# The 1+ ton tank: 320 gallons



## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

Any and all help is appreciated! 

So the boss found out I have some aquariums at home (a meager 17 gallon and 6 gallon) and he thought it would be fun for me to do a huge 320 gallon :icon_eek: tank we have installed.

And I am asking for everyone's guidance on this since this is definitely not my home tanks.

Acrylic tank: 72" x 36" x 30" with built in overflow
Lighting: LED?
Filtration: Sump or Fluval FX5 or Eheim Pro 3?
Hardscape: ADA horn wood, rocks and gravel (unknown type)
Substrate: Decorative white sand
Flora: Unknown
Fuana: 7x Angelfish or Discus (center piece), 100x smaller schooling fish for background (2 or 3 different species)
Budget: $2,500 for everything (except the tank)

We will have walnut millwork around it to hide the edges. What the big guy looks like:











The area I have for equipment:











OVERFLOW!











Inside of the overflow...











So my first task is, how do I filter this thing?

This tank already has 2 holes drilled in the middle of the tank and 4 in the overflow. SUMP? I honestly do not know why there are 2 holes in the middle of the tank and 4 in the overflow. Can someone tell me what each of those holes were meant for? I can understand 2 holes in the tank, but not 6. 

But if I went for a canister, I could just plumb the holes for the canister and plug the unused ones.


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

That's a weird drilling. The 2 in the center of the tank would be for returns, and one of the two smaller holes would be for return as the hole drilled in the side of the overflow has to be a return line or else there is no use drilling a big hole in a tooth overflow.

I would say it's almost designed for 2 sumps, 2 drains to go to two sump and 4 returns. I don't know a lot about reef tanks and if it's worth it having 2 different sump or a sump a filter going to a calcium reactor or a refugium or something instead, only thing I can think of.

Guess you could plumb one of the big returns directly out for water changes too. Turn a ball valve and drain water right from the tank but that would only work for the amount of water in the overflow, so I dunno. lol.


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## jjp2 (May 24, 2008)

Definitely go with a sump on that. What size are the holes in the overflow? I would think it would suit a Herbie style piping or two in the overflow and then use the two in the tank as short outlets with check valves


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## OrangeSoda (Jan 15, 2011)

Not a weird drilling at all. Do you know where your boss got the tank? My bet would be a salt water place. To get more flow, salties often have more holes drilled where the live rock piles will be so that they can hook up extra pumps to increase flow for the corals. One hole for intake and one hole for output with no filter just a pump.
Also regarding the four holes in the over flow, it's safer to have four small over flows than one large one in case an anemone moves into the overflow and blocks one of the pipes.

I'd go for the sump if the office can stand some noise (which can be minimized with a herbie standpipe.)

If the office is a real quiet place with people bothered by noise, I'd go with a large canister.


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

If you plumb those bottom holes in the middle of the tank as a closed loop there is no need for check valves. I would think the holes in the bottom of the tank would be useful for a closed loop going to a CO2 reactor if you are planting the tank. Or just put a closed loop for circulation or cap them - if you don't need them you don't need them. That does sound like it could work for water changes too, with a valve and a T attached to a hose between the pump powering the closed loop and the tank you can fill and empty the tank rapidly. Perhaps that is the main reason the holes are there. I haven't done this, emptying sounds fine but filling seems like it wouldn't work through the bottom holes.

The small ones in the overflow would be for sump returns and the large ones for drains. I wonder if the drains are large enough to run as a Herbie? Probably so as planted tanks don't need as much water flow as reef tanks. I ran a single drain for a decade with no clogging issues. I covered and continue to cover it with a prefilter sponge.

Is it going to be a planted tank?
Who gets to go scuba diving to maintain this monster?
What about a big school of corys or hatchetfish as well as discus and smaller schooling fish? Tank is going to be covered, right?


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

OrangeSoda said:


> Not a weird drilling at all. Do you know where your boss got the tank? My bet would be a salt water place. To get more flow, salties often have more holes drilled where the live rock piles will be so that they can hook up extra pumps to increase flow for the corals. One hole for intake and one hole for output with no filter just a pump.
> Also regarding the four holes in the over flow, it's safer to have four small over flows than one large one in case an anemone moves into the overflow and blocks one of the pipes.
> 
> I'd go for the sump if the office can stand some noise (which can be minimized with a herbie standpipe.)
> ...


