2 meter Orinoco basin tank setting up...

[andywoolloo]

sweet!

[Jon]

So close!

I can almost taste those panaque.

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your kind comments!
I am glad you like it!!!

SOBERKITTY,
Caves like these take lots of time and effort to be made and so they are not marketable...If i was to make some to sell them,it wouldnt worth it for less than 100euros a piece...Except of course if i was to make one for a friend

andywoolloo,
Thanks

Jon,
I cant wait to put some in!!!

Here are the rest of the photos i had promised you.My internet connection got faster the last few hours and managed to upload them

The rocky area of the tank...








Side view of the rocks and pumps...










The intakes of the pvc network...


The return spraybars,covered with the peat/coco bedding mix with the help of silicone...
















The sump pumps installed and with a neoprene sheeting under them to bring them to the correct height and to absorb their vibrations...





As i told you,i changed the overflow hoses because they were made for ducting and i couldnt be 100% sure about their toxicity to tubing made to transfer liquid foods like milk and wine...Here is a photo of it...Its the red ones...


The holding tank with all its equipment inside,apart from the temprature probe,thermometer and the tubing for the Newjet 2300 pump...




Till now,i have washed the tank 5 or more times(fill and empty... ) to remove anything it may had and also to wash the 80+kg of sand i added in it Right now the tank is filled and waiting its last empty and fill,after having let the water stand for three days so that the woods put out any bad thing they might had absorbed...Today i was to do the last empty/fill as i said but the plumber did not came to finish its work putting a water supply in the tank stand and so i am hesitant to work on the tank due to the fact that he will be drilling the ceiling and the wall behind the tank stand and so its very possible that the sump which is difficult to completely cover,may get some wall dust and may need washing again... He wont come till this wednesday and so i may delay the last empty/fill till then
Filling the tank for the first time,i flooded a bit... The Tunze pump was leaking badly...So i stopped the filling,drained the last sump compartment,''fixed'' it and tried again...The same and so we go again from the start...Anyway,it took a lot of fiddling but i fixed it...Then,i strarted the sump pumps and,what a nice surprize,the Tunze return was leaking too And in a few minutes,the overflow started to leak too from one of its 90degree elbows...So,as you can see,it was a very bussy day,fixing all leaks yesterday... I havent tried to see if i indeed fixed them,but i think i am done with them...I took my plumbing connections apart and putted much more Teflon than before and they should be ok...As for the overflow,i managed to turn it one more turn and now there is no way it can leak... Its really tight!
I took some photos but not too many as i runned out of batteries and also was very bussy fixing the leaks and taking care of the spilt water...Will be posting them very soon

Hope you liked it!!!

[Kostas]

I just managed to upload the latest shot too, so here they are!!!

Enjoy the filling!!!


And the filling starts...




The sand is slowly added...


And here it is!!!With all the sand in...






























The water is approaching the overflow grills!!!


The tank has finally filled!!!


I dont remember from which fillings are the photos but i think that the bare bottom ones are from the second filling,the ones with the sand and cloudy water from the 4th and the clear water ones from the 5th or 6th...These combined make a perfect tank filling Although not one that would happen as the sand would(and did make:D )a mess after being added that wouldnt clear in seconds and maybe not even in hours...Thats why i cutted the photoshooting at that filling,it wouldnt show a thing:D

Hope you liked it!!!

[grokefish]

And so we see the Ghostly image of Kostas, the most patient fishkeeper in the known world.
Cool.

