# 500G Conversion from Reef to Planted (56K?)



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

This is going to be an absolute beast of a tank! Please keep us updated


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

Well, time for a minor update... I finally managed to get some plumbing done this weekend to set up the automatic water changers and drain system. As usual I had major trouble splicing in to the outside water line (main feed to a sprinkler manifold that had been plumbed with Sch. 20 PVC and kept breaking in different places.)

Hopefully work will start progressing on this project soon.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Whoa! That tank is huge! I cant wait to see what the end result is going to be. I am considering getting a 225g and I thought that was big! If it is going to a cichlid tank what species are you going to be using? I think Frontosa would be a great fish, if you had a colony of them...thats just my opinon...


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Good luck with HC and africans in the same tank. Water parameters are near polar opposites for the two. Can't wait to see what you come up with though, that's a nice sized tank!


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

I would just do an african tank and not mix plants with africans unless its anubias, javafern, or vals. I have a 55 gallon mbuna tank and i only keep vals in it. Other then that really wont grow sinc ethe fish swims by and the plant floats up. Good luck if you want to try it.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

corkscrew vals, along with africans look wonderful, of course this is only if you can get the fish not to eat/tear them up.


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## Larry Grenier (Apr 19, 2005)

Not trying to change your mind but... If you really like a planted tank, you might consider non-African. A big tank, densely planted woth some open space can be trurly stunning. Angels tend to school when they have a big space, rainbows will color-up and grow almost as big as Africans in a big tank, huge schools of rasboras or tetras look awsome in a big space... endless possibilities. Africans are very cool but a well-planted big tank can be trurly awsome! Do a picture search on "Amano".


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## yikesjason (Jul 2, 2008)

Plant selection will be greatly affected by the water conditions for the africans, but your vision for the tank sounds amazing. It is near impossible to match africans for color variety, but I am not much of a fan of the plan tanks that they are kept in most of the time. A lightly planted tank with africans will be beautiful. I really like the idea of attaching plants to all of the rocks. A few tall grassy plants like vals or what ever you find will work with your water conditions would look great in a tank that size. I think you are going to want to leave a lot of sandy substrate, so most of the plants will probably be best attached to the rocks. I don't know for sure, but I think some mosses would look nice too.


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## dewalltheway (Jan 19, 2005)

WOW! 500 gallons! This ought to be an awesome tank build. Your vision sounds awesome, but then I had the same thought as Larry but I am sure whatever direction you go with the tank will be nothing short of greatness!

Keep us updated!


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

Another fellow texan , can't wait to see this one up and running. I'm really curious to see what you can do with 500g.


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

What an absolute dream... 500 gallons!!! o_o!!!!!

Keep us updated with lots of pics. You can do some great things with that much room!


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

Well, progress has been rather slow on this aquarium, but I'm finally working on the hard-scape. Below are a couple of pics that show the current state. The Boss ended up not being able to get slate anywhere in the area so I ended up with river stones instead. They're actually working pretty well. I've also changed my mind on the fish again. I'm thinking a school of 100+ cardinal tetras, maybe some GBR's and apistos. The tank is big enough that the GBR's and Apistos should have plenty of territory without too many conflicts.

Here's a shot of the whole tank. I'm getting the hardscape and planting done before I put the new hood on.










And a close-up of the hard-scape I have finished. I'm going to build a structure like this at the other end, and another one in the center of the tank to hide the secondary filter intake.


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## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

that looks awesome! 100 cardinal tetras? id put that many in a 100g tank. i hope you add an extra 0 after that


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## jinsei888 (Apr 20, 2009)

Looks great! You could even hide the filter corners with tall growing stem or blade leaf plants, as an alternative to using tons of round rock as you have now. Awesome project either way!

Subscribed!


