# Remodeling my fish room



## James From Cali

Thats awesome. Cant wait to see the updates! Always wondered what peple with a lot of tanks put them!


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## mahamotorworks

Lucky I wish I could set up a fish Room. Good luck. Cant wait to see more pics.

MAHA


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## A Hill

Knowing your DIY skills this should come out REALLY good! Should keep you busy at least for a little while....

Can we see a full room picture?

Thanks for sharing!
-Andrew

Shrimp are doing great btw!


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## DiabloCanine

Fish Newb said:


> Knowing your DIY skills this should come out REALLY good! Should keep you busy at least for a little while....
> 
> Can we see a full room picture?
> 
> Thanks for sharing!
> -Andrew
> 
> Shrimp are doing great btw!


Cannot get the whole room on one picture, here are some pictures taken before the remodel though......DC

Looking right through garage entry door where rack 1 is going.










Where rack 2 is going


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## fish_lover0591

I'm Subscribed I want to make sure i see how this turns out


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## Aquamanx

Sweet! I can't wait to see how it comes out also!:biggrin:


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## A Hill

I think I've seen some pictures of that room before:icon_smil. Can't wait to see how it comes out!

-Andrew


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## DiabloCanine

A little progress today.

Put the cross braces in the stand.










Lined them up to be under the frames of the tanks.










Ran the electrical for the water storage unit.










Placed the 3/4" plywood down, put one row of screws in and test fitted a tank





































Next step is shimming the cross braces and figuring out the tank accessory (lights, CO2 manifold http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/37626-pvc-co2-manifold.html, airlines, electrical, etc.) mounting......DC


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## mahamotorworks

That is a good start. Looking forward to more progress.

MAHA


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## Architect1

Wow amazing idea. Like it. And its so neat and clean. Hope to see more pics soon.


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## filipnoy85

If only I had room for a fish room.....


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## turbosaurus

Hey DC, what is going in the tanks? I just wonder becasue only the short side of the tanks will be viewable, with the long side facing the other tanks on the shelves, so I assume it won't be for sacpes, or will it? Will this be for breeding something? farming plants? Whats the plan?


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## DiabloCanine

turbosaurus said:


> Hey DC, what is going in the tanks? I just wonder becasue only the short side of the tanks will be viewable, with the long side facing the other tanks on the shelves, so I assume it won't be for sacpes, or will it? Will this be for breeding something? farming plants? Whats the plan?


This rack will be plant farms with 1 or 2 Galaxy Rasbora tanks, 1 or 2 RCS colonies, will transfer my 3 strains of Endler's and hoping to have a couple of Apisto harems. I know once I get it set up and going rmc will help me stock with fish and I will have several more tanks to farm plants.

Already have the filtration and CO2 identified, trying to figure out what lighting I want to use. So far I am looking at:
IceCap 60 inch VHO Retrofit Kit - 3 Lamps - Marine Depot - Marine and Reef Aquarium Super Store
I have these retros on 4 tanks and really like them. I bought a couple of these to try out EFI's Online Store for Lights of America | LOA Fluorex™ Flood Light and plan to use them on rack 2 over the 20H tanks. It is going to be tight getting everything in there to support the tanks. I am trying to figure out how to shoehorn it all in there now........DC


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## A Hill

Few Questions, 

Did you buy just the frames for the gorilla racks? If so where, if not what did you do just take the shelf part out and keep the frame from it?

I really like the floodlight, that's a great price! I'm not too sure I would buy the IceCaps though, It seems like you are paying a lot of money for what you're getting, but I haven't used them personally and know you have so thats a personal choice. I think the shoplights from HomeDepot or Lowes are fine generally... But that's a personal opinion.

What plants are you going to be farming? That would mean the difference in lighting to me. I'm figuring that your going to be growing some highlight weeds so you're probably going to want the IceCaps, but for that much money can't you get some T5s?

It looks really nice so far!

-Andrew


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## DiabloCanine

Fish Newb said:


> Few Questions,
> 
> Did you buy just the frames for the gorilla racks? If so where, if not what did you do just take the shelf part out and keep the frame from it?
> 
> I really like the floodlight, that's a great price! I'm not too sure I would buy the IceCaps though, It seems like you are paying a lot of money for what you're getting, but I haven't used them personally and know you have so thats a personal choice. I think the shoplights from HomeDepot or Lowes are fine generally... But that's a personal opinion.
> 
> What plants are you going to be farming? That would mean the difference in lighting to me. I'm figuring that your going to be growing some highlight weeds so you're probably going to want the IceCaps, but for that much money can't you get some T5s?
> 
> It looks really nice so far!
> 
> -Andrew


Yea, I bought just the frames at Menards. BUY THE PART if you call the phone number on that page they will tell you where to get them in your area. Will be farming high light plants w/pressurized CO2, have the list on my home PC. I do not think T5s are available in 60" (five 20 long tanks side-by-side are 62.5").....DC


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## fish_lover0591

wow this is going to be cool  i might start a little emersed plant farm someday


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## DiabloCanine

Fish Newb said:


> Few Questions,
> What plants are you going to be farming?
> -Andrew


I will be farming these so far, probably others though depending on room.......DC

Ludwigia Inclinata
Rotala Macrandra
Ammania Gracilis
Ludwigia Inclinata var. 'Cuba'
Myriophyllum Tuberculatum
Rotala Wallichii
Potamogeton Gayi
Blyxa Japonica
Limnophila Aromatica
Alternanthera Reineckii


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## vidiots

I too want a fish room of my own someday soon. The only thing I question about your setup is the lack of space above your tanks. I was noticing in the pics where you were test fitting the tanks and saw only a few inches of clearance above the tank. Are you going to be able to get into the tank once it's full and be able to reach to the back?