Matt

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your kind comments Matt Much apprecciated!!! I dont know if i deserve them though...
Will post a better picture of me for you

By the way,I think its time to do an update

Ok,so,i began cycling the tank the previous Saturday by putting some biological media from my 1meter Panaque-Leporacanthicus tank to the 2meter tank's sump...I specifically putted 9 mature Bio-Chem stars from the 30 i have in the 1meter tank's biological filter and about 15 or a bit more bio-mechanical filter media with with a polygonal shape and a hole in the middle...(i dont what they are,its has than been 4-5years...).I fed the tank with lots of Tetra Prima,some Hikari carnivore peletes and a few Tetra plecomin tablets,enough for about 4 15cm plecos to eat...Then i waited the previous Monday and fed some more of all of them,for about 3-4 15cm plecos to eat...Yesterday,i tested the water and everything was at 0 except of course nitrates which were at about 8-10...So,i was ready to add some fish!!! And so i did!!!Last tuesday,i went and bought the first pleco of this tank,a 27cm Panaque cochliodon!!! I know he is a bit out of biotope but i liked him so much when i saw him at the shop about a month ago that i putted a hold on him!And imagine that i didnt like Panaque cochliodon all these years seeing them in photos... But he was very beautyfull and had lots of character from close by... I will open a new thread at the Loricariidae section and post pictures of him

And now the most interesting part...Pictures!!!

A photo of the aquarium the day i brought its first fish home and during its acclimation...No bag is seen in the aquarium as i did drip acclimation to him... As you can see i have some plants in the aquarium...I had ordered them through a shop in Greece,the same i bought the Tunze master electronic pump from, and came about 2weeks ago on Saturday The plants are 4 Pistia stratiotes with the amazing diametre of 40cm:shock: ,4 Eichhornia crassipes 25-30cm in diametre and 4 Hydrocotyle leucocephala...I had them and during my previous update but you dont see them in the tank photos as i temporarily putted all of them in the holding tank,except for the Pistia which could no way fit in there


And this is a photo of the tank taken this Sunday with room lights closed and only tank lights on...The lighting of the tank consists of only 2 38W T8 lamps driven by a Hagen GLO electronic balast...(you can see it hanging in front of the tank...I hanged it from one of the of the woods in the tank as the cables are short and dont let me to have it sitting under the tank )This is only a temporary solution till i get a proper lighting system(i plan on getting a Riff-Systems Xtreemlights unit 1850mm in length with 4 80W T5 lamps and dimming computer for all the lamps...)


Here are the return spraybars planted...I am not done with the planting though,i will put more plants that these!!!And much more moss,i am just waiting for the peat blocks i placed between and on the sprabars and the side glass to absorb some water so that the moss will thrive...I have plenty for filling it all up!!!




















A photo of the slate building and the basalt rocks...


I hope you liked it!!! Will take more photos of the plants and will try to get a good shot of the first inhabitant in his aquarium

[MatsP]

Looking good. Sure was worth the wait, I'd say.

--
Mats

[racoll]

Nice work. I also admire your patience....

You might find that the Pistia just gets smaller and smaller as it reproduces, and can die off sometimes. It also occupies a large amount of room above the tank.

I swapped mine for Amazon frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum), which is proving much more suitable (and I think more attractive).

[Seedy]

Kostas, I am so glad to finally see this tank filled and cycled! Any pics of the new Panaque yet? Are you moving over any of your current fish into this tank?

The gap with the spraybars for planting is really quite nice, I wasn't so sure of it when I 1st saw it, but now I understand

Is it nice to be able to finally enjoy your labor of love?

[Kostas]

Thank you very much all of you for your replys

Thank you Mats for youn kind comments!!!

Thanks racoll for your kind comments!!!
Yes,i know they get smaller when kept in an aquarium most of the times,i was keeping it as a floating plant in my 1meter Panaque-Leporacanthicus tank and to be honest,i really liked it! But i lost them one summer when i was having the tank lights off for more than a week and my Panaque found a new food source at the hearts of Pistia... :rolleyes:Hope he has forgotten about that food source...
I really like Limnobium too and i would like to have it in my 2meter tank but as i have an overflow and they dont have the best bouyancy(i have had Limnobiums too ),i am afraid they will just end up clogging the overflow...I will try it though as i have some quiet areas formed by the woods where i could keep some without trouble