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## Dan the Man (Sep 8, 2009)

Welp, another epic distraction  Your layout idea sounds interesting...I wonder, do you have complete creative control or is this a shared venture with your boss having significant input? Another question, what substrate are you using? Depending on your maintenance tolerance you might want to stay away from carpeting plants like HC which will offer an interesting trimming experience for that size tank. Have you considered a sword/discus/apisto tank? Anyway, this would be an awesome job to have. Looking forward to seeing how it evolves and the decisions you make. **subscribed**


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

It's great that you've reconsidered the fish selection. Speaking from personal experience, you'd eventually get rid of the african lake cichlids and go for african river cichlids or SAs anyways.

I like that hardscape - it doesn't look good now (very unnatural), but if you put some anubias and mosses here and there and let a bit of algae grow, it will break it up and look wonderful. You'll need something on the left to balance out the weight on the right. Maybe a monster piece of driftwood?


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

I'm waiting on more rocks so I can build rock structures in the middle of the tank and on the left side.

I do plan on adding plants at various places on all of the structures so it looks at least older if not more natural. I guess I'm looking at this more from an aesthetic viewpoint, but as long as the colors and structure blend well, it doesn't have to look natural for me to like it.

As far as the substrate, I'm using plain old hardware store pea gravel. I was planning on using potting soil capped with pea gravel, but my potting soil ended up washing away to nothing when I tried to filter the organics out of it. Turned out to be mostly forest products.

On the creative control part, The boss had a few up front requests, like no Discus, no "boring" fish, try to pick colorful fish, and make the upkeep of the system as simple as possible. Apart from that any time I ask him about something specific he says "It's your baby. Whatever you want to do is fine."


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

Don't be like the Russian. All the advice I can give you.


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

Caton said:


> Don't be like the Russian. All the advice I can give you.


It wasn't his fault! It was his clients! :thumbsdow 

I really can't wait to see this thing finished!!!


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

I think this is what they're talking about, incase you haven't seen it already.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/105983-big-tank-800-gallon-7.html


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## BonesCJ (Jan 13, 2003)

Yeah you are going to want lots of fish, I have apx 80-90 small tetras in my 210 which is half the size of yours and they can all still vanish and leave the tank looking empty.


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

AzFishKid said:


> I think this is what they're talking about, incase you haven't seen it already.
> 
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/105983-big-tank-800-gallon-7.html



Good God man! Looks like some geneticist crossed Cardinal Tetras with the breeding capacity of guppies. Reminds me of that comment about the Drugco Monkopotomos from Drew Carey: "Crossing the poo flinging arm of a monkey with the digestive tract of a hippo was not one of their more brilliant ideas."


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

They were in Russia so wouldn't the client be Russian?


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

Caton said:


> They were in Russia so wouldn't the client be Russian?



Yeah... Russian to get too many fish.


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## Ashok (Dec 11, 2006)

Hubba Hubba, can't wait to see this fill up.


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## Clare12345 (Dec 20, 2008)

Subscribed.


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## Dan the Man (Sep 8, 2009)

Ok, last threadjacking joke...

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/ta...-gallon-7.html









...and for the more expensive DIY CO2 method...
I wonder what the feeding looks like.


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## newday3000 (Nov 4, 2009)

Lightly planted African tank can work. this is an old pic of my 220G with Anubias and java fern, I haved added Crypts without issue to this low light low tech planted setup. The anubias is over 3 years old.

would still vote for a large school or several schools of small fish in a big tank with many plants. I would pick something other than cardinals for a more interesting school. Rainbows would look amazing in a tank this size.


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## Reginald2 (Mar 10, 2009)

I like the river rocks, The Far Side, and pretending I had that tank. Subscribed.


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## kingfisherfleshy (Jun 4, 2010)

Shame about the reef man...but at least it will be a planted now. Interested to see how this will all pan out.


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

Used up the second load of rocks and I'm still not finished! 










That's as high as I'm going to go with the center structure. There is a large hollow area in the center around the recirculation intake and it can't support too much more weight on top. I am, however, going to sort of use that like a plateau for some plants. There is a nice depression on the right hand side that should work nicely for a tiger lotus plant and there are some depressions along the back of the structure that would make nice homes for some vals... Or I might try to find a piece of driftwood that would fit on top. We'll just have to see where the things want to go.


