# Rickztahone's 55g and 2 x 10g projects (update 02-13-11)



## snausage (Mar 8, 2010)

Man, that was the sweetest looking discus breeder tank I've ever seen. I don't know how you got up the nerve to take it down. The discus themselves look sweet as well. You got more pics of it??

Good luck with the CRS tanks. Aside from mosses, I think hygros are the ideal plant for a CRS tank; they don't require much care and they absorb their fair share of nitrates. I've learned the hard way that a CRS tank shouldn't be too densely planted. It makes cleaning and keeping track of them a real hassle.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

snausage said:


> Man, that was the sweetest looking discus breeder tank I've ever seen. I don't know how you got up the nerve to take it down. The discus themselves look sweet as well. You got more pics of it??
> 
> Good luck with the CRS tanks. Aside from mosses, I think hygros are the ideal plant for a CRS tank; they don't require much care and they absorb their fair share of nitrates. I've learned the hard way that a CRS tank shouldn't be too densely planted. It makes cleaning and keeping track of them a real hassle.


i do have more pics, and trust me, it breaks my heart to do it since i've dedicated so much time to get them that big, my smallest one was 5.5" and everyone else was at least a 6 incher. here are some random pics of when i had them all:








that's when they were a tad younger. i still had my domestic brown then








full tank shot








and this was my Penang Eruption which was one of the first to sell on CL for $75! She was a beaut and had intense pattern. i can't believe i sold her so cheap, she was 6.5"


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

i forgot to mention my water change plumbing. I bought a temperature control valve since my discus like the warmer water. So the temp valve keeps the temp from going over 84F even when i have both valves fully open. here's a shot under the stand where the valves are for H and C.









on that same picture you can see where i made a hole for the pvc drain through my wall and out to the side of the house to the front lawn. here's where i placed the pvc end to drain the tank.









It has a cap to keep critters out. 

here's a shot of how the temp valve looked at first, but i had to change it a bit due to the fact that it mixed both the H/C water through the temp valve. Now, it mixes them through the top side of the U which has both the H/C added to it and does not reduce the output pressure. It took some tweeking but i finally got it to where i liked it. Sry, i don't have any current pics of how it looks now so i had to settle for the old one. 
















i generally do not use the hose to fill up the 125 since the pvc leads directly to the U that hangs on the rim, but i added the hose so that i can fill up another tank if necessary. It use to take me quite a while to do a full water change, in my case from 80-100%. It takes me roughly 20 minutes to do a full WC now


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

after much struggling with these 10's to make them "rimless" i finally got them bad boys off, lol. there is a silicone residue that i was not able to eliminate even with a razor. i also installed the shop lights but i am not sure if it is a good distance from the tanks. also, those lights seem to be emitting some heat which kind of scares me due to the fact that i need that tank to stay in the low 70's due to CRS's. i will monitor the temp closely. 

The stand was relatively easy to make. of course that is not how it is going to remain but for the time being i just built the structure and i will by all the wood to make it all nice pretty later :biggrin:. 

i included a shot of the 5.5 at the end with a shot of the gorgeous RCS i got from Nature Aquarium locally, i swear they look like fire reds! ($3.50ea, what a bargain!)

on to the pics:

























































please excuse the water marks on the 10's, i had just finished cleaning them. also, the pics are super exposed, i had to shoot on auto because i'm kind of in a rush. 

well, let me know if you have any feedback, good or bad :icon_wink.


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## DANIELSON (Jul 15, 2010)

Those are some red cherry's nice. Is ur 55 going to have tons of shrimp too or just the 10's? A 55 shrimp tank would be sick.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

DANIELSON said:


> Those are some red cherry's nice. Is ur 55 going to have tons of shrimp too or just the 10's? A 55 shrimp tank would be sick.


yeah, the 55 will be mainly a shrimp tank with the only exception being about 100 chilli's and a few oto's. i will keep one 10 for selective breeding (you know those super reds are going in that tank) of rcs and crs, and the other 10 will be for culls.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Why are you downsizing from the 125 to a 55?


