# My 22g South American Xtra Long tank (pics)



## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

Hi All,

I just found my camera and decided I should post some pictures of the newest incarnation on my 22g 'extra long' tank. It's really too bright to get good photos at the moment so I aplogize for the glare - I'll try to get better shots when it gets dark.

The dimensions of this tank are 36" Long x 12"Wide x 12"Deep. The shallow depth lends a 'river bank' type feel to the tank and makes growing plants very easy (but I only have simple, easy to grow plants at the mooment).

In a previous incarnation this tank was voted 'Tank of the month' (December 2006 I believe). However it has undergone some changes since then, I lost a lot of plant life when I had an ICK out break and treated with heat & salt, but mainly I moved and had to tear it down and start from scratch.

Equipment: 2 Aqua Clear 50 filters, Ebo jagr 100w heater. 82 degrees F, 1 3' fluorescent tube, 2 13w spiral compact fluorescent bulbs.


















Fish;
9 x Cardinal Tetras (I bought 12 yesterday, 1 was dead in the bag when I got home and I lost 2 more since then  ).
5 x Rummy Nose Tetras
4 x BN Pleco's (1.25" TL)
3 x Blue Ram (1m:2f)
1 x Cockatoo Dwarf male
1 x SAE (doesn't really fit the SA theme - but he's old and helps clean up)
2 x Sterbai Cories (plan to get a few more next week)
1 Zebra Snail?
1 Army of Malaysian Trumpet Snails

Plants;
Java Fern
Pennywort

Decor;
Sandstone chunk
Mopani/Iron Wood?
GeoSystems black sand
Assorted stones


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Yeah, unfortunately cardinals are like that up here ... ours are still wild caught, I guess they are still cheaper than those raised on the asian farms ... and wilds don't travel well.

Deffinately looking good, do want to see nonglare shots though!! Anyway to move the heater down a bit behind that rock?

Nice to see you have your priorities straight ... get the fish then unpack!!! :lol:


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

Yeah the heater will fit nicely behind the rock and create a nice little cave too... I thinking of swapping the ebo jagr for a stealth (it's an old heater), when I do that I will make sure to hide it out of sight!


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## MetalHead06351 (Oct 3, 2007)

beautiful tank. I have a VERY similar setup in mind for a hex tank I have. Nice to see that it will look good :thumb:


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## macclellan (Nov 30, 2006)

I like everything but the swiss cheese. I'd lose it and put the heater behind the driftwood on the right. Otherwise very nice. Cool tank dimensions. It's like a hybrid between my 20L and 30L


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## ME_AND_GREENTERROR (Jan 21, 2008)

where did you get a tank like that if you can tell me.


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

Awsome tank *illy-d* , I really like the substrate :thumb.


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

macclellan said:


> I like everything but the swiss cheese. I'd lose it and put the heater behind the driftwood on the right. Otherwise very nice. Cool tank dimensions. It's like a hybrid between my 20L and 30L


What's the swiss cheese? The sandstone with the java fern growing up it? No way!!! I love that rock!!! That's okay though I appreciate your input nonetheless! Cheers!



> where did you get a tank like that if you can tell me.


I got it from my father in-law... He got it from a local aquarium manufacturer called 'Sea Star'. It is apparantly a catalogue tank (as in not special order), but it is very un-popular... I think they said it is typically used ny reefers for growing frags or something???


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## ME_AND_GREENTERROR (Jan 21, 2008)

omg i love it how much you think they go for and do they got a website?


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

I don't know if they have a website - their tanks are very popular in BC (I've actually been to their facility on a couple of occassions).

I saw an 'All glass' tank in a LFS that is similar (just bigger) called a 33 Long - I think it was 4 feet long instead of 3!


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## DrewWoodside (Mar 20, 2008)

the dimensions are really cool on that tank. I have a question though.. Isn't a bit crowded? Sounds like a lot of tetras are in the tank? I have a 29 with less than half the fish (2 bolivians, pair of appisto Cac., 1 checkerboard, 3 cardinal tetras and 2 cory cats)and would love to purchase some more if I thought I could get away with it. I am however running a whisper so maybe that would be the difference. It's heavily planted.. do you think I could get away with adding more fish? Or would I need to replace the filtering system first? Thanks, and nice tank!


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

I tend to overstock - and this tank is over filtered too... Plants tend to improve water quality and could allow for a larger bio-load so I would think you could add more tetras for sure... Just remember that over filtration is not a substitute for water changes. I do about 1/3rd weekly...

