# New house, new tank. 210 gallon Aqueon



## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

I used to have a planted 280 gallon (72*24*37), but sold it before putting our house in the market at the end of last summer. My fish and shrimp were moved to a 37 column for the interim. We finally sold our house in Minnesota and have moved down to Northern Illinois. I was able to find a 210 gallon Aqueon aquarium with a nice sump for a great price used. I had a couple of friends come over and help me get it moved and into my basement. The problem was that I had not yet built a stand, so it stayed on the 2 by 4 frame/sled that I built to transport it on and some furniture dollies. I now have most of what I need to get everything set up, but can't really invite 3 friends over to help lift it up on to the stand because of the current pandemic.

The aquarium has 2 megaflow overflows on the back wall, and I plan on running a sump. I have pulled out the old bulkheads to replace them and was pleasantly surprised to see that I can plumb 1 inch bulkheads in all 4 holes. I plan to run each overflow in a Herbie setup with a full siphon and an emergency drain. The aquarium will go on an interior wall that accommodates the stairs. I am planning on placing the sump in the space beneath the stairs for better access.

I intend for this to be a low tech setup, with shrimp and small fish. I'll post later with pictures and the equipment that I have purchased for the build.

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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

For equipment, I'll be running the zeroedge sumo that came with it. It'll be heated by vivo-sun 300 watt titanium heaters x 2, controlled by an inkbird 306t. My return pump is a Jebao DCP-15000. For lighting, I am going to be using some dimmable slim LED fixtures that I found on Amazon and control through a smart dimmer.









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

I plan on putting some lighting together based on these lights I found on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074HR9RY5/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_N1mHEb138B54T

I am starting to think I am going to want focus the light down though, so I am contemplating pulling the chips out of the fixtures and adding some reflectors. I'll need to strip one down and get some measurements and see what I can come up with.









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## Hujeta (Jan 26, 2020)

That's a respectable size! When you say small fish, are you thinking schooling tetras or something of the sort? Any particular style you're going after?


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Hujeta said:


> That's a respectable size! When you say small fish, are you thinking schooling tetras or something of the sort? Any particular style you're going after?


I've got guppies, mollies, corys and some plecos from my last tank. I like live bearers, since they are pretty good at populating the tank by themselves. 

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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

So, I like the little 15W fixtures I bought, like the color, they are dimmable and have a decent CRI, but they are a little bulky relative to their output. They are cheap, so I am ok giving a little more effort to make them work. Looked a little bit at getting reflectors, but the reflectors (if I found ones that would fit) are likely to cost 50% more than what the lights each. I'll have to decide on a DIY reflector and try to keep the light in the tank where it belongs.

Don't know if I mentioned this, but all 4 holes are big enough for 1 inch bulkheads, which makes me think that dual Herbie overflows are going to work well.









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Got the light put together for the most part, just need to tune it some once I get the tank set up. Went with 13 of the 15 watt pucks.
















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## Crazygar (Nov 16, 2006)

Paint the interior white. It will help reflect light back into the aquarium.

Gary


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## Hujeta (Jan 26, 2020)

Crazygar said:


> Paint the interior white. It will help reflect light back into the aquarium.
> 
> Gary


Second this (assuming this was not already the plan)


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Ha, I just taped up the edges and read this before going to the basement for the paint. Great minds y'all.

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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

have you thought about what small fish you have in mind?


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

monkeyruler90 said:


> have you thought about what small fish you have in mind?


I think that I'd like celestial pearl danios, but that could get expensive. I've filled tanks with feeder guppies before and really liked them, maybe I will use my current tank as a quarantine tank for some of the feeders.


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Frick, a cross brace is broken more than I had realized. I had seen the crack towards the middle, and was going to bolt some aluminum to it. Going to have to try to find some custom cut glass to fix.
















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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Have glass, now I just need to silicone it in.