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

FSM said:


> Why are you downsizing from the 125 to a 55?


Mainly because the 125 has some scratches, not huge ones but enough not to make it a show piece IMO. This 55 is also serving as a test tank to see if I can manage a fully planted tank. My ultimate goal is to buy a brand new 240 and have it fully planted with 16 discus. I need to get my feet wet first


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

i finally finished my reactor


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

well, i have an update finally. i have been hard-pressed for money lately so the builds are taking a little longer than i would like. I bought the slim-line backgrounds for all 3 tanks, fairly cheap too. i also finished the skeleton of the 55 stand today but i didn't bring it into the house as of yet. i still need to buy lights/substrate/fauna for the 55. 

The 10's are pretty much ready to go, but since they have aquasoil they will not be cycled for a while. i was thinking of growing some HC with DSM, my question is, if i do that how long will it take to cycle the tank AFTER i finish with the DSM? i have honestly never cycled a tank, i have always taken media from another filter and started a cycle that way. 

here are the pics: the 55 didn't have such great lighting seeing as it was on the floor. the last picture is the one that shows all tanks, a sight my wife is not too happy with! LOL. i'm yet to sell all my discus in order to sell my 125. 













































This picture shows pretty accurately the actual color of the background.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

so i wanted to try out the DSM. If it doesn't work oh well, if it does, great! I don't think i have enough lighting on the smaller tanks to grow HC but we shall see. Can anyone tell me if the placement is off on my planting of HC for optimum emersed growing?


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

Rick ~ The new tanks are looking good. I love the backgrounds. Man I wish I lived closer to you, I'd smack you for taking down that 125 :icon_evil. What beautiful fish. 

As for the DSM. You should get a spray bottle and spray the back AS to keep it moist. You also don't want that puddle in the front. I know it's hard with the steep incline, but you just need to stay on top of it. You should be able to grow the HC no problem with the DSM, but if you're not going to have co2 on these tanks, it's going to melt when you fill it.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

antbug said:


> Rick ~ The new tanks are looking good. I love the backgrounds. Man I wish I lived closer to you, I'd smack you for taking down that 125 :icon_evil. What beautiful fish.
> 
> As for the DSM. You should get a spray bottle and spray the back AS to keep it moist. You also don't want that puddle in the front. I know it's hard with the steep incline, but you just need to stay on top of it. You should be able to grow the HC no problem with the DSM, but if you're not going to have co2 on these tanks, it's going to melt when you fill it.


As far as the smacking goes, my wife's already done it, lol. She loves that tank/discus. The backgrounds im starting to think were pointless since I plan to cover the the background with stem plants.

As far as the DSM, its you who introduced me to it, so thx. Also, do you recommend for me to remove the small amount of water? Or just keep the plants above the water line? All 3 tanks will have co2, so hopefully once i flood the tank it wont melt. I do have a spray bottle with water and dry fertz mixed in. I was planning to just spray 2x's daily, do you recommend spraying more times? Thx Anthony


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

I used a turkey baster to remove the extra water and sprayed the AS and HC when it looked like it needed it. 2x's a day should be plenty. I'm new at the process too, so take my advise with a grain of salt. 

I'm doing a little project in my garage with DSM and HC. I have an old 48" t8 and some tupperware with AS and HC clippings. I didn't plant anything, I just spread it out and let it do its thing. So far it's been 2 weeks and I'm starting to see it take off. Oh yeah, I have only sprayed it 2 times total. I'm trying to see if planting each stem and spraying it daily was worth it. So far it looks like it's not. 

In regards to the backgrounds. I still think it's worth it to have them in. The plants will never cover the back completely. Unless you are do a moss wall or something similar. Keep up the good work. It's coming together nicely


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## theblondskeleton (Aug 28, 2009)

Hey Rick, looking good so far!