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## DiabloCanine

vidiots said:


> I too want a fish room of my own someday soon. The only thing I question about your setup is the lack of space above your tanks. I was noticing in the pics where you were test fitting the tanks and saw only a few inches of clearance above the tank. Are you going to be able to get into the tank once it's full and be able to reach to the back?


That is the current challenge, trying to shoehorn all the equipment in there and still be able to service the tank. I'm gonna pick the brains of some locals for ideas. I was thinking of making a light enclosure that rides on closet tracks but do not know if it will give enough clearance. May need to design a lifting lid system or something like that. I am thinking the back 4 - 6 inches of each tank will be equipment, i.e., sponge filters, heater, powerhead, CO2 diffuser, etc. I know I will have two 1" pvc manifolds, one for CO2 and one for air to drive sponge filters that run the length of the stand. Also need to consider power distribution. I have plenty of time to think it out and listen to ideas, really need to get my 46 drilled so I can get the rest of my Discus outta RMCs hair.....DC


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## A Hill

DiabloCanine said:


> Yea, I bought just the frames at Menards. BUY THE PART if you call the phone number on that page they will tell you where to get them in your area. Will be farming high light plants w/pressurized CO2, have the list on my home PC. I do not think T5s are available in 60" (five 20 long tanks side-by-side are 62.5").....DC


That's nice to know, When I set up a rack I'll have to consider it for larger tanks!

I didn't notice the length you wanted was 5ft that's a odd length so you will probably end up paying extra..

Clearance might be a problem... What if yo made the lights like removable for maintenance? 

-Andrew


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## DiabloCanine

I spent the morning putting tanks in the stand to try some things out. I need to get these tanks going to move fish around.










I am thinking those 65 watt 6500K floodlights might be the ticket. They seem bright enough.










I like the way they fit into the top frame of the tank.










I think using these lights will work and not take up much room, I sure can use the extra clearance.










Yup, think I will order 3 more of those floodlights, if they do not provide enough light I can always double them up. Looks like I have the lighting clearance problem solved.










These tanks will be stable enough to move fish into and I will concentrate on plumbing the air and CO2 next......DC


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## A Hill

Those floodlights look great! And they're small enough to move to the back during maitenance right?

Looks like your next project should be to organize all your wires:icon_roll ...

-Andrew


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## DiabloCanine

Fish Newb said:


> Those floodlights look great! And they're small enough to move to the back during maitenance right?
> 
> Looks like your next project should be to organize all your wires:icon_roll ...
> 
> -Andrew


Yup they move back and forth so I can get in the whole tank if need be....DC


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## DiabloCanine

Did some electrical work today. I mounted power strips above the tanks on some of the cross braces we made. I used 4 power strips.

2 of these are installed for the lights and heater. It has a digital timer that controls one bank and the other bank is constant power. If you have a Target in your area, hurry down they are on clearance for $9.99.



















I use a fire shield power strip on every one of my tanks. One is installed on this rack and is used as the distribution point for the other power strips.



















Here is one of the digital timers being used to control 2 lights and 2 heaters.










On the right is a digital timer strip, on the left is the fire shield. It has 3 power strips, the air pump, and the Diatom connected to it. (The Diatom is temporary, currently cleaning tanks.)










This is the air pump that will power the 10 sponge filters, I got it at JEHMCO Main . The last tank (#5) will be installed in this opening.










The first power strip from this angle is just a regular power strip with an 8-foot cord to reach the fire shield strip. This power strip will control the powerheads, I want to turn them all off during water changes. This is the easiest way to do that, can turn them all off at once with one switch.










I have an old air manifold temporarily connected to 6 sponge filters until I can get a new one made. I have eco in the middle tank where the Galaxy Rasboras and a RCS colony will go. The 2 right tanks have red soilmaster select (what's in my Heckel tank); one tank will be a Apistogramma agassizii harem, one tank will be a Apistogramma cacatuoides 'triple red' harem. The 2 left tanks will have a charcoal/onyx sand mix and may contain different strains of Endler's and Shrimp colonies. More to come.......DC


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## fish_lover0591

hmm i have a question what are you going to do about all the evaporation ?


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## DiabloCanine

fish_lover0591 said:


> hmm i have a question what are you going to do about all the evaporation ?


