# Custom 55g with DIY stand and lights. Build (56K Warning)



## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Thought I'd start a journal, so here goes. I'm calling it a build, because i'm notoriously bad at keeping up with updates and such :help:. But I will try my best this time. 

*Equipment list:*

*Filtration:* Fluval FX6, Eheim Pro 3e 2076
*Co2:* 2x 6kg Co2 tanks, Dupla PH Controller Delta Set (probably won't be using this, not sure yet), ISTA Co2 Turbo reactor (will try and diffuse in FX6 on new setup) and a BioPlast solenoid Co2 Regulator. 
*Lights:*[STRIKE] 3x 30w Flood LEDs from Ebay[/STRIKE] 2x54w T5HO with individual reflectors, 1 10.000k, 1 "pink". 70-75 PAR at 20".
*Substrate:* 4x 9L ADA Amazonian, KCL, Dolomite, Red clay, Montmorillonite clay and osmocote.
*Fertilizers:* EI Dosing, double macros, Dry to tank. Add Mg and K at Weekly 50-60% WC (tap has all the Ca I need).
NH3/NH4: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: ~ 30ppm
PO4: ~ 2ppm
Fe: ~ 1ppm
Mg: ~ 6ppm
Ca: ~ 36ppm
 K: ~ 25ppm
KH: 2.5
GH: 4
PH: Co2: 5.95 without Co2: 7.28

*Flora:*

Heteranthera zosterifolia
Pogostemon Helferi
Pogostemon Erectus
Alternanthera Reineckii "Mini"
Alternanthera Reineckii "Pink"
Eleocharis Acicularis "Mini"
Hydrocotyle Tripartita "Japan"
Cryptocoryne Undulata "Broad Leaf"
Cryptocoryne Wendtii "Green"
Hygrophila Siamensis "53B"
[STRIKE]Hygrophila Corymbosa "Compact"[/STRIKE]
Staurogyne Repens sp.
Anubias Barteri "Nana"
Vesicularia montagnei
Vesicularia ferriei

Haven't had time to plant everything yet, but it's coming along.

*Fauna:*

100 Cardinal tetra "Paracheirodon axelrodi"
20 Pygmea Cory's "Corydoras pygmeus"
[STRIKE]12 Green laser Cory's "Corydoras sp. CW009"[/STRIKE] 14 Corydoras Strebai
12 Oto's "Otocinclus affinis"
Red Bee "Caridina cantonensis sp. Bee"
Black Sakura "Neocaridina Heteropoda var. Black"
Assasin snail "Clea helena"

*TL;DR At the moment pictures:*



*Tank:*
The tank is a custom ordered rimless with the dimensions 120cm long, 50cm wide and 40 cm high (yes, its going to be metric, use a damn converter  ). It has 10mm glass, and the sides and front glass is optiwhite. After receiving it, I would say the quality is equal to ADA. Polished edges so clear I can see down the length of the glass too the other side, and I can barely make out any silicone.





The tank and mess in the start of the build

*DIY Stand:*
I decided to build a stand too, because if I want one from the LFS I need to order it, weeks of waiting and really expensive. And by building it, I could make it taller, so I could fit my big 6kg Co2 bottle in the stand for once. Also can't beat DIY stands, waterproof (mostly) and can hold a car.
Mine is been built after DIYKings plans, and then custom fit some Ikea kitchen cabinets around it.











The stand build, and some teak stain on the wood.



These Ikea legs are brilliant, can take 125kg each, probably double that before actually breaking, considering safety margins and all. And the are adjustable, so leveling is a breeze, even If I have to move it 



Done with tank on top, and a poor cleaning job.






DIY Canopy mid build.



The old canopy, and the leds I'm reusing.













Layering of under soil ferts, done in this order: KCL (Potassium Chloride; aka. Muriate of Potash), Dolomite, Osmocote, Red clay, Montmorillonite clay.


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## natebuchholz (Sep 28, 2013)

Looking forward to seeing how this progresses.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

hehe, a little fun notation. The part about the stand holding car, is not even a joke. If the legs would hold up 250kg each, the stand should be able to withstand 1500kg if the pressure is even. Overkill maybe?


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## PhysicsDude55 (Oct 24, 2011)

Looks very nice!

The little feet at the bottom of the stand look very handy. Wish I would have incorporated something like that into my stand to make leveling easy.

Looking forward to what this will look like finished. What are your plans for hardscape/plants/fish?


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Not Really sure about the hard scape and plants yet. Have a big crate of rocks and wood, Ill just wing it when the time comes. The funds are kinda low at the moment, so plants will be what I have already. Have lots of C.Undulata,H.tripartita "japan", HC, A.Reineckii and H. Siamensis 53B, and small amounts of c.wendtii, P.Helferi, S.repens and x-mas moss. So I will try and do something with that at first.

The fish I already have going in the old 75g, are about 90 C.tetras, 8 ottos, 3 small ancis. and some platy fry. The tetras and ottos are definitely getting moved over, the other I'm not sure about yet.

Ill throw in a picture of my Desk black sakura shrimp breeding/emersed tank. The H.Siamensis and A.Reineckii really need some major trimming, comes in handy now 



Don't mind the arm, just trying to shade the bulb somewhat so you can see something 

Bump: Oh yeah, and I know I want about 2/3 of the surface area covered in hardscape/bushy an tall plants, and the remaining 1/3 with carpet of HC. And since the tank is going to be viewed from 1 side and front, I have sloped the substrate back in to the corner.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Progress has been made. Finished staining the canopy and mounted the lights. 

Now the remaining problem is to extend the wall mounts somehow, as the new tank and stand is about 15cm wider, and the canopy wouldn't be centered over the tank.







Bump: Haven't noticed the finger marks on the edge of the canopy before looking at the pictures..whoops


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Well, I more or less finished up tonight, with the build that its. All the stuff IN the tank is still missing 

This is the finished product and PAR reading (multiply number by 5, to get par). The picture of PAR is about the average PAR at substrate without water, it varied between 6.2-12.4. So 8.8*5=44 PAR. Little bit in the low side, but can always lower the lights some more, this should be adequate for Dry start to begin with.

My target PAR when everything is up and running is somewhere between 60-90 PAR. At that level you can grow pretty much anything, and its still not a lot of light so algae and trimming is gonna be less frequent, or at least thats the plan 

Also when I get more funds for the project, the next upgrade will be the lights. Not sure yet if I'm gonna get some nice T5HO or LED. The Ebay floods are not quite the color I was looking for, and the reliability is pretty poor.

The PAR meter is an Apogee SQ-120 connected to a multimeter for those who are interested.


