# New house, new tank. 240 gallon adventure



## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

It's been a while since I've been on this forum, (posting from an iPad, last time I posted here, IPads didn't exist) but I've been through many aquariums over the years, but I am particularly excited about my most recent project.

I moved roughly 75 fish, 25 lbs of driftwood and wildly large growth of regular and thin leaf java ferns (2' Tall, 1-2' across each), java moss by the pound, a few emerged bacopas and riccia to round it off.

I phased through the "tech" tank a few years back, and found that I just didn't enjoy the dosing and co2 regimes. I resorted eventually to heavy planting, low light and letting nature do its work in my 125.

The new tank is a 2'x2'x8' layout. I am building the stand and canopy (currently in use, but no molding) at 40" tall stand, 4"x4" uprights, and an 18" canopy finished in oak.

Tank specs as it sits: 240 gallons
Fluvall FX5 filter
4 x finnex ray 2 7kK fixtures
~14 bags of Eco Complete substrate
75 assorted fish

Will add pics tomorrow. This system has been running for 1 week, filter, 2 bags eco complete and wood transplanted from 125 gallon.

Hope you enjoy the process as much as I am.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Here are a few progress shots, and some from this morning. 

Fish:
Platinum angels 3 adults
Clown loaches [email protected]" ea
Kribensis
Rummy nose
Cardinals
Black neons
Julii corydoras
Ottocinclus
Siamese algae eaters

Planned additions within 2 months: 
3 more platinum angels
75 cardinal tetras
10 julii corydoras



Office is not set up yet so I could not properly edit the photos, will take better shots in 2 weeks or so when we are fully moved in.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8741753838/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8741757316/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8741758346/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8741759564/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8740645377/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8741763864/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8741765394/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8740651113/


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## JEden8 (Jan 5, 2011)

Nice! I hope to someday own a tank of this size!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Thank you. It is a strong 4 man lift to move. Make sure you have a crew!

Just planted the Pygmy chain swords, still need a lot more to get the carpet that I am after.

Anyone have any recommendations for large, low tech tank plants? Ease of maintenance is key (strong roots, high temp tolerance 79F)


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Could not resist: 12 baby platinum angels I call the "Mini me's"!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8745588183/


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

Those Java Fern are enormous, my gosh!!!

I am sure some anubis would work well

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


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## VJM (Feb 9, 2013)

Beautiful angels! And they look terrific with all the java fern.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Well, as sometimes happens, the new fish have issues!

Seems that both Discus and Angelfish are quite succeptible to fungal infections after transfer into my tanks ( maybe from the large amount of wood?).

Treating the whole system with Maroxy(wonderful anti fungal btw, only slightly effects biofilter over 5 day treatment), lost two baby angels thus far.

Cleaned up and planted my Bacopa Madagascarensis(sp?). Will post we photos once fish are healthy in a few days.


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## Pablom (Apr 11, 2013)

Wowsers! beautiful tank.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Houston, we have a problem....

At roughly 2am Saturday morning, my aquarium front glass cracked, from bottom right corner to 1/2 distance to top center brace, all the way up. 

This cracking sounded like a shotgun blast. Gallons of water began flooding the living room as the nightmare continued.

I happen to be quite lucky in many aspects:

I am in the industry, so I had everything I could possibly need to address the issue on hand, including my able and amazing wife to assist with leakage. We were home, the aquarium is on tile, and it cracked rather than exploded. Tank was drained properly and all water cleared within 1 hour.

I have designed and set up hundreds of aquariums, and have only heard of this happening first hand a dozen or so times. I have personally had a dozen aquariums, 5 gallon and up, fw fish only to full reef with refugoum offsite. I must say that it is a traumatic event to say the least.

The stand and aquarium are still both perfectly supported, level and square, so I have no clue at this point as to why, 2 weeks in, 
this would happen. Being a holiday weekend, I will begin the warrantee/replacement process tomorrow AM on this Visio tank.

Lost only 6 small schooling fish out of ~100 inhabitants who are all happily vacationing in a 60 gallon aquarium for the time being.

I am hopeful to be back in full operation within two weeks time, will keep updating.


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## Dan's85 (Mar 18, 2013)

Sorry to hear that. I hope everything works out for you!!


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## Digital (Apr 4, 2008)

Damn thats crazy that happened! I hope everything works out for you!

I was going to say that the clown loaches weren't too good of an idea, since they will probably start picking off the cardinals as they grow in size. But clearly this is the least of your problems at the moment.

