# High Maintenance tank but low maintenance GF! *UPDATE: ADA60P to Custom wannabe 60F!



## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

after a few days of playing with the scape
this is what I started with:
I didn't have much time as I had a 7 year old crypt sitting in another small tank waiting to be planted. I decided to try a dry start as I will be getting some more foreground and other plants to play with.











//end of first day of actual filled in scape.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

day 3:

attempted to moss paint.







after a few days..
it's been smelling really bad and the moldy.
Dumped the slates. cleaned the rock.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

day 6:

crypts melting.
mold is almost gone.
fixed up my scape a little since I got rid of the slates. Trying to get the wood higher above the tank.

a friend mailed me a bunch of MM. about 200 nodes.





took forever to clean up and plant.

Here's how we look as of today. MM's been planted for about 24 hours now and they already have noticeable growth.
Sunday 10/20/13


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Following along! Your besta stand has an interesting design. Don't recall seeing that one at Ikea. I'm curious as to how you're going to reinforce it with the 2x4's. Would you mind taking pics of what you did and elaborating on it? I feel confident in my stand now, but I'll be moving back to cali in a year and since it's earthquake territory I need things to be a little more safe.

Anyway, your setup is looking good so far. I like the game plan on the SS pipes. They'll look perfect with the white stand, silver Finnex lights, and conduit light hangers. Real euro modern!

I know the classic ADA 60p must be flawless compared to the newer (China made) ones. She's a keeper, good choice! I was somewhat disappointed with some silicone imperfections in mine. But hey, it hold water! 

I'd definitely throw at least on planted+ on there, if not two. I guess mixing it with one Ray 2 would get you the higher PAR. I just wonder if the reds in only one fixture would just get drowned out though?

*Edit:*
Ohh... I see what you did with the stand. You got two of the shorter Besta units and stacked them. So instead of one like I got, which would be 64cm tall... you stacked two shorter ones to get 76cm tall. Man!!! I wish I would have thought of that! Instead I had to make mine taller with a makeshift pedestal. Smart man!


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Brian_Cali77 said:


> Following along! Your besta stand has an interesting design. Don't recall seeing that one at Ikea. I'm curious as to how you're going to reinforce it with the 2x4's. Would you mind taking pics of what you did and elaborating on it? I feel confident in my stand now, but I'll be moving back to cali in a year and since it's earthquake territory I need things to be a little more safe.
> 
> Anyway, your setup is looking good so far. I like the game plan on the SS pipes. They'll look perfect with the white stand, silver Finnex lights, and conduit light hangers. Real euro modern!
> 
> ...


Hey man. Ya they are modular. So it comes with clamps and attachment hardware!

Your tank is awesome. It was one of the ones I saw that made me keep the tank! Thanks for all the advice back and forth also. 


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## Charrr89 (May 15, 2013)

Nice start is moss painting safe in a tank? Lol.. I wanted to try it when I saw it on YouTube..


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## ADEng (Oct 21, 2013)

Looking good so far. I am using the besta stand too and its looking good so far. The top on mine is bowing a little bit and I've added 4 1" x 1" wooden posts in the corners for some more rigidity. The bowing is nonexistant to the naked eye but with feeler gauges it can be seen. 

Keep us updated!


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Went to homedepot to look at materials today. Have an idea in mind for a light stand as I can't suspend my lights from my extra high ceiling. 

Looks the materials to build a ADA looking light stand will be under $20 bucks! 
Now it's either simple triangle shelf hangers drilled into the wall or bent conduit clamped to the stand.
Very tempted to do the conduit since the wall it's on is painted a special gray for my projector.

Will measure and get everything in detail later this week.





Charrr89 said:


> Nice start is moss painting safe in a tank? Lol.. I wanted to try it when I saw it on YouTube..


a few people have done it on the forums. I wasn't very successful though.


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## ua hua (Oct 30, 2009)

Charrr89 said:


> Nice start is moss painting safe in a tank? Lol.. I wanted to try it when I saw it on YouTube..





Down_Shift said:


> a few people have done it on the forums. I wasn't very sucessful though.


Many people have used this method but I wouldn't have used that much yogurt. You don't need very much at all. Some people also use buttermilk. That was probably your problem was having too much yogurt.


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## limz_777 (Jun 29, 2005)

yogurt was needed ? always seen it just chop up and place over rock/wood without anything added


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

ua hua said:


> Many people have used this method but I wouldn't have used that much yogurt. You don't need very much at all. Some people also use buttermilk. That was probably your problem was having too much yogurt.





limz_777 said:


> yogurt was needed ? always seen it just chop up and place over rock/wood without anything added


I thought I used too much. I put about a tennis ball of moss into the ninja with about a whole container of yogurt. Doh.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

*The Light stand::*

So I've been wanting to suspend a light fixture above the tank. The less in/on the tank the better.



Originally I was going to order this guy for 35 bucks with about 40 bucks of shipping!
Figured i can make a simpler and cleaner stand.


I wanted something more towards this style.



So... a trip to home depot and a quick sketch. This is what I had in mind.


One piece of 10' 1/2d conduit is only about $2.24! The bender is a bit steep, $40. The employee told me to just rent one from the front desk or even just buy it and return it later. I also asked him about extending the power wires. I want to run the wires INSIDE the conduit to keep it clean. Will be taking apart the fixtures to see if they are screw-in terminals/clamps or soldered. I will also put in a 2nd cable for the future when I pick up the second fixture.

I play on having a straight vertical length of 6'. This gives me above 2' of adjustment above the tank. The fixture won't have much PAR to spare once suspended so I plan to keep it as close to to the tank as possible. Then raise it when I'm doing work on the tank.

I have to mount the conduit on the side of the tank due to the "ikea" cardboard backing. I will have to make 2 bends. One towards the front of the tank to make the light sit centered above the tank. ~8". Then I will need another bend across the tank to suspend the light. ~24" (length of light). I can get away with cutting it slightly shorter for a cleaner look, may cut it to 22". 

6' + 8" + 22" = 8'6". The 10ft conduit needs to be cut. The home depot employee recommended a sawzall. Will look into this later this week.

I estimate the cost of the stand itself (conduit, clamps, screws) will only cost about $6. 
The extended cables will be a bit more. Have not looked at this yet. Also have to calculate the adjustment space and slack to plug it into a outlet. so give or take 12-13ft of cable each light.
This will vary depending on your choice or light/extension cable/ziptie to outside of stand.


the only thing I'm afraid of is conduit not being stiff enough and having a slight bend. Hopefully suspending lighter LED fixtures will not cause this issue.
Still the actual fixture to see how the cable is connected. And how to hang the fixture.

More on this later this week when I get it put together.


Ray2 and Eheim Can arrive on Wednesday.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

day 7.




Didn't do much..

mist the tank with dryfertz during its light cycle. I also misted it this morning after opening the top for air circulation.

