# My 16 Gallon Bowfront (Pic Heavy)



## Arowan (Sep 2, 2010)

So, I posted a few pictures in the "Show off your tanks" thread, but I took oh-so-many more! 

I wanted to really detail how working with this kit worked for me, since I had noticed a few other members of the forum were interested in it as well.

Personally, I went with this tank for its sleek design and that, despite its size, is still readily portable the 4 times a college-year that I need to move it. (twice a semester, two hour drive.) I didn't purchase its matching stand, because 1-it's ugly and huge, and 2-even at the store display it was clearly wobbling. I actually just went to the Ross next store, and picked up a very sturdy wooden-and-iron stand for $40. I don't need to travel with it, this is my "home" stand--at the dorms, I will be using a humongous oak dresser.

The first question: Get this kit from Petco or Petsmart?
The one at petco is $99, the one at petsmart is $107, and it's the exact same kit as far as what you're getting.

The difference in price is that Petco gets them in unmarked boxes, and has to take them out and display them in the store. The risk of the lower price is the potential for cracks and chips in the glass. Remember to carefully examine the tank before you pay, so that you don't buy one that is chipped/cracked. (I went through three of them at the petco before I found a whole one). The tanks also tend to be pretty dusty, and required more cleaning. One of the tanks even had Gecko poop on it, from the time that the store's reptile had gotten loose. 
The Petsmart version is slightly more expensive, but you get it in it's brand-name box, and have much less to worry about concerning its condition.

The Filter:
It's an Aqueon Whisper/Quiet Filter 10, meant for up to 20 gallons. It's loud. There's a constant mechanical "whiirrrr" going on, which is pretty easy to tune out after awhile. But the filter itself also makes a ton of water/splash noises on the inside, which I'm still getting used to (the tank is in my bedroom). I currently have it baffled with a water-bottle one, the same exact one from my hawkeye 5g--the size needed for the baffle was identical. 

The Heater:
Aqueon's 50W heater model. I haven't turned it on yet, because my house is air-conditioned, and the tank is staying steady at 76F. Once I get back to NAU, though, I'll need to fine-tune it to get to around 77F, since my dorm is not air conditioned, and the heaters in the winter are pretty spotty. The suction cups that came with it were uber cheap, and broke when I was trying to put them together. I ended up taking the cups from my 25W heater and attaching them to this one. 

Lighting:
It came with a T8, 15W 8000k bulb, producing a purplish light. I went and got one of the Zoomed lights instead, for a more balanced color for plant growth. Still 15W, but at 6500k this time. Unless I custom-retro fit the hood, I can't get the wattage any higher. 

But I like low-light plants anyway! I'm still pretty new to them, I've just got a lot of freetime, and OCD, and so have a lot of research done.

I was a touch limited on design, since I had some plants from my original tank that I wanted to move over as well (seemed a waste to just toss em; the dorms allow up to 20G of water total in a room, so I couldn't bring both, and my family isn't interested (yet) in managing the 5g. So it's empty now and in the garage). There isn't the most ground-space in this tank for rooted plants, so I knew I was looking for some kind of tall driftwood. But I wasn't finding any real pieces I liked. So I decided to opt for the fake route, and found this lovely "grey tree root" at petsmart. (http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752293&lmdn=Fish+Decor)

The larger size was perfect, since it was a couple inches short of the top of my tank, allowing it to become a centerpiece. And with the bowed front, a tall centerpiece seems a must.

And it had a lot of places to attach anubias, which are great plants for my low-light, newbie self.

But none of my local petsmarts had any anubias (that weren't dead, or narrow-leaves, which I dislike), so I had to wait another 5 days to purchase them. 

But this first post is about Day 1!

I had my Dad help me cut out a section of the hood for putting the filter and heater through (it had cutouts, so was pretty easy). I scrubbed the tank out for a long time (with water), since it was pretty dusty from its time on display in Petco. I also painstakingly attached the background I found at Petsmart to the back, which was a lot harder than it seemed.

I had a leftover bag of eco-complete from when I first set up my 5g 8-9 months ago, so I poured the rest of it in. Then I emptied out my Hawkeye 5g, uprooted the plants, and emptied out the gravel from the 5g and put it in the bowfront, to help jump start the cycle. I also had a pre-filter attached to the intake of the 5g's filter, and that was moved as well to the 16g. 
(prefilter link: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3650250&lmdn=Brand). 

I had to hose the "stump," as I call it (my mom and brother call it ET, since from a certain angle they were convinced it resembled that famous character), since it was pretty cobwebbed. Sanded a couple spots that were too rough for betta fins, but otherwise it was pretty much ready to go. I loosely placed it on top of the gravel for day1, since I knew when I got my anubias I'd have to take it out again to attach them.

I then took my original plants (and one new Anachris, purchased a few days prior when I realized I'd have to fish-in cycle) and planted them about the stump.

I adjusted my two leopard cories first, once it had settled. They were a surprise gift from a family member who learned how much I loved the species (maybe even more than bettas). I couldn't turn them down, but I couldn't keep them for long in the 5g with my betta. And two of them isn't enough either, so next week (around day 14) I plan to purchase 2-3 more. But, they went in first, before my betta. Then he went in, and spent the next two days cruising over every inch of it. No bubble nests, but he's never really built any. 

Anyway, on to day-1 pictures! It is semi-difficult to photograph this tank due to the bowing of the front pane (which is acrylic, rest of the tank is glass, requires 2 types of algae scrubbers!) Sometimes the photos come out blurry no matter what I do (and I'm too lazy to switch to the mac side of my laptop and photoshop them, passable photos will do for now!)