Some folks like to prop up the front of the tank while doing DSM so that the water level matches the substrate level. It might help keep your HC damp, and it will help you keep that slope. Gravity is your worst enemy there. I actually did this for a while on my Do!Aqua 10g and it worked really nicely.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

theblondskeleton said:


> Hey Rick, looking good so far!
> 
> Some folks like to prop up the front of the tank while doing DSM so that the water level matches the substrate level. It might help keep your HC damp, and it will help you keep that slope. Gravity is your worst enemy there. I actually did this for a while on my Do!Aqua 10g and it worked really nicely.


thanks, i will try that out. i'm not sure how i would do it since the stand kind of matches up perfectly with the 2 10's footprints but i will try to anyway. if i can't would you suggest for me to just level it out temporarily?


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## Hyzer (Mar 9, 2010)

I'm glad the de-rimming of your 10s went well. Your new setup is unique and awesome looking. Beautiful discus too.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Hyzer said:


> I'm glad the de-rimming of your 10s went well. Your new setup is unique and awesome looking. Beautiful discus too.


why thank you! i must admit, at one point i was pretty sure i was going to break that 1st 10g tank. the second one was a lot easier seeing as it took me about 1/4 of the time to de-rim. I just hate that you can still see the traces of the silicone though. man i need some ADA tanks! 

As far as the discus go, i had someone call me up recently that was interested, hopefully it goes through so i can finish up these tanks. check list of things needed:

3x9L bags of ADA AS
100 chili's
catalina fixture
co2 manifold
driftwood
wood, to cover the stands and canopy for the 55. I was planning on doing that this weekend but it's going to rain here in Pacoima CA, oh well. 

I know i need a few things here and there like media for the eheims and diffusers but i consider those things pretty minimal and the chunk of the big stuff has been purchased.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

I took the advise given and I tipped the tanks for a more level slope. I also took some water so there isnt a pool. Hopefully it works. I'm glad to have 2/3 running


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## theblondskeleton (Aug 28, 2009)

Sounds like you got it figured out  I wondered if it
might be a challenge with your stands. 

I love the DSM. Some suggest keeping the water just above the substrate while others recommend keeping it just below it. I'm not sure which works best but you might snoop around to see.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

theblondskeleton said:


> Sounds like you got it figured out  I wondered if it
> might be a challenge with your stands.
> 
> I love the DSM. Some suggest keeping the water just above the substrate while others recommend keeping it just below it. I'm not sure which works best but you might snoop around to see.


so far below the substrate is not working for me and most of it looks like it's dead/dying. i'm not sure if it's too late or not but i might try adding more water. 

on another note, i got the wood for my stand! i also got the primer and paint. I ended up getting oak plywood, hopefully it comes out well. only $160 for everything, not too shabby.


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

Rick are you covering the tanks?


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## theblondskeleton (Aug 28, 2009)

If your HC is from a fellow hobbyist it might just be melting from the transition to emersed growth. If that's the case then try raising your water level to just barely submerge it. It should transition better that way.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

antbug said:


> Rick are you covering the tanks?


yup, i tried to follow your instructions to the T. I put just enough water so that there isn't a puddle of water at all. The light is on 12hrs a day. I spray w/ water when the HC looks like it needs it. I tilted it. It's covered. I'm pretty sure it might just be the water level and the lack there-of. I will add more water tomorrow.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

theblondskeleton said:


> If your HC is from a fellow hobbyist it might just be melting from the transition to emersed growth. If that's the case then try raising your water level to just barely submerge it. It should transition better that way.


yeah, i got it from Nature Aquarium which had it submersed. can it still recover? i wish i could take a pic but my wife will pretty much kill me if i turn on the light at this time, lol. Geeeze, it's just work.....LOL, j/k


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

That's weird. I got HC from Tom Barr and the LFS and both did well. I know the HC from the LFS was submerged, but I think the other was not. Both did well. The only other thing I would do on a daily basis is, exhale into my tank. You know co2 out, o2 in.