Cool, don't know much about salties but makes sense the way you described it. Knew they had to be a reason, no one builds a 320gal acrylic tank and drills it without knowing what they are doing. lol.


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## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

Sump all the way! On such a large tank it'd be silly not too. 

My advice, take it what it's worth. 

Plug the 4 small holes in the actual overflow. Use 2 of the remaining for large holes as intakes ( probably the back 2) and then the other 2 as the return (you have a return line bulkhead already setup. (That's the hole below the slots or weir). 

In the middle of the tank you could either plug those with bulkheads and a plug or do an additional center overflow and return. (That one is more risky because if power goes out... all the water goes into it) 

Big tanks are awesome!

Kathy, That's not always true. If one of those lines comes loose or the pump needs maintenance you need a more sure-fire way of preventing leaks ie. a ball valve.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

With a tank that tall I would use all low light plants, with CO2 and high light, a big sump with a high flow rate pump. I would use wood so you can put java trident etc, between splintered areas.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Too tall to regularly prune/arrange plants, so I agree you should plan on slower growers. Avoid stem plants... Take some hints from Tom Barrs (plantbrain) large tanks, he posted some good threads.


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

jjp2 said:


> Definitely go with a sump on that. What size are the holes in the overflow? I would think it would suit a Herbie style piping or two in the overflow and then use the two in the tank as short outlets with check valves


 The 2 holes in the middle of the tank are 1-3/4" dia. The 2 small ones in the overflow are 1-3/4" dia and the big ones are 2-1/4" dia.



OrangeSoda said:


> Not a weird drilling at all. Do you know where your boss got the tank? My bet would be a salt water place. To get more flow, salties often have more holes drilled where the live rock piles will be so that they can hook up extra pumps to increase flow for the corals. One hole for intake and one hole for output with no filter just a pump.
> Also regarding the four holes in the over flow, it's safer to have four small over flows than one large one in case an anemone moves into the overflow and blocks one of the pipes.
> 
> I'd go for the sump if the office can stand some noise (which can be minimized with a herbie standpipe.)
> ...


 Thanks for the explanation there! We like our quietness but I'll look into the herbie standpipe. I just found out there was 2 Oceanic Systems Overflow Accessory Kits hiding somewhere. And it looks like it was made for a herbie style overflow! Which would explain the 2 return and 2 drain holes in the overflow.




Kathyy said:


> If you plumb those bottom holes in the middle of the tank as a closed loop there is no need for check valves. I would think the holes in the bottom of the tank would be useful for a closed loop going to a CO2 reactor if you are planting the tank. Or just put a closed loop for circulation or cap them - if you don't need them you don't need them. That does sound like it could work for water changes too, with a valve and a T attached to a hose between the pump powering the closed loop and the tank you can fill and empty the tank rapidly. Perhaps that is the main reason the holes are there. I haven't done this, emptying sounds fine but filling seems like it wouldn't work through the bottom holes.
> 
> Is it going to be a planted tank?
> Who gets to go scuba diving to maintain this monster?
> What about a big school of corys or hatchetfish as well as discus and smaller schooling fish? Tank is going to be covered, right?


Sounds like a plan to use to 2 middle ones connected to a shut off valve for quick tank draining.

Planted? Hopefully if I can get plants that are easy to maintain. Probably NLJF and the likes. Boss still needs to be sold on this though.



fishykid1 said:


> Plug the 4 small holes in the actual overflow. Use 2 of the remaining for large holes as intakes ( probably the back 2) and then the other 2 as the return (you have a return line bulkhead already setup. (That's the hole below the slots or weir).


Sounds like a plan!











150EH said:


> With a tank that tall I would use all low light plants, with CO2 and high light, a big sump with a high flow rate pump. I would use wood so you can put java trident etc, between splintered areas.


Agreed!


Now I get to plan this out with all this information. :bounce: Work is more fun when all I do is plan for an aquarium for a week.

