# Red Sea 80G V2



## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

skillful !


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## AVN (Oct 3, 2012)

Nice build. Would love to see the build process for what's in the cabinet, it looks like a wonderfully organized mess.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

I like your engine room but why do you have a tank (what looks like a spec v) on top of your sump?


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## NotThePainter (Dec 17, 2020)

I was thinking a larger diameter CO2 reactor was the answer but in your tight space the tall one really works!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> I like your engine room but why do you have a tank (what looks like a spec v) on top of your sump?


It's the auto top off reservoir. The pump chamber only holds enough water to fill about an inch or so of the display tank. That way, if the drains get blocked, there's no flood. But, to counter evaporation, you need to add water constantly to keep the pump from running dry. The ATO reservoir has a drain line out of the bottom and gravity feeds a float valve in the pump chamber.

I like the safety and simplicity of this system, but if I had a bigger tank with a bigger cabinet I would have a pump-driven ATO setup, or at least a gravity feed system where the reservoir isn't on top of the sump itself. In order to do any serious tinkering in there, I have to siphon out the reservoir and remove it from sump.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

NotThePainter said:


> I was thinking a larger diameter CO2 reactor was the answer but in your tight space the tall one really works!


I have a canister-filtered tank of the same size with a 10x4.5" housing. The performance seems more or less the same, so I think it's mostly a matter of what fits best in the space. I actually started with a 20x2.5 for the other tank but it was always tipping over when I serviced the canister. It hadn't occurred to me at the time to just afix it to some acrylic.


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## underH20garden (Dec 19, 2017)

dude this is epic. you have must have been a reefer with all that gear? 
how do you like the 80gal with sump for aquascaping? if you where buying a tank now for your build would you get the same one?
what are you using for filter media? 

keep the updates coming!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

underH20garden said:


> dude this is epic. you have must have been a reefer with all that gear?
> how do you like the 80gal with sump for aquascaping? if you where buying a tank now for your build would you get the same one?
> what are you using for filter media?
> 
> keep the updates coming!


thanks! 

nope, never have kept a reef tank, but i really enjoy the mechanical systems aspect of the hobby, so i'm taking it in a reefier direction i guess. 

i definitely prefer having a sump vs. a canister, but the overflow box limits the tank layout options somewhat. it's perfect for my livingroom, though, because it's a really clean package (no pipes or tubing hanging off the side) and i can keep it nearly silent. i thought the FX4 canister on my other tank was pretty quiet... turns out if you want _quiet_ quiet, running a good DC pump well below its max capacity is the way to go!

so, for the same location? i would 100% do this tank again.

i use this really dense filter floss in the media cups. that keeps the sump really clean and the tank water crystal clear. after those i've just used bags of beads/rings in the past. this time i want something that's easier to remove, so i'm thinking i might use a dishwasher basket meant for silverware with bio media in it (i saw someone post that idea on here within the past couple days). it will go right in the front of the sump to the right of the cups in what is technically the refugium chamber. all the water is forced through a narrow channel there before spilling over a baffle into the skimmer chamber, which is where i'm keeping the reactor and heaters.


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## underH20garden (Dec 19, 2017)

EmotionalFescue said:


> thanks!
> 
> nope, never have kept a reef tank, but i really enjoy the mechanical systems aspect of the hobby, so i'm taking it in a reefier direction i guess.
> 
> ...


yeah I like the idea of a clean looking FW tank but I can see where the over flow box could get in the way. there are ext. over flow tanks or drill your own own. 

IDK I have 2 reefs so maybe on my FW i'll try to keep it simple? 
keep the updates coming


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Due to an incoming cold snap in northern Colorado, it's going to be a minute before I'll be able to get plants in this thing. In the meantime, I thought I would go through my photos from the past year and post about some aspects of the V1 tank...


The first of these is not about the tank at all, but rather the floor it's sitting on. This tank is located on the main floor of the house, but it is not on a slab - it's above an unfinished basement. That alone necessitates some care with placement, but my situation was doubly bad because the wall we wanted it on is not load-bearing and is parallel to the floor joists.