Flora:
1-Narrow-Leaf Micro Sword (front left of tank; hoping it carpets, but might not have enough light for that. From a petsmart tank.)
1-Frill Plant/Fox Tail (Back left; Petsmart labels it as a frill plant, but other places refer to it as a foxtail. From a petsmart tank, lost about half of its leaves from transfer shock, hoping it pulls through).
1-Anachris (back right; another petsmart tank, already has grown about 3 inches in the 10 days I've had it, though some stems are starting to yellow...)
1-Hygrophila Compacta (front right and center; I bought it from one plant tube several months ago, and it has grown another stem... so I split it up a bit.)

I'll throw in a couple pictures of my Double-tail betta, Domino, too. He's a marble betta, when I purchased him 2-3 months ago he was pure white with flecks of (I thought) black. Turned out he's a copper marble. I love coppers. 
He loves to photobomb. And with his tendency of swimming at odd angles, it's hard to resist not taking his picture.

Did I mention I'm an English major, and love to write? 

I'll be using this topic to post lots of pictures, I think... I'm having fun with my "16g project."


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## Lion Mom (Jun 14, 2010)

That tank is just friggin' AWESOME!!!!!

And your betta is pretty good lookin' too!


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## Arowan (Sep 2, 2010)

So, today marks Day 6. Yesterday, after searching at 5 local petsmarts for anubias, I decided to make the 45 minute trip to Aquatouch (http://www.aquatouch.com/index.html), a fish-specialty store that is considered among the best of the Southwest States. And man, was that trip well worth it. Their freshwater (and saltwater) tanks were incredible, and all the plants were available for sale. I highly recommend checking out the link--you have to see to believe. The service was great, the staff very knowledgable. I might write to complain about their betta section, though--they had 5 very depressed crowntails in these teeny glass, open-top, square cubes. Rest of their fish were in pretty good condition, so I thought it odd the bettas had such bad care... but I digress! That was the only flaw to the store 

Anyway, I walked out with 4 different species of anubias, and a giant cup of java moss. 

I spent about an hour cleaning the java moss, and poring over every inch of it. It was kept in a tank that also had duckweed, and the employees said that if even one leaf of it got into my filter, it would quickly take over my tank. And I don't want a take-over (sorry, you duckweed fans in the forum!)

The anubias were potted with rockwool, but minus a few leaves requiring trimming were extremely healthy. 

I took the stump/ET out of the tank while I attached the anubias and some of the moss--the reason why it was very loosely settled when I first put it in. When I returned it to the tank, I shoved it down much deeper.

I used black thread to attach the anubias and moss, until they attach themselves. 

Anyway, new flora list:

(same original plants, the Frill plant still seems alive and Ok, and my anachris has grown, though a couple stems are yellowing. I'll trim them down in a few days.)

1-Anubias "cofeefolia" (Front left, bottom of stump) My favorite species of anubias, and they only had one of them in the store. Gorgeous plant. New leaves grow brown, then turn green as they get older. The ridges on the plant look gorgeous.
1-Anubias "gold leaf" (Top left, two clumps of it--one pot, but two distinct rhizomes) Not sure what else to call this plant, but it seems smaller than anubias nana, and the bright-green-gold leaves are gorgeous.
1-Anubias Nana (Back right of stump, the ginormous one.) I could probably break the rhizome into 3-4 parts, but it seems rather cool all huge like that. 
1-Anubias "striped leaf" (back top of stump) It looks like an anubias nana to me, but the staff said it was a striped one... but I see no stripes... still pretty!

Java moss: I stuck some on top, and on one of the "underneath" branches, and the rest I just stuck on the bottom. I have so much of it, I don't know what to do with it all. Maybe it'll carpet.

Anyway, pictures! Even more picture heavy then the original post, if it's possible...


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## TonyK (Apr 4, 2011)

That tank is amazing. I like what you did with the centerpiece and plants.


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## bettafish15 (Oct 3, 2010)

tl;dr BUT AWESOME TANK! I love the betta in it, he really fits the tank theme well <3 I'm so envious! The biggest I have is a 14g xD


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## CyerRyn (Apr 8, 2011)

Lovely tank!!! I wish I could have a tank bigger than a 10gal.  Stupid apartment rules.  Btw.. I really love the 4th pic in.. looks like your boy is glaring at you taking pictures of his home, like "How dare you?!". Very beautiful DT you have.


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## Arowan (Sep 2, 2010)

I kinda figured it was "TL;DR" xD Didn't realize it had gotten humongous till I previewed it.

I've just gotten so used to writing 10 page papers, that my forum posts are growing...


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## puppyrjjkm (Aug 2, 2009)

Woah! It's beautiful. So is your entire substrate the eco-complete or is it mixed with black gravel? My eco-complete seriously clouds up the water whenever I move something!


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## Impolite (May 12, 2011)

I love it so much!!


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## Arowan (Sep 2, 2010)

puppyrjjkm said:


> Woah! It's beautiful. So is your entire substrate the eco-complete or is it mixed with black gravel? My eco-complete seriously clouds up the water whenever I move something!


It's pure eco-complete.

I've never had an issue with cloudiness, except for when I uproot plants. But they collect debris among their roots, so that's supposed to be normal.


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## phillyfarmgurl (Jun 25, 2011)

Your tank is epic!


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