Thanks for all the insight everyone! I'm going to draw up some schematic plumbing plans and see how they work.


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## jjp2 (May 24, 2008)

The 2 3/4 inch will fit a 1.5 inch bulk head and the 1 3/4 fit a 1 inch bulk head (sch 40). That is a lot of flow. 

I would still use the holes in the tank. This will allow you to distribute CO2 and flow through the entire tank. If you don't, it will be tough getting an even CO2 distribution with all the opposite end of the tank. I'd even think of plugging one of the 1 3/4 in the bulk head and the middle, and drill another at the far end to allow for better distribution.

I have a 180 gallon which is a peninsula. It has 6 holes (1-3/4 inch) drilled down its middle in pairs. I have 2 standpipes, 3 returns, run a sump and use a mag 18 with a needlewheel for CO2. Yes the standpipes are noticable but not too bad. The 3 returns allow for CO2 to disburse evenly. I control the return flow with valves to turn it. I only run 160 Watts of T5HO on the tank. I did try the 320 Watts I have and it was too much. Too much growth and green spot algae.


I agree that CO2 and low light is the way to go with lots of wood. It is a perfect tank for its location and will look great being able to be seen from both sides.


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

Based on what everyone has suggested, here is my current plan for the tank. 2 drain lines to the sump. 2 return lines from the sump. 2 drain lines to empty the tank...










(4) 1" union ball valves. (2) at the drain. (2) from the sump to the pump.
(4) 3/4" union ball valves. (2) at the return. (2) for draining the tank.
Trigger Systems Ruby Sump 36x15x16
(2) Eheim 1262 pumps
(2) Eheim 300W heaters

All of the equipment will sit on a sheet metal pan with 3-4" walls just in case water spills. The pan will also have an opening for the floor drain.

We want to keep things quiet, and I've used eheim pumps on my computer. So I know they are quiet and last quite a long time.

What do you think? Are there a suggestion to improve?


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## Mr. Fish (Apr 24, 2012)

dang this tank is gonna be massive.. heavily planted?


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Why two drains for simply draining the tank? Sure, go for it, but I would plug one unless you need to drain that sucker really fast.

Put a gate valve on one of the overflow drains and run it at full syphon. Use the other as an emergency and have just a trickle running down it. It will keep things quiet and there's no way you'll max the single drain with two Eheims if the drain is running full syphon. I'd guess you'll have to dial it back about 1/3-1/2 regardless. Those Eheims will be pumping out close to 1500gph and a single 1.5" should handle around 3000 at full syphon.


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## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

[STRIKE]akoly, I would switch the pump side to the other side. You'll put less stress on the pump by doing a straight vertical piping rather than having 2 extra elbows and 3' extra feet of return line.
That is of course, if you can. I see you had the drain line on the other side, which may block that. (I'm sure you have thought about that.)[/STRIKE]

nevermind, i see that they have installed a drain there in the pics. That was not a very good design move IMO because it puts more head pressure on the pumps.


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

jcgd said:


> Why two drains for simply draining the tank? Sure, go for it, but I would plug one unless you need to drain that sucker really fast.
> 
> Put a gate valve on one of the overflow drains and run it at full syphon. Use the other as an emergency and have just a trickle running down it. It will keep things quiet and there's no way you'll max the single drain with two Eheims if the drain is running full syphon. I'd guess you'll have to dial it back about 1/3-1/2 regardless. Those Eheims will be pumping out close to 1500gph and a single 1.5" should handle around 3000 at full syphon.


I think 1 of the drainpipes will be 12" high and hidden in driftwood. I just got some nice wood pieces from Tom Barr but I have to see if its possible to hide a drain first. So if someone were to do water changes and had to say, leave for a second (or more than likely forget about it and come back in an hour) it won't drain the entire tank. Tom brought this up.

Second drain can be for a full tank drain.




fishykid1 said:


> [STRIKE]akoly, I would switch the pump side to the other side. You'll put less stress on the pump by doing a straight vertical piping rather than having 2 extra elbows and 3' extra feet of return line.
> That is of course, if you can. I see you had the drain line on the other side, which may block that. (I'm sure you have thought about that.)[/STRIKE]
> 
> nevermind, i see that they have installed a drain there in the pics. That was not a very good design move IMO because it puts more head pressure on the pumps.


