# Aftica's DIY Hood / Planted tank Adventures! (56K Warning)



## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

hi buddy, can't wait to see some pics of it set up!!! good luck!


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## Knetter (Nov 4, 2003)

Wow that background is a really cheating one


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Long live painted backgrounds indeed....!!!!!!!!!!


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

yo aftika i do not recommend using the plant background and here's my reasons

(1) it will take away from the beauty of your natural plants that you have....it's kind of like two plant aquascapes battling each other...

(2) a black or a blue background would help with creating depth in the tank....


it doesn't matter what you do , it's your tank, but just give it some thought...


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Lol - actually the background was there from the former setup 2 years ago - I have not really contemplated that far ahead on that particular point... I was probably gonna leave it - I don't have any adversion to the background - dont really expect to see too much of it as time progresses. 

HOWEVER - I seen a few tanks now with the painted blue backgrounds - and I am considering it - very much so indeed... I liked the darker blue that Mike used HERE or perhaps Black... (Hey mike what color is that actually?) - I am leaning towards that blue color...


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

ok there is a AGA entry from way back when.....i forget which year...but look for Detlef Hupfield...he won 1st place in a small tank entry....and his blue background is da SH****TTTT off da hook.,,,,, check it out...


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Found that one...
http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2001/show62.html

Airbrushed multitones of blue - very nice - I personally thought it looks a little "light" and prefered a darker background but it is a very nice looking job - or is that all the plants talking


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

yup that's the one....awesome awesome... anyways, yea, darker would be nicer. say if you did something like that with darker blues... oh man, kind of like your avatar...and ooowwweeee you'd have something there.... 

take it from a former plant background owner, once you have a nice looking plant tank.... you won't need it anymore!!!


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Well - Here we are at 6:10 am - coming to you from 35,000 feet flying from St. John's to Halifax. I decided it's a good time to start the next post. (Got to love the Palm Pilot)

Well I decided to draw out my plans a bit before I picked up any of the wood. My basic design drawing is shown below.









Ok - first I had to decide on the height of the unit and this is where I was kinda unclear on where to go. I ordered my lights from AHsupply but they are not in yet. (I suspect they will be in by the time I get back - they take longer for me because everything pretty well has to come from the USA into Canada so I got shipping and customs to deal with as well.)

Well the lights I got coming from AHS are 2 of the 2x55w kits (the one with the 2 reflectors and the single ballast that will fire 2 lamps) - this will give me a total of 4 x 55w lighting on my 77. (220watts / 77 gallons = 2.86 Watts per gallon)

Now the one problem I had with AH Supply was that the dimensions on their site for their product were unclear - it said 2 inces deep but it never mentioned the distance it drops from the roof of the canopy via the spacer they supply etc.. Not knowing this I figured that I better to error on the deeper side rather than too shallow. I decided to go with 1 x 10 boards for the sides and the front etc.. (Nominal size 3/4 x 9-1/4). Ok - so I wanted a space on the back for the pipes and tubes and toys and gunk - so for the back piece I went with 1 x 6 board (Nominal size is 5-1/2 x 3/4). - If I want after I make my own spacers from Wooden blocks later.

Now the sample design if you look at the finished product had a nice edge around the top and I thought it really set it off and made it look like a nice piece of finished furniture. I figured that the top was cut oversized and then "Prettied up" with a router. Ah Ha! Well I am kinda like Tim the tool man Taylor - got lots of power tools and not very good with any of them. Well the router happens to be the one tool that I am terrible with - I got one but decided this was not the time to try and learn how to use it properly. I opted instead for some kind of trim cap molding - least I can operate a miter box and hand saw Below is a pic of the Cap Molding - and the Miter box etc.. I think it does give it a bit more of a finished look when it's on.


















Around the inside of the hood are the 1 x 2 strips which are what the hood actually sits on. It is installed 1-1/4" from the bottom of the hood - which is the same depth as the plastic trim around the top of my tank.

As you can see in the example - the front appears to be one piece and you do not see the edges of the sides - this was the way I wanted it as well - so the front had to be cut to include the width of the 2 sides when attached. (Now the measurement of the front of the tank whenever I refer to it will mean the top plastic trim width - not the glass width. It is after all the plastic piece that the hood actually rests on.) so the tank is 48-1/8" wide, and the two side panels will be 3/4" wide so the front board was to be 49-5/8" - now word of caution- make it a LITTLE wider in your plans - when I did this it was exact and when complete it was just a little too tight and I ended up chiseling 1/16" off both sides to allow he hood to fit properly.

Now the depth of the tank was 16-1/2 inches and I am allowing a 1/8" gap between the front and the back for the piano hinge... the sides are to be 8-1/8" wide. Cut the Wood to fit - USE THE SPEEDSQUARE!! Make those joints good and flush etc.. When using the Circular saw (or Jig Saw if your so inclined) I find it good to get a very straight edge and CLAMP it to the work surface using C-clamps giving your saw a guide to follow to make that cut all the straighter. When Using the C-Clamps - in order to prevent marring the wood surface with little circle indents - I placed those sticky self adhesive felt pads for furniture feet on the ends - makes it better. Not too much pressure though cause on soft woods like pine you can still leave a mark like the surface of the pad, on the wood.