While the aquarium is not huge, it's well away from the foundation walls and structural beams supporting the floor joists. To prevent sagging over time, (before filling the aquarium) I installed basement jacks beneath the two joists that run directly under the tank:










On the top and bottom are blocks made out of 4x6s joined with carriage bolts. The block on the bottom is affixed to the slab, and the block on top is held in place with what I've dubbed a "joist clamp". There's a layer of yoga mat between the joists and the 4x6s and there's a double layer of 2x4s fitted into the gap between the joists. Those 2x4s are connected to the top block with carriage bolts.


Since I'm just aiming to prevent sag and not provide primary support, the jacks aren't under a huge load. So compression alone wouldn't prevent them getting jostled, but i didn't want them to get out of place if something ran into them. Since the 2x4 is the same thickness as the bottom lip of the joist, the yoga mat/carriage bolt combo allowed me to grip-lock the top block in place.


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## NotThePainter (Dec 17, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I actually started with a 20x2.5 for the other tank but it was always tipping over when I serviced the canister. It hadn't occurred to me at the time to just afix it to some acrylic.


I really wanted a housing with a bracket and the Culligan comes with one. Mine is screwed into wood, it isn't coming out!


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## NotThePainter (Dec 17, 2020)

Our house was built in the 1860s. You should see the forest of lollycolumns in the basement!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Now, a little bit about the lighting...

Back in 2019 when my wife and I were getting into planted tanks, we were planning to have a 60G cube on a different wall in our living room. We got that tank at one of our local shops along with a single Kessil a360x. We honestly didn't do much research - they had them on several nice planted tanks, and we loved the shimmer (opinions vary on this!). In any case, it was definitely powerful enough, and seemed like adequate coverage for a cube that size. It didn't take long for us to return that tank due to some shoddy silicone work, but we still had that Kessil...

Once we moved on from the cube, we settled on a UNS 90U. That tank was woefully, _painfully_ back-ordered, which led us to the Red Sea. V1 was planted in early March of 2020 with that one Kessil. It honestly didn't occur to me at the time to get another one (have you seen how much those things cost?!), and, so, that's how we rolled all the way through October:










What I learned in this time is that what makes that sweet sweet shimmer - a nearly point-source light - is the same thing that causes all sorts of problems if you only have one light. Shimmer is all about contrast and how that point-source light is hitting the ripples on the surface of the tank. That's great aesthetically, but it sucks from the perspective of taller plants shading out lower ones, or even their own lower leaves. So, after a while, I realized that we'd need something to fill that gap - either a panel, or another Kessil. Since we already had one...

Enter Kessil #2. 

Okay, so this tank - in my opinion - is very svelte. a nice, clean, black aesthetic that worked really well in our room with our other decor. I wanted a second light, but also didn't want to disrupt that vibe. I had already mounted the first light with a jury-rigged tank mount arm that was screwed into a stud in the wall. The tank was positioned in order to straddle that stud, in fact. That presented a problem for mounting a second light. The right positioning would mean either using two arms like the first mounted to a backing board that hit the studs, or something else...

Instead of the backing board, I decided to make a new mount out of wood and 3/4" black steel pipe. 3/4" was a big enough diameter that I could run all the cables (power and the k-link cable that connected the two lights) through it. The pipe would rest in a wood-block piece mounted to the same central stud, and would T out over the tank to support the two lights in an ideal spread.

Relying on distant memories of middle school wood shop, I started by making the mounting blocks out of glued sections of 2x2 oak hobby board:









Those were then glued and screwed to an oak backing board that would affix to the wall vertically:

















To keep things really clean, I had the bright idea to drill holes into the pipe for the cords to pass through. Making those holes was kind of a nightmare, and my angle grinder ended up being more useful than the drill press. But, in the end it came together, and it is nice having the cords concealed like this.









The next time I did something similar for another tank, I ended up using T fittings to run the cables:









Okay, so I was happy with how the two lights turned out aesthetically, but did it make a difference for the plants? YES! A thousand times yes! In the period from October 2020 through February 2021, the V1 tank improved immensely. Figuring out the lighting also preceded great strides in CO2 management (pH monitor! flow meter!). So, in the end, I felt like I ended V1 in a good place. I had squeezed all the success out of it that I thought I could given some inherent limitations resulting from very early decisions that couldn't be rectified without a complete overhaul.


