# Bookshelf of Aquariums



## 691175002

I've been sitting on these tanks for almost a year now so I'm going to do my best to get this project going over Christmas. I'll start with a few pictures to give everyone an idea of what I'm building then back up a bit to the planning stage.

The first step is drilling the tanks, I lined up the holes using a paper template since it doesn't need to be super precise.









I used some sticky-tac to hold a small pool of water around the hole. I've never drilled glass before but it was very easy.









Just remember to put something under the hole to catch the waste disk or will fall and scratch the other side of the tank. I cut a total of nine holes in three tanks.









Next I cut a few cork rectangles to support the tanks. This only takes a few seconds if you trim around the edges of the tank.









Finally I applied backing film to the tanks. Although the process is straightforward I found it incredibly difficult to get a perfect application.









Lay the film on top of a wet surface and then squeegee any bubbles to the edge. I tried to push everything downwards so any trapped dust would be hidden by substrate.









Finally trim the edge (and holes) with a knife.









Black is done the same way.









I use two layers of the black film since it is slightly translucent otherwise. The second layer looks a little bumpy but its fine from the glass side.









And finally a peek at the goal of this project.









I've always wanted a tower of nano aquariums - I like the idea of having multiple small tanks, and the design is very space efficient. On the other hand, individually equipping and maintaining four separate tanks would be rather inconvenient. To work around this I've decided to connect them together. This will provide the convenience and stability of a larger tank and can reduce some costs by sharing CO2, filtration, and heat.

The bookshelf will hold four Mr. Aqua 6g aquariums (24"l x 6.4"d x 9.7"h). The top three tanks will be used for display and contain no equipment other than an overflow and return. The fourth tank will be used as a sump, but only 8" of its total length is required to house equipment; the remaining 16" will be lit and used as a display area. The sump will only hold a few inches of water in use so most growth will be high humidity/emmersed.

There are two major risks with this build. The first and most catastrophic scenario would be failure of the bookshelf. I consider this low probability, but it would be extremely costly which does make me nervous. Although aquariums are typically too heavy for standard furniture, six gallons is small and a full 30" shelf of books has roughly the same weight. This setup will fully load only three of the five shelves, so the bookshelf should actually be supporting less weight than it otherwise would.

The second risk is that the overflow system will be too noisy. My plan is to tee three silent herbie systems into the same drain/emergency lines - I'm pretty sure this will work, but most plumbing guides contain fairly insistent warnings that tees in the return line are discouraged.

I'll try to finish most of the build before new years but some of the parts have had their delivery dates pushed back by Christmas shipping.

And yes, I am aware this is a very complex way of setting up 18g of display space.


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## klibs

whoa this is a badass project

I'm interested to see how you plumb this together

If your intent is for the return line to split three-ways into each tank then this is NOT a good idea IMO. I don't think you would get consistent flow between the three tanks. The flow would take the path of least resistance (lowest tank). You should have it waterfall down from the top tank into the others. Just return water into the top tank ONLY and have that overflow into the next tank, and that overflow into the next tank, and that overflow into the sump. This would create even flow throughout the whole system.


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## prototyp3

Fun project, looks great.

If you're tying together the siphon drains from each tank into a single line, I think you're going to run into issues. Multiple openings and different levels of pressure are going to make the siphon dynamics very problematic I'd imagine. My concern wouldn't be noise, it would be getting a balanced siphon to work at all.

Are you going to have overflow boxes in place, or will the drains be exposed to the display tanks directly?


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## 691175002

klibs said:


> If your intent is for the return line to split three-ways into each tank then this is NOT a good idea IMO. I don't think you would get consistent flow between the three tanks. The flow would take the path of least resistance (lowest tank). You should have it waterfall down from the top tank into the others. Just return water into the top tank ONLY and have that overflow into the next tank, and that overflow into the next tank, and that overflow into the sump. This would create even flow throughout the whole system.





prototyp3 said:


> If you're tying together the siphon drains from each tank into a single line, I think you're going to run into issues. Multiple openings and different levels of pressure are going to make the siphon dynamics very problematic I'd imagine. My concern wouldn't be noise, it would be getting a balanced siphon to work at all.


I will be using a three-way split with six valves, one for each drain and return. I agree there is a chance this won't work, at the minimum I expect to spend time adjusting the valves. I had reasons to avoid using the waterfall system but I can't fully remember what they were - I think CO2 gas-off and noise were the main concerns. Many silent overflow systems are not amenable to chaining display tanks because they require multiple return lines and don't like bends. To be honest I probably just thought six valves would be cool.

A Herbie system has a fairly wide margin of error as the emergency line is expected to carry water so I only need to get the valves within 20-30%. A complete siphon in the drain line would eliminate all noise but is not necessary as gravity will carry water either way.



prototyp3 said:


> Are you going to have overflow boxes in place, or will the drains be exposed to the display tanks directly?


I will be gluing small overflows into the tanks.


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## klibs

prototyp3 said:


> Fun project, looks great.
> 
> If you're tying together the siphon drains from each tank into a single line, I think you're going to run into issues. Multiple openings and different levels of pressure are going to make the siphon dynamics very problematic I'd imagine. My concern wouldn't be noise, it would be getting a balanced siphon to work at all.
> 
> Are you going to have overflow boxes in place, or will the drains be exposed to the display tanks directly?


They drilled the tanks so there is no siphon needed.

I still think that the waterfall approach is the way to go. I think you will run into issues if you try to make one pump feed all three tanks equal amount of water.


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## prototyp3

klibs said:


> They drilled the tanks so there is no siphon needed.


Being drilled doesn't negate using a siphon. The Herbie method uses one line as a siphon to eliminate noise.


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## klibs

prototyp3 said:


> Being drilled doesn't negate using a siphon. The Herbie method uses one line as a siphon to eliminate noise.


Ahhh good to know - thanks for the correction. Makes things even more complicated!


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## 691175002

You've got me rethinking the overflow system but for better or worse all plumbing components have already been purchased. I'll slip in a quick preview of a dry fit so we are all on the same page. The unions will attach to the narrow side of 1/2"x3/4" reducing tees and head to the sump.










In regards to the return flow - I've designed around a Syncra 3.0 @ 714gph (Aprox 550gph at 5ft). The way I'm imagining things I won't need to "balance" flow between tanks so much as crack each blue valve open and hope I don't get sprayed in the face.

As prototyp3 mentioned, the drain side (in particular the herbie siphon) is where things really get complicated. I'll borrow a diagram of the standard Herbie system.










The idea behind a Herbie overflow is that if no air can enter the drain there will be no noise. By restricting flow on the main drain we ensure it stays below the waterline. The emergency line provides a margin of safety as it would be impossible to perfectly tune a single pipe to always be below water-level.

Note that although the main drain is often referred to as the "siphon" line (as it should contain no air), it does not meet the definition of a true siphon: water is always travelling with gravity and the line is self-starting.

My main concern is that since the main drain is shared, adjusting the valve on one tank will affect flow on the other two tanks as well. If this effect is strong enough it will be extremely difficult if not impossible to achieve a trickle down all three emergency lines.

It seems that I've inadvertently created a science experiment. On the plus side if all goes well we should have an answer within three weeks.


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## Fornstar

Subscribed! I find this very intriguing and just one more idea to annoy my wife.

Going to be in the doghouse now, Matt


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## bt7896

Very interesting project. Excited to see the end result!

One question, what stops the 3 tanks from completely emptying and overfilling the sump in the event of a power outage?


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## Nordic

Isn't it normally recommended to keep holes at least one to one and a half hole diameters away from the edges for strength?
Is there a reason you went for this configuration rather than the beananimal one?

I am toying with doing a sump too, as I got a premade one for free, at least you made drilling holes seem easy.

Beautiful stand


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## JBreezy

This is going to be awesome. Subscribed!


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## 691175002

bt7896 said:


> One question, what stops the 3 tanks from completely emptying and overfilling the sump in the event of a power outage?


At the moment the drains are exposed so almost everything would end up on the floor. Once the overflows have been glued into place each tank will dump ~1" of water into the sump upon power loss.



Nordic said:


> Isn't it normally recommended to keep holes at least one to one and a half hole diameters away from the edges for strength?


I suspect the biggest risk of cracking is during the drilling process, things seem pretty robust once the bulkheads are in. For what its worth, only the upper holes are close to the edge - the bottom holes (where water pressure is higher) have much more space.



Nordic said:


> Is there a reason you went for this configuration rather than the beananimal one?


I considered the beananimal system but couldn't justify drilling four holes per tank. Even the three-hole herbie is questionable when you consider that the simplest waterfall system can technically get by with one hole and no overflow box.


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## 691175002

Here is a quick update, I decided to start with something simple before working on the plumbing.

Lighting four planted tanks gets expensive very fast so I stuck with Finnex Stingrays. The Stingrays are designed to be low-light fixtures, but I'm hoping the Mr. Aqua tanks are narrow and shallow enough achieve at least medium PAR.

I don't like resting lights on top of rimless aquariums so I decided to print some discrete light clips.





































We'll be seeing the 3d printer again for similar tasks such as mounting the CO2 reactor, and possibly clipping power adapters and other electronics to the bookshelf frame.

Later on I'll have a week or so of free time while the sump/overflow silicone dries so I plan to revisit the Stingrays. At the minimum I will be installing in-line dimmers and replacing the plastic end caps with something more discrete.

After spending some time examining the circuit board it seems that the various colours are powered by separate traces. I may be able to separate the red, white, and blue LEDs into separate channels as well.


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## Nick00Merlin

691175002 said:


> Here is a quick update, I decided to start with something simple before working on the plumbing.
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> Lighting four planted tanks gets expensive very fast so I stuck with Finnex Stingrays. The Stingrays are designed to be low-light fixtures, but I'm hoping the Mr. Aqua tanks are narrow and shallow enough achieve at least medium PAR.
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> I don't like resting lights on top of rimless aquariums so I decided to print some discrete light clips.
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> We'll be seeing the 3d printer again for similar tasks such as mounting the CO2 reactor, and possibly clipping power adapters and other electronics to the bookshelf frame.
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> Later on I'll have a week or so of free time while the sump/overflow silicone dries so I plan to revisit the Stingrays. At the minimum I will be installing in-line dimmers and replacing the plastic end caps with something more discrete.
> 
> After spending some time examining the circuit board it seems that the various colours are powered by separate traces. I may be able to separate the red, white, and blue LEDs into separate channels as well.


Oh how I wish I had such easy access to a 3D Printer!!! This is looking great! I can't wait to see how this turns out!!!


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## jimko

Clips are pretty awesome. Lots of toys at your disposal. 

Subscribed. This very inspiring. Planning a tank rack in the up coming months. 

What stand is that? Looks really sturdy. Do you have enough clearance to work inside the aquariums? Also don't trap yourself after everything is set. You might need to get behind the rack. Space looks limited. 



Looking very clean.


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## Desertsp

Subscribing to this one...seems like a great way to maximize use of a small room. 

Is there a risk of the bottom tank overflowing in the event that its drain becomes blocked, but those above it do not? I'm not too familiar with the workings of an overflow, but that's something which comes to mind. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 691175002

jimko said:


> What stand is that? Looks really sturdy. Do you have enough clearance to work inside the aquariums? Also don't trap yourself after everything is set. You might need to get behind the rack. Space looks limited.


The stand is an old bookshelf - the model has been discontinued. It is pretty sturdy but not intended for aquarium use.

Hanging the lights makes it easier to work in the tanks but it is still pretty tight. Unfortunately there will be no way to get around the back, its just one of the trade-offs for this build. I will be performing the final assembly in-place so everything should be accessible given enough effort.



Desertsp said:


> Is there a risk of the bottom tank overflowing in the event that its drain becomes blocked, but those above it do not? I'm not too familiar with the workings of an overflow, but that's something which comes to mind.


If the main drain gets blocked the emergency drain will carry the water instead; if both drains block you will start pumping water onto the floor. The emergency drain is designed to be very noisy so you will generally be aware when the main drain blocks.


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## Maryland Guppy

IMO I would weight test before filling with water.
Put some towels on each shelf and add some concrete blocks.
Enough to approximate the finished weight and check rigidity.
200 pounds or so for a total in weight, maybe.


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## Onyx165

Its projects like this that make me love this hobby roud:


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## 691175002

Plumbing this monstrosity is going to take some time so I'll break it into a few stages.

I've found local plumbing stores to be incredibly frustrating in the past so I purchased all my PVC fittings from McMaster-Carr. The costs add up but on a per-tank basis it isn't that bad.



















The complete system will have roughly 90 connections including bulkheads. It is important that every joint is fully seated and the threaded connections have consistent engagement or the plumbing won't line up between shelves.

I started by performing a loose dry-fit just to make sure the plumbing does not interfere with the bookshelf. The cross-brace at the back comes close but should not be a problem.




























I've also started brainstorming a small side project. I've noticed that a lot of recent aquascapes seem to use backlighting, and I ran across half a roll of RGB LEDs and some foam board.

The idea is pretty simple - make a small box that fits behind the tank and line it with LEDs.




























This was about the time that I remembered how much I hate foam board (dents easily, not waterproof, annoying to cut, generally ugly).

I'm not sure I can even be bothered to make boxes, I'm thinking of just cutting rectangles out of a light diffuser and putting the LEDs behind it instead. Any light bleed around the edges of the tank will probably be overpowered by the Stingray anyway.


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## 691175002

Maryland Guppy said:


> IMO I would weight test before filling with water.


It spent a few weeks with books but I didn't have enough stuff to really test it at the time.

I wanted to do a full weight test before proceeding further so I temporarily assembled the bulkheads and valves to seal the tanks.


















The stand will sway a bit if you shake it but feels pretty reliable. I may tie the top of the bookshelf to the wall using angle brackets.

I can't see the shelf ever collapsing but if someone were to shove or fall into the bookcase it could tip.


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## Chrisinator

This is gonna be awesome!


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## Kurdt

Dude! I am so stoked on this project!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## meowschwitz

Such a pristine and contemporary-looking setup. Very nice.


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## wanvela

Awesome project


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## doylecolmdoyle

This is going to look so good! Love it!


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## Nordic

691175002 said:


> I considered the beananimal system but couldn't justify drilling four holes per tank. Even the three-hole herbie is questionable when you consider that the simplest waterfall system can technically get by with one hole and no overflow box.


Beananimal uses 3 holes, is designed to operate noiselessly, and should always restart safely and quietly. I thought it looked like the best diy solution out there at the moment.

What I am trying to imagine is what happens to the other tanks in a linked system, if one of the tanks or sump should break and leak out.

I think last time I terminated this hobby was when a tank developed a crack.


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## J.Kirk

Great looking setup and economical use of vertical space. Well done!


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## Kayen

Damn this project looks to be off to a good start so far!
Always good to see Albertans here too.


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## 691175002

Nordic said:


> Beananimal uses 3 holes, is designed to operate noiselessly, and should always restart safely and quietly.
> 
> What I am trying to imagine is what happens to the other tanks in a linked system, if one of the tanks or sump should break and leak out.


Beananimal is probably the most robust overflow. Herbie shares the same underlying system but skips the second "dry" emergency line so would be more susceptible to blockages. If a single tank leaks no other tank will be able to drain below the overflow, so they all lose about an inch of water. Worst case leaves roughly 5 gallons of freshwater on the floor.


I managed to make some reasonable progress these last few days but the pictures vary in quality.

I spent some time experimenting but couldn't get backlighting to look right. You could almost always see the LEDs or a pattern through the frosted backing.










I probably need an edge lit box but backlighting was starting to waste a lot of my time so I've put that project aside for now.


I decided to start by building the CO2 reactor. Most designs are pretty similar but I've borrowed Tom Barrs venturi feature.

I started by turning down some of the fittings since they are rather bulky.



















Some of the modifications were pretty involved but I ended up removing a few inches of wasted space and cleaned up some of the finishes.



















Here is where the venturi comes into play, the tiny tube extends roughly an inch and a half into the reactor. This tube will take in water or gas and reintroduce it back at the elbow. If the reactor starts to fill up with too much gas it will be mixed back into the water and broken into smaller bubbles.



















After that I emptied the tanks and prepared to do the plumbing properly. I'd been reading a lot about how to reliably work with threaded PVC connections and it seemed like sealant is recommended over tape. It also seems to look neater since you can wipe off any extra sealant.










I was careful with how much torque I applied to the connections, you have to go pretty tight but if you aren't careful the plastic can crack. Luckily all my threaded connections are schedule 80 so they can take more abuse than the cheaper stuff.

The tanks are connected to the drain/return lines via PVC unions. Unions are designed to be easy to disconnect, they can be attached with a threaded ring and use an o-ring to ensure a watertight seal.



















And here is a very rough test of how the other side of the unions will look. There will be three of these painted grey. Its only white because schedule 40 was much cheaper.










And a quick picture of the current state of things:










One neat thing about having a parallel system is that any tank can be completely disconnected without affecting the other tanks. Just close the valves and throw on a HOB filter.

I'll be gluing the overflows and sump baffles in tomorrow, and then finish the plumbing and other miscellaneous tasks while the silicone dries.


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## Thegreatandpowerfulr

Its a lot fancier than my bookshelf siphon for water changes haha


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## scapegoat

what 3d printer do you have? I myself have a makerfarm prusa i3v 10" bed

I'm also very disappointed in this thread... I don't visit the forums as often as I used to and look forward to seeing interesting journals completed so I can binge view it like netflix. So imagine how upset I must be that this isn't done yet.

Looks great. Any plans for the flora and fauna yet?


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## Zoidborg

Awesome! Nuff said


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## 691175002

Finally installed the overflows. Making neat/minimal silicone joins is actually a lot harder than it looks.

I requested quotes from two separate glass shops - a discount repair shop and a proper architectural firm - and received quotes of $80 and $240 respectively. I went with the cheaper option but they did not provide the requested edge finish and the squareness on a few pieces is very questionable.

















I ordered a lot more than I really needed, I probably won't be using the lids and ended up settling on only two sump baffles.

Since the tanks are small I kept the overflows extremely small as well. They protrude only 30mm from the back wall which means that the bulkheads can no longer be removed without cutting out the overflow. On the other hand, they consume almost no tank space and should be easy to hide.

I used a lot of masking tape to keep the joints neat where possible.










I then applied enough silicone to ensure some extra would squeeze out when the pieces were pushed together.










Finally the excess is scraped off.










I removed the tape roughly 15 minutes after gluing so that the silicone could hold the glass in place but didn't fully trap the tape.