Crap, I forgot to repost my sliding glass top project. Here is the old thread when I came up with the idea http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/31544-sliding-glass-top-how.html?highlight=sliding+glass+top . I had my projects on a forum that got hacked, I reposted them all but that one. I will take more pics and post the how to again. It will be a little different with the floodlights. I have 600 gallons of water in the house, I have to keep all the tanks covered.........DC


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## turbomkt

Fish Newb said:


> I didn't notice the length you wanted was 5ft that's a odd length so you will probably end up paying extra..
> 
> Clearance might be a problem... What if yo made the lights like removable for maintenance?
> 
> -Andrew


Thinking about it...5 ft lights aren't really a must, are they? Either center the lights so the end tanks have 6 inches that don't get direct lights, or shift the lights to one end and have a short light goign forward and back above the end tank.


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## DiabloCanine

turbomkt said:


> Thinking about it...5 ft lights aren't really a must, are they? Either center the lights so the end tanks have 6 inches that don't get direct lights, or shift the lights to one end and have a short light goign forward and back above the end tank.


With the tanks on the rack including some room between them the span is around 65 inches. I am going to try the floodlights. fish_lover0591 just sent me a PM he received that those lights overheat and burn out unless holes are cut in the case for a a fan. We will see I guess......DC


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## A Hill

DiabloCanine said:


> With the tanks on the rack including some room between them the span is around 65 inches. I am going to try the floodlights. fish_lover0591 just sent me a PM he received that those lights overheat and burn out unless holes are cut in the case for a a fan. We will see I guess......DC


Yeah, I don't think you would have a problem modding them though...

I might get some of them sooner or later...

-Andrew


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## turbosaurus

There goes the easy slow days of retirement.... traded in for humpin' hoses and the sound of running water. 
For micro rasbora galaxy, I'd do it too.


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## thatguy

Is this all running on your standard house branch circuit or did you add another circuit for the fish room?

With all the lights and draw, a new 20 amp gfci or 2 for the outlets and lights would be good.


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## DiabloCanine

thatguy said:


> Is this all running on your standard house branch circuit or did you add another circuit for the fish room?
> 
> With all the lights and draw, a new 20 amp gfci or 2 for the outlets and lights would be good.


I added an outlet for this rack, it is connected to an existing branch that includes the garage......DC


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## DiabloCanine

turbosaurus said:


> There goes the easy slow days of retirement.... traded in for humpin' hoses and the sound of running water.
> For micro rasbora galaxy, I'd do it too.


Yea, I wish I could be retired........DC


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## vidiots

DiabloCanine said:


> That is the current challenge, trying to shoehorn all the equipment in there and still be able to service the tank. I'm gonna pick the brains of some locals for ideas. I was thinking of making a light enclosure that rides on closet tracks but do not know if it will give enough clearance. May need to design a lifting lid system or something like that. I am thinking the back 4 - 6 inches of each tank will be equipment, i.e., sponge filters, heater, powerhead, CO2 diffuser, etc. I know I will have two 1" pvc manifolds, one for CO2 and one for air to drive sponge filters that run the length of the stand. Also need to consider power distribution. I have plenty of time to think it out and listen to ideas, really need to get my 46 drilled so I can get the rest of my Discus outta RMCs hair.....DC


Don't know what ya have for space in that room, but you also might be able to pull your stand out away from the wall just far enough for you to be able to squeeze in behind them to reach the stuff at the back. Just thinking that if you can reach the middle bottom of the tank from the front and the back you can reach everything without having to lean your upper body over the tank and reducing the amount of clearance you need above it.


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## vidiots

thatguy said:


> Is this all running on your standard house branch circuit or did you add another circuit for the fish room?
> With all the lights and draw, a new 20 amp gfci or 2 for the outlets and lights would be good.


You can never have too many outlets near your aquarium. Who ever said electricity and water dont mix, obviously didn't have any fish... :icon_mrgr


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## crazy loaches

Yeah I worry about oveloading the circuit with the tank I am putting together in my family room, since I have a large oil filled electric heater that runs down there. The tank is probably going to have 1000W of heaters in it along with 500-800 watts of lighting during the days peak, along with all the other stuff. I cant run a new line to the tank, so I may have to figure out if there is two circuits in the room and divy up the load or not use the electric space heater at all.


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## DiabloCanine

Toyed around all week with light mounting. Leaving them on top of the tank was heating the water up too much and a good spread of light was not getting into the tank. Decided I would somehow mount the lights above the tank, keeping them mobile allowing access into the tanks. After much thought and playing around with ideas all week I decided to KISS and mount the lights onto the existing cross braces.



















Each light rotates up and out of the way allowing access to the tank.



















I used pipe straps to hold the lights to the cross braces.










I just completed the air/CO2 manifold.










Each tank has a needle valve/bubble counter and 2 air valves for sponge filters.










The CO2 comes in on the bottom manifold at the right side.










The air comes in on the top manifold left side.










Top of the rack.



















Next I will connect the CO2 and get sliding glass tops cut/installed.....DC


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## Aquamanx

Great job on the fish room! I like the lights you used... I may end up using them on a few of my 20 Gal. tanks.