Bear in mind you have 1 more cichlid in less 'area'... The territories are actually more of a concern for me than the overall stock level. I have limited myself to just a male cockatoo and when I get a pair of Rams I will observe the situation and possibly remove the other female... Adding more cory's could also 'cramp' the available space but I'm going to try it and see if I can pull it off...

At the end of the day I am not trying to raise fry in this tank - I want a pair of rams because I think the parental care is so interesting to watch... If they are unable to raise a brood or two I won't sweat it, but I will give some thought to getting the rams their own 10g lovenest once/if they start breeding...


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## DrewWoodside (Mar 20, 2008)

I'm definitely doing my weekly water changes but.. Is the whisper too weak? Should I upgrade to a filtration settup more like your own if I want to add more tetras? The territories are certainly rough but they seem to be getting by.. atleast until someone decides to get frisky atleast. Considering tetras are more midwater how many more do you think i could fit in there? In light of your stocking I was thinking that if I upgrade my filtration I could probably get away with another 10 tetras? What do you think? Do I even need to upgrade the filters to do this? Thanks for your input sorry to turn your cool tank thread into a questionare! Thanks!


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

Very cool tank *illy-d*. I love those dimensions, slice of a SA river bank or creek... :thumb:

I don't think it's over stocked, becuase as you said, you still have the floor plan for a couple of territories. Personally I would remove the spare wheel female Blue ram once you have a pair, and end up adding a female cac.

I do think 4 BN's is alot, especially with the SAE. I would also think of adding a few more corys.


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## peterl (Nov 27, 2006)

Love the tank, illy-d.

Wild caught cardinals are all we get around here. I have found that, like Otos, they have a pretty significant mortality rate when you first get them. If they last a month, though, they should live a few years.

Also, your sterbai corys would be much "happier" with at least six.

Do you find the mopani wood leaches a lot of tannins? I was warned off a really nice piece yesterday at my most knowledgeable LFS. I was told that ti would leach for YEARS. I got a nice piece of regular driftwood instead, at half the price.


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

Hi peterl; my mopani leached tanins for awhile, but I only notice it now when I siphon it into a 5 gallon pail...

Drew; I can't speak to your filters as I have no idea what they are and what they are rated for... A lot of people suggest 10x the tank volume turn over per hour but I found that on larger tanks you don't really need that much - and on smaller tanks where water paramters need more attention because the smaller volumes of water are less 'stable' 10x flow can be excessive...

That being said I have 2 AC 50's on my tank (the old 200's) - Aqua Clear claims they are rated upto 200gph which would mean I would be aprox 20x turn over... However I don't know that many filters do the volume the manufacturers claim... And because my tank is fairly long I place 1 filter at each end and the middle of the tank while still getting water movement is relavtively calm...

As deadfishfloating has suggested a school of 12 tetras or more seems to be a good number! So I would say go for it and add those tetras!

Also, so everybody knows, as the pleco's grow they will be removed... At the end of the day I think 1 BN pleco will be left in this tank... As for the SAE he's just there because I've had him awhile and I have nowhere else to put him... Once I do I will probably move him..


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Remember most filter gph ratings are (at least used to be) without filter media added ... ie running empty. Adding media slows it down, as does those adjustable filters (Emperor's for instance). The flow rating is also on those always set on high. So an Emperor 400 (400gph rating) with all it's media and set on low is probably closer to 240 or so (just a guess). I do know my Emperor 280 set on low has less flow than my Penguin 170 and 200's that have been on the same tank.


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## MetalHead06351 (Oct 3, 2007)

mopani does leech for a long time. It creates a real nice effect, though.


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## DrewWoodside (Mar 20, 2008)

thanks for the suggestion on the additional tetras. I have one final question! If I were to add 10 o so more tetras does it matter if they are the exact same? I know they like to shoal and are more comfortable that way but would it be a problem to add 5 different types of tetras in sets of 2 as supposed to just 10 rummys or 10 glo lites? Does this sort of thing make a difference in anyone's opinion? thanks a lot everyone!


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## peterl (Nov 27, 2006)

I think you would be better off with 10 of one species. They should feel more comfortable, and I think they look better.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

DrewWoodside said:


> thanks for the suggestion on the additional tetras. I have one final question! If I were to add 10 o so more tetras does it matter if they are the exact same? I know they like to shoal and are more comfortable that way but would it be a problem to add 5 different types of tetras in sets of 2 as supposed to just 10 rummys or 10 glo lites? Does this sort of thing make a difference in anyone's opinion? thanks a lot everyone!