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## Codski (Dec 9, 2014)

I have a question for you on the stand legs. I'm about to build my own DIY stand and I like the idea of adjustable legs for leveling the tank. My apartment has pretty uneven floors and I'll be trying to shim the stand for sure. But I'm a little worried about weight distribution over the floor. I'll be setting up a 65 gallon with a 20 gallon sump so I'll be running a little bit more weight than you. Do you think that those legs will create large pressure point on the floor or do you think it will be fine?

Your build is coming along well! Everything looks really well done!


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Thank you so much for the nice words 

Ill try my best and answer you question.
With 8 of those exact leg you should be fine, If the floor can handle it is another thing, hard to judge by not seeing it in real life. I myself have some really uneven floors, and the hardwood even gives a bit some places when you step on it.

I though of putting down some plywood or a board of some kind to try and even the pressure out, but I decided to try without since its close to a corner of the house, and the hardwood seemed ok at that particular spot so I think im good. I'm no carpenter, so by any means, we can both be WAAAY overkill, or the brim of disaster for all I know. But I do have some experience in DIY projects, and done some tanks before with similar circumstances. 

But In your case I think I would use something to even the pressure out, if your floors is in the same state as mine. The legs does come with small square metal "shims" that are used to screw onto the floor to secure the kitchen cabinets which they are intended for. So that will even out the pressure to at least double the surface area compared to just the pegs. I didn't use them, because I already have these legs on my kitchen cabinets, and they are a real pain in the butt to install correctly.


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## Codski (Dec 9, 2014)

I've took some structural design classes and also worked in housing construction for a little bit. I've got my current tank (20 tall with a 20 gallon sump) on a tv stand that I built out of 1" solid oak panels. It weighs around 150-200 pounds. The floor seems structurally sound as I have it placed what should be perpendicular to the floor joist's and along a load bearing wall. Its in the best place I could find besides the basement floor or garage. I found some of these adjustable legs with a foot print of 2 3/8" in diameter. Rated at 440lbs or 200 kg a piece. I think with the wider surface area I should be able to get away with it.


If I'm thinking about the physics of the floor correctly. The existing plywood on the floor should distribute the load out evenly between the joists. I guess at this point I'm more worried about punching a hole through the plywood. That sudden drop would more than likely splinter any joist and then proceed to fall into my land lord's living room and or bed room. I'm going to do some calculations quick to get a good idea of what kind of weight at each point I'm looking at. I'll post the numbers that I get in case you're curious as well.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

A little tip indicating the floor can handle it, was I thought If my beefy friend (about 95kg ) could stand on the ball of hes heel on 1 foot without going through the floor, it should be able to hold the tank. Don't know if this is at any help, but thats how I though of it 

Bump: Yeah, thats the exact same worry I have. Going through the first layer of floor, not like through the whole damn thing. At least here in Norway that wouldn't be a problem, we have building regulations here that state that the floor should be able to support 1 ton of weight pr m2. Sorry, English is not my main language, so im not always clear. 

And the legs you explained have about twice the surface area compared to mine, so if my logic is correct. The stress should be about the same, your just spread out on a bigger area.


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## Codski (Dec 9, 2014)

Well I did a little bit of math and I'll share all of my numbers with you but first I want to address one thing. Even though a floor may be able to support a 95kg man standing on the ball of his heel on one foot, that is for a short period of time. Say 10 seconds at the most of him being able to keep his balance. That translates to microseconds in relation to the time that your tank is going to be sitting on your floor. Your floor could "sag" or deflect over time. One day you could very well wake up with it going down floors faster than an elevator. Not saying it will, but without the proper precautions and calculations its not a risk I'd be willing to take. Anyways, onto the numbers. Mine are all in Standard Units. So sorry if they are a bit confusing. Here is a picture of all of my math. I just estimated weight to get an idea. Its more than likely over weight after displacement calculations of water via sand, rocks, and driftwood. Plus a 20 gallon sump really will only have about 10-15 gallons of water in it. 



Now as you can see I calculated the pressure on the floor in three set ups. One with 4 of the legs, one with 6 of the legs, and one with just the stand on the floor. Now according to building codes here, a floor should be able to carry a MINIMUM load of 40 pounds per foot. Again a minimum of 40 psf. According to my calculations with 4 legs I got a pressure of about 7343 psf. With 6 legs I got a pressure of 4895.9 psf. This equates to 51.4 and 34.25 PSI respectively. Quite a lot in my opinion. With just the stand it comes to around 1.40 PSI or 201.6 PSF. Now thats a HUGE difference. Now comes the tricky part. How do we relate this into something we can use? Well a tthe bottom of my calculations you can see. A 3ft tank spanning perpendicular to the floor joists that are a standard of 12ft long multiplied by the load bearing minimum will give us the amount of weight that that section of floor will support. I got 1440 pounds. So according to weight I've got 500 pounds or so to spare. But lets see what the pressure amounts to. 1440/(36"x18")= 2.22 PSI

With my calculations I've decided to go with a piece of plywood on the floor and I will shim the stand on top of that. Then I will be well within the minimum load bearing of the floor. Again 2.22 PSI is the minimum that the floor was designed to support. You could probably get away with 3-4 PSI and not have a single problem. It depends on the floor and the floor design. Here is a web site that I found and where I got some of my numbers from. 
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/aquarium_weight.php

Hope this helps some!


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Thanks for all the hard work, now I'm even more worried. We'll Ill install the square shims for sure.

But something about those numbers doesn't add up to reality though. As of here in Norway, and Europe in general Eheim tanks is very common, and the older versions just had some 2cmx2cm square steel legs pr 60 cm. And my old 75g just has 6 plastic pegs too, about 2cm in diameter. And the whole thing is built in just 18mm MDF. I [censored][censored][censored][censored] bricks every time I bump it, never had a problem though, and all manufactured stands here are like that. I'm sure we are missing something, because I never heard of one go through the floor, and alooot bigger tanks than mine put places without consideration to even leveling.Though tanks like that are much more forgiving with their metal frame leveling wise. With the numbers we are getting and what the floor is stated to withstand we should have a lot more failures no?


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

And as to try and fix the pressure points with plywood seems mute, as explained in your link. Does very little to nothing. And now that I think of it, my kitchen island is located in the middle of the room with a huge and heavy oak top, thats supported by 8 of these legs. With all the junk inside, cabinets itself++ It surely weighs a lot more than our tanks.

And 40lbs pr foot seems kinda fragile? Our codes would be equivalent to 733lbs pr foot (1 metric ton pr square meter). Or I'm messing up the conversions or math somewhere.

I'm just saying, something doesn't make sense here, and I think we are overly paranoid, but better safe than sorry.


