Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping => Gallery Showcase => Topic started by: Littlefish on August 11, 2016, 08:59:43 PM
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Aqua Oak 100cm, 220L (AQ100D) being delivered tomorrow.
Not sure how I'm going to move the current fluval roma 125 full of dwarf puffers out of the way to make room for the new tank, I may have to wait until early next week to get some friends around to help.
I'm looking forward to setting up the tank and introducing all dwarf puffers (including the re-homed Sherbon and Humbug) to their new tank. ;D
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How are you planning on lighting your tank? I've never quite managed to get my head round how the hood works on aquaoaks...
In any case lots of pictures required me thinks C:-)
I'd love to have puffers but my water is all wrong and I'm away too much to make it viable :'(
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Oooooh, this is an exciting development! Looking forward to detailed updates and pics. :)
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@Matt I haven't decided on lighting yet, I'm going to have a look at the tank after delivery to work out what to do.
@fcmf it is very exciting, the start of upgrading a lot of my tanks, and hopefully the end of the total tank chaos. It will also give me the opportunity to have a good look at the dwarf puffers and actually count how many males and females I have. I've told the guys at MA that I'm going to need more females, and they do have some larger/older puffers in their tank to choose from.
I have been buying lots of plants, wood and decor over the past few weeks, ready for setting up the new tank.
I've also got a an external filter. It's an Aquamanta EFX 400, which I can seed from the internal filters.
I will be posting lots of pictures and updating this thread on progress. ;D
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oooo - nice one. That'll keep you busy for a few weeks.
Piccies please - even if they are fuzzy blurs. :))
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All of my pictures are fuzzy blurs, I was hoping that people were used to that by now. :rotfl:
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Looking forward to see this completed Donna :)
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wow exciting stuff, looking forward to seeing your pics
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Tank was delivered this afternoon. I will be spending some time this weekend trying to move the puffers from their current location so I can bring the new tank in. As soon as the tank is in place I'll start posting pictures of the process.
I'm so excited. ;D
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I'm so excited too. :) :fishy1:
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I've been setting up another 70L tank to hold some of the puffers, the others will have to go in the other 70L with Sherbon and Humbug. I'll wait until tomorrow and start emptying the 125L tank, move the puffers into the 70L tanks, then finish emptying the tank and moving it.
Hopefully then I should be able to bring the new tank in and start setting it up. :)
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Dwarf puffers were moved to temporary tanks yesterday. I can tell that I have run out of room as I ended up putting one of the tanks actually on the dinning table (this is also possibly one of the many reasons why I'm single).
Yesterday I managed to unpack the new tank and move it into the living room and put the background onto the tank. Today I have put the cabinet and tank in place and set up the filter.
I'm exhausted.
Next I'll be looking at attaching the lights to the hood, then (if I have any energy left) I can start thinking about planting up the tank.
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You've certainly been busy. Thanks for keeping us updated with your developments and great to see some pics - lovely!
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I started to add some substrate, but now have to wait for all the pieces of wood to finish soaking. Some are quite large, so I'm quite happy that I have a bathroom as well as an en suite.
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Excellent. :)
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Nice wood i am a tad jealous, your tank will be amazing :)
I had not heard of dwarf puffers before this post, they are awesome I have watched all the nice vids on you tube, (and part of one i wish i hadn't)
when I am more experienced I will defiantly have a go.
I am looking forward to seeing them in their new home :)
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Bloody hell Donna! That wood must have set you back a bit. I can't wait to see the end result. :)
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I didn't buy it all at the same time, but I guess it probably did. Some of it was out of the previous dwarf puffer tank, the rest of it has been purchased over a couple of months. It's not all for the puffers, if I put that much in there would be no room for the fish. Some of it is for other tanks as well. ;D
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Bloody hell Donna! That wood must have set you back a bit. I can't wait to see the end result. :)
Nah! It's just a very small bath. :))
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Fair point Colin, it is a bit smaller than standard - I can tell because I'm quite short and I can't lay out flat in it.
;D
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Well, so far I've arranged the terraces, that's what the larger pieces of wood were for.
I'm running the filter to get rid of the muck, then as soon as the rest of the wood has soaked long enough not to float I can arrange that, before moving on to the planting.
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Very nice indeed :cheers: I can't wait to see it finished :)
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Why is it so difficult to get pieces of wood correctly arranged? :-\
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So very true - I can also only be happy with an arrangement for a maximum of 2 or 3 months before it needs re-doing :cheers:
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Still not done.