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

So, quick update. Over the weekend I got one piece gooped up and clamped in. Let it set overnight, pulled off the clamps and thought it looked good. I was upstairs playing with my kids about 30 mins later and hear a loud noise from the basement. The cross brace fell into the tank, chipping the corner of the glass, but thankfully not the aquarium. Some investigation showed that I had accidentally grabbed a tube of clear sealant that I had bought for another project, not silicone. This stuff doesn't adhere as well to glass and takes longer to cure. I bought two braces so that the tank would look the same on both sides, so I'll use the chipped one on the side with the intact plastic brace. Once I get all of the gunk scraped up, I'll try again with the right silicone. That could have been an expensive mistake.


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Attempt #2, let's hope I didn't mess it up this time. Not my best silicone job, but it is where nobody will ever see it.

Two minutes after getting the clamps set, I catch my 4 year old starting to take a clamp off to play with.









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## Hujeta (Jan 26, 2020)

Bunsen Honeydew said:


> Attempt #2, let's hope I didn't mess it up this time. Not my best silicone job, but it where nobody will ever see it.
> 
> Two minutes after getting the clamps set, I catch my 4 year old starting to take a clamp off to lay with.
> 
> ...


Whooa, only took two weeks until we got to see the tank  Makes it more fun to follow when you share the slight mishaps along the way so thanks for that.


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Hujeta said:


> Whooa, only took two weeks until we got to see the tank  Makes it more fun to follow when you share the slight mishaps along the way so thanks for that.


Ha, I have been meaning to share pictures of the the whole thing, its just been pretty cluttered. I am going to make sure I have the Nest cam pointed at this thing when I fill test it for sure.


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Here's a picture of the tank and stand. I am going to put the sump and the water change reservoir behind the wall and under the stairs. I still need to do some work under the stairs. I am going to sheet in the bottom of the stairs, install an outlet and frame and install a door to keep the kids out. They like to hand from the conduit across the walls. Now that there's a live wire in it, I need that to stop.

Next will be some clean up and trying to lift a heavy ass tank while social distancing.























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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

Oh yeah it's a beast good luck lifting that haha 😄


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

andrewss said:


> Oh yeah it's a beast good luck lifting that haha 😄


Actually getting ready to do it now, but I need to get the electrical outlet behind it squared away first.









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Success!









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

It's probably close to time to leak test this SOB before I get much further.

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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Time to test fate, lol.









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Probably shouldn't fill more until I plumb it.









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Found a great piece of wood while picking up pet food today. Fits perfectly. I will work on getting the hardscape laid out so that I can add the substrate. My larger pieces of wood have never got fully water logged, so I use zip ties to hold them together and attach them to the slate tiles. The slate and sand on top hold it all down.









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## Thelongsnail (Dec 2, 2015)

Very excited to see all of this set up!

Regarding the CPDs, they're not difficult to breed if you have a smaller tank and the time/inclination and an enormous group would look amazing in there :grin2:

Any ideas on planting yet?


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Thelongsnail said:


> Very excited to see all of this set up!
> 
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> ...



There's a local guy that has a decent sized group of endlers for sale cheap, so I might go that route.

It's going to be low tech, so probably a mess of Val, a couple swords, eventually a carpet of crypts. Kind of depends on what I can find. I have some blyxa, corkscrew Val, a crypt, some Java Fern, Java moss and pennywort in my 37 gallon right now. In the current situation, I'm just taking what I can get.

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## Thelongsnail (Dec 2, 2015)

Jeez, you'll fit a lot of endlers in there! I loved mine though, looking forward to seeing all yours. Are they all the same breed or a mix?

If you're looking for something to keep numbers down a bit, Badis Badis are fine with harder water. Mine managed to single-handedly hunt down every single fry from 7 females in a moderate-heavily planted tank - although it's far smaller than yours!

Love a good mess of plants - I've had a mix of crypts in my main tank for a while and added pennywort a couple of months back. Actually really like the look of them mixed together.

Love that piece of wood by the way, good find!


