# 80 Gallon Shallow Rimless Valley



## Mike! (Mar 26, 2018)

I'm considering a very similar setup for a future tank right down to the Deep Blue 80 gallon frag. I'm planning to only go as far as semi-aquatic. Wood jutting out of the water with (ideally) flowering buce at the top. I could imagine a misting system being necessary and maybe an unusually low water level to keep that within the glass.

Anyway, I don't have much in the way of suggestions, but I am following with interest!


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

Sounds very interesting, and love the Deep Blue rimless.

Subscribed.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I guess I could start with the picture of the blank canvas.

10 years ago I had a SPS dominated 125 sitting here rocking 3 400 metal halides that was plumbed to a complete frag grow out system and sump in the basement.

I then downsized to a 60 gallon cube which was fully automated including continuous waterchanges and dosing system.

I decided to "retire" from the reef tank hobby a couple years later.

After "retirement" the space was used for a 3'x5' Guinea pig cage. Long story short after 4 years my kids grew tired of the pigs and they were adopted my a new family.

Once the space was empty I knew it was time to setup another tank and try my hand at growing plants underwater.










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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Tank and stand waiting for me to pick them up at my buddies new shop!
















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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

A little setback today. I brought the tank and stand inside and realized the tank had no overflow. It's going back to the LFS on Tuesday and getting swapped with one with built in overflow.

He did have a 60 gallon with overflow in stock but at only 12" tall it's a little too short for my liking.

Also, the pre built stand I bought could really use some TLC before the tank goes on it.

The stand is constructed entirely of MDF. The bottom is completely raw exposed end grain. I can't even count the number of stands I've seen like this where the bottom is all swelled up from moisture. I'm going to prime and seal the exposed wood as well as reinforce to bottom panel with a couple pieces of lumber.

I will also be installing a rubber liner inside the cabinet to catch any drips or leaks around the sump area.

This is where experience and especially patients comes into play. Do it right the first time and this stand will last forever.

I'll attach a picture of the non reef ready tank on the stand. I'll need to find a new location for the Fluval Spec III as I plan on centering the tank in that area.

This is hopefully going to be my best aquarium build to date. I'm really excited to see it progress.









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## abovo (Jul 27, 2017)

Good idea to seal that MDF. I’m curious to see how you do the rubber liner. I’d like to do something similar for my stand build on my 100 gallon. 


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

abovo said:


> Good idea to seal that MDF. I’m curious to see how you do the rubber liner. I’d like to do something similar for my stand build on my 100 gallon.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The membrane won't be very tall due to the cabinet design but it will prevent water damage from minor leaks and drips. It will literally just be stapled in place.

Another option would be a few cans of "flex seal" I'm wondering if that would actually work? It might work well on the bottom of the stand to seal the exposed MDF. I'll have to do some testing.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I'm not super impressed with the Deep Blue aquariums. The build quality seems "ok" but they don't seem to take pride in their tanks. A few minutes with a razor blade to clean up extra sealant on the outside of the tank would have gone a long way with me.

Also, scratched trim under the factory cardboard?

I realize these aren't "professional grade" tanks but the lack of pride and quality control shows.









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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

Like the plans and nice nook for positioning a tank. I'm planning a similar transition at the moment, got the underwater bit, then I'm working on using a HOB and hang on back breeding box for transition and I want to have some emersed behind so it all appears linked together.

Anubias emersed are going to be a tougher one. There are other plants that might cope better with slightly lower humidity i.e. no cover/misting. Depends on what looks you want. Spathiphyllum (peace lilly) is that sort of style leaf but may cope better. It's fun to experiment though. 

Looking forward to seeing how you progress


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## abovo (Jul 27, 2017)

I don’t have experience with flex seal. If it dries pretty hard it would wear ok and not be perforated easily. Does it dry like truck bedliner? That might work well. Maybe seal all the seams with caulk, let it dry, and seal it with whatever spray sealer you choose. 


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

tamsin said:


> Like the plans and nice nook for positioning a tank. I'm planning a similar transition at the moment, got the underwater bit, then I'm working on using a HOB and hang on back breeding box for transition and I want to have some emersed behind so it all appears linked together.
> 
> Anubias emersed are going to be a tougher one. There are other plants that might cope better with slightly lower humidity i.e. no cover/misting. Depends on what looks you want. Spathiphyllum (peace lilly) is that sort of style leaf but may cope better. It's fun to experiment though.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing how you progress


Thanks for the reply.

The original inspiration for this tank was from Hitmanx's Celestial Swamp. While I love the look of it, my focus is a smooth transition from emmersed to emerged. 

I actually purchased a CPR aquafuge to hang on the back to use as a planter box. TBH I dont think I'll use it. I'd really like to not have ANY equipment in the display. I'm not sure I'll be able to affectively completely hide it. 

Another issue I see with using plants like peace lilies is they tend to get very tall and large. They also consume large amounts of nutrients. That would require me to have the light very high and dose more nutrients. While my lighting will be easilly adjustable I want to keep it below "eye level" when viewing the tank.

My idea is to use terrestrial (emerged) plants that will hopefully stay relatively short and compact allowing me to keep the lighting fairly low and possibly give me the ability to use a misting system to keep plants from drying out.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

abovo said:


> I don’t have experience with flex seal. If it dries pretty hard it would wear ok and not be perforated easily. Does it dry like truck bedliner? That might work well. Maybe seal all the seams with caulk, let it dry, and seal it with whatever spray sealer you choose.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Truck bed liner might work as well if I seal all the seams first. Good idea.

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## theDCpump (Jul 22, 2016)

JeremyDMeyer76 said:


> I'm not super impressed with the Deep Blue aquariums. The build quality seems "ok" but they don't seem to take pride in their tanks. A few minutes with a razor blade to clean up extra sealant on the outside of the tank would have gone a long way with me.
> 
> Also, scratched trim under the factory cardboard?
> 
> ...


i have to run, so I'm typing fast...


Agreed. Decent tanks.
Hit or miss on Deep Blue tanks with the TLC we think we are getting. 
No two tanks look alike, so choose the one you want with patience and Bring A Flashlight.
I caught one issue from my one dealers backroom that had a tank I was interested in that had a triangular chip the size of a coin missing up top, in the top corner under the upper plastic brace!~

Another note:
One dealer out here gives you a sheet to "sign off" with a signature, looking the whole tank over to make sure it's ok to take it out of the building to the car after.
The other dealers/stores seem to not bother so much with the details and just sell the tanks.

I just had my first issue with the large 120g 48x24x24.
I paid/pre-ordered it and when it came in, I had some corncerns.