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## exv152 (Jun 8, 2009)

Really like the custom tank! The tank is actually 62 US gallons when you calculate the glass thickness.


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## Codski (Dec 9, 2014)

It doesn't add up because all of my calculations were for the minimum load in mind. The architect more than likely designed the floors to hold much more than 40PSF. Code just says it needs to be more than 40. Housing codes change depending on where you go. So your codes very well could be 1 metric ton per cubic meter. I really wouldn't doubt it. I was just using the numbers that fit for my area. I really wouldn't be nervous at all if I were you. Just fill it up slowly and listen. You'll know if your floor can take the weight or not. If it can't, just drain out the water and go back to the drawing board! Can't wait to see how your build will turn out!


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Thanks, that settles a worried mind. Even though my quote in signature says its no use 

I know for a fact that its 1 ton pr m2, worked in wood shop couple of years an asked around. I will still install the shims, will double the surface area and as said, better safe than sorry.

And yes it actually is 62 gallons, don't know where I got 55g from 

Bump: Ok, I've started the hardscape. And this is my Achilles heel when it comes to tanks, so some input and tips would be awesome. I like the overall look so far, but I just can't seem to find a balance. Just doesn't look right if you get what I mean.







Bump: We'll looking at it in pictures gives a better perspective. I definitely have to do something about the rocks to the far left. What you think?

Bump: Maybe a more centered look? Moving the wood to a "peacock" like fashion and the rocks around them?

I dont know, this is hard!


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## Codski (Dec 9, 2014)

I like what you have going on in the hardscape. Try keeping an odd number of rocks. Looks more natural that way. Try taking out the far left larger rock in the back. Also You want your tallest point of your hardscape at the one third mark of the length of your tank. It can be at the 1/3 mark on either side of your tank. This is what professional aquascapers do. Its called the golden ratio, a good read if you're ever bored. lol

Maybe try switching the rock and the left piece of wood around. That will put that piece close to the 1/3 mark and it will look like a tree that is sending thick roots out into your tank.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Came out with another way of hardscaping too. But after reading your respons, I think that would be a nice scape indeed, if I picture it right in my mind  Ill try that too.

Here is the 2nd scape, more rocks and less wood in this one


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Sorry for no updates in a while, had a lot on my plate lately.

We'll, I went with my own hard scape creation nr.2. Not 100% after the golden ratio, but I like it. I planted it the same day as the last update, can already see noticeable growth on the Hydro and HC. Siamensis and Reneckii not looking to fresh, but as long as the stem itself don't dry out, they should be fine. 

Had some mold on wood the 3rd day, but aired it out a couple of hours and now its seems to have mostly died off. Also got some new plants in the mail, couldn't help myself. So have to re-arrange a little soon.

Added rubber mats and siliconed the edges for a more water ressistant floor. Sloppy job, but I don't really mind inside the cabinet, as long as it does its job. And I'm going to be setting up a Emersed grow in 1 of the cabinets, just need to build me shelf and hang the CFL from that.

Throwing in some pictures of my equipment too, sorry about the messy cabinets, its from my old tank.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Yesterday I managed to finish planting more or less. I'm now only waiting for some anubias and weeping moss.

Also finished the emersed setup. Used a 2nd box as canopy, which I spray painted matte white, still translucent though, so have to do something else. Maybe pick up some mylar on [Ebay Link Removed] The bulbs are 3x30w 4000k 1890 lumen CFL's. And I've planted some P.Helferi, HC, P.Erecturs, E.Acicularis, E.Acicularis "Mini", C.Wendtii "green", H.tripartita "japan" and H.Zosterifolia. And added a airpump, may have to remove 1 bulb though, seem too get kinda hot.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

A little update on the plants and the parameters. All plants are now looking healthy and most showing new growth. 70% stems was very droopy a couple of days ago, and since I had to move some of them in order to fit the new plants, I noticed the healthy looking ones had a longer stem in the substrate in general. So I poked all the stems down further into the substrate, and pored a little water over them since its the highest point of the substrate to boot. All bounced back, and now growing. Don't know if this would work with submerged plants, mine stems was trimmings of already emersed grow.

The new plants haven't done so much, but since they are also already emersed form (Tropica 1-2 Grow) they are all looking really healthy, and I guess its just a matter of time before I see growth. The Hydro "japan" is still doing great, and has done the best of all plants. Even though its submersed form when I put it in. So was the HC, and I think it finally transitioned and grew some roots, because growth is really accelerating.

The lights are on 12-14 hours a day, don't have a timer yet. Temperature sits about lowest 21°C, highest 24°C. Humidity is around 80%. Mist once or twice daily, not trying to hit the plants that are doing well so much, as its easier for mold to get hold if its constantly wet. But the droopy, small plants that are prone to drying out, the moss and sides of the tank for humidity.

I'll post some pictures later when I get a chance to get some good shots with not a lot of condensation on the glass.


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## 10kredline (Nov 6, 2014)

This is similar to my ikea besta cabinet. Do you have the link to DIYKing's plan for the cabinet? I need help on how to custom cut and reinforce my Ikea cabinet as well, I don't want to take the risk of it breaking on me with my 55 gallon. I love your craftsmanship btw, nice setup man.








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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Thanks alot man! 

DIYKing on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN4Y9AYuwcQ

Had to cut, and do some custom fitting on the Ikea cabinets, and had to move the 2x4 supports to just 1 in the front. If not I could not fit the hinges.Oh, and I had to cut a square hole in each corner of the middle support, for the 2x4" to go through. Thats about it. Also I have the kitchen cabinet, which is open top so that the sheet of wood rests directly on the 2x4 frame. Don't know how I would incorporate your top into that design though. Maybe take of the top of your cabinet, if thats possible. Then build the stand inside, and then remount you top on the 2x4 frame..that should work. 







As you can see, I skipped the support on the side, and moved the other one a little. The downside to this is that the short ends 2x4" wont get much support, but as my tank has the corners on the length wise 2x4" which have support. I'm pretty sure it will be fine. Seeing the pre-made stands coming with tanks nowadays, even you with the cabinet you have now is more robust. But again, I'm tired of being nervous about my stand every time I slightly bump it, or if the mdf has soaked up some water and has a crack somewhere I cant see...you never know with mdf.

Bump:

Bump:

Bump: Here is a update on the progress. Stems are looking great, only Heteranthera zosterifolia struggling a bit, but to compare to the other plants, the stems was the longest to bounce back from the replant, and its the only recently planted stem, so I guess its just lagging a little behind. Eleocharis Acicularis "Mini" hasn't done much, looks green and healthy but no new noticeable growth. HC is starting to fill out and sending out spreaders ever so slightly.

