# New to Aquariums-55g Planted Tank, Story, Pictures and Video



## TropicalMax (May 4, 2009)

Ok, so here it goes. Brace yourself for a nice long post here…

I am new to aquariums and it was more of an accidental hobby then a planned one. It all started at work. We moved offices and I got a nice new spacious office and wanted some “tranquility” in my life. So I went to the local fish store and bought a nice Eclipse system (I think the 5 gallon). I figured it would melt away some stress when needed. I won’t get into the tank set-up to much (simply because this is not my “feature” tank now but rather my “got-me-addicted” tank). I have a lovely crown tail beta, a few neon’s, 4 beautiful guppies, one albino Cory, one peppered Cory, one pleco, and one Marbled Angelfish. Most likely a bit too much for the 5 gallon but everybody seems happy for the time being (I assume I will have to move the angle when he/she matures)








Once I got the tank set-up a few of my co-workers took notice of it and shared their own interests in aquatics. Getting to the point, one of my co-workers offered me their old 40 gallon (maybe 45). I of course accepted graciously and I was off with my new hobby. Got the tank home, stole my girlfriend’s dresser and began a nice tank set-up. I did a LOT of research online so I was not “uneducated” going into this, but rather just new at it. I mixed my own color of gravel, bought a new filter (penguin 200), got a few sword plants, and a small school of Neon’s (plus all your “starter” chemicals, bacteria, treatments, etc…) I was happy with the initial set-up (and so was my kitty).








The next day I went to my LFS and got a few pieces of drift wood, a few rhasbora’s, a blue pearl gourami, and some Java Ferns. I attached the ferns to the driftwood for a nice look and made a nice cave in a corner with some rocks I had bought. The tank looked nice. 








After a good few minutes of admiring my tank, I noticed something strange. My tank appeared to be “bowing” out a bit. I took a closer look at the tank from the side and sure enough it was bowing about one inch on each side. Apparently I did not notice but the tank did not have its top center brace. It had broken off years ago (and to add to this, it had no bottom frame). 








I figured my old co-worker had it set-up like this so I should not be worried. The next day I went to my LFS and asked about it (and showed pictures). Their jaw dropped and basically said “I would be surprised if you don’t go home to a floor full of water, gravel and fish today “(and most likely a happy kitty). Well that was during my lunch break so now I had the remaining work day to worry to death about my tank. After work I head back to the LFS and asked about fixing/replacing the lid to the tank. They basically said that It might be cheaper/easier to purchase a new tank rather than going through the trouble of removing the top frame and installing both a top and bottom frame for support. I would have to sleep on this one. I got home, lowered the level of water (to reduce pressure) and slept on the idea of getting a new tank.
Sure enough I found myself at the LFS purchasing a 55 gallon tank the next day. I got the new tank, a two bulb light system, glass top, and a few other supplies. I had to stop at home depot on the way home and get a piece of plywood that would fit under the tank since the new 55gallon was longer then my dresser. That afternoon was fun. I guess I knew it, but never realized how much of a pain in the ass it was to change out fish tanks. 5 hours later there was water, gravel, and buckets everywhere, one very interested kitty and a mess of fish supplies. I stayed up to finish the project that evening; it was a long night…
















As it turns out, I ran out of gravel and materials for the tank. The 55 gallon is much longer then my previous tank so it looked a bit “unfinished”. The next day I went back to the LFS and got some more gravel, plants, etc… I also got some more tank mates. I spotted some very nice looking Cory’s and went home with two of them. After doing some research on them I found out they were Corydoras Sterbai. 








They were very playful swimming up and down in the currents. (I forgot to mention when I got home I had the first death in the tank. Unfortunately the Blue Pearl Gourami did not make it though the tank transition. I noticed him acting a bit funny but thought he may recover from it, unfortunately he did not. I gave him a good funeral and a proper burial (toilet)) I did some more research on the Sterbai Cory’s to realize they like to be in shoals of 4-6. I figured I would return to the LFS and get 2 more to make a nice family. When I got to the store they had just gotten a new fish shipment in. I had been doing a lot of research on what fish to keep in my tank and the idea of Blue Rams was atop in my mind. Sure enough, they had a tank of 5 blue rams. (I did not know it at the time but they were long finned blue rams). I could not resist the urge so I picked out 3 of them and also got 2 more Sterbai’s and brought them home. 