Ok - once cut it was time to attach the sides to the front of the hood. Now remember this hood is a 2 piece design so I built the front first and the back second (seemed logical) - now to attach the front I wanted a nice clean surface at he ends so what I decided to do was countersink the screw heads and then plug them with wood plugs , sand and paint etc... Ok my plug cutter for the wooden plugs is a 3/8" so I got a 3/8 spade bit to do the pilot holes. I taped the bit around at a certain depth so that I knew when to stop drilling my holes. (Otherwise I would go right through the boards) after I drilled my countersinks I placed the boards in position and drilled a small 1/16" hole through to the end of the side. I applied a liberal amount of carpenter's wood glue to make the joint and screwed in my screws. (Did them with the drill but finished them by hand - Works better this way!) I then cut my plugs and put glue into the holes and inserted my plugs. Remember that the actual joint is held together by the GLUE and NOT by the screws. The screws just give stability while the glue dries. The plugs, when inserted into the holes with the glue, will soak up the glue and swell a bit filling the hole. Cut the excess off with a coping saw or a hacksaw blade after and sand it. Use a little wood filler if necessary etc...




















Bah! Time to land - Stay tuned for the next post


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

sweet, keep up the good work.


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

do you come into halifax a lot? once my tank is up and running, maybe we could trade plants.

my girlfriend is from carbonear. where do you live?

if i were you i'd add a compound mitre saw to your christmas list.

i'm not sure how much heat those lights will produce but you may want to consider leaving a lot of the back of your canopy open to allow some heat to escape.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Jart - I dont get to Halifax as often as I used to - perhaps once a year now - Plant swaping sounds good to me though - perhaps courier? (I would be getting the better end of the deal though at least for a while - I don't have any plants yet LOL - perhaps I may bug you when the time comes - my local stores don't do much for plants 

I do get to Carbonear a fair bit though with work, but I live in Portugal Cove so I am only 10 min from St. John's. As for the compound mitre saw - I hear ya - and I want one! HOWEVER not in the budget this year - kinda blew it with the CO2 gear, Lighting, 50kgs of Flourite, etc... gonna look perhaps at next year for a nice sliding compound mitre saw from Makita or Dewalt and a nice Table saw - my old table saw is gonna get passed on to a friend of mine...


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Got some time to kill in the Hotel so what better way to do this than thinking about fishtanks I never intended to do a "Hotel installment" of the hood project however my Wife called me to let me know that the Lights from AHSupply have arrived... I am counting the hours till I get home to get into that LOL.

Well - I left off with the front attached to the 2 side pieces. Now the top needs to be cut to fit. the front is 49-5/8" so cut the top to the same length. once cut we are going to have to cut the board width to 8-7/8" which is the 8-1/8 plus the 3/4 width of the front piece. We need to "Rip" the 1 x 10 to a 1 x 8-7/8 - now this is best done on a table saw but can be easily done on a Circular saw and again clamp a straight edge to make the cut clean and square etc..


Once the top is cut I measured out the evenly spaced points for the countersinks for the screws. This time rather than the 3/8 spade bit for this I used a specific #8 countersink bit made by Makita. (actually I don't know who really makes it but one company appears to make them for a whole slew of companies and pre-prints their name on it - Crasftsman has an identical one and I have seen others as well.)










After I applied the glue I placed the cover on and started screwing down the top with a drill driver and finishing each screw by hand for the last couple of turns. This time I don't mind the screws being visible as the trim (molding) will cover up the screws. If need be use the C-Clamp or the quickgrips to "draw" the top close to the top of the front board before screwing it in makes a good clean fit.

I bought an 8 ft piece of molding and had very little waste. Measure carefully, and when it comes to the corner miters - think them out carefully if your like me and tend to always frig up the miters (however this time I did all cuts perfectly) Once cut I glued both sides of the inside of the molding, applied it and nailed it down with the finishing nails.











I guess my next checkin will be on the plane tomorrow - heading home


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

man you are all geared up homie!


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Well - Today I went to the Post-office and picked up 49 kilograms of Seachem Flourite - had that come in from MOPS - best price I could find in Canada at $19.99 per bag. Postage was a killer though.... but Big Al wanted $29.99 - they are not competitive in Canada - not even close. Shopping Dan Cole at MOPS is always a good experience - I could have hit Big Als with the best price 5% guarantee but I rather give the business to Dan. Not looking forward to rinsing it all however:-(

On a side note I gathered up Kid and Wife and headed to the beach today (a short ride from here) we hit 3 beaches all withing 10 min of each other.. and got some nice Driftwood for the tank as well.. all good and hard solid pieces that are well worn and salted etc.... These salt water driftwoods have been well aged and appear to have very little tannins remaining so they should not tan the water too much. Pictures to follow below. I put my cell phone in one to give it a bit of scale.


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## Pooky125 (Jul 30, 2002)

Those are some awesome pieces of driftwood, cant wait to see them in the tank!


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

the beach!!! that's where you get driftwood!!! ayyyy yaiy yaiy.... i've been searching in rivers.....found nothing....

ok i'll check the beach next time...


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## Synapse (Sep 9, 2003)

Is there a problem with the salt contained inside the wood? or will it easily be washed off with freshwater baths?

from experience I can say that plants don't appreciate salt...


