# 20g x-tall angel tank with 3d background



## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Well I was not planning on yet another project, nor tank for myself, but when a good friend called me this morning telling me his son was getting rid of his tank he had taken down a few months ago and was going to give it away free so did I want it?....well duh, of course I'll take it 

So since he only lives a few blocks from me he dropped off this set up that was in much need of cleaning.



















The stand had paint marks on it from from his grand kids and the tank itself was covered in dried on algae, but after some elbow grease and scrubbing it all cleaned up very nicely. Glass has zero scratches on it which is nice.










The background I'm doing for this one is super thin so it does not take up much room since there's not a ton of room to start with. After the background is done I an thinking of using some spray on type foam to make some round underwater "vines/roots" that will adhere flush to the background itself then paint the vines brown to give it a realistic SA type look.

Current state of tank 









And where I decided to put it. Since the 265g is in the adjoining room which is my office I decided to rearrange a few things so I could have this tank in my work shop area so I can enjoy this one while I work at the bench since I spend so much time in this area.


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## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

Like the tank, looks good as knew! Also love the fish room yah have there


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## somebody (May 13, 2014)

Don't mind me I'm just posting to watch the progress of this project. Very interested to see how you decorate with such a unique footprint.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

somebody said:


> Don't mind me I'm just posting to watch the progress of this project. Very interested to see how you decorate with such a unique footprint.


 Unique footprint. This tank has the footprint of a ten gallon tank. I would make the background out of Poret foam and let it double as a Mattenfilter. With the limited surface area for gas exchange, a Mattenfilter with Jetlifter or other efficient air lift would give it a boost.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

First coat of drylok applied.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Was at Royal Tropical today and picked up a nice young trio of Angels for this tank today. Figure by the time they are done with quarantine the tank will be ready for them. They are small right now, probably about 3" tall with a body about the size of a silver dollar coin. I liked the coloration of these three as well as the nice long tails so couldn't resist bringing them home. Also picked up some nice flat "spider wood" pieces for a really good price so going to just go ahead and incorporate these pieces into the background rather than make vines.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Because of the height, this is a great display tank for a veil angelfish entry at a weekend cichlid or all species fish show. I can't picture it as a permanent home for three angelfish to grow up in. It would be big enough for a pair of smaller Julidochromis species or a shelldweller. With ledges on the background either cichlid could make use of the entire tank space. This is certainly a nano tank, and Angelfish are not one of the species listed in the book THE 101 BEST FRESHWATER NANO SPECIES, Denaro & O'Leary


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Thanks for the input. In the Cichlid Association club I am a part of there are a few angelfish breeders/keepers that use this size tank for angel pairs until they reach almost full adult size. I chose three to start just to be on the safe side to make sure I get a healthy pair so once they start to grow then just the pair will call it home and the 3rd will be moved. I have around a dozen tanks with numerous 55gs, 75g and even up to 7ft long 265g so moving fish that get too big for one tank to another tank is nothing new to me, I take very good care of my fishes needs so no worries there. As their size increases and dictates other needs then they get rotated to other tanks (or sold at our Cichlid club auctions) and then new young ones will take their place.

Got the BG paint work and all the shading & highlighting done now. Went with a light sand/tan color with gray and darker shaded area then white highlights on the tips & edges. Also mounted the branches directly to the background so it's all one piece.


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## hose91 (Mar 5, 2014)

Great job on this tank and background. Would love to see a side pic to see how far off the background the branches come out into the tank. Great looking angels, and can't wait to see the final version with substrate/rocks/plants. Thanks for sharing!


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Sure here ya go. The background I made only 1" thick at the thickest point so that way it doesn't take up much room since it's a smaller tank to start with already. Then the branches I picked up today I made sure to get the "flattest" ones they had that way they didn't stick out more than about 2-3" so it still leaves a decent amount of swimming room.

Here's a side view pic...