YouTube - Long Finned Blue Rams Into Tank


I assimilated them to the new tank over a one hour period (floated bag for 30 mins then added a bit of my tank water to their bag every 10 mins for another 30 mins). They slipped right into the tank and did make themselves at home. Within a few minutes their stress bands had disappeared and they seemed to be happy. The Sterbai’s immediately found their other two buddies and they swam around in their little shoal for a while. It was fun to watch. 








At this point you may be thinking “ what is this guy thinking, adding all these fish with no testing, no biological cycle established etc…” I just want to add I had been checking levels of Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, PH, Hardness, and Alkalinity each night. I know I should be expecting “spikes” soon but I had purchased a lot of “starter” chemicals including the bacteria themselves so I thought I would be ok. 
In the next few days I purchased an air pump, another penguin (150) filter, some more plants, and rocks to make a nice cave hoping to get a pair of blue rams eventually and provide them with a nice spawning location. In the process of purchasing the extra’s I had gone to a second LFS. They had some Beautiful rams in stock which were much different from my long finned blue rams I had at home. I again could not resist the urge so I sat at the tank and picked out 5. I hoped to pick out 3 females and 2 males. Brought them home and assimilated them as I did the previous ones. Apparently I did pick ok because I got lucky and got a wonderful pair out of the 5. 









YouTube - Pair of Blue Rams Male/Female


They took over the cave and the male began to fight off some of the other males. Now knowing that I had too many males to females, I returned two of the long finned blue rams (I loved the third and could not return him) to the LFS so they would not stress out over each other so much. 








So now I have 6 rams in the tank. I have successfully sexed out 3 males (2 regular and one long fin) and one female. The other two I cannot determine for sure. 
Here is the dominant Female








Here is one of the “un-sexed” Blue Rams I have, any thoughts? ( I don’t have any pictures of the other one, yet)








So here we are, I have my tank near completion (going to add some more plants when the time comes) and I am extremely happy with it. I have a beautiful pair of blue rams (and hopefully another pair will arise). All the hard work, Loads of cash, and creativeness has paid off. 









YouTube - My 55gallon Freshwater Fish tank

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to introduce myself, explain my story, and I guess show off my tank a little.


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## TropicalMax (May 4, 2009)

*Ich*

I forgot to ask, what are you best methods in battling ICH. my Long Fin Blue Ram developed some white spots on his fins and that is a sign of ICH. i would prefer not to use medication to preserve all the good bacteria i developed. i have heard increasing water temp and salt? any suggestions?


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

Your tank looks beautiful!!!
I probably do not need to say this since you have been doing your research, but blue rams are extremely sensitive fish, not recommened for new setups. Don't slack on those water test. Sometimes cycle products don't work, but I hope for you they do.
I use the heat salt treatment for ick.
I am not sure if you have salt in your tank now. I don't use salt in my tanks, so when treating for ick I add 1Tab for every 5 gallons. I add this over a few days time to give the fish a chance to adapt.
You want to slowly increase to tempt. of the tank. I raise the tank to 86 deg, but I try not to raise it more than one deg a day. If you can bump it up 1/2 deg every 12 hrs, that would be great.
When the tank is at 82 deg, it becomes to warm for the ick to stay on the fish. The ick will start dropping off. At 86 deg, this sould kill any free swimming ick. You want to leave the tank at 86 deg for a week after there are no visible signs of ick. Then slowly decrease tempt. to your normal setting.
Heat depreciates oxygen levels, so be sure to increase the air in the tank.
It would be good to QT any new fish added later, any new fish, you risk another ick outbreak.
Good luck!


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## TropicalMax (May 4, 2009)

Twistersmom said:


> Your tank looks beautiful!!!
> I probably do not need to say this since you have been doing your research, but blue rams are extremely sensitive fish, not recommened for new setups. Don't slack on those water test. Sometimes cycle products don't work, but I hope for you they do.
> I use the heat salt treatment for ick.
> I am not sure if you have salt in your tank now. I don't use salt in my tanks, so when treating for ick I add 1Tab for every 5 gallons. I add this over a few days time to give the fish a chance to adapt.
> ...