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Here is an excellent article on Wood in the aquarium http://69.44.152.177/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=34

I don't forsee a problem - I am going to boil it for about 6-8 hours and let it sit in a large bucket of water for several days after and do a few water changes and all should be ok I think.

Dru


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## Ace (Dec 10, 2003)

D*mn! thats a piece of art!Keep up the great work man.(just curious,why the driftwood you got has white colour?


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

#&#%$!!! :evil: 

are you sure of that price for flourite? i got dinged for $45 a bag. but the shipping was included...


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Ah but shipping was expensive...

I paid 19.99 per bag and bought 7 bags
I also paid about 75.00 for postage (going by memory here!)

total (not using taxes here in this) was 214.93

Worked out to $30.00 per bag plus tax. (Canadian and only a short hop from you Jart


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Well, I am gonna assume the white color is from being blanched in the sunlight over the years while drifting at sea and laying on beaches etc.. It's been dead for quite a while etc..


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Well – I guess I should post the rest of the hood info – seeing as it is finished and I must say I am very pleased with the end result.










I think I ended off the last part with screwing and gluing down the top of the front portion, after having just ripped it on the table saw. Well the front is finished with the exception of paint and sanding etc… here she is…


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Thought about veneering that baby ?
It would make it look like a $1000 tank

I know its a little more work, veneered a rococo chair once, lol


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Next we look at the rear of the tank. basically it is 2 side pieces 8 1/8 wide - a back that is 48-1/8 wide (between the sides this time) ant a top that is the full 10" wide (9-1/4") – leaving a overhang. It is assembled in similar fashion to the front - I noticed this portion of the project went faster than the front - it was not quite as detailed as the front plus I had the benefit of the experience gained from making the front. (And I never had to chisel this part.










Once all assembled and test fitted to the aquarium I did notice the top of the rear piece was a little "cupped" - I was hoping that it wouldn't be too much of a hindrance for the piano hinge otherwise I was going to have to resort to a couple of heavier regular style hinges in liew of the piano hinge - I was not in favor of this just for looks. Fortunately the piano hinge worked just fine. You can see in the photo that the C-clamp is pulling the top in for the gluing and screwing to get that nice clean fit like I mentioned before when I did the front.

And of the back...


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

veneering - Sorry but just not that talented


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Ok - next is the process of painting - the first coat was applied all over - inside and out - of Latex PVA primer / Sealer and then I painted the outside semigloss black (as close a finish to the Hagen stand as I could find) and the inside is painted a high gloss White. 2 coats of each...


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

More painting...


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Well as for veneering flat surfaces like that its quite easy, you allready have some clamps, just need a board slightly bigger than the area you are veneeringput some paper between it and the veneer incase any glue goes through, then steam the veneer a bit if it has wobly bits in, get some good glue, like the stuff they use for shoe soles, put un your veneer, put on paper, put on bigger board, and clamp for a day or 2, then just sandoff any pieces of paper stuck and you have created a wooden surface in any type of your choice.

I was 17 the first time I did it, and that was from a book, sureley you can find something on the web, in total its gonna cost you another 10 minutes of work, and all you need oter than the glue is a nice sharp sidecutter.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

On to the Electrical...

I decided to go with 4 of the 55w compact fluorescent lamps for this project and I ordered them in from AHSupply. I suppose I could have gone to my local electrical distributor and gotten some ballasts, sockets, and cabtire cable etc. but by going to AHSupply I got the gasketed sockets, nice electronic ballasts, and the nice reflectors – all fitting into the hood just perfectly etc… it was worth the extra price. I also ordered 4 of the 5k 55w Panasonic lamps. I also got a box of 6 of the GE 9325K lamps coming in from my local distributor. I plan on using 2 5k lamps in the front and 2 9325k lamps in the back.

Also from my local electrical distributor I picked up some ½” locknuts, ½” plastic bushings, some various ½” conduit nipples, some 2 screw 3/8" locknutted connectors, 2 electrical utility boxes (1110) and 2 switch covers to fit the boxes (11C5) – plus a 4x4 junction box (52151K) and a 4x4 cover (52C1)

I placed the boxes on the back oh the hood under the overhang I created when I put the top on. Before I mounted the 4x4 box I drilled a 1” hole through the back of the hood for a conduit nipple to go through and then took a knockout out of the back of the 4x4 box – and used locknuts and bushings. (The plastic bushings are to protect the wires against rubbing against the nipple edges.) I then added the 2 switch boxes and used nipples between them all for running the power and ground wires through. If you’re not familiar with electricity get someone to help if you’re doing what I did – as I never totally followed AHsupply’s directions 100%....

Anyway once wired I then brought the 4 cables that lead to the tubes into the 4x4 box via the hole in the back – and I routed the ballast wires along the hood under the boxes and used the ¼” clips that AHS provided (plus some of my own as I ran out…. Gardner Bender (GB Electrical) packages them for retail sale. Once I had all my ballast leads and lamp cords back to the 4x4 box I wired them up using Marrettes (Wire Nuts) etc… the diagram from AHS is very good on this – follow it!

Ok – screwed down the switches, and attached the covers. Measured where I wanted my reflectors to go inside the hood and attached them. I used the nylon bushings that AHS provides to space the reflectors down from the hood roof by an extra ½ inch etc.. I then routed my wires around the inside of the hood and again used the clips to keep them in place. Remember to leave enough slack on the end so when you open the hood it doesn't rip the lights out …


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

More Electrical...


