# 37 gallon column planted tank - a step at a time



## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

37 gallon column

*Front view latest photo 5-8-2012:*










*Angle view latest photo 5-5-2012:*










*Side view latest photo 5-5-2012:*










*Plants*:

Anubias lanceolata [Anubias barteri Schott var. angustifolia (Engler) Crusio] added 4-9-2012
Anubias nana [Anubias barteri Schott var. nana (Engler) Crusio] added 4-9-2012
Telanthera cardinalis [Alternanthera reineckii 'cardinalis'] added 4-11-2012
Dwarf Hairgrass [Eleocharis parvula] added 4-11-2012
Anubias nana 'petite' added 5-3-2012
Java fern narrow leaf added 5-3-2012
Rotala added 5-4-2012
Cryptocoryne (Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green') added 5-4-2012
Cabomba added 5-7-2012

*Fish*:

9 Ember Tetra (moved from another tank) added 5-6-2012
5 Glolight Tetra (moved from another tank) added 5-6-2012 [-2 overnight]
2 Long Finned Serpae Tetra (moved from another tank) added 5-6-2012
2 Black Phantom Tetra (moved from another tank) added 5-6-2012
7 Brown Pencilfish (wild caught) [Nannostomus eques] added 5-7-2012
6 Blue Ram added 5-7-2012
12 Green Kubotai Rasbora (Microdevario kubotai) added 5-10-2012


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

The tank will be a replacement for an old television. I've grown tired of this TV from 1989. It's time for something a little more interesting to watch.









view when seated at the desk


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Wow that's a relic!


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

It's about time to get this tank put together.

Items already on-hand or bought recently for this project:

10 gallon Aqueon aquarium *
Eheim Classic 2213 External Canister Filter *
CaribSea black aquarium sand substrate
Marineland ML Double Bright LED, 18-in (24-inch)
Lee's Flex Aquarium Tubing, clear, 1/2-Inch by 100-Foot
Top Fin Small Strip Aquarium Thermometer
GE 15089 Digital Timer *
Aqueon Versa Top for 10 gallon aquarium (20") *
Rust-Oleum protective enamel flat black oil-based paint
4 Ebony Lava rocks
CaribSea Eco-Complete Planted Aquarium Substrate 20 lb
Hydor THEO Submersible Aquarium Heater 50W UL *
Seachem Flourish Excel 500ml
RO Right - 1000 g
Eheim Classic 2215 External Canister Filter
HM Digital Pocket Size TDS Meter TDS-4 Water Quality Tester
Hydor ETH 201 In-Line Heater 200W for 16mm (5/8") Hose
Marineland 37 Column Black Aquarium (20x18x24) [UPC 0 47497 11371 4]
Perfecto Manufacturing Calypso Geometric Series MD70814 aquarium stand 20x18 (Burlwood/Black)
Perfecto Glass Canopy (20x18) [UPC 0 47497 34200 8]
10 feet 5/8" ID (3/4" OD) Clear Flexible Vinyl Hose
2 x Hose Barb Reducer 5/8" x 1/2"
5 x Malaysian Driftwood, large
Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats
2nd Marineland ML Double Bright LED, 18-in (24-inch)
2 x GE Heavy Duty Digital Timer (15117)
4 x brass cup hooks
Utilitech UTPB2225 Surge Protector – 6 outlets *
12" x 12" slate tiles
#10 x 2" and #10 x 1-1/2" stainless steel screws
Aqueon Silicone Aquarium Sealant *
Acryllic tube 1/2" x 4' *
Acryllic tube 5/8" x 4' *
Rena 720P Filstar XP Filter Parts Tray
Eheim Everyday Fish Feeder Programmable Automatic Food Dispenser
Coralife ENE15601 Turbo Twist 6X UV Sterilizer, 18-Watt
Belkin Metal Case Surge Protector 10 outlets 15ft
GE Heavy Duty Digital Timer (15117)
Extech RE300 ExStik ORP Meter
Top Fin Air Stone
Top Fin Silicone Airline Tubing - Black
Commodity Axis, Inc. Million Air MA-200

Items on order:



Still needed, or to be considered:

Marineland Aquatic Plant Lighting System, 18-in (24-inch)
3rd Marineland ML Double Bright LED, 18-in (24-inch)
Canopy
Uninteruptible Power Supply
Pressurized CO2

* Items that will not be used for this project after all


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

I changed my mind on the tank. I have ordered a 20 gallon extra high. This tank has the same footprint as a standard 10 gallon tank, but is twice as tall. It is also called a 20 gallon show tank. My biggest concern about this tank is that being 24 inches tall, it may not be a bright enough light.


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

Good luck on your tank. I wanted to help with seeing if the light is bright enough but I don't know anything about LEDs.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

GMYukonon24s said:


> Good luck on your tank. I wanted to help with seeing if the light is bright enough but I don't know anything about LEDs.


Just about everything shows data in terms of watts per gallon. That might work for fluorescent, but not for LEDs. Now, if I had a light meter, I could just make measurements. But I think those are expensive (?).