By the way, you will like your 80 rimless except for the water line mark over time.
Very pretty, but has the slightest bowing in the glass when the water is in it.
I only kept the 80 tank for a few years, so I have zero record of any issue on the 80g 48x24x16.
-the 24 inch front-to-back tanks are a step up in landscaping space for sure.


Up until this month, I have had almost nothing but good looking tanks and silicon seals from Deep Blue and Seapora.
From what I understand, the glass is a import (possibly China) and the tanks get assembled in California by the Aquarium Masters facility.
Next, the tanks in the U.S.A get a Deep Blue sticker, and the Canadian ones get a Seapora sticker that go to Toronto.
Once the stickers are off, there may be not much to tell a Deep Blue from a Seapora tank.

We have 20g longs, 20g highs, a sold 60 rimless cube, kept a difficult but gorgeous deep 74 Seapora tower, a 90 Seapora, 40 Breeder, 30g low that looks like a shorter 40 breeder, an 80 rimless (like yours), an 80 shallow standard and last weeks ugly 120g 48x24x24.

Photos:
The left end (last photo of 4) of the big 120g Deep Blue had a nice straight run of silicon (outside of tank) on the lower plastic that touched the glass, but then the other end was looking like it was made the following Monday by an assembler.
End number two:
-A gap on each corner between the plastic lower brace and the glass, as well as a corner that had the glass panel walked slightly in (to make the gap previously mentioned look bigger).
No symmetrical work on the "bad end" as well as the lack of the nice bead of silicon shown that runs on the outside like the one on the other good end.
The pics should help.


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## Yams (May 4, 2018)

Aww yea, "seamless natural planted transition from immersed to emerged" sounds like my kind of tank! Looking forward to seeing it come alive!


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Yams said:


> Aww yea, "seamless natural planted transition from immersed to emerged" sounds like my kind of tank! Looking forward to seeing it come alive!


It's gonna be interesting! This will be my first planted tank. I'm super excited and nervous at the same time.

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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Today was a day I had to make a few major decisions about tank placement as well as lighting. 

Lightning, the original equipment choice was to use the Aquatic Life T5/LED Hybrid and adding 2 Kessil A360w Tuna Suns to it as designed. And then I ran across this picture. 

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT A PIC OF MY TANK BUT I LOVE HOW CLEAN THE LIGHTING IS!

I REALLY like the look but already ordered and recieved the Aquatic Life fixture and all the Geissmann bulbs. Rather than pay shipping to return it I decided I would just use it.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

With some assistance I decided it would be a good night to assemble the fixture. For bulbs I am using 2 54 watt Geissmann Tropics and 2 Geissmann Power Chromes. 

I will work on getting it hung once I recieve the Kessil's.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Being the light will be hung from the ceiling I really needed to decide on how I would place the tank in the given space. A 6 foot tank would have fit the given space more appropriately but my wallet and availability of tank selection limited me to the 24x48 footprint.

The choice was between "centering" the tank or having it "offset" to the left placed in the corner.

Being there is only around 6 foot of space to work with I didn't like that there was only 19" of space on each side when centered. I felt it made the tank look too small for the given space.

That said, I opted to offset the tank to the left and place it in the corner. To fill the void on the right I used a large potted umbrella tree that has been neglected in another dark corner on the other end of the house

It filled the void perfect and think the stray light from the tank might really help it grow.

The placement has also influenced my aquascape plans. Now, that the tank is in the corner it makes more sense to me to just have one large rock pile in the back corner that tapers to the front right and transitions into a "beach area" where this really nice piece of driftwood my mom gave me sits.
















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## TacitBlues (Aug 4, 2016)

I like it. My aquariums are mostly on a wall that also has a large collection of houseplants; I really like how the aquatic and terrestrial plants play off each other. 


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Today's update consisted of more preparation with safety in mind.

Time to replace that old ungrounded outlet to a grounded GFCI! Just noticed I installed it upside down...oh well. As long as its safe.

















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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

One thing I hate about premade aquarium stands is the fact that are made of pretty much the most water absorbant wood known to man. Not only that but they leave the bottom of the stand completely raw. One little flood and your aquarium stand soaks up a good amount of the water making it swell.

I decided to try and seal it with some Flex Seal. This stuff drys like rubber and seems like it will work very well. I decided to buy a big enough can to coat the inside of the stand too. According to my math the stand can now hold about 10 gallons of water. 

Let's hope it never does!
















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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Fresh off the USPS truck!

Black Lava rock! I'm fairly certain this will be enough to do what I want to. The flash from the camera makes it look sort of brown.

Under the the T5's it looks very nice. 


Plants should look great growing on it! It'll give a good contrast between the substrate and plants.
















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## TacitBlues (Aug 4, 2016)

Cool, I am a big fan of lava rock (the 40g tank in my signature is full of it). Anubias and other rhizome plants like grabbing on to it as much as they like driftwood. How much was it that you got?


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

BIG UPDATE TODAY!

I got home from work last night all excited to find the Kessil A360W Tuna Suns waiting for me. After unboxing them and installing them in the Aquatic Life T5 Hybrid fixture I gave them a quick test.

Visually, they don't really seem that bright for the money. Mind you the tank that once sat here had 3 400 MH fixtures on it so maybe they are actually bright but I'm used to brighter.

I was also disappointed that they only dim so much before shutting completely off. The power supplies seem to get very warm as well. Overall, I sort of wish I would have gone with something else for the money but I'll give them a run and see how they grow plants.

The picture here is the Kessils by themselves without the T5's.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Also, my reef ready tank arrived today. I'm not sure if I mentioned it in my previous posts but there was a mixup with my tank order and I recieved a non drilled tank. Today, I swapped it out for the correct tank.

I decided to use pool filter sand as substrate being it was easy to get and CHEAP! 

In this picture I'm just getting an idea of how the colors of the hardscape will look under all the lights.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Being I wasn't quite sure if I had enough stone or not, I did sort of a "rough draft" of the layout.

The original plan was to center the tank in between the 2 wing walls. After that didn't work out a decided to just go with one rock pile that flows out of the corner. That said, disregard the title of this journal. LoL

When I started it, I had planned on doing a rock pile on each side of the tank that formed a valley in the middle. It's interesting how tank placement had so much influence on my hardscape design.

Anyway, I'm not satisfied with the amount of rock above the land area. The plan is to take it all back out and use some landscaping blocks as "filler" so I'll be able to stack the rock even taller and give myself more "land" area for the emmersed plants.

I'm planning on filling the top area of the rocks with "ABG Mix" for the terrestrial plants to grow in. I've used this stuff many times in my terrariums and orchidarium. I think it will work nicely. In order to prevent the soil from falling through the rocks I will place a layer of landscaping fabric down and hide it with rocks and soil.