I also just trimmed my HC lawn and took 4 tupperware containers, added some AS, got it wet and just sprinkled the HC clippings on the AS. I have an old T8 light just sitting on top of them and the HC is taking off. I don't even spray it with water every day. I'm just letting it do its thing. I'm not sure why you are having trouble.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

antbug said:


> That's weird. I got HC from Tom Barr and the LFS and both did well. I know the HC from the LFS was submerged, but I think the other was not. Both did well. The only other thing I would do on a daily basis is, exhale into my tank. You know co2 out, o2 in.
> 
> I also just trimmed my HC lawn and took 4 tupperware containers, added some AS, got it wet and just sprinkled the HC clippings on the AS. I have an old T8 light just sitting on top of them and the HC is taking off. I don't even spray it with water every day. I'm just letting it do its thing. I'm not sure why you are having trouble.


do you mind taking a pic of how much water you are using? i transfered some to a tank that has water and i kept the other in the dry tank but added a little more water. I also have a 48" T8 light right above both of my 10g tanks. not sure what is going on but i'm determined to find out :icon_smil


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

I'll try to get you a pic tonight. Maybe a T8 light 10-12" above the substrait is not enough light. I have my T8 sitting 2" above mine. Is this the light you are going to use once filled?


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

antbug said:


> I'll try to get you a pic tonight. Maybe a T8 light 10-12" above the substrait is not enough light. I have my T8 sitting 2" above mine. Is this the light you are going to use once filled?


yeah, that might be it. i do not plan to leave the HC in this tank. it was mainly a grow out tank in order to eventually transfer to my 55 which would have T5HO lighting.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Finally got one of my 10g set up. the stand is not yet done, and this tank will mainly be a grow out tank, which is why the plants are just scattered all over the place. I also want to check which plants thrive under these light/co2 conditions. 

I have noticed that my bps rate varies, like the NV is floating, but it only happens when the solenoid turns back on. It seems it doesn't go back to the same bps rate from when it was on last. any suggestions on what can be done?


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

update:
I have almost finished my stand for the 55. It's been pretty cold here lately which has made me lazy enough not to work on the stand outside, lol. All i need to do now is install the hinges for the doors and primer and paint it. I had to go with an open top design because i didn't want to pay the extra $50 for the material to close off the top (HD only sells the large 8'x4' sheets). So, i plan to hang the catalina fixture from the ceiling like i did with the 10g lights. Hopefully it can be reinforced somehow. here are the pics of the stand:









front before the doors were cut









back









doors cut (i might add a trim around the doors since i do not have the straightest hand with an electric saw, lol)









some molding added.

now, on to the 10g tank that is currently up and running. I received what i believe a more than generous RAOK from Eden Marel, this is what she sent:
Hygro 'siamensis' (identified) i believe this is the one on the left
hygro 'tiger' (no idea which this is)
e. vesuvius plantlets (identified, but it doesn't seem to be doing that well)
e. tenellus plant lets (identified, has runners already)
Rotala rotundifolia (identified, i already had to trim this stem a few times already)
ludwigia arcuataxrepens (no idea which this is)
HM (not sure)

the ones with the (identified) tag are the ones that i have figured out on my own. for the rest i do not know which is which. can anyone help me out? 

i did a good trimming this morning. I'm not sure if i should be trimming the roots that are extending from the plants on the left. it seems they are trying to root to the substrate? But i do not want them to go towards the substrate, do the roots have to be cut? will it hurt the plant? 









FTS









i couldn't identify this one. is this the tiger? 









glosso was pretty much dead when i transfered it over here. it is doing much better now.









the crazy left side!









again









Top right, not sure which this plant is either. 

I just realized that i ask a whole lot of questions which might be the reason i do not get many answers, lol. I'm just a noob who likes to ask 1 too many questions, so i'm sry for that. any help is always appreciated. remember that this is just a grow out tank and that this layout will not remain once the other 10 and the 55 are set up. this tank will ultimately provide the plants to start the other tanks. 

thanks for viewing.