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

Yes they are expensive. I've never used one but I've heard of people using them in fish clubs or society. So maybe in your area a local club might have one you can borrow.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

The 20 gallon extra high (20x10x24) is just not going so well. The seller in New York that I ordered from was able to confirm before shipping that their description on their website for a 20 gallon tank was not what they were going to ship. They were going to send me a light. Lousy, cheap website. They still haven't fixed their ad.

Still looking for alternatives to this 10 gallon tank. That 20 gallon extra high just doesn't sound good after going to the local fish store and seeing a tank just like this picture. 










The store keeper is checking on availability of a version that is about 6 inches shorter. I think this 47 gallon one is maybe just a bit too tall. With a planted tank, it would be difficult to reach the substrate. Also, probably not enough light would penetrate to the bottom. In either case, I would likely get a second Marineland Double-Bright 18" light.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

I have my 37 gallon column tank (20x18x24) on order through the local fish store. Also, on order is the stand as seen in the picture in the prior post.

Most of the parts are here now. But I really need a focal piece to go in the tank. What I want is maybe a piece of driftwood that looks like a tree stump. I went hunting for driftwood on the riverbank today. I found wood, but not the stump I want.

Here is a piece that I really liked. If it is in good a condition as I think it is, I'll clean it up good, sterilize it, soak it, then dry it to use in a future tank. It looks like it will need a 120 gallon tank (48x24x25) or maybe 180 gallons (72x24x25) to fit comfortably and in proportion to the size of the tank.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

I made it home with tank and stand in one trip.









37 gallon column tank, stand, cover, and light.









Next will be to paint the back and the right side. To take it beyond that, I need to find the driftwood to use in this tank. I want to have that worked out before adding water or substrate.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

Here is the first view of my new 37 gallon column aquarium tank on the stand where it will be displayed. The paint on the back and on the right side is dry after curing in the garage for a few days.

The front view is seen form the chair at the computer desk. This is just over 3 feet away.










The local fish store will have a fresh supply of driftwood tomorrow. Hopefully the shopkeeper remembered to ask the supplier for a tree stump with roots. I would like this to be able to reach the top of the aquarium, or nearly so.

If nothing is available that I like, I'll have to go back down to the river and hunt for driftwood

I like the lava rock and the piece of driftwood I have placed in here, but it is just not enough. It'll probably be better moved more to the middle-ground. I want to fill the background space with Eco-Complete and the tree stump. The foreground would be black sand for substrate, hopefully 1-1/2 to 2 inches thick. I'm not sure that I have enough on hand for that.

In this first picture, there is one Marineland Double-Bright LED lamp lighting the scene. A second one is on order to be delivered next week. Hopefully that will be enough light to grow plants down to 24" below the surface.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

That is a great look tank and stand! Can't wait to see some progress


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## Wicket_lfe (Aug 21, 2008)

nice, i have the same tank.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> That is a great look tank and stand! Can't wait to see some progress


Thanks! I am really excited about this tank.

Today I picked up five large pieces of Malaysian driftwood from the local fish store. It is the same place I got the small piece pictured above. At the store, these new pieces didn't look so large together. But looking at them with the tank, and then with loading them into a plastic crate for soaking, it's a good possibility I will not be using all the wood. I do want a good amount of wood here, but I also want a lot of plants to grow, and some open space for fish to swim.

From the experience I had with getting the tannins out of the small pieces of Malaysian driftwood I used on my nano tanks project, I expect it to be a few days before the wood can go in this tank. I don't want the water to turn brown when I get the Nitrogen cycle started. And I don't want to have to do water changes for week/months just for the purpose of getting the brown out.

Since these pieces of wood are so large, I can't pressure cook them like all the smaller pieces. Even pressure cooking took three to four days of cooking for five or six hours each day. It worked well for those small pieces. With these large pieces, I am just soaking them in a combination of the hottest tap water I can draw, mixed with boiling water off the stove. I'll change the water at least once a day with hot water until I am satisfied my aquarium water will stay clear enough.

Then I need to figure out what to do about plants. The plants in the background will need to be varieties that grow tall. But I would really rather they not all be very fast growers. And for the foreground, I thought I might like a carpet of microsword, or baby tears, or something else. I need to find what it will take to get them to fill in well, before making selections. I would rather not do a dry start, but if that is the only way to really get it done, then I'll just have to go that route.

As an alternative to large plants in the background, it might work to just tie smaller plants or moss to the driftwood. Maybe a combination of all these plantings will be where this goes. I want to try to carefully choose plants that will all go well together in low pH, soft water, and to select fish that will work well in the same. Also, I am concerned about the amount of light with two Marineland Double Bright LED fixtures.










Looking at that chart, I am thinking it may have been better to get a fixture that would better fill in the red spectrum for plant growth with the second light. Maybe I will look for a red supplement light that I could just have turned on during part of the daily light cycle. But the red would still likely not penetrate the water all the way to the carpet. :icon_conf Hmmm.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

Wicket_lfe said:


> nice, i have the same tank.
> __________________
> My tank: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/ta...ml#post1722047


Great! It looks like the same stand as well. I am liking this tank, though for mine, the build quality wasn't all that great for either the tank or the stand. But I probably wont notice the flaws once this is up and running.

