# My mixed 75



## Justin1982 (May 28, 2008)

Here is my 75 gal. Tell me what you think. I am using a new camera and am not yet sure how to use some of features on it. All the shots seem to come out blurry unless I put the camera down on something when I shoot, or the fish move even the slightest bit. I'll post some new pics after I get better understanding of this camera.


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## Guest (Jul 23, 2008)

I love the algae...is that green algae or green hair algae?

The rockwork is nice too... Cool poster bg...


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## Justin1982 (May 28, 2008)

Marduk said:


> I love the algae...is that green algae or green hair algae?
> 
> The rockwork is nice too... Cool poster bg...


It is all green algae. 
I keep the lights on 13 1/2 hours a day, every fourth water change I wait 10 days instead of seven in order to let the nitrates build up just a little bit extra and I also use plant food. I find that without the plant food brown algae will start growing aswell.


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## Oscar Madison (Mar 24, 2008)

Beautiful Tank! Especially the background and lighting.


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## F8LBITEva (Nov 9, 2007)

looks great, good job!


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## Justin1982 (May 28, 2008)

Heres a couple more.


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## Beals (May 12, 2008)

what kind of fish are the multi colored one
love the tank and fish


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## Justin1982 (May 28, 2008)

Labeotropheus fuelleborni


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## Ambadasdor Cox (Jul 20, 2008)

I love it great algae :thumb:


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## Marconis (Feb 9, 2007)

Beautiful tank man. I used to have gorgeous green algae like that, but then I rescaped and when I took the rocks out all of the algae dried. It is now brown :-(. Waiting patiently for it to turn green again like the last time.


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## lostnight (Jun 3, 2006)

That looks very sharp, well done.


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## Bachachi (Sep 8, 2004)

Nice looking tank, the lighted blue back ground looks great! As does the algae.


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## bou (Dec 8, 2005)

wow... great job... how you can have green algea on rock and a sand so clean???
how is your aggression toward aulonocara???


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## Justin1982 (May 28, 2008)

The two species pretty much keep to themselves. The female Aulonocara pack enjoys sifting through the sand for treasures while the one male calmly cruises the tank keeping a watchful eye on his harem. The Fuelleborni females are slightly more aggressive towards each other. For example they can't help but cross paths when grazing from the same rock and sometimes little battles can break out between two older females.

The 2 male Fuelleborni spawn, patrol & graze their own area and seem to have an understanding which side of the tank belongs to them. It would appear they're are an equal match without one being more dominant than the other. They will almost always let the Aulonocara spawn atop the high flat rocks on either end of the tank undisturbed (not inside either Fuelleborniâ€™s cave :thumb: ) .This courteous act is only permitted when one of them is not trying to court a female them self. If they are, all bets are off and the male Aulonocara knows to stay towards the other side. When either Fuelleborni is in spawn mode he will bounce all over his side of the tank until a female gives in.

All in all, on a regular day when neither Fuelleborni is in the mood, The weakest male of the three (Aulonocara) is the only one who can freely cruise both sides of the tank.


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## heylady (Oct 14, 2004)

Everything is gorgeous....your tank, rockwork, fish and your photography is excellent too! =D>


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## maxmator (Aug 6, 2008)

haw can i have like this green algae???????


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## Justin1982 (May 28, 2008)

For those inquiring about the algae in my tank . Here are a few tips that work for me

To promote the growth of unreal bright green algae. I do use a small variation of plant food. More importantly are as follows

1. I do not use any carbon in my tank. No one should really need it if they keep up with water changes and have plenty of biological filtration. You will only be hurting the algae if you are always replacing cartridges. Especially if you are using those Bio-Chem Zorb pouches. That product will slowly starv the algae by removing nutrients in the tank that the algae feeds on.

This is just my opinion, many people have their own opinion when it comes to how much carbon, if any is used in their tank. I have 2 Emp 400s and the cartriges inside are used only as a a prefilters, which get thoroughly rinsed every water change then reused. The material in the baskets behind the cartriges and a Fluval 404 under the tank are my bio filtration.

2. Keep all sides of the glass, excluding the back wall free of algae. All that algae that you have on the side walls of your tank is competing with the algae that is growing on the rocks for nutrients.

3. Vacuum you gravel at least every other water change. Once again, any algae growing in your tank needs nutrients. What you want is algae growth only on the rocks that does not have to compete with any other algae for nutrients. This way you get well fed healthy green algae growth that can still thrive in a low nitrate tank.

4. Lighting. I replace my twin tube Zoo-Meds every 3-4 months tops (not 9-12 months) . After few months those lights may still look **** near new, but in fact have already slowly burnt up quite a bit. There potential to grow any plants or green algae has been reduced by 30-50% (roughly) If you want to promote green algae while in a low nitrate setup replace those lights often . If you are using brighter fluorescents or other lighting setups that are more in the preferred spectrum for plant growth you can replace them every 6 months or so. There lies the problem. Our fish do not like brighter lights. It might make them a little more skittish with all that bright light going in the tank, especially if you are keeping three panes of glass algae free. That light will bounce all over. I personally like the ZOO-MED 50/50s. Which I run 14 hours a day.

5. In my experience I have noticed that the desired GREEN algae will grow far better in a well oxygenated tank with a good water current. A power head or two on the back of the tank will help.
Over the years I have seen (more often then not) that the tanks which lack proper water circulation, or even slightly less than excellent water circulation will often grow Brown-Green algae mix. Which is neither pleasing to the eye, nor beneficial to algae grazing cichlids.

For now, here are just a few things for you to keep in mind if you want the growth of oseam green algae in your tank. 
Right now I am starving, and I can smell my diner cooking :drooling: . Must eat. Iâ€™ll try to post a few more tips on this subject tomorrow. If any one's interested.


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## maxmator (Aug 6, 2008)

:thumb: ok thks


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