I have a Q about using the Air powered sponge filters, & CO2... Wouldn't you lose some of the CO2 you are trying to supply to your tanks by running air to them? How do you keep the out gassing of CO2 to a Minimum? Couldn't you just use powerheads to run the sponge filters, this way you won't lose any CO2 from running air & CO2? (I know you already said you have powerheads on these tanks too.)

I had thought about building something similar. Although I was thinking of using some Heavy Duty draw slides. This way I would be able to access all of the tank just by pulling out the tank on the "Draw". They make them strong enough to hold up to 500 pounds! I'm sure they aren't that cheap though... But, I work in a machine shop where I have Access to "Old Cabinets" that these slides are in. They throw away these "old cabinets" once in a while, I just have to let them know I want them & I would have them for FREE! Which I know isn't an option with some people... But, if you were looking into getting something like them, I think they go for around $30.00 or so... Not sure, seeing I can get them for FREE, I didn't waste my time looking to buy them...


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## DiabloCanine

Aquamanx said:


> Great job on the fish room! I like the lights you used... I may end up using them on a few of my 20 Gal. tanks.
> 
> I have a Q about using the Air powered sponge filters, & CO2... Wouldn't you lose some of the CO2 you are trying to supply to your tanks by running air to them? How do you keep the out gassing of CO2 to a Minimum? Couldn't you just use powerheads to run the sponge filters, this way you won't lose any CO2 from running air & CO2? (I know you already said you have powerheads on these tanks too.)
> 
> I had thought about building something similar. Although I was thinking of using some Heavy Duty draw slides. This way I would be able to access all of the tank just by pulling out the tank on the "Draw". They make them strong enough to hold up to 500 pounds! I'm sure they aren't that cheap though... But, I work in a machine shop where I have Access to "Old Cabinets" that these slides are in. They throw away these "old cabinets" once in a while, I just have to let them know I want them & I would have them for FREE! Which I know isn't an option with some people... But, if you were looking into getting something like them, I think they go for around $30.00 or so... Not sure, seeing I can get them for FREE, I didn't waste my time looking to buy them...


I'm sure the CO2 will outgas, how much is unknown right now. CO2 is cheap and I really want the air being injected into the water to prevent "gasping" since these tanks are also breeders, would really be a bummer if too much CO2 killed fish/shrimp (have already killed hundreds of shrimp and scores of fish). I was able to get the welding supply company I use for CO2 to price match new cylinders with the beverage factory so I got a couple of 10 pounders from them. I have the CO2 connected to 3 tanks, need a couple of more diffusers for the other 2. I put some plants in 2 of the tanks.

Apistogramma agassizii harem










Apistogramma cacatuoides Triple Red harem










I plan on using drawer slides at each end of rack 2 due to access doorways in the room. I'm only putting 5 gallon hex tanks on them though. That would be neat to have bigger tanks on drawer slides, definitely would make access easier, would need an elaborate anchor to prevent tipping of big tanks I would think.......DC


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## Aquamanx

What I have thought of doing was in a basement at my current appartment. Seeing I live on the bottom floor which is basicaly the basement. I would anchor the same type of "Racks" into the concrete floor. Then I would have the draw slides mounted to the "legs" of the rack. In my case it wouldn't be too costly, but, for someone without access to the drawslides for free, it would get costly real quick! I'm waiting to do anything else to my tanks till I move. I hope to buy a house before the end of this year... Gives me almost a whole year to look for something I really want & can afford!... LOL!

As I said before, Great Job! It's coming out Awesome! I like how you are keeping everything pretty neat & organized.

Steve X.


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## yoink

Man that is clean looking, I can't wait to see it in person. I have an extra aquaticmagic nano diffusor if you want it.


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## DiabloCanine

yoink said:


> Man that is clean looking, I can't wait to see it in person. I have an extra aquaticmagic nano diffusor if you want it.


Kewl, can you bring it by Sunday? Thanks....DC


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## turbosaurus

I love your CO2 manifold set up. How did you fasten the buble counters and needle valves to the main supply line?

Just drill a hole? Did you have to glue them in place?


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## DiabloCanine

turbosaurus said:


> I love your CO2 manifold set up. How did you fasten the buble counters and needle valves to the main supply line?
> 
> Just drill a hole? Did you have to glue them in place?


Drill a hole and run a tap in half way. Put a generous amount of loctite on the threads, tighten it down as far as it will go......DC


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## yoink

Yeah I can bring it buy on sunday. Do you get your bubble counter/needle valve contraptions from aquaticmagic?


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## DiabloCanine

yoink said:


> Yeah I can bring it buy on sunday. Do you get your bubble counter/needle valve contraptions from aquaticmagic?


K, sounds good give me a call. Do you want any of those rams? I have 10 I need to find a home for. I got a few from aquaticmagic and a few from a setup I bought second hand. I found the bubble counters tend to leak when running higher pressures so I took them off. I wanna try some RMC ghetto bubble counters. Did you see them?.....DC


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## yoink

I'll take a female ram if thats cool. I don't run any bubble counters myself, just eyeball the bubbles coming out of the diffusor. I didn't see RMC's bubble counters, are they the small bottle with two rigid airline type of bubble counters?