Loaded the substrate with about 43 root tabs.
Alot of the MM are starting to get rooted already!

still saving the foreground area infront of the wood for micro sword, HC, or dwarf hair grass. Whatever I can find.
I plan on flooding the tank around thanksgiving since the rest of my accessories will be brought back from asia the week of thanksgiving.
as of now, the plan is to get the ray2 working and plant the rest of the foreground. maybe some moss on the wood for some more green. I have about 3 basketball sizes of moss in the other tanks at my parent's.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Wow... 43 root tabs? Isn't that a tad excessive? 

Man... I did the conduit light hanger with two 90° bends for hanging a single Ray 2 over my 60F. Two things... 1.) Creating the double bends was tough, it was a two man job. 2.) Not sure how you're going to hang two lights with that configuration?

I think I'd go with a conduit pipe on each end of the stand with one 90° bend going from the back to the front, rather than across. That way it's not only easier to bend but you'd be able to hang two lights easier with four eyelets.

Here's an image I found of what I mean... just a suggestion.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Here is a quick write up on doing that kind of light stand with conduit. 
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=59418
As per hanging 2 lights like that, you can probably get a small piece of aluminum or something and tie both lights together with a little bar, then use that to hang.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Check out page 5, post #49 by me. I linked to where I got my instructions too. This is how I did the double 90° bend on the conduit and attached it. 

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ow-rimless-build-ohko-mountains-256826-5.html


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

thanks guys. those are setups are exactly what I want to do. Except the back of the ikea stand is not wood. So I will have to mount it to the rear right side corner.
pole height to tank looks perfect on Brian's.

bending looks like a pita. will have to look at other options at the garage.


p.s. sexy tats brian


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

day 9.



Finnex Ray2 came in. Holy crap this thing is small. I thought it was the box of wiper blades I ordered for one of my cars!

There should be no problem hanging 1 or 2 of these on conduit. They are so light. And insanely bright too. Note my t5ho's are probably a bit dimmer than new but wow the difference is crazy. One con is the truth about the wash out of colors. It' s a cool white. You can see the contrast from the pink t5ho's I have.

I will leave 4x24w t5ho and the ray2 on tonight to see how the plants react >=)

Been very busy lately with non-plantedtank stuff. will leave some pics for now.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

*Back again for more. Old school 60P*

Day 10. 


















Came home tonight and noticed all my stems in the top of the hill melting and getting soft. Figured it was from the low water level. In an attempt to save them I flooded the tank up to the top level of the hill. Hopefully I didn't make a bad decision. 

I will prob fill the tank soon. I want to play some micro sword or hair grass. Only thing preventing me from filling the whole tank is I have to move the stand later this weekend to build the light stand. 

MM is growing pretty fast.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Will low 40par be enough to keep dwarf hair grass and micro sword happy?


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## Jnad (Aug 17, 2012)

Hello!

Interesting thread, but why not just hang the light in two wires from the ceiling? It is very easy to do and it look very clean and nice.

Jnad


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## Projectp (Oct 7, 2013)

Can't wait to see this tank filled out! How did the mini flood accident go over? I live on a 2nd floor and cant imagine what I would do if that happened, I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to have the 28g that I have in my living room.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

Ive grown both at that par and expect it to spread even slower than usual. how high do you really need the ray II? why not just use leg extensions to elevate?


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Jnad said:


> Hello!
> 
> Interesting thread, but why not just hang the light in two wires from the ceiling? It is very easy to do and it look very clean and nice.
> 
> Jnad


I wish I could, but my ceiling is basically the whole apartment. If I were to ever want to patch and paint, I'd have to do basically the whole apartment.



Projectp said:


> Can't wait to see this tank filled out! How did the mini flood accident go over? I live on a 2nd floor and cant imagine what I would do if that happened, I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to have the 28g that I have in my living room.


Luckily I know the people under me. They were very cool. And they had some cracks they were looking to get patched and painted. So I just paid for the repairman to come and cut out the wet spot, dry it out and clean out any chance of mold. Then he patched everything and painted the whole ceiling. It could've been alot worse with different people or if I damaged electronics. (I had a leak in my bathroom from the person above me and it damaged a light, it had to be replaced on their dime)



acitydweller said:


> Ive grown both at that par and expect it to spread even slower than usual. how high do you really need the ray II? why not just use leg extensions to elevate?


It's totally fine on the tank, but I wanted to have it hung. More of a style thing than function thing. These lights were definitely not made to be high off the tank. More to come in following post..


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Here's how my Saturday went:

Slept in. Woke up went shopping. Figured it was time to hit Homedepot one last time and pick up all the hardware.

1st visit.

Oh ya, that should definitely be fine in my sedan.




I call this one "stanced with poke"



read up on other ways of cutting conduit while I went and did other shopping. Just kind of left the car hanging with the poke for a few hours. I originally planned on bringing it back and cutting it with a sawzall. Looked on the Home Depot website for hacksaws. Found this mini guy, $4 FOUR FOUR BUCKS. Yes $4. And the reviews were top rated with comments of cutting conduit like butter. OK, let's do some parking lot cutting..





besides getting thumbs ups from everyone that drove by in their cars. This looked way safer! (The mall is only ~4 blocks from my house in city traffic)




Oh side story:
Here's what I ended up picking up during the same trip..

got lazy trying to hunt stuff down. made a few calls to local stores.. Dwarf hairgrass and 2 pots of microsword. Bought little baby crypts just for kicks.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

after unloading the car and doing other errands the rest of the day... I did some more thinking about the hanging portion of the project. checked out some threads from Brian and Spooln, did a few searches for other people's ideas.

Back to homedepot ~9:50pm.





After dinner and hanging out with the misses.
With a few drinks in me. I decided to start the light project.
~11:30pm
note: small ass city apartment.


the pole.


Here's my solution for the hanging.


Notice the nut on the hooks. They can pivot :bounce:






A total shot in the dark, found some hooks that fit the Ray2's leg slots.

Not very happy with the wire and the stupid furrels? (clamps for the loops) I think I will try to hang it with clear fishing line instead for a cleaner look.





need to clean up the wiring and stuff... purple extension cord is temporary until I figure out my aquarium controller situation...

The project took maybe a little over an hour. Very easy project. The bending isn't all that bad. Just need to know how to use the markings on the bender. This is proof you don't need any power tools! You can get a $4 hacksaw and cut the conduit! 

Project cost was around $20 bucks. That's including the hacksaw which I will keep around for other things. Bender cost wasn't included as I borrowed it from the store :icon_bigg


planted the new stuff too


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

The ray2 was definitely not designed to be very high off the tank. The light spread is very uneven. Obviously it stays mostly in the mid ground of the tank, but the fall off is very sudden. I'm afraid the foreground won't be very happy. Will definitely be looking into picking up a second LED fixture. Hopefully the planted+ gets out soon. Need more light.


