# Project 178



## Jason Baliban (Mar 3, 2005)

Many of you may have seen this journal on APC, but i thought i would share it here as well.

Feel free to ask any questions...

This is my first journal! I usually take a "complete in secrecy" approach to my layouts, so any feedback or questions would be appreciated to make this more interesting and informative.

I picked up the Oceanic 178gallon to replace my much loved ADA 120H that spawned this layout....
http://www.projectaquarium.com/plant...m_Meander.aspx
...this new tank is an effort move away from 3 tanks to just 1 large tank....that is the plan anyway

Tank - Cherry 178 Oceanic Ultimate - 60x24x29" - with matching stand.

Here are two shots of the stand that was easily put in place...










Here is the tank that spent the night in the truck, because i really cant figure out how to get it out!! This thing is going to require 3-4 people to help me lift it out!!









Next, I worked on cutting the hole in the stand where the filter tubes will come out.

First hole. On the ground, you can see the grommet i am going to use to fill the hole.

Before the cuts.









First hole. On the ground, you can see the grommet i am going to use to fill the hole.









Two holes....now to saw out the middle part...









Finished









Because of the lip at the top of the stand, I had to build some brackets for the side of the tank to mount the EMT light stand on. 


















Now the stand is ready and its time to put the tank on the stand.

With the help of a very strong neighbor, who is built like Shane Victorino, we got the tank on the stand.

Here are a few shots.

Tina is about 5', 3" tall....



























I now needed to determine how high the lights had to be to spread the light over the 60" length, using only two MH's.

In these pics i was testing an ADA Solar I for light spread. I have since replaced the Solar I's with reef optic pendents.....the gray wasnt a great match for the whole setup.

I held the pendent at different heights to see what kind of light spread I am going to get. You can see by these two pics that even 2 inches in height difference doesn't make that much of a difference lengthwise. Unfortunately, it does make a larger difference depthwise

Here are two pics of the experiment. The red dot marks the center and the blue dots are in 4" increments from the center.

10" height - about 12" of solid spread









12" height - about 15" of solid spread









I have determined I am going to start the lights at about 10" from the top of the tank and make the light stand a full 84" tall. I may lose full spread at the total top of the tank, but due to the depth of the tank I will sacrifice a little spread at the top for penetration to the bottom.

For the light stand, i picked up some EMT from the local hardware store. Follow this link for an in depth explanation of how how i created the EMT light stand.
http://www.projectaquarium.com/plantedAquariumArticles_EMT_lightstand.aspx

Here is the first attempt at the hardscape...









Here are a couple of pics from the day we set up the tank.

Getting ready for the company....notice the bins of plants.









Planted and beginning to fill..






















































Here is another account of the day written up by Kris....with excellent photos might i add.

http://www.guitarfish.org/2009/12/15...ter-180g-scape

*Plant List*

Narrow-Leaf Java Fern
Trident Java Fern
Bolbitis
Anubias Coffeefolia
Anubias Petite
Taiwan Moss

I installed some lights under the tank.


















Controller: only for monitoring.









Bubble counter from GLA









A few weeks later...still no fish.









I added lemon tetras and removed the black background



























Here is the final shot I will post, just in case i enter it in a competition. This shot was taken in april of 2010.










jB


----------



## jargonchipmunk (Dec 8, 2008)

yes, yes, and... yes!


----------



## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Sweet setup.


----------



## jreich (Feb 11, 2009)

very nice setup!! are you going to require scuba gear to clean and trim the thing?? :icon_mrgr


----------



## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

I commented on your journal on apc, but i love the idea of using a ladder to get into your aquarium. Do you trim often?


----------



## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Truly inspiring work Jason. What's the name of the plant behind the bolbitis?


----------



## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

Beautiful work as always JB.roud:


----------



## jargonchipmunk (Dec 8, 2008)

You and your friends are very color coordinated in this photo lol. And you all match the room.


----------



## albirdy (Jul 16, 2008)

professional. i love it.


----------



## TeamTeal (Mar 31, 2010)

very nice work with the scape!


----------



## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

tank looks great, you gotta a pretty sweet pad too...


----------



## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

Wow, that tank is HUGE!  I love the combo of green-covered rocks with the driftwood sticking up. Are lemon tetras the only fish in there?


----------



## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Woww!


----------



## Jason Baliban (Mar 3, 2005)

Its a beast, isnt it?!

jreich - This is kind of true. I actually cant reach the bottom of the tank without getting my shoulders wet....true story.

VadimShevchuk - Its set up as a low tech tank, so i have to trim every 6-8 weeks.....its quite and undertaking.

Chaos_Being - There are some Sid's in there too, but i almost never see them. I may throw a pair or two of rams in there as well. And maybe something else. I am reluctant to throw fish in there....once they are in there, i have a feeling im never getting them out if i dont like them.

speedie408 - It is java fern trident.

jargonchipmunk - who doesnt love blue?!

jB


----------



## Jason Baliban (Mar 3, 2005)

Unfortunately, this layout has gotten way out of control. The busy summer got in the way of me shooting the tank at its sweet spot.

Here is a cropped shot of the tank...










jB


----------



## lnstevens (Aug 9, 2010)

I want all your moss, seriously. LOL

Overall I think the second picture looks even better tha nthe ones above it.


----------



## Jason Baliban (Mar 3, 2005)

lnstevens said:


> I want all your moss, seriously. LOL


I sell it all the time. I can PM you next time..

jB


----------



## Dan the Man (Sep 8, 2009)

How about a front tank shot?