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## Guest (Dec 19, 2010)

That one plant looks like sunset hygro to me. You are quite talented with carpentry. I can't wait to see how this all comes together.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

sandie said:


> That one plant looks like sunset hygro to me. You are quite talented with carpentry. I can't wait to see how this all comes together.


Thank you. I asked Eden and that I.d. is correct. 

As far as the carpentry goes, while it does look ok from far away you can see small flaws up close like the doors not being cut perfectly straight or what-not. These were the first stands I built and I am kind of proud of them. 

As far as finishing everything up, I'm actually almost done. I really thought my discus hobby was expensive buy I have sunk over $2k into this project, and I already had the 55! I always say, if your going to do something might as well do it big.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

UPDATE!!!
i'm finally done with the stands and it is a breath of fresh air i tell ya. all in all they came out alright. i would have liked for the doors to line up better and that HD would have given me a color that was ACTUALLY black and not a dark gray. anyways, here are the pics. 


















both painted


































the back is not the prettiest but it works! lol. 

I was also going to suspend the light but it seems to sit fine right where it is. the only reason i would suspend it would be if i need to raise the light due to algae or something. 

FYI, the background is obviously short, it was an error with the vendor and he wanted to send me the right one but i told him not to bother since my substrate will be 4" at the back anyways. He was a really great guy and he paypal'd me back my shipping charge ($18) without me asking. here's the link to where i got it click me roud:



now i just need to plant it


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## teah (Jul 25, 2010)

Very nice background. Did you make it?

If so, do you mind to share us the process? 

Thanks


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

teah said:


> Very nice background. Did you make it?
> 
> If so, do you mind to share us the process?
> 
> Thanks


they are distributor made. check out the hyperlink in the second to last paragraph on my post right above yours. hope that helps


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## antbug (May 28, 2010)

Nice job on that stand Rick. It's coming together nicely.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

antbug said:


> Nice job on that stand Rick. It's coming together nicely.


thanks Anthony. I'm just waiting on the Manzanita from PC1 and i'm waiting on Francis from ADG to do a special order on some stones and the aquasoil for the 55. I pretty much have everything read to go though. only thing i need is to sell off my fish in the 125! hopefully someone will be interested soon.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

rickztahone said:


> Mainly because the 125 has some scratches, not huge ones but enough not to make it a show piece IMO. This 55 is also serving as a test tank to see if I can manage a fully planted tank.


I am amazed that you didn't try to get rid of the scratches. So what are you going to do with the 125 G? 

So you are going into breeding shrimp? I don't know why but many love the red shrimp. Should be easier to sell than the Discus since you can put them in a small tank.


rickztahone said:


> only thing i need is to sell off my fish in the 125!


I wonder if you could make more money selling the fish in Spring on AquaBid


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Hilde said:


> I am amazed that you didn't try to get rid of the scratches. So what are you going to do with the 125 G?
> 
> So you are going into breeding shrimp? I don't know why but many love the red shrimp. Should be easier to sell than the Discus since you can put them in a small tank.
> 
> I wonder if you could make more money selling the fish in Spring on AquaBid



i did read that thread on scratches but seeing as some of the scratches i have can be felt quite easily with my finger nail i didn't even want to bother. i will be selling the tank/stand/canopy/lights locally for real cheap. 

i'm not going into breeding shrimp per-say but i am definitely setting up all shrimp tanks. I will be leaning more towards CRS's than RCS but i have some really good RCS to work with currently. 

I will resort to selling them on aquabid if worse comes to worse. Hopefully someone locally can buy them. I also might have a sale pending if i would be able to ship them. we shall see.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

LOL, if my wife finds out that i just spent $80 on 3 Ryuoh stones she might very well kill me :eek5:. Or....the fact that i just spent another $115 on AS she might revive me from the grave and kill me again.

just had to share...