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## DiabloCanine

yoink said:


> I'll take a female ram if thats cool. I don't run any bubble counters myself, just eyeball the bubbles coming out of the diffusor. I didn't see RMC's bubble counters, are they the small bottle with two rigid airline type of bubble counters?


You can pick the one you want. I forget what he makes them out of, gonna see if I can talk him out of a few though.......DC


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## DiabloCanine

Put the last tank on the rack today.










Not too much room left.










Put the sliding glass tops on.










I made them the same size front to back so an equal amount of the tank would be accessable.
































































CO2 is almost done, need to put diffusers in the last two tanks then finish planting and stocking......DC


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## turbomkt

Is that a DIY sliding cover system? I see the handles on the glass are from two different companies. Gonna tell us how you did it?


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## DiabloCanine

turbomkt said:


> Is that a DIY sliding cover system? I see the handles on the glass are from two different companies. Gonna tell us how you did it?


http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/31544-sliding-glass-top-how.html?highlight=sliding+glass+top

I will repost, the original got hacked. You can get the glass and track at Lowes for less than $10. The tanks above were $9 each including the handles......DC


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## Brian A

How are you going to keep the humidity down? That is a ton of water. Looks great!!


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## DiabloCanine

flash69x said:


> How are you going to keep the humidity down? That is a ton of water. Looks great!!


That is why I put sliding glass tops on all my tanks.....DC


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## DiabloCanine

I just reposted a sliding glass top how-to, can be found here.....DC
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/42194-slising-glass-top-how.html


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## A Hill

Great Job DC! the tanks look great! 

Looks like you raised the lights so they could get more air around them? 

Can you take some more pictures of lights on and inside the tanks to see how those are turning out?

-Andrew


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## DiabloCanine

Fish Newb said:


> Great Job DC! the tanks look great!
> 
> Looks like you raised the lights so they could get more air around them?
> 
> Can you take some more pictures of lights on and inside the tanks to see how those are turning out?
> 
> -Andrew


I'll get some pics with the lights on.....DC


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## DiabloCanine

DiabloCanine said:


> I'll get some pics with the lights on.....DC


Here ya go:


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## Finch_man

I see your using Turface pro league. How its working for you?


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## DiabloCanine

Finch_man said:


> I see your using Turface pro league. How its working for you?


Says soilmaster select on the bag, I have several tanks with it and have no complaints.....DC


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## Zensurgeon

Awesome setup ... gives me some ideas .....

A question I haven't seen here. Have you done anything to the house wiring? Right now I got a zillion plugs and power strips into 2 circuits both of them are 15 amps. Seems inherently dangerous to me. Did you upgrade to at least a 20 amp circuit? I would have to pull more wire for that.


Thanx


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## A Hill

DiabloCanine said:


> Says soilmaster select on the bag, I have several tanks with it and have no complaints.....DC


LOL

Looks really nice DC! I really like the CO2-O2 setup you have there. Are you worried about any back pressure since it's only a strait line and not a loop?

Ohh also, how do you like the 20 longs on their sides? is it hard for you to access the back?

-Andrew


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## Khandurian

Hi there,

Did you paint the sides of all the tanks or just the ones on the end? It's kinda hard to tell since you have them so close together.


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## LS6 Tommy

I would love to have more than 1 tank again. I had 9 when I lived at home before I got married. Of course, thery were mostly fish only and a few not-so-successful plants...

Tommy


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## DiabloCanine

Zensurgeon said:


> Awesome setup ... gives me some ideas .....
> 
> A question I haven't seen here. Have you done anything to the house wiring? Right now I got a zillion plugs and power strips into 2 circuits both of them are 15 amps. Seems inherently dangerous to me. Did you upgrade to at least a 20 amp circuit? I would have to pull more wire for that.
> 
> 
> Thanx


Only thing I did was add an outlet near the rack, I was using an extension cord but it only powered the water barrels.......DC


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## DiabloCanine

Fish Newb said:


> LOL
> 
> Looks really nice DC! I really like the CO2-O2 setup you have there. Are you worried about any back pressure since it's only a strait line and not a loop?
> 
> Ohh also, how do you like the 20 longs on their sides? is it hard for you to access the back?
> 
> -Andrew


Access is not the best in the world but I did get 5 tanks and 100 gallons in that space. Look at the pics and you should be able to see how the tops move to give access to half the tank at once......DC


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## DiabloCanine

Khandurian said:


> Hi there,
> 
> Did you paint the sides of all the tanks or just the ones on the end? It's kinda hard to tell since you have them so close together.


One tank was reused and had the back painted, is a coincidence not by design. None of the other tanks have sides painted or covered......DC


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## fish_lover0591

Awesome! Nice Job. I wonder if my parents will let me have the garage just for fish and frogs... I want to create something similar to yours.