I also still need to do cord management on the lights. I should be able to hide nearly all of them and have them run down into the stand in one bundle in the back left corner.









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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

Nice! Looks like you are getting along well. Have you tried moving the bit of wood just a smidge to the left so it's in contact with the rocks just to tie the two sides together. If you can get a smaller bit of the same wood might be nice to have it in the front left - again to make sure you don't have two separate sections. 

Have you considered pulling the tank forward and right about 6" so you could have a shelf or HOB box to extend the planting in the back corner?


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## kaldurak (May 2, 2010)

JeremyDMeyer76 said:


> Today's update consisted of more preparation with safety in mind.
> 
> Time to replace that old ungrounded outlet to a grounded GFCI! Just noticed I installed it upside down...oh well. As long as its safe.
> 
> ...


Instead of upside down, think of it as Installed to code like in hospitals where all outlets are installed upside down. That way the ground is on top and say something thin and metal fell down the wall and slid into a gap of the plug and outlet - it'll contact the ground instead of hot or neutral.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

tamsin said:


> Nice! Looks like you are getting along well. Have you tried moving the bit of wood just a smidge to the left so it's in contact with the rocks just to tie the two sides together. If you can get a smaller bit of the same wood might be nice to have it in the front left - again to make sure you don't have two separate sections.
> 
> Have you considered pulling the tank forward and right about 6" so you could have a shelf or HOB box to extend the planting in the back corner?


Thanks for the reply and suggestions.

I don't have anymore wood and getting another piece similar to the one I have wouldn't be easy.

I have thought about adding a box in the back left. I even bought a large CPR Aquafuge 2 but it sits on the tank very high and makes it seem cluttered. I also didn't like having the tank pulled out so far from the wall when it was on the back and it's too long to fit on the side. 

I think keeping it simple and clean is going to be the way to go for this build.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I added a few landscaping bricks and covered them with the lava rock. Doing so allowed me to build up the pile enough to have a small area of "land" above the water.

Looking forward to seeing what this looks like with water in it!









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I also ordered wet/dry filter today. I was going to build my own but decided to just buy one instead.

I decided on the ProClear Aquatics Premier 125. It's a little on the small side for my tastes but the price is decent and should be more than adequate.

Once I get dry the filter installed I should be able to fill the tank.

Still plenty to do...to be continued.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I'm thinking about never putting plants or water in this tank just so I can keep playing the "re-arrange the rocks" game.









Tomorrow's plan is to work on wire management for lighting and design a panel to mount the Apex controller to. 

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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Did some wire management on the light fixture today. Instead of 4 separate wire I now have one large bundle going down the back left corner. I may conceal this in some white track or put it in some loom. It is a little distracting, but is better than it was.

I was also brainstorming on where I'm going to mount the Apex and power modules.
Being the cabinet has an access door on the right I think I'll mount everything on the left.

I plan on making a panel and am hoping to hide most of the wires for a nice and tidy install. Wire management is not my strongest suite but being there is twice as much room and half the amount of equipment as my last reef tank I think I should be able to do a decent job.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I ordered this around 4pm yesterday, 16 hours later the UPS guy shows up and sets it on my porch. What a world we live in! I wasn't really expecting it to be here until next week sometime. Bonus!









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I couldn't help myself.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Ohhhh....now I get why they call it "drift" wood. I had a feeling that was going to happen. Luckily, I have some slate I can screw it to.

I'm also not totally sure I'm going to use this pool filter sand. It's not very attractive. I guess maybe when its fully planted it won't bother me so much I just wish it was a few shades lighter. It's a little to brown for my liking.



















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## Mike! (Mar 26, 2018)

JeremyDMeyer76 said:


>


Your tank, obviously, but I really like how natural looking that shade of brown is. I've had a tank bottom covered in white sand before and it was garish.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Mike! said:


> Your tank, obviously, but I really like how natural looking that shade of brown is. I've had a tank bottom covered in white sand before and it was garish.


Yeah, I'm not saying I want white. Just wishing it was a tad lighter. I'm not gonna worry about it too much. It's just more incentive to plant heavy!

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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

You could always get a small bag of something lighter and mix the two (experiment on proportions out of the tank).


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Didn't get any work done on the tank today but it is still running without leaks.
I did order a C02 system today though. I ended up finding a used GLA Gro-1 used.


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## Magem (May 11, 2017)

Hi! Nice setup! I have now a new reef project in mind after a crash... however I also have been thinking in a planted tank or a paludarium because my lack of time and anothers hobbies I have. Following your post. Going on 


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Decided to suck out some of the brown sand and add a bag of "utility sand" I really like this blend. It's lighter looking but not "artificially white" so it still looks somewhat natural.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Still deciding what I want to use for a water source. I'm seriously considering using RO water and remineralizing.

The water from the tap is scary. They flush the lines every Wednesday. Sometimes it's hardly noticeable...sometimes it looks like this.

Can you imagine filling your aquarium up with this? I was in the middle of brushing my teeth when this happened. Pretty gross.









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## psych (Jan 7, 2013)

Eek! With water like that I wouldn't hesitate to use RO or, at the very least, find a known "good day" as far away from a "bad day" as possible and keep a water change worth in a storage container, similar to how you would RO.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

psych said:


> Eek! With water like that I wouldn't hesitate to use RO or, at the very least, find a known "good day" as far away from a "bad day" as possible and keep a water change worth in a storage container, similar to how you would RO.


That was by far the worst I've seen it but we still are advised by the water company to not wash white clothes on Wednesdays mainly because of all the iron. 

I'm fairly comfortable using RO water. Raising the GH with Equilibrium and KH with Alkalinity buffer, along with Acid buffer to lower pH back down to acceptable levels seems fairly straight forward.

I also just ordered a water storage tank that will hold 30 gallons to use as a water change reservoir. It will contain a float switch that controls a solenoid coming from the RO unit, so it will fill itself after use. Once I get done with the water change I can simply add the buffers back while filling so it can mix an entire week before doing another water change.

I am also planning on adding a pump and heater to the reservoir.The pump will be used for mixing powdered buffers and will also be used to add the buffered water back to the tank.

I've also decided to use Nilocg's Thrive+. Fertilizer. As a beginner, I want something that will be easy to use and foolproof. An all in one liquid fert seems to fit that bill nicely. I may at some point even add a dosing pump to automate dosing.


I ordered that along with a drop checker, CO2 tubing, and a 24" CO2 reactor with bypass.

I'm getting closer to having all the equipment I want to use. Once I have everything I can start doing the permanent plumbing, equipment mounting, and wiring.



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## TacitBlues (Aug 4, 2016)

Sounds like it’s gonna be a Cadillac!


