# Jmowbray's Hi Tech. 72 Bowfront



## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

*Tank:*
- 72 Bow front

*Stand:*
- DIY pine, stained w/ light oak and farnish. 

*Lighting:*
- 48" T5HO Quad Deluxe 216W (4x 54W), 6700K lamps w/ built in bluemoon leds 
> 2 lamps from 9:00am - 6:00pm
> 2 lamps (noon burst) from 12:00am - 2:30pm

*Filter:*
- Sunsun (not sure of the model at this time)

*CO2:*
- Aquariumplants.com Electronic Regulator 
- 10 lb tank
- Milwaukee SMS122 pH controller

*Heater:*
- Hydor 300W Inline

*Landscape:*
- Flourite - 3 x 20lb Bags (3 inches in back-> 1.5 inches in front)

*Flora:*
- Jave Moss 
-- Limnophila aromatica 
- Java fern
- hygro difformis variegated
- Red Rotala macrandra
- Alternanthera reineckii 'roseafolia'
- Pogostemon erectum 
- Echinodorus Angustifolia
- Myriophyllum Mattogrossense
- Cabomba caroliiniana
- Hygrophila corymbosa 'angustifolia'
- Hydrotriche Hottoniflora
- Amazon sword 
- Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig' 
- Echinodorus tenellus
- Riccia fluitans
- Utricularia gibba

_Special thanks to the following people for selling me their plants: Blackwidow, bgz, TheCryptKeeper, Alan_j_t, Joraan, jinsei888, and mle._

*Fauna:*
- pond snail(s)
- 3 Otos.
- 8 Emerald Corys
- 50 Green Neon Tetras


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

*Jmowbray's High Tech. 72 Bowfront*

Filtration System-




























Equipment in Pictures (left to right)
- White household sediment filter (inline CO2 reactor)
- Black canister w/ cord (Jebo UV sterilizer)
- Black canister far right (300W Hydor Inline heater)
- White and blue canister (Sunsun Canister filter)
(Need to still hook up the CO2 system, it just got in yesterday)


Tank+Stand-


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## RWaters (Nov 12, 2003)

Cool - an aquarium with jungle animals on parade! icon_bigg). Will you be putting a background on the tank? You shoudl also consider raising up that power strip in case of water leaks/drips. Nice job on the stand, by the way. Can't wait to see where you go with this.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Yep that's an older picture. I have half of the moss wall on the tank done. It looks like I might have to wait a while to get some more moss though, so it's only going to be 3/4 done for a little while.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

You're clicking on the wrong link on photobucket; to insert your pics into the thread, use the link on the bottom that has the tags on either side.

You need to update your pics, I want to see it planted! I love bowfront tanks.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

That's a very nice DIY stand. Bowfront stands are especially difficult


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

lauraleellbp said:


> You need to update your pics, I want to see it planted! I love bowfront tanks.


Ya I know. I will get some soon. I'm still getting plants from sales on the S&S and I just hooked up my pressurized CO2 system yesterday. I get some new pics. in a couple of days when they really start taking off. 

On a side note...How do you modify the thread title?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

jmowbray said:


> On a side note...How do you modify the thread title?


Go to the first post and click "edit"
Then click "go advanced"


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

That only changes the post heading not the thread.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

jmowbray said:


> That only changes the post heading not the thread.


You can change the thread title that way too.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

This is my new piece of Driftwood/sunken wood that my brother and I brought up from the bottom of the lake this past weekend. I has been washed and treated. The plants are not planted just weighted down. Sorry for the cloudy pics. the fluorite got stirred up. I will take some better ones tonight. I'm going to need help with plant placement as soon as I get better pics. All the plants you see are thanks to cryptkeeper. He defiantly out did himself. Thanks again.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

The left 1/4 of the back wall also needs to have a section of moss for it. Once the other 3/4 fill in I will be triming placing some more there. there is also java fern and anubias that are currently floating in the tank that will be tied to the wood.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

No one wants to see my new Driftwood?


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## BayBoy1205 (Jan 25, 2006)

+1 on the driftwood.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Thanks at least some one seen it. It took a long time to obtain. Diving in a dense underwater forest is very hard let alone trying to get such a big piece of DW to the surface.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

This is the tank now. I finally got my light back yesterday and I can already tell the plants are happy it's back. Let me know what you think. It's hard to see but there will be a carpet of HC in the front when it grows in. 

*Full shot of the tank*







*Left​*






*Right​*








*Shot of some plants*


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

That should look awesome once it's all filled in.