This is the biggest tank I have setup. I am thinking of it as a precursor to a really big one some day, maybe 120 gallons or 180 gallons. It could be a long time before that happens.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Throw in a bag of purigen in the container you're soaking the wood in. That will suck out the tannins much quicker than by just changing water.

Not sure about LEDs haha. So I can't give you any advice there


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## carpalstunna (Mar 22, 2012)

There is a couple good threads on LEDs here on the forum. I have been reading up and am considering the ecoxotic stunner or even a DIY setup. From reading the Marineland double brights just arent that strong for the price.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> Throw in a bag of purigen in the container you're soaking the wood in. That will suck out the tannins much quicker than by just changing water.


These five pieces of Malaysian driftwood soaked overnight in this plastic crate (sized 21x14x12 inches). After draining the water out, and before adding clean boiling water again, the stack looks like this:










It's a lot of wood. It will certainly fit in the 37 gallon tank, but may be too much to look good. Certainly, it will be arranged better in the tank than it is stacked in this crate.

I'm not sure of how the purigen would help here. I don't know any more about the stuff than what I just read on Dr. Fosters Smith website. It sounds like a more efficient version of activated carbon. I guess it is used in the filter if tannins color the aquairum water too much...?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Yea pretty much purigen is AMP'd activated carbon. Also won't leech chemicals back in the tank if left in there too long. Purigen absorbs tannins MUCH much better than carbon as well. I'm 100% confident it will help remove tannins from that wood!


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

I decided to start the nitrogen cycle with a fishless procedure.

No substrate or decorations installed.
Eheim 2215 filter and Hydor in-line heater connected (seeded for a few hours last week with an established tank after the gravel got stirred up).
RO Water added to tank is estimated at 12 gallons.
Temperature is running a steady 79 degrees F, to drop only when adding RO water.
Adding RO Right to target of 100 ppm TDS.
Added 2.4 ml of Ace 10% Ammonium Hydroxide formula (Ace Ammonia - Janitorial Strength Formula).

API test for Ammonia measured about 2 ppm.

Also, I had a partial bottle of Tetra SafeStart leftover from my nano tanks project. I added 30 ml to this tank.

I'll add 2 or 3 ml Ammonium Hydroxide per day until Nitirites appear (or more if I keep adding RO water). That might go really quick if the SafeStart is still active.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

The contents of the Perfecto stand are shown here:










The Eheim 2215 canister filter is in the bottom. Not seen is the Hydor ETH201 200 watt heater as it is hanging on the wall behind the tank. Also in the cabinet is a surge protector/power strip. The three controllers hanging on hooks at the top of the cabinet are two light timers and one digital thermostat. I am using the thermostat as a backup set to 81 degrees Fahrenheit at the moment, while the in-line heater is set to 79 degrees. The idea is that if the thermostat in the online heater fails, and will not shut off the heater, then the digital thermostat will maintain 81 degrees. It is easier to cook the fish, than it is to chill them to death.

I'm happy that there still may be room for a UV sterilizer in the bottom compartment, and fish food on the shelf.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Wow those digital timers are HUGE. I'm using these timers that cost $5 but work really well. Intervals of 30mins on/off. They are very compact as well !


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> Wow those digital timers are HUGE. I'm using these timers that cost $5 but work really well. Intervals of 30mins on/off. They are very compact as well !


Yes, they are big. I was going to use smaller ones from the same manufacturer, but they plug in directly to the outlet, rather than through a power cord. These big ones also have a large display that is very readable. They also can be used for other things if I find a small timer that I like better.

I also picked up a Kill A Watt meter. I've hooked it up to the power cord that delivers to lights, heater, and filter. It would be good to have an uniterruptible power supply, but only if it will power everything for a significant amount of time. Twenty four hours would be a good target. With data from the Kill A Watt it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out what UPS could do it.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

If power cuts out for 24 hours would you really worry about making sure your tanks get filtration and lighting first ?

There are surge protectors with built in power supplies. I know my lab uses a bunch of them to make sure we don't lose any memory during surges or power outages. Not sure the brand off hand though.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> If power cuts out for 24 hours would you really worry about making sure your tanks get filtration and lighting first ?
> 
> There are surge protectors with built in power supplies. I know my lab uses a bunch of them to make sure we don't lose any memory during surges or power outages. Not sure the brand off hand though.


It looks like with the lights, heater, and filter running, it consumes just under 37 watts power, or about 48 VA. If I am right, then if I had a 1500 VA UPS, I could run about 31 hours on battery backup. With both lights off, it's 17 watts.