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Please help me with this Iwagumi-style layout. I'm mainly having problems with my larger stone on the right. Not sure if it "flows" how i want it to as is. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. i think i might not have enough soil, what do all of you think?


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

sry, add kicking in. I buried the left stones more to sort of make the right one look larger and higher up. I tried to put it on a hill but it was just too heavy. i also tried to create a higher slope from left to right but again the right stone was just too heavy:


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## robxc80 (Aug 4, 2009)

sorry to see your discus go but your project looks great. the stand and canopy for the 55 looks awesome. 

for the iwagumi, i would try to position the big stone on the right over to the left with the other stones and let it flow at an angle downward from left to right. the background on the tank may also distract from the iwagumi style since it is suppossed to evoke a terrestrial nature scene. just my two cents. i think it still looks nice.

I'm excited to see the finished project. you should check us out on SCAPE. so many of the guys there are super helpful and going to meets is a great way to talk to people, pick their brains, and pick up rare plants. plus, you get 10% off on livestock at Nature Aquarium with a SCAPE membership.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

robxc80 said:


> sorry to see your discus go but your project looks great. the stand and canopy for the 55 looks awesome.
> 
> for the iwagumi, i would try to position the big stone on the right over to the left with the other stones and let it flow at an angle downward from left to right. the background on the tank may also distract from the iwagumi style since it is suppossed to evoke a terrestrial nature scene. just my two cents. i think it still looks nice.
> 
> I'm excited to see the finished project. you should check us out on SCAPE. so many of the guys there are super helpful and going to meets is a great way to talk to people, pick their brains, and pick up rare plants. plus, you get 10% off on livestock at Nature Aquarium with a SCAPE membership.


Thanks for the advice. I didn't initially plan in an iwagumi set up but it kind of just happened. The backgrounds were already installed in all 3 tanks. 

As far as scape goes I was going to go to the last meet but something came up. I'm also an online member but I forgot the website for it.

Thanks again. I will be uploading pics of the 55 full of manzanita in a bit.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

here's the 55 with manzanita from PC1:


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## robxc80 (Aug 4, 2009)

http://www.socalaquascapers.com/forum/forum.php?\


nice manzanita.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

robxc80 said:


> http://www.socalaquascapers.com/forum/forum.php?\
> 
> 
> nice manzanita.


thanks. when's the next meet and where?


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

That background is so cool! I'm jealous. You're going to need some deep substrate though.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

AzFishKid said:


> That background is so cool! I'm jealous. You're going to need some deep substrate though.


i measured the gap and it's 3". I already ordered 3 9L bags from ADG and i hope that covers it. If not then i will have to get another 9L locally which will be at a higher price but i will not pay the shipping charge for just 1 bag :icon_roll


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

rickztahone said:


> i measured the gap and it's 3". I already ordered 3 9L bags from ADG and i hope that covers it. If not then i will have to get another 9L locally which will be at a higher price but i will not pay the shipping charge for just 1 bag :icon_roll


Oh 3" isn't that bad. Just looked a lot deeper in the picture.
Good choice on the aquasoil, too.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Its great substrate. Expensive but worth it IMHO


AzFishKid said:


> Oh 3" isn't that bad. Just looked a lot deeper in the picture.
> Good choice on the aquasoil, too.


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## bnbfishin (Dec 23, 2010)

Great looking tanks! That discus tank is really nice. I used to have a 75 set up the same way with some adults in it to see who would pair off. How far does that background in the 55 stick out into the tank?


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

bnbfishin said:


> Great looking tanks! That discus tank is really nice. I used to have a 75 set up the same way with some adults in it to see who would pair off. How far does that background in the 55 stick out into the tank?


thanks. do you have a pic of your old setup? 

i'm not sure i follow the the question of how far it sticks out. do you mean how short it is since it doesn't reach the tank bottom? because horizontally it goes from one wall to the other.