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## DiabloCanine

The other rack went up recently. Originally, I wanted to put two 55s on it but decided against it. The dimensions of rack 2 is 48x17. I have placed the following tanks on this rack:
55G
29G
10G
10G
5.5G
5.5G
5G
5G
5G
5G
Here are some pics.










I modified the original 10 gallon rack I had, it held two 10 gallon tanks one on top of the other. It was a PITA to get into the bottom tank.










I added some 3/4" plywood to the bottom of the stand raising it 31" higher. Now the bottom tank is waist high and I have some storage space below.










Here is the top rack, it holds four 5 gallon hex tanks.










Here is the middle rack, it holds a 29 gallon and two 5.5 gallon tanks.










Here is the bottom rack, it holds a 55 gallon tank.










Top rack different angle.










Two 5.5 gallon tanks on the middle rack.










I got these two 2x54 watt T-5 finnex lights from a reefer for a real good price.

The fish room now contains 15 tanks for a total of 235 gallons in a 11.5 x 7 room. I still need to finish up the wiring, replace the top frame on the 55, and stock the tanks with fish/plants......DC


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## Khandurian

Looks great! Wish I could find those racks here where I live. No one carries Gorilla Racks, and the ones that Home depot and Lowes carry just don't seem as sturdy and strong.


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## Blackthumbwoes

Great write up, i have been wanting to do a fish room but to be honest my floors wont hold much. I'm really pressing my luck now, hoping to get to summer to brace the floors and get larger tanks.

I like the look of the 20 longs on end but glass cleaning looks to be a chore, at least for me who does it ermm...twice a month maybe.

jason


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## zoggin eck

Looks fantastic so far, I bet you're either inspiring a lot of people or just making them jealous like me!. May I ask, what do you keep in all of those 5gallon hexes?


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## DiabloCanine

Power distribution for rack 2 was completed today.










4 power strips are used










2 of these are used, 1 for the top rack (four 5 gallon tanks) and 1 for the middle rack (two 5.5 gallon and one 29 gallon). The lighting for the two 10 gallon tanks on the end is connected here also.










One fire shield is being used and all power strips are connected to this for protection.










Power distribution for top and middle racks along with lighting power for the two 10 gallon tanks.










Fire shield for circuit protection. Bottom power strip will control the 55 gallon lighting, filter, and heater.

Here are some pics to show how tight the room is. There are 2 doors to this room. 1 leads to the garage (left hand side) and the other is access to the mechanical room from the house (right hand side).










LH side of rack 2 (access to garage)










LH side of rack 2 (access to garage)










RH side of rack 2 (access to mechanical room from house)










RH side of rack 2 (access to mechanical room from house)

Not enough room to play ping pong, but just enough room for 15 tanks.

Once the top frame on the 55 gallon is replaced it can be set up. Almost done.....DC


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## DiabloCanine

zoggin eck said:


> Looks fantastic so far, I bet you're either inspiring a lot of people or just making them jealous like me!. May I ask, what do you keep in all of those 5gallon hexes?


Endlers and shrimp.....DC


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## DiabloCanine

Update on rack 1.

My 50 gpd RO unit was not keeping up with the demand. I researched piggybacking another 50 gpd membrane to increase output but decided to go with a 100 gpd unit upgrade.



















I always wondered what my water pressure at the RO unit was so I ordered a pressure gauge with the RO unit upgrade. My water pressure is over 60 psi which is good to go.



















Since I was upgrading to a 100 gpd membrane I needed a new restrictor. I decided to go with a combination restrictor/flush valve. The ball valve handle position operates the flush function; up/down flushes the membrane, side/side makes water.










Here is the old Spectra Pure flush valve with a 50 gpd capillary restrictor installed inside. 



















I added a filter housing to the unit so I could add another carbon filter. The unit now has a 10 micron sediment, 5 micron carbon, 1 micron carbon, 100 gpd filmtec membrane. Now I am getting 100 gpd to feed my need for 300 gallons of water per week for water changes. TDS is a little higher (25) but still well within what I wanted.

During my work week the GFCI popped which cut power to rack one and no one noticed. My shrimp colony almost perished due to the air pump being shut off. I do not know how long it was off but several hundred shrimp and all the BNs perished. I purchased a battery backup that is now connected to the air pump.



















I got this at Best Buy and it will power the pump for a few days. A nice feature I like; when AC power is cut off, a blue light illuminates that is bright enough to light up the room. Now it will be easy to notice a tripped GFCI......DC


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## DiabloCanine

Did a little work on rack 2:

Moved the stand for the 10 gallon tanks further away from the wall to make room for the Fluval 204 tubing going to the 29 gallon. With the rack against the wall the tubing was getting pinched seriously slowing the flow.










Installed a power strip, timed power strip, and light inside the bottom of the 10 gallon stand I made.










Moved the food supply storage here also.










Installed a couple of racks to store items used daily.










Replaced the cracked top frame on the 55 gallon tank, placed it on top of some insulation and put 5 gallons of onyx sand in the tank. Yoink is bringing me some charcoal SMS to mix with the onyx.