Also played around a bit with my camera so some bonus close ups 























Old tank, was severely neglected as I never could get the flow right and BBA won that battle. This is after a major trim, and most of the plants taken out and used for my other tanks. Gonna sell this one. Just wanted to post a picture so you can see how the Crypt. Undulata broadleaf turns out, haven't seen many around here. Makes 5-6cm broad leaves and becomes very bushy and grew to about 50cm, probably taller If the tank was. In other words HUGE crypt, but I love it. Upper part of leaves are different shades of green, and bronze/red undersides. Only have 1 scrawny looking in the new, but it will fill in in no time. And also, they are one of the crypts that actually enjoys high light, and is a surprisingly fast grower.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

The awsome thing about pictures is you get a better perspective of things, and the exposure and lighting differances make you sometime spot things you other wise wouldn't.

Seems like I didnt completly kill the mold. If you look at the picture I posted before, you can see like a little more whiteish area around the rock and EA"mini" which I marked on this. And on further inspection, sure was some mold survivng. Didnt notice this before I looked at the picture, and suddenly saw a slight change in shade of color in substrate. Its like small white hairs, but before it was much denser. Gonna try and dose my other tank 2x normal Excel strength, and take water from there and spray it down. If that doesn't work, its over to H2O2. If not even that works, I guess i'm flooding before it starts choking out plants.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Oh yeah, and also I will soon be receiving a 3d printer. Long story short, kickstarter backed a printer 2 years ago, they ran out of money before shipping everything, and now I finally managed to get them to deliver it to shipping courier, and ill handle it myself. So first off ill just try and print some simple T's, elbows etc for setup of the filter. But the possibilities are endless. If the diffusing of co2 into the canister doesn't work, ill just print a reactor with vortex creating input nozzles, intricate pathways and "chopping blades", best reactor ever for like 5-10$ of plastic ...and a truckload of hours making models, shh, don't kill the joy. 

You need a clamp, fitting, holder, intakes, spray bars in what ever quirky dimensions you might need. Couple of hours of printing and you good to go. For me as a DIY man, on about everything, my motto is, if another human being can do it, so can I. I have a brain and a body too, so with training I will be able to do it too. This is a godsend to me. So many times I've been needing small part for projects, either computer, electronics, chemistry , aquarium what have you (jack of all trades, master of none unfortunately  ) to realize they don't even exist a lot of the time. All a thing in the past soon. AS you probably can tell, I'm pretty stoked about it


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## Codski (Dec 9, 2014)

Looks good so far! I'm jealous that you got a 3D printer! My university has one and I watch the professor print stuff off all the time. I'd love to own one eventually. Too bad they are so darn expensive! There are so many possibilities with then


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Wasen't too bad actually. Its a RigidBot 10x10x10 with some upgrades extra parts and [censored][censored][censored][censored] load of filament. Totaled around 480$ ish.


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## 10kredline (Nov 6, 2014)

Thank you!! I'm planning to work on the custom cabinet this weekend. I'm glad I found your thread..lol. I was trying to figure out how to cut a gap for the door hinges but after seeing your clever design, I'm set. As for the top of my cabinet, I'll probably just keep it instead of replacing it like yours and just disassemble the whole thing when I cut it. Thanks again for the link! Your tank is an inspiration..lol. Looking forward to seeing your tank after it's settled.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Believe you me, the time and headaches I had to find a way to get the hinges to fit, from cutting wholes in the 2x4, using dremel to inlay them etc..then suddly I just thought, Why not just 1 support, its not a huge tank, and DIY stand are usually really overkill. I always forget KISS (Keep it simple stupid) when I'm mid project 

PS: Don't forget to fit hinge "holder" and adjust the doors before you start putting in the 2x4". I didn't, and it was a pain in the butt to screw them in, couldn't use a drill or screwdriver. Ended up using a wrench and bit, took forever

Edit; Also, you may have to drill new holes in the door for the hinges, mine was 35mm and 8mm for 2 small guideplugs (screwless design) for the main hole you need a frostner bit.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

We'll the ebay floods are failing one after another now. Had them about 6 months. I can say for the price color and light intensity is pretty good, but the reliability is horrible. 4/10 will not buy again.

So I'm in a need of a new light. I have been looking at BuildMyLed and Ecoxotic E-series. The PAR charts on BML say the XP series would be adequate for the width of my tank PAR wise. The Ecoxotic's PAR charts is far less specific so I don't really know if it will cover the entire width of the tank with about 45-50 par in the lowest areas.

What do you guys think?
I want to go with Eco if it has enough par, as it has a lot of nice features, if not it's the BML 7k XP.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

With further research, it seems like the BuildMyLed puts out almost twice the PAR of the Ecoxotic E-Serie/Satellite Plus Pro. But with shipping and customs to Norway the BML fixture would total about 650$, thats some serious cash for some lights. Or I could go the less fancy Odyssea 4x54w with new bulbs for 200$. The E-series aren't to expensive either, but as there par charts say its 60 par at 18" depth directly under fixture, so it will probably be pretty low par furthest away from center.

And I think 4x54w t5ho puts out a ton of par, even though the Odyssea reflector are garbage. Do you agree, or am I totally wrong? Seen so many mixed reviews about the Odyssea fixtures.
Bah, but man, I really wanted those features and flexibility of the Eco..and 2 fixtures would just be as expensive as a BML 
Any Ideas?

Edit: Running cost is not a problem, power is pretty cheap here.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

I went with the Ecoxotic 48"-60" e-series. After reading up on par written by Tom Barr I see the ada tanks runs pretty low par actually, so I'll try it. If it's not sufficient ill supply it with a 54w t5 with a HQ reflector Arcadia I have lying around, until I can afford a 2nd fixture.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

I cancelled the Ecoxotic after researching some more and found out I would need two fixtures, which would run me about 1000$ total with shipping and import charges so I went with 2x54w t5ho with High quality individual reflectors instead. Cost me about 140$, biiiiig difference. Bought an extra new bulb if I need 3x54w, as I already have the Arcadia 1x54w t5ho. If not, it will be a spare. Always good to have.



Bump: Oh yeah, and the fixture I bought was a cheap "warehouse" fixture from my local hardware store. It would only fit 54w t5ho 114.9cm, not 120cm. So I will have to build another canopy. Fortunately the bulbs are the exact same length, to the millimeter as my tank, with only the connecting pins on the tubes sticking out over the edge. Temporarily that means I can just rest them on the rim of the tank. Have to be lucky sometimes too 
Heres a link to a thread I started in "Lighting" with all the headaches and tips along the way if anyone's interested. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?p=7595674&posted=1#post7595674


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Also picked up some cheap Corys I need some help ID'ing, was just labeled as "Catfish". Looking at some pictures it could look like Coryodoras Strebai, what do you think?