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## NotThePainter (Dec 17, 2020)

that looks great! I'm curious, why was the angle grinder better than the drill press? That's surprising.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

NotThePainter said:


> that looks great! I'm curious, why was the angle grinder better than the drill press? That's surprising.


The bit diameter was way too large relative to the pipe diameter. Once I dug in a little it was more like rapid chisel slapping than drilling. Lol. My god the racket!

With the angle grinder I was able to grind out a chunk layer by layer. The curvature of the pipe made it a mostly round hole.

3/4 steel pipe is damn thick!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

So the new reactor is kinda noisy in a way it was not in V1, and I think it has everything to do with how the co2 is entering the water. In V1 it was like this:









In this arrangement bubbles got instantly and individually swept into the water whereas in the V2 reactor, with the horizontal barb, I think the co2 is building up a bit before being swept into the water. That's resulting in a 'glug glug' sound. To combat this, I put a bit of tubing on the inner side of the barb.

















Problem solved! No more glug sound, just the normal reactor sounds.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

It was a busy weekend... I wanted to do gravel capped blasting sand with root tabs for this tank, but once i had it all in the tank... I didn't like it.

Eventually we decided to go with flourite. This is really full circle for us because that original 60g cube was going to have flourite. We got as far as putting it in and then scooping right back out when we realized we'd need to return that tank. Most of this flourite is actually salvage from 2019 (I knew it would get used eventually!).

This tank was not supposed to have hardscape. The goal was ideal flow and a 100% focus on plant health... Well then I went to my LFS to grab another bag of flourite and they had this piece of wood just sitting there... I COULDNT HELP MYSELF.

I modified the spraybar to ensure no dead spots, and there are some pass through areas beneath the wood (it makes these cool natural caves), so I think flow won't be a problem.

I have to say, having a bit of hardscape in there makes it much easier for me to visualize plant placement. I'd make a pretty crappy dutch scaper!










The wood is secured to two pieces of slate under the substrate.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Side pics. 

Since the lights are mounted well forward of center, the only real shadows are in the 'caves' which I want to keep clear anyway. All in all I think this will help partition the tank into some nice planting zones.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

This project has sat for a bit until the temperatures got into the right range for shipping plants. And now, after paying absolutely _eye-popping_ shipping costs, the plants will be arriving tomorrow.

As for the plants... we're trying new things! Up until now we've pretty much kept high light, stem-focused tanks. For this version of this tank we're going with something completely different. Vals. Crypts. Swords. These are really traditional aquarium plants that we've somehow just never kept (well, we've had crypts, but not vals or swords). 

Kinda hard to imagine looking at the tank now (it currently screams _desert wasteland_), but we're going for a jungle vibe. With the spraybar, we're hoping that vals planted around the overflow box will grow up and drape over the top of the water out toward the glass. Strongish light can then shine through said drape-y vals, producing a beautiful, dappled light spectacle of lower light plants beneath. Or, anyway, that's the idea.

The plan is to lean on the root capsules (we're going to be using the new GLA capsules) for a while until we get through initial melting and algae bomb phase. Once we're through that, I'll figure out what level of column dosing is appropriate. We'll wait until then to add epiphytes.

Anyone have tips on the balance between root tabs and column dosing with these types of plants. Does my plan sound reasonable?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

This thing is planted! It's a mix of tissues (crypt in front/center and sword back/left), pots (crypts front left and right plus the two big swords), and lead bunches (vals), so it looks a little funky at the moment. Just waiting for the massive melt -> algae bomb!




























Also upgraded the co2 system a bit.










Replaced the gla regulator with a Concoa 212 (ebay steal!) and hooked up a Swagelok metering valve on the output of the Brooks flow meter (the valve on the flow meter is no good for low flow and just stays open).


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

Oh how I hate the melt lol. Looks great, though!! Fingers crossed it doesn't hit you too hard!!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Plinkploop said:


> Oh how I hate the melt lol. Looks great, though!! Fingers crossed it doesn't hit you too hard!!


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## Plinkploop (Jan 24, 2021)

Love the memes!!


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## ChrisX (May 28, 2017)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Kinda hard to imagine looking at the tank now (it currently screams _desert wasteland_), but we're going for a jungle vibe. With the spraybar, we're hoping that vals planted around the overflow box will grow up and drape over the top of the water out toward the glass. Strongish light can then shine through said drape-y vals, producing a beautiful, dappled light spectacle of lower light plants beneath. Or, anyway, that's the idea.


