Planted 30 Gallon Aquarium With Native Sunfish And Dim Mak Theme

SIMPLISTIC HARMONY:

Please watch the video to understand all the changes I have made.

http://www.youtube.com/user/bitterangst#play/uploads/14/IDqBZj2nLN0

ULTRA SIMPLISTIC HARMONY:

I wanted to make some changes to my aquarium. Ultimately, I wanted my aquarium to have:

More hard-scape.
New fish.
New substrate.
Less plants.
New backing.
New lighting.
Ultra-super easy maintenance schedule.

Hard Scape/Plant Balance:

I had 24 amazon swords in my previous aquarium. Now, I am down to 7 amazon swords. I also retained a few crypts for the foreground. It was hard to part with 17 swords, but the pruning over the months became tedious. It was time to downsize. It was time to add some hard scape.

I collected some rocks over the weeks. I did have to buy a large wood piece. When it was all said and done, I was very satisfied with the new appearance of my aquarium. I like the balance between plants, rocks, and wood fixtures.

New Fish:

My orange-spotted sunfish became skittish. They became extremely withdrawn. Even though they thrived, my aquarium developed WHERE IS THE FISH SYNDROME. They would only come out to eat. It was too easy for them to hide in the sword forest.

I decided to get rid of the orange spots. I will not disclose what I did with them exactly to purposely keep the NANFA elite in the dark. My goal is not to start controversy (well, maybe just a tad.)

I collected 5 baby panfish. I particularly wanted baby war-mouth. I knew where there was a strong collection of war-mouth from my ice-fishing expeditions. On my first outing, I collected 2 baby war-mouth. I also managed to get some baby green sunfish and bluegill.

All of these fish have acclimated well to my aquarium. I did put them in a copper sulfate and aquarium salt bath for 4 weeks before introducing them into their new home.

Once-again, I have SHOW CASE fish. They are very active swimmers and feeders. It is easy to spot them in my aquarium. I have grown very fond of the war-mouth and green sunfish. The green sunfish are extremely aggressive which is very cool.

New Substrate:

The red rock and sand combination formed 2 layers. I did save money on this substrate, but I wanted something uniform, black, and more aesthetic. I bought black sand and the rest is history. This substrate contrasts well with the plants, wood, backing, and especially the mondo granite rock I found on a previous adventure.

New Backing:

This was the ultimate catalyst that made me change my aquarium. I hated the cheap and inferior tape-on backing. Moisture would collect behind it, and it was rather unsightly. This had to change. I went with a gray primer. It took 3 coats and the finish is just stellar. I am glad I did this. I really like the gray backing with the black substrate. No more tape and crappy backing for me. This is a very tasteful way to do backing.

New Lighting:

It really isnt new. I had a 2X55 W compact fluorescent super daylight system before my 96 W system. Even though 110 W is greater than the 96 W system, the light output is less for these reasons:

110 W system is 6 inches over my tank. The 96 W system rested right on my tank.

The reflective backing is not as good as the 96 W system.

The 110 W lights only cover 2/3s of the tanks length.

Since I have decreased the amount of light. I had to increase to an 8 hour cycle. Also, it gives the fish the opportunity to get out of the light on the extreme ends of my aquarium. The plants are positioned directly under the light.

I think the bright light really made my orange spots skittish. They are a fish that prefers turbid waters with extreme cover. So this time I caught fish that live in very clear water. I hope the decreased-lighting prevents my new fish from becoming skittish.

Easy Low Maintenance:

With the dramatic plant decrease, my plant maintenance has been reduced. Also, cleaning the glass from spot algae with a blade is even easier. I made sure I gave a wide gap between in-tank structures and glass. My glass cleaning is now unimpeded. This equates to fast and easy cleaning without moving structures or damaging plants.

Odds and Ends:

I realize there will be a comment that my tank is not big enough for the fish I have. Certainly, these fish will get big. Once they get about 3-5 inches long, I will have to get rid of them. My method of removal will remain a secret.

When the time comes, I will go catch some more fish. I will most likely do this once a year and keep my hobby going for years to come. After-all, in-the-field work is a ton of fun. It was nice to get out this year and catch some really cool specimens.

As for the other parameters/equipment, they still are all the same. I still have my 3 dwarf plecos and catfish. You can reference SIMPLISTIC HARMONY. I left the reference video at the beginning of this document.

bitter

(My aquarium is still my dim mak, and dont you ever forget that.)

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• sunfish
• bluegill
• orangespotted
• warmouth
• green
• pleco
• cory
• catfish

[hihihihihihihihihi95]

whered u get those kewl green plants?

[bitterangst]

an ex-bud gave them to me and then they reproduced like crazy. my desire to keep live plants faded over 2 years. i am glad i did it, but at the same time, i am glad they are gone.

bitter

[Vlaxitov]

Do the sunfish leave your live plants alone? I have a heavily planted tank and am thinking about going with sunfish this summer, but not if they're plant destroyers.

[bitterangst]

warmouth, greensunfish, bluegill, and orangespotted sunfish leave my plants alone.

[rrey0456]

I like it!

Real nice never thought of painting it like that!

Now how do I cycle my 30 gal for my Betta???

[mrsandnhs]

good tank! Please check out mine

[IKILLU720]

cool i have a sun fish and he is very aggrassive

[fitbikerider459]

@bitterangst dam long ass description haha

[ShadowBmx1995]

isnt that a pain to clean?

[hihihihihihihihihi95]

@bitterangst lol nice

[msh464]

nice.