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

rickztahone said:


> thanks. do you have a pic of your old setup?
> 
> i'm not sure i follow the the question of how far it sticks out. do you mean how short it is since it doesn't reach the tank bottom? because horizontally it goes from one wall to the other.


I think he means how thick is it (in width). 2"-3" maybe?


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

AzFishKid said:


> I think he means how thick is in (in width). 2"-3" maybe?


ahh, that makes sense, lol. It is a slim line background and at it's thickest part i think it sticks out 2 1/2". for the most part it is about 1 1/2"

edit: sry, take that back. just measured and the thickest part is about 1 1/2" and for the most part it is 1" thick


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## bnbfishin (Dec 23, 2010)

I wish I did. That was back in the day before digital cameras and when I really wasn't into taking pictures of anything. Probably why I don't have any pics of my 69 Chevelle either :icon_sad: Ahhh the things you don't think of when your young :redface:
Sorry I wasn't more clear on my question. I see it's been answered though. Thanks!


rickztahone said:


> thanks. do you have a pic of your old setup?
> 
> i'm not sure i follow the the question of how far it sticks out. do you mean how short it is since it doesn't reach the tank bottom? because horizontally it goes from one wall to the other.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

bnbfishin said:


> I wish I did. That was back in the day before digital cameras and when I really wasn't into taking pictures of anything. Probably why I don't have any pics of my 69 Chevelle either :icon_sad: Ahhh the things you don't think of when your young :redface:
> Sorry I wasn't more clear on my question. I see it's been answered though. Thanks!


I hope you have changed your ways and photograph everything now :icon_smil.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Set up the 3 way manifold i got from Jason but am having some problems with it. See if you can help me out with it here please


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

update: 
planted my 10g (somewhat-iwagumi-style)
plant list:
Glossostigma elatinoides
Echinodorus Angustifolia
Echinodorus Tenellus

i didn't want to make it too busy so that will be it for the plants list. does anyone know if these stones mess with the pH? If it does then i might only be able to put cherries in there and not crs.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Its lace rock from what I can tell.they raise the ph some but not alot from what I can tell.best to go with the cherries in this one. Looks good


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

problemman said:


> Its lace rock from what I can tell.they raise the ph some but not alot from what I can tell.best to go with the cherries in this one. Looks good


thanks problemman. I forgot to mention they are Ryuoh stones, which might indeed be lace rock, i'm not sure. I think i will just stick with cherries in there though. Or check the pH consistently.


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## bnbfishin (Dec 23, 2010)

Every chance I get!! :thumbsup: In fact now that we have our first kid who is now 10 months old the video camera gets put to use more for him than when I go hunting.


rickztahone said:


> I hope you have changed your ways and photograph everything now :icon_smil.


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## Gookis (Dec 28, 2010)

That's funny. It's like in our house (2 kids- 2.5yrs and 8mths) there's more cameras than life preservers on cruise ship.





bnbfishin said:


> Every chance I get!! :thumbsup: In fact now that we have our first kid who is now 10 months old the video camera gets put to use more for him than when I go hunting.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Gookis said:


> That's funny. It's like in our house (2 kids- 2.5yrs and 8mths) there's more cameras than life preservers on cruise ship.


lol. the sad part is that i use to take more pics of my daughter back when we used the P&S. Now that i have the DSLR i just think about taking it out putting on the lens and adjusting and i get lazy, lol. I still take it out, but not as often as i use to use the other.


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## Gookis (Dec 28, 2010)

I absolutely understand. We have over 2000 pictures of my daughter (now 2.5yrs). In comparison, we have about 200 of my son (8mths). I think it's just the way it goes; that's my excuse anyhow.:icon_frow

Matt


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

The sad part is I take hundreds of pics of my tanks. I'm saving up for an HD camcorder for the next child.



Gookis said:


> I absolutely understand. We have over 2000 pictures of my daughter (now 2.5yrs). In comparison, we have about 200 of my son (8mths). I think it's just the way it goes; that's my excuse anyhow.:icon_frow
> 
> Matt


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## Gookis (Dec 28, 2010)

Lol, I'll be there in few months! Constructing my first planted tank. I've enjoyed reading your post. Keep it up!