So I will be changing these for the CW009, its a cool fish no doubt, but its really expensive and It might kinda fade into the scape, as its much the same green shade as the HC, Japan etc. The one I would really love though, is a cory I had couple of years ago, don't remember the "number" but it was called Orange laser. Same as the CW009, just with a bright fluorescent orange stripe, and orange/green/bronze shade scales. Can't get a hold of it anymore though


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

Sterbai, yes. One of my favorites. Wish I could find them cheap!


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Payed 3$ each  a steal. Or at least here, cheapest Corys usually go for about 5$ a pop. Got 14. He also had which I think was Corydoras duplicareus for the same price.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Thats enough fish for now. Seems like alot but the cardinals and pygmeas are tiny, and quickly disappear with bushy plants. Or atleast thats my experience in my 75g. Originally bought 30 pygmeas and thought I only had about 10 left. Fish this size disappear overnight with my cleaning crew, so you would never know. Until I heavily thinned out the plants, they popped out again. Same with the cardinals, see maybe 30-40 of them at a time, unless I turn off the filter, feed them, and sit frozen a couple of minutes, they'll come out. And seeing as I have a FX6 atleast (may use the eheim too, have to check flow first) it should handle the load no problem.

Now its only to think out a decent looking, not to expensive or to big canopy for the t5's. There goes my night of sleep


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Here is the canopy I came up with. Not pretty, but does the job. As soon as I recive my 3D printer, ill make something more sleek. And probably drop hanging it, as if I need to adjust the height, ill print some new legs 

The lights really make the colors pop compared to the leds, just look at that reineckii! 
When hung about 26" from substrate I got a nice even PAR of 55-70 over the whole footprint, so pretty happy with that. Atm I just have it on the rim, since i'm doing DSM algae will not be a problem. 

Had more mold form and plants stagnated somewhat over the last days, except for the stems. So I sprayed it down with some H2O2 this morning, and took of the cling film all together after reading some of tom barr's replies on Barr Report on the subject. Ill see if I maybe add a computer fan too tomorrow. Some of the A.Reineckii "mini" seem to have melted, I don't know if it was the MH which was to bright and hot, or if it was the H2O2. Hopefully some will survive so I can propagate more. Would hate to need to buy more from my own stupidity. Does make sense its too humid though, Stems are doing great, which is somewhat elevated from the substrate, while the lower/carpet plants not so much.









Bump: The light isn't nearly as blue as the camera would make you believe. More of a pure cold white, with a hint of blue and pink.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

After closer inspection, most plants took a hit from the H2O2, except from the A.Reineckii and H.Siamensis. Those are some hardy plants! Had these 2 for years, just taking stems of the emersed mother plants. And they grow no matter what I throw at them, even when other easy plants die.

The hardest hit is deffinetily the A.reineckii "mini" and the moss. But also the p.erectus, japan, HC and Heteranthera zosterifolia has some melting/brown spots. Nothing to bad though, pretty sure most will bounce back fine. Eleocharis Acicularis "Mini" hasen't done much at all, pretty much the same as the day I planted it. Then again, when I was growing normal Eleocharis Acicularis emersed and the S.Repens would just grow horribly slow, much faster underwater. I used full strength 3% H2O2, that was my mistake. Others that had used H2O2 in DSM have diluted it to 1:4, which I missed in the panic to kill the mold. Read a comment on another thread who had the same issue which scared me "yeah, thats mold, and it will choke out and kill you plants FAST!" The good news is it seems the mold is gone for now.











Been so occupied with the light and tank, completely forgot about the emersed setup. Doing great, better than my Dry start.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

I have been a trip for a little while, so no updates. 

So the mold just kept reappearing, choking out the HC at the same rate it grows. I tried the h2o2 which cleared it up for some time, but melted some of the plants. Excel and Esha 2000 (which is a fungal medicine for fish) didn't do much to the mold. Yesterday I tried the last chemical in my arsenal that might work on mold, AlgaeFix. This is a very effective biocide and relatively harmless compared to many other products in the same category, but this is the REALLY big guns, I only use when everything else has failed. Had a 250ml bottle for 3 years, and prolly 200ml left. So use it seldom. But guess what, cleared it up in no time. And worked much better than even H2O2 in this case. And no melting, brown spots. Plants couldn't care less about the algaefix. 1 drop of algeafix was the smallest I could dose, and with a 250 ml spray bottle that would be roughly 10 times the recommended strength. 

I also experimented a bit with air flow, and humidity. Without cling film the humidity would stay around 50-60%. The plants handled this fine, but a bit slower growth. The mold more or less stopped spreading, but didn't die. Then I added 2 computer fans for circulation, and "re-installed" the cling film. Now the humidity sits at about 85-90% and the plants do seem to grow a lot quicker, and with the fans in there the mold have been spreading veeery slowly. So imho, air circulation and not having standing water/puddles is top priority in DSM. And when hell breaks loose, bring out the algaefix! 

Bump: On 2nd though, its probably the temperature that is increasing the growth rate. If i'm not mistaken, and correct me if i'm wrong. But I do recall that the metabolism/cell division in some organisms increase with temperature, which would make it grow faster, but also require more nutrients for healthy growth. The temp. without cling film is around 23°C and with its about 27°C. So it does make some sense. Not sure if this applies to plants though.

Ill post some pictures later.

Just wanted to add for those who are wondering why I haven't just done it submersed or flooded it yet, even Tom Barr says if you have Co2 just do it submersed. But I wanted to do DSM to get the plants rooted and growing, so its ready to compete with the algae faster. Sure the plants have to transition from emersed to submersed, but they already have a well established root system so it should be rather quick I think compared to just planted without/little roots. Also, the ADA will start cycling in the mean time, since there is water in the substrate. And the last added bonus of the DSM, I would expect it to be a lot less disturbance of the substrate when you eventually fill it, with the plants already rooted and "securing" the substrate.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Quick picture update:
As you can see, there is quite a bit of browning on the HC, but thats a good sign as of now. Yesterday, all that brown stuff was white, not good :O


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Maybe ill just fill it. Less headache. I'm missing a couple of parts for the FX6 though to get it rigged up to the new tank. So ill try and make a diy co2 in-tank reactor and use a 3000l/h circulation pump as a temporary thing.


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## Mitashade (Jan 8, 2015)

I have no experience with dry start, but whatever you do, this will be a beauty.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Mitashade said:


> I have no experience with dry start, but whatever you do, this will be a beauty.