I love the DW!


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Thanks Laura! I love the DW too. I went diving and was down almost a hour. I was running low on air and I signaled to my brother that it was time to go up. When I turned to face him I seen it and I motioned that I wanted it. So we put a lift bag on it and brought it up with us. I'm SOOOOO happy I did. It's a big change from the two little pieces that were in there.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Well I'm in LOVE... with my tank that is. I'm planning on getting 5 zebra angels next Saturday so I will update the pics. then. I don't want any laughing when I post the pics. The angles are only babies so they're around 50 cent piece size; which are going to look so out of place in that tank. lmao. 

Oh ya I almost forgot!!!! I was up watching my EMPTY tank and was caught by my parents; they think I'm crazy. Anyway my Anubias and some Rotala Colorata were pearling. I was so excited!!!!! My mom and dad were like... What's happening? My short explanation was that when the plants have air bubbles coming off of them it means they're happy. I wasn't going into the real reason...


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Looks good. BTW, you're name scares me a little each time I see it. My bosses name at work is Jim Mobray. lol. Great job on your tank tho. Have you considered adding some moss to your driftwood?


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

There is one portion of moss on the branch that is to the right. I plan on putting more on in the future. The black screen on the back is a moss wall, so I intend to wait until that fills in and needs trimming before I add more to the long. I also have one more 1/4 section of the back moss wall to do yet.


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

Driftwood is really cool. Where did you go diving?


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

VadimShevchuk said:


> Driftwood is really cool. Where did you go diving?


We went at a local lake in Northern Michigan.


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

jmowbray said:


> We went at a local lake in Northern Michigan.



nice! Must have been a real pain to drag it out


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

VadimShevchuk said:


> nice! Must have been a real pain to drag it out


Not really. I have a lift bag which is just a ballon made out of a heavy plactic material that you fill with air, it can lift up to 80 lbs.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Here are my new babies....










Tank growing out with the guys in the left corner










Two are Gold pearl scales and two are regular gold pearls.

Thanks to Matt L from TAF-II!!!


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Here's one of my new otos cleaning up my Anubias. Sorry for the bad pic quality. But look at what a good job they did on that one leaf. They have only been in the tank one day now and they love it I just hope the survive. I purchased 8 and I'm now down to 5 so wish me luck.


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## tuffgong (Apr 13, 2010)

Nice tank and DW. I can't wait to see your moss wall all grown out! It looks really neatly constructed compared to others I've seen. What did you use to make it?


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

I'll post some pictures when I make the last one. I used regular small suction cups and PET screen used for windows. It's a Polyester screen coated with a PVC material. 

I cut the sections at two times the length so they could be folded over. I then lined up the suction cups and folded over the top. Then used a razor blade to cut a small sections just big enough to hold the nipple of the suction cups in the screen. once the whole side was done I folded the side that wasn't done on top so that the nipple of the suction cup was sandwiched between and the actual "suction cup" was exposed on the back side. I then repeated the process with cutting out sections and push the nipple though the screen. It was a tight fit so I had to use the backside of the razor blade to work the screen under neath the nipple so if didn't fall apart in the tank. I then took it apart and put the moss in, put it back together and hung it up.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Here's what it looks like today. Talk about hard workers, just one day of work.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Well all the plumbing is done and a water change has been done in less than 30 minutes. 

Here are some pics of the setup:

This is where it all starts. The can on the left is holding aged water that has been heated to ~80F and de chlorinated with Seachem Prime. The can on the right is for the waste water to get pumped into. The waste then goes down a drain in the floor and out in the lawn.








The following picture is on the Pecs tubing running above the drop down ceiling in the basement. 








This is the Pecs coming up through my floor in my bedroom. It will be cut and wound up behind my dresser when not in use. 








The next to pictures contain the refill adapter. The short piece of PVC is a coupler that allows me to take the filler off and put on an attachment to attach my Python for cleaning and draining. 

















The final pic. is of the PVC attachment that my Python goes on.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Ok my new RO system came and is now all hooked up and plumbed into the WC system. 

Here's what I got: 

It's a six stage dual DI chamber RO/DI system
Price: $86 from purewaterclub.com










Float valve in trash can filling up:










The fish feeding helper:







Here's Ollie!!! He's a year and a half old Quaker parrot; had him since he came out of the egg shell. He loves to help clean the tank and feed the fish!!!roud:


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Finally and update shot of the tank:








and a close up of one of my gold pearl scales:


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

After a long awaited and stressful week I came home and found my two Gold Pearlscales have paired up and laid their second spawn. The first one I screwed up...my bad.  They laid on the amazon sword I sold and when I went to clip the leave off they had eaten them all. 