Matt


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Gookis said:


> Lol, I'll be there in few months! Constructing my first planted tank. I've enjoyed reading your post. Keep it up!
> 
> Matt


LOL, thanks. I should be done with set up shortly. i just need to sell 1 more discus.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

yet another update. I added the Aquasoil and the super cheap moonlights that a fellow member started a thread on here. you really can't go wrong with only spending $5 for these LED's. The substrate filled in the gap i was kind of concerned about with that background. hopefully it doesn't all flatten out to show it later down the line, lol. 

pics:


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## Gookis (Dec 28, 2010)

Did you fashion the drift wood on the right or is it just wedged in? If fashioned, how did you do it?

Matt


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Gookis said:


> Did you fashion the drift wood on the right or is it just wedged in? If fashioned, how did you do it?
> 
> Matt


I simply used a small L bracket and screwed it to my canopy.


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## Gookis (Dec 28, 2010)

Nice, looks great!

Matt



rickztahone said:


> I simply used a small L bracket and screwed it to my canopy.


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## Cameron1 (Dec 22, 2010)

looking good rick.

aka scotthomas


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## Dan the Man (Sep 8, 2009)

Yeah, I've been thinking of getting LED's for my tank as well. They look great on yours. Are you using LED's all your lighting?


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Cameron1 said:


> looking good rick.
> 
> aka scotthomas


Hey Scott, welcome to the dark side lol


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Shots of the 10g's side to side:
















i know the glosso on the left tank looks like crap but i had just trimmed it to the very root pretty much, lol.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

more equipment, yay! my 2 10g tanks had been running without heaters and i know that my crs will never breed in 64F temp so i broke down and got some hydors. hopefully they aren't too much heater for these tanks. I also made some reactors since i am PISSED OFF AT CERAMIC DIFFUSERS!!! i seriously broke like 4 of them already. and that last piece of equipment is just a modified contraption to make my wc's easier. 









$70 for both of those hydors shipped, not too shabby :hihi:

oh and those 1/2"x1/2" barbs were like $0.34 online which i could not find anywhere else! total for both reactors was about $17 :thumbsup:


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

rickztahone said:


> more equipment, yay! my 2 10g tanks had been running without heaters and i know that my crs will never breed in 64F temp so i broke down and got some hydors. hopefully they aren't too much heater for these tanks. I also made some reactors since i am PISSED OFF AT CERAMIC DIFFUSERS!!! i seriously broke like 4 of them already. and that last piece of equipment is just a modified contraption to make my wc's easier.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


and done:


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## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

UPDATE?
Did you ever get the lily pipes?


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

fishykid1 said:


> UPDATE?
> Did you ever get the lily pipes?


I was not able to get a pair of lily pipes for a reasonable price so I stopped trying to find them. Ill post an update pic soon.


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## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

rickztahone said:


> I was not able to get a pair of lily pipes for a reasonable price so I stopped trying to find them. Ill post an update pic soon.


I'm actually making some out of acrylic and I need people to try a couple out for me. If you give me some sizes tubing that you would need, I could probably make some.

Here's the link to my DIY thread - 

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/137400-i-love-doing-diys-diy-acrylic.html


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

Great thread... but due for an update 

The 10 gallon tank on the right (just a few posts above) looks awesome!

Here's hoping my wife will remain as supportive as yours... time will tell!

I would like your opinion, please, on the utility of the temperature control valve. I am considering incorporating one into the plumbing of my 125 gallon (plans in this thread). Is it worth it, in your opinion? I can always adjust the temperature by feel, but this valve looks like it might make things a lot more simplified. The L1170-M2 valve has a temperature range of 60 to 120 degrees.

Regards.


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## BoxxerBoyDrew (Oct 16, 2005)

Update???


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