The flaw in the calculation here is that if there is a power failure, the furnace for the house will be off since the fan runs on electricity. If the house cools down, then the tank would take much more power for the aquarium heater. It's a 200 watt heater. I don't know how much time it would be on versus off. I can connect the Kill A Watt to the heater and filter only and see how much power it uses over the course of a day, or a week... but that still doesn't cover a power outage situation where it may need to maintain 79 degrees temperature against maybe 60 degrees room temperature. See, the lights and the filter probably use very little power compared to the heater in a power failure.

If I really want to simulate this, I guess I could close the outlet for the heat in the room, and open the window over night to see what happens to the power consumption. I don't know a better way to estimate this . The amount of consumption for the lights and for the filter should remain pretty constant.

The lights could be left plugged in to outlets that are not backed up. This would make some difference in consumption, but I don't think that difference would amount to all that much in a real situation. Also if my light cycle is eight hours, then in a 24 hour period, the rate of consumption is 1/3 of the peak power usage by the lights. I probably would leave the lights not backed up. It just doesn't seem that it would be a big factor.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Are your calculations just for this tank or are you including your five pico tanks as well?


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> Are your calculations just for this tank or are you including your five pico tanks as well?


The five picos are in the other room. I would have to do them separately.

I just did more testing to see what the heater actually draws when it is on. It is 200 watts and 200 VA. Max power consumption with all on maximum is about 237 watts, and 230 VA. So, the worst case scenario would give maybe 6-1/2 hours running time. But even in a cold room, I doubt that the heater would be on constantly. It would take a few hours for the room temperature to drop to a cold temperature. It might just amount to 24 hours overall backup.

I guess I'll have to decide how valuable 24 hours insurance would be.

Do others around here use battery backup?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I live next to the main office of the power company for the entire area so I've never had a power outage. I expect if I do, my area will be the first to get power so they are able to react and communicate with the other areas near me. So no power supplies for me. During Hurricane Irene all other areas near me lost power, I was the only area to not lose power at all!

How likely is it for you to lose power where you live?


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> I live next to the main office of the power company for the entire area so I've never had a power outage. I expect if I do, my area will be the first to get power so they are able to react and communicate with the other areas near me. So no power supplies for me. During Hurricane Irene all other areas near me lost power, I was the only area to not lose power at all!
> 
> How likely is it for you to lose power where you live?


I guess there is a power failure maybe 1 or 2 times a year. Usually it is short enough that it would be no concern for an aquarium. That can be just minutes, to an hour or two. However, when the power failure happens in the middle of the night, or when out of the house, then I don't know how long they are. And if there were a power failure while on vacation, there would be no opportunity to take saving action.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

That's true. It just seemed the power would go out frequently for you to worry about creating a battery backup system. I don't know of anyone else that does that :O


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

Nice stand.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

GMYukonon24s said:


> Nice stand.


I like it, too. The "burlwood" looks good. It's different than a regular cabinet. It fits the tank just right. And though it doesn't have as much storage space as a regular cabinet stand, it seems to have enough for the essentials.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

It was taking too long to soak the tannins out of the driftwood, and too much work boiling water daily to replace the stained water in the plastic crate. So, I had the idea to get a metal can to load up with the wood to cook it on the barbecue.










It works. I measured the temperature of the water at just under boiling. And the tannins are coming out of the wood. It worked well enough with smaller pieces in the pressure cooker. It may be necessary to do this a few days in a row to get the result I want. Unfortunately the 10 gallon can is not quite large enough to fit all five pieces of wood. So the largest one was left out. I'll try rotating the large piece into the can tomorrow, and another piece out. I'm just not sure the lid will fit on the can with the largest piece.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Great idea! Do you pay for your water separately or is it like well water?


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> Great idea! Do you pay for your water separately or is it like well water?


I have regular city water. It takes a long time to get more than two gallons from my RO filter. So, I'm just using tap water for cooking the wood. I am using Seachem Prime to dechlorinate.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Mind me asking if your water cost went up a lot after you started using RO/DI water? Or do you collect the waste water for plants or something?


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

March 26 after filling with water...










Today I installed the Rena 720P Filstar XP Filter intake and spray bar. The tubing is 5/8" ID which may give a little more flow rate. I definitely like the black far better than the Eheim green parts. The gray is also better, but I might see what I can get in black for that as well.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> Mind me asking if your water cost went up a lot after you started using RO/DI water? Or do you collect the waste water for plants or something?


I don't know how much waste water it produces. I've had this filter in place for probably five years, and don't really remember how it affected water usage. It costs a lot less than using bottled water from the store for drinking, and a lot less than getting those carbon filters to attach to the faucett. I'll always use an RO filter from now on. But it has a disadvantage that I can't drink from the coffee maker at work, because it tastes metallic to me.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

You can make your own filter intake and spraybar with black PVC pipe.









Here's the guys thread:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/s...imp-rack-build-updated-3-a-3.html#post1744092


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

Soaking and cooking the driftwood has gotten tiresome. I'm ready to put this hardscape together. Since I was uncertain whether all the large pieces of driftwood could fit well, I dropped them in the tank.










Adding the five pieces of wood displaced about 2-1/2 gallons water. It looks like more than that, but there are a lot of cavities for fish to hide. Seven percent of tank volume taken by wood should be no problem.

