# 90G custom - journal



## Nolan W. (Feb 9, 2005)

Beautiful tank, Jay. I'm looking forward to seeing it full of plants.


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## awrieger (May 12, 2005)

You take really good quality photos! Nicely done done so far. 

I really like the empty tank stage myself. It's as clean as it'll ever be and so full of potential!


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## esarkipato (Jul 19, 2005)

Oh man I just love those rimless tanks! And the lighting system looks real sharp, too. This journal should be pretty sweet. . . . . 

Can't wait to see what you set up for filtration, co2, and whatever else!


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## Jdinh04 (Mar 15, 2004)

Looking good Jay, keep it up


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## amber2461 (Sep 26, 2004)

Can't wait to see the rest of it too ...


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## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

About time, Jay. 

Man, that glass if really clear. Can't wait 'til you get the Amazonia.


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## ianiwane (Sep 7, 2004)

I agree very nice. Just be make sure you add enough plants when using the aquasoil. Also make sure if adding powersand it does contain some ammonia, so you need to change water often the first few weeks. I am having problems with green water, I believe Eric is having some problems too.


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## jerseyjay (Jul 23, 2002)

ianiwane said:


> I agree very nice. Just be make sure you add enough plants when using the aquasoil. Also make sure if adding powersand it does contain some ammonia, so you need to change water often the first few weeks. I am having problems with green water, I believe Eric is having some problems too.


I looked at your 60cm journal and I see a major problem which could be possibly related to your current problems. This is what you should see when applying Powersand, definitely not what you did in your tank.


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

*subscribed*

Thanks for taking the time to share, Jay. That tank is awesome; beautiful. You certainly know how to take a nice photo.


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## scolley (Apr 4, 2004)

Jay!!! Wow! Esthetically that looks outstanding! The cherry stand, plus the all glass tank in your first post looks KILLER.

The powersand and all that is really interesting... but at the end of the day for me, it's all about "how does it look?" I suspect it is the same for you, and I can't wait to see how this turns out! Great start!


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## ianiwane (Sep 7, 2004)

Jay I do see what you are talking about, I took a look at an ADA setup book. I guess I did not lay it out right, but my guess is that it is done for more of an esthetic reason not functional. Its done so you can taper the substrate in the front. BTW how much powersand did you use? 1 9 liter? Anyway the tank is really nice, I wish I could get one like that. What plants are you planning on putting in there?


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## jerseyjay (Jul 23, 2002)

Slowely moving things along. Finally unpacked my manzanita order and began soaking process. I ordered 70$ package and have more than enough of wood for this 90G project. Here is a quick snap of my selection. Each picture is pretty much different section.


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## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

JAY,

Please tell me where to buy driftwood like that. I have been looking for years. I've googled about every word combination you can think of. I've checked aquabid and eBay every week. I can NEVER find it. Please help me out. I promise I won't copy your tank .

Ted


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## jerseyjay (Jul 23, 2002)

unirdna said:


> JAY,
> 
> Please tell me where to buy driftwood like that. I have been looking for years. I've googled about every word combination you can think of. I've checked aquabid and eBay every week. I can NEVER find it. Please help me out. I promise I won't copy your tank .
> 
> Ted


Ted, 

place is www.manzanita.com

Here are instructions for aquarium ready manzanita wood:

- old / weathered / sandblasted
- saw cut only at the base
- branchy / twisted / knurly
- pieces should complement each other
- same color / same texture
- some long / some short

Also you can talk to Rich. He is very familiar with "aquarium community" so just tell him dimensions of your tank and that you want "aquarium package".

I was very pleased with what I received.


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## Sudi (Jun 28, 2005)

Jay Luto said:


> Ted,
> 
> place is www.manzanita.com
> 
> ...


I guess that answers my PM on APC 
The wood doesnd seem too expensive, now i can easily say that I overpaid in LPS. :/

Thx Jay!


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

Hey!

How did you get the stand out of the fish room? 

I got my small box of manzanita last Friday and was quite pleased as well. The stuff would be completely amazing if you didn't have to soak it at all. 

Let me know when you are setting up the substrate. I have quite a bit of Bacter 100 left you can use.

Also, the shop in Ramsey has started to carry ADA substrates and all the additives as well.

Mike


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## Adrian (Aug 17, 2005)

Always a good idea to fit the stand with extra supports...I skipped that step durnig my setup and now the wood is failing.


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## jerseyjay (Jul 23, 2002)

Momotaro said:


> Hey!
> 
> How did you get the stand out of the fish room?


Same way we put it there  



> I got my small box of manzanita last Friday and was quite pleased as well. The stuff would be completely amazing if you didn't have to soak it at all.


I agree. I have few more weeks though so time is on my side 



> Let me know when you are setting up the substrate. I have quite a bit of Bacter 100 left you can use.


Thanks. I will let you know. 



> Also, the shop in Ramsey has started to carry ADA substrates and all the additives as well.


Excellent news. We have to go there one of those days again. I will give a call tomorrow to see what the prices are.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Momotaro said:


> I got my small box of manzanita last Friday and was quite pleased as well. The stuff would be completely amazing if you didn't have to soak it at all.
> Mike



How long is one suppose to soak the sandblasted manzanita wood?


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

I have soaked the manzanita for close to three weeks and it is staying down in the container without any weight on it, so I am assuming it is good to go.

The stuff does leech a ton of tannins though. Keep changing the water while you soak it.

Mike


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## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

Never bothered soaking that stuff for me. I just dropped it in the first day that I got it into the tank, but my source of manzanitas is different, so not sure how much of an effect that is. It will float for around 2 days, but never longer than that.


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## jerseyjay (Jul 23, 2002)

UPDATE: March 11th, 2006

* Wood is still soaking
* Installed two more 2x4's up front in each corner to be more safe
* Placed 3/4" pink styrofoam under the tank
* Installed the light fixture

Wood is still soaking in 30G container. I will give another 2 weeks or so. 

Measured 2x4's and installed them in the corners of the stand. I'm confident that this stand is not going anywhere. It was designed without 2x4's to hold 120G tank and this being 90G I think I should be fine  

Pink / Blue styrofoam was recommended over white by owner of AquariumObsessed. I followed his recommendations and got nice 2x8 sheet from HomeDepot. 

Light fixture was a major pain !!! Note: patience is the key in order to correctly line up 2 pendants ! Access in the attic was horrible since I had very small room to work with. I was on the speaker while my "assistants" were holding the fixture in my living room. After about an hour or so I came down to inspect final outcome .... I was not impressed. Pendants were "all over the place". Fortunately there are 2 holes on each side and front/back has a small rail across the fixture. I was able to get 48" long bolt, place "divider" in between and lock it on both sides. Ultimately, fixture was hanging on the same level with correct angles. After this was done I had another obstacle - cables. There are 3 cables from each fixture. 1 for HQI, 1 for PC, 1 for moonlights. I decided to tie them on the back to the installed bolt and let them go down in the corner of the room. Another reason to get 1 x 48" fixture which has only 3 cables. 

Things are moving slowely but ADA stuff is still not here so all I have now is time . I spoke to Jeff (ADG) and shipment is coming shortly !!!


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## fishwhisperer (Jan 8, 2006)

Looking absolutly fabulous. I can't wait to see more . 

This maybe a dump question but, what is the styrofoam for? If to cover plywood, what plywood would be seen if styrofoam weren't used?


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## jerseyjay (Jul 23, 2002)

fishwhisperer said:


> This maybe a dump question but, what is the styrofoam for? If to cover plywood, what plywood would be seen if styrofoam weren't used?


Styrofoam is used to evenly spread the weigh of FLAT tank and avoid pressure points.


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

Looking great, Jay!

No wonder you didn't have much time to chat on the phone today! :icon_wink 

Mike


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## jeffboyarrdee (Aug 25, 2004)

dude great progress i know how much work and time this can take. i absolutely love this setup so far...very impressive and in equipment choice and style!


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## jeffboyarrdee (Aug 25, 2004)

i cant wait to see this tank UP! whats goin on with it so far?


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## Raul-7 (Oct 17, 2003)

Great startup Jay! Can't wait to see the aquascaping process though.

One question though, why did you opt for the two fixtures instead of the 4 foot one?


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## jerseyjay (Jul 23, 2002)

Raul-7 said:


> Great startup Jay! Can't wait to see the aquascaping process though.
> 
> One question though, why did you opt for the two fixtures instead of the 4 foot one?


Sorry I missed your question. I went with 2 x 24" vs. 1 x 48" b/c of the light bulb setup. 

1 x 48 has 2 x 150HQI + 2 x 96PC
vs. 
1 x 24 has 1 x 150HQI + 2 x 65PC

I guess I wanted more coverage with 4x65 vs. 2x96. Was it a smart choice, will see


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## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

Looking great so far, Jay. Can't wait until you get the rest of the stuff in.


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## jerseyjay (Jul 23, 2002)

UPDATE: April 17th, 2006

ADA order finally arrived. Highlights:

- 5 x Aqua Soil- Amazonia (9 liters) Normal Type
- 1 x Aqua Soil- Amazonia (3 liters) Powder Type
- 1 x Powersand special - S
- Clear Hose (3m) 17mm
- Gray Parts Set for diffuser
- Lily Pipe Outflow P-6 17mm
- Lily Pipe Inflow V-7 17mm
- Pollen Glass Large 30
- Pro Scissors 'Nude'
- Wood Tight 
- Tourmaline BC

On top of that Jeff's generosity is endless. I will not list all the details but package contained a lot of freebies like magazines, T-shirts, key chains .... etc. ADG company knows what aquatic hobby is all about and they are on top of the game when it comes to pleasing customers, something that I can not say about many other "aqua-hobby" businesses. 

Go support ADG ! They are nothing but pleasure to deal with. Thank you Jeff and Mike !


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## Architect1 (Feb 19, 2006)

Wow Nice tank. can't weight to see the progress.


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## jerseyjay (Jul 23, 2002)

Not much of an update but I figured it is about time to add couple extra photographs. This tank is now up and running and looking fairly nice. I need to tweak couple sections and it should be good for extensive photo session. Here are few more pictures from initial setup - May 2006. 

1. PowerSand with substrate additives. 
** Notice layer thickness and area covered with PowerSand. I trim plants on weekly basis and I did NOT have any problems that other reported - "white" pieces floating up. This is simply user error !!!











2. Amazonia + PowerSand
** Notice layer thickness and areas covered with Amazonia / PowerSand. 











3. Dry setup - wood + rocks
** Manzanita wood and locally collected rocks











4. Planting phase
** Anubias nana "gold" / Anubias nana (both Singapore version), Taiwan moss, Narrow Leaf Java Fern. There are additional plants that are not on the photograph.


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## Steven_Chong (Sep 14, 2004)

I can see this much on your site-- when are we going to see pics filled with other plants in?  

I'm just greedy


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

Awesome start Jay. I can't wait to see those Anubias fill in with the mosses. Nice balance and the wood/rock combination is gorgeous. I need to find some nice rock that will not mess with my water chemistry 

P.S> I hope we guilted you last night into posting again hehehe :icon_evil


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## hazeen (May 21, 2006)

very nice wood


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## baysideben (Jan 9, 2006)

impressive setup!


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## Y0uH0 (Dec 19, 2005)

I'm loving how things have come along so far. Do update with more pictures soon,i am really hungry for more. As for now,i really love what you have done with the wood and rock placement.


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## soundtweakers (Oct 12, 2005)

WOW, this is going to be awesome!!!

billy


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## jeffboyarrdee (Aug 25, 2004)

what filter are you using for htis tank?
is the water flow going to be sufficient. this is a pretty large area tank, im really loving it. i am into the whole ada open top tanks as well. i am looking forward to more updates, ive been actually wondering what happened to this tank since this thread first started i was excited, now im even more excited!


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## sNApple (Nov 6, 2005)

nice set up. I pretty much have the same kind of stand as you. I wish i put 2x4's in for extra support, with having around 120lbs+ eco complete in my tank im getting pretty paranoid.


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## Petrus (Aug 15, 2003)

Jay.. any idea how thick the glass is on those 17 mm Lillies? Are those the same thickness as the 13 mm ones? Those must weight quite a bit..


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## jerseyjay (Jul 23, 2002)

jeffboyarrdee said:


> what filter are you using for htis tank?
> is the water flow going to be sufficient. this is a pretty large area tank, im really loving it. i am into the whole ada open top tanks as well. i am looking forward to more updates, ive been actually wondering what happened to this tank since this thread first started i was excited, now im even more excited!


Hello Jeff, 

This tank has 2128 Eheim but I’m actually running small powerhead for additional circulation. I have spare lily pipes and I’m thinking about adding Eheim 2213 and taking powerhead out.


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## jerseyjay (Jul 23, 2002)

sNApple said:


> nice set up. I pretty much have the same kind of stand as you. I wish i put 2x4's in for extra support, with having around 120lbs+ eco complete in my tank im getting pretty paranoid.


Snapple, 

I’m assuming that you have 120G tank. I wouldn’t be too paranoid about it. Those stands are designed to handle such big tanks with substrate and water. Cichlids hobbyists are using 120G with rocks without any adverse effects. 

My case was different because I was using 90G which was NOT sitting on the back frame. I had to add plywood and 2x4 to evenly distribute the weight.


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## jerseyjay (Jul 23, 2002)

Petrus said:


> Jay.. any idea how thick the glass is on those 17 mm Lillies? Are those the same thickness as the 13 mm ones? Those must weight quite a bit..


Petrus, 

What do you mean by "quite a bit." Both models are made out of glass which are very light when you compare it to weight of stand, tank, 90G of water, substrate, filters etc etc ... Weight of pipes are like a drop of water in the ocean when compared to overal weight of tank setup.


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## Jackfrost (Jan 8, 2005)

Any updates here ?

I love this series !


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## stupidplants (Nov 29, 2006)

:icon_mrgr :icon_mrgr :icon_mrgr Yes you are going to have to take pics of the tank when it is all done. I am so fricken jealous.:icon_bigg :icon_bigg :icon_bigg :icon_bigg


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## daykinmade (Jul 26, 2005)

*update*

I too am a big fan of this tank.
please, an update would be a great holiday gift.
wonderful work! and I love your site

regards
Jack


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## fresh_lynny (Mar 9, 2006)

daykinmade said:


> I too am a big fan of this tank.
> please, an update would be a great holiday gift.
> wonderful work! and I love your site
> 
> ...


I am a Jay Luto fan!


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## Steven_Chong (Sep 14, 2004)

I've given up-- lots of people both here and at APC and here have repeatedly asked for updates on this tank, and Jay hasn't put them out. Obviously, he wants to wait and show us the final product, or else he doesn't want to show it yet.

You guys all have to be more patient-- he'll show it when he plans to and now sooner!


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## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

Due to certain circumstances with the tank, there won't be an update any time soon. Stay tuned though since I know what's in the pipes and it's definitely worth it.


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## Adrian (Aug 17, 2005)

This has been killing me. It's like waiting for the second coming of the Messiah


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## jerseyjay (Jul 23, 2002)

Sorry All. It has been a while since last update. There are reasons for not posting anything. 

#1) Legal reasons 
#2) There is NO tank

I will not go into details for obvious reasons but I do miss my tank which by the way was not photographed since I was waiting for that right moment. I'm currently waiting for 120cm ADA delivery so stay tune 

Here is a visual summary of what was left of my 90G tank. This "quick" operation ended at 4am


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## drifty (Dec 18, 2006)

???? it looked amazing from the last pics


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## Jdinh04 (Mar 15, 2004)

Happy to hear your getting an ADA tank, what are you going to do with that one? What are you going to do with all the plants?


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## SCMurphy (Oct 21, 2003)

Jay, 

Dude,

I'm sorry to see that last pair of pictures. I hope that you get your ADA tank soon my friend.


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## BassMiesterNJ (Dec 2, 2007)

So... what was the outcome ?


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

Heart breaking. 
What happened or are you still banned from saying?


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## styxx (Jul 2, 2003)

BassMiesterNJ said:


> So... what was the outcome ?


I too am intrigued but whatever might have occurred, I can imagine your heartbreak. I had an "incident" as well (see my thread)...I hope your next tank goes smoothly.


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## Fernando_OC (Nov 16, 2007)

Hi guys, first time poster here. I really like the rimless look of this tank. In know ADA makes them but ofcourse are very pricey. 
Is this 90 gallon an ADA? If not who makes it? I just want to see if there are other options apart from ADA when it comes to rimless tanks. Thanks in advance


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## styxx (Jul 2, 2003)

*hmmmm..*



Fernando_OC said:


> Hi guys, first time poster here. I really like the rimless look of this tank. In know ADA makes them but ofcourse are very pricey.
> Is this 90 gallon an ADA? If not who makes it? I just want to see if there are other options apart from ADA when it comes to rimless tanks. Thanks in advance


No one else comes to mind...although I'm sure there are some out there...use the search option...it is your friend...perhaps someone has already asked that question here on the forum?


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

omg i read from the first page and it's sad that something happen with the tank. i have a rimless custom tank too and i understand the scary feeling in the first few weeks.


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