Thank you very much Seedy
Unfortunately i still havent found the time to take more photos of him or of the tank to do an update for you...I have still lots of work to do on the tank so that i automate most of the trhings and so that everything works as i had planned it.Only the basic things are installed,those completely neccessairy to keep the fish...Right now only one of the two sump pumps work,only 4 of the 5 Tunze Turbelle electronic 7400/2 powerheads work as the other got a lump on the impeller housing and i still havent uninstalled it to replace it,only 1 heater works,i still havent got a proper 2nd heater(now i use a malfunctioning 200W Rena heater as a second heater...I am not worried about its malfunctioning though as the tank is big and it doesnt make any difference at all...It just helps the other 300W heater bring the water to the correct temprature as it cant on its own...),the waterchanges are fully manual and the Iks is not installed yet...So far so good... You see i have lots of work left to do,the aquarium is not ready yet!!!

Yes,i will be moving my Hemiancistrus subviridis who has been living more than 4 years now in my 1meter planted llanos tank and my Panaque L190 and Leporacanthicus L240 from my other 1 meter Rio Orinoco biotope tank(i also call it Panaque-Leporacanthicus tank i love both these plecos very much!!!! The 2meter tank was made for them and the 3meter one will be built for them too!!!).The Hemiancistrus subviridis will be moved today after i do a water change at his tank... He wont be only fish to go in the 2meter tank today though!!!
As for my Panaque L190 and Leporacanthicus L240,they will most probably be moved together to the 2meter tank(to spread possible aggretion of the Panaque cochliodon...) on Staurday or Sunday...I hoped to move them sepperately,each one along with the new ones of his own kind i will be adding but i havent found their companions yet...Only for the Hemiancistrus subviridis i have found...

I glad you like the planted spraybars They are not done yet though and i think they will look far better once they fill a bit with the moss...

Yep! I sit and admire my tank already But the same i did when it was still under construction though... So its probably just me

I will be leaving for Easter holidays next Wednesday so i dont know if i will be able to update soon...I will try though to do even a short update for you before i leave

[Richard B]

Kostas - this is a great thread, with a great tank being produced - i can only imagine how good it's going to be once it has been established for a while - very well done

[Kostas]

Thank you very much Richard!!!
I am glad you like it so much!

A few days ago i went to buy a valve for the big sup pump's bypass...Unfortunately they didnt had in stock the usual ball valves with the blue handle but only the ones that are able to withstand chemicals and have an orange handle...These ones are the same as the other with the exception that they have Epdm O-rings...Are these safe to use too?I searched for Epdm toxicity and found a rather alarming test with it...Here is the article...
On the other hand,there are many pond liners made exclusively from Epdm and are considered better too that the other types of liners... Something that could explain it abit ,maybe is whats written there...At some point it says that certain Epdm liners made for roofing are toxic.Also,i read somewhere else that Epdm liners carry a ''toxicity rating''...
Anybody knows more on that?Would you use these valves?They are more pricey by the way...I also bought two check valves and uppon checking them later,they too say that contain Epdm...

Thank you very much in advance!

[MatsP]

Seems like something to avoid, but I also suspect that there is a huge difference between using a liner all around the shrimp (lining a tank) and a small O-ring.

--
Mats

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your reply Mats!!!

This study unfortunately also mentiones losses in tanks containing some epdm,i.e. with Epdm not sorrounding the shrimp as a liner but as a much smaller proportion...On the other hand Epdm O-rings are used in drinking water safe solenoid valves too...
Anyway,i will use the valve but may remore the O-rings...I dont mind if it leaks as it will be leaking aquarium water straight to the sump

Anyone more into plastics?


And now,time for an update!