I always thought head pressure was related to vertical height of the water column? But no elbows, flexible tubing all around here.

And yeah, bummer about the drain. But that was just where it was put :eek5: I didn't know if I should put the pump close to the drain for less tubing or put the overflows close to the drain for less tubing. I can't do both.


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

*Update!*

Teaser shots! Some wood I picked up from Tom Barr


















Some initial setups:









This looks much better in person.




































I got my lights in from amazon but they packed the lights stupidly. They put them on the bottom of the box and padding on top of it. Of course theyre broken in a million pieces.


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## Em85 (Apr 16, 2009)

If I were you, and I had that deep of a tank to play with, I would draw inspiration from this guy's epic tank: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals/165053-220g-transformation.html

That build is making me seriously consider turning my 210 into a planted tank.


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

Em85 said:


> If I were you, and I had that deep of a tank to play with, I would draw inspiration from this guy's epic tank: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals/165053-220g-transformation.html
> 
> That build is making me seriously consider turning my 210 into a planted tank.


Thanks for the read and pretty pictures. I don't know what I could draw from his tank atm since its a bit different in terms of layout and ours really being a wall divider so its seen from 2 sides, but I'm sure I'll borrow something.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

I love that wood. I'd love to scape a tank without paying a penny


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## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

Nope, even horizontally there is head loss to be accounted for. Not usually a big deal, but friction is still present. 

Like the wood! Still mad there's no water in this thing yet


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

New toys! And the most accepted driftwood layout.

Plumbing going in next Wednesday. I hope.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I love photos of gear piled up, that looks like so much fun!!!!You need to find a barrel to start soaking that wood and all those cracks and splits will be a great place to cram Java Trident and Anubias Petite, woot, woot. Sorry it was all those Eheim pumps that got me syked.

This place has good prices if they have something your looking for, like Ebo-Jager 300 watt heater for $27 and really fair shipping or bulkhead mounts to install the heaters in the side of the sump so the dial is right up front for adjusting, Jehmco has some hard to find stuff too.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

I'm not sure adding the wood in the center like that is advisable. Would it look nicer if you had 2 opposing placements or off set to one side ???

My 180 has a similar wood set up and angles etc, but it set off to one side of the tank.

2 separate groups might be nice also.

You need to seal the inlets for the sump so no gas exchange can take place where the water comes in there, bag filters stink for this reason in most sump designs.


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

plantbrain said:


> I'm not sure adding the wood in the center like that is advisable. Would it look nicer if you had 2 opposing placements or off set to one side ???
> 
> My 180 has a similar wood set up and angles etc, but it set off to one side of the tank.
> 
> ...


We'll play around with it moving it off centered vs centered to see what works best. We were thinking because its visible on 3 sides, and its at a corner wall centered might be best. And I don't mean visible on 3 sides like most tanks where you have to lean over to see the side panels. This is 3 sides that you will always walk past.

What do you mean by seal the inlets? I can put a piece of PVC in the inlet so it reaches the bottom of the filter sock so it doesn't splash around. That seems like it would help take some noise out of the sump too.


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## Lil' Swimz$ (Jul 24, 2010)

OMG Subscribed!


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

Quick update. I can't do the plumbing (most likely has to do with liability) so the contractor is doing it! But he won't be able to do it until Friday. But all the parts are there for him. And the millwork is done.










You can see some sand piled up on the left.









I tested the water and it is hard. Very hard. 350+mg/l. And the PH is very basic. PH was 8.3 if I remember correctly. No funds left for an RO system. And I would have thought they installed a water softener but they didn't.

So, no more discus for sure as the centerpiece fish. I've been reading captive bred angelfish do fine in hard water. I wanted to get altums but they require soft water too.

Any other suggestions for the centerpiece fish?


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## DerekFF (May 24, 2011)

Discus can still live in that water


Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

DerekFF said:


> Discus can still live in that water
> 
> 
> Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


Everywhere I've read and from everyone I've spoken to said discus prefer soft water.

Do you have discus in hard water?