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

The wires from the sockets brought through the 1" hole in the back.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Perhaps I will try veneering flat surfaces on my next tank project... my friend got a 130 gallon in his basement that needs a glass put back in the side and then a stand and hood.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

ok - before I get too far ahead - I had to put the front and back together with the hinge - it did fit after with little or no fuss...


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Covers installed and ready to go!


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Lamps installed...


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Installed and on! You will note Hubba and Nordic... I painted the background (3 coats of CIL Barton Blue) - does look much better and there's no water yet :lol:


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Truely something to be proud of, well done!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Another shot.


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## Raul-7 (Oct 17, 2003)

Nice! I wish I was that talented at DIY projects! How are you going to get rid of all that slat, I mean I bet it will leach salt no matter what. What's the Vortex for, GW? You might want to add a couple of PC fans in the back...:wink:


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

wow....i'm very impressed. how much do you charge to setup one like that for me? lol.. awesome very very nice. Everything is going well. keep those pics coming!!!1 can't get enough of those pics..

one thing though, i'm already foreseeing that 3 pieces of wood inthere will be too much....perhaps you can keep the middle one in there...and put your other two in other tanks...or ship them to me! jk

good luck!


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

hubbahubbahehe said:


> ....perhaps you can keep the middle one in there...and put your other two in other tanks...or ship them to me! jk


 :lol: lmao, i was reading this verrrrry quickly and i thought you had said to take one of the pieces out and replace it with a "ship". (like one of those ones with the hole in the hull and the stern wheel that turns...)

i'll slow down my reading from now on.


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

speaking of ship....mmmmmmm......i bet there's some way we can incorporate one into the setup! lol jk


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Going to wait and see how the heat situation is - the lamps are not right on top of the water, there is a space along the back for hoses and the like which will vent and of course the slot all the way around the unit where the hinge is will vent - so got to wait and see - if need be I will put in a vent and a fan fairly easily using a hole saw etc..

Hey Hubba - I fooled ya - only 2 of the 4 pieces in there are real wood - the ones on the corners are very good fakes (very very good fakes really - you can't tell unless you pick em up

The vortex is for occasional water polishing - and no bubbleships please

Oh - by the way it's not talent - it is patience - no talent was used or harmed in the making of this hood. Now if I could only learn how to build a fish.


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## Scorpion (Oct 10, 2003)

Aftica said:


> Installed and on! You will note Hubba and Nordic... I painted the background (3 coats of CIL Barton Blue) - does look much better and there's no water yet :lol:


What kind of paint is that? Is that something for tanks only?


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Na... CIL is the brand and Barton Blue is the color... It's on the outside of the tank


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

beautiful color dude...you are an artist..a true artist i can tell....everything from your setup to your avatar


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## Ace (Dec 10, 2003)

Man where did you got all of the ideas and speed? I can't do a cover that nice even if you give me a year!(although i didn't use a cover for my tank) :lol:


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

:lol: Your deaaming Hubba - myself I don't have an artistic bone in my body... I will keep the pictures comming as the stages progress.

Ace - the ideas were not my own - I just played on someone elses design - look earlier in the thread you will see the post where I link the source for the design. As for the electrical side of it - AHSupply kit basically is all there was and I just used a bit of Electrical know-how (My family used to own an Electrical Distributorship years ago so I am very familiar with all the product - it's not changed in the last 5-6 years.)

Over all it took me a couple of weeks or more to build it - that was not an overnighter.. paint gotta dry sometime and the Wife don't like me in the basement for too long - makes her feel like I am up to something


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

I was asked for a back shot on another forum when I posted the hood shots. I never thought of getting a shot of the back - but thanks for the hint - kinda important when you think about it - the gap across the back is actually 2½ inches which is tons for getting pipes and tubing for canister filters and wires for heaters etc... The beauty of wood of course is if you got something bigger (maybe an Aquaclear 500 - not sure how much clearance that needs etc...) - you could cut out a notch to accommodate it


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Latest update;

Well the other day I installed some locks

I have a 5 year son who - like most 5 year olds - are into everything they are not supposed to be into. Well- the tank stand (a Hagen stand) has 3 cupboards under it - an open back one in the middle and 2 closed back ones on the sides... kind of an awkward situation cause it don't leave a lot of room in the middle for equipment etc....

Anyway to keep the little ankle-biter out of the chemicals and away from filters and CO2 cylinders I installed locks on 2 of the 3 cubboards... bought 3 sets of locks in case i wanted to do the 3rd in the future... I made sure all 3 sets were keyed alike to make things easier for me.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Had to drill a 3/4 inch hole to accomodate the lock and cylinder (Spade Bit) - and then a slot in the upright to allow for the rotating bar to slide into to keep the door shut. I kept the magnetic spring locks in place - the doors wont rattle that way when drilling with the spade bit drill one side part way through till you see the tip of the bit then switch sides to drill the other side... will give you a cleaner exit through the laminate.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

and today I washed a pile of Flourite (Ugh - dirty stuff) - and threw it in the tank. boiled a piece of wood for 8 hours and threw that in as well - boiled it on the Wife's stove - she was not really impressed with my trying to convince her that "Stump Stew" was a great family recipie :? 