I thought I'd cracked it, put another rock in, moved a plant, the whole lot fell over and now I can't see anything in my tank for floating planting substrate. ::)
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Still not done.
I thought I'd cracked it, put another rock in, moved a plant, the whole lot fell over and now I can't see anything in my tank for floating planting substrate. ::)
oops! Probably best that it happened now rather than when it was occupied. ho-hum.
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Love this thread Donna, hope all going well despite the hiccups x
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Standing on a chair to arrange bits of wood may not be the best way to do it, but I'm getting there.
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I'm loving the natural look you're building Donna, great pics. With all the tanks you have I guess a step ladder would be a worthwhile investment... Try screwfix, they do free delivery on a lot of stuff... Or maybe you have one nearby. Other DIY/hardware stores are available.... :rotfl:
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It does indeed look really great. Keep up the great work, @Littlefish. :cheers:
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Perhaps I should learn how to walk on stilts, that would give me the height, movement and flexibility to deal with all tank set up issues. Although the floor level tanks could be a bit tricky then. ;D
I've done a bit more planting on the right hand side of the tank, and now can't see anything again. Time to sit down and have a drink and see how much the tank settles. I only have the low level planting to go now, so I've told the two tanks of puffers that their new home is almost ready.
I would be great if I could finish the planting tomorrow, and move the fish over the weekend. Fingers crossed. :)
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I think your tank is going to look amazing.
It makes me tired just thinking about all the hard work you must have put into this! Well done, you!
Hope the fish appreciate it :)
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The tank has cleared over night, and I just have the foreground planting and a few other bits to do.
I hope that the fish appreciate it too. :)
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It looks amazing already Littlefish, I can't wait to see the finished product! 8)
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That looks great. You'll never see the fish 'cos they'll spend all day playing in the jungle. :)
If you do want something to stand on, can I advise one of these (http://www.screwfix.com/p/hop-up-work-platform-aluminium-600mm/44555), they have multiple uses and are much more stable than ladders, plus there's more working space available so you can shuffle from one end of the tank to the other, and put things down on it while working.
Obviously, you'll end up using it to put another tank on! :rotfl:
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Oh Colin, you know me too well. :rotfl:
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Nearly done.
Just need to get some slightly different rocks for around the plant in the front right corner, also considering putting an airstone in that area.
I hope that there is enough in the tank to keep the gang entertained, and also hope that I've left enough space so they don't have to swim through thing like the wood structure in single file only. ;D
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Done.
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ooo - I like that... a lot!
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Me too, very lush and natural looking... The puffers will love it. Great work Donna, the hard work is obvious to see 8) 8)
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Many thanks.
I am sitting down with a pear cider. It's been a very long day.
I now have 13 puffers in their new tank. I cought each one and bagged it individually so that I could have a really good look at them and try to work out the males and females. I counted 6 without a belly stripe, so going with female. I counted 4 with obvious belly stripes, including the 2 biggest, who I knew were dominant males. I counted 3 with very light stripes. Anyway, I'm going with 7 males and 6 females. I will eventually get another 2 females to bring my total to 15 in the tank.
On a very happy note, which may be of interest to @fcmf I paid close attention to Sherbon and Humbug. Sherbon is female and Humbug is male. Quite cute considering they were re-homed together. ;D
I'll give them a day or so to settle, then try to get some pictures of all of them/some of them in their new home.
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Ooooh, this is all soooooooo exciting - tank looks lovely and the puffers won't fail to be happy in their new environment. Thanks for the update on S&H too. Wow - a tank of 15 dwarf puffers sounds amazing. Looking forward to hear all about what they've been up to since arrival in their new home/palace, as well as the pics.
:fishy1: :fishy1:
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Looks fantastic.........want one!
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Thanks. ;D
I have been planning this tank since I ordered it. I've been buying wood, plants & decor since then, as well as deciding what would have to be moved from their original tank. I love watching my puffers, and enjoy feeding time, so wanted to put as much as I could into their tank to keep them happy and occupied, as well as keeping a couple of small feeding areas at the front to make cleaning up after meals easier.
It's also the first time I've used an external filter on a tank, and one of the guys from MA offered to come over and help if I had any problems, so quite chuffed that I managed to set the filter up without too much fuss.
I had 2 x 200L internal filters in the old tank, so put one in each of the temporary tanks. I have put all the media from one filter into the external filter, and the other is in the tank for now.