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## hose91 (Mar 5, 2014)

Thanks, I like it all around. DIY 3D background is on the list of future projects for sure. Also, nice job camouflaging the HOB filter intake. Good luck with the rest of it, looking forward to seeing the angels in it when they're out of QT.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Background is siliconed into the tank now. Also picked up a couple more spiderwood branches to put on the bottom of the tank and then tie some plants to them. And picked up some various Anubias plants as well as some brwon/tan playsand which I think will mimic the Amazon bottom pretty nicely.


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## johnnymarko (May 30, 2014)

Do you have good luck with those plants that come in tubes?


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

johnnymarko said:


> Do you have good luck with those plants that come in tubes?


You have to know your plants to do well with those. Most of the plants in these tubes at the Petcos I have been to are houseplants. They are not aquatic, but even though putting them underwater kills them quickly, it can be months before they lose their color and begin to rot. The Java fern and sword plants (Echinodoras) have been grown above the water line and the Java fern leaf is amphibious and will not care, growing above or below the water just fine. Sword plants have two different kinds of leaf for above and underwater. The sword plant leaves will die and be replaced by the underwater leaves. As long as you know not to throw out the plant during this ugly duckling phase you will be fine. The scientific name of the sword plant comes from the Greek words for hedgehog and skin. It is easy to identify an Echindoras by its characteristic seed pod which is spiny, explaining both the scientific name and its other common name, burrhead.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

> Do you have good luck with those plants that come in tubes?


Mcdaphnia long as you get the Anubias or Java fern they are not houseplants at all, not sure why you say that. I have bought various plants in tubes from Petco over the years (Java and Anubias) and had very good luck with them. My Java I have bought from there in tubes have propagated many times even other the past year. This particular one they sell as various Anubias I have bought before and had very good luck with in tanks. The first few I bought about 18months ago and put in my 55g Peacock tank and I still have them doing very well today with nothing more than just dual tube 6500 lights and dosing with Florish Excel every 3 days.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Steve C said:


> Mcdaphnia long as you get the Anubias or Java fern they are not houseplants at all, not sure why you say that. I have bought various plants in tubes from Petco over the years (Java and Anubias) and had very good luck with them. My Java I have bought from there in tubes have propagated many times even other the past year. This particular one they sell as various Anubias I have bought before and had very good luck with in tanks. The first few I bought about 18months ago and put in my 55g Peacock tank and I still have them doing very well today with nothing more than just dual tube 6500 lights and dosing with Florish Excel every 3 days.


I cannot imagine why you claim I said that Anubias and Java fern are houseplants. I have not seen Anubias in those Petco tubes so I said nothing about Anubias at all. Most Anubias species, in general, the ones with rounder smaller leaves, adapt quite well to underwater.

You will find terrestrial plants in those tubes, mixed in with a few true aquatics. Various Draecena, Cordyline, and Acorus species, land ferns like Trichomanes and Selagenella, plus standard houseplants like Spathyphyum, Syngonium, Ophiopogon, and Hemigraphis have been in those tubes.

Besides Java fern, Anubias if that store has it, and Amazon sword plant, there may be other harder to identify aquarium-suitable plants in some of those tubes. Java fern, Anubias, and Echinodoras (sword plants) are easier to identify as aquatic plants and safer to stick with.

I have more than average experience with 20XH tanks. One of the local pet shop owners loved those tanks. Any time he came across a broken ten gallon tank, he would rescue the plastic frames and use salvage glass to rebuild them as 20XH's, the dimensions of two ten gallon tanks stacked on top of each other. It gave him an outlet for the smaller pieces of salvage glass and very often the back was either smokey or mirror glass. For a while, he had a supply of quarter inch glass with wire mesh embedded in it, and he used that for the tank bottoms. He sold quite a few of them since standard ten gallon tank stands and hoods fit them perfectly. He also donated some 20XH's to the aquarium clubs for raffle prizes. Since you are probably about two hours drive from where his pet shop used to be, it is possible that some of his tanks made it out your direction in years past. If your tank is really old, it might even be one that I used to have, unlikely but possible if your tank has been around for years and years.