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

I have what is probably too much wood in the tank. Added some water to see if the new wood will float and it looks like it will stay put. I would have added substrate, but I didn't feel like carrying 250 lbs of sand downstairs.  I added 90 black bar endlers to my other tank yesterday. The mollies immediately started hunting fry so I made sure to quickly feed them. It looks like there are too many makes in the mix, so I'll need to find more females soon. I wasn't ready for more fish, but found a good deal from a guy moving. I'll try to get more pics up today.

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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Change of plans: the space under my stairs was not level enough to put the sump there. The sump tank rocked diagonally on the floor, with one corner sitting 3/16" off the ground when 3 were touching. So the sump is going under the stand for now. The good news is that the drain plumbing was much easier to to this way. I got everything cut and dry fitted, then realized I forgot the valves. I'm glad I figured it out before I glued anything. Because I laid it out without the valves, two push on the other drains when I close them. Not a big deal, but not ideal. I am filling it all the way up to leak test the bulkheads and plumbing now. Still have to figure out the return. My return pump can handle 1 to 2 inch Barb's, or 1.5 and 2 inch hard plumbing. I was planning on using 1 inch PVC to make the returns and spray bar, but I am trying to decide if I want to go larger.

















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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

The BDBS seems to be quite a bit siltier than last time, causing it to be more gray than black. I filled it up enough to test the overflows. With the low flow of the python, you can tell that the right overflow is just a touch lower than the left. Probably not enough to make a difference once the return pump is running. 

Since I bought an oversized pump, I am going to start with the 1 inch return, then in crease from there if needed. I'll probably just start with a simple return to get everything moving first, then build my spray bar in a few days. I'll probably build a wooden box as well to house cords and use as a place to mount the pump control and heat controller.









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Still fighting cloudiness. I built a hang on filter and stirred it up again. Probably start moving some plants tomorrow.
















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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

I am tempted to get a few backs of the med grit BDBS and dump it on top. I really wanted the black color and this is dissappointing. 

I also put together a return with a spray bar in the middle, and outlets on each end. Last night I realized that without any backpressure, there won't be much flow through the spray bar, so i think I will rework the returns tonight. 

Plants should start showing up tomorrow, so I need to get my **it together.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

excited to see it planted!


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

monkeyruler90 said:


> excited to see it planted!


Me too! It's going to be a slow process though.

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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Poured another bag of sand in, so it's cloudy again. Added some giant crypts. Had to just throw them in to decide what I want to do with them.









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## aubie98 (Apr 22, 2017)

Bunsen Honeydew said:


> Poured another bag of sand in, so it's cloudy again. Added some giant crypts. Had to just throw them in to decide what I want to do with them.
> 
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> 
> ...


Looks good, I think those crypts are going to be a lot happier in your tank!


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

aubie98 said:


> Looks good, I think those crypts are going to be a lot happier in your tank!


I got my returns finished this morning, so hopefully they are happier without the current from only on outlet blowing them around. 

My glass tops arrived today, so that will help cut down on evaporation. Hopefully my other plants find their way out of USPS hell before they die.


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Got the plants from my small tank and some of the fish moved over. Didn't take long for the guppies to start in on the biofilm on the wood.
















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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Over the weekend, I came downstairs to check out the tank and found that the glass cross brace had come unattached. Talk about adding some pucker factor. The good news is that the front glass didn't bow noticeably. I was able to support the glass with a long zip tie to keep the back intact, drain about a foot of water and get to work scraping silicone. Once I got it all cleaned up, I applied more silicone and clamped it back in place. I gave it 24 hrs, then filled the tank back up and it has been good to go so far.

Yesterday I got the rest of the fish moved over and received some crypts that I ordered. Got those in and things look pretty good. Just waiting on the bigger plants that are still in USPS purgatory for the right side. I had a small anubias that hitchhiked along with the crypts that keeps getting knocked loose and just floats around the tank.
