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## Em85 (Apr 16, 2009)

I live in Boise, ID - VERY hard water, and people (including the LFS) are keeping discus. Someone in my local fish club even had them spawn recently, and he uses straight tap.


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## DerekFF (May 24, 2011)

I have discus (not wilds) bred, born and raised in 100% tap water with a ph of 7.8 and a tds of 300+/- and many others have the same. 

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


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## TWA (Jan 30, 2012)

DerekFF said:


> I have discus (not wilds) bred, born and raised in 100% tap water with a ph of 7.8 and a tds of 300+/- and many others have the same.
> 
> Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


Your hatch rate must have been minuscule. Discus will live and spawn in whatever water you put them in, the eggs often times don't hatch with hard water.


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## prp427 (Jun 28, 2011)

Sweet project, subscribed!
What are you doing for lighting??


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

Well thanks for the info about the discus! I'll look back into finding a couple raised in hard water.



prp427 said:


> Sweet project, subscribed!
> What are you doing for lighting??


T5HO for now. Not enough money in the budget for fancier lighting.


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## DerekFF (May 24, 2011)

TWA said:


> Your hatch rate must have been minuscule. Discus will live and spawn in whatever water you put them in, the eggs often times don't hatch with hard water.


80-90%

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


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## CatB (Jan 29, 2012)

awesome project, giving you a taste of what it's like to design tanks for a living...lucky.
subscribed, can't wait to see what comes of this behemoth!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

akpoly said:


> We'll play around with it moving it off centered vs centered to see what works best. We were thinking because its visible on 3 sides, and its at a corner wall centered might be best. And I don't mean visible on 3 sides like most tanks where you have to lean over to see the side panels. This is 3 sides that you will always walk past.
> 
> What do you mean by seal the inlets? I can put a piece of PVC in the inlet so it reaches the bottom of the filter sock so it doesn't splash around. That seems like it would help take some noise out of the sump too.


I think what Tom meant was form more of a peninsula than a long island that is set in the middle of the tank.

This is sure gonna be an exciting build!


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## styxx (Jul 2, 2003)

Good lord, am I subscribed.


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## kwheeler91 (May 26, 2009)

There are always africans  some nice planted african tanks on here.


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

PLUMBING IS DONE! Ain't it so clean and purty?


















Gotta water test this thing. No one knows if its water tight. 









We ended up letting the tank drains empty to the sump.









And the sump drains to the floor drain.









My work platform...









I still can't reach the bottom of the tank even though I'm 4' off the floor.









And a preview... 









The driftwood wouldn't stay down, so I have to get more rocks to weigh it down. Started to mess up the rockwork and sand too. So I need to clean that stuff up before you get to see the final hardscape. :angryfire


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Looks awesome man. That is some super clean plumbing... I wish I could pull off plumbing that clean. Give me some EMT and I'll make art, but my plumbing looks like poop. I'd strongly consider something simple like narrow leaf java, bolbitis and anubias or something. Don't need any decent soil, just sand and it would be easy as heck to prune one every blue moon. Plus you would have enough trimmings to make a couple hundred a handful of times a year.

That hardscape looks really nice, super natural and has a jungle feel to it, even with nothing else. Don't stress over the wood, I have a big batch from Tom too, and it sunk is 4-5 days. It was kinda funny; one day it was all floating, the next it was sitting on the bottom. 

Have you decided what you're doing for fish? It doesn't seem too exciting, but I would like to see something simple, like a nice little school of harlequins or something. Maybe some other unusual little tetra. If you keep the school small enough, say 30-40 tetras, they would probably stay together pretty well and move around the tank as a group, leaving some areas empty. Almost like you'd have to look for a second to see where they are (rather than everywhere) and you could follow them as they move around the tank.


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

jcgd said:


> Looks awesome man. I'd strongly consider something simple like narrow leaf java, bolbitis and anubias or something. Don't need any decent soil, just sand and it would be easy as heck to prune one every blue moon. Plus you would have enough trimmings to make a couple hundred a handful of times a year.


Thanks! NLJF and anubias for sure. I need to get the hardscape settled first for the boss to give me the roud: and proceed with more.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Nice! Good call. I edited my post above in ninja'ed you, hehe.