And next project...



DigitalAquatics only offered me "free shipping" on anything I buy to replace my two broken Reef Keeper 2's. Kind of surprised at their service as they know the common issues with the display units and there's not loyalty or warranty trade in option. I bought 2 of these, my friend bought 2 as well. That's four RK2's! talk about loyalty!
Will be tearing these guys down and seeing if I can swap over parts to get one unit working or source out a new LCD display. I might just breakdown and buy a new controller from another company? I mean, I can get "free shipping" and a lower than retail price on amazon for a new Reef Keeper!

Will probably be filling the tank and getting the can. filter running this week also. The tank looks sad half filled. Need to open the box and see if the ehiems come with any usable media. suggestions greatly appreciated.


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## swoof (Jun 30, 2010)

Eheim (at least the classic) usually come with full media ready to use.


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## Projectp (Oct 7, 2013)

Nice lookin E90. Don't know where you get it serviced but if you ever want to trade aquarium stuff for labor let me know :red_mouth (I'm at chambers on comm ave).


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Making two broken reef keepers to one working reef keeper. 











Wired everything up. Set up the filter. Blasting co2. On 24 hour flood/leak alert to make sure everything is safe before cleaning everything up. 








d


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Projectp said:


> Nice lookin E90. Don't know where you get it serviced but if you ever want to trade aquarium stuff for labor let me know :red_mouth (I'm at chambers on comm ave).


Thanks man I'll keep that in mind.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Did a water change today to get rid of all the cloudy slime. Still some on the substrate. Can't get rid of most of it without uprooting everything. 


Does anyone know what these are?? I keep finding piles of them in my tank. At first I thought they were pebbles but there's too many grouped up to be coincidence. Thought it could be some kind of larva egg so I tried to squeeze it. They are hard.


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## keats (Apr 26, 2013)

Looks like KIX.  all jokes aside, did you use osmocote in the substrate?


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Down_Shift said:


> Loaded the substrate with about 43 root tabs.


Yeah man...might be the whopping 43 tabs rearing its ugly head. If those are O+ tabs, you might have a crazy amount of ammonia on your hands. Check your water parameters.


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## keats (Apr 26, 2013)

Uh ohh..


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## HSA1255 (Apr 2, 2013)

From your root tabs right... what kind did you use? Def looks like a plant fertilizer.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Oh that's not horrible then  I thought it was done kind of parasite egg or something. 

There's two piles one by my crypts and one around the grass. I'll leave then as is. Didn't know the osmo. Ferts get solid like that. 

Brian: will pull out the water test tonight. 

I don't plan on keeping any stock in the tank until December. Will be doing regular wc till then.


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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

Looking good man!

Wish I seen this earlier. I have the exact pole you made to hang the light I don't use anymore :\

Oh well

- Sent from a Phablet


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Random question. 

I have about 4 inches of space in the can filter. What should I stuff it w? Purigen ? Feels like wasted space


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Purigen is good... but you're not suppose to add it until you have a fully cycled tank. I also use filter floss and extra bio in my filters.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Random Question #2:


Should I get another Ray2 or a Planted+? 
The planted+ would have nothing par-wise with the ~18" of height I have.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

I'd get the Planted+ so you get some reds.. Plus you can run the moonlights if you wanted for night viewing.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

brian bro you are always on top of things lol.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

If you already have a Ray II, you should get the Monster Ray to supplement. You already have plenty of blue light coming from the Ray II led's and the planted+ will only only add more of the same LEDs + some reds. full RGBs would be the most bang for the buck and useful in your setup.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Tank has been pretty low key. I'm blasting co2. I'm doing a 2 hour light in the morning. Mostly for me to stare at the tank in the morning. 
It has a 12 hour cycle w co2 from 3pm-3am. Basically to save me electricity at night. I don't need to turn anything. Can't count the bubbles in the counter since its on blast. 

Very significant growth all around. Starting to get. Many leaflets of MM. The hair grass has been throwing out runners. The swords are getting thicker. 

Will do another wc tomorrow. 

Safe to say I'm in "sit back and cruise mode" until the tank is cycled and grown in.
steel lilys and 2nd light has been ordered. Both should be here late November. Will also be cleaning the canister and putting new media in it all at the same time.


Ordered a set of calibration solution for the ph meter. It's reading from .9 to 100.0 whenever the co2 turns on. Whooops.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Ph calibrated. 
20% wc 
Dry ferts dose
Some cleaning

Starting to get the clarity in water and the greens I want. 











After cleaning out all the dead stems. Had sold zombie crypts growing that I thought were for sure gone. They grew this tall in 2 days!


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

found an old lens I converted to Super Macro, here's the thread:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?p=4600930#post4600930



Some non-iphone pics:


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## swoof (Jun 30, 2010)

I really like this nice simplistic set up  If you trim that hair grass fairly close to the substrate (but not too short) it should spread a little faster.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

*Back again for more. Old school 60P*











So I was staring at the tank tonight and noticed some green on the wood. At first I freaked and thought it was algae. But I've never seen algae such a dark green and thick just on small spots. Then I remembered the whole yogurt moss thing. I remember peeling back some of the browned moss and finding some green. Hopefully this is a case of zombie moss and it will grow out some moss again.

If not.... Well I'll have to scrape it off the wood


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

swoof said:


> I really like this nice simplistic set up  If you trim that hair grass fairly close to the substrate (but not too short) it should spread a little faster.


I'll give it a try in a week or so. I want the grass to root a bit first.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

A little different picture today than a fts. 

Here's my SAA (small ass apartment) living room/kitchen. As you can see the renovations and remodeling of the apartment vs my old thread. I'm very very very where the tank is now. It's so much easier to work on and it always stare at it. 

Hair grass is spreading. mM is getting a little tall for my taste. Everything seems alright. Some surface scum that the skimmer lily pipes will take care of when they come in later this month.


I also ordered a corner nano sponge filter. Thinking I can put it in behind the wood and schedule it to turn on when the co2 and lights go off. Kind of a off gas and filter as I plan on using the tank for shrimp and cories. Maybe some cpds. Not exactly sure yet.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Here we go an update. 










MM across the board is pretty well rooted now. I'm assuming its gonna weave itself into a carpet eventually. The new greens are way brighter which was what I really wanted. 











Hair grass is being weird with some yellowing but it's spreading and growing tall. Notice the runners. 











The crypts are growing. 


Will be doing a wc this weekend

Should I be trimming anything? Cut down the mm and hair grass?


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Wc night. Cleaned out more dead plant mass. Cleaned the glass and noticed there's either algae or done kind of film on the MM. 










Growing HG. But not very green. Pearling.
Done algae on it I think.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

How do you plan on keeping the hair grass from overtaking the mm?


