Fletch

Very smart animals. They can work out how to get a lobster out of a glass bottle with a cork in the top in under twenty seconds. Not bad for an animal that has never seen a bottle or cork. Also worked in a Fish & Chip shop that had HUGE tanks in Fremantle. We kept losing fish overnight and this was becoming expensive. The boss hooked up cameras overnight on the tanks and the occi was letting himself out of his tank, crawled across the floor and into another tank. Had his dinner, returned to his own tank. Even slid lid back on when he was done. No bull.

Convicts are one of the most ferocious parents I have seen. Have seen them kill much bigger fish in a short time when fry become free swimming. Have no hesitation attacking you hand, I bet. Lol. Those others look stunning mate. Very nice. Let me know how these go please. :-)

Looks good Simon. Love the third pic. :-)

Thought you would be saying. "WILDS" Wayne. That's what I am thinking, or Apistos. Not sure yet. :-)

Lol@Les. Love the logic. Don't know what your complaining about Sarah, I STILL kill all my mosses, regardless what tank I put em in. Lol.

Very nice Matt. Didn't think you used a filter?

That was quick. Lol. :-)

Looks good Sarah. Well done. :-)

That tank look awesome. Great photos. :-)

Thanks Wayne. That's the idea, if I post my mistakes, hopefully I save others (and myself in the future) from making the same ones. :-). Still haven't decided on fish to stock it with.

Thanks Les. Found this girl tonight. Her color is so dark and the irid layer is so bright. She never sits still and is the alpha girl. I had to remove another one as she was picking on one other. Very nasty. Anyway. Hers some photos of her. Notice weed, I think it's been burnt from last effort. Any ideas?

Are the lotus low light Matt? What do you think of it's growth?

Have been using Aquagreen products now fir a few weeks and all I can say is WOW. These plants have really taken off. Got this of Matt. Was very small. Doing great.

Just hope the thin layer on the previous attempt was the issue. Can't think of anything else and I know you can't Jarrod as we have spoken all the way through. This is the main reason I am doing this first in a small tank as my 3ft would be a nightmare to pull apart and do again. Am quite happy if this is a lesson learnt. :-) Ps. Thanks guys. :-).

This tine I used river sand from landscapers yard. $2 for a 20ltr bucket. :-). Needed lots of washing and a little coarser but looks good. Did same substrate as last time but cut back on Blood & Bone, used one spoonful. Have allowed fir the sand to compact (didn't last time) and put a nice thick layer on the top. Hopefully that was my issue. Full tank shot. Much happier with the layout this time. You can see the bleaching of the leaves in these pics. Hopefully this will repair now. Right side. Left

This was a failure. :-(. I ripped it apart today and redid the whole tank. I think the BB was leaching through the top layer. I used Seachem Clarity and it did sort of work but took all night. This morning there was a fine orange layer on top of the sand. The water was still "milky". When I emptied the tank, the sand stank bad. So, lesson learnt and try again. :-)

That looks good mate. :-)

Correction, water does smell. :-( This is my test tank so trying to wait it out and not add anything, if i can. Filter has done nothing for cloudiness. If it's a bacterial bloom as Matt suggested, how ling will it take to clear? This is the reson I am doing this to a small tank before I tear apart my community tank. :-)

Tested again this morning. Tank still cloudy. Smell has gone. Ammonia.......off the chart. Nitrite...........0 Nitrate..........0 Ph.........7. Obviously doing a 50% wc immediately. Lost one Betta girl. All other fish look and behaving normally.

I noticed but didn't comment. :-). How's it look today mate? When you adding fish?

Thanks Matt. Hope your right. :-) Would that account for the smell?

Still very clouded. Filter has made no difference. Looks worse this morning. Starting to worry as the tank also smells. Any ideas why???

That looks awesome. Well done mate. :-).

Added 4 peppered cories and five female black orchid kids two days ago. Got home tonight and tank is cloudy. :-(. Started a 50ltr/hr internal filter.

I prefer young peppermints myself. :-). Will check the L183 out now.