Should be able to add water to the 55 Tuesday. I plan on using the dual powered sponge filter that came out of my 110 sump and a Fluval 204 for filtration. This will be the last tank set up on this rack and will house a herd of Long Fin German Blue Rams. Next on the list is to jump the pressurized CO2 from rack 1 to rack 2 so I can get rid of the yeast CO2 on 8 of the tanks on rack 2. Additionally, I will be installing some fans to help cool the tanks on the top racks. I really need to start painting the stuff I make, bare wood doesn't look too good.......DC


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## Brunog

Looks like a nice setup!

I would recommend talking to an electrician tho... seriously...


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## Betowess

DC. Great thread, and it looks like you've been working your tail off.
Curious, what (generally speaking) water parms are you running? Are you mixing tap with your RO to reconstitute the GH/KH? Also, is it air conditioned in there during the summer. It must be.


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## DiabloCanine

Brunog said:


> I would recommend talking to an electrician tho... seriously...


Why is that?.......DC


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## DiabloCanine

Betowess said:


> DC. Great thread, and it looks like you've been working your tail off.
> Curious, what (generally speaking) water parms are you running? Are you mixing tap with your RO to reconstitute the GH/KH? Also, is it air conditioned in there during the summer. It must be.


I use 100% RO in all my tanks, around 400 gallons a week, only thing mixed in is some Prime, TMG, and GW ferts. The only thing I check anymore is TDS, temp, and PH. Don't know about the temps in the room for summer yet, it is pretty warm in there now. I am looking for a combo dehumidifier/air conditioner. Know of a good one for a small room?......DC


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## Gatekeeper

DiabloCanine said:


> Why is that?.......DC


yea I don't get it either...your wiring looks very clean and i don't see any safety concerns. Just a crap load of power strips and a high electric bill.

Out of curiousity though DC...have you had any problems with breakers tripping? You do have alot of accesories running and was curious if you ran some dedicated breakers for that room or if you already had a dedicated circuit?


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## DiabloCanine

gmccreedy said:


> yea I don't get it either...your wiring looks very clean and i don't see any safety concerns. Just a crap load of power strips and a high electric bill.
> 
> Out of curiousity though DC...have you had any problems with breakers tripping? You do have alot of accesories running and was curious if you ran some dedicated breakers for that room or if you already had a dedicated circuit?


Each rack has a seperate 20 amp circuit. They are shared with other stuff that rarely gets used, i.e., the garage outlets are rack 1s circuit and the water softener is rack 2s circuit. Haven't had any breakers trip though, I'm thinking all is good unless I am missing something......DC


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## Betowess

DiabloCanine said:


> I use 100% RO in all my tanks, around 400 gallons a week, only thing mixed in is some Prime, TMG, and GW ferts. The only thing I check anymore is TDS, temp, and PH. Don't know about the temps in the room for summer yet, it is pretty warm in there now. I am looking for a combo dehumidifier/air conditioner. Know of a good one for a small room?......DC


Do you mix in any Ca/Mg or the like GH booster?


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## DiabloCanine

Betowess said:


> Do you mix in any Ca/Mg or the like GH booster?


Nope.......DC


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## thatguy

DiabloCanine said:


> Why is that?.......DC



Because it looks like a lot of power being run through a few outlets and several power strips. 

Since that is a dedicated room, adding a dedicated circuit or 2 that are gfci protected at the breaker would be a good idea.


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## rnakas

Room is looking great!


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## Brunog

What 'that guy' said...

I dunno, i would be concerned about a problem of any kind, then not being insured because the system was unsafe...

Looks clean, but the outlets seem overloaded...

I would consult an electrician..


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## frasertheking

any updates on your plants


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## anthonysquire

I too would also like to see an update, pppplllleeeaaassseee! This thread was great, I'm very jealous. Have the floodlights done a good job growing the plants? I remember you mentioning there might be an issue with them overheating and buring out prematurely, any issues there?


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## vibes_jedi99

Dude your fish room make me want to buy a hous  nice JOB!!!


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## DiabloCanine

Here is an update: The fish room is doing fine, have no problems with the lights and they are growing plants just fine. I am in the planning stages of scaling back the fish room for 2 reasons:

1. Doing a lot of riding, bought the bride a sikl and just barely have enough time to do water changes on 22 planted tanks and getting overwhelmed with other tasks.










2. My new girlfriend will be taking a lot of my time.










I might be unloading some equipment this fall/winter.......DC


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## DiabloCanine

*update*

I took down the gorilla rack with the 20 gallon long tanks for several reasons but mainly for more room. I removed 7 tanks from the fish room but that was only 80 gallons, still have over 150 gallons in there. Here is a preliminary update of the fish room, more to come.....DC

New rack I made for a 20 Long and 29 gallon:










Top shelf of the smaller rack, it now has two 5 gallon and one 20 long:










Bottom shelf of the smaller rack, has a 55 gallon:










Storage room below the 55 gallon:










The two 10 gallon tanks on the end are still there:










I will update again with more specs when I finish.

Here is an update on my girlfriend:

5 months old now:










Turning into quite the lap dog:










She is growing like a weed, 5 months old and already over 50 lbs:


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## tropicalfish

Nice!