I've had a quick look at the tank this morning, and several of the puffers swam to the front in their usual "where is my breakfast" manner, so I'm hoping that they are settling in. I'll keep a close eye on them for the next few weeks to see if there are any minor adjustment I will need to make to the tank, but for now I'm quite pleased with how it has gone. :)
I will post pics later.
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I put the lights on for the first time in the new dwarf puffer tank. They don't take too long to get used to it.
They are always interested in their bloodworms, and today is no exception. Some of them go exploring after a few worms.
I admit to have taken nearly 100 pics just to get these few where the puffers are not just tiny blurs shooting past. I know my pics aren't great, but really, dwarf puffers are a nightmare for photos. Honest, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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They are so cute :)) If I had harder water they'd be high on my list.
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Sue beat me to it - this is where I get jealous of those with hard water (I have noticed my water company has changed what their website says recently though and it seems my water is getting harder :o )
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They are adorable little things, and I am so glad that I got them. They are so inquisitive they are great to watch as they go around exploring the tank.
As much as I was disappointed to realise that some of my favourite fish are soft water species, I admit that when it comes to dwarf puffers, it is one of the times that I am thrilled to live in a hard water area. ;D
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I "third" the two comments above. When I've seen them in the LFS, and on YouTube videos, it's the way they comport themselves that I find fascinating eg as though they're flashing their eyelids and then circling round like a 'plane lining up and then levelling itself out horizontally for the descent onto a runway.
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Loving the plane analogy - such a good description, though I now can't stop thinking of them as being like little blimps... :fishy1:
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They are like little blimps.
One of the articles I read before getting any dwarf puffers decribed them as "having the manouverability of an inhebriated cow". They are not graceful like a lot of other fish, but that adds to their charm. ;D
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Just had the chance to catch up with the piccies of your new tank @Littlefish. Superb tank Donna, it looks amazing!! I bet the little guys and gals love it. :cheers:
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Thanks Fiona. The gang seem to be enjoying themselves in their larger home. The plants are growing like crazy and I'm going to have to start trimming them. I'm quite pleased with the way it has turned out and so glad that the fish settled in almost immediately. I'm going to get another 2 puffers to take the total to 15, then the tank is done. Well, done apart from adding a few extra bits of wood that are unusual shapes, and perhaps a couple more plants - they have plenty of open space, so a few extra bits to explore over the next few weeks will keep them entertained. ;D
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After getting a lot of black brush algae on the wood, and some brown diatoms on other surfaces in the tank, I decided to make some changes.
I cleaned the wood and added moss to most of it. I also put some moss on the rocky thingy (technical term) at the back, and on some wood which I stood up at the back.
I have also added a few more plants throughout the tank, and hope it wont be long before the carpet plants at the front start to grow together.
I have added some fertiliser and liquid carbon in the hope that it gives everything a good start.
The gang seem to be enjoying exploring the changes.
Even though they are exploring, they still enjoy feeding time.
It's always entertaining when any of them get in the feeding pod, rather than eating the bloodworms from the outside. They sometimes look a little guilty when coming back out of the pod after finishing, but this little lady has gone for the "Queen of the Pod" pose instead. ;D
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@Littlefish I have only just discovered this thread - I was in the middle of the tank building when you started the post and missed it.
Anyway belatedly - what an absolutely fantastic tank..... but the bath?!!
Doesn't the loofa get snagged in the wood? and splinters, I dread to think.
You could stock it with those poor sucking loaches they were dragged around shopping centres a couple of years ago and have the cleanest feet in Christendom?
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@Andy the minion not a bad idea about stocking the bath with those fish. ;D And there I was thinking I was running out of room for more fish.
Luckily I also have a small shower room, so the bathroom is often filled with fish-related items.
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Dont forget the cold water tank for goldfish...........or the cysterns? Nope you have lots more room
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Found these - several options......
http://www.heatandplumb.com/articles/The_Fish_Tank_Toilet.html
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/blog/articles/15-ridiculous-fish-tanks
Although I have to admit that they generally left me feeling a bit ??? :o :sick: :-\
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@Littlefish
I am apauled ! Although the phone box is along the right lines. You could silicone the bathroom door closed and block the plughole. Now that would give you some scope A full size mangrove biotype perhaps?
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Fair point...and I am growing some red mangrove trees in containers on the windowsill, just in case I'm lucky enough to get some mudskippers in the future.