Well now I have slates in there for them and they were actually cleaning up the DW and then were like "[censored][censored][censored][censored] it, I'm not cleaning all the algae off". lmao If you don't know anything about angels they clean the surface until it's spotless before they lay the eggs on it. So after giving up on the DW they laid on the slate. This morning 6 eggs were bad, right now there are about 25. The female is working hard fanning the eggs keeping them clean. They male is also helping out (which I've read is very good since most females wont let males help for fear of them eating the eggs). So far he is doing great and hasn't ate a thing.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Well this morning the parents moved them all to the DW and they are wriggling








See the tails?


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## tuffgong (Apr 13, 2010)

I do see the tails. Very Nice!!! Keep us posted.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Well here's an update shot of my tank along with my fry rearing system from angelsplus. I know the jar can go in a smaller tank but I don't need to be paying to heat two tanks right now. I also know that the CO2 it going to off gas quite a bit but what can you do. I'm running to the store right now to get a turkey baster to suck them up. I will post a pic of them in the jar when I get time. 

I don't think the jar takes away from the tank to much.


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## tuffgong (Apr 13, 2010)

looks like a sponge filter in a jar.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

I basically is. The two sponges keep the fry in between and prevents the other fish from eating them while constantly circulating the water in the jar.


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## AquaNorth (Jan 27, 2010)

I like your helper, Good luck with the little ones.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Oh no...and now it begins....

The other two by chance (sex unknown) have .......guess what, PAIRED UP!!! Oh my god so many angles!!! I got home today and I have 100+ eggs on my filter intake. Some of the first brood has started free swimming, only about 3 or 4 of them though the rest are still wiggling. Hopefully tomorrow most will be free swimming and they can start eating BBS.


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Wow! Lucky with the pairs!!! Good luck!


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

It's been a while since I put up some updates so here it goes:

Full tank shot:







One of my golds':







The mean mother and father guarding their children:















Emerald Green Cory:















Little shot of the left side:







​Right side:







Alternanthera Reineckii:







Pogostemon erectum:







Make shift wall separating the two fighting pairs until one finds a new family:


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Well I just did a rescape of the tank:

2/19/2011


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

Aw the little babies swimming with their parents is a great pic! You make me want angelfish.


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Well don't get any. I had to get rid of all of them because they started fighting between the two pairs and them once one was gone between themselfs. It was bad....


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

WOW. I just came onto your 72 gallon bowfront. You do a great job on DIY things! That stand looks really amazing from the outside, like expertly done! And also that piece of driftwood is really nice. What did you do to treat it after digging it out? The only method I know is to boil and let it soak but that can't possibly remove the bacteria in like ponds. How far does the driftwood protrude out of the water? It was hard to tell in your pictures.

How is your tank now after you removed the angels? Updated picture?


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Being that the wood was so large I took a powerwasher to it and washer every bit very well. I then purchsed a large bottle of H2O2 and dumped it all over. and let it sit for ~15mins. Then lightly washed it off with a hose and clean water. I wanted to to come up out of the water but the roots were hitting the light so I cut them all flush with the water line. It wound have looked real nice if I had the option to hang the light. 

I'll have to post a new picture in a couple weeks. I just did a rescape so plants are small and haven't grown in. For the past 4 months it has been bare (well it looks bare). I now have cherry shrimp, 3 emerald green corys, and two otos. However, tomorrow I'm going to the LFS to get my first batch of tetras but they will be in the QT for a couple week. I'm hoping to get a school of ~30 in there so it will hopefully look like some action is happening. 

Glad you like it!

Check out my EBI in my sig. I found that stump this summer while diving. I'm thinking I may get a couple next spring/summer and try to sell them.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Wow you hydrogen peroxide'd the stump? After all of that washing did you soak it a couple more days? My sister is going on a vacation to the bahamas come winter and I told her to keep an eye out for driftwood. So I'm very curious as how to clean it (I will have to fight salt water too!) so it won't kill everything in my tank.

Aw, it is a shame you had to cut the branches off. Having it rise out of the tank would be very cool. From the reflections in the pictures it just looks like it cuts off. At least you know exactly where to fill the water too!


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Well the tank is no more. It is totally disassembled and will be completely redone with new DW, fish and substrate. Look out for a new journal to pop up soon.


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