Several hours later I prepared to install the overflows in the tanks. Unfortunately there was no way to mask the inside joints because the overflow is so small.










These absolutely cannot leak so I put some extra silicone at the bottom where it will be covered by substrate.










I also put the baffles into the sump, I have an extremely minimal sump design as I really only need mechanical filtration. A section of emersed plant growth should provide more than enough on the biological side and I've never used chemical filtration in planted tanks.

I had a lot of trouble keeping these connections neat. Most guides recommended having a lot of clearance when installing a baffle but 1/8" was way too much. It was also really hard to work on the bottom side of the baffle.

I cut a few PVC spacers to make this easier.










Applied tape as usual.










And a crapload of silicone to fill the gaps.










Both baffles are in the sump but its still drying so I don't have any pictures.


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## 691175002

scapegoat said:


> What 3d printer do you have? I myself have a makerfarm prusa i3v 10" bed


I purchased one of the cheap Folger Tech kits. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners but I have the tools to align and rework parts where necessary so it works pretty well.

I plan on printing a lot more parts for this build. I need gratings for the overflows, a mount to hang the CO2 reactor in the sump, and some other stuff.



scapegoat said:


> Looks great. Any plans for the flora and fauna yet?


I have some vague ideas, I'll probably put a few Amano shimp in each tank and then give each display tank one type of fish/shrimp. I like otocinclus as well I'm not sure if I can grow enough algae to support 3/4 in each tank.

I've always wanted a tank of Celestial Pearl Danios and I'll probably have a tank of neocardina as well. Maybe 3-4 scarlet badis with the shrimp?

The third display tank is still undecided. I don't plan on putting any fish/shrimp in the sump area since the water flow will probably be too high.

Haven't thought much about the plants, but they will all have to be small. There is a fairly recent new fish store in Calgary that opened just a few blocks from my apartment. They carry the full line of ADA products and stock more than 100 species of buce (among many other plants) so there will be a lot of those.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/ska-shrimps-nature-aquariums/bucephalandra-list/596914793745417


My aquascaping skills aren't that great but I've been studying a lot of aquascape journals and hardscape pictures so I'll try to do the tanks justice.


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## lksdrinker

Great looking project. I can tell the type of person you are just be seeing how neat and organized your work areas are.....I'm quite jealous as you'd see the mess I'd make spilling over into your house if I were tackling this! I'm also quite jealous of the various toys at your disposal!

The one thing that jumps out at me though is the hard lines you have extending from the tanks/bulkheads. Looks like they come our pretty far before you reach the valve handles. If those handles require a bit of torque to open or close I could potentially see either the tank or the plumbing cracking. any reason why you didnt opt for something flexible in those spots?


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## 691175002

lksdrinker said:


> Great looking project. I can tell the type of person you are just be seeing how neat and organized your work areas are.....I'm quite jealous as you'd see the mess I'd make spilling over into your house if I were tackling this! I'm also quite jealous of the various toys at your disposal!


Thanks, I used to be a lot messier in the past but found I was wasting a lot of time and money. Nowadays I try to divide every project into tasks that will take at most 1 or 2 days and reorganize between each step.



lksdrinker said:


> The one thing that jumps out at me though is the hard lines you have extending from the tanks/bulkheads. Looks like they come our pretty far before you reach the valve handles. If those handles require a bit of torque to open or close I could potentially see either the tank or the plumbing cracking. any reason why you didnt opt for something flexible in those spots?


This is my first time plumbing an aquarium(s) so many of the decisions were pretty arbitrary. I did research aquarium/sump plumbing but this arrangement is unusual. I enjoy building so doing something weird is part of what makes it interesting.

I chose hard plumbing to keep the drain/return lines supported, otherwise I would have to somehow fasten them to the bookshelf. I don't think it is possible to break anything in that area by accident since even if the valves seize you would have to intentionally put a lot of force on the handles to crack a tank or snap a bulkhead.

After building and getting a feel for everything so far the only part of the build that has me concerned is the bookshelf tipping over. Anchoring it to the wall should make that impossible.


Did a little more work today: I drew up a grating for the overflows and printed one out to test the fit.










The actual gratings will be printed in a lighter grey plastic to be more discrete but I don't want to change the spool yet.










And the sump - there is still a lot more work to do here, the baffles will be more discrete once the rest of the pieces are in the sump. Its kind of hard to explain in words but there will be a full sheet of black sponge on each side of the central display area (kind of like a mattenfilter) to keep light and humidity from escaping.










I still plan on removing the plastic end caps from the Finnex lights to keep them discrete.

I hope to start on the drain/return lines tomorrow, these are tricky because they will need to match the full set of tanks perfectly. I'm not confident I can fully seat every connection while keeping them all aligned, I needed a press to do the unions but drain lines are too long for that. I may use a mallet to apply force.

I've also got a reactor mount drawn in CAD and will be printing it later.


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## scapegoat

what material are you printing with? Assuming PLA?


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## lksdrinker

691175002 said:


> Thanks, I used to be a lot messier in the past but found I was wasting a lot of time and money.
> 
> 
> This is my first time plumbing an aquarium(s) so many of the decisions were pretty arbitrary. I did research aquarium/sump plumbing but this arrangement is unusual. I enjoy building so doing something weird is part of what makes it interesting.
> 
> I chose hard plumbing to keep the drain/return lines supported, otherwise I would have to somehow fasten them to the bookshelf. I don't think it is possible to break anything in that area by accident since even if the valves seize you would have to intentionally put a lot of force on the handles to crack a tank or snap a bulkhead.
> 
> After building and getting a feel for everything so far the only part of the build that has me concerned is the bookshelf tipping over. Anchoring it to the wall should make that impossible.
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> Did a little more work today: I drew up a grating for the overflows and printed one out to test the fit.
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> The actual gratings will be printed in a lighter grey plastic to be more discrete but I don't want to change the spool yet.
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> And the sump - there is still a lot more work to do here, the baffles will be more discrete once the rest of the pieces are in the sump. Its kind of hard to explain in words but there will be a full sheet of black sponge on each side of the central display area (kind of like a mattenfilter) to keep light and humidity from escaping.
> 
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> I still plan on removing the plastic end caps from the Finnex lights to keep them discrete.
> 
> I hope to start on the drain/return lines tomorrow, these are tricky because they will need to match the full set of tanks perfectly. I'm not confident I can fully seat every connection while keeping them all aligned, I needed a press to do the unions but drain lines are too long for that. I may use a mallet to apply force.
> 
> I've also got a reactor mount drawn in CAD and will be printing it later.


Sometimes you just have to do in order to learn.....at least thats how it works for me! 

I agree about trying to secure the bookshelf to the wall with some angle brackets of some sort.

Keep up the good work!


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## sprint_9

When I first started reading I was skeptical about having 3 tanks on one shelf, how it would look and all work. But I must say this looks awesome, great job. Cant wait to see it up and running.


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## 691175002

scapegoat said:


> what material are you printing with? Assuming PLA?


I've been printing in ABS, I was worried about PLA degrading over time if left in warm water.

FDM prints generally aren't considered food-safe since they are porous and can harbor bacteria but that shouldn't be an issue in the aquarium. I'm not expecting anything problematic to leech from the ABS into the water since a lot of aquarium heater/filter parts are made from ABS.

I haven't tried printed parts in an aquarium before though so that will be another experiment.


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## scapegoat

691175002 said:


> I've been printing in ABS, I was worried about PLA degrading over time if left in warm water.
> 
> FDM prints generally aren't considered food-safe since they are porous and can harbor bacteria but that shouldn't be an issue in the aquarium. I'm not expecting anything problematic to leech from the ABS into the water since a lot of aquarium heater/filter parts are made from ABS.
> 
> I haven't tried printed parts in an aquarium before though so that will be another experiment.


I'm interested to see how it does. I don't expect you'll have any problems. My only concern is if the parts aren't air tight and water gets inside and sits... but, I mean, just how bad could that be.

I print in PLA because I don't have a shroud for my printer. I've jury rigged something before to print in ABS but it wasn't worth the effort.

It seems like it takes heat to degrade PLA, so I'm not sure if an aquarium would have any effect. Every reference I see mentions "hot" or "composting system"

Maybe I'll toss a piece of PLA into a cup of water and see what happens.


----------



## mot

Really awesome project. I love the minimal clean feel of the tank/shelves. So any idea whats going in them? Shrimps?


----------



## 691175002

mot said:


> Really awesome project. I love the minimal clean feel of the tank/shelves. So any idea whats going in them? Shrimps?


No definitive plans, I'll probably have a tank of cherry shrimp and a tank of celestial pearl danios, but haven't decided for the third tank.



Managed to sneak in a bit of work earlier today, it turns out that the plumbing was actually really easy. I think I was just having trouble earlier because schedule 80 is harder to push together and the sockets are much deeper.

The shelves of my bookcase are spaced exactly 14 1/4 inches apart and each aquarium has identical hole locations. I did the math to come up with a cut list for the drain/return lines. Fitting dimensions are in fractional inches which is pretty annoying.










I cut the pipe on a horizontal saw which is easy and cuts square.










And then deburred and chamfered every cut.










After every section has been cut and cleaned the gluing is very straightforward.










Just checking that I did the math right and each connection is spaced at 14 1/4".










All three drain/returns, just missing the unions.










Finally I flipped the aquariums around so I could do a quick dry-fit. I will be painting them grey before gluing the unions.










There is one minor issue - the lowest drain pipe actually extends to the top of the sump I'll either need an S-bend in the tubing or an elbow hose barb.

Its starting to really feel like the build is nearing completion. The pump is scheduled for delivery Monday. 

As mentioned before, there are upwards of 90 connections that have the potential to leak. I'm hopeful everything will go well though.


----------



## scapegoat

Excellent. Very interesting build to watch. I'm excited to see it with water to see how this works out.


----------



## aquart

Wow, this is really cool. Will be keeping tabs on this.


----------



## ichy

great project, hats off to you. Are you worried about the weight of the plumbing and leverage on the glass pane?

secondly, to get the led backlighting to look right I use acrylic bows the diffuse onto a sheet of white acrylic.

You could kill two birds with one stone here. Use a sheet of acrylic to help support the plumbing out the back of the tank, the attach bows to it for your backlighting.


----------



## 691175002

I still occasionally play with backlighting ideas. An RGB strip behind the tank looks pretty good but is completely overwhelmed by the main light.



















I'm still thinking about ways to make RGB backlighting work but don't want to spend too much time on it.



I also printed a bracket to mount the CO2 reactor.



















I was careful to make sure the weight gets applied to the shelf, the top piece is just used to keep the reactor upright.










I also cut some foam board to get an idea of how things will look. The foam board will be replaced with sheets of black sponge in the final design. These two layers of sponge will be the only filter media in the entire system. (To be fair, the central area will provide a lot of biological filtration.)

The glass lid combined with sponges on either side should keep the center area very humid and allow emersed buce/crypt/anubias growth.



















And the current state of things.


----------



## Nordic

Did you have to do that now? I was just about to paint the back of two tanks black.


----------



## 691175002

ichy said:


> You could kill two birds with one stone here. Use a sheet of acrylic to help support the plumbing out the back of the tank, the attach bows to it for your backlighting.


Ha, nicely timed post - I was just thinking about backlighting. The arc idea is really good.

I was concerned about plumbing strength at first but in practice it is quite strong. You can actually lift an empty tank by a single valve no problem.

I'd prefer to use light panels over acrylic since a 2x4' styrene sheet is only a couple dollars. Acrylic is a much better material but a sheet of the stuff is like $80 and I don't actually have a tablesaw.

I was having problems getting even light diffusion but if I mount the LEDs in an arc and apply some of the translucent window film to the panel it might work.

Does your setup work with the main aquarium lights on?


----------



## ichy

I 3-d print the little clips on the end of the panels, you can see them in the one picture.

I get a 32X30 sheet at the local big box home improvement store for $28.00

But you are correct, not having a saw to cut is a pain. The big long main cuts I just score and snap, but to make the arc bands, I use a bandsaw.


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## 691175002

Had some time so I printed out the grey overflow covers.



















They should blend in much better with the translucent backgrounds.

Also got around to painting the plumbing.










I didn't want to paint the unions grey (since they are already grey and have some important threads/surfaces) so I masked off the connection points and glued them after.



















The drain/return lines will be connected to the sump with a foot or two of 3/4"ID tubing to make things easy.










I'm really happy with how the painted tubing looks, I was originally going to just do everything in schedule 80 but the painted stuff looks just as good and is cheaper and less bulky.










I've been leak testing some of the valves, connections and overflows and so far everything looks fine.

At this point I pretty much just need to cut the drain/return tubing and wait for the pump to arrive.

I also need to decide whether I fill/test the setup in its current location (with the tanks flipped backwards) or if I want to move the bookshelf and assemble things the right way around. I'm inclined to do it in place since that way I can immediately anchor the bookshelf to the wall, but it will be less convenient.


----------



## doylecolmdoyle

Is the bookshelf on casters? I want to put my stand on caster wheels but my setup is only 1 x 12g bookshelf and I was tentative about putting that on wheels due to weight.


----------



## AutumnSky

This is a build thread with a fine quality of building and planning. Quite amazing job. Looks great. 

Printing your needed parts is sweet; what a luxury. Really love the light clips.

If you go to a good hardware store, they can usually cut the material for you, then you don't need to rent or buy a tool.


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## 691175002

doylecolmdoyle said:


> Is the bookshelf on casters? I want to put my stand on caster wheels but my setup is only 1 x 12g bookshelf and I was tentative about putting that on wheels due to weight.


My bookshelf isn't on casters but I did turn some aluminium disks to level it. The floor in that corner of the apartment bends upwards roughly half an inch so getting the bookshelf level was a bit of an ordeal.










I wouldn't worry about caster load, some models can support thousands of pounds per wheel. My main concern would be the stand bending if it was rolled over an uneven surface.


I've printed a little clip to hold the return lines in place.




























I also started working on wire management. It was pretty easy since there is only one light per tank.










I also finished anchoring the bookshelf to the wall and wiped down the shelves and tanks since they were covered in fingerprints and such.


----------



## doylecolmdoyle

all looking fantastic and 100% professional!


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## al4n

Most detailed, thought through setup I've read this year

Sent from my SM-N910G using Tapatalk


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## onlycrimson

Now I really want a 3d printer. All those pieces look amazing and fit just right.


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## 691175002

onlycrimson said:


> Now I really want a 3d printer. All those pieces look amazing and fit just right.


This is actually the first project I'm using the printer for and I've been pretty happy with the results so far. Unfortunately the affordable printers still have a lot of quirks. It took a lot of testing to get acceptable prints and I still have to do occasional tweaks.


The pump has arrived but with the holidays over I have less time. I'm hoping to test the system on Friday at the latest.


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## Regenesis

wow. this is the prettiest/neatest/most clean build i've ever seen. Kudos  Can't wait to see where this goes


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## mysticalnet

Wow!! 3D printing and crazy plumbing! Hello fellow Canadian! Subscribed!

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk


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## ngrubich

I may have missed it somewhere in this thread, but why did you decide to go with PVC for the plumbing in the back versus using something like a silicone tubing? IME, I've had good success with using silicone tubing secured with ratchet clamps for the plumbing on my 90 and always enjoyed being able to move my tubing around in case I needed to disconnect something without having to disconnect a chunk of PVC from a union or ball valve. 
Definitely interested in how this build goes!


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## 691175002

ngrubich said:


> I may have missed it somewhere in this thread, but why did you decide to go with PVC for the plumbing in the back versus using something like a silicone tubing?


I chose hard PVC pretty much entirely because it looks nicer. The stuff is pretty cheap and easy to use if you have the tools so I would probably use PVC again.

I've found threaded connectors to be pretty annoying though, you have to get them tightened just right which is frustrating when you are trying to orient all the valves in the same direction. Unions are more convenient and low cost.


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## 691175002

I couldn't wait until the weekend - I assembled the setup with everything facing backwards. This makes it easier to find leaks and get the tubing lengths correct.




























The sump and a single display tank filled, adjusted, and running.










So far the overflows appear to function correctly (although the real test is 2+ tanks). Unfortunately I found one leak - the bottom threaded connector will drip slightly, but only when the pump is on. This is probably due to a combination of insufficient sealant and torque, the larger fittings are a real PITA to tighten. The leak sucks but will be easy to fix so things are going pretty well overall.










The valves and overflow work fine, although they haven't really been tested until two or more tanks are running at once.



I have two options - Take the system apart and fix the reactor immediately, or ignore the leak and test the remaining two tanks. After thinking things over I've decided to take the second option - testing the full system right now will let me know if any other changes need to be made before I disassemble and reseal.

I plan to have all three tanks running simultaneously tonight. I'll stick a cup under the leaking reactor and only run the pump while I am in the apartment.

If no new leaks develop over the next few days I will fix the reactor and reassemble the entire system in the correct direction.


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## doylecolmdoyle

Looking great! Nice work


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## prototyp3

Really looking forward to this multiple tank test, my fingers are crossed.
Don't be shy about going heavy on the pipe dope. That's the beauty of it, it will just squeeze out whatever isn't needed. Unlike that evil tape which just cracks fittings to let you know when you overdid it.

BTW, if an angry woman calls you, that would be my wife.. I don't think she's going to be happy when I buy a 3D printer and point to this thread as the excuse!


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## 691175002

I've been successfully running things for around an hour. Adjustment was easier than I expected - you have to go back and forth a little since each tank affects the other two, but the gates can be adjusted very finely so its not that hard.

Filled the tanks:










Pump running:



















The water level is pretty comfortable with the naked overflows but I might need to alter my grating to allow more flow. 










I've got a poorly shot cellphone video showing the siphon starting, running and ending which will probably take an hour or so to upload.

The Syncra 3.0 pump is quite loud which is surprising to me as I have a Syncra 1.5 which is completely inaudible. I think I remember the 1.5 took a while to break in so hopefully the pump quiets down or I'll need a new pump.


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## 691175002

Heres the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGOtOlYpwNA


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## BJRuttenberg

Damn impressive. With the time and effort you put into the water system, can't wait to see what kind of aquascapes you put together. 


-BJ
Sent using TapaTalk


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## ZeusIon

What is the name and type of white/frosted film you used for the back of the top 3? I'd love to use this same material as I really enjoy the results you got by using it.


----------



## fietsenrex

aren't you afraid that the weight of the pvc etc will put to much stress on the glass and crack it?


