# My new 46 bow front!



## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

It has been a long time since I have been on the forums, and consequently a long time since I have kept a tank. For reasons that are of no interest to the folks here, I had to give up my fish keeping hobby a number of years ago and I have been missing it ever since. A while back, I took my daughter to a shop and they had a big freshwater tank in their entrance and my daughter was enthralled with it. She loved it. Naturally, I saw this as an opportunity to not only get back in the hobby, but to teach her (even as young as she is) about fish and taking care of them. Luckily, my wife agreed and we were in our way to get a tank!

We wanted a bow front just as something different and had decided on a 36 bow front kit from PetSmart for simplicity. On my way to work one morning I passed a huge community yard sale and in front of a house and a big aquarium, so I had my wife look. 46 gallon bow front with stand for $60... SOLD! Sadly, when I got it home I saw it was a little worse for wear and needed some major TLC. the top frame was also broken and needed to be replaced, but a LFS not to far from me had them in stock, and it was also easier to replace than I thought it would be.

After patiently waiting for some parts to arrive, my daughter and I put together our new tank yesterday. :dancing:























































Specs:
Top Fin (apparently) 46 gallon bow front with stand
Pool filter sand substrate
Marineland MagnaFlow 220 canister filter
Mairineland LED lighting bar (with "night mode")
Aqueon 250GPH power head
Marineland 200W precision heater

Got everything up and running yesterday. Water parameters look good. pH of 7.6, KH took 4 drops to register in an API kit, which I believe is good, I don't remember the number reading. Got the ammonia sitting steady at 2ppm so now we just play the waiting game for some nitrites to show up. We will be adding tropical cichlids to the tank, it'll be a nice colorful community so my daughter has plenty to look at. Looking it stock it with:

1 honey gourami
7 cherry barbs
6 bronze corys 
6 tetras
1 BN pleco

I'm going to add some live plants and some driftwood as well. I let my wife pick a few decorations too, so it'll be kind of qwerky as well. Let me know what y'all think!


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

It looks very nice and the tank cleaned up very well!


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## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

I will comment after the "Qwerky" things are put in. opcorn:


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Added some ornaments (a small buddy the wife bought and something small for the daughter). I am going to pick up a few piece of driftwood this week and I want to get live plants but that is one area of the hobby that I DO NOT know enough about. I'd like plants that are easier to take care of, but with some variety. I know thats pretty vague but any help would be great!


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## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

theBIGone2087 said:


> I'd like plants that are easier to take care of, but with some variety. I know thats pretty vague but any help would be great!


You can try 2 or 3 different kinds of Anubius and Java Fern. They are easy.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Welp, went to my LFS the other day and picked up a bunch of decorations for the tank. My daughter insisted on something pink, and the wife wanted a buddha because "he's cute!". I went and grabbed a few Java Ferns and some Anubius as well as a nice big piece of driftwood that has plenty of little holes and riding places for some of the smaller fish.




























Now, if it were 100% up to me, I'd have no fake plants and all real plants... seeing so as both my wife and daughter were involved, we came to a happy medium. I like the way it turned out... though I am curious how anyone else feels!


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## tiredboymike (Jun 21, 2016)

I think it looks really nice! I also see Ariel hiding out on the bottom there. Now if you can get Ariel to swim around that would be cool.


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

Java Fern and anubias shouldn't be planted in the sand. They need to have their rhizomes exposed and grow best tied to driftwood with thread. Eventually they will attach themselves to the driftwood.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

mambee said:


> Java Fern and anubias shouldn't be planted in the sand. They need to have their rhizomes exposed and grow best tied to driftwood with thread. Eventually they will attach themselves to the driftwood.


I moved the anubius into the large pice of driftwood, and I'm planning on getting another small piece of driftwood or maybe just a stick from a tree outside to tie the fern too.

Also, I boiled and scribed the large driftwood piece that's in there, however it appears the water has started to get a bit cloudy and a SLIGHT brownish tint so it looks like the wood is leeching. I am assuming just water changes to remove that?


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

The wood is probably leaching some tannins. That should eventually go away with water changes.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Ahh okay. Thanks. Seems the wood has risen my pH slightly and lowered my KH. I'm still cycling, and while my ammonia is sitting nicely at 1ppm, as it has for the last week, my pH has jumped to between 7.8 and 8 (it was 7.4 since I started cycling) and my KH dropped from 55.7ppm (3 dKH) to 35ppm (2 dKH) according to th API test kit. I haven't done a single water change since starting the cycling process, just adding top off water when about a gallon or two evaporates. Should that be a concern?


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

Driftwood usually lowers ph.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

mambee said:


> Driftwood usually lowers ph.


That's what I thought, which is why I am puzzled.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

FINALLY!! The ammonia has started to turn into nitrite! When I did my daily check today, I noticed my ammonia had half-ed itself down to 0.50ppm, so I checked for Nitrite - BAM! 1.0ppm! Its nice to see things change finally after waiting (today was the 12th day since cycle start). I do have a concern though... My pH took a nose dive from 7.0 down to 6.4, but my KH rose from 2 to 4. Should I be worried? Would it hurt adding any baking soda to get the pH back up?