As the Panaque cochliodon was getting better with the therapy,i added two weeks ago,on Thursday the two Hemiancistrus subviridis i had putted on hold at Hydrocosmos(didnt i tell you,i bought the male i asked you about too ) and then went to catch my Hemiancistrus subviridis which i have for 4,5++ years from my Llanos biotope tank...Its planted with lots of Vallisneria and has some relatively big woods in too...I did just one try and then he vanished!I searched the entire tank to no avail but didnt pulled out the all woods,just one,his own...I went the next day,tried again and he went under the internal filter and refused to leave even when i touched him and tried to slide him out!He sucking hard and refused to leave...So i went to catch for a third dayI pulled all the woods out and chased him...He went several times under the filter but left when i neared my hand to him and so here we go again!The water was brown for all the sawdust he was doing waterborne and couldnt see a thing(all of these days this was making spotting him on time and in good positions hard to undoable....)So,while waiting for the water to clear a bit to see him,i saw the net i had left in the tank in front of the opening for under the internal filter moving abruptly back and forth!!!I say in me,"the Rineloricaria must be..." but "neah,it isnt that strong to move is so mush so violently..."...So i quckly grab the net and bring it to the front glass and to my delight,i see the Lemon in there!!!! It seems the water was so murky and he so fast that went straight into the net and then got severely entagled and couldnt leave!!!I pulled the net out and it was a mess:he was entagled everywhere,head,pectoral fins,dorsal fin,everywhere!!!I placed the net in the floating bag i had in the aquarium for him to let him free himself but he couldnt!So after he calmed a bit,i caught him by hand and slowly freed him up without damaging any of his spines.Then,after some acclimation,he went in with the others,with 2 days delay...
All of them went for the rocks except for the female which went for the woods...But the next day she was on the rocks tooFrom then on,they have moved to woods too and i see everything from all of them,2 of them or noone at the rocks...No cave has been occupied at the moment but the have dug up all the caves which previously where under 1" of sand and full of sand at their inside...As for the sexes,i was thinking i have 2males and 1 female but it now seems mine is also a female and not a male and so now i think i have 1 male and two females!!!!I am glad i bought that male!!!!!!!!! He is now a true beauty by the way,nothing reminds the awfull condition he arrived...
Today,i caught and added my beloved Panaque L190 ''llanos'' and Leporacanthicus L240.I first petted my L240 and the removed all woods but his...He went at the Panaque's wood i was removing and so he was soon left without it and went at an old dainty coconut shell with wall thickness less than a mm Because he trusts me and i trust him,i raised the coconut and tried to put him that way in the bag but the bag was being controlled by another family person who is afraid of being touched by a fish and so he wasnt cooperating very well and the bag was not as well open as it needed to fit the coconut in there as the coconut is big and it doesnt fit that easily... So after a few tries the Leporacanthicus left the coconut and went towards me.I took the bag and and slowly placed it on him(he lets me do everything to him without running away,as long as i do it!!! )If it wasnt for me ,he would have runned away from such a situation with its high speed well before the bag even gets close...But,he was refusing to enter the bag,he was just sitting...We did that thing again for a few times and when i had him fit somewhat well,i moved his tail by hand where i wanted it so that he would fit perfectly.I then petted him and he then cooperated and went slowly in the bag which i lifted...He was relatively calm,always looking at me like i was his protection from anything bad!When i gave him to another person to prepare the place for his acclimation,he became anxious after very little time and was trying to leave the bag till i got him back...He then clamed!I floated him in the tank and he was constantly looking at me as another family member spotted!I said why and she said,move to side and watch his eyes,they go everywher you go!!!!I did it and she was right!!! He calmed and regained his color which he lost when i gave him to the other person i told you...When time came to realease him,i got the bag at its side petted him and he slowly came out and towards me.He stood at the rocky side,on the sand looking at me always and explored the rocks from the outsied looking at his protector I then went for the Panaque...He was a bit difficult to catch as he may like to see me but he detests my hand near him...And the bag of course!After some chase with the bag(i always catch my plecos with their transportation bag,using a net is really rare for me and only for extreem situations like catching my Lemon from a planted tank...) and using my hand to drive him away of inaccessible spots,i trapped him at a corner and the bag and used some of my fingers to make all other ways unwanted for him He then swam towards my finger with speed and at the last split second he turned,touched me with his tail and went full speed into the bagHe was fastly removed for the tank and he tried to jump back in but he didnt make it fortunately...When i got him in the 2meter tank he was at a loss but fully colored and not white as he was during the end of his transportation when i got him as a baby...He slowly calmed a bit and when time came,i setted him free again...He went for the woods of course!!!BUT to my surprize,he didnt went to hide,he stood at a place where he could easily see me and i could easily see himHe was hiding a bit when he was seen(because there was another family member present and he is not as used to her as to me) and then back out!I hid from him and he came to the right place,a bit aways from where he was just to be able to see me!After all this staff,he still likes me!
But not all are that good...A while after,i saw him near my blue eye and the blue eye was in the mood for fighting and went for him...They neared and started fighting,mine was in for the fight he wasnt trying to escape it,he was fighting back! So,as you can easily imagine,his dorsal was all torn,its frayed now,in numerous ''strings'' All split I hope they never fight again...
Another unfortunate event is that during the catching of the male Hemiancistrus subviridis by the shop owner,he was carefull at all and he wasnt patient at all to untangle him from the net and just pulled him off and almost all the odontodes of the male for the side he was entangled are gone!!! I hope they grow back soon and ther hasnt been any damage to their base...Is there any chance such a damage i am talking about could occur from something like that or do they just break off and grow back?

