With the gravel in, at last I could start looking at how I was going to scape the substrate. All of a sudden the 80Kg did not look nearly as much as it had in the bags and I was wondering if it would actually be enough.

 

 

The tank is 78cm tall so reaching the bottom was an extreme stretch. To make this task much easier, I fashioned a gravel leveler out of two pieces of 1″ PVC pipe and a 90-degree elbow joint. This made smoothing out the gravel to the desired look much easier, not to mention quicker.

 

After spreading the gravel, I added river rocks to break up the sharp corners of the tank. The water at this point was quite cloudy after all the messing around in the tank. The rocks are found locally and have no sharp edges for these big fish to hurt themselves on if and when they get spooked.

I left small gaps behind the rocks for the Black Ghost Knifefish and the Royal Clown Knifefish to be able to hide for security. The gaps are thin enough not to be noticed from the front but big enough for the knifefish to have enough room to get in and out comfortably. I have found that giving smaller knifefish and Back Ghost Knifefish “secure” hiding places makes them come out much more as they feel safer knowing there is a close retreat when they feel threatened.

 

The Fish in the 265 Gallon Tank

This is my widebar dat.

 

 

 

Here’s the captain’s plecostamus.

 

 

 

This is an ornate bicher.

 

 

 

A lovely little pim catfish.