# Non traditional but pretty cool IMHO



## chughes737 (May 12, 2010)

Warning Disclaimer: Purists and the "Natural Setting Only" aquariist may not like it but it's only halfway finished...Have a 46 gallon Bow Front I scrounged up after putting the hobby down for the past 7 years as our kids were being born....just too much poo to clean and those diapers cost money!!!

Anyways, our kitchen is a coffee house theme decor and I thought, why not put the tank in there with a theme to match...close to the sink and easy on a tile surface for spills...

The theme is a Coffee Counter inside a "shop" looking out a window over a counter... and the fish have a playground to swim around and in, there is a "coffee" spill to the right using inert black sand that really looks good with the aquarium lights and is both functional and blends with the theme pretty well...the tile matches our kitchen

So I repainted everything, resealed all the glass with new silicone....

I plan on adding a stone "pot" for the fish to hide in as well as a backing to complement the theme

The last couple pics are of the tank and the Hospital/Quarantine tank cycling

Don't have any fish yet, but have been cycling for about 5 weeks with pure Ammonia and almost there...looks like a bacterial bloom is going on in some of the latter pics which accounts for the haze in the water

Oh yeah...all the ceramic and tiles were researched online and tested with lead kits so there is no lead in the glaze or ceramic leaching into the water and the sand is all inert and my PH is stable around 7.4

Waiting on the NO2 Bacteria to get their act together


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## chughes737 (May 12, 2010)

Some more pics

The temporary hospital quarantine tank is off to the left for the display tanks' new arrivals

I plan on running some hydro sponges also to aid in filtration..currently have the Magnum HOT with Biowheel going


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## chughes737 (May 12, 2010)

and the rest....

The blank space to the left will make make for a little "home" in the form of a stone coffee pot

I'll post more once I get it stocked...


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

That's pretty cool! I've never seen a tank design like that, great work! 
What type of fish are you planning on putting in there?


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## chughes737 (May 12, 2010)

Thanks

Might add one or two more plants if needed

Planning on getting these in stages

Subject to change though:

1 Red Tail Black Shark
6 Molly Black Sailfin/Marble Molly
6 Boeseman's Rainbow 
8 Guppy

Really like Clown Loaches but the tank's not big enough unfortunately


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## pinetree (Nov 29, 2009)

I like it and I think it's a neat idea.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

Have you ever kept redtail sharks before? :|


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Watch out for algae though!! It does a really good job of making glass/ceramic/clay things ugly lol Just make sure you keep up the maintenance/water changes and don't keep that light on too long and hopefully your tank will stay cool looking.


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## chughes737 (May 12, 2010)

hXcChic22 said:


> Have you ever kept redtail sharks before? :|


Yeah I had one some time ago...great fish...I made sure every exposure in the top is closed/covered and am planning on running schools with the other groups so hopefully he'll get along with everyone...I think I may put him in last though, that way he doesn't bully any newcomers


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## chughes737 (May 12, 2010)

Tallonebball said:


> Watch out for algae though!! It does a really good job of making glass/ceramic/clay things ugly lol Just make sure you keep up the maintenance/water changes and don't keep that light on too long and hopefully your tank will stay cool looking.


Cool tip, thanks for the heads up


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## sonicboomer (Apr 5, 2010)

That's a really cool, creative idea 
Maybe you could add in some algae eaters to help with the maintenance?


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## chughes737 (May 12, 2010)

I was thinking about the algae eaters..

I had a Plecostomus in this tank years ago, but the tank really couldn't hold him after 4 years...he got so big he just knocked everything around and although I hated doing it had to give him to a friend with a much larger tank for his ovn livelihood and my cleaning sanity 

Anything out there that will do an adequate job like a Pleco but not overgrow a 46 gallon


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

There are dwarf plecos such as clown, bullldog, and bristlenose plecos that only get about 5 inches long. Ottocats may work but they seem to like tanks with live plants. Also apple snails could work.


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