Bumped to add that I also played around with starting to make my canopy retractable.


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## Hujeta (Jan 26, 2020)

Your build is a bit of a thriller! That support-bracket coming loose is nightmare-inducing. Really like the innovation around the canopy, certainly makes servicing so much easier. I built a similar canopy a few years ago, that was resting on the rim of the tank. It was suspended about 10" to allow for hands etc to pass under it, but still it was really awkward to rescape and such.


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Hujeta said:


> Your build is a bit of a thriller! That support-bracket coming loose is nightmare-inducing. Really like the innovation around the canopy, certainly makes servicing so much easier. I built a similar canopy a few years ago, that was resting on the rim of the tank. It was suspended about 10" to allow for hands etc to pass under it, but still it was really awkward to rescape and such.


A thriller in all the wrong ways!

On my last tank (a too tall 280) I had a wood canopy that I would yank off and set aside to get in. I like still having the light to see in the tank though. I wouldn't call it innovative, I totally saw a reef tank set up this way and borrowed that idea. Eventually I will find a linear actuator that does cost a fortune and have that pull the rope.


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Added 20 female guppies, including a couple of the biggest, most gravid guppies that I've seen. 

There is definitely some melting going on, but I am getting some new leaves on the crypt balsanae.
















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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Added some leopard val to the right. My big anubias and Windelov Fern is still lost in the mail. Hoping for a refund on that, but all I've had is radio silence. Made a stand from some scrap.2 by 4s for my 37 column, which will eventually be a shrimp tank. Getting the room cleaned up a bit and making it a nice place to sit and watch the tanks. I need to get a water change system in place to deal with the tannins. Right now, I only have access to cold water for the tank, so that is limiting how much I change at a time. Both tanks have the same lights, and you can see how much darker the water is is in the big tank.
















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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Finally got my plants 3 weeks later than they should have been. Still need to get a sword for the right side and some stems for the back.









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Got a few more plants out in, but I'm battling some staghorn algae. It's only on old growth, not new, so I'm probably ok but I am adding some glut just to speed things along. I was afraid that I had a mini cycle going on, but I'm at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 10 ppm nitrate. I added some root tabs, and will probably start a low light EI weekly regimen soon.









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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

oh no, i hate staghorn! it's a pain to get rid of but good sign that it is only on the old growth



There's a bit of room under the stand, would you ever set up another smaller container with a heater in there to try and do automatic water changes or are you thinking about something else that can be scaled up on this "fish room"?


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

monkeyruler90 said:


> oh no, i hate staghorn! it's a pain to get rid of but good sign that it is only on the old growth
> 
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It's a low tech tank, so getting it balanced will be a slow process. It looks like it's heading the right way, so I'm going to be patient. I'd like to get some stems in there soon to help too.

The plan is to setup an old rain barrel about 15 ft to the right of the tank. I have a float valve to keep the barrel filled and another for the sump. I bought a small pump to pump water to the floor drain. The sump will refill from the barrel. When the level drops in the barrel, it will refill. Hopefully, the barrel will allow for the water to warm and dechlorinate. Hopefully an auto water change will get rid of some of these tannins. They are making my light look way more yellow that I can stomach.

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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

I finally acquired some glutaraldehyde and started treating my tank to get rid of the staghorn. It started to turn red and appeared to be on its way out. I had to take a weekend trip to Michigan to clear out a storage unit and when I returned I found that there was still some algae left and that I had all but completely melted my val. I suppose I'll keep dosing the glut since if I am nuking the val, I may as well get rid of the algae. I'm hoping that it comes back. The corkscrew Val was growing and spreading quickly.











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## Crazygar (Nov 16, 2006)

Next foray into Michigan, visit Preuss Pets in Lansing. You will not be disappointed. Awesome store and loaded with goodies!