Are you using flash in your pictures?

If not getting a "clear" picture of your tank, you can use flash to make the blurs less noticeable due to shortened exposure time.

Who is that other girl in the sofa?


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## DiabloCanine

tropicalfish said:


> Nice!
> 
> Are you using flash in your pictures?
> 
> If not getting a "clear" picture of your tank, you can use flash to make the blurs less noticeable due to shortened exposure time.
> 
> Who is that other girl in the sofa?


I will use the tripod and get better pictures when I finish setting up the tanks. My 12 year old daughter and puppy are on the sofa......DC


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## A Hill

The new racks still look good, sad to see the rack you worked on get taken down so soon, but thats life:thumbsdow 

-Andrew

PS. Is there any chance you have some extra glass tops for 10g tanks sitting around the house you aren't planning on using since you're downsizing? If so let me know, humidity in my room is becoming an issue. If so drop me a pm?


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## Green Leaf Aquariums

Nice pup, it sure does have some snow shoes " big feet".


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## Green Leaf Aquariums

What kind of bike is that on the right?


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## DiabloCanine

Fish Newb said:


> The new racks still look good, sad to see the rack you worked on get taken down so soon, but thats life:thumbsdow
> 
> -Andrew
> 
> PS. Is there any chance you have some extra glass tops for 10g tanks sitting around the house you aren't planning on using since you're downsizing? If so let me know, humidity in my room is becoming an issue. If so drop me a pm?


No 10 gallon tops, I do have a few 20 long tops laying around now.....DC


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## DiabloCanine

Orlando said:


> Nice pup, it sure does have some snow shoes " big feet".



She will grow into them, is only 5 months now. Her Pop was a ScH3 @ 120 lbs, she will easily top 90.......DC


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## DiabloCanine

Orlando said:


> What kind of bike is that on the right?


'07 Harley Davidson VRSCDX Night Rod Special.....DC


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## oblongshrimp

they have 60" HO T-5 lights....kinda hard to find premade fixtures though as most of them are DIY kits. They are also hard to find bulbs for.


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## knuggs

Anymore pics of that bike, it looks sweet. By the way nice fish tanks, they got to be alot to handle.


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## DiabloCanine

knuggs said:


> Anymore pics of that bike, it looks sweet. By the way nice fish tanks, they got to be alot to handle.


Sikls have been put up for the winter. You are close enough to see it in person. Here are some older pics.




























And a sound byte.....DC


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## eon17

how many 20g long sliding hoods you got?


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## DiabloCanine

eon17 said:


> how many 20g long sliding hoods you got?


Do you mean not being used right now? 4 complete sets and 1/2 of another, 9 pieces total.......DC


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## Tdon1md

Sweet Scooter!!!! I love that V-Rod, matter of fact, when the Road Glide's paid off, I'm thinkin bout gettin one for round town................. but I digress.

Hey, are you still growing Limnophila Aromatica and if so, do you have any for sale? Also, are you still breeding RCS? I'd like to get a hold of 6-10 stems and 15-20 shrimp.

AWESOME thread btw. Thanks for sharing it with us!!!!!
________
Nexium Settlement News


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## tazcrash69

DiabloCanine said:


> And a sound byte.....DC


Drool, Drool, drooooooool


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## DiabloCanine

Tdon1md said:


> Sweet Scooter!!!! I love that V-Rod, matter of fact, when the Road Glide's paid off, I'm thinkin bout gettin one for round town................. but I digress.
> 
> Hey, are you still growing Limnophila Aromatica and if so, do you have any for sale? Also, are you still breeding RCS? I'd like to get a hold of 6-10 stems and 15-20 shrimp.
> 
> AWESOME thread btw. Thanks for sharing it with us!!!!!


I just started another batch of L. aromatica. I have 5 shrimp tanks trying to rebound but I have local folks in line and waiting. I think the shipping season is almost over for me this year due to weather. I will try to be less lazy next year and post more plants, threw away over 20 gallons of plants this year.....DC


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## DiabloCanine

tazcrash69 said:


> Drool, Drool, drooooooool


Loving those pipes!!!!......DC


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## DiabloCanine

Hehehe, You GO Girl......


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## monkeyruler90

update?


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## TwoStrokeKing

PURE DEDICATION RIGHT THERE!! Very Nice!


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## scapegoat

DiabloCanine said:


> Sikls have been put up for the winter. You are close enough to see it in person. Here are some older pics.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And a sound byte.....DC


love these bikes... makes me want to ride


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## DiabloCanine

The fish room worked great! Unfortunately, I lost interest in the hobby a few years ago and focused on mmo gaming and riding my Harleys instead. Recently, my wife guilted me back into the hobby; my show tanks are set up and currently cycling. If you are local, I have all the equipment that was in this fish room available. Sorry, I am not interested in shipping at this time. I am in need of plecs, shrimp, plants if you are interested in a trade or sale, PM me. If you sent me a PM during my extended absence I apologize if there was no response......DC


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