Thanks for the advice. Do you know how the salt would interact with my plants? does the salt mess with the bio filters? during the salt treatment do i still proceed with water changes as normal?


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

The tablespoon per 5 gallons will not harm your cycle or your plants
Continue with your water changes, extra water changes will even help remove some of the swimming ick.
You just want to replace the amount of salt you take out during the water change. (while treating for ick) Say you change out 10 gal of water, add 2 tablespoons back in. Be sure to dessolve the salt in water first, so it will not burn them.
The tempt. will be warmer, so try to match new water with tank water tempt.


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## MBilyeu (Nov 25, 2008)

You will probably see the ich disappear after 5-7 days, but keep the heat and salt going til at least days 10 just to be safe. Also I always lower the water level of the tank so your filter will create a noisy waterfall effect. This will provide better airation which the fish will need at higher temps.


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## TropicalMax (May 4, 2009)

hey all, dont have much time for a write-up (as im at work) but i just wanted to post a quick video of my tank, redone for hopefully the last time.

got a few stories since i last left off (ICH breakout) some good, some bad i'll have to fill you all in later

Hope you enjoy the video

YouTube - MaxsPlantedWorld


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

the large tank looks awesome, you might want to put the pleco in your 5 gallon into the larger tank since they grow super big. The 5 gallon is quite overstocked but eclipse systems have excellent filtration in my experience so you may be ok. I also had a 20 gallon that was bowing at the front and i switched to another also. Better safe than sorry. However, those tanks can still be half filled and have internal filters or canisters and turned into quarantine tanks. Also, what kind of filter are you using? a power filter or canister?


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## Unrulyevil (Jan 10, 2007)

I love posts like this! With pictures and everything! Nice! I would change that dresser for appropriate stand. It does not look convincing to me when you have edged of the tank sticking out like that ans besides I do not think that this dresser will hold like it should.


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## Arkamaic (May 28, 2009)

Wow, awesome looking tank. I'm planning on getting some Blue Rams here at some point as well =) I'm really excited.

And thats cool how you got into the hobby, how it worked out so perfectly. Keep up the good work!!


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Your tank is beautiful, nicely done. :-D


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## Freddiesbuns (Oct 22, 2008)

I enjoyed the pictures  I agree with SinCrisis, the pleco would be very happy in the 55 gallons! These buggers grow huge!


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## TropicalMax (May 4, 2009)

Thanks for all the great comments. Yes, i have been thinking the same about the pleco. Since ive had him for some time now, he is growing to a point where i dont think he will be so happy in the 5g for to much longer.

I do have some questions about the Peco itself. Picked up at the local pet smart not knowing much. Since i have been back and looked at other LFS's, i have not seen one similar. Thinking if i got something other then just a "normal" or "common" pleco. Ill take some pics at work tom. 

Also, i have heard horror stories regarding Pleco's ripping up plants. Some of my plants have still not yet rooted fully in the florite so i am worried to put him in there (eating and knocking over??)

Filtration i have is 2 penguin bio wheel filters, one 150 and one 200 located on opposite sides to create a good current. ( i got different sized purposly so that one "current" is stronger then the other)


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

if you got him at a petsmart its probably a common pleco. Plecos are only dangerous to plants with very broad leaves and usually only if they are hungry. Many tanks dont offer enough algae growth so plecos eat plants. At least thats what ive always seen and told by friends who ahve plecos in their tanks. Why did you opt for diffrent strength currents? Also, the penguin filters have carbon in them, i beleive carbon is bad for live plants as it removes some trace nutrients the plants need?


