700kg of Quality Amazon 'tope

.... Or Amazon Biotope take two...

The history of this tank goes back to when I started out with marine reefkeeping. One day I simply didn't care for all of the schlepp that goes with it, so uprooted and sold off most of the coral and equipment. Tanks on the other hand, are not as easy to sell. Especially bigger ones. So I was left with this smelly glass box in my lounge, with which I had to make a plan.... Enter the dumbass idea to fill it with water and throw in some goldfish or something, just to make it less of an eyesore.

Well that was the beginning of getting into a whole new episode of MTS. The first iteration of this amazon biotope, turned out badly, as I was unaware of the type of substrate required for the plants that I wanted to keep. When the plants didn't grow, CO2 injection was my next guess... WRONG! Add EI dosing to the mix, with excessive light period, and you have the perfect storm of algae.

About a month ago, my despondency reached rock bottom, so I drained the tank and started over. This time with PFP and clay substrate, capped with river sand. This has worked well in my 1,2 meter tank, so I'm holding thumbs that it does so here as well. The types of plants that I've selected, all grow well without CO2, so that's a blessing.

Looking forward to it "growing in"...

 

looking good hey

 

Very nice setup Broder! I think it'll look stunning once everything has grown and filled in.

 

Thanks!

Forgot to list the specs of the tank...

150cm x 65cm wide x 60cm high, 10mm glass, euro and cross braced, double base.
4 x 39w T5 lamps of 6500k and 2 x 50w LED floodlights, all on for 7 hrs a day.
The filter is the old overflow box on the side, a remnant of the marine days.
Media is bio-balls and batting floss.
A Tunze 12v pump provides gentle flow.
30% waterchange per week.

Fish:
7 Dantum angels
10 Columbian redfin tetras
15 Serpea tets
5 black cloud tets
5 bleeding heart tets
5 Pristilla(sp) tets
5 black neon tets
1 Emerald plec
1 normal ancistruss
1 yellow ancistruss
2 flounder plcos
1 Black ghost knifefish

Plants:
Various amazon swords
Stargrass
Cobra grass
Some red plants whose name eludes my dodgy memory.

 

@Broder hell man you are starting to convince me to make my 5 ft tank a planed setup.. damn looks goood! Well done!

 

The balance of your scape is perfect - this is going to be worth keeping an eye on !!!

 

That really looks awesome. Nicely done. :tongue:

 

Looking good B!

 

Thanks very much for the encouragement guys! Yeah Eros, at first I was worried that the log was far too big for a traditional scape, but for an Amazon look I think it works well. The fish dig it cos it's totally hollow and provides a nice refuge, especially in an active tank.

 

Your Dantums turned out to be awesome fish!great scape broder,wont mind that tank in my house!!

 

Haha... Thanks Charles. I was so happy to get those angels from you, after all the rubbish I got from the pet shops. Reckon they should start spawning soon?

 

Very lovely

 

Can I steal your driftwood ??:flybye:

 

Thanks all.... That is a wicked piece of wood hey Mike!?!

 

My search for such a piece has been a long journey.. I've started to buy small pieces of driftwood ..think I have about 20 pieces+ so that I can think of how I can construct it together to make a mega piece:idea:
Your substrate amazes me the most!

 

We're very lucky at the coast. Nice pieces wash up on the beach, whenever the rivers are in flood.

The substrate is plain old river sand/gravel. I like it because it looks natural... just be prepared to rinse over and over and over and.....

 

For that I will do it over and over.. and over!

 

The plants in this tank have finally tipped the balance of growth in favour of them over algae. I persevered with EI dosing and CO2 injection, so it appears that stability is the most important factor.




Still my favourite fish bar none.

 

WOW that looks amazing
Think I need to start doing something with plants!

 

Thanks Gary. Yeah, plants just make it look natural.