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## Nordic

I'd fabricate a few clamps to clip the pipe to the shelves for support.


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## 691175002

prototyp3 said:


> Really looking forward to this multiple tank test, my fingers are crossed.
> Don't be shy about going heavy on the pipe dope. That's the beauty of it, it will just squeeze out whatever isn't needed. Unlike that evil tape which just cracks fittings to let you know when you overdid it.


That was probably my mistake. I was careful to apply the "right" amount to avoid having too much squeeze out, but I later looked up the instruction manual which basically said "brush on enough to completely fill all the male threads." I'll probably unscrew both sides of the reactor and redo it properly.



BJRuttenberg said:


> Damn impressive. With the time and effort you put into the water system, can't wait to see what kind of aquascapes you put together.


I'll try my best, but unfortunately I'm relatively new to proper aquascaping. It will probably become a back and forth kind of thing where I post pictures and ask for feedback.



ZeusIon said:


> What is the name and type of white/frosted film you used for the back of the top 3? I'd love to use this same material as I really enjoy the results you got by using it.


I got it from Home Depot. From what I've read the US stores have an identical or at least very similar product as well.



fietsenrex said:


> aren't you afraid that the weight of the pvc etc will put to much stress on the glass and crack it?





Nordic said:


> I'd fabricate a few clamps to clip the pipe to the shelves for support.


I was concerned during the planning stage, but after putting everything together I'm confident the tanks and bulkheads will be okay. The final assembly will have the pipes against the wall so there won't be any unexpected bumps or loads either.

Clamps would make things even more robust but they would also complicate assembly and alignment quite a bit.



I've been thinking more about the Syncra pump, this bookshelf is right next to the TV in my living area so noise is an issue. The pump might have been acceptable inside a cabinet underneath a reef, but my setup has it completely exposed. I'm a little tweaked because the Syncra 3.0 reviews all said it was noisy but I purchased anyways because the Syncra 1.5 worked so well.

I'm considering replacing it with a Tunze 1073.05 or Eheim 3000 but purchasing a second pump would completely trash my budget.


----------



## jrygel

I just started a new system with a Syncra 3.0 as the return pump. It's not completely silent, but much quieter than the Mag7 it replaced and quiet enough for me. It did quiet down a bit after a few days. Mine is in my living room, but it is in a cabinet, so your standards for quiet are probably different. After quite a bit of research, I decided to go with this to replace the Mag hoping it would be 'good enough' - so far I think it is for me. The next step if I decide I need to go quieter will be stepping up to a DC pump, probably the RLSS Waveline that they sell at BRS.

Also, beautiful work. Setting up the system is half the fun. Have you given any though to how much evaporation you are going to have off of the system? All of the evaporation loss will be coming out of the sump, so if you would typically loose 1/4" per day from a topless tank due to evaporation, in your system you will loose 1" per day in the sump while the display tanks hold their level.

-Justin


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## 691175002

jrygel said:


> I just started a new system with a Syncra 3.0 as the return pump. It's not completely silent, but much quieter than the Mag7 it replaced and quiet enough for me. It did quiet down a bit after a few days. The next step if I decide I need to go quieter will be stepping up to a DC pump, probably the RLSS Waveline that they sell at BRS.


I guess I should give the pump a month or two to break in first. The RLSS is a good size (shape and flow) so at least I have options if necessary.



jrygel said:


> Have you given any though to how much evaporation you are going to have off of the system? All of the evaporation loss will be coming out of the sump, so if you would typically loose 1/4" per day from a topless tank due to evaporation, in your system you will loose 1" per day in the sump while the display tanks hold their level.


This is a pretty good question, evaporation will be a problem since there is so much surface area and water movement. I've got several options but am unsure which one is best.

I ordered full glass lids for all four tanks so the system can be almost perfectly sealed if necessary. Unfortunately when the angle is just right a glass lid will reflect the Finnex right at your face which is pretty annoying.

I've been very impressed by the Tunze ATO in my other tank so that is always an option as well. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with a system that will run dry in two days if the float sticks though.

I'll probably start by setting the tanks slightly cooler (76?), and if necessary l can throw lids on tanks that have the least annoying reflections. I can probably cover 2/4 of the tanks without issue.


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## d33pVI

Have you tried a cover on the sump? Might reduce some noise for you.

Amazing set-up, btw.


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## Rossfett

Fantastic setup. Very well designed. 
Maybe creating a way to enclose the sump might be a good idea lessening noise and keeping CO2 loss in check. Check out some of Tom Barr's posts about sumps and CO2. 

Are you concerned with the sump having enough media with sufficient surface area to filter all the tanks? -ignore if I missed the answer somewhere else.


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## sprint_9

What do you have for calculated head for the pump?

I know with my Syncra 3.0 that if I try to add 2 additional 90's into my existing pump plumbing that the thing rattles like crazy, if I take the 90's out and run a straight shot it quiets down significantly. 

I wonder how your 1.5 would act trying to run only the bottom tank? If the reduced head would make a difference in noise like I saw from mine.


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## 691175002

I'm lighting and planing the center 16" of the sump so I'd rather not enclose the entire thing. The noise is loud enough that an enclosure might not be enough anyway.



sprint_9 said:


> What do you have for calculated head for the pump?
> 
> I know with my Syncra 3.0 that if I try to add 2 additional 90's into my existing pump plumbing that the thing rattles like crazy, if I take the 90's out and run a straight shot it quiets down significantly.


This could be the cause, the water level of the highest tank is 4ft above the sump level and there are two elbows around the CO2 reactor. I'm also restricting the flow with ball valves since running 400-500GPH through 18 gallons of display space would be way too much turnover. 

I could have probably used a smaller pump but wanted a margin of safety.



Rossfett said:


> Fantastic setup. Very well designed.
> Maybe creating a way to enclose the sump might be a good idea lessening noise and keeping CO2 loss in check. Check out some of Tom Barr's posts about sumps and CO2.
> 
> Are you concerned with the sump having enough media with sufficient surface area to filter all the tanks? -ignore if I missed the answer somewhere else.


I'll be making some provisions in the sump to keep in CO2. There is almost no splashing in the entire system once the siphons start so it shouldn't be too bad.

Filter media will be limited to two layers of sponge, but the entire center of the sump will be lit, scaped, and planted for biological filtration. I stock lightly so I've never needed huge amounts of filtration in my tanks.


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## sprint_9

691175002 said:


> I'm also restricting the flow with ball valves since running 400-500GPH through 18 gallons of display space would be way too much turnover.


Try to restrict the inlet flow on the pump, there is a rotating piece built into the pump that closes off the inlet holes. You should be able to restrict your flow on the inlet, and open your ball valves further and reduce some of the head pressure the pump is seeing.


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## shrimpNewbie

Very very nice set up again. Looking forward to seeing them filled with life

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk


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## 691175002

Flipped the tanks around today, I'll probably end up filling them for the final leak test tomorrow.


It was a little bit tight but I was able to get everything together. I installed the bottom display tank last which gave me room to work.










I've also been considering locations for the 75W heater. I'd like to place it vertically in the return chamber but the water level might not be high enough.










The alternative would be to place it horizontally but that will make it hard to adjust.










Finally a mockup of the sump once foam is in-place. The center section will contain rocks/driftwood and plants.










And just some pictures of the final assembly.


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## josecatala

Awesome build... I can't wait to see it planted and running. Great job... Thanks for posting.


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## 691175002

I made the suggested adjustments to the Syncra 3.0 and they resulted a noticeable decrease in rattling. The new level is tolerable but I'd still like to get it even quieter (completely inaudible) if possible.
I have ordered a Jabao DCS-4000 pump from China as a backup plan. Shipping will take some time so I figured might as well order it now. If the Syncra quiets down I'm sure the Jabao will find a place somewhere else.

I put water in yesterday and so far everything is going well. I'm going to let this run for at least a month before putting anything into the tanks just to build confidence that the bookshelf and plumbing are reliable.



















Now for some questions - how risky do you think it will be to run the heater at this water level?










Also, anyone have opinions on stocking this kind of setup? The tanks are 24" long and have a combined volume of roughly 24g, but are technically only 6g each. I think the water volume could support larger fish (blue ram, dwarf gourami, small apistogramma?) but I wouldn't want them to feel cramped.


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## TropicalAquarist

Considering its 24" long, I think it could work with dwarf cichlids.... How wide is it?

Dwarf Gouramis are Very active, I would not recommend them for this tank, however sparkling or honey Gouramis would work....


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## 691175002

TropicalAquarist said:


> Considering its 24" long, I think it could work with dwarf cichlids.... How wide is it?
> 
> Dwarf Gouramis are Very active, I would not recommend them for this tank, however sparkling or honey Gouramis would work....


Dimensions of the individual tanks are: 23.6"L x 6.7"W x 9.4"H

Naturally as a single tank it would be way too small for most of these fish, but I can't tell if the requirements are driven by water quality or swimming space.


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## sprint_9

691175002 said:


> I made the suggested adjustments to the Syncra 3.0 and they resulted a noticeable decrease in rattling. The new level is tolerable but I'd still like to get it even quieter (completely inaudible) if possible.
> I have ordered a Jabao DCS-4000 pump from China as a backup plan. Shipping will take some time so I figured might as well order it now. If the Syncra quiets down I'm sure the Jabao will find a place somewhere else.


On your pump noise level you are probably down to normal now. I know when I got my pump I was hoping it would be quieter than it is based on the reviews. I suppose it is quieter than most AC pumps hence all the positive reviews, I know mine is for sure quieter than my Mag 5, but no where near silent.

When you get your DC pump be sure to write up a little review, I have been tempted more than once to try one of them.




691175002 said:


> Now for some questions - how risky do you think it will be to run the heater at this water level?


I would say that the coil or heating portion is below the water but what about the thermostat portion, is enough of that below water to keep things steady. If the heater is on and heating, would it be possible for the glass of the heater tube itself to heat up and cause problems, maybe try turning it on and see if it gets hot above the water line. Can you run the heater at an angle to get more of it under water or is there not enough room?


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## shrimpNewbie

691175002 said:


> I made the suggested adjustments to the Syncra 3.0 and they resulted a noticeable decrease in rattling. The new level is tolerable but I'd still like to get it even quieter (completely inaudible) if possible.
> I have ordered a Jabao DCS-4000 pump from China as a backup plan. Shipping will take some time so I figured might as well order it now. If the Syncra quiets down I'm sure the Jabao will find a place somewhere else.
> 
> I put water in yesterday and so far everything is going well. I'm going to let this run for at least a month before putting anything into the tanks just to build confidence that the bookshelf and plumbing are reliable.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now for some questions - how risky do you think it will be to run the heater at this water level?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also, anyone have opinions on stocking this kind of setup? The tanks are 24" long and have a combined volume of roughly 24g, but are technically only 6g each. I think the water volume could support larger fish (blue ram, dwarf gourami, small apistogramma?) but I wouldn't want them to feel cramped.


If you place the pump on top of a sheet of filter foam it will help a lot. For the jebao I'm pretty sure it's a requirement for warrantee but it makes a huge difference, I basically make a 30 ppi foam box for my pumps helps as a final filter and makes the pump silent.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk


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## mysticalnet

I think the water level is okay for the heater

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk


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## Kayen

Water level is okay for the heater... 
My biggest concern is the bookshelf, at 6 gallons a pop, if we're being pessimistic - still looking at 100LBS/tank. Hopefully the tempered glass holds. Some black 2x2's underneath with some some small L joints could help if you're finding it lacking and shouldn't take away from the look too much. 

What part of AB you from?


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## gbb0330

691175002 said:


> Now for some questions - how risky do you think it will be to run the heater at this water level?
> .


i have 2 eheim jagers, running both of them horizontally, fully submersed, for over 2 months, no issues yet.


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## 691175002

shrimpNewbie said:


> If you place the pump on top of a sheet of filter foam it will help a lot. For the jebao I'm pretty sure it's a requirement for warrantee but it makes a huge difference, I basically make a 30 ppi foam box for my pumps helps as a final filter and makes the pump silent.


The Syncra has some suction cup feet so I skipped the foam, but I'll be sure to pad the Jebao.

Reviews seemed to question Jebao reliability but I should only need a tiny percentage of its full power to turn 18g of display space. Freshwater is also much easier on equipment than saltwater.




Kayen said:


> My biggest concern is the bookshelf, at 6 gallons a pop, if we're being pessimistic - still looking at 100LBS/tank. Hopefully the tempered glass holds. Some black 2x2's underneath with some some small L joints could help if you're finding it lacking and shouldn't take away from the look too much.
> 
> What part of AB you from?


I ran a calculator on the glass shelves (30" Long, 3/8" Thick, Tempered) and they should be able to support 600lb+ before cracking. I'm most concerned about the wood structure. The math suggests it should be okay but I'm not exactly sure how it was put together in terms of fasteners and such.

I'm in Calgary.


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## shrimpNewbie

691175002 said:


> The Syncra has some suction cup feet so I skipped the foam, but I'll be sure to pad the Jebao.
> 
> Reviews seemed to question Jebao reliability but I should only need a tiny percentage of its full power to turn 18g of display space. Freshwater is also much easier on equipment than saltwater.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I ran a calculator on the glass shelves (30" Long, 3/8" Thick, Tempered) and they should be able to support 600lb+ before cracking. I'm most concerned about the wood structure. The math suggests it should be okay but I'm not exactly sure how it was put together in terms of fasteners and such.
> 
> I'm in Calgary.


If you're worried about the sound I would add the foam under it anyway, that pump is likely transferring vibration via the foot pads. It's worth a shot to add foam if it really is bugging you

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk


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## brwagur

691175002 said:


> Dimensions of the individual tanks are: 23.6"L x 6.7"W x 9.4"H
> 
> Naturally as a single tank it would be way too small for most of these fish, but I can't tell if the requirements are driven by water quality or swimming space.


Take a look at Seriously Fish when researching possible species, they tend to be fairly conservative in their tank size suggestions and give base dimensions instead of total volume. For a smaller Apsitogramma, such as borellii, they suggest 18" x 12" for a pair, so you might be able to get away with one in your tank, but do your own research first.


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## philipraposo1982

Why not stick with all nano fish? I would rather have more smaller fish than just a few bigger ones. I had a pair of rs in my 75g and they controlled all 4 feet of it. I could imagine any small cichlids being happy in 24". 

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## 691175002

philipraposo1982 said:


> Why not stick with all nano fish?


After doing some research that is probably what will end up happening. I'll see if I can get a hold of some more interesting nano fish like the scarlet badis.

I took a final go at the backlight over the weekend. Turns out the best solution was also the simplest - I just shone my LEDs backwards against the wall. I initially avoided this option because I was afraid the plumbing would be visible, but the frosted backing hides everything quite well.

I just attached the strips to a piece of foam board which sits behind the tank. 










With the main lights off, color is quite pronounced. Once the tanks have substrate the foam board will be hidden.










Quite a lot of color still shows through even with the main lights on.



















In practice the backlighting will be whitish and less intrusive.

I'm brainstorming effective ways of controlling these lights as it's a lot of channels to handle individually.
At the moment I plan on connecting all the lights together so that every tank is the same color and brightness - this cuts the 13 channels down to just 4 (RGB+W).

I may also redo them with sheet metal and waterproof LED strips since the current iteration looks pretty low effort.


----------



## mysticalnet

Very nice LED backlighting, are they waterproof? I got mine from ebay, waterproof and cheap. 

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk


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## 691175002

mysticalnet said:


> Very nice LED backlighting, are they waterproof? I got mine from ebay, waterproof and cheap.


This version is not waterproof but the next iteration will be.


It has been a few weeks now and everything is going pretty well. The bookshelf still feels quite solid, and there has been no instability in the overflow system regardless of water level.

I finally got around to working out the overflow covers, it actually took a few iterations. You might remember that the first ones were a little too restrictive which raised the display water level dangerously high.










Version two of the overflow cover was modified for more flow but the grating would split the stream on the way down which is noisy in certain situations.



















The final iteration has a little catch behind the grating to force water back against the glass.



















The final gratings raise the waterlevel only a few millimeters compared to an unobstructed overflow and are slightly more discrete than the original design.

You may have noticed I started to use glass lids as well. I was losing a ridiculous amount of water to evaporation, now the sump should maintain its water level for a week or two.

The only remaining task is mounting sponges in the sump. I ordered filter foam from eBay five weeks ago and it still hasn't arrived so I may just pick something up from a local place to avoid further delaying this project.

I'm also waiting on some electronics for the lighting, as well as the (hopefully quieter) Jebao pump. The orders are roughly four weeks away so I'll work on them after the tanks are set up.

I'll start playing with hardscape over the weekend.


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## mysticalnet

The final version of the gratings look great! I like how the water now flow against the glass this making minimum sound. Looking forward to your next update! 

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk


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## Parrotsfeather

I love the different colored backlights for each tank. They give each tank a unique look. I think they'll be awesome kept that way : )

--Kaifyre


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## AutumnSky

Those grates look lke they are doing a morvelous job with the adjustment.

As for nano fish, Pygmy Cories are ridiculously petite and cute. Dwarf Cories - Pygmaeus, Habrosus, Hastatus for USA are found, most commonly and cost wise in that order. There are a few other Badis. Dwarf shrimp are fun. 

Possibly some Dwarf Rasboras I think already were mentioned. Here is a good link to help ID which ones the store is selling Here Phoenix Rasbora are very inexpensive 1.50-2.50 per fish and the Boraras Brigittae aka Chilis are 7-9 each. So knowing what the costs of them are in your market and getting the right ones for the money you pay is wise.
Which boraras do you really have? A pictorial guide to the most common species | Invertebrates by Msjinkzd

Great job - it is looking sharp.


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## theatermusic87

Following along


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## AdamTill

If you did want Pygmy cories Pisces in Calgary has some REALLY nice ones right now. They're priced as such, but I'm seriously temped to get more.

Great build, makes me want to get a printer!


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## r0adki1l

?????? I just read all this and...!!! thats it no conclusion I love this setup and I need to know how it worked in practice and how it ended up looking stocked and planted..... Please sir may I have some more???


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## Parrotsfeather

^ Seconded. : )

--Kaifyre


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## 691175002

Parrotsfeather said:


> I love the different colored backlights for each tank. They give each tank a unique look. I think they'll be awesome kept that way.