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Down_Shift said:


> Random question.
> 
> I have about 4 inches of space in the can filter. What should I stuff it w? Purigen ? Feels like wasted space


I would go with these actually...they work awesome. I have a 75 gallon with only an Eheim 2215 filled with these and I have no issues.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=269010


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

oldpunk78 said:


> How do you plan on keeping the hair grass from overtaking the mm?


I've been cutting the runners from the hg and mm and replanting them back to fill in empty spots. Will probably end up pulling the MM once it turns into a Mat and let the hg take over.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

hedge_fund said:


> I would go with these actually...they work awesome. I have a 75 gallon with only an Eheim 2215 filled with these and I have no issues.
> 
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=269010


Thisr look interesting. Looks like the porous rocks you use to scrub your feet. 

For a 20G I should only need no more than 10 calls which makes it cheap! Will check it the site.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Down_Shift said:


> Thisr look interesting. Looks like the porous rocks you use to scrub your feet.
> 
> For a 20G I should only need no more than 10 calls which makes it cheap! Will check it the site.


Check out YouTube for actual videos from public aquarium exhibits. I love mine. 



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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Update.
Filling in really well. 


Only issue is the Mm started dying off from the center out. Have no clue why. There are baby leafs under the black leaves.

Suggestions?


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Couldn't find much help DIY wise on here... so..


DIY double hanging bracket for rays!


Brand new planted+ I got last Friday afternoon.



after plugging it in and making sure it worked.. I started taking it apart to check out the hardware.






turns out when you buy a Finnex Ray. All the hardware is in that thin LED panel behind the plastic screen. The fixture is actually empty. Assuming the metal fixture is more for support and heat sink, we don't have to worry about messing anything up drilling into it.

Here goes nothing!

Ray2 and Planted+


off to the apartment basement to hacksaw the mounting plates. you want to make sure you have 3 holes. 1 for each fixture (2) and one in the dead middle for hanging.

take it slow, once you get a good dig, keep it straight! Use something as a guide. I used the cinder blocks and my shoe. Make sure you have a good new blade also. Made one perfect plate, then second didn't come out straight since the blade was pretty dull. Also make sure you sand the edges.. they are sharp! This is the same hacksaw that I bought to cut the conduit for the light stand, $4 hacksaw has already done 2 fish projects!



I used nut and bolt with a few washers. You need to get the shortest nuts possible. You don't have much space inside the fixtures.
Drill a small hole first, then up the size of the drill bit. You want these clean! I had a small handheld vacuum I was using to keep the metal shrapnel from getting inside the fixture and all over.
Careful DO NOT apply too much pressure when drilling, you don't want to damage the LED's on the other side. Also do it on a soft surface. I used a microfiber cloth.


bought some metal wire and hardware. Made loops. Figured the fishline won't hold two fixtures and the metal plates. The fishline looked clean, so I figured i'd splurge the 4 bucks on metal wires and hardware. to keep it looking fresh.






once i cleaned up the extra wire..



The S hook and why I said to make sure you have that middle hole on the plate!




adds back a little more color to the tank, it doesn't look as washed out. Also added more light. The Ray2 is obviously brighter than the planted+. If I had to do it all over again, I would probably pick up a 2nd Ray2 just for light sake and the height I have it hanging. The planted+ kinda screwed up the moonlight deal since both switches are on ONE PLUG. So I'm just leaving the blue moonlights on along with the rest of the light.

I'm happy with the light output now. However, lucky me... my CO2 ran out tonight. Will be refilling tomorrow.

initial light schedule:

5:30PM CO2
6PM planted+
8PM ray2
1AM CO2 OFF
1:30AM ray2 OFF
2AM planted+ OFF

8 hours of total light with alot more light for 5.5 hours. After I get my co2 back, I might tweak it. 



Next projects:
Regulator rehaul (parts coming in)
Inline atomizer (parts coming in)
Steel lily pipes with skimmer (parts coming in)
possibly adding a sponge filter (parts coming in)

tank is almost done!


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

One more pic. 

Here's the wanna be reef lights! Will probably never use them wish they just added another row of reds instead.


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## carpalstunna (Mar 22, 2012)

yup I just relized the same thing about the moonlights. Putting them on 1 plulg makes them unusable. I am getting some pretty high PAR numbers with the planted plus and ray II at 24". I have another rayII but running all 3 is too much Im already getting a little bit of algae.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

I guess I never commented on this thread. I would have freaked out if I saw you at the hardware store. Light bar looks very nice. Digging the layout, some stems in back would compliment what you have well.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Great job on coming up with a solution to hang two lights like that. As much as I really like it, I'd be apprehensive to do it myself because I usually end up selling equipment in the future. 

Anyways... Just one suggestion. I had my Ray 2 hung by S hooks too. I almost knocked my light into the tank by doing some tank maintenance. I suggest getting some carabiner hooks for safety.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Brian_Cali77 said:


> Great job on coming up with a solution to hang two lights like that. As much as I really like it, I'd be apprehensive to do it myself because I usually end up selling equipment in the future.
> 
> Anyways... Just one suggestion. I had my Ray 2 hung by S hooks too. I almost knocked my light into the tank by doing some tank maintenance. I suggest getting some carabiner hooks for safety.


Thanks man. 
Ya I'd sell stuff as well. Hopefully find a buyer for both lights! Unfortunately used stuff doesn't for much on here anyways. 

I'm looking for some nice carabiners that match. All I have are crazy colored ones lol


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

talontsiawd said:


> I guess I never commented on this thread. I would have freaked out if I saw you at the hardware store. Light bar looks very nice. Digging the layout, some stems in back would compliment what you have well.


Thanks man. Still looking for something red. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Down_Shift said:


> Thanks man. Still looking for something red. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


There are plenty, big leaf or small? Round or pointy? 

One of my favorite red plants is ludwigia sp. 'red'. It's not hard to get great color out of it and has small leaves for ludwigia. Their are plenty of Rotola species that would look great.


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## swoof (Jun 30, 2010)

on the S hooks you could always bend the ends in more so they aren't quite as open to prevent knocking the lights off the hooks.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

talontsiawd said:


> There are plenty, big leaf or small? Round or pointy?
> 
> One of my favorite red plants is ludwigia sp. 'red'. It's not hard to get great color out of it and has small leaves for ludwigia. Their are plenty of Rotola species that would look great.


might have to take your word on the ludwigia. I've had a few rotala variants.. If I were to do that again, I'd do get the tornado stuff(?)




swoof said:


> on the S hooks you could always bend the ends in more so they aren't quite as open to prevent knocking the lights off the hooks.


thanks for the suggestion.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Down_Shift said:


> might have to take your word on the ludwigia. I've had a few rotala variants.. If I were to do that again, I'd do get the tornado stuff(?)


