Fluval Edge 46L community planted tank...

[pcsansbury]

So, I wanted to share my experience of working with the new Edge tank.

Please excuse the long intro but some of you (may!!) want to know what Ive been through to get to this point!!

I'm not an Edge Newbie (I set up a 23L about 3 years ago with pretty nasty blue gravel and plastic plants! but that didn't last very long at all before something went horribly wrong and my fish contracted TB) that tank was emptied after all the fatalities, I setup another 23L (2nd tank!! IT'S AN ADDICTION!) simple setup with sand and natural gravel, cheap stem plants and lots of re-work until I managed to settle it down!
Once the disease riddled 23L tank had been stripped, sterilised and washed repeatedly; I was ready to rebuild so I went for as natural a look as possible with ADA Aqua Soil (powder) bits of wood, moss and various crypts and other plants etc, etc. some modding with the lighting involved me ripping out the hood and lighting unit entirely in order to use an EBAY T5 unit from Boyu which is immense and I'm successfully growing Glosso and tons of reeds, Java fern and an abundance of randoms!! the tank isn't clean and defined enough for me to post images on here but it's a lovely home for a group of very shy pygmy corys, some venezuelan Black corys, a female fighter and a borneo sucker fish!

SO onto the reason you're even visiting my wordy blog (sorry again, my wife often mocks my waffling!!!)

I only started with this tank as my beloved female fighter Bellatrix developed Dropsy and passed on (I'm also a massive soft git when it comes to my pets (and my wife!!)) so I decided to go from 3 tanks (2 Fluvals 23L and 1 cheap 19L) to 2! I combined the stocks from 2 tanks to a single which seems like a massive overstep but I KNOW the limits on these tanks and I've been running them for 3 years, I also don't feed my fish everyday so I am confident in my stocking.

So choosing the tank; we were originally going to move the fish into a “holding tank” for me to re-scape one of the 23L however I then spotted the 46L!!! SOLD!

We instantly decided on the ADA Aquasoil again but opted for the standard (larger) granule size, I wanted a wood ornament of some description and I wanted DHG and crypts... other than that, I knew I needed an algae culture in the tank to so the soil was bought and I wondered around my LFS's (I'm fortunate – there's about 5-6 around me that I can drive to within 15-20 minutes at the most! And I found the main centrepiece of the tank a massive piece of bogwood!

So with the bogwood in place, I started planting the tank out, Dwarf Hairgrass, various Cryptocoryns, Lilaeopsis, limnophila aromatica, Juncus Repens and Hygrophila Guanensis. I split all plants down into their smallest denominators and spread throughout the open areas of the tank whilst leaving a couple of open areas for a couple of ornaments that need room!

Then I waited... the worst part of fish tanks is the bloody waiting and I'm not a patient man at all! Another thing that the wife will attest to!

Now for Fish tank Noobs; Aqua Soil creates a massive AMMONIA burst and ammonia is the key element in cycling a fish tank – it kick starts the growth of the bacteria that converts ammonia to Nitrite, then from Nitrite to Nitrate!

So after several sponge squeezings from my other tanks and the purchase of a cycle start gel from my LFS; I saw the ammonia drop to 0 and the nitrates boom past any measurable level!! I also left the lights on 24/7 for algae!

Anyway, boring science crap aside eventually I was able to net the fish from the other tank (23L) and mix with the water from the 46L tank to acclimatise before I dropped them in!

So I know some of you are bored now but I have pictures!!!

Hope you all like but if not please be aware that I've only been fishkeeping for 3 years and everything I know was learned from forums like this and advice from LFS's!!!

[pcsansbury]

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as for any stocking concerns - the last 2 images are of the fully stocked tank!!! we have lots of corys but they hide a lot!

There's a fighter somewhere in there somewhere..!? sorry fgr quality - photos taken with my phone!!

search youtube for pcsansbury for my channel too!!

Enjoy!
P

[pcsansbury]

So, tank has been running full bore for 6 months, I added some very unsuccessful Otos which hid and promptly died causing a fairly horrific outbreak of whitespot which led to the deaths of 7 other fish (tetras) and eventually caused dropsy from stress of the incident and claimed the life of my prized Betta Splendem.

Other than that, the tank has been a great success, I have a bristlenose plec and a borneo sucker fish living in harmony together and a more recent addition of 4 honey gouramis to bolster the tank stocks, all in all, the tank has settled nicely.

I know the tank is a little overplanted for some tastes but they're all healthy plants and the crypt are growing nicely, the DHG is spreading throughtout the tank and the tall plants are trimmed up every few weeks to keep them from breaching the surface!

I hope you enjoy the photos and maybe find the tank to serve as some inspiration?!

P

[talkin56]

After saying I would not get gouramis betas or any labyrinth fish... I did and now am avoiding putting the water level all the way up for leaving space for them to gulp air anywhere on the surface. I have the 12 gallon like you. Do you think putting the water to the top they will discover the hole or not ? just askin. BTW your tank looks great w/ all that foilage.. I am wanting a background of tall grasses. I have the orig lighting I guess..3 rows with 2 sm blue lights. Have you seen better upgrades to this lighting ? I would like to have higher light requirement plants. Thanks for posting all your pics. They are helpful and encouraging.

Talkin56

[pcsansbury]

Hi Talkin'

Thanks for visiting my blog!

with the edge I always keep the water level LOWER than the recommended levels from Fluval, this is for a 2 reasons;

1) Labrynth organ fish can surface anywhere (I also find that corys are similar in surfacing - I think this is more of an habitual behaviour rather than necessary to survive) I have accidently raised it too far in the past during water changes and seen my fighter in sheer panic before I could bail water out for them. in short, I wouldnt want to risk the health of my fish as, if they were stressing about surfacing to breath constantly they would soon fall ill to some form of sickness.
2) equally as important is fish need oxygenated water, the larger the surface area = more oxygen in the water. if you raise the water past the neck of the tank you'll be reducing it to about 25-30% of the size that you have at the moment.

my dad kept guppies in his 23l and they never looked great, I suggested dropping the water level and their colours, behaviour and health improved almost overnight!!

I am using the stock lighting and dosing the tank with pro fito and easy carbo. Clean each week, 20% water change I use nitrate minus, easy balance and water safe (by Tetra) and my levels are 0 nitrate and 0 nitrite PH is 7.0

Thanks for the comments, good luck with the tank and you should post photos!

[pcsansbury]

Realised I hadn't visited in a little while...

the tank's going strong and looking pretty decent - it's now home to a clown pleco and a small female bristlenose pleco as well as a rather stunning black crowntail betta.

I have a new project in the offing and I am looking forward to attacking that challenge but it's not a fluval Edge this time around however I will be cannibalising the edge - some of the cryptocoryns and bogwood will be transferred over as well as all livestock (eventually) and the filter will be running alongside the new one as well.

This project really has achieved full maturity and I can sit back and enjoy it; Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites are steadily at 0 - my tapwater is richer in these than my tank! Feeding occurs 3-4 times a week and I clean it out once every 3-4 weeks; I have always been impressed with the Edge and my only small criticism is the access to the tank through the frustratingly tiny opening! Catching any fish that doesn’t want to comply is a complete bitch!!!

I have and always will recommend Fluval tanks to anyone – the cheap alternatives/rip-offs are simply sub-standard.

I am always intrigued to hear other people’s plans and ideas so please let me know if you guys want to know anything       

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