Gary


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## rzn7z7 (Aug 17, 2013)

Crazygar said:


> Next foray into Michigan, visit Preuss Pets in Lansing. You will not be disappointed. Awesome store and loaded with goodies!
> 
> Gary



Agreed, Preuss Pets is awesome....they're an hour+ away from me but every trip there is a treat


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Crazygar said:


> Next foray into Michigan, visit Preuss Pets in Lansing. You will not be disappointed. Awesome store and loaded with goodies!
> 
> Gary


Thanks for the recommendation, but due to the current pandemic, our trip was in and out.


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## Crazygar (Nov 16, 2006)

Not a problem. As soon as things return to "normal", you can bet I'll be at the front doors waiting for them to open the first Saturday I have the chance to visit.

Gary


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Crazygar said:


> Not a problem. As soon as things return to "normal", you can bet I'll be at the front doors waiting for them to open the first Saturday I have the chance to visit.
> 
> 
> 
> Gary


Things are going to return to normal?

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## Crazygar (Nov 16, 2006)

Whatever the new normal will look like. Sure. At least this has been a boon for the Aquarium hobby as a whole. One good thing at least.

Gary


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

The staghorn algae appears gone and things have settled down. Hopefully the val will come back. In the meantime, I was able to add a sword, some rotala, a couple types of ludwigia, a tiger lotus and 3 angelfish.












































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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Haven't updated in awhile. I still haven't put together an auto water change system, but have managed to keep a regular water change schedule. I have started a weekly fertilizer regimen and my plants are all growing and spreading. Looks like my leopard val will recover, but the spiral val is gone. I put some in my shrimp tank (that doesn't have shrimp in it yet) that I will move back over to replace what I killed with glut. I thought my lights were underpowered, but my dwarf Sag is growing and spreading quickly, so I'm probably alright there. All in all, I am happy with how things are filling out and can't wait to see this tank in a few months. I have some rotala planted behind the Balsanae that should provide a nice background once it takes off.






























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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Moved some corkscrew val back over from my other tank, though it looks like maybe the stuff I nuked is coming back. Happy with the growth I'm getting so far.























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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

love all the fish, i'm sure there is plenty of action in the tank and having them all swimming around


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

monkeyruler90 said:


> love all the fish, i'm sure there is plenty of action in the tank and having them all swimming around


Yeah, it's pretty active. Hopefully the stocking will get a bit denser once the plants do and more fry survive.

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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Everything is coming along well. My lights plus tannins are making everything a bit yellow/warm for my taste.

Thinking about moving the lotus or hydrocotyle japonica from the left side, it's getting a little crowded there. I'll have some more val coming this weekend.









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

I moved some stuff around as I was contemplating before and realized that my 1 tiger lotus wasn't adding leaves, it was multiplying. There are 3 now. I am noticing that my ludwigia leaves are curling a bit and the balansae get weird kinks in the leaves. I wonder if this is a deficiency? I dose KNO3, KH2PO4, K2SO4 and CSM+B according to the rotala butterfly calculator for 250 gallons on an EI low light/weekly system. My first look at the deficiency chart made me think calcium, which surprised me. My tap water in MN was liquid rock, but it is softer here. My water hardness here is around 125 ppm, so I don't expect a problem there, but I added some CaSO4 today after my water change to see if it helps. I also added some lights from an old good to give enough light to see some of the tank, but not grow algae.











































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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

I'm happy with how things are coming along. The stems are growing an inch or 2 every week. Starting to fight a little green dust algae on the overflow and some more staghorn on the outlets and val up near the lights, but such is the struggle of a taller tank. I'll probably reduce the lights and ferts a little. I have been adding a little more than I needed on ferts and with my newer lighting schedule, the more light on each side of the photo periods means I could probably shorten the amount of time at 100%.

Overall though the stems are doing what they are supposed to, as is the sword. Might need to find something for the left side of the right overflow eventually, or move something there.












































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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Doing a water change before hitting the road until Friday and decided to pull out the stupid piece of wood that doesn't stay where I wanted it. Think I might add a couple more swords this weekend.