Independent control would be cool, but it would probably require separate controllers for each tank (4x the cost). I'm still going through my options - I'd like to get sunrise/sunset (with color) cycles out of the backlighting at the minimum.



r0adki1l said:


> ?????? I just read all this and...!!! thats it no conclusion I love this setup and I need to know how it worked in practice and how it ended up looking stocked and planted..... Please sir may I have some more???


Unfortunately you're in for a bit of a wait, you are reading me work in real-time now. I'm hoping to plant over the Feb 13-15 long weekend at the latest.



AdamTill said:


> If you did want Pygmy cories Pisces in Calgary has some REALLY nice ones right now. Great build, makes me want to get a printer!


I buy most of my fish from Pisces but their prices are so high. Maybe I would feel better paying $4 for a neon tetra if I needed the 14 day guarantee, but if a fish dies in a planted tank I'm never going to find it.

Printers are fun but there has got to be at least fifty ways things can go wrong and you need a lot of experience to properly troubleshoot the problems.



AutumnSky said:


> As for nano fish, Pygmy Cories are ridiculously petite and cute. There are a few other Badis. Dwarf shrimp are fun.


Three tanks doesn't feel like enough after I read about all the cool fish that are available. I'll probably be buying most of the livestock from here. Very concentrated selection but they have quite a few neat nano fish.






I finally got tired of waiting for my filter foam and hit the local store instead. By some coincidence it turns out that Rena X3 filter media is exactly the right size for a Mr. Aqua 6.5g (160mm) which is pretty neat. I grabbed a pack of black foam and started working in CAD.

















This assembly will frame the sump display section and is held in place by substrate/rocks and the glass lid.

Printing ABS can be challenging because you need to keep the piece warm while printing or it will warp/delaminate. The problem is that low-end 3d printers tend to be _made_ of ABS, so temperatures warm enough to keep the printed object malleable can also soften the printer itself. Over time gravity and other forces deform the printer and things slowly go wrong as alignment and rigidity degrade. I've put a reasonable amount of plastic through my printer and it has been getting noticeable less reliable over time. 

I tried printing this set of parts on Saturday and the printer finally failed completely. I repaired it by disassembling most of the printer and soaked the plastic components in boiling water (to soften the plastic) so they could be bent back into shape by hand. This consumed most of Saturday but should keep things going for another few months.

I only had time to print one side on Sunday as it takes ~12 hours per set, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.



















This picture is a little wonky, I was in a bit of a rush and refraction made it look all weird.


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## stevieo

Excellent build! 

I was going to suggest going to SKA as well for your live stock. 

I buy almost everything from Hung for my fish tank, only time I go else where is when he doesn't have/carry it. 

Are you on albertaaquatica.com as well? 
There's a guy on there as well Harold (fishdeal I think his name is on there) . He's a sponsor as well, brings in lots of live stock as well. If Hung doesn't carry I ask Harold and if Harold doesn't have it that's when I look at Pisces or Gold's aquarium.


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## sprint_9

3d printing is awesome, great work.


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## Nick00Merlin

Could you use your printer to make new parts for your printer? This way if something gets warped or whatever you can replace it...


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## shrimpNewbie

691175002 said:


> Independent control would be cool, but it would probably require separate controllers for each tank (4x the cost). I'm still going through my options - I'd like to get sunrise/sunset (with color) cycles out of the backlighting at the minimum.
> 
> 
> Unfortunately you're in for a bit of a wait, you are reading me work in real-time now. I'm hoping to plant over the Feb 13-15 long weekend at the latest.
> 
> 
> I buy most of my fish from Pisces but their prices are so high. Maybe I would feel better paying $4 for a neon tetra if I needed the 14 day guarantee, but if a fish dies in a planted tank I'm never going to find it.
> 
> Printers are fun but there has got to be at least fifty ways things can go wrong and you need a lot of experience to properly troubleshoot the problems.
> 
> 
> Three tanks doesn't feel like enough after I read about all the cool fish that are available. I'll probably be buying most of the livestock from here. Very concentrated selection but they have quite a few neat nano fish.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I finally got tired of waiting for my filter foam and hit the local store instead. By some coincidence it turns out that Rena X3 filter media is exactly the right size for a Mr. Aqua 6.5g (160mm) which is pretty neat. I grabbed a pack of black foam and started working in CAD.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This assembly will frame the sump display section and is held in place by substrate/rocks and the glass lid.
> 
> Printing ABS can be challenging because you need to keep the piece warm while printing or it will warp/delaminate. The problem is that low-end 3d printers tend to be _made_ of ABS, so temperatures warm enough to keep the printed object malleable can also soften the printer itself. Over time gravity and other forces deform the printer and things slowly go wrong as alignment and rigidity degrade. I've put a reasonable amount of plastic through my printer and it has been getting noticeable less reliable over time.
> 
> I tried printing this set of parts on Saturday and the printer finally failed completely. I repaired it by disassembling most of the printer and soaked the plastic components in boiling water (to soften the plastic) so they could be bent back into shape by hand. This consumed most of Saturday but should keep things going for another few months.
> 
> I only had time to print one side on Sunday as it takes ~12 hours per set, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This picture is a little wonky, I was in a bit of a rush and refraction made it look all weird.


Could always have those parts machine in a metal of your choice that would be more stable with heat. Or a plastic which can do the same

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk


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## r0adki1l

691175002 said:


> Unfortunately you're in for a bit of a wait, you are reading me work in real-time now. I'm hoping to plant over the Feb 13-15 long weekend at the latest.


ok awesome I wasn't paying attention to the dates and thought this was a dead thread sooo happy to see it still happening... if you ever get a chance is like to see the setup in the room. I do love the multi color of the tanks or all the same depending on mood. Anyways just wanted to say I'm a fan of this setup... also having a refugium on my 75g I second covering the refugium for water loss. I'm constantly refilling the sump.


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## 691175002

Nick00Merlin said:


> Could you use your printer to make new parts for your printer? This way if something gets warped or whatever you can replace it...





shrimpNewbie said:


> Could always have those parts machine in a metal of your choice that would be more stable with heat. Or a plastic which can do the same.


I've avoided doing much work to this printer as I'm already building a better one from scratch. Better is actually a bit of an understatement, it's being assembled from surplus linear stages so the motion will be flawless.










I started working on it about a year ago but got sidetracked by this project. To be fair I actually purchased the bookshelf and aquariums 14 months ago so technically the aquariums started first. Most projects get finished eventually, it just takes a while.




r0adki1l said:


> If you ever get a chance is like to see the setup in the room.












Once the electrical has been worked out my 30g stand will be flush with the bookshelf.

After the bookshelf is complete I plan to restart my 30g with an improved design and a more appropriate hardscape. The terrestrial growth completely took over and is preventing any light from reaching the aquatic plants.

If you look closely you will spot four light fixtures on the 30g - an E-Series, a Finnex Ray2, and two Singrays (temporarily borrowed from the bookshelf). Once I set up the bookshelf that tank will pretty much go dark so I'll have to figure out a backup plan.


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## r0adki1l

LOVE IT love that 30 too im still toying with doing a planter box on the top of mine. keep up the great work!!


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## mysticalnet

How is the speaker being so close to the talk combo going to affect the fishes? Cool setup and room though. 

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk


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## bt7896

Referring to those two stepper motors on top, how many steps are they rated for. I am wondering how small of movement you need for a decent 3d printer.


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## 691175002

mysticalnet said:


> How is the speaker being so close to the talk combo going to affect the fishes? Cool setup and room though.


My 30g used to be against the TV before I slid it over to make room for the bookshelf. I run volume normalization and <20% volume for pretty much everything out of habit since its an apartment.



bt7896 said:


> Referring to those two stepper motors on top, how many steps are they rated for. I am wondering how small of movement you need for a decent 3d printer.


Pretty much any standard 200 step motor will work. Step count isn't a huge deal since sticktion in the bearings and linear motion will limit mechanical resolution. You can get by with pretty sloppy designs but it will show up in the print quality.


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## AutumnSky

Not sure if I mentioned here for nano fish, she has a you tube channel too and talks about a different nano fish every week. She helped write a book about nano fish. Invertebrates by Msjinkzd | Specializing in invertebrates and micro fish from around the world.


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## bt7896

691175002 said:


> Pretty much any standard 200 step motor will work. Step count isn't a huge deal since sticktion in the bearings and linear motion will limit mechanical resolution. You can get by with pretty sloppy designs but it will show up in the print quality.


Huh, thanks. I always assumed you would need some of those crazy $80 1000 step motors in order to get adequate detail. I guess not.


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## 691175002

I'll talk a little about light control since my decision making was rather involved. There are basically three pieces to a dimmable system: The controller, the (dimmable) power supply, and the LEDs themselves.

Most high end LED systems come with dimmable power supplies built in so the entire system works out of the box. On the other hand, cheaper LEDs such as the Finnex Stingrays have no provision for dimming, so to use a standard controller I would have to DIY a new set of dimmable power supplies.










The top two rows of this table represent traditional options but I've chosen to try something new. If you are unfamiliar with Philips Hue, it is a system for controlling wireless lightbulbs by phone, physical switches, programmed schedules, and more.

There are a couple advantages to using Philips Hue. The hue is reasonably priced since it has better economies of scale than aquarium products. The hue is also available as a complete unit that combines a controller and LED dimmer circuitry. Finally, my apartment is already lit by Hue bulbs so having aquariums on the same system is conceptually nice.

I purchased a third-party hue device that can control four channels with total power consumption of 180 watts. I will be connecting the Finnex Stingrays to the white channel and the backlight to the RGB channels. Installing the controller is as simple as cutting the Finnex power cable and inserting it in-line.










The process is analogous for the RGB backlights. Wiring both the Finnex and the backlighting to the device at once is slightly more involved as one is at 12V and the other requires 15V.










And you're done, fire up the app and give things a spin.




























The white channel can also be separated, allowing independent control of the Finnex brightness.



















This worked even better than I had hoped, all I need to do now is make some neater cables so that all the lights can be powered together. Right now I plan to wire all four tanks to a single controller. I'd love independent control over each tank but can't justify buying four separate controllers when one will do the job almost as well.


I also finished the sump prints which completes the aquarium system.










The center section probably sees 40x turnover but since it is fully bordered by foam on both sides the flow is very uniform. Maybe I can put some shrimp in there? I'll see how things look once it has substrate and plants.


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## mysticalnet

Impressive lighting system! 

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk


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## AutumnSky

Wow, someone is pretty much genius! Pretty amazing job there, sir.


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## Refael

An amazing project which is very delightful to watch...
The aesthetics and precise design are killing me :smile2:
Bravo!


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## SwampGremlin

As soon as i saw this i was thinking shrimp tanks. Different species in each tank could play with the lighting to make them stand out.


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## Tessa

This is an amazing setup - love it!

For the heater: if it's too tall, could two smaller (shorter) ones do the job? As for fish, I really like chili rasboras (_boraras brigittae_), gorgeous little things.


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## 691175002

e D said:


> Are you worried about Co2 being an issue? I have trouble getting to 30ppm with my overflow unless I turn the flow to a trickle and blast my needle valve on. Do you think that if you didn't have the overflows built in, you could just put a swing check valve on the siphon drain line, the return line and the back up drain line?


I decided to cover every tank to keep evaporation managable, so that should prevent most of the CO2 gas off. I've also been careful to avoid splashing when possible to keep the noise level down which should also help.

In practice check valves are unreliable in systems like aquariums where algae, snails, and other debris can build up. Gravity is pretty much the only system that will always work.



Tessa said:


> This is an amazing setup - love it!
> 
> For the heater: if it's too tall, could two smaller (shorter) ones do the job? As for fish, I really like chili rasboras (_boraras brigittae_), gorgeous little things.


I definitely have space for two heaters in the sump. I'll watch the heater for a while and replace it if necessary.


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## 691175002

e D said:


> Do the two herbie overflow drain outlets have to be 6" apart from each other? I was wondering if it would work if i were to use a nano overflow box and glued it to the back of the glass but the one I found is only 5" high


I wouldn't worry too much. It will be a little harder to adjust, but with a gate valve 2"-4" should be just fine.

I finally picked up the hardscape materials. I got around 6Kg of ADA Manten stone and two pieces of their small spider wood.










I also purchased a box of driftwood from Tom Barr. This is about half of what he sent me, the rest of the pieces are larger and will go into the 30g tank later. There are also some bags of more ordinary rocks in there as well.










It doesn't look like that much in the pictures but there is actually a lot of stuff. Definitely more driftwood than I need, although I may want a bit more rock if I end up using it in all four tanks.


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## robchang

691175002 said:


> I wouldn't worry too much. It will be a little harder to adjust, but with a gate valve 2"-4" should be just fine.
> 
> I finally picked up the hardscape materials. I got around 6Kg of ADA Manten stone and two pieces of their small spider wood.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I also purchased a box of driftwood from Tom Barr. This is about half of what he sent me, the rest of the pieces are larger and will go into the 30g tank later. There are also some bags of more ordinary rocks in there as well.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It doesn't look like that much in the pictures but there is actually a lot of stuff. Definitely more driftwood than I need, although I may want a bit more rock if I end up using it in all four tanks.


Amazing set up! I'm subscribed and look forward to all the updates! 

That driftwood looks awesome! Is it just me or is the manzanita from Tom Barr more weathered looking than most online retailers? How much was the box if you don't mind my asking? 

Sent from my XT1094 using Tapatalk


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## mysticalnet

Wow that's a lot of wood and manten rock!

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk


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## 691175002

robchang said:


> That driftwood looks awesome! Is it just me or is the manzanita from Tom Barr more weathered looking than most online retailers? How much was the box if you don't mind my asking?


It was $150 + shipping. I only brought the smaller pieces so there is still a bunch more not in the pictures.










I've been playing around a bit and a lot of the pieces are a great size for these tanks.



I mostly worked on the lights over the weekend. Wiring all seven fixtures together was mildly annoying.










I started by cutting up the wire I'll be using. I don't remember where I got the larger stuff, but the small black stuff is from cut up USB cables.



















Terminate the cables, each individual light only draws ~0.8A peak so the connectors can be pretty small.










Its a little tight on the controller side.










I ran out of heatshrink and tapping multiconductor cable is a PITA so its a bit messy.

I finally took the ends off the Finnex Stingrays and attached my own cables. I also removed the clear plastic cover to offset some of the PAR lost to my lids.



















I gave it a quick test on the floor.










And then put it on the tank.



















The light fixtures look a little sharper without the bulky plastic caps and I can control everything via phone.


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## Tyrone

I can't believe I missed this much. I really admire your creativity and resourcefulness. It's a pleasure to read and watch. 

I apologize if I missed it somewhere, but what model 3D printer are you using? I'm trying to research which home make/model would be worth the investment. 

Thank you for sharing this build. 



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 691175002

Tyrone said:


> I can't believe I missed this much. I really admire your creativity and resourcefulness. It's a pleasure to read and watch.


I'm using a Folger 2020 i3 but it is an extremely barebones kit. Its great for the price, but if you can't deal with missing/malformed parts and poor instructions it will be a very frustrating experience. Most of the printers that have a reputation of being usable out of the box are significantly more expensive. Printrbot has a good reputation on the low-end but I don't have experience with any other printers.



With the wiring complete the system is finished. The focus now is getting it planted over the Feb 13-15 weekend.

Two weeks seems like a long time but now that I'm putting together a schedule it doesn't feel like very much. I will need to place my plant order at least a week in advance, so conservatively I only have a couple days to figure out what to order. With only seven inches front-to-back most plants will be too large. I'd like to do something a little different in each tank so I'll need quite a few different plants. Aiming for a lower maintenance nature/jungle style so preferably not too many stem plants.

Any recommendations are welcome. Here are the plants I'm looking at right now.

Bolbitis heudelotii, Mini
Java Fern, Narrow Leaf
Anubias Petite
Crypt Parva
Potamogeton Gayi

Dwarf Baby Tears
Glosso
Staurogyne repens

Coral Moss (Mini Pellia)
Fissidens fontanus

Bucephalandra Sp.


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## bweazel

Absolutely amazing. Probably one of the best threads on plantedtank. Good job, sir.


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## Bercume3

Love this thread, cant wait to see where you go with each tank. Keep up the good work.


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## 691175002

Still brainstorming the plant list. It was originally longer but I've been doing my best to keep it under control. This will place roughly 7-9 plants per display, where about half are unique to that particular tank.

TROPICA
Riccardia chamedryfolia
Fissidens fontanus
Vesicularia ferriei 'Weeping'

Hemianthus callitrichoides 'Cuba'
Hemianthus micranthemoides
Staurogyne repens
Pogostemon helferi

Anubias 'Petite'
Microsorum pteropus 'Narrow'
Bolbitis heudelotii

Hygrophila pinnatifida
Hygrophila 'Araguaia'
Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig'
Ranunculus inundatus


SKA SHRIMP
Salvina Natans
Bucephalandara sp.


ALREADY HAVE
Anubias barteri 'nana'
Microsorium pteropus 'Windelov'
Cryptocoryne sp.


I'm worried about the H. pinnatifida and Bolbitis getting too large but they show up in some of the AGA nanos so we will see. I'm also concerned that the Riccardia and Fissidens will be too high maintenance but I don't really like the look of the messier mosses.

A few questions - When ordering from Tropica should I prefer the tissue culture or potted plants when both are available? Approximately how many portions should I be buying to fill three 6.5g tanks?


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## AdamTill

I love the tissue culture plants from recent experience. I think it depends on the plant in question though, in terms of coverage, and how long you're willing to wait. This is an entertaining concept:
Aquascape Analysis of George Farmer's One-Pot Iwagumi - ScapeFu

Can't remember if Tropica potted plants use rock wool, but I swear I'll never buy a rock wool pot again if I can avoid it.


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## weaselnoze

691175002 said:


>


Not to hijack but can we talk about your tv backlighting for a sec? Is that adaptive? Is it a custom setup?


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## 691175002

weaselnoze said:


> Not to hijack but can we talk about your tv backlighting for a sec? Is that adaptive? Is it a custom setup?


Its a DIY ambilight setup, you can see a lot of examples on youtube. There is a string of LEDs around the edge of the TV that mirror whatever color is showing at that edge.

People often ask if it is distracting, but in person a lot of people don't even notice because it flows so naturally with the video. If you watch a movie for a while and then turn off the backlight the TV feels much smaller.

The hardest part is that it requires a computer running screen-capture software. I have a laptop under the TV and watch everything online, but if you like cable there aren't many DIY options.

There are some pretty good tutorials available - you could probably do it for less than $30 with ebay knockoffs. I had a smaller setup on my old TV and liked it so much that I went to 75 LEDs for this TV.


