?

i got 1 ac 300, and 2 ac 200s on my 20g


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## mr_b401 (Jul 6, 2005)

Nice setup. Rhom looks right at home in that tank.


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## matc (Jul 31, 2004)

> BTW: i read you only have a ac300, which i do know may be "enough"(its rated for like 70gs i believe), but twitch, doeznt that seem a lil scimpy?i got 1 ac 300, and 2 ac 200s on my 20g


an ac 300 is more than enough for a single rhom in a 40g...maybe your 20g is overstocked or you're crazy. My water was crystal clear in my 30g with my rhom


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## Cobra (Sep 25, 2004)

Tibs, Im not sure that its an ac300 he has. It just looks like that judging by where its placed on the tank. Im pretty sure it is one though.


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## Cobra (Sep 25, 2004)

"Oh the grassy plants are saggitaria subulata and echinodrus tennelus"

BTW Eltwitcho is there any LFS name for these plants? Kinda like BlackPiranha for rhoms.
Its just that I can already see the employees scratching their heads when I ask them for those plants. lol


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Tibs said:


> why would u have to remove the top??? cant u just open the lil door, and just hook up the magnetic scraper???
> 
> [snapback]1152567[/snapback]​


The lights are on top of the lid. Matter can not occupy the same space as other matter and therefore the door cannot pass through the lights for me to open it without removing them. Nor if the door were open could I pass my hand through the lights since it too is made of matter.



Tibs said:


> BTW: i read you only have a ac300, which i do know may be "enough"(its rated for like 70gs i believe), but twitch, doeznt that seem a lil scimpy?
> [snapback]1152567[/snapback]​


No it is enough, with or without the quotation marks. If you'd like to put more and more filtration that isn't doing anything on your tank it's your business, but 9 more AC500s and two XP3s hooked up to a wet dry with an Eheim 2026 wouldn't improve the water quality at all in this tank so what do you mean by "skimpy"?



Cobra said:


> "Oh the grassy plants are saggitaria subulata and echinodrus tennelus"
> 
> BTW Eltwitcho is there any LFS name for these plants? Kinda like BlackPiranha for rhoms.
> Its just that I can already see the employees scratching their heads when I ask them for those plants. lol
> [snapback]1152640[/snapback]​


The Sagittaria is also called "Dwarf Sagittaria" and the Echinodrus is called Pygmy Chain sword. Online profiles will tell you completely opposite information but the sag stays much smaller in my experience. The dwarf sag will only get a few inches tall while the pygmy chain sword will go halfway up the aquarium is left on it's own. You might be able to see the big one in back if you look next to the driftwood.


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## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

elTwitcho said:


> Tibs said:
> 
> 
> > why would u have to remove the top??? cant u just open the lil door, and just hook up the magnetic scraper???
> ...


ok then if u dont really have room to get it how do you feed em? trim the plants?

and i guess i really didnt take to matter on your 40 theres only one fish,

sorry

as you can see my 20L is very heavily stocked


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## Rivulatus (Aug 1, 2005)

very nice tank bro!!!
your rhom has nice red eyes too!


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Tibs said:


> ok then if u dont really have room to get it how do you feed em? trim the plants?
> 
> [snapback]1152707[/snapback]​


Hole in back and take the lights off. When I trim the plants I have to take the fish out anyway


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## Fomoris (Mar 13, 2005)

Amazing


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## Scrap5000 (Mar 4, 2005)

Hey Twitch, anybody ever tell you you look like fred durst? you should try to get with carmen electra


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## HyBrid (Feb 25, 2005)

i have no complaints about the tank!
i think it is awesome! the only thing i would change are those plants in front of your heater, but you already said that so it's all good!
that pic of your rhom is off the hook!


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## mashunter18 (Jan 2, 2004)

looks really nice dude...........


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