Anyway - to wash the Flourite I cheated a lot - I did it one bag at a time - in a 5 gallon bucket - and had the help of a 1/4 horsepower sump pump - kept stirring and pumping in water as the sump kept pumping it out... not a perfect solution but it worked pretty well...

below is the first pic after all 7 bags of Flourite were added and some water...


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Below is the same tank - 45 minutes later after adding the diatom powder to the Vortex XL and running it... The cleaning of the flourite was not as bad as I was expecting I must admit - but it was an all day affair inbetween everything else etc... Had to clean up the Diatom as well - it apparently got moved from my last residence still full - that was kinda gross :shock:


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## Scorpion (Oct 10, 2003)

That flourite looks like the stuff that comes in the schult's aquatic plant soil.


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## Ace (Dec 10, 2003)

Eww...the pic when the flourite was thrown in is so hazed up, hey Aftica are you sure the hood will hold on..it looks like it is going to fall to me. :mrgreen:


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## Vinlo (Mar 29, 2003)

Hey Aftica, nice wood. Ahem.. driftwood that is. :lol: Want to send me some?

Anyways.. tank is starting to look good. You gotta be dying to throw some plants in that setup.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Yeah I think it will hold Ace - it's actually quite sturdy when open - now I don't recommend a brothel of Malaysian tap dancers to take up residence up there - but it's pretty sturdy.. :icon_lol: 


Vin - you bet I am itching totally just waiting to get eyes, nose, arms and feet into it... HOWEVER... it still sits there running the diatom and waiting...

I had to replace a fair bit of equipment, hoses, heaters and the like - just from age... so I ordered back on the 1st of December all my new stuff from various suppliers... I ordered all my CO2 regulators, Ph controllers, and stuff from aquatic-store.com and that's all here and waiting (and Kudos to Marc over at aquatic-store.com!!) - I ordered my Flourite from Mops.ca and obviously that's in the tank

HOWEVER I ordered 2 new Ebo-Jager heaters, various tetra tubing and connectors, and other supplies from That Fish Place. Co-incidentally there was a back order from the shipment. Well they shipped the main order on the 3rd of December and the backorder was shipped on December 16th... I got the backorder - but the first part of the order is still not here. I have to wait till January 3rd to tell thatfishplace that it's not arrived. Their policy apparently is after 30 days they will re-ship the order.

I called Canada Post - who USED to be able to track shipments by surname with amounts owing to customs etc but in their infinite wisdom they cannot do this anymore (So They Say!) I called Customs & Revenue Canada - they tell me that legally as a broker Canada Post has to provide the information, I go back to Canada Post and they say no - a supervisor then tells me that they are not a broker - they just deliver... I go back to customs.. they say they (Canada Post) IS most definitely a broker, and if I look at the bill I will be paying a $5.00 brokerage fee right on the damn bill... I went back to Canada Post - totally infuriated with the deception told to me by the supervisor... this time they don't know what to say.. they stammer a lot, put me on hold a lot, and finally they "Accidentally" cut me off while I am on hold...

Needless to say I am not very impressed with the people at Canada Post... Oh well if it don't arrive tomorrow I got to call TFP and get them to re-ship the order, less the Back Order.

Meanwhile I am in limbo land - Oh well - I kinda was going to wait for my Turbo-Twist UV and filter foams for my 103 to come in from Big Al's ...

Oh well - I just wanted to blow off steam since being hung up on yesterday :icon_twis


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## Scorpion (Oct 10, 2003)

Sorry to hear about the trouble with those meatheads!


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

Aftica said:


> Yeah I think it will hold Ace - it's actually quite sturdy when open - now I don't recommend a brothel of Malaysian tap dancers to take up residence up there - but it's pretty sturdy.. :lol:
> 
> 
> Vin - you bet I am itching totally just waiting to get eyes, nose, arms and feet into it... HOWEVER... it still sits there running the diatom and waiting...
> ...


a brothel of malaysian tap dancers?? omg, you made me laugh so hard


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## titan848 (May 3, 2003)

awesome, i wish i had a tenth of those wood working skills. I am just a little dissapointed you went with a blue background vs a black, always thought black looked better with blue, but over all very nice!


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Like that one eh Hubba :hehe: 

Well Titan - as I said earlier - I have very little skill - I read a lot of How too black and decker dummies books and try and apply their tips to what I am doing... that and patience is the best part of it... 

As for the blue background... Well - it is a little lighter than I wanted... the colors looked a little different in the Wally-mart than it did once dried on the back of the tank... I wanted a darker color like Mike Used on his 75 - I know it is kinda copying but hey - that tank is simply an inspiration for me... anyway it turned out a little light and I had to decide if i was going to scrape it off with a few razor blades and go black, or keep it... I decided to keep it so I never felt like I bought a quart of paint for nothing - kinda justifies the expenditure in my mind (I know - who the hell and I fooling besides myself LOL) - I may live to regret the decision as I am going to eventually get Discus for this tank and I am partial to blue snakeskins and super red royal blues etc... I am hoping that most of the background wont be visible by that time...