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## Hujeta (Jan 26, 2020)

Bunsen Honeydew said:


> Doing a water change before hitting the road until Friday and decided to pull out the stupid piece of wood that doesn't stay where I wanted it. Think I might add a couple more swords this weekend.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Ah typical that you just removed it, was just gonna suggest you could tie some moss around that piece of wood. Think it'd be a nice addition. Nice to see some updates on the tank, seems this forum is otherwise hibernating.


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## Crazygar (Nov 16, 2006)

Height of summer here in North America my friend. Out for the sun and fun (for what we can have safely). Most of the journals will go back into full steam around September...

Gary


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Hujeta said:


> Ah typical that you just removed it, was just gonna suggest you could tie some moss around that piece of wood. Think it'd be a nice addition. Nice to see some updates on the tank, seems this forum is otherwise hibernating.


It wasn't staying where I wanted it. I have tried to keep moss out of this tank, but was thinking about wrapping some hydrocolyte around it. I have trouble with stuff getting a lot of algae when I put them too high in a taller tank though.

That spot will soon have rotala grown up behind it anyway. 

I might tie some to the wood in my shrimp tank.

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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

If I can find a couple more decent swords while I'm out this weekend, I'll probably stock them in these spots.























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## renatelynne (Aug 5, 2020)

what is the plant in the middle of the first picture that looks sorta like parsley?

Nata

I have really enjoyed watching you put your tank together. I'm fixing to put a 16 gal together (my biggest yet) and I like plants also. I have in my mind a lot of what I am planning on doing but I haven't started yet. Should be by this weekend. 

nata


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

renatelynne said:


> what is the plant in the middle of the first picture that looks sorta like parsley?
> 
> Nata
> 
> ...


It's hydrocolyte Japonica, iirc. It's kind of out of place, don't quite know what to do with it yet.

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After leaving town for 3 and a half days, I am surprised to see how much growth I've had during that time. Both the plants and the algae on the pump returns. [emoji1]


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Bought half a dozen more cories, 3 mystery snails and 2 more swords today. I'll take more pics when I change the water.

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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

More pictures. 2 new swords, blue mystery snails and some corydoras palateus. Also started to finally start working on the finish work on the stand. Wrapped in quarter inch plywood now, will treat the wood and add trim.





































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## zer0signal (Jun 10, 2015)

Nice looking tank!


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Thanks, it's getting filled out to where I want it. Give it a few more months and it'll be filled out. [emoji846]

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## zer0signal (Jun 10, 2015)

Bunsen Honeydew said:


> Thanks, it's getting filled out to where I want it. Give it a few more months and it'll be filled out. [emoji846]
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk


I am sure it will be! I am in the same boat, dealing w/ getting a 125 going.


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

zer0signal said:


> I am sure it will be! I am in the same boat, dealing w/ getting a 125 going.


My biggest complaint so far is that it's taking so long to wash the tannins out of a big piece of driftwood. I just need to get my auto water changer set up to fix that.

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## zer0signal (Jun 10, 2015)

Bunsen Honeydew said:


> My biggest complaint so far is that it's taking so long to wash the tannins out of a big piece of driftwood. I just need to get my auto water changer set up to fix that.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk


Yeah its a slow process on Tannins, especially if you have a large piece you cannot boil. Water change and patience :laugh2: Have any purigen laying around?


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

zer0signal said:


> Yeah its a slow process on Tannins, especially if you have a large piece you cannot boil. Water change and patience :laugh2: Have any purigen laying around?


No purigen, but a gallon of carbon in the sump only cleared it up for about a week. The ROI isn't high enough for purigen. I'll just keep changing water, since I'm going to anyway.

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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

New pics with water change. Also a pic if my shrimp less shrimp tank.



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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Another update. Plants are growing well, no complaints there. My glass brace popped off the front again on the right cross brace. The tank hasn't bowed out at all, so I think that I might just add a piece of aluminum to the plastic to hold up the tops. Another option is to make a full hood and use that to brace the top with a cross piece running front to back.


