# Tiggity's Aqueon Evolve 8 Dirt Tank



## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

*Update 3-1-13*

*Update 11-15-12*

*Update 9-27-13*




Decided to tear down my Petco 6gallon bookshelf and picked up an Aqueon Evolve 8 for my office. Also, decided to do my 1st dirt tank roud:

I used about 1" of Miracle Gro Organic potting soil and 1 1/2" of petco black sand. 

Plants are:
Crypt wendtii green
Crypt wendtii red
Bacopa
Ludwigia Repens Broad Leaf
temporary Wisteria floating as an excess nutrient sponge

Very little cloudiness after filling it with water and I'm seeding the filter with the media (foam, bio modules, purigen bag) on my AC20 that was on the Petco bookshelf tank.

The Tank looks awesome and does not take up a lot of space. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

*FTS:*



















*Unboxing and Set up:*



















*Filter chamber:*










*Driftwood I'll be using:*










*The dirt after straining it:*










*Added water till it is a thick mud, almost looks like a brownie:*


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## austin.b (Feb 9, 2012)

Looks great! Any stocking ideas yet?


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## Drift Monkey (Mar 26, 2012)

is that a WIRED switch I see??? 

Looking good!


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

Thanks!

I'm thinking of probably trying out:

Red Cherry Shrimp
CPD's
Endlers
Corys or Pygmy Corys

I already have 2 platies and don't want to go overboard with the stocking.


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

Drift Monkey said:


> is that a WIRED switch I see???
> 
> Looking good!


Yes :icon_redf


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## austin.b (Feb 9, 2012)

tiggity said:


> Thanks!
> 
> I'm thinking of probably trying out:
> 
> ...


Have you seen chili rasboras? Boraras brigittae. They're awesome nano fish with personality! lol Two platies in an 8G is kinda overboard already IMHO because of they're bioload. If you do go with corys, definitely go with pygmy corys.


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

austin.b said:


> Have you seen chili rasboras? Boraras brigittae. They're awesome nano fish with personality! lol Two platies in an 8G is kinda overboard already IMHO because of they're bioload. If you do go with corys, definitely go with pygmy corys.


Yes, I agree that I am pushing it with the 2 platies in terms of bio-load. I may keep them as is for now and probably not add any more fish. I'll see in a month or two and maybe try some cherry shrimps.


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## HunterX (May 19, 2012)

Your tank is looking good. 

I just purchased the same tank this afternoon. I'm intend on it being a shrimp tank. 

How is the stock light doing with your plants? 

Have you had any issues?

How is the "Bacopa" doing?


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

HunterX said:


> Your tank is looking good.
> 
> I just purchased the same tank this afternoon. I'm intend on it being a shrimp tank.
> 
> ...


The stock light I think is fine with plants but we'll see how it goes in the long run. Right now, the tank looks dark because my driftwood is leaching tannins but it's improving with a combination of water changes, purigen and activated carbon in the filter chamber. The bacopa seems to be doing well, I'm not noticing any change with it. I've had it grown in my other low light tank with no problems.


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

Just a quick update on the tank:

The water was dark tea color on the 2nd day due to the driftwood but it is clearing up, I've been doing 2 50% WC's daily and have added Activated Carbon while my purigen bag is regenerating in its bleach bath. My crypts are starting to melt, but that is something I was expecting. However, my java fern is not doing so well, most of its leaves have dissolved and it's not even planted in the substrate, only shoved in the driftwood's crevice. My stems, bacopa and ludwigia looks ok and have not noticed any change.

I will be adding some MTS from my 37 to help mix and aerate the sand keep it from going anaerobic.


An observation regarding the filter:

I have it adjusted to only running 25% flow and it churns the water well. If I was keeping a betta in this tank, I would do some kind of mod on the outlet to slow it even more. The oveflow (intake) works well and filters floating debris nicely.


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## HunterX (May 19, 2012)

How did you turn down the flow on the filter?


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## TheBigSleep (Aug 28, 2012)

HunterX said:


> How did you turn down the flow on the filter?


The stock filter pump comes with an adjustable dial, and it's possible to cut down the flow even further by wrapping the pump in foam. I can't speak to Tiggity's methods but the Evolve makes it pretty easy to adjust flow


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## TheBigSleep (Aug 28, 2012)

Excellent looking start & cheers to Evolve 8's!!!:smile:

*Edit:* If possible I'd love to see some pics of the modified filter media!


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

TheBigSleep said:


> Excellent looking start & cheers to Evolve 8's!!!:smile:
> 
> *Edit:* If possible I'd love to see some pics of the modified filter media!


Thanks!

I haven't done any mods yet with the filter, still running the included filter media. All I did was take the media from my AC20 and shove it down the 2nd filter compartment, where the pump resides so that I can maintain the bio filter and seed the new one. Eventually though, I will use the "blue" filter pads and cut it to size and use the filter frame to hold it.

Hunter,

The pump's flow can be adjusted with a sliding lever.


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## TheBigSleep (Aug 28, 2012)

Sounds good, keep us posted! I'm still tweaking my own setup so I'm lookin forward to seeing what you come up with. Keep up the good work!


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

Just a quick update,

I came in this morning and noticed it is making gurgling noises. Now this tank is in my office so it is unattended over the weekends. I noticed that my filter media was full, mostly mud. What's interesting is that I only have this running for almost 2 weeks. 