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## weaselnoze

691175002 said:


> Its a DIY ambilight setup, you can see a lot of examples on youtube. There is a string of LEDs around the edge of the TV that mirror whatever color is showing at that edge.
> 
> People often ask if it is distracting, but in person a lot of people don't even notice because it flows so naturally with the video. If you watch a movie for a while and then turn off the backlight the TV feels much smaller.
> 
> The hardest part is that it requires a computer running screen-capture software. I have a laptop under the TV and watch everything online, but if you like cable there aren't many DIY options.
> 
> There are some pretty good tutorials available - you could probably do it for less than $30 with ebay knockoffs. I had a smaller setup on my old TV and liked it so much that I went to 75 LEDs for this TV.



It has been a few years since I've checked into this, but the last time I determined that it was WAY too costly to achieve the adaptive feature so I just went with an RGB strip kit. I usually have it on solid red. 

I watch all TV through chromecast or I am using my XBOne. IIRC, you need some sort of controller inline with the HDMI to capture the image. It required some serious work to set up. 

Do you have a write up of how you did yours? I'd love to see your setup (maybe a PM would be more appropriate)

/jack


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## theatermusic87

weaselnoze said:


> It has been a few years since I've checked into this, but the last time I determined that it was WAY too costly to achieve the adaptive feature so I just went with an RGB strip kit. I usually have it on solid red.
> 
> I watch all TV through chromecast or I am using my XBOne. IIRC, you need some sort of controller inline with the HDMI to capture the image. It required some serious work to set up.
> 
> Do you have a write up of how you did yours? I'd love to see your setup (maybe a PM would be more appropriate)
> 
> /jack


I'm hoping for a build thread, if it's anything like this one I could get lost in that for days :wink2:


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## 691175002

To be honest there wasn't much to it. I followed this tutorial, they sell a kit but you can get the same stuff enormously cheaper from other sources. 

LEDs have been hot-glued to the back of the TV. They are pretty easy to pull off if necessary.










I have a full laptop + wireless keyboard running the whole show.










Everything just plugs together, the hardest part is gluing LEDs to the TV in the right order. With this setup my TV is just a large monitor so I can't backlight console or other video inputs.

There are four or five different programs you can choose from to run the lights. I've found ambilight to be the best.

It seems like you can add backlighting via HDMI by splitting the source (https://christianmoser.me/how-to-ambilight-for-every-hdmi-source/). It doesn't seem overly expensive but the software could take some time to figure out.


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## 691175002

I started experimenting a bit with the hardscapes. Its hard to get things just right without substrate so you'll have to use a bit of imagination.










This is more or less the style I'm hoping to go for but nothing is final. Some of the rocks were necessary to hold driftwood in place so their arrangement is more haphazard.



















There will be aggressive slopes in the tanks and some sand as an accent. I'll probably do something like this in the third tank but I didn't have enough foam board or rocks to do a full layout.










I may grab a few more rocks, in particular I could probably use one or two really large pieces and a bunch of very small bits to round things out.


----------



## mysticalnet

You seem like a very meticulous person. Cool. 

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## Watever

Where did you got your driftwood and rocks from ?

look like nice design so far.


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## 691175002

Watever said:


> Where did you got your driftwood and rocks from ?
> 
> look like nice design so far.


Driftwood was from Tom Barr, rocks are ADA Manten stone.


----------



## 691175002

I've got a bunch of work to do over the weekend but probably won't have time to finish it all. I'll start with a neat little project - these will become the new backlights since the original versions had some pretty terrible build quality.

It looks like a lot of steps in photo form but the entire process is pretty quick if you have the tools.

I started by marking out some sheet metal.










And sheared it on a 3-in-1.



















I then hit the pieces with some sandpaper to take off the edges and prepare the surface for painting.










Finally I marked them a second time and went for the bend.



















The paint job isn't spectacular since I wanted to get both colors done in one shot but they will look fine behind the tank.










Once dry I'll print some grey end-caps and install the LEDs and wiring.



I also took the liberty of smashing up some of my less-interesting rocks to get a better distribution of sizes. I started with three rocks and hit them until every piece had some character.

The broken up pieces were really sharp so I took the liberty of shaking them in a can with some grit. It worked very well and the edges are now more dull like the original stones.










Here are the new pieces, these are much better suited to the size of my tanks.


----------



## 691175002

You might remember I was sufficiently disappointed with my Syncra pump to order a replacement. I'll be fair, it wasn't awful, but when the return pump is sitting in an open six gallon tank next to the TV it doesn't take much noise to be annoying.

I finally received my new pump in the mail. A few months ago Jebao released their new DCS series pumps which uses a quieter impeller design for the 7000, 9000, and 12000 pumps. I purchased a DCS-4000 pump but as far as I can tell it is completely identical to the old DCT-4000.



















I am quite happy with the pump so far. It sounds almost indistinguishable from a 60-80mm computer fan - noticeable if you are paying attention but otherwise inoffensive. Certain speeds are much more annoying than others; minimum and maximum power are noticeably loud, but the middle speeds are fairly quiet.

The pump fits in my sump which is quite fortunate since I couldn't find dimensions listed anywhere online. I built a small box from foam to push the noise level even further down.










I also remembered that I have an old Twinstar in a box, I'm pretty sure its a placebo but since its already been purchased why not give it a go?

I'm not sure where to put the electrode, the easiest option would be to hide it in the sump refugium but the foam will prevent the bubbles from making it to the return pump.










I could also throw it right in front of the pump intake, I gave this position a shot and the mist gets immediately sucked into the return pump. Whatever survives the pump+reactor gets dispersed into the tanks.

The pump chamber is both dark and clean so this should pretty much be the ideal location for a Twinstar, but it looks kind of awkward and if it comes loose it will block flow.










I might just print a small piece to secure it in front of the pump without restricting flow.



I also replaced the LED power supplies. I've been using my adjustable supply as a temporary solution but I needed something more permanent.










I could have used the original finnex supplies, but splicing together four adapters is pretty ugly.










I ended up replacing the entire set with a single laptop charger, and then re-purposed a gamecube adapter for the backlighting.



















Feels pretty nice to run lighting and filtration in four tanks with just three outlets. The electronics will eventually be moved off the floor and into the 30g cabinet.

I'm starting to get a little impatient since I've been working on this setup for almost three months but we're getting there. The only remaining project is the backlight replacement which should be a <1 hour job at most once the LEDs arrive.

I've started collecting some plants and moss and am holding them in the 30g tank. I may do a moss dry-start if I can get the hardscapes set up quickly enough. I missed the plant ordering deadline so they will arrive on the 20-21st instead of 13-15th.


----------



## mysticalnet

Very cool, tidy and clean, nice! Might help if you also get one of those power surge safe/proof power bars to help protect your expensive equipment. 

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## doylecolmdoyle

I have a twinstar (copy) I am sure it does nothing benefical and becomes "clogged" after a month or so


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## 691175002

doylecolmdoyle said:


> I have a twinstar (copy) I am sure it does nothing benefical and becomes "clogged" after a month or so


I think I'll try placing the electrode in one of the display tanks and see if it there is reduction in algae compared to the other tanks. Water quality and light level will be identical so any difference should be fully attributable to the mist. (Assuming its effect is reduced after going through the filter/sump and back into the other two tanks.) Seems like a fun experiment.

I don't plan on purchasing a replacement disk so once the electrode wears out it will be gone.


----------



## doylecolmdoyle

Would be a interesting experiment, I have been running one in a 10g bookself tank and while I dont get much algae (I do get GSA on the glass) I dont really think the twinstar does much apart from aerate the water


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## monkeyruler90

oh man, what an awesome build!! love how you set up the tanks and did a ton of DIY work !

now I can't wait for you to get some plants in there!! 

subscribed !


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## Kayen

Great progress man! Can't wait to see how it turns out. Psst, heard your plants are coming in soon .


----------



## mot

This is an outstanding tank rack. If I had something like this I think I would make each of the tanks completely different.

For example top tank is Iwagumi, middle tank Nature Style and bottom tank Dutch or Garden style.

Or three Nature Style scapes that somehow meshed with each other vertically.

Oh the possibilities...


----------



## klibs

10/10 build this is extremely well thought out and executed. Like others I can't wait for you to have some established aquascapes.

If you haven't planned any out yet I agree with the recommendation that you should do 3 completely different aquascapes. Maybe one is a biotope, one is iwagumi, one is dutch. Something like that would be so cool



mot said:


> This is an outstanding tank rack. If I had something like this I think I would make each of the tanks completely different.
> 
> For example top tank is Iwagumi, middle tank Nature Style and bottom tank Dutch or Garden style.
> 
> Or three Nature Style scapes that somehow meshed with each other vertically.
> 
> Oh the possibilities...


lol just realized I recommended basically the same thing


----------



## 691175002

I've printed out the backlight end caps. Once the LED strips arrive in the mail it should only take a few minutes to wire them up. The plastic pieces just press fit on, I considered gluing them but once they are in place they will never be moved.



















The bookshelf is a little tight, I don't think it would be practical to do much aquascaping in-place. Luckily the six gallon tanks are light enough that you can pull them out even with hardscape and substrate.










This is really the first time I've really focused on aquascaping so I'm not entirely confident in how it will turn out. Anyways, here is what I've decided on for the first tank. Criticism or recommendations are welcome, although I'm not sure I can adjust too much without mixing the sand and aquasoil together.

I used some foam and plastic sheet to keep the substrate in place and sloped properly.




























I considered doing something complete different for each tank but I felt like the system would look more cohesive if there was an overall theme.


----------



## onlycrimson

I think that looks great. What will you be planting? Definitely going to need some mosses growing on the extended limbs.


----------



## Wilderman204

OMG! Great Work! Serious skills! Rack, lights, plumbing, hardscapes... All looks amazing! Haha I need to quit my job so I can be that tedious with my tanks!


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## 691175002

I'm going to take another look at the middle tank since I think it is the weakest out of the three. There will be quite a bit of moss in the tanks, I haven't put a huge amount of thought into plant selection yet.


----------



## ichy

crazy idea,,,,but how about no wood in the middle.
just me but the first thing i thought was they are all very similar.
no wood in the middle would hold your attention.


----------



## gmdiaz

Maybe move the top arrangement to the center tank? And gradually add substrate depth and/or more stones towards the bottom tank?

Right leaning arrangement 
Middle arrangement (my fave)
Left leaning arrangement (deepest substrate elevation in back)


----------



## TropicalAquarist

gmdiaz said:


> Maybe move the top arrangement to the center tank? And gradually add substrate depth and/or more stones towards the bottom tank?
> 
> Right leaning arrangement
> Middle arrangement (my fave)
> Left leaning arrangement (deepest substrate elevation in back)



I agree if you're going to keep all 3 with wood, I'd move the top one to the middle as its centered in the tank.

If you decide to no wood in the middle you could do more of a rocky scape....


----------



## Yuuki_Akitsuki

Absurdly fantastic!!!

This whole thing is fantastic!!!!

The middle is actually my favorite.


----------



## vanish

The sand line on the pictured middle tank is a little too straight, I think.

The overall balance of the whole setup is currently skewed left.

Still epic.


----------



## theatermusic87

I vote the top tank to the middle as well... 


Also as a completely other ideas, you could arrange the tanks to mirror the depth as you go deeper into a lake... High light plants in the top, iwagumi style, middle one is medium low lights, heavily planted, bottom is sparsely planted low light stuff like anubias... Just my thoughts


----------



## dpod

Top tank is the best scape, hands down. I'd stick that beautiful baby right in the middle and use less-prominent hardscapes in the top and bottom tanks. Maybe you could have a rock-based scape on the bottom, the driftwood in the middle, and a dutch-style plant only tank up top.


----------



## 691175002

I'll have to think about this a bit more. My original concept was to use a lot of sand at the top to make it feel more open and then have denser scapes at the bottom.

I'm starting to agree with the original suggestions - driftwood feels too uniform when it has been used in each tank. I think I'll move the island to the center and do an iwagumi up top.

I'm not sure I have suitable rocks on hand but lets see what happens. The smaller manten stones don't seem to have the same character as seiryu/ryuoh. What do you guys think of switching to a different type of rock in the top tank?



theatermusic87 said:


> Also as a completely other ideas, you could arrange the tanks to mirror the depth as you go deeper into a lake... High light plants in the top, iwagumi style, middle one is medium low lights, heavily planted, bottom is sparsely planted low light stuff like anubias... Just my thoughts


I actually like this idea a lot. I'd probably do two dense tanks (island and #3) and keep the low light/rocky scape in the sump. There are technically four tanks here I just haven't gotten around to the refugium yet.


----------



## mysticalnet

theatermusic87 said:


> I vote the top tank to the middle as well...
> 
> 
> Also as a completely other ideas, you could arrange the tanks to mirror the depth as you go deeper into a lake... High light plants in the top, iwagumi style, middle one is medium low lights, heavily planted, bottom is sparsely planted low light stuff like anubias... Just my thoughts


I like this idea as well. 

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## doylecolmdoyle

looking good, but agree that moving the top scape the middle tank would look more balanced, almost like you have a long pano tank split in 3 (left, centre, right)


----------



## vvDO

With your middle tank, I think it may look better if you extend the sand to the foreground as well.

Overall I like them all, wood has awesome character. Do you have smaller pieces to give more of an open field/ negative space on your middle tank?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 691175002

I didn't have time to do any hardscape this week but I did manage to finish the backlights.

I started by purchasing a single 5m strip and cut it into nine pieces:










From there I just needed to stick them into the housings (made in a previous post) and attach connectors.










The new backlights look nicer than the old foam-board ones and have a better angle.










And installed:



















I've said it a few times before, but this time I actually mean it. All hardware in the bookshelf is complete, there is nothing else to do even if I wanted a project.

Plants are arriving tomorrow but I still need to work on the hardscape so they will spend a week or two in my 30g tank.


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## 691175002

I've received the plants so there is now a clock on the bookshelf tanks. My 30g is in a bit of an awkward state since I had to remove all the hardscape to make room. The lighting situation is also rather strange.












The emersed plants prevent any light from reaching the water so I've been improvising a bit. There are _seven_ separate lights over this tank right now.


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## 691175002

Anyone have any thoughts on how this is coming together?


----------



## theatermusic87

691175002 said:


> Anyone have any thoughts on how this is coming together?


Looks lovely to me, maybe a couple small stones/pebbles scattered about once you've added your substrate. Nothing to add structure, just to make it look like it burst out of the ground and some small pieces feel off


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## gmdiaz

You have so many great ideas. . .

One thing I want to try, and have a need for right now, is a back-lit translucent white background. I didn't know LED lights were available in strips that can be cut. Now, I just have to find the right parts and connectors, not my area of expertise. LOL

I am enjoying your build!


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## monkeyruler90

looking good! I really like the rock aquascape. are you thinking about just doing some low carpet plants? 

man, that 30 gallon looks crazy! so many lights, so many plants!


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## 691175002

gmdiaz said:


> One thing I want to try, and have a need for right now, is a back-lit translucent white background. I didn't know LED lights were available in strips that can be cut. Now, I just have to find the right parts and connectors, not my area of expertise.


You can buy a working system off ebay pretty cheaply. You want a 5050 strip with a 44 key controller.










You don't actually have to cut the strip, you can just bend it back and forth into a zigzag. The direction changes will look a little silly but everything will work fine and you won't need to cut or solder.

The controller box will remember its color even when power is cut so you can just hook it into an outlet timer.



monkeyruler90 said:


> looking good! I really like the rock aquascape. are you thinking about just doing some low carpet plants


I was thinking of using monte carlo as the ground cover with patches of dwarf (mini) hairgrass around some of the larger rocks.

Maybe a few stems in the back as well, but pretty minimalist overall.


----------



## gmdiaz

Ooh, thanks for the info!



691175002 said:


> You can buy a working system off ebay pretty cheaply. You want a 5050 strip with a 44 key controller.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You don't actually have to cut the strip, you can just bend it back and forth into a zigzag. The direction changes will look a little silly but everything will work fine and you won't need to cut or solder.
> 
> The controller box will remember its color even when power is cut so you can just hook it into an outlet timer.


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## monkeyruler90

are you going to try and plant this upcoming weekend?


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## 691175002

monkeyruler90 said:


> are you going to try and plant this upcoming weekend?


Yeah, I think I'll drystart the Monte Carlo today or tomorrow and plant the rest over the weekend. I have two tissue culture cups of the stuff but no room in the 30. I'm sure it could last quite a while in the cups but I'm not entirely sure what shelf life is like on that stuff.

The other tissue culture plants have been kind of mixed. The dwarf hairgrass (mini) has done really well but my staurogyne repens melted to nothing within twelve hours of leaving the cup.


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## Manami

That is the most awesome bookshelf (tankshelf? = D) I've ever seen!


If there were two different bookshelves side by side (one with books and the other your tanks), I'll look at your bookshelf of aquariums! Good work!


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## 691175002

I got everything planted on Saturday. It was a lot of work.

I was a little worried about working in the sump, but it turns out that it is pretty easy to remove as well.










All the tanks were pulled off the rack for planting then reattached.



















On the shelf:










I think the topmost tank turned out pretty well, its mostly monte-carlo with small patches of dwarf hairgrass around the rocks.










This island has fissidens glued or tied to almost all the wood. I think its going to grow in well.










This tank pretty much got the leftover plants. II'll probably make some changes but who knows, it might grow in well. I used mini pelia for the wood in this tank.










The sump is mostly dwarf hairgrass 'mini' with willow moss on the wood. I also threw in the buce skeleton king since apparently it does well emersed (and this tank will only have a few inches of water).


Finally I filled everything but the top tank, which I plan on drystarting for a week or two. I feel like if I fill the top tank now half of the plants will float away.










Needs some time to grow in but its nice to finally have stuff in the tanks. I'll start CO2 today and test the water, if I see any ammonia or nitrate I'll toss in some filter media from the 30.


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## gmdiaz

Gosh, I just love that middle tank! And the bottom tank looks fabulous!!


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## onlycrimson

Wow it looks great!! What kind of PAR are you expecting at the substrate?


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## mysticalnet

Wow looks great!! Is that la plata sand for the substrate? 

Also your glass top is almost exactly the size of the tank. Is it hard to open?

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## 691175002

onlycrimson said:


> Wow it looks great!! What kind of PAR are you expecting at the substrate?