Great tank! I think I can help a little bit.

Valisnera in a high tech tank will quickly grow to the top and drape across the surface, casting a green shadow on everything in the tank. Lights shining through green leaves. It will kinda make it look like there is algae, even though there isn't. I recently pulled all the val from my high tech tank. 

And once val roots in a HT tank, it will grow ridiculously fast. You will have to chop the strands, and it never looks good, imo. I can't remember seeing val in any high tech tanks.

Also, IME, anything growing on the water surface will become a breeding ground for algae. Certainly give it a try, but it's on the restricted list for my tank.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

ChrisX said:


> Great tank! I think I can help a little bit.
> 
> Valisnera in a high tech tank will quickly grow to the top and drape across the surface, casting a green shadow on everything in the tank. Lights shining through green leaves. It will kinda make it look like there is algae, even though there isn't. I recently pulled all the val from my high tech tank.
> 
> ...


Hmm. Well, I'm comitted at this point, so we'll see!

Thanks for the insight though, I do appreciate it. I always reserve the right to course correct and reimagine what a tank is meant to be.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

So it turns out that building co2 systems is too damn fun. Who knew!? (Many of you knew, I'm sure) So, Anyway, I did it again.










The concoa is going into the cabinet under the 90u.

Some observations about the reactor this week...

I had been noticing that the new reactor was sounding a bit splashy. This was with the back pressure valve open and the pump at 25%.

After some fiddling I now have the back pressure valve closed down about half. I had to bump the pump output to 29% to compensate for the loss in flow.

Without changing the co2 rate, the reactor is a lot quieter, and I'm getting a bigger drop faster than I was before with no back pressure applied.

I would also like to acknowledge my awareness of the ridiculously mismatched co2 game and plant selection I have going in this tank. The co2 got worked out with this as a high light stem tank. Those just aren't the plants I'm into for this tank at the moment... But all plants love co2, right?! Who am I to deny these plants the sweet sweet gasses I have readily at my disposal. 

Anywho, these are my musings for the week. Tank is motoring along. Not having crazy levels of melting actually. So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Hoo-boy, haven't posted here in a while!

The short version of what's been happening over the past few months is this: all the crypts melted and the tank has been a mess. 

I think a big part of this is that I decided root tabs are kind of a PITA given my general planted tank routine in which other tanks in the house get daily squirts of DIY fertilizers, and I switched this tank to that routine. The crypts were all doing pretty well up til then. The vals are doing great, and the swords seem healthy but are taking _forever_ to fill in. I believe all the plants should do okay with column dosing only given my observations in another tank, but the crypts definitely didn't like the transition.

Rather than wait for the crypts to recover, I dug them all out, consolidated what looked best, and mixed in mature plants that have been growing out in another tank in the house which I just broke down to make space for a new, much larger tank (chronicled in this journal for anyone interested). Along with those plants came fish! and shrimp! 

These are the same fish (praecox rainbows - minus some losses, RIP - and a pearl gourami) that grew up in the first version of this tank, and they all seem to have settled in well. Some of the amanos are from the OG version of this tank too, but their numbers have been augmented by about 25 extras that grew up in the 90U.



















Fingers crossed the mature crypts I moved over don't also decide to melt!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fresh tank shots:


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

Lookin' great brother. You and your wife both have a wonderfully artistic eye.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

gjcarew said:


> Lookin' great brother. You and your wife both have a wonderfully artistic eye.


Thank you for the compliment! I'll pass that along to my wife as well


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## Mr.Shenanagins (May 2, 2017)

Neat tank, how long does it take to see that ph drop? I have a a needle wheel in my sump and it works great but the bubble mist can be a bit much. Is your tank free of bubbles with the cerges?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Mr.Shenanagins said:


> Neat tank, how long does it take to see that ph drop? I have a a needle wheel in my sump and it works great but the bubble mist can be a bit much. Is your tank free of bubbles with the cerges?


It's been a while since I checked, but to the best of my recollection it takes about 40mins to drop a point (relative to degassed) and then another hour or two to get the extra .3.