The pump was pulling water faster in the second (right chamber) than the first (left chamber) can fill it with water. The water level was low in the pump chamber and I'm surprised that it did not burn out the motor or my heater :icon_eek: 

Just want to give anybody that has an Evolve or thinking of getting one to keep an eye on your filter.


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## TheBigSleep (Aug 28, 2012)

Dang, that's a bummer! Did your cap layer spring a leak?


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

Not that I could see, I have about 1.5" sand cap and made sure it was even before I flooded - well the back is deeper as I was going for a slope.

Right now I have filter floss stuffed in the filter chamber.

edit: The more I think about it, I think most of my plants melted and the dead leaves got sucked up in the filter (as it should be) and clogged the media faster than it normally would.


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## TheBigSleep (Aug 28, 2012)

Could be. I've noticed a pretty decent mulm buildup in the bottom of the "pump chamber" of my Evolve, but it's nothing a quick siphon hasn't taken care of. When you said 'mud' I thought you meant the dirt was getting loose :flick:


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

Quick update:

Couldn't resist, added 2 fancy guppies. May still go with adding shrimp later on. The wood is still leaching tannins but not as much and I've been doing 50% WC 2x a week to help with water clarity.

*FTS:*










*Some of my crypts melted but have noticed new growth!*









*Here's my replacement filter:*









*and added some extra media (the bio max from an established filter):*










I cut a 7" x 7" square of the blue bonded pad I bought from petsmart. What I noticed from using the stock filter, you can't really put your water level higher than the height of the filter, otherwise you will get bypass. 

I measured my cut and this allows me to have my water line a little higher with no bypass and also helps the output flow less turbulent.


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## HunterX (May 19, 2012)

Hows the tank comming?

I have 25 cherry shrimp comming for mine. They should be here next week sometime.

This weekend I'm going to drill some holes lower in the filer chamber so it pulls water in from mid tank as well. I thought you had done that to yours but I couldn't find the post. Maybe I'm confused.

I have 7 chile rasboras in it now. They have been in there for a couple of weeks. All seams to be going well.

I'm also going to pick up some more low light plants for it today.


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

The tank is doing well, thanks for asking!

Definite growth with all my plants and water is clearing up from my driftwood leaching tannins with wc's.

I only modified the filtration media, TheBigSleep drilled his Evolve 8:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=190589


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

Quick update:

I am loving this tank/project! Very low maintenance - I have not done any fertilizing on this tank, only 50% weekly WC. The light is perfect for the plants I have in it.

My crypts are loving the dirt and have taken off and I'm seeing new growth and getting bushier. 

Latest pics:

*FTS:*









*Close up:*









Algae is not a big issue, although I have some threads growing on the leaves closer to the light. A light brushing takes care of that.

Also, I noticed the other day a few baby MTS. I only added 5 a month ago, good to know they are prospering 

I really would like to add RCS to this tank but my fear is the Platies and Guppies would make a quick snack of them.


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## HunterX (May 19, 2012)

They would indeed!


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## koiboi (Sep 4, 2011)

Very nice. I love my Evolve 8. My only mod was stuffing bio media in the pump chamber and cutting a piece of plastic mesh I got at Michael's and placing it across the filter intake as a screen to keep my Cherries out of there. Now that they're breeding I keep expecting to see a colony of babies living in the filter, but so far most of them seem to be staying in the tank.


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## Lukeo85 (Nov 13, 2012)

Looks great.


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## dreamchick (Nov 15, 2012)

is't looking good!


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## tex627 (Jan 11, 2009)

The crypts in the front will literary block your field of vision. You won't be able to see the rest of your scape! Have you considered moving them to the ides and back of your hardscape?


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

tex627 said:


> The crypts in the front will literary block your field of vision. You won't be able to see the rest of your scape! Have you considered moving them to the ides and back of your hardscape?


I'm actually loving the jungle look with the crypts. It has covered the driftwood and I ended up removing it to give my stems some room to grow. I'm going to go with the overgrown look. 

Algae has been almost non existent aside from a light brown dusting on the walls. I seem to have reached a balance as I've only been doing top offs and feeding the fish and everything is thriving


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## J.mccollum (Apr 29, 2012)

Tank looks great. I love mine. I also packed my filter with side with media and foam. Blocked the font off to keep the baby shrimp out. I did have a problem with the LED light. It started flickering. I sent Aquaeon an email and they sent me a new one with in a few days. They mistakenly sent me 2 new ones B^) Great tanks sand company.


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

Quick shot of the tank now (3/1/13).

Overgrown


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## Barbgirl (Feb 24, 2012)

Loving this tank! Good to see that the stock light can grow plants!

I have recently "discovered" the Evolve 8s. They are awesome.



PS Can I steal some of your filter mods?


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

Barbgirl said:


> Loving this tank! Good to see that the stock light can grow plants!
> 
> I have recently "discovered" the Evolve 8s. They are awesome.
> 
> ...


Thanks!

Go for it with the mods! My current mod is a fluval foam for the 105/106 canisters and bought a sink rack from the dollar store cut to fit in that sump to hold the foam in place (it's already snug but doesn't hurt).

Will be adding a peace lily back there also as a planted riparium/filter.


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