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## JoraaÑ (Jun 29, 2009)

No offense But dont you think, you have all Rock Piled up in one place...


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

JoraaÑ said:


> No offense But dont you think, you have all Rock Piled up in one place...


No offense taken. The rock pile is meant to hide the internal overflow box as well as provide an area to grow plants emmersed and terrestrial plants. I did make another smaller pile on the right to help balance things out. 

I'm new to aquascaping for the most part. Do you have any suggestions?

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## JoraaÑ (Jun 29, 2009)

Grow weedy plants to hide internal overflow box, Ex Rotala Green and many other Rotalas.. I dunno why pple want too much Rock and woods in planted tank these days.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

JoraaÑ said:


> Grow weedy plants to hide internal overflow box, Ex Rotala Green and many other Rotalas.. I dunno why pple want too much Rock and woods in planted tank these days.


This build was never about doing a traditional planted tank. The inspiration for it was riparium/palidarium. 

I was hoping to have more area to grow more terrestrial plants and make a smooth transition from emerged to emmersed. I ended up with a much smaller "land area" than I had hoped but it will still work.

Thanks for the suggestions though. Maybe my next tank will be more traditional.

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## JoraaÑ (Jun 29, 2009)

Ah~ Riparium/palidarium~I didnt read the whole thing. Nice.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

My house has been a very popular stop with USPS, UPS, and Fed Ex lately.

A few great items showed up today.

Old model GLA Gro-1 in great shape except the bubble counter needs to be resealed to the base. 

GLA recommended Dev Con 2-Ton epoxy to make the repair. Should be simple.

Also, a wireless bridge for my Neptune Systems Apex controller. I'm assuming the newer models have built in wifi. The mod I have is older and just has an ethernet port. The wireless bridge will allow me to connect the controller to my wif without the need of running an additional ethernet cable.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Did some things today. After some much needed learning about water chemistry thanks to my new friend Matt on Facebook I've decided to go RO and remineralize with with MgSO4.7H2O(Epsom Salt), CaSO4.2H2O(Calcium sulphate - hydrated), and KHCO3(Potassium bicarbonate).

This seems like a much more economical way to go compared to using Seachem products. It will also provide me with greater flexibility. Now that I have a better understanding of how these minerals affect GH and KH I feel confident this will work well.

That said, I needed a reservoir to mix enough water for weekly water changes. My house is fairly small and there simply wasn't room anywhere in the house to store water. There is however ample room under the tank.

I found a RV water storage tank that would fit in the cabinet and sit behind the wet dry filter.

The plan is to plumb it with a pump so the pump can be used for both mixing and filling duties. It will also contain a heater so the temperature will match the tank. 

Also, it will be self filling. I will be installing a float switch that controls a solenoid inline with the rodi output. When I empty the reservoir it will automatically fill itself back up. 































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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

The stand I'm using is all black. The inside is black as well. It is very hard to see much of anything when working down there. I need some light!

I have been looking into lighting solutions and found that 4ft fixtures are too long. 3ft fixtures are too expensive, and LED floodlights are juuuust right. These came in a 2 pack at just $25 shipped for the pair via Amazon. 

They don't seem to get too hot and put out a ton of light. Looking forward to getting them mounted tomorrow so I can see what I'm working on when it comes to wiring and plumbing.

The tank is currently running but I still have to mount the controller and start programming, along with about a million other things! This is one of my favorite parts about the aquarium hobby though!

I'm also waiting on a few things from NA Aquatics including a 24" Deluxe C02 reactor!

Looking forward to getting that so incandescent finalize plumbing from the sump.
















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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I'm pretty impressed with these flood lights. They don't get hot after being on for long periods of time and seem to give off plenty of light. 

Now that I can see...its time to think about where the controller will be mounted and start thinking about wire management.









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## StormFish (Jun 19, 2010)

Looks awesome!!! I've used a similar light from Ebay that grew plants but it also grew a hell of a lot of algae as well. After some co2 tweaking it was managed. So expect some nusence growth.

Edit: didnt realize that was just for the sump .... lol


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

StormFish said:


> Looks awesome!!! I've used a similar light from Ebay that grew plants but it also grew a hell of a lot of algae as well. After some co2 tweaking it was managed. So expect some nusence growth.
> 
> Edit: didnt realize that was just for the sump .... lol


Yep, just cabinet lighting. They will be controlled by a switch on the cabinet door.

If Swx3_1 OPEN Then ON
If Swx3_1 CLOSED Then OFF


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I keep getting more and more parts in the mail and am starting to begin looking at plants and fish. I basically just want some of EVERYTHING. It's so hard to decide what to stock this tank with. 

I got some new reading material to help me decide. The more I look at freshwater shrimp the more I'm thinking how cool it would be to see a few hundred shrimp come out of the rock work at feeding time.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I ordered a bunch of plumbing parts for the RO mixing tank on Friday so they should be here early this week. Also, my order from Collin at NA is shipping tomorrow. That means the C02 reactor will be here soon!

I began doing some basic programming of the Neptune Apex Aquacontroller and started working on a panel to mount it to.

This is the first mock up. It needs to be a little shorter and I think I can get away with using a smaller "slot" for the wiring going to the top modules. I still need to add the "break out box" that will be used to connect all the float switches as well as the door switches for the cabinet lighting. 

Once I get a layout I like I may build the panel to extend the entire length of the cabinet to make hiding wires even easier. It will also be painted black to match the rest of the cabinets interior.

The goal is to hide nearly all the wiring and make the cabinet underneath as clean as the display tank.
















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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

The display is still a mess. Rocks are piled up on the driftwood. It still floats but seems to be becoming less buoyant. Hopefully in another week it will stay put. It is still leeching quite a bit of tannins however. The water is usually stained very yellow after 3 or 4 days. It seems like it is slowly getting better with each water change. I may consider giving it a long boil...









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I'm not totally satisfied with the amount of space I have for terrestrial plants. I really want to try doing a "wabi-kusa" type of thing in this area. I'm considering notching grooves in the overflow slightly to lower the water level another inch or 2. 

I may just try packing the area in between the rocks with aquasoil and see of everything holds together.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Nothing new with the tank today. However, the UPS guy dropped off 3 boxes of stuff and NA shipped my stuff!

That means that this week I can get the plumbing on the mixing tank done and start using RO water.

This weekend I'm going to let the kids play in the mud and help me build some wabi-kusa balls. We may even make a trip to the new pet store in town and pick up a few plants to plant in the balls.

Once planted, they will live in a tub or similar enclosure so I can slowly acclimate them to dryer air.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I drained the tank and pulled the 30 gallon RO mixing tank out so I could work on the plumbing. 