What Rotala varieties did you have and what didn't you like? Their are plenty to choose from, some pretty easy to grow, some very hard to grow, most more in the middle. Although some varieties have large leaves, most have small leaves that fit this size tank very well.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

talontsiawd said:


> What Rotala varieties did you have and what didn't you like? Their are plenty to choose from, some pretty easy to grow, some very hard to grow, most more in the middle. Although some varieties have large leaves, most have small leaves that fit this size tank very well.


It was colorata? It was a pita to plant.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Down_Shift said:


> It was colorata? It was a pita to plant.


That is one I like. I can't recommend any that are similar that are easier to plant. If you don't replant the tops and pull the bottoms, you only have to plant once.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

talontsiawd said:


> That is one I like. I can't recommend any that are similar that are easier to plant. If you don't replant the tops and pull the bottoms, you only have to plant once.


explain pull the bottoms? don't understand.
The issue I had with it was they would start to multiple from one stem. Hated that look.

if i left it too long, it would also start rooting from above ground. other than that it's a beautiful plant.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Came home and saw this for the first time.
I can now officially say I have the perfect amount of light with 2 finnex fixtures.

Haven't seen any pearling like this since I set the tank up.

slo mo video from the iphone. don't mind the music, it's from youtube LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g_3GGF-NzI


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## manzpants92 (Dec 6, 2012)

Awesome start, this tank is going to look great after your melting problem and things grow in thick


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

manzpants92 said:


> Awesome start, this tank is going to look great after your melting problem and things grow in thick


Ya. The Mm melting is weird. It's bouncing back. But it was a weird melt. Started in the center. May have been from doing water changes with a dirty plastic bag? Or vinegar when I was cleaning the glass. No idea.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Quick stills of the pearling.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Down_Shift said:


> explain pull the bottoms? don't understand.
> The issue I had with it was they would start to multiple from one stem. Hated that look.
> 
> if i left it too long, it would also start rooting from above ground. other than that it's a beautiful plant.


Some people prefer to uproot the plant after they trim and then replant only the tops (the part you just cut off). This technique allows you to always have your plants looking the best. It will also likely prevent as many side shoots. I don't use this technique.

That said, side shoots are the norm with stems, especially under high light. If you leave room between stems, it's not problematic. Many people actually like this as it allows them to have a more "bushy" look, rather than just single stems.

Hope that makes sense.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Here's a tank update before I go and do the weekly WC on my Friday nights. Man I am so anti social lol. 


I put in 10 ghost shrimp a little over a week ago. All are accounted for still. Yay. 
They did clean up some of the stuff on the carpet. 


Stuff is still pearling like crazy. 












Only issue now is the algae on the glass. It seems it's only close to the substrate. Front and back glass. How do I get rid of it without disturbing the substrate??







































The MM is bouncing back pretty fierce!


Off to do the WC!


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Ended up doing a 50% wc. When it was half full took my awesome Dave and busters power card and tried to scrape as muh as possible. Also fanned the substrate and loosened up all the melted Mm. Shrimps had a good time also!


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Here's an update.
Tank has grown a bit. I don't think the hair grass is growing as well as the Mm. Maybe because of the substrate?

Mm has taken over. Here's a before set of pics before I did the wc and trim today. 










The crypts growing red and super fast now. 




























MM take over pics. 


















Moss wise. I attached some to see if it would grow emersed. Seems ok. I just trimmed and put it on the wood. Attached by itself. Also noticed zombie moss on the lower parts of te wood. I thought the yogurt moss died off. But looks like it's coming back!


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

*ADA 60P- higher maintenance than my gf.*

Took about 2 hours to clean up the plants. 

Pulled all the mixed up plants. Cut them up for replanting and separated any mixed tangled roots. 















































Really wished the tank had a larger foot print instead of height. Or I should have limited what I wanted to carpet the tank. Hmmm what to do.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Quick snap. Didn't do weekly maint yet. Will prob do it mid week and split it for the next week. Dropped in two amanos today that stayed in the bag all day long in the cold weather. Don't want to freak them out with a wc and cleaning now.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Cleaned the scape up. Trying something new. Pulling anything close to the glass. For easier cleaning. 

Had a freak co2 failure. Mass genocide. Lost everything. 8 ghost shrimp. 4 cherries. 2 amanos. 3 cories. 

Redid the co2 regulator with new parts. 


Tank is a bit bare after pulling plants and no stock. Will have to put more life into it after the new year. 


Also had some peet laying around. Did a quick wabi ball w the extra clippings.





















Growth from the crypts










New growth 


















Never posted a lights off picture before.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Day 2 of ball. Soil starting to fall apart. Maybe less watering.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

5 day update on the ball. 




















Looks like the Mm and micro swords are settled and growing. The Mm is growing very soft compared to submersed. 

I'm expecting it look like a chia pet lol.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Also went out and picked up 5 blood fin tetras. Unfortunately 1 turned into fish paste by the hob filter I had aerating the tank. And 2 are dead. Ones missing. Assumed dead. 

One lone tetra survived. My parameters are fine. Looks like either the co2 really shocked them or they just weren't hardy. 

I've had cardinals and embers before. These guys are way prettier to look at. Although the single tetra is a bit scared. The tank is a little too open without a large school. He's been hiding in the wood and moss unless I feed him. 

Will have to look into getting another 5. I'm thinking orange shrimp and orange laser cories with the blood fins (they look orange to me) and a few Amano. 




















Next project will be growing some clippings emersed with the left over peet I have just for kicks.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

*ADA 60P- higher maintenance than my gf.*

After fighting some bga. I ended up doing major rehaul. Unfortunately they rehaul was poorly planned and I did it right before restocking my plant with a large amount of fauna. 

20+ green neon juve tetras (that actually looked like cardinals)

7 Pygmy cories

4 Amano shrimp

6 oto

4 pumpkin shrimp 

Over the next two says all of the tetras ended up dying. 4 cories dead. 1 Amano. And one jumper oto. 






























Pics of the survivors. 





































Is this a female??









Tank seems to be stable now. 
Also order some rotala from cardinal keeper. It was a lot! Ended up giving it out locally. 
Rotala needs to beef up and grow. 










I lowered my light again in hopes of letting the rotala soak nutrients and fight off anymore algae. The cleaning crew had been keeping the tank tidy. 

Might try dosing again. 
Will need to put new root tabs in for the root feeders.

I wondered why my micro swords never carpeted. Turns out the clumps I planted them in were too thick and the runners had no where to go. 

Replanted all the Dhg and micro swords in small clumps. 

Special thanks to projectsp for helping out fixing my car this week. It was a nightmare and the repair $ was deep. He helped ease the sting a bit hah. 

Bought two new toys since they were on sale. 
Toms substrate vacuum and siphon. Works great the 20 minutes I got to play with it today. Per recommendation of a thread on here. 









Will be getting a longer hose to plumb right into my sink now!