Zero bubbles in the tank. I tried a diffuser way back with this tank and I just didn't like the fizz.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Gary Gourami hiding in _his spot._


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

A little school of guppies moved into the tank today. Not sure yet if they're permanent residents, but they needed to clear out of my wife's tank while she does some work on it.

I feel like guppies in your tank is a good reminder to never take yourself too seriously. Maybe they should stay...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

The guppies have made themselves at home. I was a little worried that the CO2 was too much for them yesterday since they were all hanging right at the top, but they have been all over the tank today. I guess they were just a little freaked out by the big tank and big tank mates.










As for the tank itself... it's... great. I was a little worried that moving the plants and fish over from the other tank might destabilize things, but we've actually seen the exact opposite.

The shrimp instantly cleaned out all of the diatom algae, and although I expected to see an immediate uptick in filaments (I've seen that pattern a few times in our house), it just never materialized. After putting the fish in, I went a whole week before a water change and barely had a touch of dust on the glass. Not too bad with a pure column-based fertilizer strategy!

I think that moving every bit of media from the old tank into the sump of this one must have really sped up the balancing process. It's almost like I copied and pasted the success from the other tank to this one. I'll take it!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

The rainbows and gourami have been (understandably) shy and skittish since the move (sorry guys), but the addition of the guppies has really brought everyone back out into action. Dither fish FTW!

Also, a note about the plants - specifically the vals. I love them! I had concerns about constant runners and them green-hue-ing the tank as they drape over the top, but neither thing has been, well, a thing. I think I've pinched off maybe four runners since they were planted. Maybe it's the rich column dosing and inert substrate combo? As for their potential to make the tank look green, I think that maybe would be a problem with a panel-style light, but it hasn't been with point-source lights.

A couple pics from right after feeding time this morning (need to clean the _outside_ of the glass):


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fresh tank shots...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

shrimp cam


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some pics...


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

The rainbows don't seem to be shy at all anymore.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

vanish said:


> The rainbows don't seem to be shy at all anymore.


Nope - those guppies really livened up the joint!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Water change before leaving town for a week.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some recent pictures...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

This tank is fully in cruise control mode. Daily column dosing, one ~50% water change per week, and... that's it. Occasionally I need to trim the vals or yank a runner, but otherwise, there's just not too much to do with this tank. And, I have to say, I'm really loving the enjoyment-to-labor ratio. It's giving me lots of capacity to start up the 130gal in the sitting room (journal coming soon).

Some full tank shots:


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some fish pics:


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Finally got a macro lens! It's not very good with tracking focus, but when the fish are still enough, it's pretty cool!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Loving this new perspective!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## trailsnale (Dec 2, 2009)

assuming your top is diy? and does it reduce the shimmer from your kessils? 

am enjoying both of your build threads.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

trailsnale said:


> assuming your top is diy? and does it reduce the shimmer from your kessils?
> 
> am enjoying both of your build threads.


It is indeed. I don't really notice a difference in the quality of the light... maybe just knocks down the intensity a bit.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

This is unrelated to the tank and its fish, but check out these pics of our bearded dragon:



















This macro stuff is too freaking cool.


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## Njroth (Dec 23, 2020)

Loving all the photos! Makes me want to up my picture game


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Njroth said:


> Loving all the photos! Makes me want to up my picture game


I'm glad you've been enjoying them! I've had a good time taking them, and it's nice having a place to share them.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

Great photography! Definitely makes me want to get into using my real camera for tank pictures.

What is the black device your python is plugged into, some kind of assist pump? With my new tank the nearest faucet is pretty underpowered and I find myself wanting a better solution.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> Great photography! Definitely makes me want to get into using my real camera for tank pictures.
> 
> What is the black device your python is plugged into, some kind of assist pump? With my new tank the nearest faucet is pretty underpowered and I find myself wanting a better solution.


Thanks! It's a nice synergy between my two hobbies...

It's a pump. I kick it on to drain/gravel vac. Then I just turn it off for the refill. I used to syphon into a big rolling trash can and then fill with the python. I got sick of having to drain the trashcan after and tried putting a pump inline with the python and it worked great.