Thank you roud:

I filled it the same day as my last post. Have not been updating because of my camera got lost in the luggage in an airport. Just got it back and will do some more posting when I get home.

I had some problem with the HC still dying after I filled it. Did a large waterchange, and full Algaefix and Excel treatment (Initial dose) for 3 days. Was finally able to kill of all mold, and HC was recovering nicely.

Then by my own stupid mistake, I had not reattached the powerhead properly. So after awhile it came loose from the tank, and sprayed half of my HC and the Amazonia along with it all over the tank, amazingly this is the only time I had any clouding with the Aqua soil this far, even then it cleared in 3-4 hours after a big WC. That was a real pain to clean up. I will never not pay attention to the suction cups again when attaching something, so I guess I at least learned a lesson.

At the moment the plants have grown substantially and doing well. Besides from I am having some trouble with GSA and twisted leafs on the AR's.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Here's is a couple of tank shots. Sorry about the glare, worst time of day to take pictures of the tank.





Trimmed all stem plants once, and the "Japan" 4 times already


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

Glad to see this finally flooded. I have zero experience with the DSM. Are you going to cycle and add fish now?


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Yeah, I'm mid nitrite cycle. Guessing 1-2 weeks before I can start adding fish and shrimp.


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

That looks fantastic!


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## Immortal1 (Feb 18, 2015)

Tank looks great!!


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

The Dude said:


> That looks fantastic!





Immortal1 said:


> Tank looks great!!


Thanks for the feedback! I'm pretty proud of it myself comparing to my other tanks in the past :tongue:

Seems like i'm finally getting the better of the GSA and twisting to. With a little help from Hoppy in another thread, and by my own mistake by not measuring twice. I found out that my lights was pretty high, so I raised the canopy 12". Now its sits so high it looks weird, I want too add some floaters so I can lowered it a bit again. Haven't decided on which yet though, feel free to chime in. I'm thinking of azolla caroliniana at the moment, have to research a bit more though.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

I guess my cycle is coming along. No idea where this guy came from, no pest snails in the tank plants came from nor have I ever seen this species of pest in Norway before, rest of the plants was emersed or in vitro grown. Guess it has to be from the moss from Singapore that had some eggs. Chucked in my old community tank, will be snack for my assassins.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

A couple snails isn't a big deal. I have an assassin or two in my tank (never seen them both at the same time) and my pest snail population is well within control. You'll be good I'm sure!

Where do you host your photos? They are awfully small for me.

Also, good to hear you are mid nitrite cycle. Won't be long!


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

I'm hosting at postimg. Its thumbnails, click on them and they become original size. The snail was in my new tank which was started with DSM and I have not added anything to the tank. I'm not worried as soon as the assassins are in there 

Checked my nitrites today. Dropped from off the charts yesterday 3.3ppm+ to 0.3ppm today. So i'm guessing its done, just a large WC after the lights are out and i'm pretty sure the bacteria can now keep up with the ammonia/nitrite.

I'll start slow with shrimp/snails and maybe the C.strebai to start with.

Bump: Did a big trim on the Hygrophila and replanted the tops, get it a bit denser and I don't want to lose any plant mass yet. Also cleaned all the algae I could and not so great looking leafs. Hopefully things will start to settle down soon.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Looking back at the last picture I can tell the plants have really taken off growth wise. Some algae is still present. Dosing regular EI at the moment, with extra PO4. As something seems to be stripping the water of it. It has started to stabilize finally. I've had almost 2 weeks with dosing approx. 8ppm PO4 everyday, 24 hours later test reads 0. Now I dose 6ppm PO4 every other day, and its barley detectable after 48 hours. So its settling down.

I also discovered a big mistake (or should i say mistakes) I was doing. Since I've been trying so hard to forget everything I learned over the years that was wrong, I said to myself "think EI, Think EI!". In this mindset I didn't occur to me that KH/GH is not the same as nutrients, and cant be dosed "as you like" with pretty much no bad consequence. So what I have been doing, to try an stabilize the GH a little bit higher and KH for filter cycling, is dosing CaSO4/MgSO4 and NaHCO3 at rediculous amounts, and have had fast, often and baaaad KH/GH fluctuations.

So in order to fix this, and make things easier for myself and probably more stable for the tank is research what my tap water contains. The "product deceleration" of the water states that it has 24ppm Ca and 0.3ppm Mg. So i'm just gonna add 4-6ppm ish Mg at each water change and nothing else (beside de-chlor of course). Slowly acclimating my tank back to tap parameters with 10% WC's each day. Tap is 4 dGH and 3 dKH. Tank at the moment is 6 dGH and 3 dKH so not too far of. But it has been up and down from 0-12 KH, 2-16 GH in a matter of hours/days several times, its so bad I know :S
Lesson learned for sure.
No wonder my poor reineckii's where twisting.

Will post some update pictures tomorrow when the lights are back on.

Bump: Oh, I also added 15 amano and about 50 Black sakura couple of days ago. After reading 0 NH3/NH4 and NO2 for 2 days. They don't seem to mind the high Co2, 65-75 ppm according to different methods. I am a little bit surprised. Thought for sure I would be seeing some distress in the shrimp at this level. As in going for the surface, jumping out, not being active. But not the case, so I think I will keep my Co2 at that level for now, how to recheck when adding other livestock. Yeah, also after I discovered my mistake I have lowered the lights again, AR "pink" seemed to be stretching more than I preferred at the 14" of the surface. But lowered the photo period to 8.5 hours instead of 9.5 hours. Hopefully the algae will stop growing completely as soon as the plants regain full vigor after the latest KH/GH "Crash", which is 4 days ago.


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## Mikeygmzmg (Mar 19, 2015)

Great job on this setup. Excellent hardscape and good plant selection. I really like the stand too, that's cool how you incorporated the ikea cabinets around your own DIY build.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Mikeygmzmg said:


> Great job on this setup. Excellent hardscape and good plant selection. I really like the stand too, that's cool how you incorporated the ikea cabinets around your own DIY build.


Thank you. It pretty much had to be done that way, I'm way to impatient to be able to create a nice looking flawless finnish. Whats needed for the exterior in my opinion :hihi:


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

the tank is lookin great


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Update pictures, did another major trim about 3 days ago. Things are starting to fill in, unfortunately so has the algae. I'm battling it at the moment and I seem to be winning. Water doesn't appear to be to clear because of the Co2 bubbles. Getting a in-line reactor soon.