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## sanj (Jan 11, 2004)

The tank looks so much better without a frame around it.


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

Filling it up for the leak test on the new plumbing:

(Click for video)



Plants and fish should be in on Friday. Need to finish the hood with the lights before then somehow. All I've got left to do is the wiring and the supports where the hood will rest on the aquarium... Oh and I have to cut the plexi for the light box shields. Sooo much still to do and it has to be finished before our office open house on Tuesday the 7th.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

BrentD said:


> Used up the second load of rocks and I'm still not finished!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Why did you chose rocks?

Wood is easier to hide overflows and screw, glue and will not fall down if you set it up good. Rock is a PITA to try and stack etc.

Try drilling or screwing rock together, or plastering it to over flows, powerheads etc........plants will attach to rock, but not nearly as good as they do wood.

Congo tetras, say 50-100 would look good and you could do some nice African themed fish. 

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

BrentD said:


> Filling it up for the leak test on the new plumbing:
> 
> (Click for video)
> 
> ...


The spray bar?
Did you consider removing it, better to add a strong flow rather than a spray bar on a larger tank like this?? You could also snake some loc line 1/2" spray bar from the returned etc for more/better directional flow. This will help the flow and make the tank look better.

With the rock scape that is now done, I'd go Rift cichlids all the way.
Plants? Mini twister vals. 

You can increase flow if you want relatively cheap (Sure flow Maxi jet conversion- 2000gph)or go high tech with a Ecotech MP40 etc or two.
That will help and add decent flow for little $ and energy cost.
These can be hidden fairly easily at the wall end of the tank.

Then no ugly spray bar. 

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

When the light hood is on, the horizontal part of the spray bar will be mostly hidden.

I went with rocks mainly because that was what was readily available to work with in this area.

The aquarium has 2 pumps, one that draws from the sumps and overflows and returns to the side sprays and a second that draws from a drain hidden by the central mound of rocks and returns through the spray bar. The spray bar originally ran along the bottom of the back of the tank, but I decided to raise it up to increase top-down circulation and paint it black for aesthetics.

The light hood will hide several necessary evils.

Current stocking plans include ~ 200 cardinal tetras, some GBR's, some otos and a some RCS.

Plants will be mainly anubias along with some other plants.


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

I wouldn't waste much time with RCS in this tank....


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

over_stocked said:


> I wouldn't waste much time with RCS in this tank....


They will all end up in the sump and overflow anyway, if you try and screen the overflow, that's one more thing to clog and a critical point. So will cardinals and Amano shrimps, otto cats.

I use needle point plastic grid(Most arts and crafts places sell it) to screen off some tanks, but you often need to clean it. Good the hood will hide some of it, man...that's a big hood to remove each time work needs done though. 

You could soften the look up with the Anubias in the lower parts and the java fern in the rock cracks etc above overshadowing them. This would make each mount of rocks a nice planted mound. Should be easy also to add the fern into the rock crevices.

BTW, you can buy black PVC, then the paint will not come off later.
Loc line is all around better also.

Interesting scape for the rock piles.

Regards, 
Tom Barr



Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

tom is right on the money.. as always.. but i am so damn envious of a tank this size.. i cant wait till im settled in my life and done with my masters so i can have something like this.. subscribed!


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

plantbrain said:


> that's a big hood to remove each time work needs done though.


The hood won't have to come off to do the work. I've built the light boxes so that they swing up and out of the way and lock in place to allow access to the openings in the top plate. Might have to make a bench to stand on so I can lean over the extra height though.


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## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

Yeah, I'd go with a tonne of crypts surrounding the base of each rock pile with anubias and needle leaf Java fern stuffed into the cracks. Maybe line the back of the tank with vals between the piles so they will eventually grow up and bend at the waters surface, giving that nice lush look while also helping to hide the spray bar.


