Papai
New Member
Ok, first things first, for those of you wondering, Papai means Dad in Portuguese, my wife is Brazilian and our little 5 year old calls me Papai. My background is Cuban so not to far off from Papa, the Spanish version. LOL.
Ok, here's the reef back story . . . 5 year old goes to PetSmart with me and asks for Glow Fish, we had ZERO aquariums at the time. "Honey, if we get Glow Fish we have to get a FW tank, if we get a FW tank, we can never buy a Nemo or Dory. You sure you want Glow Fish?" 5 Yr Old - "Yes, I want Glow Fish, can we buy Glow Fish?" - Thanks PetSmart! So we bought and started a TopFin 36 gal bow-front FW tank with live plants, an under-gravel filter, Glow Fish, Guppies a Red Tailed Shark and a couple of Mystery snails.
Had FW tanks when I was younger, but always with plastic plants and under-gravel filters. So I buy everything like I did before except my wife says, "Say, why don't you get real plants instead?" Ok, please the 5 year old, please my wife! Happy wife, happy life right? So, start the tank, with Glow Fish, under-gravel filter and live plants.
Fast forward - study and learn a lot about planted tanks. Under-gravel filters are not good for planted tanks - roots get clogged underneath. Removed under-gravel filter, switched to canister filter, changed substrate, got better lights and added CO2 injection. Guppies had lots of fry (babies), set-up another aquarium (20 Gal FW) for the guppies, also planted with High light and CO2 injection. Guppies got bigger, added Dalmation Molly's to the 20 Gal and moved the Glow-Fish Over to join them, plus a Cory and some shrimp. Got cooler stock for the 36 gal including a Red Spotted Sevrum, Giant Danios, Arulious Barbs and a Couple peaceful Cichlids. Along the way had massive explosion of snails, set up small 10 Gal FW tank just for the snails! Next . . .
5 Year old says, "Papai, I like the Glow Fish, but can I have a Nemo and a Dory and an Anemone when I turn six?" This is what Papai wanted all along so . . . "Yes!" - And here we go!
Following will be our journey to our first reef tank - a 75 gal MarineLand I'll drill for an overflow with a 25 gal sump! I look forward to sharing and learning as we go! Attaching pics of the first 3 FW tanks that got us going!
Ok, here's the reef back story . . . 5 year old goes to PetSmart with me and asks for Glow Fish, we had ZERO aquariums at the time. "Honey, if we get Glow Fish we have to get a FW tank, if we get a FW tank, we can never buy a Nemo or Dory. You sure you want Glow Fish?" 5 Yr Old - "Yes, I want Glow Fish, can we buy Glow Fish?" - Thanks PetSmart! So we bought and started a TopFin 36 gal bow-front FW tank with live plants, an under-gravel filter, Glow Fish, Guppies a Red Tailed Shark and a couple of Mystery snails.
Had FW tanks when I was younger, but always with plastic plants and under-gravel filters. So I buy everything like I did before except my wife says, "Say, why don't you get real plants instead?" Ok, please the 5 year old, please my wife! Happy wife, happy life right? So, start the tank, with Glow Fish, under-gravel filter and live plants.
Fast forward - study and learn a lot about planted tanks. Under-gravel filters are not good for planted tanks - roots get clogged underneath. Removed under-gravel filter, switched to canister filter, changed substrate, got better lights and added CO2 injection. Guppies had lots of fry (babies), set-up another aquarium (20 Gal FW) for the guppies, also planted with High light and CO2 injection. Guppies got bigger, added Dalmation Molly's to the 20 Gal and moved the Glow-Fish Over to join them, plus a Cory and some shrimp. Got cooler stock for the 36 gal including a Red Spotted Sevrum, Giant Danios, Arulious Barbs and a Couple peaceful Cichlids. Along the way had massive explosion of snails, set up small 10 Gal FW tank just for the snails! Next . . .
5 Year old says, "Papai, I like the Glow Fish, but can I have a Nemo and a Dory and an Anemone when I turn six?" This is what Papai wanted all along so . . . "Yes!" - And here we go!
Following will be our journey to our first reef tank - a 75 gal MarineLand I'll drill for an overflow with a 25 gal sump! I look forward to sharing and learning as we go! Attaching pics of the first 3 FW tanks that got us going!
Last edited:
