# Wicked expensive nano moneypit: Aquascaping GLA 30c



## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Ok, so I FINALLY got this thing up and running... I have had all of this hardware for what seems like forever now... and actually it has been running on my kitchen counter for a couple weeks now so I could get the ammonia out of the aquasoil and soak the wood... SO... I moved it to its final home and got some things set up. hopefully it will work out good!

Hardware: Few changes from original plan...
GLA 30c cube aquarium 12x12x12 and 7.5 gallons
ADA amazonia II substrate
Silica sand (stupid choice)
Eheim Classic 2213 cannister filter
Hydor Inline 200w heater
JBJ regulator
2.5lb co2 bottle
Inline co2 atomizer (frickin awesome!)
AZOO nano drop checker
Glass inflow and outflow pipes (not in yet)
resun 27w PC light
Stand from a 14 gal. biocube tank

I ended up only using a few species of plants.. and my crypt nurii that I was going to use seems to be MIA... 

Blyxa Japonica
Anubias nana
Anubias petite
Marselia Minueta
Fissidens Fontanus
Limnophilia Aromatica

Set up and clearing up... I have a couple pics of the build but I will have to post them later...










one from the side...










I still need to get some weights for the anubias petite and also attach the fissidens.. not quite sure if I want to tie it, superglue it, or use stainless steel mesh... 

The anubias is going to go in front of the blyxa and near the wood... the fissidens is going to go some on the upright pieces of wood and some attached to mesh in the open spot to the right.. 

I also will probably add some other mosses... flame moss and taiwan moss... we'll see how it goes... I'm picking up 3 12"x12" squares of stainless steel mesh tomorrow or thurs... so I will beable to complete that part. 

I can tell already that I'm going to hate the sand, but I just wanted a little something to break it up a bit.... I would have (and should have) used pool filter sand, but I'm all out.. 

I was more than a little annoyed at the way my light setup turned out... I had to turn the legs around backwards for it to fit, and it looks kinda stupid... although I may hang the light from the ceiling even though it's little.... I also have another matching bulb and ballast but I am not sure how to combine them into one fixture just yet. Possibly buy a fishneedit MH fixture without the guts and mount 2x 27w PC bulbs in it... then hang from ceiling... we'll see.. I really don't like the way the light is now because it really restricts the view of the wood coming out of the top of the tank... so I was a bit bummed about that..


It's a work in progress.. so I'm just glad to get it set up for now. Glad my hundreds of dollars of stuff isn't sitting around idle anymore...

Of course I got up this morning and the aquasoil had blown all over the sand... but I don't have a spraybar on the outtake so I need to adjust some stuff...

Feel free to critique and suggest...


----------



## Powchekny (Jan 25, 2010)

Nice tank. The white / brown contrast reminds me of a seashore.

I would suggest that you trademark the "Wicked Expensive Nano Moneypit" and start selling it as a packaged aquarium setup under that tradename. Points given for honesty, anyway.


----------



## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

It's a really pretty money pit though . . .


----------



## wpgtank (Mar 12, 2010)

+1 on powchekny's TM idea. LMAO. I love the dimensions of the tank. Nice scape.


----------



## Outlawboss (Dec 30, 2008)

Awesome start! I'm with Betta Maniac, a very pretty money pit.


----------



## Zareth (Dec 13, 2010)

Everyone loves a good money pit, and this ones very good


----------



## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Hey, thanks for the positive comments everyone... and I'm working on the trademark as we speak (not really lol)


Here's some pics from tonight... again, crap celly pics, so please excuse. I actually have my point and shoot here, but honestly, I'm being lazy and the cell is a little more user friendly at this point... soon, I will get some good pics I swear!



It's all cleared up... and of course, the flippin aquasoil is blown all over the place. >:-(














Here's a picture of the whole set up... 


You can see what I mean by how I am annoyed by the light. I thought it was going to be the perfect light... thought wrong! Worse things have happened though...


----------



## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Took a decent picture this morning... 


Really hoping the substrate won't blow around once I get the lily pipes... it's pretty easy to clean up, but I'm not going to want to do it all the time!!!!

HOping to get the moss and other plants in tonight... we'll see....


----------



## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Got some stainless steel mesh to attach some moss to... WOW that stuff is hard to cut! I went home at lunch to try to cut out a square and while my cutters cut it fine, it was just hard to move them along to cut each wire.. didn't want to bend it all up and loosen the mesh... so anyways, I got one square cut and tied some fissidens to it... I think I'm going to want to do smaller squares though. Probably like a 2x2.. I did more like 3x4"... we'll see.

Definately weighs it down good... 

Next step: Attaching some to the anubias (and burying the mesh) and then tying the moss to the wood.... (I know I should have done this before filling.... oh well!)


----------



## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

What moss are you putting on the wood? Fissidens as well? This is going to fill out the tank nicely! Good work


----------



## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

Hows the inline atomizer holding up? I think I am going to use the same thing.


----------



## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Yeah, I'm going to shoot for fissidens... and some flame moss... I've been lazy abuot getting it tied on though. 


The inline atomizer seems to be working AWESOME. 1bps and it mists the whole tank.. looks kinda like smoke in the tank....


----------



## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Took some quick shots... tank actually has grown in a bit I think..






























Just trimmed the aromatica in the back and replanted the tops, so you can't see it well


----------



## crf529 (Jul 24, 2010)

Nice tank


----------



## SNAKEMANVET (Jan 6, 2011)

Nice tank,That aquascapeing will really look nice once it is all filled in.


----------



## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Thanks for the comments..  I've still got some work to do. I'm hoping that once I get my glass pipes my problem of the aqua soil flying onto the sand will be better.. (the way the outtake pipe is, I can't attach it to the tank and get a good angle... it shoots towards the bottom of the tank... You can see I'm using a postal box to try to help, but it's not enough.

Also, you can see the floating plants in the back that I need to get attached...  Just been lazy.


----------



## Senior Shrimpo (Dec 4, 2010)

I really like it!

Especially the wood, it's really fancy. Looks like a jungle 

Divided sand is reeeeeally tricky to work with. I admire your efforts.


----------



## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

Hey non-compliance how it the overall flow of the filter on that tank? I was thinking about making a modification to mine when I fill the tank. I read somewhere to splice in a tee right before the quick disconnect on the outflow and route it in the inflow after the quick disconnect on that side. Double the water filtration and less flow. You could also put a ball valve in the modification section to slow down the flow of water in the loop if you don't have enough flow.

JM


----------



## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Looks good, lets see if it fills in how it is supposed to now!

-Andrew
PS. if you think your tank is a wicked expensive money pit...


----------



## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

JM, the flow was somewhat overpowering without the spraybar... so I cut it down by about 4" and it fit. Much better... I think once I get the lily pipe, it should be fine, but time will tell. 


A.Hill Yeah, I know first hand how much money you can sock into these things, and I went on the cheap!!! I can't imagine how much you can sink into one if you go all ADA or something... wow!!!!



Thanks for the comments everyone. I am probably going to have to get some smaller rocks to seperate the substrates...


----------



## Loligo (Jan 25, 2011)

Looks great! I really like this size cube.


----------



## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

non_compliance said:


> A.Hill Yeah, I know first hand how much money you can sock into these things, and I went on the cheap!!! I can't imagine how much you can sink into one if you go all ADA or something... wow!!!!


I just had to give you a bit of flack :hihi: Yeah, I used some graduation money for something useful. In the grand scheme of things of college it wasn't much (I paid $700 for books last semester and barely used them at all. I also didn't go too crazy with the filter by ada maybe I'll get it eventually. 

The thing with my tank is that is constantly on display since my door is open all the time, so I wanted it to be something that amazed the random people who walk by then walk by again then ask if they can come in to look :hihi:

Your tank looks great! Hopefully it fills in the way you want it to, that is the most fun for me. Hoping the plants know where you want them to grow! :icon_conf

-Andrew


----------



## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

of course some of the blyxa uprooted itself yesterday...  it'll motivate me to get the rest of it finished though.


----------



## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Starting to get some stuff placed around, and it's starting to grow in nicely... but still a ways to go. The blyxa mysteriously melted from the bottom up, so I had to clean off the dead stuff and replant... it turned out ok though. MM is coming along... don't mind the flame moss in the front... that's just hanging out there until I place it. (if I do.)






























btw: the piece of moss at the top on that branch, attached itself! Thanks for the help moss! 



What's up with the forum not auto-resizing my pics anymore?!! >:-( Had to do it myself via photobucket...


----------



## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Couple more shots... these are 1 week after the ones above...


----------