As for the lost shipment from Thatfishplace - the replacement shipment arrived so I have been puttering away at plumbing the tank up a bit... I took a few pics and will post them in a few days... the 2 Fluvals I swear will be replaced either Christmas or sometime early in the new year by Eheim Pro's .... I can get one for Christmas and I can give the Wife one for her birthday in May


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

Aftica said:


> ... Eheim Pro's .... I can get one for Christmas and I can give the Wife one for her birthday in May


that's the thinking aftika buddy! for her next birthday i think i'll get vanessa a couple of hockey sticks, some wrestling videos, and a brand new pair of men's skates. :twisted:


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

hahhaah jart, aftica, you guys are the best, heck, if i was a girl, i'd marry you


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Wooo Hooo!!! 

Wife had no objections to replacing the Fluval 403 with an Eheim Pro II 2208.... funny how I earn 80% of the income but they control 80% of the purse strings LOL....

I dont mind keeping the Fluval 103 as the second filter... it's small and pumps about 120 gph which is absolutly perfect for the Coralife turbotwist 3x UV sterilizer... the 103 is dead silent too... the 403 sounds like an Evenrude... I'll keep the 403 for any possible breeding tanks in the future... and get a new impeller for it as well I guess..


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Well - say goodby to the homemade plumbing and hassles of the Fluval 103 and say hello to the new assistant helper the Ecco 2231....

The Ecco runs the turbotwist UV and the Surface extractor. Hagen was going to be a problem as I had no way of easily removing it for maintenance and to make it capable would have cost as much as the Ecco so - Ta-da!


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Oh well - plants arrived and I planted them - now I will be the first to admit that I am NOT good at that... (no experience) so I suspect that I will be doing some replanting and fixing up in a few days.


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

looks good to me


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Just bumped into your thread for the first time, and read through the whole thing. Very entertaining, and very very nice wood-working skillz. You may think your talents are modest, but compared to hacks like me, you're as good a carpenter as Jesus :hehe: . 

I'm actually glad that I didn't stumble into this thread when you first started it. The suspense would have killed me.... Now I look forward to seeing how those plants grow, especially around that magnificent piece of wood.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Thanks Guys!

Actually short on talent Unirdna - high on determination :lol: Now if I could walk on water...

Most of the plants seem to be doing well... and I have not had any crypts melt yet strangely enough.. The water wisteria is growing like a weed as expected.. but I am really impressed with how well the Rotala Macrandra and the Heteranthera zosterifolia have taken off and customized themselves to their now home...

I have added 10 otto's and 5 Amano shrimp as well to the tank - and they have been feverishly working away on the brown diatom algae that I had and now the hair algae - I am not over run - but had a fair bit - it's settling down now as the tank settles in I think.


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## R2thaSAR (Feb 22, 2004)

I'M NOT A CARPENTER I'M A 15 YEAR OLD CHILD HOW DO YOU PEOPLE DO THIS!?!?!!


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

*edited for stupidity


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Well - the plants are in now about 17 days... most are doing pretty good and showing some growth - and lots of pearling - I cannot get over how much bubbles leave these plants at times...

I am happy - my Rotala Wallichii appears to be coming around as well. I thought I was going to lose it at first. It is to the right of the center next to the Hemianthus micranthemoides that I am trying to grow in the middle, which is not doing all that well yet but I am hopeful.

My Rotala Macrandra appears not to be what I ordered but rather a narrow leaf version... perhaps Rotalla Magenta... however I really like how it is blending with the Stargrass (Heteranthera zosterifolia) over on the right side of the tank. Hard to see in the pic I would say.

The Echinodorus tenellus I am using as a foreground plant (Mini Chain Sword) in front of the driftwood and a bit on the left side in front of the Val's, has already sent out several runners and trying to spread.

None of the crypts have melted as of yet - knock on wood roud:


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## BobbyDrake (Jan 17, 2004)

unirdna said:


> :?
> 
> 
> R2,
> ...


I don't think he meant anyting by his post unirdna. I think he is just frustrated becasue he is only 15 and does not have the means nor the technical knowhow to make somethig of this calibre. As for teh caps, I think he was using ti to vent his frustration as well. 

Remember R2, many of us on thi forum are much older than you, and me as well (I'm only 24, much younger than some of you old farts  )They actually have real jobs and are not broke college and high school students. They can afford nice tools and wood and canister filters and pressurized CO2 and... Never mind, I am just making myself jelous.


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

BobbyDrake said:


> Ted
> 
> I don't think he meant anyting by his post unirdna. I think he is just frustrated becasue he is only 15 and does not have the means nor the technical knowhow to make somethig of this calibre. As for teh caps, I think he was using ti to vent his frustration as well.


Oh man, I am such an idiot  , Thanks for pointing this out to me Bobby. 

Here's how I read it - "You guys are being historically inaccurate about Jesus. Although Joseph was a carpenter, Jesus himself was not a carpenter by trade. Thus - I am correcting you all, _and_ I'm chummy enough with the Big Guy to be able to speak for him - using first-person".

Here's how it actually read - "I am 15 years old, and I'm impressed and envious of Aftica's carpentry skills " - (well I'm 30, and so am I  )

I'm deeply sorry R2. I forget that it's possible for an enthusiastic youth to take it upon him/herself to explore an ambitious hobby such as this. I, myself, did not have the focus at 15, so in my egocentric way, I assumed that everyone on this forum must be old[er] .