It should be all plumbed up by the weekend and ready to fill with RO water.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Here is the mixing tank that will be placed in the cabinet under the tank.

It contains a pump that will be used for mixing as well as pumping re-mineralized RO water back up to the DT when doing water changes.
The lid will allow me to easily add minerals to the RO water. It will also contain a float switch that will allow it to be self-filling as well as a heater to keep the water the same temp as the DT.

I under estimated how long the ball valves would be. I'm not sure I'll be able to use the ball valve that controls the flow of water going up to the DT due to height restrictions. I have "plan b" ready to go if I can't make this setup work. Either way it will still be nice to have premixed RO water on hand at all times for water changes.


That said, I'll need to install the tank back into the stand before gluing it all together.

I'll figure out what exactly I need to do with it after it's in place.

I received some Fluval Stratum today so tomorrow my kids and I are going to make a trip to the LFS and pick out a few plants and make some mud balls.

The plan is to make balls with the Stratum mixed with some sphagnum moss and then wrap them in panty hose. I'll then wrap them with live moss and plant them. I'm not sure exactly what we are going to plant them with yet it will depend on what's available at the LFS.

From there they will go into a sealed storage tub for a month or so and then will be slowly acclimated to the dryer air of the house. I'm figuring this process will take around 2 months or so.

Once fully acclimated they will be placed towards the top of the rock pile and grown completely emmersed.

I'll add more pictures of that process tomorrow...it's gonna be messy!










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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

As I sit here at work waiting for the buzzer to ring so I can go home it dawned on me...

I really don't know what I'm doing! 

I've been so occupied about water quality, water chemistry, ferts, dosing schedules, plumbing, automation, wire organization, filtration, and hardscaping that I haven't even taken the time to really figure out what fish I want to keep. 

I have a huge list compiled of plants that I like but have no idea of what I should plant where or how many of each I should buy.

As far as what fish I want to stock this tank with...I get anxiety just thinking about it. I hate that I only have room for 1 large tank in my house. There are so many species I like but I'm not sure what would "fit" with the scape I have going. I know there are a lot to choose from and that's what makes it so terribly difficult.

I'll never be able to make up my mind. I need to think this though logically.

I want this tank to look like one cohesive biotope and not just a hodgepodge of fish and plants I could get my hands on.


I could really use some help in deciding how to stock this tank. If anyone is interested in helping me choose please feel free to post.









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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

What's on your like list? And for plants have you decided what style you like?


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

So after last night's panic attack I decided that I was making things more difficult than they needed to be. I went through the list of what plants were available from my LFS and just decided to go with what I liked.

52 plants all together...

I keep reading "plant heavy" so that's what I'm going to do...









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Didn't get around to making Wabi Kusa balls today. My LFS was running low on plants and there just wasn't that great of selection to work with.

I did pick up a 10 gallon to use and wabi kusa acclimatization tank though. It's currently sitting in the southern facing window sill with a few mats of Christmas moss I picked up from a member here.

RO mixing tank is almost completely plumbed. The only things left to do is run the supply line, install and wire the float switch, and install and wire the solenoid.

I'm hoping to get the final version of the controller panel built and installed tomorrow.
.

The 24" Deluxe Griggs C02 reactor from NA will be here Tuesday. Once that arrives I can finished plumbing and wire management


I should be stocking the tank with plants next weekend as well as working on wabi kusa balls that will be added to the tank later.
















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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

4 days until plants arrive...


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## billb (May 29, 2009)

The anubias and the bucephalandra will all grow well on the rocks. I have green wavy in my new scape and some have been attached to rocks just above the water line. We'll see how well they do. Looking forward to seeing those plants in your tank!


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

One of the last pieces of hardware showed up today.

The NilocG Deluxe C02 reactor!

What a beast!

I also recieved the Thrive+ and a few other things for RO water remineralization.

I seriously cannot wait to get this tank planted!









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Slight hiccup with th C02 reactor. The one pictured on the website is what I thought I was getting. The one I recieved was built completely different. I really needed the hose barbs to point to the right. I don't have room to relocate it anywhere else under the tank.

I contacted Colin about it and he is going to take care of it for me. He's a great guy to do business with. So hopefully Monday or Tuesday I'll be running C02.
















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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Look what I just went and picked up! Holy smokes! Is this all going to fit in my tank?

"Plant heavy" Not a problem here.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Now I have all the plants I supposed I should do some research on how to treat plants before putting them in my new tank.

My lack of planning called for desperate measures. I ended up finding Potassium Permanaganate locally...it wasn't cheap, probably not pure, and probably 10 lifetimes worth. I really don't want snails, planaria, or hydra. From what I've read this stuff works pretty well to treat for all of those.

Finding how much to use was a bit if a challange. I kept seeing "just add enough to turn the treatment water purple" so that's what I did. I dipped for 20 minutes and then rinsed in a bucket of freshwater containing dechlorinator to deactivate the K.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Once everything was dipped and rinsed, I started planting. There was no plan of the layout. I just put the tall stemy stuff in the back and then added all the other things randomly where I thought they would look right. 

As this is my first experience with aquatic plants I am just starting to develop an opinion on what species I like.

I think I like the low growing compact stuff the most. Buce, crypts, anubis...things like that. 

Actually, I may do another order fairly soon and get more Buce for the rock pile...soon to be named... "Mt. Buce".

I would love to see that pile transform into a lush thick forest of several Buce species!






































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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

Looks like a good start, amazing the different a bit of green makes to the look of a tank  

I'd suggest splitting the clumps up a little. For a lot of the plants, crypts for example, you'll find what you actually have is lots of small plants clumped together. So if you split them up and spread them out a bit (even if it's just 1-2" between) they will cover a bigger area, the water circulates around them better, and they have more room for their roots - they'll also fill in better. Here is a video showing prep: 




The bigger clumps on the far left and right would probably benefit from splitting too - sorry can't see what they are from the pictures.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Thanks for the suggestions! The clumps on the far right and left are actually mats of dwarf baby tears. They are going to be used in making Wabi-kusa balls so are just there temporarily


tamsin said:


> Looks like a good start, amazing the different a bit of green makes to the look of a tank
> 
> I'd suggest splitting the clumps up a little. For a lot of the plants, crypts for example, you'll find what you actually have is lots of small plants clumped together. So if you split them up and spread them out a bit (even if it's just 1-2" between) they will cover a bigger area, the water circulates around them better, and they have more room for their roots - they'll also fill in better. Here is a video showing prep: Preparing a Cryptocoryne for planting in an aquarium - YouTube
> 
> The bigger clumps on the far left and right would probably benefit from splitting too - sorry can't see what they are from the pictures.