I have considered rigging up a valve system so I could use the pump for drain and fill, just havent gotten around to it. I think doing water changes on the new 130g might give me the necessary motivation


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Thanks! It's a nice synergy between my two hobbies...
> 
> It's a pump. I kick it on to drain/gravel vac. Then I just turn it off for the refill. I used to syphon into a big rolling trash can and then fill with the python. I got sick of having to drain the trashcan after and tried putting a pump inline with the python and it worked great.
> 
> I have considered rigging up a valve system so I could use the pump for drain and fill, just havent gotten around to it. I think doing water changes on the new 130g might give me the necessary motivation


Any chance you still have a link for that water pump? I guess I have been looking for something just like it. I would definitely be building the valve to fill and empty with the setup.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> Any chance you still have a link for that water pump? I guess I have been looking for something just like it. I would definitely be building the valve to fill and empty with the setup.


It's an Eheim Universal 1262. I had it sitting around when I upgraded this tank's return pump. You could probably find something cheaper, but the eheims are good.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Full tank shot with a twist:


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Critter pics...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

My boy, Gary:










He's a turd, but we love him anyway.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Just passing by pic...










I will need to do some rearranging soon, now that the some of the plants are really filling in.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Couple of Saturday morning pics...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

This macro stuff is tricky, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.

For the shrimp, I can get really close, so my main problem is depth. They don't move too fast, so a shutter speed of 1/125 or so is fine, but I really need about f8. For the rainbows, I usually can't get too close, so f2.8 gets me good enough depth around the eyes at least (and sometimes more of the body if they're kinda far away and I catch them broadside), but they're wicked fast, so a shutter speed up around 1/500 is critical.

In both cases, the key has been pushing the raw exposure by about 2 stops with the ISO at its max of 12,800. That seems to get me in the right zone for the shot parameters, and I can drag the exposure up in photoshop after the fact. Also, with the shrimp, it's really best to set the focus manually and move the camera back and forth. Focus peaking is really helpful here.

Here are some shrimp pics I just took:

Look at the eggs in this big female!









And here's a much smaller male:


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

are you ready for your closeup???


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

More critter pics.

This shrimp was juuuust about to molt:



















"What the hell are you lookin at?!"


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Full tank shot:










Nothing much to report with the tank... plants are growing well. no signs of algae beyond a bit of dust on the glass by the end of the week.

Mostly just enjoying this tank and its inhabitants, which is nice given how much angst V1 caused me (having a planted tank in your livingroom is great when it's going well, but makes your chill space not so chill when it's not).

Now back to fish and shrimp glamour shot blog mode...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

context


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Feeding time


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

study of a shrimp molt


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

shrimpies


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Beyond feeding the fish and water changes, I haven't been paying too much attention to this tank. I've been completely absorbed with the new tank build. All is well, though, and I did pull out the camera for a few minutes during feeding time today.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

Really nice macro shots. I think it adds a lot to aquarium keeping and is great for above water shots too. Adding an OCF (Off Camera Flash) will allow you to increase shutter speed since the only thing affected by it is ambient light and not what the flash lights.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Asteroid said:


> Really nice macro shots. I think it adds a lot to aquarium keeping and is great for above water shots too. Adding an OCF (Off Camera Flash) will allow you to increase shutter speed since the only thing affected by it is ambient light and not what the flash lights.


Thanks. Yeah I have a high speed monoblock and a speedlight, but I don't have any triggers that work with this body... Thankfully, the max iso is still pretty clean with this sensor, so I just work at the max with -2 dialed in for exposure compensation and get fast enough ss for the rainbows. I also wonder if the flash would kinda terrorize them? Lol.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Thanks. Yeah I have a high speed monoblock and a speedlight, but I don't have any triggers that work with this body... Thankfully, the max iso is still pretty clean with this sensor, so I just work at the max with -2 dialed in for exposure compensation and get fast enough ss for the rainbows. I also wonder if the flash would kinda terrorize them? Lol.


If you have a high ISO capable camera that definitely helps. Your obviously getting really nice shots with that and the lighting on your tank. Plus high MP means very aggressive cropping. The OCF just gives alot of flexibility. I don't know, maybe it's the speed of the flash, but I've hung mine from the light bar going directly into the tank and there's no reaction from the subject.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fish pics.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Haven't shown a pic that wasn't a livestock glamor shot in a while...