Will try to do a photo update for you soon!!!

[DutchFry]

nice story!

you love your fish, and they love you back, that's just great!

I hope the odontodes will grow back soon!

[slakey]

Any new pictures or updates?

Really nice tank btw.

[Jon]

I second the more pics notion. Great thread.

[Morgul]

incredible job
Congratulations , you are a master.
no words.
(more pictures please)

[Moosipher]

Amazing looking set up, Kostas.. Please, more pics!

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your replys and your kind comments!!!

I am glad you liked the story DutchFry
Yeap,its very good when you see the fish you love paying you back with trust and maybe even love My Leporacanthicus is the best on that matter!!!!
Thank you very much for your wish!They have started growing back nicely from what i can see although they need to grow a lot more before they reach the size the had before...

Thanks or your interest slakey!
I hope to satisfy you soon!!!

Thank you very much Jon!!!
I am glad you like it!

Thank you very much for your kind comments Morgul
I am very happy you like my work so much!

Thank you very much Moonsipher!!!
I am glad you like my setup!

Unfortunately i was very bussy all this time and i couldnt find the time needed for an update...I am still bussy but fortunately my bussy period ends this week and so by the end of this week i hope that i will find the time needed for a big photoshoot and do a big update for you

I had a nice surprise about a week ago while checking how my Christmass moss and Hydrocotyle leucocephala are growing...the latter of them bloomed!!!!! There were two inflorescences,one still young and closed and the other fully bloomed!!!So yesterday,i finally managed to find some little time and take some photos of the inflorescences The previously bloomed one is now setting seeds from what i can see while the closed one has now the lowest row of flowers open!!!I took some photos of the bloomed plants and some macro shots of the young and old inflorescences...Unfortunately there is not enough contrast on the photos to clearly see the flower parts and the color of the macro shots of the inflorescence which has started setting seeds is a bit off with its true color being the one seen in the photo taken from ''far''...
I also tried to take some pictures of my blue eye as many of you had asked but it was too dark for the camera...They came all black...When i install my new lighting unit i think it will be more feasible to take photos as now although the lighting may be good enough for viewing them with their great colors but its not enough for the camera once they are in the wood tangle...Its too dark for it there...

Enjoy!!!

Bloomed Hydrocotyle leucocephala...










Macro shots of the now bloomed inflorescence...




Older inflorescence setting seeds...






