8.22.2004: The new joy in my life. A 125 gallon tank (72x18x22).

8.22.2004: Newly planted with bits and pieces from my 40g tank and a 29g that I had initially set up for my kids, but eventually planted. That tank was torn down when I set the 125g up.

Lighting in this picture is from a dual 40W AGA strip light, and the two 65W CoraLife Aqualight that were on the 29. Lighting was upgraded to four 96W Freshwater Aqualights (6700K) about a week after this pic was taken.

Filtration is done with a Eheim 2026 and a Fluval 304. A CoraLife TurboTwist 3X is run inline with the Eheim, and a DIY CO₂ reactor is inline with the Fluval. CO₂ is fed in through a 5# tank.

9.11.2004: The observant viewer will recognize that this is no longer the same 125g tank from the previous picture.

On Labor Day weekend, while doing my weekly water change, I was adjusting the wood canopy (that came with the tank) when I heard a sickening crack. Walking around the front of the tank I saw that in adjusting the canopy, it had twisted the tank causing a 12" long crack from the top rim down the middle of the front pane. Arghhhh!!! Crisis management mode immediately went into effect with the removal of all my newly planted plants and fish to holding buckets and bins. After three hours of siphoning water and scooping out gravel I was able to locate a replacement tank at a not quite local LFS. Two hours later I was back home trying to put it all together again.

Additional plants were given to me by a friend, including some H. polysperma, Watersprite, and Ammania gracilis. An assortment of Crypts and additional Java Fern was purchased from AquaBotanic.com.

By this time I had joined the San Francisco Bay Area Aquatic Plant Society (SFBAAPS) so I was able to attend a couple of open house/plant swaps to further fill in the tank with some H. umbrosium, Ludwigia glandulosa, and C. spiralis. What a great group of dedicated and generous hobbiests!

10.20.2004: At about seven weeks...

I swapped out the 6700K bulbs for some 10000K and 8800K bulbs I had bought as spares for my 40g tank. It wasn't as dramatic a difference over this tank than it was over the 40g. Whether it's the added height or the thicker glass this tank does not take on the clean-whiteness like the smaller 40g.

12.01.2004: At three months...

Sorry for the washed out picture. The left side was cleared out of the Ludwigia (repens broad and narrow leaf) and the R. rotundifolia was severely cut back. A hobbiest in Florida was generous enough to send me a Blyxa auberti (back left corner). The C. spiralis and Java Ferns are filling in the right side nicely. The glosso foreground is doing well, too.

12.23.2004: The newest addition...

Some Sparkling Gouramis, ten to be precise. They're still rather shy and venture out of the plants very cautiously. They have very striking blue eyes (that this pictures fails to capture) and their croaking is straight out of the movie Predator...very eerie.

01.26.2005: Updated tank pics...

Left side....

Center....

Right side....

02.15.2005: Updated tank pics...

Did some clean-up on the left side by pulling the Ludwigia brevipes from the back and layering the stellata from back to front in it's place. The brevipes was doing the typical Ludwigia 'lower leaf drop' so I salvaged what stems I could and placed them in front (you can just make them out in the pic below in front of the Crypts, between the 'cuba' and stellata).

Also added recently are some Rotala macrandra and Ludwigia 'cuba', both of which I got from a recent SFBAAPS plant swap. They've been in the tank for a week and a half and are putting out new growth so I'm very pleased...especially since my first attempt with 'cuba' was a total failure.

The next two picture clearly show how big a regular Java Fern can get...

04.15.2005: Updated tank pics...

The R. macrandra and L. 'cuba' both stalled and had to be pulled out. I did the same with the last of my L. brevipes after I got tired of it constantly dropping its lower leaves.

The good news is that I'm again able to grow dwarf Lobelia...

Java Ferns grow really well under good light, with CO₂ and nutrient Rich water.

04.16.2005: Unhidden treasures...

Pulling out the massive Java Fern revealed plants I had forgotten were in the tank...specifically the A. coffeefolia and 'petite' nana. Not to mention the driftwood. :^)

Also uncovered were a couple of C. parva that I had thought was overrun by the Marselia long ago. The amazing thing about finding this plant still alive is the fact that it was totally under the shadow of the head of Java Fern.

05.11.05: Time for another update...

Left...

Center...

Right...

And some close ups of the flora...

Dwarf Lobelia	Blyxa japonica
Blyxa aubertii	Pogostemon stellatys (broad leaf)	Anubias coffeefolia

12.22.2005: Update...

So the "no stem plant" phase has ended as a series of SFBAAPS plant swaps was too much temptation to resist. :^)

The left side—again—is the stem plant side. New plants added since November are: Rotala macrandra (again), Polygonum sp. 'Kawagoeanum' and muricatum, Alternanthera reineckii "rosaefolia", Ludwigia ovalis and inclinata, Rotal sp. 'green', Hygrophila sp 'red', Hemigraphis traian, Utricularia sp, and finally some Juncus repens.

1.1.2006: Happy New Year!

Here's a panoramic shot to open the new year.

The center piece of Fern covered wood was removed to open up more area for the stem plants I've been collecting. At this point, from left to right, I have: Ludwigia inclinata, L. inclinata 'green', L. ovalis, Polygonum sp ‘Kawagoeanum’, Rotala macrandra, Dwarf Lobelia, Didiplis diandra, Aternanthera reineckii, Hemmigraphis traian, P. muricatum, Bylxa aubertii, B. japonica, L. inclinata var. verticillata 'Cuba', L. arcuata, Limnophila aromatica, R. rotundifolia, Hygrophila sp. 'Red', and finally some Juncas repens. Oh, and there is a small patch of Marselia started from bits I found back behind all the Crypts in the right side of the tank.

Along with all the new stem plants there are some new finned inhabitants…five wild Angelfish from Albany Aquarium. They're all late juvis with bodies about 1.25" in diameter.

Unfortunately, the Gold Veil Angelfish I had passed away a few days ago, so these guys were brought in to fill the void.

They join a pair of Gold (white?) Blush Angelfish babies from Family Pets. Both have bodies about 3/4" in diameter, but the one on the right has spectacular fins.

So now there are a lot of Angelfish in this tank. We'll see how it plays out when/if they start to pair off.

07.18.2008

Well, a lot has changed since the last update, both in the tank's flora and fauna. Gone is nearly all the plants shown in the previous update.

Instead it has transformed into a haven for low maintenance plantings of needle leaf Java Fern and Anubias. A few Crypts and dwarf swords round out the flora. As for fauna, only one of the angelfish remains, and it probably won't last much longer as it had worms and the deworming treatment has left its digestive tract pretty messed up.

The big addition are the turquoise Discus given to me by my fellow sfbaaps member, David. What can't be seen in this pic are the multitude of Corys that swarm the bottom of the tank. Having Discu means that the bottom feeders never want for food.

I've also upgraded the lighting to a pair of 4x39w T-5 Tek fixtures. They're clipped together and hung off of conduit in a similar configuration to the light over the 120g tank.