And at koralia nano which I will be using for more flow. On a wave maker setting on my reef keeper. Will schedule it to turn on when the lights and co2 turn off to aerate the water. 

I'm hoping my SS lilies come soon. Not holding my breath..


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Sorry for the loss, what you think cause the fish to die?


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Sorry for the loss, what you think cause the fish to die?



The tetras and the cories didn't look the healthiest when they were in the bags. Actually lost 4 tetras. A Cory and a Amano in shipment. 

That and I was doing a peroxide treatment 2 days before and doing the rescape/trim the day of putting them in the tank. 

Just a little Bit of everything it seems


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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

I like the new rescape.

That's is a female.
One orange looks like a orange rilii shrimp with the clear mid body.

What happen to your car man?

And what ss pipes did you end up getting?


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

I think your tank and stocking will make a full recovery and bounce back.

Can't help but love the name of this thread though


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

h4n said:


> I like the new rescape.
> 
> That's is a female.
> One orange looks like a orange rilii shrimp with the clear mid body.
> ...



Sweet man. I'm really hoping they breed. I want more shrimp lol. 

Dreaded waterpump. 

I have friends that go back n forth from Asia or I usually go in the summer. So I pick random fish stuff up. Ordered some random stuff and extras to trade or sell later. Just the basic ss lily front aqHk. 











Crypticsteve gave me some trims today. So even more planting tonight. 

Been doing daily 30-40% wc as well. Super easy w the toms vac. 

Gonna leave it as is and let it grow. Then cut it back and start dosing.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Hey, when you order from China around this time of year (Chinese New Year) is it true that they stop everything for 2 weeks?

I want to order a simple bubble counter but I heard if it's close to their NYE, it takes super long to get.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Hey, when you order from China around this time of year (Chinese New Year) is it true that they stop everything for 2 weeks?
> 
> I want to order a simple bubble counter but I heard if it's close to their NYE, it takes super long to get.




Yes it's true. Maybe not 2 weeks. But it is a longer holiday. 

I hate dealing w shipping because sometimes things go wrong and you pay more for return shipping than the product. Therefore all sales final.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Koralia came in this morning. Spent most of the early afternoon playing with it. 

Woke up this morning. No floating stems. So were good on replanting for now. 

Will do a small wc tonight. Been a habit to do one daily this week. 

Here's a fts and a quick video of the flow. 










http://youtu.be/5m74cpsE51E


The koralia is programmed as a wave maker on the controller. It's off during lighting and co2. Turns on and off at 10 minute durations when co2 and lights turn off. 
^what do you guys think?
I figured I'd save the surface agitation to keep co2 in the tank. But I also thought I can have it on during co2 and lights so I can push more co2 into the tank and have it distribute in the tank better. That way when lights are off the koralia will turn off to simulate a more peaceful night time? Any advice which to do?


Cories like the flow. They keep racing each other against the current. Oto are already hanging out on the koralia when it's off. Hopefully we don't get any shrimp/fish paste. 


This guy is enjoying all the stuff getting stuck in the moss from the current.


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## Projectp (Oct 7, 2013)

Lookin good, love those shrimp!


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

*ADA 60P- higher maintenance than my gf.*

Been replanting stems the past few days to keep them rooted. Cut them a but shorter. The ones that seem to have settled in are growing already. 

Co2 diffuser was clogged yesterday. Did a quick bleach and tooth brush. Then soaked it in prime. Accidentally brushed my teeth with the tooth brush whoops. 


With the idea of using the cylinder to cut up the co2 more. 
Here's a pic until all my other pads arrive. 






















Parts on order
Finnex refuge w power head and fugeray fixture. Yep three finnex led fixtures on this guy!

Ss pipes

Moss planters

SS mesh 

Inline atomizer

Shrimp tools

A corner sponge filter I will probably end up not using now


Stock:
3 dwarf cories
4 oto
3 Amano
3 pumpkins
(For my sake of keeping track)


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

*ADA 60P- higher maintenance than my gf.*

Tank has really been doing well. Not much other than some short cleanings of the prefilter and 25% wc every few days. Usually twice or three times a week. 


This came in today!
The refuge. With a third finnex led fixture!

Going to try to get some parts and get the power head to stay inside the refuge instead of being an eye sore in the tank. 

Here's a quick mock up. 
Might move it to the right side of the tank later when I rearrange the pipes. Just need to wait for the rest of my stuff to get in. That way all the wires are on one side of the tank. I want to keep the left side open because that faces the hallway. Will look cleaner. 

Will be filing a partition of the tank w the power head, purigen, and the ph and temp probes. That way we clear more things out of the tank. 

Will be filling the tank with moss on mesh. And some free floating moss. And a colony of some undecided shrimp. 




















Could put the fuge ray perpendicular mounted on the 60p lol.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

*ADA 60P- higher maintenance than my gf.*

Picked up more pets today. 
4 oto
10 pumpkins 
2 bumble bees
4 fire reds that are berried!
5 CPDs
1 Amano
2 painted glass fish

Keeping with the orange theme. The glass fish have fluorescent paint tattood. Cpds have hints of orange. The pumpkins as well. 

Also played around with some moon light settings. 






































Keeping the regular yellow LEDs I have behind the tank. And adding the planted+ blue moon lights. Gets a blue glow with the glass edges and center background with a sunset glow. 

Shame finnex didn't put the LEDs on separate plugs.

Fire reds still in the mini breeder box. Need to finish the refuge this weekend and get them in there.


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## newbieplanter (Jan 13, 2013)

Ahh so this is your set up nice work, I wanted to know what exactly u use the RK2 for? I know what It does but what's it used for in a FW tank?


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## The Trigger (May 9, 2012)

Really cool tank. Love the lighing


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

newbieplanter said:


> Ahh so this is your set up nice work, I wanted to know what exactly u use the RK2 for? I know what It does but what's it used for in a FW tank?



Same uses as a sw tank. Does all my scheduling and monitoring. I bought a few of them a while back and ended up piecing a working unit together. It just looks better than a mess of wires and timers. Also has wave maker programs. The koralia is set to random schedule. And also turns off when there's co2 to help conserve co2. As well as preventive stuff like overheating or ph level. 

Might set the refuge to stop pumping water during co2 as well since I've noticed the ph rise from aeration. 





The Trigger said:


> Really cool tank. Love the lighing



Thanks dude. I just wish finnex used two plugs so I could have it scheduled!


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

*ADA 60P- higher maintenance than my gf.*

Did a quick mock up of how I want to plumb the finnex hob. I don't want the ugly pump inside the tank. 

Will be cutting it up w a dremel this week and cleaning up the plumbing. And finalize with sealing it all one piece. The pump has more flow within the box. 

Purigen and a few sponges to keep the pump from making noise. 





