Charts put it in the 40-50 range but the tanks are so narrow that it could be higher.



mysticalnet said:


> Wow looks great!! Is that la plata sand for the substrate?
> 
> Also your glass top is almost exactly the size of the tank. Is it hard to open?


I did use la-plata sand. I needed so little that the cost was pretty insignificant. I like its coarseness and variation, I was worried that finer sand might blow around too much. The lids have a notch in the corner for feeding and removal.


----------



## Shamus72

I'm so envious of your talent and dedication! Not to mention ironclad patience. Have you considered pea puffers for possible fauna in one of your tanks? I've haven't had the pleasure of keeping them yet but I hear they're a lot of fun.


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## saiko

mind blowing stuff!! wish I had seen this thread before, I would have tagged along.
Its a very neat and highly professional build.

Way to go!


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## 691175002

Shamus72 said:


> I'm so envious of your talent and dedication! Not to mention ironclad patience. Have you considered pea puffers for possible fauna in one of your tanks? I've haven't had the pleasure of keeping them yet but I hear they're a lot of fun.


I almost committed to a dwarf puffer but I feel like maintenance will be a lot easier if there are shrimp in every tank, especially the ones with moss. 

I'm considering stocking like this but I'm not 100% sure on the betta/amano combination since there are reports of them hunting down shrimp.

Betta, (Amano Shrimp?) (Chilli Rasboras?)

Scarlet Badis, Emerald Dwarf Rasbora, Neocardina Shrimp

Celestial Pearl Danio, Cardina Shrimp


There aren't many hiding places in the iwagumi tank, but it doesn't have any moss so I could just as easily put in a few nerites inste


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## frumpmizzle

691175002 said:


> I'm considering stocking like this but I'm not 100% sure on the betta/amano combination since there are reports of them hunting down shrimp.
> 
> 
> 
> Betta, (Amano Shrimp?) (Chilli Rasboras?)
> 
> 
> 
> Scarlet Badis, Emerald Dwarf Rasbora, Neocardina Shrimp
> 
> 
> 
> Celestial Pearl Danio, Cardina Shrimp
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There aren't many hiding places in the iwagumi tank, but it doesn't have any moss so I could just as easily put in a few nerites inste




I have a betta, 4 amanos, and 6 chili rasboras in a 6 gallon tank without any issues/deaths. Clearly it will depend on your betta's disposition, but it is possible.


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## 691175002

frumpmizzle said:


> I have a betta, 4 amanos, and 6 chili rasboras in a 6 gallon tank without any issues/deaths. Clearly it will depend on your betta's disposition, but it is possible.


Thanks, that is really good to know. I was actually planning on stocking exactly that quantity of each fish as well. Do you have much cover in your tank?

I've been staring at the bottom display tank for a bit and I think I'm going to pull it on Friday and swap some plants. The Crypts I used will grow too big and leggy, and a Baby Tears foreground will probably require too much maintenance.

I plan on filling the background with Bolboitis and Java Fern Narrow, then stuffing the rest of the tank with buce, anubias and moss. I have a bunch of buce sitting in the 30, I just couldn't find a great place for them since their leaf shape, texture, and color is so unique.

I've noticed that in a lot of aquascapes people have their Java Ferns and Bolboitis growing sideways or even downwards. How does that happen? Careful trimming?


----------



## frumpmizzle

691175002 said:


> Thanks, that is really good to know. I was actually planning on stocking exactly that quantity of each fish as well. Do you have much cover in your tank?



I started out with an iwagami style tank and the betta didn't seem to bother any of his tank mates. I made sure to allow some space in the rocks for the amanos to hide if they felt threatened. 

I ended up changing it a little because I found the betta laying in the carpet (DHG) a lot. I added an anubias and some stems and everyone seems happier. The shrimp have more areas to explore/hide and the betta will lazily lay on the leaves.

My tank now has a little more cover than your top tank and a little less than your second tank. I'm sure everyone would be happy in your second tank, YMMV on your top tank.


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## Shamus72

I have 3 bettas and all have different opinions on shrimp. One will kill anything that moves except for horned nerites. The other will chase amano's if if he's bored, but kill any shrimp of color. The last could care less of their presence. Moral of the story, it all depends on the fishes personality..... Could go either way


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## 691175002

The system has been running for three days now, nothing particularly exciting has happened but I figured I'd post an update anyways.

I've been running water tests daily. The tanks were showing 1-2ppm of ammonia when they were first filled but its been steadily decreasing.










I tossed a bag of filter media from my 30g to help speed up the cycle.










Right now its showing 0.25ppm of ammonia so the cycle is proceeding smoothly. I expect to read zero ammonia tomorrow. None of my tests have picked up any nitrite or nitrate but in my experience that is normal in a planted tank.

Growth wise, the various hygrophelia have really taken off but everything else is just settling in. I've also thrown in a bunch of floating Salvina Natans to fight off algae. I've always had good luck with floating plants - they are algae proof and grow ridiculously fast.










The moss has perked up a bit but it will probably be months before it has fully grown in.










The lower tank has more stems so there has been more visible growth. The arrangement of plants is pretty messy though which is why I'm going to pull the tank and rescape it later. I also had to throw a few rocks onto the driftwood to prevent it from floating away.










The drystart is also growing quite nicely, I think I'll fill it soon.












Everything has been going pretty smoothly on the equipment side as well, I really want to avoid any algae outbreaks so I've been taking advantage of how adjustable everything is.

The lights are set for 9 hours per day at 60% intensity, CO2 is at 30ppm. The overflows have been pretty neat, there was a bit of surface scum when I first filled the tanks but it was gone in seconds once the pump started.

My return pump is rated a staggering 1050GPH so water turnover is very high. I was a little worried about blowing the plants and sand around, but since I'm not using spraybars the flow is actually very diffuse.

Finally I tossed the Twinstar into the middle tank. It will be fun to see if there is a material difference in algae growth in this tank. (Although technically I can't disprove the Twinstar as its effect could flow through the sump and into all three displays.)



I'd like to stock the tanks with shrimp this weekend but I'm a little hesitant to put too much $ in livestock at risk yet.
I'm not expecting any problems but there are a few different glues/plastics in the system so I'll probably have some amanos check it out for a few days first.


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## monkeyruler90

cant wait for them to be fully stocked!


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## 691175002

I've been working on something pretty cool. My goal is to be able to upload an image to a light and have it run over a 24-hour cycle.

I plan to run something like this, where the top row is the backlight color over the course of the day. The main lights don't have color control so they can run one of the black/white patterns.


----------



## shrimpNewbie

This is one of if not the most impressive build journal and setup I have seen on tpt, and there are so many incredible tanks. Very great job I look forward to seeing you stock these guys.

Sorry if I missed it but what pump did you end up running

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## stingrayness

These are so amazing!

How is the volume level with the overflows?


----------



## 691175002

shrimpNewbie said:


> Sorry if I missed it but what pump did you end up running?


I'm using the Jebao DCS-4000. It produces a humming sound, but with the speed turned down it is extremely quiet. I don't want to run the pump at full power anyway since there is only 18 gallons of display.



stingrayness said:


> How is the volume level with the overflows?


The overflows are completely silent, there is no splashing or bubbles at all.

You can actually see how effective they are in one of the earlier photos. This overflow is only half full but there is still no splashing since the water slides down the glass. The large gap between the drain and emergency bulkheads also gives me a wide margin of error for adjusting the gate valves.










I had a bit of splashing around the sump baffles so I ended up cutting some plastic guides to keep that under control as well.


Here is some more progress on the full-color sunset code.

I start with the top row of this image...









And break it into linear segments...









Which get converted into a list of fades. The entire sunrise/sunset cycle can be reproduced using twelve fades.









This table of fades can be saved to the Philips Hue via their API.
Philips hue API | Philips Hue API

The image needs a bit of tweaking, obviously I don't want the lights to turn on at 2AM.


----------



## 691175002

I took a quick video of the entire sequence running over the course of one minute. I'll probably tweak the colors and fade times a little but its already super cool.

https://youtu.be/5Jfv1JN32Y8


----------



## mysticalnet

Nice! I understand that your top lights are finnex so they have the 24/7 light cycle. But what about the LED backlight? How did you make that cycle and change colours too?

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## 691175002

mysticalnet said:


> Nice! I understand that your top lights are finnex so they have the 24/7 light cycle. But what about the LED backlight? How did you make that cycle and change colours too?


I'm actually using Finnex Stingrays so the fixtures did not come with dimming or a light cycle. I am using a Dresden LED controller which supports four channels of LED dimming and wireless control.










Full details are in these two posts: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/12-tank-journals/975649-bookshelf-aquariums-8.html#post8850257 http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/12-tank-journals/975649-bookshelf-aquariums-9.html#post8864009

To program the color cycle I uploaded an image to the controller which just gets looped.










I think I'll switch to this set of gradients to see how it looks, it has a little more variation in the blues and longer fades.


----------



## mysticalnet

Ahh okay I understand now, thanks! I must have missed it in your earlier posts. Thank you for the explanation, very cool!

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## monkeyruler90

can't wait for a new video showing all the tanks in detail


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## 691175002

Here is a closer shot of the island tank going through a sunrise/sunset cycle. The colors have been tweaked a bit and I managed to get a better video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZVHVFzuH0

Its been growing in well, almost all the plants and moss are showing new growth. Ranunculus inundatus has been the slowest, I think its still getting rooted.
I was hoping to add shrimp this weekend but my cycle got pushed back two or three days when I connected the final tank. Flooding the emersed setup added a bunch of fresh aquasoil and melted some emersed growth.

Here are a couple shots of the tanks so far. The top tank has been underwater for three days now, a bit of the Monte Carlo has died back but its still looking healthy.










The other two tanks have been flooded for one week now, the plants are settling in nicely.









The final tank has settled in pretty well, the Hygrophelia in this tank has added 1-2" per stem . I plan on rescaping this tank with better plant selection tomorrow.


----------



## domeshots

How did you get around the finnex being 15v and the rgb LEDs being 12v with the same controller?


----------



## 691175002

domeshots said:


> How did you get around the finnex being 15v and the rgb LEDs being 12v with the same controller?


The controller switches on the low side so it never actually sees the 15V. I just wire everything to a common ground.










Wiring it like this was a bit of a gamble. I wouldn't try it on a current regulator but this guy is just MOSFETs.


----------



## andjo87

Btw. Interests 

But I would to know where I can order/buy cheap 10-20 kg seiryu stone? 



。Das Aquarium ist wunderbar.


----------



## 691175002

I've added shrimp and have been taking photos so I'll have a full update soon. I just needed to comment on the unreal escape abilities of amano shrimp.

Not only are they willing to pry off the overflow grating and ride into the sump, they have literally been crawling into the return plumbing and _showing up in other tanks_. I've also seen them crawl into and then _out_ of an overflow, against good inch and a half of water flowing downwards. It's unbelievable, I can't even believe what I'm typing.

I was wondering if this deep seated need to escape was driven by water quality issues but there have been no deaths and the cherry shrimp seem perfectly happy where the are. The amanos haven't been trying to get above the tank waterline either (except when in the overflow).


----------



## AutumnSky

This makes me wonder what you are feeding them?

I had some in a tank which had Cherry Shrimp and I was told long ago, that they only need algae since known as Algae eating shrimp. BUT, this is not true. They go crazy, and I mean crazy for the Hilari bottom feeder wafers (orange labeled bag) they will pick up the wafer and eat it like a hamburger.

In my tank back then after a few weeks I would feed little bits to my Cherry shrimp, the Amanos would literally grab the pellets out of their mouths with a frenzied haste!!! Like starving maniacs. 


After noticing this I wondered if they were kinda starving. So I dropped in the wafers and they snatched them out of the free fall in the water and ate them like they were starving and crazed!!!

So I think they could be hungry for meaty foods.


----------



## iJohno

Amano shrimp are also pretty sensitive to water changes, parameters and etc. If they don't like their water they will probably escape since most of the amano shrimp are acclimated with extreme care into aquariums. Hopefully they acclimate smoothly in your tank!


----------



## theatermusic87

691175002 said:


> I've added shrimp and have been taking photos so I'll have a full update soon. I just needed to comment on the unreal escape abilities of amano shrimp.
> 
> Not only are they willing to pry off the overflow grating and ride into the sump, they have literally been crawling into the return plumbing and _showing up in other tanks_. I've also seen them crawl into and then _out_ of an overflow, against good inch and a half of water flowing downwards. It's unbelievable, I can't even believe what I'm typing.
> 
> I was wondering if this deep seated need to escape was driven by water quality issues but there have been no deaths and the cherry shrimp seem perfectly happy where the are. The amanos haven't been trying to get above the tank waterline either (except when in the overflow).


Don't be surprised if you see your cherry shrimp moving around too... Mine climb up the overflow of my HOB filter all the time... I used to rescue them thinking the impeller would get them, but now I just leave them be, they come and go as they please.

Also had a airlift pump for circulation pump that the shrimp would surf through. It was just a piece of 1/2" pvc pipe with a elbow at the top and and airline stuck to the glass of a qt tank. The shrimp would literally swim into the bottom of the pipe, ride the bubbles out the top, get launched across the tank in the flow and then come back for another round


----------



## 691175002

So its been a little while now, the island tank has been going for three weeks and the iwagumi has been flooded for two weeks. I added some shrimp over the weekend, five days ago.

So far things have been going really well, all the tanks have stayed algae-free and I'm transitioning to a normal water-change/fertilization routine. I was starting to get a bit of fuzz around the two week mark but shrimp took care of that very quickly.


I moved some anubias into the top tank. I mostly wanted to ensure that the future inhabitants have enough cover to feel secure, but I think it makes the scape more interesting as well. I didn't have much left over so it will need to do some growing in.










The shrimp have been mixing up the aquasoil and sand which is annoying but I suppose that was inevitable.










The carpet is starting to spread as well.










The island tank has also been doing very well, the moss is really taking off and the RCS are doing a good job keeping everything clean.










The bottom tank is still a work in progress, I took a quick shot at it during the week but I'm going to give it another go. I also decided to remove most of the hardscape from the sump since I'd like to be able to catch any shrimp that make their way down there.










On the equipment side of things I've been making some adjustments to limit shrimp mobility. I accept that this is probably a losing battle, but I'd like to keep adult shrimp in their designated tanks.

I've printed a finer overflow grating and made them slightly larger so they wedge into place. The amanos were able to lift or squeeze through the previous version.










I also printed some bulkhead covers which angle flow downwards to help keep the substrate clean (and prevent shrimp from climbing into other tanks). Finally the little triangles close the opening in the lids so nothing can jump out.










I keep finding small things to tweak but am quite happy with the overall setup. I'm going to rescape the third tank and add some caridina shrimp over the weekend, and probably wait for the shrimp populations to grow a bit before adding fish. I may deliberately populate the sump with shrimp as well, or just let shrimp that find there way into the sump live there.



As a bit of an aside, I've been impressed enough with Philips Hue than I plan on moving the 30g over to the same system. I discovered I can purchase the stuff with credit card points and managed to pick up two of the E-Series lights from the F&S clearance as well.



















I'm going to try a very narrow lens swap on the E-series lights and then hang both of them.


----------



## 691175002

AutumnSky said:


> After noticing this I wondered if they were kinda starving. So I dropped in the wafers and they snatched them out of the free fall in the water and ate them like they were starving and crazed!!! So I think they could be hungry for meaty foods.





iJohno said:


> Amano shrimp are also pretty sensitive to water changes, parameters and etc. If they don't like their water they will probably escape since most of the amano shrimp are acclimated with extreme care into aquariums. Hopefully they acclimate smoothly in your tank!





theatermusic87 said:


> Don't be surprised if you see your cherry shrimp moving around too... Mine climb up the overflow of my HOB filter all the time... I used to rescue them thinking the impeller would get them, but now I just leave them be, they come and go as they please.


I tried feeding a piece of Hikari wafer and they were on it before it hit the ground. I think it was a mix of new water conditions and having spent a day in the bag. I was a little concerned that the shrimp would get hurt, but as mentioned they seem to enjoy it if anything.


----------



## iJohno

Glad to see your tank and stock is working out! Man, so jelly of your work! if I had the time and time to make filter like yours id jump on it.


----------



## theatermusic87

I'm really digging those anubias in the iwagumi tank... Looks almost like a tropical island with palm trees


----------



## monkeyruler90

hey how are the tanks doing? everything going well?


----------



## 691175002

Everything has been going pretty well. I've kept the maintenance pretty minimal, basically just a waterchange every second week and dosing half of EI.

I've had a tiny bit of hair algae, but it was the type that comes off easily. I think I was overfeeding, this is my first time with shrimp so it was hard to figure out exactly how much to feed.










I put some tiger shrimp in the third tank but they are pretty hard to spot. I saw a berried shrimp a week or two ago but haven't spotted any babies so I don't know if they are breeding or not.










The only material problem with this setup is that about half of the shrimplets end up in the sump. They were getting stuck against the foam so I rearranged things so they can climb over.



















There are probably around 20 cherry shrimp in the sump now, and somehow a full-grown amano showed up in there as well.

Once I have an established shrimp population in the tanks I'll start introducing fish.


----------



## quark

Super cool setup and nice use of your machines! How are your 3D printed parts holding up? what material did you use? I have a 3D printer too but haven't put it to as good as use you did.


----------



## Sharon_hazan

amazing job!


----------



## Jamo33

I love this build. the detail, the methodical execution of everything and the DIY possibilities.


----------



## mysticalnet

I actually really like your DHG, buce sump, looks awesome!

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk


----------



## AquaLabAquaria

Awesome build with some great ideas. Great fabrication work and documentation! Build threads like this are what make forums so great!

Are you a machinist? I noticed some of your other videos. Love that stuff!

How did you seperate your sand from your soil in the iwagumi? Were the rocks glued to the foam pieces under them?


----------



## mysticalnet

I just came across this article...

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/uh-oh-3d-printed-objects-found-to-be-toxic-to-fish-1



Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk


----------



## monkeyruler90

hey how are the tanks? everything looking good?


----------



## AbbeysDad

I stumbled onto this thread and read from beginning to end with great interest. The entire process is/was fascinating and impressive to say the least. The plumbing, electrical and the 3D printer parts are so very well done. KUDOS


----------



## ScubaSteve

Any updates? I can't wait for more...job well done!


----------



## Plants Rock

I seem to have lost access to my 691175002 account during the password reset. My email address was linked to this account instead (Created 2004!).