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## boomer92 (Apr 17, 2013)

Cool use for a unique sized tank. Looking forward to its completion.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

> I cannot imagine why you claim I said that Anubias and Java fern are houseplants.


Because the picture I posted of the one I just bought is Anubias as I mentioned. So when someone asked about the tube plants from petco you said..." Most of the plants in these tubes at the Petcos I have been to are houseplants".So since the tube plant I posted was Anubias I naturally assumed you were talking about that. No big deal, just seemed like you were including Anubias in the comment about houseplants, thanks for clarifying you were not.

This tank is not that old, I believe my friend's Son bought it new when he got it, if I'm not mistaken I think it's a Marineland.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Steve C said:


> Because the picture I posted of the one I just bought is Anubias as I mentioned. So when someone asked about the tube plants from petco you said..." Most of the plants in these tubes at the Petcos I have been to are houseplants".So since the tube plant I posted was Anubias I naturally assumed you were talking about that. No big deal, just seemed like you were including Anubias in the comment about houseplants, thanks for clarifying you were not.
> .


I didn't see any Anubias label or clear part of the plant undistorted by the tube plastic. No way for me of normal vision to have known what kind of plant was in that tube. So I took it as a generic question about the tube plants, which I think it was, generic. I can understand how since you bought the plant and knew what it was, you would assume everyone else would know too just from the photos. There are some Anubias species that would be best left in the forest, since they are not all good aquarium plants.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

> I can understand how since you bought the plant and knew what it was, you would assume everyone else would know too just from the photos.


Not that it matters, but I didn't assume everyone would know from the photo, if you go back and look I stated in that post right above the picture.."_And picked up some various Anubias plants"._ Hence why I thought you were commenting on the Anubias.

Anyway back on topic- Just finished rinsing out the tank now that the background has had a couple days to cure. Put the sand in, tied the plants to some wood and added some Indian Almond Catappa Leaves which will add some tannins to the water to make it more conductive for the Angels and just filled it with water. Should have a pic of it later this evening.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

I did see that but had no idea it referred to the tube plant. Remember, I have never seen any of the Petcos around here stock any Anubias. Just an unconscious assumption.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

No problem :wink: Yeah the Petcos here have a pretty decent selection, not what I would call a "good selection" but decent. They usually have a few various types of Anubias, some Java fern, Amazon swords, and then some other sort of fern that I personally have never heard of before and can't remember the name of right now. I usually just get Anubias and Java for my tanks because I don't run any sort of CO2 injection and just have normal (6500k I think it is) lights. I actually wanted to get the Amazon swords for this tank but from what I have read about those they would most likely not do too well in my non injected set up. So I stuck with the basic Anubias for this one.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

If it's Bolbitis heudelotii, it is an African water fern. It grows in conditions very similar to Java fern but can grow faster. I don't use salt so I don't know from experience if it tolerates salt. Most cichlids don't eat it, except some Central Americans would tear it up. If the Petco fern is Trichomanes or Selagenella, it is a land based fern that will die submerged. Some people have found "Aqua Fern" in Petco tubes. They report it does not grow in or out of the water, but can last as a decoration for months. You can find a discussion about Petco plant tubes on Monster fish.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Tank is done and filled. I've had the filter running for the past week on an existing tank so it should be cycled and ready to put the angels in it with in a couple days I am expecting. After running for half the day with the wood and Indian Almond Catappa Leaves in it the PH is now steady at 6.6 which should be a very good level for the angels. I also like the tannic color the leaves give the water, very natural looking.

This was my first SA themed tank I have done, all my other have been Malawi themed, and for the first SA tank I am pretty pleased with the overall look of the tank. It's going to be nice having this tank right in the work shop where I spend so much of my time. Once the angels are in it I'll post a pic of them in their new home.


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## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

Tank is cycled and just finished moving over the fish to it. Currently it's home to three small angels, a cory cat that was not getting along with his tankmates, and a small brown BNP.
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