I also took two bonus pictures of the Christmass moss which grows emersed and submersed on the woods and of one of the Eichhornia crassipes that grows on the surface of my 2meter tank...:hi:

Christmass moss...Unfrtunately this is the best of the macro shots that i managed to take from it...As you can see,it has sporiophyts on it which means its reproducing too!!! All humid parts of the woods will have this moss growing on them once the spores are released


Eichhornia crassipes...


I hope you liked it!!!

[Kostas]

Time for the bid update i promised you!!!

It will be split in two-three parts as there are too many photos i have to process,upload and comment and i dont have that much time to do all of them together...But,still,each part of the update will be big by itself so no worries!!!

So here we go:

The 2meter tank as it was yesterday...Room lights closed...




Close up of the Christmass moss growing on the peat/coco bedding covered spraybars...The moss grew nicely and with more light it would have grown much better...The Hydrocotyle that was on there didnt make it due to the the very low lighting of that part of the tank...




The rocky area of the tank...Sand and sawdust sitting on the rocks has made this area much more natural looking...Not the slightest sign of algae though...


The middle of the tank...


Close up of the rocky area of the tank showing my male Hemiancistrus subviridis getting out of its usual hiding spot...


Now lets take a look at what sits underneath the aquarium,in its stand...We open the doors of the right part of the stand and....heres what we see!




As you can see,i have installed quite a few things in the stand!Below the photos show the space between the holding tank(right) and the sump(far left) which is full of equipment with more to be installed shortly...I have almost installed the Lifegurad Fluidized Bed Filter(FB600) which sits just behind the middle vertical bar of the stand,the water supply is almost ready too but needs a few more fittings to make both outlets functional due to space restrictions...I have also installed the Iks switch outlets(the white ones seen),the Tunze turbelle electronic pump drivers(far right,the metalic boxes...)and a 6 oultet Legrand with high intensity breaker...And guess what,i managed to use the socket behind the aquarium!!!The Legrand plugs are a bit thinner than the ''normal'' ones when retracted(they have a half ring that you open to be able to pull the plug with ease) and it just passed the tight part(the outer side of the socket) and then it went in!!!!:dance::victory:So from this multisocket all other multisockets are powered...The Tunze turbelle electronics have their own multisocket which is positioned right and abovefrom the holding tank...It cant be seen and cannot be reached without pulling the holding tank at least a bit out...On that small space right of the holding tank the transformers of the pumps sit too...Maximum space use:D
















The return pumps you are so familiar with:D


The sump working...The media it has is as follows going as the water flows:carbon(when used),peat,Eheim Fix,14 litters Hobby Absorbex(the one for external filters,not the pond one as it has much less porosity...),500 Bio Chem Stars,1 10cm large pore sponge,1 5cm large pore sponge and a 10cm fine pore sponge.The sump still looks empty though...I am gonna slowly be adding more biological media as i dont want to spend the money needed to fill this thing up all together...And i have to go on vacations too,so it will be some time till i fill it...But i think for its current fishes it has enough media and will soon be helped by the Fluidized Bed filter which theoritically can handle the tank alone as the only biofilter...
















The first chamber of the sump...There the overflow tubes end and the heaters and all measuring probes are positioned...




Cables and pipes running above the sump...They need some tidy up but cant do it till i finish all equipment intallation and everything works properly...




The tank with room lights on so you can see how it looks on the outside...




As you may saw in the above picture,something new sits on the left side of the aquarium...I made something to put the things i will be needing more often to care for the aquarium so that they will be easily reached and also a place to put the Iks and Tunze multicontroller so that they can easily be seen and look good...I hope you like it!!!




And with room lights closed...




And now....the new lighting unit!!!A Riff-Systems Xtreemlights T5 with 4 80W T5 lamps and dimming computer able to dim each lamp separately!!!Also has 2(or 3? )moonlights with moon cycle simulation in duration as well as in intensity!Here it is as it looks from above...I havent installed it yet...




Its hanging mechanism and the instruction booklet...