Here's what it looks like today. It's... fine. The organization of plants is a bit haphazard at the moment, and I feel like this tank needs some attention. I started that by taking the red rubins out of the back left and putting an undulata back there instead. The rubins really didn't like the level of light back there, but I think the crypts will still fill out. Other than feeling like it needs some work on arrangement, the tank is doing great. Still no algae problems and the livestock are healthy.

After getting an ATO on the 5' tank, I decided to upgrade the rest of the tanks the same way. While this one already had an ATO, it was a gravity feed system that required a 3 gallon reservoir to sit on the top of my sump. My evaporation was such that I had to top the reservoir off regularly. It didn't need it every day, but I ended up doing it daily for consistency (i.e., so I wouldn't forget). That got old. So, now I've got a parastaltic pump on a timer and an external reservoir that sits next to the tank.




























I've got a lot more room in here for maintenance now!










That's it for now. I'm sure I'll be back soon with some fresh glamor shots


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## KrangDog (Sep 1, 2020)

I honestly think I get more excited about pictures of peoples sump, plumbing and gear than shots of their tank/plants. Your's looks great.

Sometimes I just sit on the floor and stare at mine. My wife thinks I'm weird. She's probably right, but surely I can't be the only one.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

KrangDog said:


> I honestly think I get more excited about pictures of peoples sump, plumbing and gear than shots of their tank/plants. Your's looks great.
> 
> Sometimes I just sit on the floor and stare at mine. My wife thinks I'm weird. She's probably right, but surely I can't be the only one.


You're definitely weird. I know because I do that too and I'm super weird.

Equipment and plumbing is great fun!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

It's raining... krill flakes?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Haven't updated this in a while... I snapped a few pics during water change today.





































The tank is doing great. It's not really scaped in any proper sense, but it's just. so. easy. I need to find some plants to fill some of the empty space in the front, but I'm in no great hurry.

I did add six young female Praecox rainbowfish. The fish refresh has brought some new life to the tank, so that's nice.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

It's looking great. How are you keeping the vallisneria from taking over the whole tank? That's the problem I am having with a bunch of long subulata in my newt tank right now.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> It's looking great. How are you keeping the vallisneria from taking over the whole tank? That's the problem I am having with a bunch of long subulata in my newt tank right now.


Thanks. It actually doesn't put out a crazy amount of runners. Vertical growth is crazy, but horizontal not so much. I suspect it's the combination of inert substrate and rich column dosing. The vals in my 5' tank are dropping runners at a much higher rate. The difference being that there's a base layer of aquasoil under the flourite in that tank. Column dosing is the same across the two tanks.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

A few pics...

My boy, Gary:



















And a little late-night shrimpie close-up:


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Gary looks like a dreamer. And the clarity of your photos is beyond impressive!!!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Gary looks like a dreamer. And the clarity of your photos is beyond impressive!!!


Some might say he is 

I've largely replaced photography with aquarium keeping as my main hobby, but I've still got the gear! It's mostly just used for fish glamour shots these days...


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Some might say he is
> 
> I've largely replaced photography with aquarium keeping as my main hobby, but I've still got the gear! It's mostly just used for fish glamour shots these days...


It’s spectacular!! I hate not being able to get better pics of my tank


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

A little early morning light side tank action...


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Do you have netting over your tank instead of a solid cover? Genius!!! ♥


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Do you have netting over your tank instead of a solid cover? Genius!!! ♥


If only I could take credit! there are lots of DIY kits available to make them. They're basically just window screens with plastic netting instead of the normal screen material. They may or may not lead to blind homicidal rage in the assembly stage, depending on your temperament...


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> If only I could take credit! there are lots of DIY kits available to make them. They're basically just window screens with plastic netting instead of the normal screen material. They may or may not lead to blind homicidal rage in the assembly stage, depending on your temperament...


Hahaha oh no, I adore assembling stuff. Very cool tho. Is there a formal name for it? Aquarium mesh lid or something?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Hahaha oh no, I adore assembling stuff. Very cool tho. Is there a formal name for it? Aquarium mesh lid or something?


Here's one of the popular ones...


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Amazing, thanks!!! ♥


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Pics


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

A rare oto sighting!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Haha is it rainbows all the way down with you? What made you choose them as your main focus?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Haha is it rainbows all the way down with you? What made you choose them as your main focus?


Well, rainbows are awesome! They're really active, have interesting social behaviors, and are beautiful taboot.


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