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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

JeremyDMeyer76 said:


> The clumps on the far right and left are actually mats of dwarf baby tears. They are going to be used in making Wabi-kusa balls so are just there temporarily



Ahh, in that case they'd do better if you kept them on the top of your hill, roots in the water, leaves out - that way they have access to CO2 in the air whilst you are still setting up and will be in their emersed form ready


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Decided to order a "mini clump package" from Bucetank.com. It's way to freeking hard to decide what to get so I'll just let them pick for me.
I'm thinking about adding some fish tomorrow. My LFS has a bunch of great looking Rasaboras and a few different species of neons I'm interested in.
I'm pretty sure I want to do all nano fish. I really could use some suggestions!

Bump:


tamsin said:


> Ahh, in that case they'd do better if you kept them on the top of your hill, roots in the water, leaves out - that way they have access to CO2 in the air whilst you are still setting up and will be in their emersed form ready


Good call! Thanks!


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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

I think nano fish are great, their size means you can have bigger shoals and they look proportionate to small plant leaves. There are so many to choose from now too! I would try to limit yourself to biggish groups of a few species rather than lots of small groups. Pick fish that that swim in different areas bottom, mid and top. Youtube is often a good place to look up species as you can see videos of how they look/act in a tank they are established in, which can be quite different to under stress in a fish shop.

There are plenty of lists of nano fish so run down them and see what catches you eye to make a short list. It's really down to what want to look at so fish preference is different for everyone.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

You know what's fun? Walking into your LFS and saying "I'll take everything in this tank and that tank". Then walking out like a BOSS. (Even though your new credit card is now on fire) LOL

Black Tetras, Glow light Tetras, Harlequin Rasbora, and Volcano Rasbora.

Not sure on the exact count of each but there are about 80 all together.






























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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

https://youtu.be/3RVehiNWAUA

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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

JeremyDMeyer76 said:


> You know what's fun? Walking into your LFS and saying "I'll take everything in this tank and that tank". Then walking out like a BOSS. (Even though your new credit card is now on fire) LOL



:laugh2:


Definitely added a bit of movement to the tank!


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I thought it seemed like I was missing a few fish this morning. Found a dozen or more rasbora in the overflow.

They got a quick fun ride down the drain to the pre filter and then tossed back in the tank.

The cutouts on the overflow are huge! I didn't even think about small fish swimming in.

Easy fix.























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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Got some amazing looking stuff from Jungle Aquuashrimp today!









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

My new goal...cover the rock pile in Bucephalandra!
















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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Mooooore Buce!

This time from Buceplant.com

I couldn't decide what to get so I tried one of their mini clump starter packs.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Buce Mountain aka Mt. Buce
















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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

FTS

Keeping a close eye on things. Being everything is so new I'm not expecting everything to be perfect all the time but so far I'm not seeing any melting. I am seeing a few species of bucephalandra with yellowing leaves and some leaves with brown spots.

I'm assuming this is normal when introducing plants to a new environment.









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## TheUnseenHand (May 14, 2017)

JeremyDMeyer76 said:


> I'm not super impressed with the Deep Blue aquariums. The build quality seems "ok" but they don't seem to take pride in their tanks. A few minutes with a razor blade to clean up extra sealant on the outside of the tank would have gone a long way with me.
> 
> Also, scratched trim under the factory cardboard?
> 
> ...


I had a Deep Blue 25 gallon rimless that I used as a shallow reef and I LOVED that tank. I sold the setup when I moved from Wisconsin back to PA. When I got back I ordered a 60 gallon Deep Blue cube at my LFS. I ended up having them send 3 tanks back before I got one that wasn't scratched or marred somehow. So annoying.


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## vvDO (Oct 18, 2010)

JeremyDMeyer76 said:


> FTS
> 
> Keeping a close eye on things. Being everything is so new I'm not expecting everything to be perfect all the time but so far I'm not seeing any melting. I am seeing a few species of bucephalandra with yellowing leaves and some leaves with brown spots.
> 
> ...




I think you need one of these [emoji48]...










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## Mike! (Mar 26, 2018)

JeremyDMeyer76 said:


> I am seeing a few species of bucephalandra with yellowing leaves and some leaves with brown spots.
> 
> I'm assuming this is normal when introducing plants to a new environment.


This was my buce experience, for a bit of anecdata.

Everybody talks about crypt melt, but I've found that just about every plant has its version of melting in reaction to things like introduction to my tank, increased micros, CO2 introduction. Melting is not a great description of the phenomenon for each plant, but if you're looking for it, it's usually about that dramatic.


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## TacitBlues (Aug 4, 2016)

When I put in a tissue culture buce, about half of it died away before it got its feet under itself and took off. The others that I got were grown immersed and did fine, at least until my ferts got off kilter and then I had some dieback, though they bounced back when I got things back on a good schedule. 


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

vvDO said:


> I think you need one of these [emoji48]...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I would love something like that! This tank was supposed to be built as a riparium. I was heavily inspired by The Celestial Swamp thread found here. Then I started looking at paludariums and almost ended up setting up a 120 gallon paludarium instead of this 80 gallon I have now. In way I sort of wish I would have gone that route but I'm really happy with the way this tank is turning out.

It's amazing how different it is from what I had originally envisioned. It's like once I started hardscaping it sort of took on it's own identity.

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## vvDO (Oct 18, 2010)

JeremyDMeyer76 said:


> I would love something like that! This tank was supposed to be built as a riparium. I was heavily inspired by The Celestial Swamp thread found here. Then I started looking at paludariums and almost ended up setting up a 120 gallon paludarium instead of this 80 gallon I have now. In way I sort of wish I would have gone that route but I'm really happy with the way this tank is turning out.
> 
> It's amazing how different it is from what I had originally envisioned. It's like once I started hardscaping it sort of took on it's own identity.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk




That style tank would be nice. I was just referring to the fog/mist. Not sure if you would have room for the extra equipment though.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

vvDO said:


> That style tank would be nice. I was just referring to the fog/mist. Not sure if you would have room for the extra equipment though.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Ahh, yeah. I'm not a huge fan of the fog. I mean it's cool if your looking to impress your friends but I'm old and am into plants...dont really have anyone to impress anymore. Lol

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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Being the tank is nearly fully stocked I decided to spend some time on the rats nest of wiring. One if these days I'll pull the panel down and paint it, but for now, this will do.
Still have some work to do but atleast "the spaghetti" is mostly hidden.
















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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

My favorite part of the day!

FEEDING TIME!

https://youtu.be/V4Z6q_Uegew

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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Stopped by the LFS today and came home with more fish!