----------



## Jason Baliban (Mar 3, 2005)

Dan the Man said:


> How about a front tank shot?


That may or may not happen.....its sort of past its prime and not really worth the time it takes for me to do a shoot on it. I may try to salvage it before i replant it. I will keep everyone posted.

jB


----------



## Jason Baliban (Mar 3, 2005)

This marks the end of this stage of this layout...










In the coming months i am going to replant it with the same hardscape.

jB


----------



## Dan the Man (Sep 8, 2009)

Ok...that's freekin gorgeous! Past it's prime my #^%@ What kind of moss is that btw? And thanks for the FTS. Did you enter this?

-Dan


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Beautiful tank...if this is past its prime I need glasses. 
Looking forward to the replant~!


----------



## jcardona1 (Jun 27, 2008)

Haha I must not understand the point of trying to grow plants if you say that tank is past it's prime. That last shot is freaking beautiful. You really considering taking it down? 

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk


----------



## Jason Baliban (Mar 3, 2005)

Dan the Man said:


> What kind of moss is that btw?


Taiwan Moss



jcardona1 said:


> You really considering taking it down?


Not taking it down, just replanting it using the same hardscape.

As far as being past its prime, i just meant that there is a very nice hardscape in there somewhere that is lost in the jungle. My original vision had more of the aquascape showing.

jB


----------



## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

That thing definitely grew into a jungle and looks great, but I can relate to what you're saying. The hardscape is way too nice to be hidden.

I will be looking forward to the next incarnation.


----------



## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

jinx© said:


> That thing definitely grew into a jungle and looks great, but I can relate to what you're saying. The hardscape is way too nice to be hidden.
> 
> I will be looking forward to the next incarnation.


X2 

Easily one of my favs on here.


----------



## Jason Baliban (Mar 3, 2005)

Thanks guys

jB


----------



## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Wow Jason. Well done. Very inspiring.


----------



## brt_p (Nov 16, 2008)

extremely gorgeous!!
i was looking at those cofeefolia in first photo...it's like coming out of nowhere, but then you moved it..and added some bolbitis...really good!!


----------



## roybot73 (Dec 15, 2007)

Yeah, this thing is crazy. Makes me want a giant tank too 

Fantastic job as always, Jason!


----------



## Jason Baliban (Mar 3, 2005)

Gatekeeper said:


> Wow Jason. Well done. Very inspiring.


Thank you



brt_p said:


> extremely gorgeous!!
> i was looking at those cofeefolia in first photo...it's like coming out of nowhere, but then you moved it..and added some bolbitis...really good!!


Yeah, it has grow more than i would thought. Thanks for the comment.



roybot73 said:


> Yeah, this thing is crazy. Makes me want a giant tank too
> 
> Fantastic job as always, Jason!


I can tell you, it still impresses me when i walk in the room. the thing is a monster!!

jB


----------



## chonhzilla (Apr 22, 2008)

Amazing work you've done there.


----------



## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

How about an update Jason? Have you worked this thing over yet?


----------



## FDNY911 (Dec 6, 2009)

This is so beautiful. UNREAL. When is the next photography workshop JB? I checked your site and you haven't updated any new dates.


----------



## Jason Baliban (Mar 3, 2005)

chad320 - Unfortunately i havent messed with it. I am still selling off some trident so the thing looks like a warzone. I plan to make it into a growout tank for anubias coffeefolia sp. jB for the winter months. I just need to find a few hours to work on it.

fdny911 - Thanks for the comment I really have to update my site with new events. I dont have any photo workshops coming up, but i am thinking about hosting a small workshop at my home in the future. I have to think of the logistics, but it would probly be a 2 day thing for a small group. I wonder if there would be any interest?

jB


----------



## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

Very, very nice tank Mr. Baliban. I enjoyed reading your articles in TFH, very informative. It has really helped with my setups, especially when it comes to picture taking.
Regards,
Jake


----------



## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Jason Baliban said:


> chad320 - Unfortunately i havent messed with it. I am still selling off some trident so the thing looks like a warzone. I plan to make it into a growout tank for anubias coffeefolia sp. jB for the winter months. I just need to find a few hours to work on it.
> 
> fdny911 - Thanks for the comment I really have to update my site with new events. I dont have any photo workshops coming up, but i am thinking about hosting a small workshop at my home in the future. I have to think of the logistics, but it would probly be a 2 day thing for a small group. I wonder if there would be any interest?
> 
> jB


Wish I could make it out to see this thing in person. I got your GIANT bag of Trident and its already chugging along nicely. Coffeefolia 'jB' huh? This sounds interesting. Can we get a sneak peek or are you holding out till its done?


----------



## Jason Baliban (Mar 3, 2005)

chad320 said:


> Wish I could make it out to see this thing in person. I got your GIANT bag of Trident and its already chugging along nicely. Coffeefolia 'jB' huh? This sounds interesting. Can we get a sneak peek or are you holding out till its done?


Its not new are crazy or anything....its kind of a joke. I guess about 5 years ago I got a really sweet strain of it and I havent seen any that look as good.

Here is a pic...










jB


----------



## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Cool, nice texture! I guess it is specie 'jB'


----------



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow that's a nice _Anubias_ plant. I have been wanting to grow _coffeefolia_ emersed as a riparium subject.


----------