Again, I'm really sorry. I am an evil man :twisted:  .

Ted


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Hey Aftica,

Back to your aquarium (really sorry for all that)......

Has that huge piece of driftwood you grabbed off the beach given you any tannin or fungus 'trouble'. The first photos you posted made it look like it was going to mess up your tank a bit. But these latest photos look great!! So was it a wrestling match, or smooth? Oh yeah, and what kind of beach did it come from (ocean, river, lake, etc)?

Ted


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Hi Ted;

No tannin problems at all... I did get a bit of fungus / brown diatom algae growth on it while it was in the tank for about 2 weeks before the plants and the filters etc... It all went away soon after the introduction of the Amano's and the Otto's, so I suspect more brown diatom than fungus etc..

The wood came from a salt water beach (Atlantic Ocean) and was ashore for quite some time - quite dried out and hard as a rock. Not too difficult really - it was too large to boil though - so I did portions at a time but still not 100% boiled... however being from the salt water it is pretty well "Treated" so to speak. (Or so I am hoping) - the Ottos and shrimp have been all over that wood and nobody croaked yet as far as i know. :roll: 

I mentioned this earlier in the thread but I will mention it again in case anyone missed it... a pretty good article on Driftwood is seen here


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## aquaverde (Apr 15, 2003)

Sounds like you got some good wood.


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## cre8tiv_pgmr (Mar 17, 2004)

Great Hood Aftica,
I just joined and bought a used tank from a friend that I need a hood for. Since I'm planning on making this a planted tank, I want adequate lighting and the retail hoods don't seem to cut it. I was wondering if your hood sat over a glass lid to protect your lights or are the lights high enough above the water to keep them from getting into trouble?


Thanks


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Hiyas - welcome cre8tiv...

A little of both really - I do have a sliding glass top  installed but there is enough room there if I wanted to go open top - which I was going to do but decided against it. (I eventually plan on Discus in here and don't want them doing a carpet dive some day)


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## Overfloater (Jan 12, 2004)

Any updates buddy?


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Not yet - still grappling with a Algae problem - it's much more tame than it was but I am trying to get everything just right - however these plants grow like weeds

The wife is doing the yearly tax time work schedule so I am kinda holding off diving back in up to my neck till she is done in about 3 weeks time.. I'll have more time then to dedicate to getting everything ship shape and so on.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Oh dear me

Yes it has been a long time since i did an update on this thread... but to be honest i had done so very very little with the tank for a long time - work, wife, kid, and other stuff all got in the way... plus I had a major algae problem starting off and so on and so on etc... for almost a year all that thrived in there was a Java Fern, a crypt that I cannot remember what it was, and 5 Amano Shrimp, but in that time my wood soaked very nicely, and a good bit of mulm built up and so on... and a new pet store opened up locally that carries Tropica plants! (Woot!!)

Well... I started the replanting and fish adding about 1 month ago... inside is still the Java fern and unknown crypt plus the following...

Hygrophila polysperma
Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig' 
Rotala rotundifolia 
Alternanthera reineckii ''roseafolia'' 
Limnophila sessiliflora
Echinodorus angustifolius
Echinodorus tenellus 
Echinodorus osiris 
Cryptocoryne undulata ''broad leaves''
Water Wisteria Hygrophila difformis 
Also left over from the lat time I have 2 very very tiny sprigs of Heteranthera zosterifolia (Indian Stargrass) that I am trying to grow out... both under 1 cm long at the moment.

In the bio-load department...

4 Veil Tailed angelfish (sex unknown ATM)
2 Female Kribs
2 Male Kribs
1 Male Bolivian Ram
1 Female Bolivian Ram
1 Male German Blue Ram
1 Female German Blue Ram
5 Golden otocinclus (otos)
5 Amano Shrimps
4 Pearl Gourami
13 Thayeria boehlkei (false penguin tetras - not the Thayeria Obliqua)
I am looking for 2 Bristlenose Catfish unfortunately of the all the stores in my area - nobody has them or seem interested in bringing them in:-(

Currently using the following ferts;

KNO3, K2SO4, Flourish Iron, Flourish, Tropica Master Grow, Fleet, and an occasional pinch of Epsom Salts.

I alternate between the TMG and the Flourish - I had 2 bottles of Flourish and when I use them up I will either stick with TMG for the traces OR switch to the Plantex CSM+Boron - I have not decided yet on this one. I am following a dosing regime that is based in Tom Barr's EI theories and as seen on Rex Grigg's website REX GRIGG ARCHIVE.

A few pics....

The Tank today... after a trimming. There is a small bunch of wisteria floating up in the upper left corner that I am saving for someone...











Here is a pair of rams just sitting around - I was hoping to get them while they were in "deep color" but it just never happened and they are too busy to pose often etc...











A simple shot of the rear end of one of the Bolivian Rams with some wisteria in the Back...










And a shot of some Water Wisteria Hygrophila difformis


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## Jdinh04 (Mar 15, 2004)

Nice photos, the rams look great!


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## Urkevitz (Jan 12, 2004)

I love the background color, it hightlights the plants and wood nicely.


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

Finally an update. It looks great! And are those new earrings?

Great fish. What's the tall plant in the back right?