I need to get some damn blinds for that glare from the window! It pretty far from the tank to. Only downside I get about 20 mins of direct sunlight on the tank when the sun first comes up in the morning. Keep in mind this is usually 3-6 days in a month here in Stavanger, Norway. Pretty much always overcast or raining, yey for mountains -.- Though it has been unusually sunny and warm the last week to be this time of year, which is nice.

Bump: Also bought a Koralia smartwave with 2x240 nano's. Was first looking at the new Vortech Mp10's, but figured out those would cost me about 430$ a pop with customs and all, so I quickly closed that page. The Koralia kit was 155$. Thinking of just keeping the eheim for filtration and maybe sell the FX6. Having a hard time to get the pressure down even on my old 75g, with a DIY spraybar. Maybe I will be able to fashion something when I get my 3D printer which shouldn't be to long now. Like going from 1" ID tube (FX6 hosing) to a 1 1/2-1 3/4" ID spraybar to reduce pressure, but that would probably be pretty big and ugly. If you guys have any ideas, please share  Only your imagination is the limit with a 3d printer as far as design goes, and all I really need come up with is a easy to conceal, low pressure way of getting the water back in the tank. The Koralias will be plenty for flow I suspect. One on opposite sides of the tank pointing down, towards the plants. Not sure If I want to run them synchronized or desynchronized yet. Have to see how much flow they have first.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

And to you guys out there who knows how to take decent pictures, will a polarizing filter do anything to the glare in the glass? I have a decent camera (Cannon Powershot SX50 HS), but i'm more of a set to "auto", point and shoot guy, which my camera choice reflects 

Have to take some time to learn some basics in photography. But there is soooo many things I want to learn, and so little time..I wish I knew how to speed-read. Tried to learn it, but takes to much focus for me. I have a ADHD brain, runs thousand miles an hour, some of the time I can't even tell what i'm thinking, ideas just appear almost as flashing images then its on to the next thing. This got a little off-topic quick, anyhow, so thats where I'm at to date.


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## Islandgaliam (May 24, 2014)

Love your tank! I too purchased the same camera as yours, and have yet it figure it out..I am not a directions reader - lol. However, I did find some videos on You Tube...if time permits this weekend, I hope I can learn to do more that point and click.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Haha, then we are in the same boat. I know the very basics with ISO, shutter speed and such in theory, but never seem to get it where I want it on "manual" and just usually go. "Screw it! The autos are pretty good."


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## Mitashade (Jan 8, 2015)

Meh, the book-learning side of photography isn't very involved. Once you learn how to adjust your manual settings (i.e. what they do), it's all about composition, expirimentation and practice. Lots of practice. Even knowledgable photographers have to experiment a bit in new lighting conditions to get photos just right. Try and keep your ISO setting as low as possible while still being able to see what you're shooting, and your photos will come out more clearly. ISO brightens your shots, but adds grain the higher you go. Stay lower than 400 if at all possible. And unless you're doing close ups, for full tank shots you'll want to keep your depth of field high (that's your f-stop setting which will usually be between f4-f16ish for that kind of camera). That'll keep more of the photo in focus. Smaller values require more precise control of the manual focus. Last but not least, shutter speed. The slower it is, the more light is let into the lens, but any shakiness or movement will be very blurry. With a tripod, slow shutter speeds (longer than say .25 seconds) are doable, but handheld you'll want to keep it fast or every shot will be blurry. 

A polarizing filter may help a bit, but if you don't already have one the cost may not be worth the result for this use. 

Great tank, btw. 

Bump: Just to add, even with a degree in graphic design and photography, I still say screw it and just use auto ALL THE TIME, lol. XD


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Mitashade said:


> Bump: Just to add, even with a degree in graphic design and photography, I still say screw it and just use auto ALL THE TIME, lol. XD


Haha, good to know i'm not the only one, and even on a professional level :hihi:

Thanks for all the input, really appreciate it. Ill try to get my hands on a tripod tomorrow, at least one of those small cheap ones. Better than nothing I guess. and try fiddling a little more with the camera. Will probably help a lot, seems like when i'm in manual, I always get grainy or blurry shots. So high ISO or low shutter, indicates mr.shaky hands. 

And get some blinds/thicker curtains. Since I get some sunlight I turn on the Co2 on 1 hour before sunrise (3 hr before lights on), just in case the light level reaching the tank is high, I at least have co2 for the plants to "use up" the lights. If I can't get a hand on this algae soon, I will have to do something about that. But its to early to tell what caused the algae yet, but i'm pretty sure its the GH/KH fluctuations in combination with low PO4 in the water.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Found this guy while doing some research. Will have to do some testing, but thats very interesting. That means I can probably make a larger diameter tube inside the cabinet, and have smaller diameter tube running to the tank, while still decreasing pressure.



Bump: Never mind, don't think it would be to good to apply to aquarium use. This is for street pipes. So the flow (amount of water coming through per second) most probably, will decrease also. Maybe i wouldn't notice much of reduced flow because of the smartcontroller on the FX6, but it would put more stress on the pump if nothing else. Not what I want, just reduced output pressure. Back to the drawing board.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

I'm just posting this to not lose it/find it easily. Seemed like some useful information that I haven't heard much about before. From a respected member on another forum from the Netherlands, who really knows his chemistry, so I think its pretty reliable information. This could help indicate which deficiency in your plants is most likely at given PH.

"Below is a list of the optimum pH for plants to use the given element:
N : 6-7,5 
P : 6,5-7.5 en >9 
K : > 6 
S : >6 
C : >6,5 
Mg : >6.7. 
Fe : < 6 
Mn : <7 
B : 5-7 en >9 
Cu : 5-7 
Zn : 5-7 
Mo : >7 

Molybdenum has indeed the highest preferred pH, so is most likely to be deficient with a low pH."


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## ChemGuyEthan (Apr 13, 2014)

Really nice looking tank!

That's an interesting set of numbers for pH values given the nutrient. It's interesting that molybdenum is such a high pH...

Edit: So I looked into it and found several articles that actually give the stable pH for molybdate (the species present in the aquarium) and it represents ~100% of the molybdenum in solution down to pH 6. Source

The source is the International Molybdenum Association which I didn't know even existed until about 10 minutes ago, but I trust what they have to say, haha.

So that means most people's aquariums should not get an appreciable decrease in Mo concentration before it is taken up by organisms in the aquarium. Nothing to worry about there.

Oh and for your post on the flow regulation. Intuitively, taking the smaller tubing and connecting a larger hose opening on the outflow as it makes its way back to the tank should decrease your flow pressure. Your pump is still pushing the same amount of water (theoretically) but now it is forcing from a smaller space to a larger space, this should result in a decrease of the flow pressure. Though I am not versed in fluid mechanics...