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

You can add a small bag of crushed coral to your canister to buffer the ph.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Slight conundrum... I have the PH and KH stable now, thanks to some baking soda (6 for KH and 8.0 for pH), and while I am getting good Nitrites (around 5ppm), my ammonia is sitting at 0.25ppm, and has stayed there for the last few days. I figured by now, it would have dropped to zero and I could add some more to keep feeding the Nitrites (and move to the 2-3 days ammonia addition phase of cycling). I'm sure its no biggie and the ammonia will drop, but just curious if anyone has experienced this one before.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Help! I *think* I may have a serious issue....

...I have snails.










So far, I have found 3 of them. Super small, and not sure if I should get rid of these guys or keep them in the tank. I'm am still cycling and the glass has started to form a thin film of algae that needs to be cleaned off, but aren't these littl buggers not a good thing?


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## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

They are a good thing, leave them alone.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Just don't overfeed so they don't multiply out of control.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

So I went away for vacation and left my sister-in-law in charge of the still cycling tank. When I came back I tested for nitrite and saw it had zeroed out so I tested for nitrate and saw a reading of 20ppm. I am beyond excited. Did a 30% water change and added a dose of ammonia to make sure everything is being processed within 24 hours so I will check that tomorrow.

I am curious though, I want to add a total of 22 fish to this tank, would it be okay to add them all at once or to spread it out over a few weeks? I have a live stock list including a gourami, bronze corys, cherry barbs, and tetras.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Ok so I need some help. My tank is stocked with a gourami and some tetra, haven't gotten the rest of the fish yet, but I have a question about food. I picked up some new life spectrum 1mm tropical community food, but it looks like the fish are spitting the food out. What does everyone use? Flake? Brand? Any advice is appreciated!


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

My fish love the NLS pellet food. I use the 1 mm for my larger fish and the .5 mm small fish formula for my tetras and such.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Ahh okay, I didn't know NLS had 0.5mm pellets. Thanks!


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

I feel like I always have more questions..,

So after the first 30% water change for the tank, I turned off the power head but I left it off (forgot to replace the filter pad on top of my biological media in the filter... all kinds of debris went back into the tank) so stuff could settle. My fish seem happier. The power head was rated for 1250gph and the tetras never really swam around, now they are all over the place. I want flow to the tank for oxygenation, and I now have that annoying 'protein film' on the surface. Obviously 1250gph is too high, so any suggestions on flow? 500gph? 750gph?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

tetras? What are their requirements for water movement? What is the GPH of your filter. For Africans from the Rift Lakes I would go 8X to 10X but fish from quiet waters may need less flow.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Its going to be a mixed community so I have some tetras and a gourami in there now, but I am going to add some cherry barbs and bronze cores shortly. I am running a mainland C-220 which I believe is 220GP


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

IDK their water flow requirements. Even for Africans I would not exceed 460 total. Maybe more like 370 since you observe they like the quiet water better.

I have kept Africans at 4X and everything was perfectly fine...just a little more debris left behind by the filter to be vacuumed weekly.


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## LXXero (May 4, 2016)

yeah i wouldn't go too crazy on the flowrate on a 46 bow tropical....though i have a single eheim 2217 on my 36 bow which is also a tropical tank, and my tetras, cories, etc, are just fine. that does 264gph or so. for a 46, you could safely go up into the 350-400gph range i bet. i guess it also depends how the flow is in the tank, if you have a big open tank and it's making a big whirlpool, that'd be a lot different than if you have a tank stuffed with rocks and decorations and dramatically reduces any current effects like that.

my 120g mbuna tank has a 1800gph pump on it (prolly like 1200-1400 after head) which is like 10-12x haha. it really keeps the debris moving though and hopefully ends up down the overflow and into the filter socks. you probably wouldn't go that high on most tropical tanks.

264gph on my 36 is prolly more like 7x, although i'm not sure if eheim calculates in head heights, that might be more like 200gph for all i know. in either case it'd be in like the 5-7x range. I'd say for tropical tank 5-8x is probably optimal. cichlids can take the higher flow just fine.


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

I use Eheim air diffusers on the outputs of my canister filters. They are great for aerating the water and are cheap. Just don't confuse them with the Eheim airstones.


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## CeeJay (Aug 16, 2016)

I don't think you need the pump in the tank. Your canister should be plenty of water movement. I think anything over 7 times would almost be to much. I have several community tanks and my flow is some were between 5 and 7 times the tank volume. A lot tetras are from slow moving streams. I have 40 gallon set up for 4 years with Fluval 206 canister that's full of plants. My real secret to keeping that tank is water changes. I change out about 30% every two weeks. All the fish are over two years old and some have seen there 3rd birthday. Not bad for tetras.