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

Well, the light hood is done. Plants will be in tomorrow (Monday), so everything should be ready for the office Christmas open house on Tuesday afternoon.

Completed light hood with light boxes down:










Light boxes up:










"Early Morning" mode, only center 2 bulbs in each fixture lit:










"Full Sun" mode, all 6 bulbs in each fixture lit:


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## !shadow! (Jan 25, 2010)

wow nice diy skills. you make me wanna come down there and look at it personally.


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

Man that is nice... Would you mind making one of those fixture for my tank?


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

!shadow! said:


> wow nice diy skills. you make me wanna come down there and look at it personally.


Feel free to drop by any time if you're in the area. The office is open 8 - 5 Monday through Friday. There is a lady that comes by fairly often just because her 3 year old liked to look at the aquarium when we had "Nemo" in there.

JakeJ: Let me recover from this one first. There is probably close to $1000 worth of materials in the hood if you figure in the light fixtures and the cedar.

Plus, I had a bit of an accident with my table saw about a month ago and nearly took the tips off the middle 3 fingers on my left hand. They're finally mostly healed up with no permanent damage other than some scar tissue, but this project almost turned out to be more than I could handle.

And I have yet to get all the automation set up for fertilizer, de-chlor, water changes, feeding, etc.


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

BrentD said:


> JakeJ: Let me recover from this one first. There is probably close to $1000 worth of materials in the hood if you figure in the light fixtures and the cedar.
> 
> Plus, I had a bit of an accident with my table saw about a month ago and nearly took the tips off the middle 3 fingers on my left hand. They're finally mostly healed up with no permanent damage other than some scar tissue, but this project almost turned out to be more than I could handle.
> 
> And I have yet to get all the automation set up for fertilizer, de-chlor, water changes, feeding, etc.


I was tad on the sarcastic side about you making one for me... Sorry... I should have added a smilie. :icon_frow


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Can't wait to see more of this. The size of the thing is just amazing.


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

IT'S FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!










(Or at least until I decide to add / change the plants)


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

That is stunning...


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## mylittlefish (Oct 5, 2010)

Are there some before , during and maybe after pics of the system and scape ?

Maybe i missed some.

oops........ never mind ... just saw the pic......... WOW, quite a pile ........ when was the last tremor in your neighborhood ? :>)


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

Just took another short video with my cell phone, thought I'd post an update.

Algae is getting slightly out of control, but I have shrimp coming in tomorrow and will be ordering some Nerite's pretty soon:


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## Green024 (Sep 19, 2009)

What kind of algae are you getting? 
I would try to deal with the root of your algae problem(if you have not all ready), instead of getting a clean up crew to fix it. Any idea what could be causing it? Light period? too much light?


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## BrentD (Dec 11, 2008)

Green024 said:


> What kind of algae are you getting?
> I would try to deal with the root of your algae problem(if you have not all ready), instead of getting a clean up crew to fix it. Any idea what could be causing it? Light period? too much light?


Too much light, not enough plants, no co2 or ferts yet. Tank has only been up since December 6th and that was a rush job to get it ready for the Christmas open house on the 7th. Ferts should be here in the next few days.

As for algae, what I have now looks like green dust algae. My gravel & the rocks are all developing green patches. It's easy enough to get off the glass with magnetic cleaners, but not so easy to get to the rocks to clean them.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Better turn the lights down/off for awhile.

Once you get plants/CO2 , etc ferts etc..........

Then add light.


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## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Awesome tank... I would have done the hardscape a bit different, but it turned out ok, and I know you were somewhat rushed with it. Can't wait to see it with fish and more stuff in it!


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## rockwood (Jun 19, 2010)

Ok, now plant the hell out of that thing. I'm seeing two massive plants (like amazons) in the center, in the open spots between the rock piles, crypts all over at the edge of the rocks and hair grass/micro sword for the foreground. Then moss/anubias up on the rocks themselves to soften it up some. 

That's just me though....


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