The next task is to mount some of the pieces on a slate tile. This isn't to keep the wood from floating. This Malaysian stuff is heavy. The purpose here is to arrange the wood into a display that can be permanent. I don't want to disturb the wood placement when working in the tank. This will probably take some sanding at the mounting points to make them flat on the slate, and at the angles wanted. Stainless steel bolts and aquarium sealer will be used to hold it all together.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

After spending some time trying different arrangements for the driftwood, the way that I am thinking of going with it also will fit this 20 inch wide tank.










And with the lava rocks...


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Looks like a big mountain!


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## goodeye--sniper (Apr 2, 2012)

Wow this looks great! Definitely following!


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

Driftwood and a couple rocks have been added to this tank.

Front view:










Angle view:










Side view:










I am likely to still make some adjustments. Probably will raise the background driftwood a couple more inches by stacking slate tiles underneath.


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## goodeye--sniper (Apr 2, 2012)

Looking good! What plants are you going to put in here?


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## Wicket_lfe (Aug 21, 2008)

Lol, we have the same filter too. Love the driftwood.

for my lights i have the current Powerbrite LED modules for my foreground plants, and then a PC fixture for my taller plants.

I don't have anything that is demanding light wise, but i also have CO2 and liquid ferts every other day.

this reminds me i should update the pics in my thread, lol.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

Wicket_lfe said:


> Lol, we have the same filter too. Love the driftwood.
> 
> for my lights i have the current Powerbrite LED modules for my foreground plants, and then a PC fixture for my taller plants.
> 
> ...


I may end up needing/wanting different lights in the future. I think this Marineland Double Bright light would probably be really good for one on a standard 10 gallon tank. However, depending on the plants and fish that go in here, I might actually prefer the low light, but may want to supplement with 10000k for looks, and more red for plant growth. I still don't know enough about lighting to pick out the pieces to use.

Have you found the filter to be adequate? Lately I have read comments in other threads that in a planted tank, you should have 5 to 8 turns of tank volume per hour. This filter will not do that.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

goodeye--sniper said:


> Looking good! What plants are you going to put in here?


I really don't know what plants to get. I need plants that will work with the light levels I can provide. I am thinking something that is slow growing, and doesn't demand more CO2 (though adding CO2 is a possibility for me, I don't want to upgrade the lights so soon).

I think that mosses would fall into that category, and anubias. I guess these also live well on wood.

I like cryptocorynes. Do they do alright in low light? I mean, very low at 24 inches down?

Suggestions for plants are definitely welcome. They should be compatible with each other for parameters of around 100 TDS, low GH, low kH, Redox reduced water, probably low pH. I need to see how the water quality settles in to be sure on some of this. The plan is for this to be kept at a warm 78 degrees or more so that a cooler should not be needed in the summer (crossing fingers). This room tends to get warm with the computers and all the electronics running in it. Ideally, the plants would be able to help with tank nitrate levels, as I tend to let a tank go too long without water changes, and I tend to want to overstock with fish. Hopefully this is not an impossible set of criteria.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

Hard scape is done.




























Next is to change the intake and the spray bar pipes to all black. Also, it's time to pick out some plants.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Maybe try to hide the intake and spraybar behind the driftwood as well since you're planning on ordering black PVC right?

That looks like such a sweet mountain. I definitely would like to see some moss that would grow on there


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

On 4-4-2012 I mounted the driftwood onto slate tile. Today I put together the pictures of how that went to make this post, since I had not shown that before posting my hard scape pictures. (To keep everything in chronological order, maybe it would have been better to have just edited my post from 4-3-2012.)

After cutting the wood with a band saw to make flat mounting points, I marked on a sheet of paper the placement to use for the wood on the slate tile.










Using an electric drill with masonry bit, I drilled two holes for each piece of wood. Using a 2nd masonry bit, I drilled a shallow countersink for each screw hole on the bottom of the slate. Then while holding a piece of wood in place on the slate tile, I used a regular drill bit to drill into the wood. Once a single hole was drilled, I screwed it tight. Then drilled the second hole for that piece of wood, and screwed tight. Repeating this for the second and third piece of wood completed the mounting.



















The front edge of the slate didn't need to extend so far forward, and would just get in the way of other hard scape, so I trimmed it back by breaking it off with a hammer.










Once this was placed in the tank, and the foreground driftwood and rocks were put in place, I didn't like the height of the mounted background pieces. This was anticipated beforehand, so I used the remaining four slate tiles broken in half, and stacked to make a platform for the mounted driftwood.

The mounted slate still needed some trimming, so I used pliers to nip off a piece at a time to trim it to fit. This was a lot better way to get the desired result than using a hammer.

Mounting with screws worked so well that there was no need to use the silicone aquarium sealer as glue.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> Maybe try to hide the intake and spraybar behind the driftwood as well since you're planning on ordering black PVC right?
> 
> That looks like such a sweet mountain. I definitely would like to see some moss that would grow on there


With black PVC, I think the intake will hide pretty well. For the spraybar, all black, rather than just the bar itself will help to make it less obvious. I could also turn it around to move the pipe next to the intake. I'll see how that might work once I have the UV sterilizer installed.