Plants are growing. Pets are all happy.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Not much time to play w the tank. Been out of the apartment just bout the whole day. Glad I for to feed the shrimp though. Figured I haven't fed anything to the tank. 

Tonight menu. Boiled small chip of carrot. Removed a few hours later after everyone had their share.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

*ADA 60P- higher maintenance than my gf.*

Quick pic from this morning before leaving the house. 









I threw a scrape piece of vinyl tubing into the refuge last night. Turns out it could be a makeshift cave.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

A few snaps after I got home today


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## newbieplanter (Jan 13, 2013)

Down_Shift said:


> A few snaps after I got home today


Where did u get the otocats from? What's that red plant there in the tank?


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

newbieplanter said:


> Where did u get the otocats from? What's that red plant there in the tank?


The shorter leaves is alternanthera mini. 
The bigger is just a stem of hygro

Correct me if I'm wrong. 

Alter mini is growing very slow. Only got one small bunch of it. 

Will share once It gets bigger 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free


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## newbieplanter (Jan 13, 2013)

Down_Shift said:


> The shorter leaves is alternanthera mini.
> The bigger is just a stem of hygro
> 
> Correct me if I'm wrong.
> ...


Yea, I'll take some of that let me know?


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

I thought they banned those dye injected fish.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

devilduck said:


> I thought they banned those dye injected fish.



No clue. I've seen a bunch at some stores around here. If it makes any difference. The due fades away after a couple of months. Mine are already losing some color.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Been caught up with some work and things the past week. Hopefully I get time to tend to the tank. 

Did a 25% then another smaller WC last night to remove the surface scum. lost 3 oto and an Amano and pumpkin. Through out last week. I have a feeling it's from the thick surface scum.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Got home before the lights went out. Got a good look at one of the bumble bees!


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

New toys came in... Perfect weekend to do maint and everything else. 











Going to attempt to put a 2211 canister on the refuge pulling water from the main tank as well!


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Spent the afternoon cleaning the canister. Small wc, install the new pipes, plumb refuge. Get the atomizer going and putting a bubble counter on my reg.

Going to have a 24 leak test before cleaning and buttoning it all up.

Need to find a outlet that fits that smaller hose diameter on the canister. It's flow is turned back about 1/4. 

The jet outflow really increases throw. A bit too much for my tank. So the 2215 is pulled back a little on flow as well. Still messing w the skimmer on the Intake but it seems like it's working. 


Like everyone says the atomizer is crazy efficient compared to my old glass diffuser. 


Pics for now. Will update later will everything is a bit cleaner.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

The new pipes look good. I kind of regret not going with those when I bought mine. How does the skimmer work?


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

talontsiawd said:


> The new pipes look good. I kind of regret not going with those when I bought mine. How does the skimmer work?



It's a Normal looking Intake with a adjustable screw on top. You can adjust how much to close off the tank inflow which in turns sucks more water from up top froma skimmer-style floating plastic basket. 

You can also remove the attachment and throw a prefilter on it for normal use.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Sorry, I meant how well does it work, my bad.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

talontsiawd said:


> Sorry, I meant how well does it work, my bad.



Took a bit to mess with. You can't turn it to close off the tank inflow 100% or it stops the canister flow.

As of right now it seems to be working. I can watch little fine particles being sucked in. It's not going to pull in large debris. It's more for the layer of slime that grows on the top of the tank. I'll update in a few days.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Really nice SS lily pipes... where did you get them? I'm sick of cleaning the glass ones that's why I haven't even re-installed them on my tanks.


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## The Trigger (May 9, 2012)

Brian_Cali77 said:


> Really nice SS lily pipes... where did you get them? I'm sick of cleaning the glass ones that's why I haven't even re-installed them on my tanks.


I also want to know the answer to this lol


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

I know that these are usually from Hong Kong and are on Ebay and a few other sites. Not sure if these are those but I am about 95% sure they are those.


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## Matsnork (Jun 3, 2013)

Nice tank.

Do an ebay search for stainless + aquarium and you´ll find the pipes.


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## The Trigger (May 9, 2012)

talontsiawd said:


> I know that these are usually from Hong Kong and are on Ebay and a few other sites. Not sure if these are those but I am about 95% sure they are those.


I think you're right I just looked them up. I'm sorry but I just cant justify spending $150 on two pieces of bent stainless steel pipe. That's absurd


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

The Trigger said:


> I think you're right I just looked them up. I'm sorry but I just cant justify spending $150 on two pieces of bent stainless steel pipe. That's absurd



My friend went to a local shop and picked them up for me a long with other stuff. She sent em over here as a little gift box. It did take forever to get her to ship it though. 

I'm sure you can find the same ones or different variation on eBay.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

The tub has saved me yet again. One of the disconnects were loose. Had a small drip. But that was a easy fix and clean up from keeping the equipment on the tub!


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## The Trigger (May 9, 2012)

Down_Shift said:


> The tub has saved me yet again. One of the disconnects were loose. Had a small drip. But that was a easy fix and clean up from keeping the equipment on the tub!


I keep my Eheim in a 5 gal Home Depot bucket. Let me tell you, that thing has saved me on numerous occasions. Like the time I accidentally pulled the outflow hose off of the filter and 3 gallons of water were in the bucket before I could get the hose back on. Better the bucket than my white carpet lol


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## ConfidentBlue (Aug 27, 2013)

Looks great. Maybe I missed it but where did u get those intake and out take pipes? I love the skimmer on it. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

ConfidentBlue said:


> Looks great. Maybe I missed it but where did u get those intake and out take pipes? I love the skimmer on it.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



You can get them from eBay.


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## Cyanider (Mar 1, 2013)

Great looking tank! I'm quite jealous of your overseas hookup haha. Those pipes run over $100 a pair on eBay. How do you like the skimmer intake? That's the one I've been eyeing but the skimmer intake is something I've never seen anybody write about.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Thanks guys for the compliments. Been letting things grow out so I can trim and shape everything a bit. Almost time. 


Came home today with no flood  . Co2 was in check and the tank was super clear. I thought it was clear before but this is a whole different level of clarity! The tank looks like a ice cube. I also dosed dry ferts and lowered the light all the way last night. Plants look way happier.

Was suppose to do another small WC tonight but was tired and the tank was looking great. So all I did was top it off from where I left it last evening. 


I'm still messing with the skimmer adjustments. Played with it for a good hour tonight. Too bad there's no directions and no way of seeing how much I adjust the screw other than turning it all the way then counting how many complete circles I make going the opposite way. Getting tedious.


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

I'm fascinated by those SS pipes.  (great tank, too!)

I gather the skimmer part is not like the plastic Fluval ones that use a free floating mechanism to automatically keep the skimmer at the water level, in spite of evaporation and level changes? You adjust it manually to match the water level?