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## SolaceTiger (Oct 4, 2008)

I agree about getting a different stand. Check out the DIY section, I bet you can find ideas to make one for cheaper than you can buy it... probably will look nicer to. Also agree about the pleco. In your 5 gallon, I'd guess you'd have to do more than a weekly water change to keep the params okay... got alot going on in there I take it.  And I love your big tank. I've kinda been curious about rams lately, but I wouldn't have a place to put any.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

you have a lovely aquarium,well done on all the hard work
that you have put into it.
i love to see tank diarys,i think they are so worth while,they really are.
the only negative i have is to echo the others about the tanks situation on the cupboard.


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## LOUIE ACES (Apr 14, 2009)

hey how's the rams doing? i recently purchased 2 and my angelfish seem to be getting their fins all chewed up. are your rams really aggressive to the other fish? i have a couple of sharks and a black ghost knife fish in my tank as well and i'm trying to find the bully...lol


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## TropicalMax (May 4, 2009)

from what i have noticed, the rams are NOT aggressive as one would expect. They are actually dwarf species and are classified as "peaceful". There are times when my rams pick on the angels mainly during feeding but i have also seen them eat off the same cube before. I did have my 2 rams have their first spawn about 2 weeks ago and during that time they were very aggressive but only to fish that get close to their cave. Since the initial spawning (lost all eggs due to midnight raids-sterbai cory's) they are a bit more aggressive when other fish approach their cave, but generally let everything slide. 

What other tank mates do you have? How many rams do you have? 2 males, 2 females, 1m/1f? the sexes (from what i have noticed) make a huge difference. 

When i first got my rams, i had 4 males and 5 females and i lost aobut half due to fighting, but thats interspecies fighting and is expected among that type of fish. 

i just read that you have a knife in your tank. how big is he/she? my assumption is the knife is your issue. If he is still small-that might explain the nicks and dings. when he gets bigger i am afraid you wont see any evidence of his bullying. the knife will eat everything he can fit into his mouth and if he cant fit it, he will still try until he finds out he cant fit them. 

hope it helps

here is a quick video of my tank
YouTube - MaxsPlantedTank


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## TropicalMax (May 4, 2009)

also-the rams are very sensitive to water conditions. if you are having any types of ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate spikes it may stress them out a bit more then usualy which could drive them to be a bit more aggressive then normal

all in all, your rams should be ok. i house mine with neons, cory's, ottocats, angels, pleco's (although they did pick on the pleco for the first day-since then he is fine) hatchets and rainbows


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## LOUIE ACES (Apr 14, 2009)

wow your tank blows mine out of the water!!! such a sick set up...nice job. thanks so much for the insight on the rams. maybe it is my black ghost. i bought a stock of neons to hold him over. hopefully this will distract him from eating my angels bc i really love them and want to see them get big but every angel i buy seems to die  i thought it might be the rams bc one of my angels recently lost an eye and the ghost is too big to nip out such a small eye. the rams seemed to be the culprits. 

here's a link to my tank...lemme know what you think. thanks!
YouTube - Aquarium de Aces June 13 2009


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## Guppyluver4ever (May 19, 2009)

Awesome story, very interesting, very eventful, I read the whole thing... I am thinking of upgrading to a 55 gallon too, this story is making me fall in love with getting a new tank all over again. It reminds me what a fish tank is all about  thank you so much for taking the time to post your story

:thankyou:


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## TropicalMax (May 4, 2009)

Glad you enjoyed it


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## TropicalMax (May 4, 2009)

LOUIE ACES said:


> wow your tank blows mine out of the water!!! such a sick set up...nice job. thanks so much for the insight on the rams. maybe it is my black ghost. i bought a stock of neons to hold him over. hopefully this will distract him from eating my angels bc i really love them and want to see them get big but every angel i buy seems to die  i thought it might be the rams bc one of my angels recently lost an eye and the ghost is too big to nip out such a small eye. the rams seemed to be the culprits.
> 
> here's a link to my tank...lemme know what you think. thanks!
> YouTube - Aquarium de Aces June 13 2009



Thanks for the complement!

Your tank looks great, i love the shells! your angels are beautiful!
Keep an eye on that knife- once he grows (to be the largest fish in the tank which he will) everything else in the tank will be ok "lookout"

also, with such a large predator in the tank, you won't see the "natural" behavior of your other fishes b/c they will be swimming in fear (if they realize the threat)


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