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

Stocking...

Most likely:
5 Neon Blue or Royal Red Discus
30 Penguin Tetras
30 Black Phantom or Silver Tip Tetras

If I can't get discus, I'll try for 5 veil tailed angelfish.

I'm trying to get schooling fish that won't be eaten.


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## green_valley (Sep 14, 2011)

Very nice Very NIce. I love big tanks. Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh babyy..................
I can't wait for more updates.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

Awesome hardscape! Just gotta get it water logged 

You seem awfully conservative on stocking... You'll see maybe half of those 60 tetras you're putting in there. Maybe raise the numbers a bit?


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## CatB (Jan 29, 2012)

jkan0228 said:


> Awesome hardscape! Just gotta get it water logged
> 
> You seem awfully conservative on stocking... You'll see maybe half of those 60 tetras you're putting in there. Maybe raise the numbers a bit?


i agree, more tetras...120 sounds better  (or okay, whatever isn't overstocking)


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

It's looking good and i can't reach the bottom of a 30 inch tall tank so you'll need a couple good pair of tongs to work in there, one work horse that can pick up rocks and one set with pincers that can plant.

Looks like fun to me!!!


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

A quick update for yals!

Everyone saw the tank and they didn't want to do anything else to it.  So the plants I had planned are not going in. I get to take a 2 hour break twice a week from work to take care of the tank for the month. Doing 50% water changes to get rid of tanins.










This is how maintenance happens! Except I moved the ladder out of the picture.









Millwork closed.









From the bathroom...









I couldn't take any from the other room because of the glare. But if there is a good chance, I'll post one up. 

I am re-doing my 17g with awesome leftover pieces of wood. So stay posted for that.


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

Just a quick shot of the left over wood I'll be using for the 17gal. I'll need to break them down but there will be wood sticking out and plants growing up it!










The girlfriend was going to throw away her stacking crates and I saw the potential. Its the perfect size for my LED light bars to go through the holes and sit anywhere in the crate at any height. So its my grow out area! I tried erios emersed for awhile but that didn't go so well the past week. Must have been too hot. So in the dunk tank they go!










I've also got a bunch of anubias and NLJF waiting for the new tank to go in.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

That tank looks fantastic. That wood really worked out well, eh? And that built in looks perfect. Very clean.

You said the view is from the bathroom. Can you see out of the bathroom through the tank? Just curious.

What did you mean when you said nobody is willing to work on the tank after they saw it? How come you can't add the plants? Or did they mean that it looks so beautiful right now they don't think you should add the plants? If that's the case I can certainly see where they are coming from.


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

jcgd said:


> That tank looks fantastic. That wood really worked out well, eh? And that built in looks perfect. Very clean.
> 
> You said the view is from the bathroom. Can you see out of the bathroom through the tank? Just curious.
> 
> What did you mean when you said nobody is willing to work on the tank after they saw it? How come you can't add the plants? Or did they mean that it looks so beautiful right now they don't think you should add the plants? If that's the case I can certainly see where they are coming from.


Thanks! We're getting a 1-way mirror installed on it. So at the moment, yes, you can see people on the potty.

And they liked the simple look of the tank so everyone just wanted to keep it that way.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

akpoly said:


> Thanks! We're getting a 1-way mirror installed on it. So at the moment, yes, you can see people on the potty.
> 
> And they liked the simple look of the tank so everyone just wanted to keep it that way.


Nice. It does look really good!


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## styxx (Jul 2, 2003)

Akpoly,
If I could make a humble suggestion, add some Purigen to the sump. I promise you won't regret it. Instead of doing such massive water changes (though those are important) I think that using sufficient Purigen to absorb the tannins will clear that water up to truly pristine levels. You'll never regret using it - I promise!


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

styxx said:


> Akpoly,
> If I could make a humble suggestion, add some Purigen to the sump. I promise you won't regret it. Instead of doing such massive water changes (though those are important) I think that using sufficient Purigen to absorb the tannins will clear that water up to truly pristine levels. You'll never regret using it - I promise!