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

*ADA 60P- higher maintenance than my gf.*



kman said:


> I'm fascinated by those SS pipes.  (great tank, too!)
> 
> I gather the skimmer part is not like the plastic Fluval ones that use a free floating mechanism to automatically keep the skimmer at the water level, in spite of evaporation and level changes? You adjust it manually to match the water level?





It does have a plastic free float. Although I'm still tweaking the adjustments since you split the difference with the in-tank intake as well.


It's been a week. Had a Cory die this morning 

The surface of the water is crystal clear. Skimmer is working however I needed to put some plumbers tape on the add-on part of the intake since it was loosing vacuum to a small leak.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Great looking tank, Downshift! Sorry to hear about the cory, my lone Lamp eye killi decided to take the leap of death recently. 

Is that glosso creeping in one of the pictures? I think you have two Ray 2 fixtures suspended closely to the water surface, correct? Any idea what type of Par you're getting at the bottom?

Join the 60P club! Would love to include your tank in the thread.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Great looking tank, Downshift! Sorry to hear about the cory, my lone Lamp eye killi decided to take the leap of death recently.
> 
> Is that glosso creeping in one of the pictures? I think you have two Ray 2 fixtures suspended closely to the water surface, correct? Any idea what type of Par you're getting at the bottom?
> 
> Join the 60P club! Would love to include your tank in the thread.



Hey there. I lurk on the 60p thread a lot. Always makes me want to try different things to my tank! Your tank is great as well. 

It's a planted+ and a ray2. I have them about 2 inches above the tank now. Had a bad algae outbreak initially but everything is dialed in now and things are growing great. 

No clue on par. I always just raised or lowered the lighting as needed. 


That's not glosso. That's MM.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Here's tonight's picture. Just got in and the lights were still on. 

I really really have to trim this week. Just don't know how to keep it from looking Raggy after the trim. Suggestions anyone? 

My red wendtii (have had this plant since the beginning, 6 years) it taking over the corner again. The leaves tend to grow too tall and over shadow the corner. I will be breaking up all the crypts and possibly planting them closer together so I have more space to plant a thicker stem forest.

Would love suggestions on what to do!


Noticed a few more of the lime green shrimplets. And endler mama is gonna drop soon.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Well it's happening now. With a few coronas. Had to happen. Gf called it the amazon jungle lol.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Done! 












And the roak that's going to some local people.


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## Neatfish (Jun 22, 2012)

Looks great


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Update: Tank is pretty overgrown again. Fish are still happy. CO2 is depleted as of 4 days ago. 

A plan to rescape and try something different is in the works!


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## umarnasir335 (Mar 2, 2014)

Your AR mini looks spectacular! Are you dosing any extra iron?


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

I'm only dosing an all in one dried fert bi weekly after water change.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Update! Tank tank time. 
got bored of the 60P's dimensions. I wanted something similar to a 60F to play with BUT I wanted to fill the whole footprint of the stand. Shopped around and ended up asking forum member newbieplanter for his acrylic expertise. Tank is on leak test now. Will pick up the tank tomorrow and get started! Super super thick pieces of plastic!

Measurements are --- 23.5x15x9. This gives me a bit more depth to play with and 2" more height I need to clear my Stainless lily skimmer. And a few more gallons of h20.



*6/3/14: ordered 2 bags of Mr Aqua Shrimp Sand from Aquaful in MA. Anthony has generous + tremendous knowledge! DO BUSINESS WITH HIM!*

I ordered 2 bags as I want the substrate height to be in proportion to the height of the tank. Will probably try to play with rocks. No sure with scape yet, all I want is a crazy nice DHG/microsword mixed carpet and miniAR. Maybe keep a small version of my red wendii crypt. will probably need the tank here to start messing with the scape. I want some Ohko stone.. can't find any atm.

I won't be stocking the tank with much fish. Will keep my 2 tetras and 2 juve endlers in there until they disappear or I rehome them in my other tanks. Will be a shrimp tank with a school of pygmy cories and maybe a few oto for cleaning crew. I still have to move the surviving amano/peppermint/rili/orange sunkist/lime green shrimps from the 60P, there arn't many. Will stock a new colony of shrimp once I figure out what won't inter-breed.

Will probably have to lower the hanger for the lights as well







Tank: 60F bulked on protein (no roids) 23.5x15x9 acrylic ~13.7 gallons

Filtration: eheim 2215 + stainless lily pipes with skimmer intake + 240 nano wavemaker if needed

Lighting: Ray2 and Planted+ Combo on ramp up timer

Substrate: 2x Mr Aqua shrimp sand

CO2: Injected Azoo reg + bubble counter + inline atomizer


will be taking advice/suggestions on scape etc after I clean up the 60P and get the 60F-wannabe in house.


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## Bserve (Nov 4, 2012)

Looking cool!


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## swoof (Jun 30, 2010)

sounds like a great project. I have a similar acrylic tank i found at a friend's place 30x15x8.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Looks great. I love the 60F dimensions and I think the extra depth would be perfect. As a fellow Besta user, I feel that both the 60F and the 60P could use that extra depth and be just about perfect, though I like both sizes as is.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Update: picked up tank. Couldn't help myself but fill it when I got home... Just because. Will reuse the water so it doesn't go to waste. 

Here's prob one of the last pics of the 60p. 

Next to its replacement. 




















Now to wait for ordered stuff and to order more stuff.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Interesting changes and new title to this thread. Did your GF have a hand in that renaming?

Anyways, so you gonna sell that 60P or store it away for when you want to revive her again?


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Brian_Cali77 said:


> Interesting changes and new title to this thread. Did your GF have a hand in that renaming?
> 
> Anyways, so you gonna sell that 60P or store it away for when you want to revive her again?




Hey Brian,

yep gf always said the tank is more to maintain than her hah.

I will put it in storage. I have another 60P in storage as well as 2 mini-S's and a mini-M + solar fixture. They all use to be up and running in my living room, but then the gf implemented the 1 tank rule at my apartment :help:


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Haha... I have two tanks in the garage. Luckily the GF allowed a 4 tank up rule with me. Although I might bring that down to 3 on my own account due to lack of time. 

Anyways, your custom tank looks interesting. Maybe you should start a new thread on it to give it it's full glory and spotlight.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

Brian_Cali77 said:


> Haha... I have two tanks in the garage. Luckily the GF allowed a 4 tank up rule with me. Although I might bring that down to 3 on my own account due to lack of time.
> 
> Anyways, your custom tank looks interesting. Maybe you should start a new thread on it to give it it's full glory and spotlight.



Might have to do that. 

Hopefully I don't get kicked out of the 60p club forever 

It's hard to juggle so many tanks. And your tanks are always awesome too lol


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

*High Maintenance tank but low maintenance GF! *UPDATE: ADA60P to Custom wanna...*

accidently bumped this with posting a update in it...

my bad


this thread is done!

new thread


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