What I may just do instead is to make a black lilly pipe. That may be less distracting than a spray bar.

I'll have to find out what kind of mosses would work well, then where to get some.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Wait so.. the picture where you said the hardscape was done.. was before you mounted it? Or already mounted?


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> Wait so.. the picture where you said the hardscape was done.. was before you mounted it? Or already mounted?


I'll edit the post for the mounting steps to clarify that it was before all the hard scape was installed. I just didn't get around to preparing that post until today.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Ohhh ok. I see. It makes more sense now haha. I was a bit confused :O


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

This week I added some plants.

Anubias lanceolata [Anubias barteri Schott var. angustifolia (Engler) Crusio] added 4-9-2012
Anubias nana [Anubias barteri Schott var. nana (Engler) Crusio] added 4-9-2012










And also these:










These came from a a couple big box chain pet stores. After bringing home bladder snails with plants for another project, I wanted to go with the "snail free" solution. Hopefully this is just as good keeping snails out as washing the plants in Hydrogen Peroxide. I'll probably get some tools that are also reserved only for this tank. The obvious one that comes to mind is the fish net.

I guess I was lucky the chain stores had the plants I wanted. They just didn't have enough Anubias nana. Also, I want Anubias nana 'petite' and some kind of moss (perhaps Java moss).

Telanthera cardinalis [Alternanthera reineckii 'cardinalis'] added 4-11-2012



















Dwarf Hairgrass [Eleocharis parvula] added 4-11-2012










How it looked after refilling the tank:


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

Last night, the UV sterilizer hooked up OK. It was a bit of a challenge to get this hung inside the aquarium stand, and to get the tubing connected without kinks. This cabinet is not very large. There isn't any space for a shelf any longer. Irritatingly, it has a slow drip leak from the screw on hose connector at the intake. Maybe a rubber washer installed in the fitting will stop the leak. Or better yet, maybe I'll try some plumber's Teflon tape on the threads. This wasn't entirely surprising as some comments from others who had bought the Coralife Turbotwist had indicated they had leaks. 

My fishless nitrate cycle start seems to be progressing. It has taken this long to get nitrites and nitrates to show up. The half bottle of Tetra SafeStart I had leftover from a few months ago apparently didn't have much activity left, and I had to wait on the natural cycle.

With 2 ppm Ammonia, it's also showing 2 ppm Nitrite, and 10 ppm Nitrate. Perhaps some of the Nitrate is from the Aqueon Aquarium Plant Food (though I don't see Nitrate in the list of ingredients).

Since I read you should run airstones, etc. during the fishless cycle.I just connected a small powerhead (Petco King 160 Submersible Pump) to oxygenate the water.










This may be ready for fish before I have all my plants. It's still needing two or three more Anubias nana and maybe six or seven Anubias nana 'petite'. The last time at the pet stores, they were out of Anubias'. Also, need to get some moss for the driftwood. What kind of moss, I just don't know. Also, for attaching the moss, tieing it to the wood should be easy enough in some places, but where I want the moss the most, it couldn't be tied. Is there another way to attach moss to a flatter, vertical surface?

In the front right of the tank, I want to add something... I don't konw what. My first thought is a bushy plant that doesn't grow more than 10 or 12 inches tall. Another thought is to get an Apongeton madagascariensis (if one could be found). I guess these aren't easy to keep, so I would have to find out more about it. Still another idea is to just get more Dwarf Hairgrass and put it over there.


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## fairgate (Apr 7, 2012)

Stunning display, really love that. Subscribed!


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## Wicket_lfe (Aug 21, 2008)

Love the wood work. what light are you using now? will it be enough for the red plants?

Im looking for some new red plants.


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## Wicket_lfe (Aug 21, 2008)

scottwww said:


> Have you found the filter to be adequate? Lately I have read comments in other threads that in a planted tank, you should have 5 to 8 turns of tank volume per hour. This filter will not do that.


Sorry i thought we had the same filter, I have one of the rena xp filters. I tuned down the filter, i didn't want too much flow.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Take a shot inside the cabinet when all your equipment is set up !


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

fairgate said:


> Stunning display, really love that. Subscribed!


Thank you! I'm enjoying it so far. And really looking forward to it growing out.


Wicket_lfe said:


> Love the wood work. what light are you using now? will it be enough for the red plants?
> 
> Im looking for some new red plants.


I'm using two of the Marineland Double Bright 18" LED lights. I like these well enough, but need a third one. Also I am considering that the third light might just be instead, two of the Marineland Aquatic Plant Lighting System when it is available. Then I could use just one of these Double Brights for the mid-ground where I would like to have some light, but not as much as in the background and in the foreground. Just adding a third one of these Double Brights may not really do the trick. But the Aquatic Plant Lights may be just too much light when not using CO2.