9 Sterbai Cory's and 3 Hillstream Butterfly Loaches.

I'm loving how the Sterbai's all swim in a school and are so active.




```
https://youtu.be/6i8qRWU3BVw
```










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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Also today, I FINALLY got the CO2 running in one of NilocG's deluxe Griggs reactor.









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## Thelongsnail (Dec 2, 2015)

Those sterbais are TINY!

Loving all the movement in your tank, it must be great just to sit and watch. My main tank's dimensions are in similar ratios and I find it much more interesting in some ways, even if it's much smaller than yours!


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Haven't changed much with the tank as of lately. Looking back, adding 80 fish all at one time might have been a mistake. I'm going through another cycle.
Nitrite was up to around 3ppm but I've been doing 30 gallon water changes every few days to keep them under control. I've also dosed Seachem Prime at about 4x the regular dose to bind the nitrites.

I haven't lost any fish as of yet and they all seem fine so I think I'll be OK as long as I keep up with the water changes. Hopefully the bacteria has a chance catches up soon.

I noticed a few plants pearling today. That was a first for me. It was a good confidence booster, I must be doing something right.

I'm starting to get a little algae here and there, nothing major.

To be safe I shortened the photo period by a few hours. Hopefully that will slow it down.

That's it for today...


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Being I get to do water changes every few days I decided to make my life a little easier and less unpleasant. 

I built this water changing rig that pulls almost exactly 30 gallons from the display tank. Its built from 1" PVC along with some 1" pond hose.

I simply close the ball valve, remove the elbow portion of the device, fill it with water, and then re-attach the elbow. 

The siphon is now "primed". I then open the valve and it pulls the water through the elbow and out to my shower drain.

I made the height of the downtime adjustable in case I need to take do a larger change. Also, I have a 1" strainer on the way so I can get rid of the chopped up pantyhose I'm currently using a a strainer.

Using this device, it literally only takes about 5 minutes to do a water change. I realize eventually I will need to do some general vacuuming around the tank from time. I will use a small hose when the time comes for that.

I just wanted something I didn't have to "suck start" everytime and was quick. It may even get a paint job this weekend.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I've been running aquariums with Neptune Systems controllers since the early 2000's. Even though this tank is fairly simple compared to some of my previous reef tanks I couldn't see myself running it without a controller.

That said, I bought an old Apex Lite second hand. Long story short, it had issues and was returned to the seller.

I decided to just bite the bullet and buy a new one. $700 later this arrived.

It's Neptune's latest model. The 2 biggest new features I'm interested in are the wifi connection and 24v DC power connections. 

I will be able to use the 24v to control solenoids and giving me extra 120v to do other things with.

I am planning on upgrading the 120v solenoid on my C02 fairly soon. It tends to get very hot and I don't see it lasting very long.

I'd like to eventually upgrade to a 24v model from diyc02regulator as it runs cooler and is very efficient. 

I also ordered a double junction pH probe which is supposed to be superior to the older single junction probes as it can go longer periods between calibrations and have a longer lifespan.

Looking forward to getting it all setup tomorrow.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

New controller installed.

Also, added 15 Oto's to help clean up some algae









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Pearling!

https://youtu.be/iTAm-Qymfcc

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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I've decided I want to add more lava rock to the rock pile. This will not only help hide the plumbing and wiring going to the light, it will also add a little more area for emmersed grown plants. 

I'm thinking maybe some small epiphtic ferns, moss, and probably some more Buce...maybe a bonsai tree or spider wood sort of sticking out might be sort of neat?

I have a few more pieces of black lava on the way. The plan is to make a cover for the overflow box out of black eggcrate (light diffuser) material. I will then build the rock pile onto it and epoxy the rock pile together to keep if from ever falling apart or tipping over.


It will be removable if I ever need to access to the overflow.

I may incorporate some sort of drip feature to keep everything moist. I've also considered a fogger or possibly a misting system. Or I may just keep it super simple and mist by hand with my sprayer. I do find it sort of relaxing...

I'm not totally sure yet. I want to get the structure built and go from there. Who knows? Maybe it will look stupid and I won't even change a thing. It's hard to say without seeing it.










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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Where did the overflow go? 

Now I need to figure out what to plant up there.

I'm thinking more Bucephalandra and perhaps some small ferns of some kind.
















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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

Nice! A lot of carpet plants actually do really well emersed. So you might want to look at those for options. Some of the stuff that is tricky/high tech will grow really easy like that and is small leaved to keep the scale.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

tamsin said:


> Nice! A lot of carpet plants actually do really well emersed. So you might want to look at those for options. Some of the stuff that is tricky/high tech will grow really easy like that and is small leaved to keep the scale.


Awesome! Thanks for the reply. I was thinking about possibly trying a rock fern but don't want anything that gets huge. I like the idea of using things with small leaves to keep scale. 

Thanks for the suggestions.

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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

It's been awhile since my last update. More Bucephalandra on the way to help cover the "overflow" cover.

Also, I figured out a great way to keep things watered.

A single mister placed up by the light seems to do a great job keeping the area moist. The mister is an Exo-Terra monsoon Solo. The reservoir is under the stand and is customized to be self filling so I'll lever have to manually fill it. Getting good use out of the Apex controller.












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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Silver Powder, Gigantea, Venus, Skeleton King. 

Needs more green. Thinking about adding Dwarf Baby tears under the Buce.

Misted 3x an hour.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Added some HC to help it "pop".
So far, so good with the mister.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Water change time!

I love doing water changes on this tank because I get to see the plants out of water. Most of the Bucephalandra has really perked up over the last couple weeks. I think it might actually even be starting to grow!

The new stuff I planted emmersed (on top) froze during shipping. Hopefully it will eventually come back. The rhizomes still appear to be alive so I'll just give it time and see what happens.

I've been spot treating algae with h202 for the last week or so...that stuff is amazing. I think things are really starting to balance out now! I can't wait to see how much this stuff grows over the next year. Everything on the left side of the tank is growing like crazy. It's a little work keeping it all trimmed but is looking good.

I'll post a FTS soon!









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Been awhile...

I feel like if I just keep throwing money at the rock pile eventually it will be full of Buce.

Heres how it looks during water change.
















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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

How about some FTS's?























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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

While I really wanted to not use any equipment in the tank that can be visible I decided the tank could use a bit more flow. Now that the left side has grown in, flow from the return pump alone doesn't seem to be adequate

I've decided to add a Vortech MP40 to the left side of the tank. This will help keep detritus, mulm, and uneaten food from settling and hopefully suspended long enough to make it's way through the overflow and into the filter.

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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I was bored with the Ludwigia so decided to try something with a little more color.

I found someone fairly local who just did a big trim so I was able to get a bunch for a really good price.
