About plants I take it your not using CO2? How long do you run your lights? I would recommend about 8 hours max. This is a new tank and algae will start to show up any day. Are your plans to dose any excel? On low tech plant tanks I have got pass dosing all fertilizers when I get my fish load up close to the max stocking levels. Anubias can be grown on the bottom but not planted. Just take a rock and set it on the roots and it will grow in the sand. They are so easy to take care of you will forget there in the tank. To much light and algae will grow on there leaves.

Hope this helps. That going to be great tank to share with your daughter.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

With only 11 small fish I am shocked with he amount of poop that can accumulated over the last week. I'm doing a water change tonight, I just figured the fish would like a little more movement.

I have both Anubias and some java fern. The anubias I have stuck in my driftwood and they are doing great. My java fern not so much, but they are also in the sand. I have another piece of driftwood I need to clean and hen I'll attach them to that. I dose Seachem flourish 2-3 times a week, but that's all the plants get. I turn the lights on in the morning around 8 and then cut them off when I get off work. Usually that's 12 hours later, but I don't **** them off completely, my LEDs have a "night mode" that just has blue LEDs on. SO FAR no algea issues, but I figure I might have the lights on a little too long.


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

You should buy a timer from Home Depot for the lights. Java fern needs to be tied to driftwood and not planted in the sand.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Ok guys need help!

So my wife and I went out and finally got the rest of the fish we wanted. We picked up 7 cherry barbs, 6 pineapple molly's (my wife and daughter loved the 'mickey mouse' head on the fish's tail), a small pleco, and 3 assassin snails. I did a 20% water change before acclimating them (sit bag in water for 20, pour in small amounts of water every 10min twice, empty bags, and into the tank). Everyone seemed happy...

Fast forward 24 hours and the barbs seem to be doing well, but the molly's will not leave the surface of the water, and I lost one tonight as well. The other fish seem fine, they are schooling as I hoped they would be, and ate well this morning. My parameters are as follows:

Ammonia - 0.25ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 20ppm
pH - 7.4
Temp - 76F

I used Prime after the water change to treat the water. Water change was done with an Aqueon water changer (their version of the Python).

Any ideas????


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Sadly, we lost a total of 4 Platty's from the tank. Seemed like it was one every 24 hours. But it has been a few days now, and the last two seem to be happy. I added the smallest Aqueon powerhead (500 I believe) to the tank, and everyone seems to be VERY happy. Here are some photos:





































Thats Blue Bell... she runs she show around here.










Thats Steve, he manages the maintenance crew










That is one of the Pineapple Platty's that we have in the tank that were slowly dying off. Pretty cool huh? The last two my wife has affectionately named Mickey and Minnie.

So I have another question. I am currently running a Marineland Magnaflow 220. I used the old C-series filters years ago and were mostly happy with them. I had used a Rena (now API) XP3 in years past as well, but I was just thinking if there might be something better. The Eheim Professional 4 series caught my eye and was curious if anyone has any experience with them? Their filter media set-up intrigues me, especially since they don't use the 'normal' media you would usually find in a canister.

Thanks!


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

\Questions for the community.

I have the some Black hair algae growing in my tank and I am picking up a phosphate test kit to see what is up there, and some Flourish Excel as has been recommended... I am considering removing the carbon bags from my canister and replacing them with a bag of BioChemZorb and a bag of PhosZorb (if my phosphates are out of whack). Good idea? Bad Idea?


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

I stopped using carbon years ago. It really isn't recommended for canisters because they can go for months between cleanings, and supposedly carbon can start leaching stuff back into the water. The best solution to tackle the black hair algae is adding more plants which will compete with the algae for nutrients. Java fern and anubias are slow growing and don't help that much. You should add some floating plants, even duckweed.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Test for phosphates first. OP has only plastic plants.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

DJRansome said:


> Test for phosphates first. OP has only plastic plants.


Nope, I have real Java Fern and Anubias in the tank right now. I'm going to pick up some amazon sword in a few days and get that in the tank as well. If my phosphates are through the roof, besides a nice string of water changes and cutting down on the feeding for a bit, do you al suggest phosphate removal media of any kind?

As always, thanks for all the help!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Most people with plants need to ADD phosphate but test first and then design a solution.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Okay cool. Thanks folks!


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Picked up Flourish Excel and the API Phosphate test kit the other day. Dosed Excel as directed and tested Phosphate today... 0ppm. So lets hope the excel gets rid of this algae. Here are some photos I took tonight:

This is my Anubias. You can see all the black algae on the back leafs:










I got some Amazon Sword in there the other day. Sadly, I didn't have enough time to go to my LFS, so I got these from PetSmart (TopFin stuff in the plastic containers).










Finally, this photo shows the Java Fern in the back of the tank (and a good shot of the algae). I'm curious if you all thing the fern looks okay or if they should be replaced. My wife keeps griping.










Thanks everyone!!


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## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

No post, mistake.


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

Java fern looks fine. Just tie it to the driftwood instead of planting it in the sand. The Amazon swords should suck up all of the excess nutrients once they start growing. This should solve the algae problem. Just make sure that you purchase root tabs for the swords.


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## theBIGone2087 (Jan 26, 2009)

Brilliant, thank you!


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