I don't know. I have some time to figure it out.


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## CatB (Jan 29, 2012)

awesome tank, love the hardscape especially...
it's gonna be interesting to see how well those plants grow in such a deep tank, subscribing!


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> Take a shot inside the cabinet when all your equipment is set up !


Here's the open cabinet:










That's not exactly how I intend to leave it. Right now there are two power strips. One that is mounted in the back, high up. I'll replace this with a strip that will accommodate the power plug orientation on my light timers. Right now, each timer takes two outlets. And then there is the *********** strip in this picture. That will either be eliminated and replaced with a short, multi-plug cord to run off the thermostat, and control both the heater and the UV sterilizer. Or I could keep the black strip that is already installed to use for this. With this sterilizer being 18 watts power, to have it on constantly may prove to raise the water temperature beyond my limit, especially in the summer months when this room gets too hot.

After determining to fix the leak on the UV sterilizer, I took it down and reassembled it. It turned out there were two grommets in the package I hadn't used, which were what I needed to stop the leak.

This assembly would be cleaner if I had one hose reducer to go from 3/4" to 1/2". As it is, my outflow from the filter is 1/2", it goes to the quick disconnects, this goes to a hose reducer to connect 1/2" to 5/8". The 5/8" to 3/4" hose barb adapter on the UV Sterilizer is inconveniently long. All these adapters and connectors and hoses add up. Once I had put it back together, I saw that I could eliminate at least one foot of 1/2" hose. I might be able to do better than that if I can get a right angle hose barb adapter to replace the straight through. Just thinking aloud here.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Get something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Ziotek-ZT1212...R6/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1334591542&sr=8-11 shuold help reduce clutter a lot.


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## Wicket_lfe (Aug 21, 2008)

I bought one of those T5HO 30" light strips from somone on the forum. That works great for background plants. Then i have 3 LED strips that I use for the forground and sides.

My middle is just some Java Ferns so they don't need much light.

You could probably do the same setup, and just have the 2 18" LEDs across the middle and/or front.

I see you didn't use the shelf.

Most of my wiring is just tucked behind the tank, I'll add a pick of my cabinet when I get home.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> Get something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Ziotek-ZT1212...R6/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1334591542&sr=8-11 shuold help reduce clutter a lot.


That looks pretty good.

And maybe a power squid like this, just for the heater and UV Sterilizer to both get their power through the digital thermostat. 










Although 1 to 2 (rather than 1 to 4) is all that I would need for this tank. I guess that the piece you linked could actually serve that purpose.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

Wicket_lfe said:


> I bought one of those T5HO 30" light strips from somone on the forum. That works great for background plants. Then i have 3 LED strips that I use for the forground and sides.
> 
> My middle is just some Java Ferns so they don't need much light.
> 
> ...


Is it a 20" light? 30" would be too long. What are you using for LEDs? My middle ground anubias plants should need light more just for presentation than for growth. I want that red Alternanthera reineckii to grow up tall in the back, and the Dwarf hairgrass probably needs a good amount of light.

I would like to have used the shelf, but once I installed the UV sterilizer, there was no way to fit the shelf.


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## Wicket_lfe (Aug 21, 2008)

How long is our tank? lol. 18"? Then yeah I got a 20" lol.

LEDs i bought some bright lite modules, but they were pricey.

If you think ur LED is strong enough, i would just out the 2 strips across the front and use a stronger light in the back, since they are background stem plants, once they get tall enough, I would think they'd be ok. But others might have better advice.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

scottwww said:


> That looks pretty good.
> 
> And maybe a power squid like this, just for the heater and UV Sterilizer to both get their power through the digital thermostat.
> 
> ...


I wouldn't go from 1 to 6 and then 1 to 4 off of that. Just to be safe, though I doubt you'd max out a circuit breaker with just powering one tank.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

Just ordered an Extech RE300 ExStik ORP Meter. This is to test oxidation/reduction potential (redox). I got tired of trying to figure out what timer cycle to use with the UV sterilizer. I think this will help me to not overdo the running time, or at least to have a way to measure results.

I have also been thinking of getting a brigter light strip to get high light in this tank (or at least in the foreground and background). If I do that, it may be best to add CO2 injection as well. I definitely don't know enough about that to get setup properly. I also did a little searching for ways of testing CO2 levels in water. There doesn't seem to be anything in a digital tester. I guess you use a drop checker and maybe measure kH and pH (?) to calculate CO2. I saw some kind of test kit that looked inexpensive, but have no good indication of how useful it would be. I just wouldn't want to gas any fish to death, and it wouldn't serve much purpose if it were misadjusted to deliver too little CO2 to make a difference. I'm very unsure whether it would really be all that beneficial with the plants I am going to keep.


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## Wicket_lfe (Aug 21, 2008)

I guesstimate my CO2, and it does wonders vs not having CO2 at all. So IMO adding any CO2 is better than no CO2. And with a regulator and solenoid, you dont have to worry about it causing problems at night. I just set mine to 1 Bubble Per Second and its fine. I gave up on a dropchecker a long time ago. I didn't think it was THAT great, until i stopped the DIY CO2 for a while and my tank just melted. That was a sad time, but now it's coming back, and I've invested more tech into it.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

Not much change since the last photo.