The metalic things i bought to hang it from the ceiling...Its very heavy(15-25Kg ) and so it really needs these...Hope they are enough:frantic:




The lamps...They are Arcadia Marine White at 14.000K...I wanted 10.000K but couldnt find at that time and so i bought these as the only other option without UV stop(which dont want it cause the aquarium is in the basement and so the artificial lighting will be the only UV source...) was a plant grow bulb which would make the aquarium even yellower...I have ordered the lamps i want and will come at the end of September...






And some bonus photos of a couple more of the inhabitants...
A Hemiancistrus subviridis(most probably female) in its hiding place...You can see his underside at the gill area...








And my recent addition to the 2meter tank,my Baryancistrus demantoides!!!He is visible and on the move most of the time He has colored up a lot and seems to be getting more beautyfull day by day!!!




I have better photos of most of the fish in the 2meter tank but i will leave this for the 2nd part of the update...So stay tunned!!!

I hope you liked it!!!

[Kostas]

Its time for an update again i guess!!!

I am very sorry for taking me so long to update but unfortunately i got involved in many things during the summer and also had lots to prepare for my vacations and so many things,including the so waited update,were putted off...Then came the vacations themselves and a really bussy period afterwards that now is fortunately coming to its end...So here i am again,now that i finally found some free time, i have prepared a satisfying update for you i think,to make up for the delay!
During the past time i havent done much unfortunately due to the reasons i stated at the begining and also due to being very tired for any work on the aquarium during my little free time But i did managed to do a couple of things,the main one being the instalation of the lighting unit which i did somewhen in late June or early July I also finally had my defective Tunze Turbelle electronic 7400/2 replaced and i have some time now installed it too and all 5 pumps are now working together again!!!
I also did some shopping the past time and ordered and got the 400gpd 6stage RO unit i wanted from RO-Man!Now its with me waiting for some free time of mine to be installed!!!Along with it i ordered filter parts to make a tap water filter and dechlorinator which i designed so that i wont have to be adding dechlorinator to the water to make for easier automation of water changes and also to not be adding unnatural chemicals to my aquarium anymore on a continuous base!
In addition,i added some more Christmass moss which has now grown well and has taken over the area above the spraybars and grows till the water surface!The moss on the woods has also grown well and i placed some more on new,different points of them where i hadnt putted any at the begining...
I also added a cutting of Solanum muricatum,commonly known as pepino which i got from a friend of mine during my few days vacations on Cephalonia island...This plant really took of,growing roots from everywhere and also growing some new brances!It even flowered already the past week and from a flower i artificially pollinated it is even setting fruit!!!!!! It will be really fun seeing a pepino maturing above the water and then falling in and going from the maker to the consumer(my plecos:D)!!!
I also finally added my second Baryancistrus demantoides,which i bought a few days before going on vacations,unexpectedly finding him at the lfs i got my other one from,where i thought they had all been sold as that was what i was said from a few friends of mine!!!I also think that i went to that shop and checked myself and there was none left...I suspect he either was in quarantine or he was a return from a customer...Anyway,he had quite a few portions of his fins to continue regrowing,but he had already started regrowing them in a perfect manner and so i bought him the second i saw him!I was ready to put him directly in my 2meter tank and did a last,very detailed inspection just before that...Unfortunately he had a tiny black spot near his anus,the kind of black spot my Blue eye had and so i placed him in quarantine instead till i get back from vacations,as this was far from life threatening...When i returned,i treated him with Preis Coly as i thought this thing would be perfect for trying this product first as it wasnt threatening the fishes life and also because due as a natural product,i expected it to me more easy on the fish...I followed the directions,doing the food soaking too but wasnt able to do the last water change i wanted to do before i putted him in till last week(it wasnt in the instructions anyway so it couldnt hurt...) and finally moved him yesterday,to its final home!!! I checked him while in the bag to see if the spot is gone and it was indeed gone!!!Great!!! I hope it doesnt get bullied too much...My other Baryancistrus lost the whole upper part of his tail,till very close to the base of the fin Fortunately he has regrown a big portion of it already,within a week from the injury and now the new fin growth has almost reached the middle fork of the fin...The tail fortunately appears to be growing back in a good manner and after a few weeks it should have it all back and hopefully after a few months there should be nothing revealing the old injury...
Thats all for now i think!