I'll get some pictures tomorrow, the plants have continued to grow well, perhaps too well since I've been lax with the trimming. The system in as a whole has been very reliable - the plumbing/electrical/printed parts have all worked flawlessly, which is actually quite unusual for my projects.

This is my first time keeping shrimp and I have definitely made some mistakes, but I'm learning and things are still running well.

Unfortunately I had a run-in with Hydra. They started showing up a few weeks ago - I tried scraping the glass, performing water changes, and feeding less. That ended up being a mistake - I think there were enough shrimplets to sustain a Hydra population even without additional food sources. I should have medicated immediately.

It only took a few days for Benbachi No-Planaria to kill the Hydra, but since I waited so long they really slowed down my shrimp population growth.

Other than that things have been going quite well. There are still 60-100 shrimp, which have somehow managed to spread across all four tanks. Mostly cherries, although I have some tiger shrimplets as well. I was hoping to add fish by now, but I think I'll wait another month or two to give the shrimp more time.




AquaLabAquaria said:


> Are you a machinist? I noticed some of your other videos. Love that stuff!
> 
> How did you separate your sand from your soil in the iwagumi? Were the rocks glued to the foam pieces under them?


It's just a hobby but I've put together a reasonably equipped shop in my parents basement. I really enjoy knowing that I can make almost anything if the need arises.

The sand and aquasoil was separated with strips of clear plastic but that didn't last very long. The amano shrimp would carry soil and sand over the division, and once the carpet started really rooting aggressively the aquasoil spilled over.

Rocks were not glued but I will definitely be gluing future aquascapes. When putting together a complex scape (especially one that mixes sand and soil) I think you need to really seal and glue everything carefully or one day you will bump something during a waterchange and the damage will irreparable.




mysticalnet said:


> I just came across this article...
> 
> Uh oh! 3D printed objects found to be toxic to fish ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog


This seems pretty bad for commercially printed parts, but the results don't necessarily transfer over to hobby prints. Stratasys uses proprietary blends designed for FDM, and SLA uses a toxic photoresin.

Hobbyists don't have the money for special-purpose materials and just use normal plastic, the kind of stuff that gets moulded into toys or even heater/filter parts.

My shrimp seem to be breeding okay but after reading the study I probably would avoid printed plastic if the goal is breeding fish/shrimp.


----------



## 691175002

I seem to have lost access to my 691175002 account during the password reset.


I'll get some pictures tomorrow, the plants have continued to grow well, perhaps too well since I've been lax with the trimming. The system in as a whole has been very reliable - the plumbing/electrical/printed parts have all worked flawlessly, which is actually quite unusual for my projects.

This is my first time keeping shrimp and I have definitely made some mistakes, but I'm learning and things are still running well.

Unfortunately I had a run-in with Hydra. They started showing up a few weeks ago - I tried scraping the glass, performing water changes, and feeding less. That ended up being a mistake - I think there were enough shrimplets to sustain a Hydra population even without additional food sources. I should have medicated immediately.

It only took a few days for Benbachi No-Planaria to kill the Hydra, but since I waited so long they really slowed down my shrimp population growth.

Other than that things have been going quite well. Despite the setback, I already have 60-100 shrimp which have somehow managed to spread across all four tanks. Mostly cherries, although I have some tiger shrimplets as well. I was hoping to add fish by now, but I think I'll wait another month or two to give the shrimp more time.


----------



## ScubaSteve

r691175002 said:


> I seem to have lost access to my 691175002 account during the password reset.
> 
> 
> I'll get some pictures tomorrow, the plants have continued to grow well, perhaps too well since I've been lax with the trimming. The system in as a whole has been very reliable - the plumbing/electrical/printed parts have all worked flawlessly, which is actually quite unusual for my projects.
> 
> This is my first time keeping shrimp and I have definitely made some mistakes, but I'm learning and things are still running well.
> 
> Unfortunately I had a run-in with Hydra. They started showing up a few weeks ago - I tried scraping the glass, performing water changes, and feeding less. That ended up being a mistake - I think there were enough shrimplets to sustain a Hydra population even without additional food sources. I should have medicated immediately.
> 
> It only took a few days for Benbachi No-Planaria to kill the Hydra, but since I waited so long they really slowed down my shrimp population growth.
> 
> Other than that things have been going quite well. Despite the setback, I already have 60-100 shrimp which have somehow managed to spread across all four tanks. Mostly cherries, although I have some tiger shrimplets as well. I was hoping to add fish by now, but I think I'll wait another month or two to give the shrimp more time.


Wow...hydra...I myself have never even seen one in person. How did you notice them? Did you happen to take any pictures?

Bump:


r691175002 said:


> I seem to have lost access to my 691175002 account during the password reset.
> 
> 
> I'll get some pictures tomorrow, the plants have continued to grow well, perhaps too well since I've been lax with the trimming. The system in as a whole has been very reliable - the plumbing/electrical/printed parts have all worked flawlessly, which is actually quite unusual for my projects.
> 
> This is my first time keeping shrimp and I have definitely made some mistakes, but I'm learning and things are still running well.
> 
> Unfortunately I had a run-in with Hydra. They started showing up a few weeks ago - I tried scraping the glass, performing water changes, and feeding less. That ended up being a mistake - I think there were enough shrimplets to sustain a Hydra population even without additional food sources. I should have medicated immediately.
> 
> It only took a few days for Benbachi No-Planaria to kill the Hydra, but since I waited so long they really slowed down my shrimp population growth.
> 
> Other than that things have been going quite well. Despite the setback, I already have 60-100 shrimp which have somehow managed to spread across all four tanks. Mostly cherries, although I have some tiger shrimplets as well. I was hoping to add fish by now, but I think I'll wait another month or two to give the shrimp more time.


Wow...hydra...I myself have never even seen one in person. How did you notice them? Did you happen to take any pictures?


----------



## 691175002

ScubaSteve said:


> Wow...hydra...I myself have never even seen one in person. How did you notice them? Did you happen to take any pictures?


Honestly they look like sparse hair algae. I only realized what was going on once I noticed fewer shrimplets than normal. This isn't my picture but it looks identical to what was in my tanks. They are very small.













AquaLabAquaria said:


> Are you a machinist? I noticed some of your other videos. Love that stuff!
> 
> How did you separate your sand from your soil in the iwagumi? Were the rocks glued to the foam pieces under them?


It's just a hobby but I've put together a reasonably equipped shop in my parents basement. I really enjoy knowing that I can make almost anything if the need arises.

The sand and aquasoil was separated with strips of clear plastic but that didn't last very long. The amano shrimp would carry soil and sand over the division, and once the carpet started really rooting aggressively the aquasoil spilled over.

I didn't use any glue for these tanks, but I will definitely be gluing future aquascapes. When putting together a complex scape (especially one that mixes sand and soil) I think you need to really seal and glue everything carefully or one day you will bump something during a waterchange and the damage will irreparable.



mysticalnet said:


> I just came across this article...
> 
> Uh oh! 3D printed objects found to be toxic to fish ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog


This seems pretty bad for commercially printed parts, but the results don't necessarily transfer over to hobby prints. Stratasys uses proprietary blends designed for FDM, and SLA uses a toxic photoresin.

Hobbyists don't have the money for special-purpose materials and just use normal plastic, the kind of stuff that gets moulded into toys or even heater/filter parts.

My shrimp seem to be breeding okay but after reading the study I probably would avoid printed plastic if the goal is breeding fish/shrimp.


----------



## 691175002

ScubaSteve said:


> Wow...hydra...I myself have never even seen one in person. How did you notice them? Did you happen to take any pictures?


Honestly they look like sparse hair algae. I only realized what was going on once I noticed fewer shrimplets than normal. This isn't my picture but it looks identical to what was in my tanks. They are very small.












AquaLabAquaria said:


> Are you a machinist? I noticed some of your other videos. Love that stuff!
> How did you separate your sand from your soil in the iwagumi? Were the rocks glued to the foam pieces under them?


It's just a hobby but I've put together a reasonably equipped shop in my parents basement. I really enjoy knowing that I can make almost anything if the need arises.

The sand and aquasoil was separated with strips of clear plastic but that didn't last very long. The amano shrimp would carry soil and sand over the division, and once the carpet started really rooting aggressively the aquasoil spilled over.

I didn't use any glue for these tanks, but I will definitely be gluing future aquascapes. When putting together a complex scape (especially one that mixes sand and soil) I think you need to really seal and glue everything carefully or one day you will bump something during a waterchange and the damage will irreparable.



mysticalnet said:


> I just came across this article...
> Uh oh! 3D printed objects found to be toxic to fish ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog


This seems pretty bad for commercially printed parts, but the results don't necessarily transfer over to hobby prints. Stratasys uses proprietary blends designed for FDM, and SLA uses a toxic photoresin.

Hobbyists don't have the money for special-purpose materials and just use normal plastic, the kind of stuff that gets moulded into toys or even heater/filter parts.

My shrimp seem to be breeding okay but after reading the study I probably would avoid printed plastic if the goal is breeding fish/shrimp.


----------



## 691175002

ScubaSteve said:


> Wow...hydra...I myself have never even seen one in person. How did you notice them? Did you happen to take any pictures?


Honestly they look like sparse hair algae, they are very small. I only realized what was going on once I noticed fewer shrimplets than normal.



AquaLabAquaria said:


> Are you a machinist? I noticed some of your other videos. Love that stuff!
> How did you separate your sand from your soil in the iwagumi? Were the rocks glued to the foam pieces under them?


It's just a hobby but I've put together a reasonably equipped shop in my parents basement. I really enjoy knowing that I can make almost anything if the need arises.

The sand and aquasoil was separated with strips of clear plastic but that didn't last very long. The amano shrimp would carry soil and sand over the division, and once the carpet started really rooting aggressively the aquasoil spilled over.

I didn't use any glue for these tanks, but I will definitely be gluing future aquascapes. When putting together a complex scape (especially one that mixes sand and soil) I think you need to really seal and glue everything carefully or one day you will bump something during a waterchange and the damage will irreparable.



mysticalnet said:


> I just came across this article...


This seems pretty bad for commercially printed parts, but the results don't necessarily transfer over to hobby prints. Stratasys uses proprietary blends designed for FDM, and SLA uses a toxic photoresin.

Hobbyists don't have the money for special-purpose materials and just use normal plastic, the kind of stuff that gets moulded into toys or even heater/filter parts.

My shrimp seem to be breeding okay but after reading the study I probably would avoid printed plastic if the goal is breeding fish/shrimp.


----------



## 691175002

Not too much to say, the top tank has grown a nice carpet, the middle tank is a little crowded, and I just trimmed the bottom tank so its a little sparse. The sump has grown in quite densely, I'll need to do something before the hairgrass chokes out the buce.























































I've had a little bit of this hair algae in the middle tank, I think its because it has much lower plant mass (due to the sand). I've found it to be a more convenient type of algae since it It pulls off pretty easily which is nice









Probably half of the baby shrimp end up in the sump. I actually kind of prefer it this way because it makes it very easy to tell how quickly the shrimp are breeding.









If you look closely you can spot two baby tiger shrimp on the rock as well. The wild colourations are always extremely well camouflaged.


----------



## ScubaSteve

Looking good man! So jealous...lol!


----------



## Raekwon

Do you use co2?


----------



## AutumnSky

Which tank is your favorite? And why?


----------



## BBogdan

Nice tower man!


----------



## 691175002

Raekwon said:


> Do you use co2?


I'm using CO2, but not at usual high-tech levels. Most of the plants are pretty easy and I'm not too concerned about growth rates.



AutumnSky said:


> Which tank is your favorite? And why?


It varies depending on when they were last trimmed. I generally clean up one tank per water change so at any given time one tank probably looks nice, one has just been trimmed, and the other is completely overgrown.

I may move some plants around to make things less demanding. The stems are the worst offender, although the Fissidens can be annoying to trim as well.


----------



## Minhha2006

Finally made it to the end of this. I am super impressed! It's hard enough for me to get one tank to behave properly, let alone 3 connected tanks and a sump! sub'd


----------



## skystrife

Adding to the chorus of "I read every bit of this and it was awesome"---this was really well documented and a pleasure to read. Awesome journal, and beautiful tanks.


----------



## Brahma04

Love every bit of this!!! Question: What are the plants in your sump? not the DHG, the other ones in the back?


----------



## 691175002

Brahma04 said:


> Love every bit of this!!! Question: What are the plants in your sump? not the DHG, the other ones in the back?


They are all bucephalandra. I've got five types in total which have fairly distinct leaf size/shapes, but its harder to tell them apart in photos.










I'm trying to start an S. Repens carpet in the middle tank since I'm getting tired of keeping the sand clean. It looks a little crowded, the H. Pinnatifida has been spreading very aggressively


----------



## 691175002

Finally did a major trim/cleaning and moved the 30g tank next to the bookshelf.

Cleaning the back glass is pretty annoying. Luckily I don't get much algae since shrimp are currently the only inhabitants.














































I can't figure out how to get shrimp out of the sump. Shrimp can't seem to smell food in a trap since the current is so high.


----------



## AutumnSky

Beautiful!!!

I love the Widelov Java Fern in the 2nd and the DW in the 3rd. The cascading baby tears are lovely as well. They all look great. 

As for the little shrimp there are little nets with telescoping long handles for shrimp catching. 

You can always just put a sinking wafer in the net and wait for them to hop in and throw them in a container until you have caught most of them - or just catch them by individually with a net. It is pretty easy. If you can't reach a long handle in the tank very well, just buy a long handle wire type and bend it until you get the right angle you need for scooping them up. You can bend the area holding the net too if needed.


----------



## HaeSuse

Jealous. That's a beautiful setup.


----------



## brandon133

Out of curiosity, do the shrimp seem more proliferate in any of the tanks? You're bottom two tanks seem to have more hiding spaces, driftwood, etc. and I'm curious to see if that noticeably influences breeding.


----------



## BettaBettas

very very interesting journal


----------



## nakeeta

691175002 said:


> ... 3d printer ...


you are now officially my favoritest person ever. 3D printing... and stacked aquariums... /swoon


----------



## 691175002

brandon133 said:


> Out of curiosity, do the shrimp seem more proliferate in any of the tanks? You're bottom two tanks seem to have more hiding spaces, driftwood, etc. and I'm curious to see if that noticeably influences breeding.


Its hard to tell because its very difficult to count shrimp in the denser tanks, and many of the babies end up in the sump.

I've been netting any shrimp that make it to the topmost tank because I plan on putting fish in there which might eat them.


----------



## gt turbo

really really enjoyed all 17 pages of this build and rack creation. I eagerly await the addition of fish.


----------



## danarl

Absolutely stunning. 
No more words needed

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk


----------



## chowdan

So i really love your design just as everyone else. The one thing that truly stands out to me is not just your LED setup, or your Ambilight setup on your tv, but the fact that your running with 3 OUTLETS FOR THE ENTIRE SETUP! 

Yeah yeah, the LED's are cool, i also am running a hue system(in process of repurposing old android tablet with a Dashing.io setup for home light control), but the fact taht you've rewired the entire thing to run off 3 outlet is bloody amazing. 

Could you go more into detail on your power adapter design setup? Running 3 tanks, each with their own heater, pump and light consumes 9 outlets alone, not including the outlet for airpump, or my mini tank(1.5 gallon beta tank converted to a spawning tank) light + pump. 

All in all, my aquarium's consume 12 outlets. Adding the fact that they are located next to my TV means my outlet usage goes from 12 outlets to over 20 outlets(TV, Wireless/modem, firetv, roomba, lava lamps). 

With 20 outlets needing to be used, I have always strived to find a "clean" way to power this setup and I think you have actually solved it. 

I'm curious to see how you came up with setup!


----------



## mucimol

Love those bookshelf tank, having one myself but now i want more ...
Really nice setup you have. Still hope to see some update on your bookshelf.


----------



## tomgabriele

691175002 said:


> Which get converted into a list of fades. The entire sunrise/sunset cycle can be reproduced using twelve fades.


I just registered after lurking for a long time. Your tanks look great, but your process is even more interesting.

I am playing around with a TC420 to program a daylight cycle with separate strips of RGB and W LEDs. I am copying your table and converting to power percentages, which is what the TC420 needs. The RGB values are self explanatory, but I am unsure about the meaning of the last column, "Brightness". Is it the programming applied to your Stingrays, or is it just a calculated sum of the total brightness of the RGB lights?

If the latter, do you have an easily sharable table of the programming for the Stingrays?

Thank you!


----------



## 691175002

tomgabriele said:


> I am playing around with a TC420 to program a daylight cycle with separate strips of RGB and W LEDs. I am copying your table and converting to power percentages, which is what the TC420 needs. The RGB values are self explanatory, but I am unsure about the meaning of the last column, "Brightness". Is it the programming applied to your Stingrays, or is it just a calculated sum of the total brightness of the RGB lights?


The Philips Hue API does not accept RGB colors so I had to convert them to CIE (XY + Brightness) to program the lights. The last two columns of the table represent the RGB color in the CIE color space, so they are redundant if you can use RGB colors.

You might have to adjust the colors a bit depending on how bright your strips are, but the RGB values from the table should be a good starting point.


----------



## tomgabriele

691175002 said:


> The Philips Hue API does not accept RGB colors so I had to convert them to CIE (XY + Brightness) to program the lights. The last two columns of the table represent the RGB color in the CIE color space, so they are redundant if you can use RGB colors.
> 
> You might have to adjust the colors a bit depending on how bright your strips are, but the RGB values from the table should be a good starting point.


So the controller decides what voltage to send to both the RGB strips *and* the Stingrays based on those XY+B values?


----------



## 691175002

tomgabriele said:


> So the controller decides what voltage to send to both the RGB strips *and* the Stingrays based on those XY+B values?


The controller has the ability two control two separate lights, so the stingrays are on their own schedule. I don't know the exact times offhand, but the stingray fade takes probably 90 minutes on each side.


----------



## Bananableps

I just love this whole, beautiful thing. I wish I could do something similar with low-cost 10 gallon tanks, but they really don't like to be drilled.


----------



## tomgabriele

691175002 said:


> The controller has the ability two control two separate lights, so the stingrays are on their own schedule. I don't know the exact times offhand, but the stingray fade takes probably 90 minutes on each side.


Got it, great. Thank you!


----------



## Maclyri

Update? Pictures?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 691175002

Maclyri said:


> Update? Pictures?


Everything has continuing to go well and I'm much more comfortable with the feeding/fertilization/maintenance these days.