Three more Anubias barteri nana were added.










The Nitrogen cycle is still progressing slowly. I add a little Ammonia, and the next day the levels are down to 0.5 to 1.0 ppm. Nitrites are off the scale. Nitrates are at 5 ppm. It shouldn't be that long before the cycle is complete, and I'll have to keep doing ammonia additions and water changes to keep the beneficial bacteria going until I can stock this up with fish.

In the meantime, I am still acquiring plants. One more nana and nine Anubias barteri nana "petite" will be shipping next Monday. This will probably not be the last of the Anubias' to be added to this tank. What to plant in the right foreground still hasn't been decided. That may depend upon whether I get the new Marineland Aquatic Plant Lighting System and/or a CO2 injection system.

The power strip was replaced with a 10 outlet power strip where the light timers can be plugged in without taking two outlets each. A third light timer controls the UV Sterilizer.

The UV sterilizer is running just a couple hours at night until a better cycle can be determined. I just don't know enough about it to judge how long it should run. Maybe I'll run it for a longer cycle to see what happens with Redox. But I am still uncertain of my measurements for Redox. The Extech RE300 measures about 330 mv after about 3 minutes of sampling time. But leaving it in longer, the number continues to climb slowly. Do you just keep it in the sample for 1 minute, or 3 minutes, and then call that your reading? The instructions say to sample for 1 to 3 minutes until the reading stabilizes. But is it stabilized if it still continues to climb for several minutes?

I know the meter is reading Redox because tap water is up over 500 mv and RO water is under about 300 mv with about a 3 minute sample. As I write these sentences, over a few minutes, the Redox reading on this tank reached 358 mv. The best indicator for a target that I have seen so far is for 400 mv. That's not so far off. Until I have more or better information, I guess I will slowly increase my UV Sterilizer running time until Redox is 400 mv. It read 365 mv after a few more minutes sample time. And at the time of submitting this post, read 378 mv.

I tend to think that the longest sample time would product the most accurate results... but I don't know.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

This tank is still not fully planted. I picked up four more Anubias b. nana.










Also, mowed the Dwarf hairgrass. I read that it tends to fill in faster if it is cut. I should have broken it into smaller clumps. Maybe I'll do that when I am doing some planting next week.




























On the way next week are some Anubias b. nana 'petite' that will be going on the driftwood at the left midground. Still don't know what to put at the right foreground.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

I don't know what I was thinking on ORP/Redox. Maybe it was because I had read the opinion that 400 mv would be about right for a planted tank, and mine was a bit under that, that I figured running the UV sterilizer would ultimately bring the measure to 400 mv.

With the things I read talking about UV sterilizers killing bacteria, viruses, and micro-life, and that ORP of 600 mv would kill just about any microbes on contact, I made a connection that higher ORP was what UV sterilization achieved.

But was I wrong about that?

I have been running the UV sterilizer two hours per night. ORP seemed to be holding at about +385 mv. Close enough...

After doing about 70% water change, the ORP reading was down to about 330 mv. To bring this up, I ran the UV sterilizer for nearly 24 hours... but I didn't get higher ORP. What I got was +260mv!

Now it makes better sense. Redox is what I am looking for, which is reduction, rather than oxidation potential (now I am confusing myself again). Those that do not promote ORP manipulation call higher values better. Those that call for ORP manipulation with a UV sterlizer say the range to seek is +200 mv to -125 mv (or something like that).

With ORP today reading +240 mv back on the two hour per day UV sterilizer cycle, Maybe running it a little longer will get to the reduction target. I'll see if I can get it to go under 200 mv and stay there.

Since it seems I had it so backward, maybe I'm missing the point again. Maybe if I searched further there would be a detailed explanation to help me understand, rather than leave me confused.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

Today I setup pressurized CO2 on this aquarium. I am using a CarbonDoser Electronic Co2 Regulator attached to a five pound CO2 cylinder. For diffusion, I have setup a Sera Flore Active CO2 Reactor 500. Other than keeping an eye on the livestock and the plants, I have a drop checker.

The plan is to add some plants with red foliage in the background. These should be able to grow 18 inches tall to reach the surface. I still don't know what plants to get, or where to get them. The local pet shops have little to offer in plants meeting this description.

Since my last update on this tank, I added a Marineland Aquatic Plant Lighting System LED.

Another plant I might add is a carpet in the foreground. Perhaps that would be dwarf baby tears, or dwarf hairgrass.

For livestock, I have one spotted pleco and some Panda Corys. The Corys population has grown from 5 to 13 or more. The plan is to add four small Koi Angel Fish. Hopefully a couple would pair up, and then remove the singles.


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## scottwww (Jan 22, 2012)

Here is a look at the tank now that CO2 is setup. Background plants still need to be added. I like how slowly the Anubias have grown.


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