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

LOL - Hi Jart... Yeah new Earings - LOL.... I just got a thing for pretty curly haired blondes... :drool:

The plant on the far right is Rotala rotundifolia


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## BSS (Sep 24, 2004)

The tank is looking great. I gotta go get some form of hardscape (wood, rocks) for my tank.


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## Steven_Chong (Sep 14, 2004)

i love the hardscape, and the plant placement! I cannot wait until this tank fills in! I'd like to see how that tank would look with some anubias and microsorium on the wood though.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

It's a bit hard to see from the picture but there is some Microsorum pteropus (Java Fern) on the wood in the centre... a big clump... not spread out much.

I would probably get a Anubias barteri ''coffeefolia'' if the local store brings some in... I had not really thought of Anubias but I think your right...


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Just another pic of the tank -


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## Marc (Oct 13, 2004)

great tank! I noticed in your other earlier pictures that your ph probe was below the surface of the water- i think i read somewhere that only the yellow part can be submerged?


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## wantplantsnotwork (Nov 28, 2004)

I've had mine submerged for a few months, no problems.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Yep when I had the Yellow (Milwaukee) probe it was submerged for a year - I just replaced it with a Blue Pinpoint probe and thats working fine submerged as well...


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

UPDATED.

Well, a while ago I had a whole pile of pictures that were served from the board and they were lost... including most of the hood construction series (some were hosted off site and were saved)... anyway needless to say reading the thread seemed - well, - really kinda dopey as I would always be referring to pictures that weren't there LOL...

Anyway I went and found all the pics again and uploaded them off site to my own web space and went back through and found where each picture belonged in the series and edited the messages and re-inserted the images back in. The thread should now read somewhat correctly again.. (there were still a few pics I was unable to find like the Flourite cloud but hey - thats something I just as soon forget LOL) but most importantly the hood construction series is now back intact. 

Also went in a fixed a few broken links where page references had changes etc.. (like the articles on Driftwood etc..)


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## Steven_Chong (Sep 14, 2004)

Looks like it's time for a trim.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Had a wee bit of a fish kill last night / yesterday. Woke up this am to 4 dead penguin tetras... and when I got home that night from work there were 2 more of them on the bottom... :icon_sad:

I don't know what caused this... I also had a female krib croak last week... starting to worry... still got a penguin tetra that seems a little stressed... but the rest of the fish look great, eating well (course so did the penguins), and growing...

Broke out all the test gear...

I had done a 50% w/c on Sunday, and dosed as normal. Tuesday here are the results...

NO3 is 26.4 ppm
PO4 just under 2.0 ppm
PH 6.8*
KH 70 ppm (4º)
Nitrite 0ppm
Ammonia 0 ppm
Iron (Non Chelated) 0 ppm
Iron (Chelated) 0 ppm

* the PH controller varies between 6.7 and 6.8 and kicks in I suspect at around 6.75 and out at about 6.85 approx. I cannot tell for sure as the display is only up to one decimal point. This is the one squawk I got with the Milwaukee controller - setting it is not totally a joy.

OK - the NO3 and PO4 were high - and not being used up... I assume this indicates an imbalance that the plants are deficient in another area and therefore not using up those macros...

I dosed 10 ml of Flourish Iron and 30ml of TMG trace and retested the iron (yeah I know - Iron test kit but it does give enough indication to give a guideline) - After Dosing - I waited for 1 hour.

After 1 hour...

Iron (Non Chelated) more than 0 but less than 0.1 ppm
Iron (Chelated) 0.25 ppm

45 minutes after that - pearling starts....

I don't think 26.4 ppm of NO3 is high enough to really stress fish out... so I am not sure still... I have noticed that the top 2 inches of water is substantially warmer than the rest of the tank - which I keep at 80º so despite the sliding glass top the lights are making the water considerably warmer. I never measured it other than notice it with my hand but I would guess it's 15º higher... I the lights go out and I assume the top of the tank temp drops again to 80... these little penguins like the top 3 inches of the water so the problem may lie here?

Picking up a 12 vdc computer fan today and going to hook it up to a 12 vdc output fan... and on Saturday I am going to remove the hood and place this fan in the back of the hood to vent out some of the heat. Going to do it Saturday as it will require drilling out the hole for the fan and some vents.

Going to have to order in an O2 test kit as well I guess..


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## cprroy73 (Nov 10, 2004)

Nice tank, did you take the picture with just one light on because it look sort of shaded.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Tnks - nope all the lights are on - dark room and several feet away. No flash and small aperture.

The rest of the penguins bit the biscuit the last day or so... that 13 penguins out of 13... Species particular genocide... everything else test good... tested today...

Iron 0 ppm
Chelated Iron 0 ppm
NO3 22 ppm
PO4 1.0 ppm
PH 6.8
Potassium 20 ppm
KH 70 ppm (4º)

Dosed Iron and Traces again today... left the rest. Needing a major major trim today but thats got to wait till tomorrow night. Plants blocking off light etc...


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

Really sorry to hear how things are going, I am sure you'll get things straightened out soon. I have never had penguins; do you plan to get more?


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

Yeah Yeah - I am reviving an old thread... but I hate it when links to pictures don't work LOL

SO... I dug out all the old photos and uploaded them to a different server for anyone looking to do a DIY hood... I know it's an old thread but it may be of help to someone etc...

When I do my next tank will have to start a new journal


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