Oh i know! I put in 1L of purigen to help battle the tanins and it was spent in 2 weeks. No joke. But it did help keep the yellowing water down to like a jasmine tea color. The water became like an earl gray tea color the day after the purigen was done.

So I put in another 2L and it seems to be holding steady. I did regenerate the original 1L but it didn't go back to being completely white. Some beads never regenerated also.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Although you never got to plant the tank, I think it looks awesome as-is. Put a big group of cories in there- I bet they'd love all that sand!


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## styxx (Jul 2, 2003)

akpoly said:


> Oh i know! I put in 1L of purigen to help battle the tanins and it was spent in 2 weeks. No joke. But it did help keep the yellowing water down to like a jasmine tea color. The water became like an earl gray tea color the day after the purigen was done.
> 
> So I put in another 2L and it seems to be holding steady. I did regenerate the original 1L but it didn't go back to being completely white. Some beads never regenerated also.


I think if you just keep with it, it will eventually get things clear. That's pretty quick rate of exhaustion, but at least you have enough to continually recharge and swap out. It's awesome and I have every confidence that given enough time, you'll get a handle on it with the amount of Purigen that you have now. :redface:


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

CL said:


> Although you never got to plant the tank, I think it looks awesome as-is. Put a big group of cories in there- I bet they'd love all that sand!


Thanks! I was thinking loaches would be pretty cool too. Maybe I can nudge for a few more fish. 



styxx said:


> I think if you just keep with it, it will eventually get things clear. That's pretty quick rate of exhaustion, but at least you have enough to continually recharge and swap out. It's awesome and I have every confidence that given enough time, you'll get a handle on it with the amount of Purigen that you have now.


I certainly hope so! The box says 1L for 1000 gallons... pft.


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## robbowal (Mar 27, 2011)

If you want some colour flashes at the substrate try some orange/green lazer corries as i fear as the plants take hold of the woodwork the base will be quite shaded in this deep tank.


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

sad that you can't add any plants. however the hardscape looks fantastic and i'd think it's really a blessing in disguise. I'd hate to put so much effort and time into something other people could decide they no longer like, or don't like.

it really is an amazing looking tank though... i'd love to see something simple like anubias attached around the base of the wood for some green


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## styxx (Jul 2, 2003)

*I concur...*



scapegoat said:


> sad that you can't add any plants. however the hardscape looks fantastic and i'd think it's really a blessing in disguise. I'd hate to put so much effort and time into something other people could decide they no longer like, or don't like.
> 
> it really is an amazing looking tank though... i'd love to see something simple like anubias attached around the base of the wood for some green


Ah, scapegoat I totally agree. With a tank this large, I can see some great use of Anubias, Trident or regular Needle Leaf Java, plus some Boblitus. Just those alone would do justice to that magnificent driftwood! But as it is, the tanks is still gorgeous and I'm disgustingly jealous, lol. That said, I have to admit that while I'm not much of a sand person, I really like the look of the sand here. So rarely does one see it done well and here is a great example of that, IMHO.


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## akpoly (Aug 23, 2011)

styxx said:


> Ah, scapegoat I totally agree. With a tank this large, I can see some great use of Anubias, Trident or regular Needle Leaf Java, plus some Boblitus. Just those alone would do justice to that magnificent driftwood! But as it is, the tanks is still gorgeous and I'm disgustingly jealous, lol. That said, I have to admit that while I'm not much of a sand person, I really like the look of the sand here. So rarely does one see it done well and here is a great example of that, IMHO.


Thanks!

It needed to be done within budget and sand was the only thing around.

The discus are finally swimming around! And they are eating dried foods now as well.


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## rreekers (Feb 3, 2012)

WOW!! beautiful


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## Obakemono (Dec 23, 2011)

Nice tank! And you get paid to work on it! I think that tank would pop if there was some green in there.


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## Ozydego (Aug 29, 2011)

I kinda like the bleek look. It really lets the Discus stand out and lets them be the center of attention. Absolutely gorgeous.


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## zzrguy (Jul 11, 2012)

akpoly said:


>


 Maybe a little green to cover up the overflow some Fire cherry red shrimp or SS crs to liven up the bottom{and clean thing up}


But it looks awsome anyway.


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