And now the most interesting part...pictures!!!!!

A few hardware and aquarium pictures first...

The packages i got from RO-Man...The cartboard package contains the 400gpd 6stage RO unit while the Fedex bag the parts i ordered to make a tap water dechorinator that also removes chloramines and not only Cl as there is no membrane afterwards...




A few older close ups of the spraybar area...Now the moss has filled and greened the place a lot more!!!






While admiring my moss on the woods at the middle of the tank,i found small mushroom!!! I was only seeing mushrooms at paludarium and terrarium photos(which i both like a lot ) and so i was very excited to find one in my aquarium!!!Unfortunately they only last a couple of days...You can see it in the middle of the photo,looking at the underside of the upper branch,at the right side of the base of the small branch coming downwards...

I found another mushroom too,of different shape but didnt had camera on hand and had no time to go fetch it...I hope that in a few months time,more of them will appear as the mycelium grows!!!

A few recent photos of the whole tank with tank lights closed(as i had just moved my second Baryancistrus demantoides in...) to show you how it looks like now on the outside,with the lighting unit installed and all the mess with the ballast and the cables cleared...






And now some old photos i had promissed you from the move of the tank inhabitants!!!

Ok,here we go!!!The photos will be with chronological order...No transportation photos of the Blue eye will be posted as these have already been posted in a thread of their own named ''Panaque cochliodon is in the transportation box!!!''...

So lets start with the Hemiancistrus subviridis...

Specieman 1 in the bag...














...and in the tank a few days after...






Specieman 2 in the bag...






...and in the aquarium about an hour after it got in...


Specieman 3(my first Hemiancistrus subviridis which i have had for 5 years now in my llanos planted tank...you see it being taty from his wild chase in his old tank but also from his battles with my Platydoras costatus...they were fighting frequently from what it seems but he was hidden most of the time and couldnt check on him how he is doing as the tank wasnt at home... ) in the bag...











No photo in tank as of yet unfortunately but he has started being out more and more and he is not very afraid of me anymore!!!

After the Hemiancistrus were in and somewhat settled,my Leporacanthicus L240 and Panaque L190 ''Llanos'' went in!!!

My Leporacanthicus L240 in the bag,during his acclimation to his new tank...








...and just after he was released...he stood there and kept watching me!!!In just a few minutes,his coloration got back to solid black again!!!












A bit more than a month latter in the tank...




My Panaque L190 ''Llanos'' during his acclimation...














And just after he was released...He stayed there,and kept waching me too,now in front,then a bit back but always watching me and didnt vanished in the woods!!!






A rather dark photo of him about 2 months later...


A few photos of my Baryancistrus demantoides in its new tank...I have no pictures in the bag of him due to certain unfortunate things that happened in his move(he fell off from 1,5meters high twice,bashing on the tank stand and swiming on the carpet )Fortunately he only got a few scrathes from that and nothing else and fixed everything in a week or 2) that made me too anxious and ruined my day and had no courage left to take pictures,i just wanted him in the soonest possible to go calm down...






And now,lastly,the photos from the move of my second Baryancistrus demantoides which i fortunately managed to catch easily with the transportation bag,without much chase He was also relatively calm during his move and only bashed initialy a few times and that was all...He tolerates my hand near him very well and is not much scared!




















That were all the pictures i have...

I hope you liked it!!!

[Tenzin]

Thanks for the long awaited updates!

Can you please take more pics of the Panaquess!! please!

[Seedy]

Great stuff! Now we need to get you a couple or four off camera remote flashes so you can take some full tank shots without the glare! It looks so impressive, yet I just don't think the full tank shots do it justice.