I waterchange every three weeks and only really trim every month or two. Plant growth has slowed down quite a bit, the aquasoil is probabably leeching less nutrients and the plants are more grown in. I've also slowed growth by fertilizing only once per week, but I should probably go back to 2-3 times per week because nitrates zero out in a day or two.

I recently rearranged the top tank - the anubias nana were looking cramped so I moved them out. The buce in my sump were getting very crowded as well, so I cut them back quite a bit and moved the trimmings into the top tank. There was way more buce than I expected, they were really packed in there.

I've been holding off on fish while the cherry shrimp breed, but I have a pretty good population now. I keep planning on adding fish but never seem to get around to it.



















This is after I pulled out more than half of the buce in the sump.









Amano shrimp with a piece of food.









Some of the baby shrimp who have washed down into the sump.









At first glance the tanks often look empty, there are just too many good hiding places for shrimp.


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## vvDO

Buces look very happy, nice tanks!!


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## BettaBettas

the most interesting journal on here since -2016
Very impressed with the system setup  like how the sump gets the water to it from each tank and such, good job! keep us updated to, cant wait for the next couple of pics


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## TheDoofWarrior

What the F*U*C*K!?!? That is so awesome!! The future rules!! This is the coolest article ever, so much awesome info.


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## redchaser

Wow, it's impressive all the way around, aesthetically, technically, and as a display of your skill and ingenuity. Plus I now have a serious case of Buce envy.


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## theatermusic87

That is a crazy shrimp colony!


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## Altheora

Beautiful set up!


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## jstehman

Bra-vo! Spectacular.

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## monkeyruler90

looking good!


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## ScrubbyDick

Most Impressive! Keep us posted, the setup looks awesome.


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## 691175002

I finally added fish last night. So far everyone seems quite happy, although it will probably take some time before they fully color up. Some of these guys are quite difficult to photograph, but I did what I could.

The top tank now has six Pacific Blue-eye. These guys are fast and constantly swim all over the tank.



















The middle tank has a pair of Scarlet Badis and ten Celestial Pearl Danios.

The Badis are really fun and spend a lot of time checking everything out.



















The CPD are quite young and don't all have red fins yet. They spend a lot of time out in the open, but if you lean in for a picture they run to the other side of the tank.










I have eight Rummynose Rasboras in the bottom tank. They move very purposefully and seem to be hunting for food constantly. They don't give the larger shrimp any trouble, but if the babies run into problems in any of the tanks it will probably be this one.




























I also added a bag of biomedia to the sump a few weeks ago to be safe, since the fish add a lot of bioload.


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## BettaBettas

honestly ive never seen CPD or DD in any tank, ive always heard people suggesting them but no one would ever get them... Sounds like a fun and very interesting fish selection you got!!! are the pacific blue eyes as pretty as they say they are? also can you keep them in a five gallon tank? if so how many do you suggest


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## 691175002

BettaBettas said:


> honestly ive never seen CPD or DD in any tank, ive always heard people suggesting them but no one would ever get them... Sounds like a fun and very interesting fish selection you got!!! are the pacific blue eyes as pretty as they say they are? also can you keep them in a five gallon tank? if so how many do you suggest


They are kind of hard to find (and sometimes very expensive) but SKA Shrimp has them locally for 3.30/ea. There are a lot of comments about CPD being very shy but mine are always spending their time in the open. I think being in a tank with Cherries helps a lot, they might like having something below them on the food chain.

The Blue-Eyes are much better than I expected. They look unique and their personalities are hilarious. At times they school very tightly, other times they are darting over the whole tank and sparring. They spend time in every level of the tank and even find a cave to protect once in a while. My six seem to have enough space so you could probably fit that many in a 5g, but I think putting like 8-10 in a 10g would be even better.


I spent some time getting pictures, I think you'll agree that they all look much better now that they've had a week in the tanks.



























































































As mentioned previously, I added biomedia to the sump a few weeks ago. I think it has improved water quality and don't plan on running tanks without biofiltration in the future. 










I rearranged the right side of the sump a bit and am trying to encourage some of the buce to switch to emersed growth by letting the water run a bit lower.










Unfortunately I don't feel like the rummynoses are doing that great in a 6g tank. They look like they need more space and they are just big enough to keep smaller shrimp in hiding. I'm going to to move them into my 30g and add Emerald Dwarf Rasboras instead.


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## Opare

691175002 said:


> Unfortunately I don't feel like the rummynoses are doing that great in a 6g tank. They look like they need more space and they are just big enough to keep smaller shrimp in hiding. I'm going to to move them into my 30g and add Emerald Dwarf Rasboras instead.


Fish, plants and tanks are looking awesome! Especially like the Dario dario shots.
BTW those aren't Rummynose, those look like Sawbwa resplendens. But I agree it is better if you move them to a bigger tank, and maybe add to their numbers a bit in there if you can.
EDIT: NVM noticed the common name of Sawbwa resplendens are Asian Rummynose, so you probably knew they were S. resplendens! Sorry!



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## bereninga

Opare said:


> Fish, plants and tanks are looking awesome! Especially like the Dario dario shots.
> BTW those aren't Rummynose, those look like Sawbwa resplendens. But I agree it is better if you move them to a bigger tank, and maybe add to their numbers a bit in there if you can.
> EDIT: NVM noticed the common name of Sawbwa resplendens are Asian Rummynose, so you probably knew they were S. resplendens! Sorry!
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




Cool! I never knew there was such a thing as Asian Rummynoses. 

I agree that the Dario dario photos look real good. The colors and contrast are on point!


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## Opare

bereninga said:


> Cool! I never knew there was such a thing as Asian Rummynoses.
> 
> I agree that the Dario dario photos look real good. The colors and contrast are on point!


It's not really very closely related, or show similar traits to Rummynose Tetras though, just a name cus they look similar. Although they do both belong to the same family.
They are actually endangered in their natural habitat, so it is probably best we try our best to try and breed them.


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## 691175002

Anyone have tips for catching the buggers? When I first walked up with a net they all went to the top looking for food and I was able to catch or trap six. The last two are now both paranoid and crafty.


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## Mattb126

691175002 said:


> Anyone have tips for catching the buggers? When I first walked up with a net they all went to the top looking for food and I was able to catch or trap six. The last two are now both paranoid and crafty.


Turn off the lights, come back in 30 minutes, they'll be more relaxed, try again. 

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## AutumnSky

Let them get hungry for a day or 2 and try two nets - one for shooing them and one for capture. 

After raising some very tiny White Cloud Mountain Minnow fry to junior size in my Shrimp tank, I caught all but one, for numerous trials and failures I finally had to take out a very large amount of plants and DW after maybe 6 months of near monthly attemps, captured it, and it was well fed eating shrimp babies, about 1/3rd larger than the largest one of its buddies in the other tank which didn't have an all you can eat shrimp buffet everynight.


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## GreenTerror

I word of caution about the dwarf emerald rasboras. I think they're much more shy than CPD's. I had 8 of them in my low tech and they literally hid under a piece of DW all the time. The only time they would come out would be to nibble at nano pellets then sneak back off. Ended up giving them to a member of the fish club for a some shrimp. They may do better with some dithers in the tank but I don't know. I ended up going with some lime endlers in that tank and they're much more outgoing and entertaining. If you go that route get all males unless you want hundreds. The DER also seem to prefer much cooler water.


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## vvDO

Soda/water bottle trap may work.


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## fishman922

How are the DD's doing with the shrimp? Do they bug adults and/or babies? I have a scud problem right now and these guys would seem to fit the bill for dieting on them and I love the coloring. (How I had never heard of them before I don't know!) I also have guppys and endlers in the tank but they should be big enough to be fine. If anything i would be worried about the BB (its a 38 gallon tank). I wanted to see what your impressions of them are and how they get along with the shrimp.


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## 691175002

I ended up getting the last few out with a soda bottle trap the next day. I didn't even have to bait it with food, the fish were curious enough to trap themselves.



GreenTerror said:


> I word of caution about the dwarf emerald rasboras. I think they're much more shy than CPD's. I had 8 of them in my low tech and they literally hid under a piece of DW all the time.


I stocked the tank with 8 Emerald Dwarf Rasboras and 4 Clown Killifish. The EDRs are definitely much more shy than CPDs, one of the emeralds actually turned out to be a CPD and he was happy to swim around alone while the EDRs hid (I later moved him into the CPD tank). The Clown Killifish are pretty entertaining and very colorful.

The EDRs hang out near plants but generally stay visible now that I've had them for a week. I'll get pictures but I haven't trimmed the tanks in a while so its getting dense.



fishman922 said:


> How are the DD's doing with the shrimp? Do they bug adults and/or babies?


I'm sure they are picking off shrimplets as they often explore the plants/moss, but they are just so small the damage is limited. I've seen very young shrimp (maybe 3mm) move around the tank without trouble.

My Scarlet Badis eat frozen and even dry food, is it possible they were tank raised? A wild one who only eats live food might be more dangerous to shrimp.


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## fishman922

691175002 said:


> I'm sure they are picking off shrimplets as they often explore the plants/moss, but they are just so small the damage is limited. I've seen very young shrimp (maybe 3mm) move around the tank without trouble.
> 
> My Scarlet Badis eat frozen and even dry food, is it possible they were tank raised? A wild one who only eats live food might be more dangerous to shrimp.


I am okay with loosing some shrimplets and will cull my best shrimp to a 10 gallon tank if my numbers are not increasing for a while to breed out the best ones.

It is quite possible that they are tank raised. I am having difficulty finding them locally due to my guess is import trouble or too few breeders. I found them online but I am always hesitant about ordering online due to expense and not being able to see what i am getting. (It worked out well the one time I ordered online though)
Do you have females or all males? I might see if I can get some and a couple low grade blue velvet's and put them together. If the BVS disappear I know what happened. My current shrimp colony is weak enough right now that I could use the extra numbers anyway. (20, and breeding but due to all the tank moving I doubt that they will stay berried. It took nearly 3 months when first introduced to start the breeding)

BTW these tanks are an inspiration. When I get the space I hope to do something similar with a pair of 10 gallons I have sitting around... The aquascaping is beautiful. I have been following this thread since I joined TPT.


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## evil nick

awesome job, the only thing I Would ever fear is the actual glass shelf itself breaking. I know you have tested it for the weight but the only thing that cant be tested is my brutish hands and arms cramming in there to clean the tank glass and leaning to hard lol.

Amazing job. Makes me want to literally kick all my tanks in and walk away from my burning house "thumbs up"


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## 691175002

My two Dario Dario are both in this picture ( http://i.imgur.com/IW3iZEu.jpg ), I think I have a male and female but someone mentioned that non-dominant males sometimes don't color up so it could be two males.

Here is the third tank after a a little too much growth. This is the only tank that requires regular trimming.










The Clown Killifish and pretty unique, I like them a lot.



















The EDRs are swimming around, but will immediately hide if you get too close to the glass which makes it quite hard to get pictures. Hopefully they get less shy over time.



















And here is a bonus DD picture, these guys just do the most random things. Right here he decided to swim upside-down to follow something in the moss (which he ended up eating).


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## AutumnSky

Beautiful pics of the fish! The Clown Killi are so striking.


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## TropicalAquarist

Nice pictures! Unfortunately the EDR will always be shy. I've kept them for a year and tried all kinds of things(in a group of 5, a group of 20, small tank, big tank...), I've heard the captive bred ones are a lot more outgoing.


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## fishman922

Beautiful!
Thank you for the pics and info on the DD's. I have to wait for my aquarium to recover and be habitable for fish again (4.0PPM of ammonia takes some time to filter through...). 
I plan on getting them from LiveAquaria. I like them as a fish enough to keep my shrimp in something else if I have to.


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## Econde

Wow. This has honestly been a great pleasure to read through. Amazing pictures, very detailed journal and beautiful tanks overall. Thank you for taking the time to share your progress with us.


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## 691175002

I just took a peek in the sump and had to do a double take. I've got fry, most likely CPD.











I'm a little concerned about their ability to survive in the sump because the current is very strong and food is almost immediately pulled into the sponge. I suppose they've done okay so far though.

I reduced the pump power and topped off the sump to make the flow less extreme, and will feed repashy gel twice a day until they are large enough to move into one of the tanks. I think if I moved them now they would either get eaten or ride back down to the sump a few hours later.


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## BettaBettas

God I love this setup so much!


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## AutumnSky

Ahh, nice fry, hoping you get them to survive to adulthood and you keep showing pics. Liked the DD pic.


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## Nordic

I wouldn't bother trying to feed it until it can take BBS. If there is place to chuck some java moss in with the fish, I'd settle for that until then. You can also put a small cup or earthen pot in for a space to hide in, for the young one.


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## AutumnSky

Hikari fry food First Bites is really tiny. Vinegar Eels. Egg yolk from boiled egg put through a sieve. Little bit goes a long ways. Tiny amounts about 3-5 times per day. Extra pwc.


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## Nordic

It is too much food for 1 fry, it can honestly look after itself while it is that small, lots of microscopic things to eat in a sump.


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## nel

I usually put my fry in a spare little tank with spare plants and some sand from the main tank - the sand is so alive, that I don't feed them będę or they start eating adult sized food. Sump is probably same


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## 691175002

There are at least three fry in the sump now, but they do seem to be fine on their own. The largest are about 8mm long, I honestly don't know how old that would make them though - maybe a week?

They are almost impossible to photograph because autofocus won't detect them and they move pretty fast. I haven't seen any fry in the main tank but I expect at least a few stuck around. Only about half of the shrimplets end up in the sump.


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## 691175002

The CPD fry are doing well, there are five in the sump now (four in the top right of this picture). You might also notice that I've cleaned up the sump. I think the whole setup is starting to hit "old tank syndrome" since I don't really vacuum the tanks.










The first sponge has a hole to let shrimp/fry into the sump which lets a lot of detritus through as well. It wasn't a problem when the tanks were shrimp-only, but now that I am stocked it is more annoying. I did a complete cleaning/rescape of the top tank and the sump, and will try to do the other two tanks weekend.



















The Java fern is starting to become unmanageable as well so I might start replacing it with Buce. Its starting to feel like Buce is taking over the entire bookshelf but I suppose there are worse problems to have.

Unfortunately the EDRs have become even more shy, and when the tank gets dense they are really hard to spot. They no longer even come out for food, although they continue to look well fed (I assume eating shrimplets and the repashy that I feed the shrimp).


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## Alf2Frankie

@691175002 How are the CPD fry doing? I have been very interested in if they breed easily at home. Also, I am looking to do a similar stack of 3 tanks - after running the herbie system for several months do you see any noisy siphoning issues with the 3 connecting tees? My understanding is that you should have a straight shot to the sump and any tees can create additional bubbles/noise. Was it easy to obtain the trickle of water down all 3 emergency connections? 

Thank you,

Love this thread!!!


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## 691175002

Alf2Frankie said:


> @691175002 How are the CPD fry doing? I have been very interested in if they breed easily at home. Also, I am looking to do a similar stack of 3 tanks - after running the herbie system for several months do you see any noisy siphoning issues with the 3 connecting tees? My understanding is that you should have a straight shot to the sump and any tees can create additional bubbles/noise. Was it easy to obtain the trickle of water down all 3 emergency connections?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Love this thread!!!


Fry continue to show up in the sump, unfortunately the arrival of summer put my apartment at 30c/86f for a few days. The aquariums themselves tend to run a couple degrees hotter than the surrounding air, and it hit the shrimp and CPD pretty hard. I've got AC now so it shouldn't happen again.

I've still got quite a few fry and have started moving the larger ones into the middle tank, it turns out that at least half of them were pacific blue eye. I also did a major trim and vacuum/rescape since the tanks had been receiving no maintenance other than water changes for quite some time.

I just used my phone for these pictures, fry are a real PITA to photograph.

Pacific blue-eye fry underneath the clown kili:









CPD fry, might need a few more weeks to start showing red:









Java fern was becoming too large for these tanks so I got rid of it all. I also heavily trimmed the lower tanks.









The overflows operate flawlessly and are very easy to adjust. Every few months the flow through a valve might get reduced (leaves? algae?) but if you just open and close it a bit it goes back to normal. You can see the overflow in the center tank is perfectly balanced between the two drains - its been like that for days.

Overall the plumbing has been essentially perfect, I must warn you that cleaning stacked tanks is a major PITA though. Handling a gravel vacuum or algae scraper is very difficult.


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## vvDO

If you still want java fern, see if you can find Philippine java fern, they tend to stay small.


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## Alf2Frankie

@691175002 Nice pic! Everything looks so amazing - thanks for the info on cleaning, I'm very glad to hear your plumbing is working out.


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## Kampo

691175002 said:


> The controller switches on the low side so it never actually sees the 15V. I just wire everything to a common ground.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Wiring it like this was a bit of a gamble. I wouldn't try it on a current regulator but this guy is just MOSFETs.


so found your post today and thinking i'm going to give that controller your using a try. now do you need an additional hue bridge component to tie it all together (you mention using hue lights in your apartment) or is it a standalone item that can be programed via the app over wifi?

Also i'm going to have a similar wiring conundrum. my main light is a 48in Beamswork 3watt EVO light. uses 21V I beleave and will be around 6.8amps if it is actually driving the leds on it at 3watts I beleave they underpowered it it so will be more like 4-5 amps. anyways would what you did work the same with some 12v RB rigid strips? or is the voltage/amperage difference too much (i'm not an electrical engineer no clue if it makes a difference) and if I understand it right I would wire the controller 12V and the ground of the 21V power supply to the ground of the controller. Hook the RGB up as normal to the controller, and the beamswork I would ground to the W connector and hook the + side to the 21V directly?

my original plan was to use a TC420 controller could the same wiring trick be used on that as well?


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## FischAutoTechGarten

691175002 said:


> *And yes, I am aware this is a very complex way of setting up 18g of display space.*


Which is precisely the reason that I have subscribed to this thread. I appreciate you candor regarding cleaning your 9" high tanks stacked 4 high (3 display and 1 sump). I will be using 20L and thicker shelves (increased weight), so the 12" tank height and additional 2" shelf height would even be more prohibitive with 4 levels. Your candor has convinced me to design for 3 high (2 display and 1 sump) so that I don't tire of the maintenance. I'll just have multiple columns of tanks (additional racks).  

I want to something between what you've done and what they've done at Zen Aquarium in Seattle with their rimless tanks floating on racks. 
I'm having trouble actually sharing the foto link, it's about 3/4 way down the page: 
Aquarium Zen


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