Yes it does make a difference. If you have 5 different species, they won't school as one big group. Tetras do stick to basic species schools. When there is one or two of a particular species, they will seek refuge amongst a large school of a different species, but will fall out of the this school every now and then.

Also different tetra species inhabit different areas of the tank.

I currently have 4 species in my 150 gallon community tank. 20+ penguin tetras, 12 lemon tetras, 12 golden pencilfish and 9 marbled hatchetfish.

Tank is 26 inches high, planted along the back, driftwwod towards the front and either end.

The penguins swim the length on the the tank about 6 to 8 inches below the surface, in the front open area.

The lemons prefer the swim in and out of the planted area, and stick pretty close to the mid level of the tank. Of the four species in the tank, these guys school the least.

The pencilfish prefer to stay close to the outer edges of the planted areas, close to taller pieces of driftwood. Sometimes they will be found about about 4 inches off the bottom, between the driftwood and amazon swords, or they'll sit in a school a couple of inches below the surface, right above this area.

The hatchetfish will either skim the surface as a group, or school back and forth about 2 inches below the surface.

At times both the pencilfish or hatchetfish try and fit thier school in amongst the larger penguin tetra school, and swim back and forth with them. It's fun to watch, becuase the penguins act as a school, turning together etc, while the pencilfish and more so the hatchetfish are half a step behind.

My opinion is it's better having one or two schools of decent size, than small numbers of lots of species.


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## DrewWoodside (Mar 20, 2008)

I know, your right.. I just had my heart set on a real hodgepodge tetra population.. I just picked up what appear to be a slight color variation of the von rio tetra or flame tetra. It's slightly gold instead.. I may have to just give in and stick to 2 or 3 shoals. Thanks for the help


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

Hey Drew - deadfish and peter are right: A larger group of a single species will exhibit more of their natural behaviours... Sometimes with cichlids it is only possible (or more likely to succeed) to have an individual specimen of a given species - which is fine, but IMO prevents you from viewing one of the very characteristics that make cichlids so fascinating - parental brood care!!!

Whenevr possible I like to have mated pairs of cichlids - but as I mentioned it isn't always possible or advisable...

With tetras however the only real advantage of making up a hodge-podge group of individual or paired fish is diversity of colour - and you probably lose the traits that make those various fish interesting to watch... But at the end of the day it's your choice and you tank to stock as you please - and as long as you provide your fish with clean water and food your fullfilling your end of the fish-fishkeeper relationship!

BTW deadfishfloating your tank sounds awesome!

I'll post some more pics soon and keep you guys updated on the tank.

Cheers,

Daryl


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

Sorry I haven't followed through with picture posting - I'll get to it this weekend for sure...

A little update...

I've been pretty busy most of this week and haven't had much time to sit in front of the tank and unwind... While I made time last night and I noticed after a few minutes the more 'coloured up' female seemed to be hiding. Unusual for her. Hmmm....

Upon inspection I notice she is hanging out in a little pit behind and under a clump of Java Fern... The male is close by - and while he is nowhere near as intensely coloured up as her he does appear to have more contrast in thelight & dark markings...

I finally got a decent look at her and man o man is she showing intense markings - this could be signs of good things to come (or much drama in the tank :lol: ).

I will do my best to get some recent pictures up, but for now hopefully these will do - taken last week sometime.

*note: tank location is poor for picture taking... I have this tank in my living room which get s a tonne of natural light which creates a great deal of reflections etc... Also note that I am a terrible photographer and even though I try to hold my breath like a sniper when shooting I really need to get a tripod!

Tank shot with 26w (2 x 13) spiral compacts only;









Shot with 26w spirals and 3' fluorescent tube (not sure on wattage);









**The fish actually look their best with just the tube light on - but it is probably the worst for photographing

2 of my hybrid BN plecos (just to show you the size);









This is the 'non-coloured up female' (again with BN pleco)... This fish is sickly looking compared to the other female - I bought her because I was 100% sure of her sex and figure she was just underfed... She is looking better than at time of purchase, but still not as thick bodied as the other girl;









My male - who until last night I thought was uninterested in the females... It is this clump of java fern that the pit is behind...


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

Yo!

Lookin' good my brother! Really nicely aquascaped tank, sounds like you may have some practising parents! Good liuck!!


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