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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Still battling some algae mainly on the Buce on the rock pile. I decided I would try splitting my return plumbing so it is now directed to the rear and front of the tank. Being I'm using a Griggs reactor I am hoping splitting the return will add not only more flow but more C02 to the front left of the tank where BBA seems to be prevalent.

Apparently there was a Rasabora in the overflow that didn't appreciate being out of the water while I did the work.

Sorry little buddy.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I'm also learning the importance of pruning. When old growth slows down it develops algae. 

Time to get rid of the old growth so the new growth can prosper.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Thinking about doing something drastic. As much as I love stem plants I don't really care for the maintenance. Initially this tank was supposed to be mainly a slow grower tank with easy plants like buce, anubias, crypts and what not. My infatuation with trying to grow every plant I can get my hands on sort of got the better of me.

That said, I am thinking about removing the stems and other fast growing plants and replacing them with more buce and other low and slow growing stuff.

I am also considering getting rid of the large piece of driftwood and adding more lava rock. I believe the wood is breaking down and is what is always causing my filter pads to be full.

Perhaps someday I'll go back to stems or possibly setup another tank. I think removing them will bring the tank together and make it seem more cohesive.

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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Decided to do a re-scape. As much as I loved the way the driftwood looked I found it was just too messy. I believe it was Cedar and was causing my filter pads to be full just after a few days after changing them.

I had a few pieces of lava rock leftover so i made a small pile and am planning on adding a few more clumps of Buce and other slow growing plants.










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## Ken Keating1 (Nov 22, 2017)

I like the re-scape, it turned out well.

How are you using the remote camera, for monitoring, just for fun, etc? How do you like it so far?


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Ken Keating1 said:


> I like the re-scape, it turned out well.
> 
> 
> 
> How are you using the remote camera, for monitoring, just for fun, etc? How do you like it so far?


Thanks! I think it will make more sense once I get more plants going on rock work. I miss the driftwood but it sort of made my tank seem like it was split in half. This change will add some cohesion and make it flow better.

I didn't spend much time on the new rock pile as I was just basically using leftovers. Once its covered with Buce and other plants it won't matter much anyway probably.

The camera is just there for fun and so I can keep an eye on things when I'm away.
It is a $27 Wyze cam and I have zero complaints about it. 

My favorite feature is the IR mode so I can watch the fish at night. 










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## Grobbins48 (Oct 16, 2017)

JeremyDMeyer76 said:


> Thanks! I think it will make more sense once I get more plants going on rock work. I miss the driftwood but it sort of made my tank seem like it was split in half. This change will add some cohesion and make it flow better.
> 
> I didn't spend much time on the new rock pile as I was just basically using leftovers. Once its covered with Buce and other plants it won't matter much anyway probably.
> 
> ...


That is pretty cool! Those eyes looking back at you....


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Yesterday I did my first WC since removing the driftwood. My filter pads were still nearly spotless and my N03 levels were half of what they usually were.
I think that the driftwood was probably the source of high organics and was probably the source of my BBA problem.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I don't like the look of lava rock without stuff growing on it...maybe this will help?

My name is Jeremy and I'm a Buce addict.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Now the Polar Vortex and -30 degree temps are on their way out I decided to take advantage of the warm weather and order a few more things.

Aridarum Caulescens is on the way. I am going to try growing some emmersed as well as submerged. Apparently it is a super slow grower submerged but does well in high flow.
I have the perfect spot...
















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## pweifan (Nov 2, 2006)

Jeremy, I have one suggestion... some sort of hygrolon fabric that wicks water up the back of the black lava rock (and the buces could attach to if the grow over it) might help your buces stay happier. Just a thought!

I will subscribe to this and see what you end up doing, but I really like the direction you've taken this. Keep up the good work!

Scott


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

pweifan said:


> Jeremy, I have one suggestion... some sort of hygrolon fabric that wicks water up the back of the black lava rock (and the buces could attach to if the grow over it) might help your buces stay happier. Just a thought!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not sure if you noticed but I do have a mister for the emmersed Buce.I have noticed it does do better when mounted on something that can hold moisture rather than the bare rock though. Not a bad suggestion.










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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

The emersed portion of this tank is really starting to be my favorite part.

I had to add another misting nozzle to get better coverage and added a few more clumps of Buce as well as some Aridarum.

Getting them to grow emersed is tricky but I think I have figured out a way to keep them happy.

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## Omar EAZi (Aug 5, 2015)

wow very nice tank bro, I like how the tank developed from me thinking oh he has little area to plant in till suddenly the entire tank is planted hhhhhhhhhhh..
btw what sand is that?! because some of the plants you have in the sand I thought they don't grow if it's not in soil.


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Lol! Thanks! It filled up fast. It also doesn't help that I cant ever make up my mind in what I want to grow so I keep trying new things.

The sand is just a couple different kinds of pool filter sand. 

I'm curious what plants I have you thought wouldnt grow in sand.

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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

My wife took my kids shopping with her the other day. Apparently, they thought the top of the rock pile could use some "Club Moss" I have no idea what this stuff actually is but I planted some. Not sure what it'll do... only time will tell.









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## le0p (Mar 28, 2012)

Really love this tank, great work!


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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

I'm way behind on this journal. I sold a couple of my very large Crytps and replaced them a bunch of different plants I haven't tried growing yet like Aromatica, blyxia, AR mini, and a few others.

I need to stop just throwing random plants in here but I cant help myself. I want to grow everything! LoL



I'll post this for now and work on getting more new pics soon.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Just a random floating island of Monte Carlo.









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## JeremyDMeyer76 (Sep 7, 2018)

Aromatica is some cool stuff.









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## vvDO (Oct 18, 2010)

JeremyDMeyer76 said:


> My wife took my kids shopping with her the other day. Apparently, they thought the top of the rock pile could use some "Club Moss" I have no idea what this stuff actually is but I planted some. Not sure what it'll do... only time will tell.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Nice, could that be a Selaginella?


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## shattersea (Sep 6, 2013)

I tried to grow Selaginella emersed on top of a similar rock pile. I don't think it liked being so close to my light and so wet. Is yours continuing to grow? I'd like to grow it - just haven't found the right conditions for it yet.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Beautiful work here! Cant wait to see it over the coming months


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## ursamajor (Oct 6, 2015)

I think that is some species of Selaginella. I have some growing nicely in a terrarium right now under a T5. My understanding is that it likes high humidity and moist but well-drained soil. Not sure if it likes having its feet wet.


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## shattersea (Sep 6, 2013)

I was trying to grow it on Hygrolon fabric right under my light. The humidity was ok, but the light was super bright. I may give it another try in another area.


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