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Since the tank wasn't really bowing after the glass cross brace came undone, I took it out and bolted a strip of aluminum to the plastic cross race to support the glass tops. I move some ludwigia (too much) from the left overflow to the right to fill in some of the black area too.









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

I'm working on finishing the stand, but in the meantime I was able to fix nd 7 cherry shrimp to live in the moss tank next to the big tank.





































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## novato (Aug 22, 2019)

That little moss/shrimp tank is spectacular and so clean, I'm a little envious. I battle angel poop and algae even if my plants grow decently.


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

novato said:


> That little moss/shrimp tank is spectacular and so clean, I'm a little envious. I battle angel poop and algae even if my plants grow decently.


It's only little compared to the 210. It's a 37 gallon column. I haven't don't anything special with it except for mostly ignore it. Clean the filter every month or so, no ferts, simple diy light. 

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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Another update. Still working on finishing the stand. I haven't trimmed it yet, but have made the doors and "stained" what I have done. Once I get the trim on, I'll give it a couple of coats of poly. I am going to rework the canopy trim and give that the same treatment.

The corkscrew val is threatening to take over the left side, might need to move some of that.









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

New additions to the shrimp tank.
















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## rzn7z7 (Aug 17, 2013)

I really like your shrimp tank

What moss are you using?


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

I think its Java moss. Its basically whatever has survived a couple of attempts to purge my tank of moss over the years. I let it go when I shut down my 280 and moved everything to the 37 while we were selling our house.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

the tank is looking lush!!! 

how are the LEDs working out so far, do you think you want to keep this level of lighting or up it a bit and try and get some more colorful plants? 

I have always loved the juxtaposition of the two tanks. a bigger more complex tank next to a smaller tank that gets neglected but somehow always looks just as good.


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

monkeyruler90 said:


> the tank is looking lush!!!
> 
> how are the LEDs working out so far, do you think you want to keep this level of lighting or up it a bit and try and get some more colorful plants?
> 
> I have always loved the juxtaposition of the two tanks. a bigger more complex tank next to a smaller tank that gets neglected but somehow always looks just as good.


Thanks, it is getting to the point where the plants are starting to compete for real estate, so we will see how that ends up shaking out. Especially when the two smaller swords come into their own.

I like the LEDS, they seem to be getting things done. The only con of the setup is that I don't have good spread at the top. I kind of did this intentionally because my last setup had a problem with GSA on the front and I only remedied it by keeping the light from shining on it indiscriminately. I have thought about rebuilding it with the lights dispersed better front to back, but it doesn't bother me enough to put in the effort, plus I like being able to open the glass lids without moving the canopy/lights. Maybe I will rebuild the canopy when I get the equipment to motorize a lift. 

I really need to do something with the shrimp tank, but I do like how it looks in its neglect. I thought about doing a moss/plant wall in the back. I can remove quite a bit of moss and still have the bottom covered. I do like the effect of making the wood look like an island in the moss though.


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

I still need to finish up the stand trim. Speaking of trim, I need to to decide how (or if) I am going to get this jungle under control. Of nothing else, I think I need to remove some of the corkscrew val from the dwarf Sag on the left, and trim to leopard val on the right. Maybe chop the tops off of the ludwigia too. My red tiger lotus is sending up a surface leaf. Not sure what to do with it, so I'll just wait and see what it does.









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Still haven't finished the trim, and popped a magnet off a door, but I did manage to trim back the leopard Val's and ludwigia, and removed 40 or 50 corkscrew Val's. Uprooted a bunch of the dwarf Sag doing so too.









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

It's getting awfully jungly in there. One of these days I'll give it a trim and finish the stand. 









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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

Finally finished the trim on the stand, now to start on the canopy.

I also trimmed/removed quite a bit of plants, but it remains a jungle.









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