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Thanks for the info. Who knew? A association for Mo :hihi:

The Mo being in the water doesn't mean the plants can utilize it. Most of the nutrients we are adding is not being used directly, but converted in the plants to things they can use. Its here that the pH thing comes in. To low/high and the plants can't perform these action or at least a lot less effective regardless of you have a 100% solution of Mo. Thats my understanding at least. And as you can see in the source you posted, the Mo will break down/become different "species" of Mo depending on pH. My chemistry is not good enough to know which one, but i'm sure some of them plants can't use, some they can use and 1 is the preferred way to get it. Same way with NH4/NO3. Plants prefer NH4 for nitrogen, but that CAN lead to problem in a aquarium. So we use NO3, which the plants convert back to NH4 before they can use it. A lot of processes happening inside the plants too 
Haven't read it very thoroughly but you source seem to state the stability of different Mo species in pH. Nothing relating to aquatic plant use.

To the water pressure issue. Yes, the pressure will decrease. But having a 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 tube/pipe running to the tank is going the be a big eyesore. So I want to find a way to decrease water pressure, but still keep it nice and tidy. Think I have a design that will work, Ill post a model when I'm done. Looks like a protein skimmer kinda thing. What I found interesting with the picture I posted, as it seemed not to matter if you had the larger diameter tube, before or after the smaller diameter tube. But if the pressure decrease also going into the smaller diameter, that would mean flow would also have to decrease. So as I said, that won't work either, or at least put more stress on the pump unnecessarily.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

I was thinking something like this. Have to do something with the connection going over the rim, but just imagine this in the tank pointing up towards the surface. I have no idea if this will work, so I will have to do some testing, but seems plausible. First ever 3D sketch up, be kind :icon_redf


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## 10kredline (Nov 6, 2014)

WOW, the tank is looking pretty good man. Nice work. Also, I want to say thank you for the advice on the stand build. Keep up the good work, I'm looking forward to seeing your tank when it's fully established.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

the tank is lookin even better 

what do you plan on stocking with?


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## ChemGuyEthan (Apr 13, 2014)

Nice, that's a cool idea for the outflow. The idea being more multi-directional flow instead of a single outflow source? You have a really nice build thread going here. I appreciate your attention to detail.

Ok ok ok, you're right. I only looked up the speciation of molybdenum in water. My point was that in most aquariums, the pH is above 6, at this pH the molybdate ion is predominant in the solution. So whether pH 7 or pH 6, the same species of molybdenum are present. So, here you go, an article discussion how molybdate (MoO4-) is taken up into plants. :tongue: It's believed to be via a mechanism similar to sulfate (SO4-), being that it's structure and charge are very similar. It's not known yet that there is a mechanism to specifically uptake molybdate. It's fun to learn these things, haha. :hihi:

By the way, any pictures of the black sakura shrimp you got? I haven't heard of them but they sound pretty cool.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Oh, that was unusually many nice responses, thanks all! . Always nice to hear you are doing something right, I my self is the kind of perfectionist that I can' really enjoy it before its like I imagined it. Don't get me wrong, I love the overall look of the tank, but I also see all the things I don't like. This time around, I said to myself, I will not settle for "good enough". Always been so envious of the awesome tanks around the net (especially on this forum), not being able to keep one myself. But I also probably used 100+ hours researching, and countless hours planning and fiddling. Hehe, it's kinda been consuming the last couple of months, an obsession really. but I am finally getting somewhere.

Yeah, I was thinking more multi-directional, but i'm more after a "oozing" effect on the water outlet, as it will only be for filtration. The flow is more or less dialed in perfectly now with my 2x new koralias. May change one of the 240 for a 420, but so far I am satisfied. If I also used the FX6 for flow, especially with the original outflow, the tank will become a washing machine hehe.

At the pH we normally keep our tanks (6-7) and you won't have problem with nutrient utilization. But first time I read something like this, an wanted to keep the notes and found it quite interesting. You do seem to have a better understanding in this then me though  Good read on the article.

I'll try and snap a couple of shots of the shrimp next time to. Thought they where kinda regular here, not much interest in them. Seeing we have crap selection, and we just the last 2 years have been able to get hold of Black Sakura, Red Bee/Black bee and Rili. Before it was just regular cherrys. Had them for awhile with no sorting, so there is about 25-30% of the shrimp thats either red or reddish/brown. Rest are jetblack. Couple of blue hue mutates in there.

I will be stocking with about 90 Cardinal tetra, 14 Cory. Strebai, 2-3 BNP, 6 ottos, 10 assassin snails and a bunch of shrimp. Thats the plan as of now, changes regularly though.

Bump: Found a old picture in the mean time. From my 25L breeder tank. Of course the damn scratch in the glass had to be directly over the shrimp. This is how most of the adults look. I probably have around 300+ in all my tanks. I'm sure they could breed in just a glass of water in the window sill (joking of course, but they are some really prolific breeders). I always throw some in for clean-up crew


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## ChemGuyEthan (Apr 13, 2014)

Yeah, I'm not quite enough of a perfectionist, but I always enjoy seeing the perfectionist's tank. It's usually so crisp and clean, everything planned out in detail. I try, but just don't have it in me or the time, haha.

Well I'm only a year from a PhD in chemistry, so I hope I've learned a thing or two, though maybe my boss has other thoughts. :hihi: I really enjoy learning the chemistry aspects of aquariums and plant keeping in general so I like to come across new information that forces me to look things up that I don't understand. So I'm glad you posted those numbers!

I love cardinal tetras, I've got about 15 or so in a tank of mine and they're great little fish, though a bit skittish. I've been keeping them with furcata rainbowfish (who have no fear in them whatsoever) so they serve to bring the shy cardinals out of hiding quite nicely! A school of 90 or so cardinals in that tank will look great!

Thanks for the shot of the shrimp, I've not seen them around here but I like the way they look!


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## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

update? would love to see the tank now, gr8 journal


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Thank you!

This tank in particular has been taken down, lost to the great war on algae of '16. I'm at the moment restarting it very soon, as once again algae/poor plant growth tried to get the better of me again. But it's finally turning around. You can read more about that here http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/1...ruggle-need-advice-toxicity-deficiency-3.html

But I'll post and update once it's fully restarted again


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Cool tank.

Why did you remove the led floodlights? I am planning to do that on 20 long in future.


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## Malakian (Aug 23, 2014)

Nigel95 said:


> Cool tank.
> 
> Why did you remove the led floodlights? I am planning to do that on 20 long in future.


Only reason was because of the quality, 3 out 4 of my flood lights died after 6-8 months. Other than that they worked fine and gave a nice light.


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