Also, clowns like to be in schools of 3 or more, and you definitely have the real estate for them, and they'll get huge in there.

Cardinals will be food though, imo.

God speed with getting your tank fixed, looked great before hand! Love those angels and that Java Fern is ENORMOUS!


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## Phantomic (Apr 17, 2013)

So jealous of you... someday, just someday.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Thanks for the thoughts, they are picking up tank tomorrow, to inspect for replacement. Just a bear to move.

I have kept these clown loaches for 7 years, and they are not fish eaters. They are grub/worm/snail eaters (bottom facing mouths). I have kept these cardinals for 3.5 years with only losses to age/tumors.

Will send pics once its back in place.


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## Aquaticus (Jan 7, 2013)

Sorry to hear that. Crazy.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

The 240 is BACK IN ACTION!

I received the tank, stand and canopy yesterday, everything was moved last night, and i am starting with a bit different, more "Scape" inspired layout.

My other piece of Manzanita is not quite soaked yet, so this is how she looks for now.

Still figuring out how to best utilize this frosted window treatment background... maybe with a backlight? Still need to hide cords a bit, could use any experience and advice with these backgrounds on large aquariums.



Just noticed that the large angel pair are already cleaning a rock for egg laying DAY ONE.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

This background is annoying. Air bubbles persist at day 3, and now that it is against the wall, I fear are permanent if I leave it be. Might switch to black background if I cannot get this to work out.

I added another piece of manzanita, letting it waterlogged in tank.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

This week's update: First time ever Green Water starting and Co2 hooked up.

After heavily planting the dwarf chain swords, i added one single Root fertilizer tab broken into 5 parts, in the areas below the swords (Growpower 12-8-8 slow release tabs). It looks like the plants are loving it, but i believe that green water is setting in. It began as a white cloudiness, and today is beginning to take on a green tinge.










I have been feeding heavily and the fertilizer could not have helped. That coupled with all new water less than a week ago and there we go, green water.

Now i cleaned the filter thoroughly (not the biomedia sillies), placed in fine mat filtering, and recharged my 2 large sacks or Purigen. I also hooked up the Co2 on 1bubble/sec input to the FX5 intake today, i am hoping that this will help the cycle along.










Lastly, i have a 15 watt HoB Aqua Ultraviolet advantage 2000+ on order, with a pondmaster mag 7 to power it. 

This green water algae doesn't stand a chance!

Anyways im off to check the No3 in the tank, make sure levels are not way off.


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Whoa! Sweet system Xirxes!! Love the angels! It'll be awesome once it fills in. Are you planning on letting the chain swords take over? I think that would look great. I would leave the background as it is. I think that there is some good contrast there, and adding a black background against a dark substrate might have the effect of losing that contrast and losing some of that dimension.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Yes, i am looking for a full carpet of the pygmy chain swords, except for maybe a thin strip in the middle, acting like a path, that i will keep diligently cleared.

My two largest angels are spawning right now, and they are trying to defend their young from two LARGE clown loaches (7" each), and the loaches are nipping at them in order to get to the fry. 

As mentioned before i used to have 90% plant coverage, and these fish are not used to such an open environment. I hope they figure out their new digs soon and settle back into the groove.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Tonight's project: Modify FX5 output for bleed line to new 15 watt UV filter.

Status: Wet, but complete! Overtightened clamps on Clear vinyl sections led to some initial leaks, but now we are a go!

I should be putting somewhere near 400 gph to the unit with current valve settings, and i am fully expecting to have crystal clear water by tomorrow AM. These units work very fast in aquaria.










BTW if you were interested: 3/4" OD pvc is the perfect snug inside fit for FLuval FX5 factory hose! Top run heads up to HOB 15 watt Aqua uv Advantage 2000+.










Fits like a glove! (Although the clamp had to be rotated in order for that glove to fit.)

Official UV light turn on time: 10:00 pm PST. I will post the exact time when full clarity of water is reached.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Update time! 

20 hours run of UV unit, i would estimate a 50% clarity improvement. I would say at this rate, 3 days until crystal clear water column.

No3 is measuring at 7-10ppm.

After third day of Co2, set to 2 bubbles/sec, many of the plants are now pearling, i just love watching this:






On to the next step: Co2 Drop Checker and fertilizers

Thinking about this unit for drop checker:









Looking at doing a Modified EI dosing, rate it for 100 gallons until i get my Cycle in order, and many MANY more plants.


Latest full tank shot:


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

The tank has been up and running for 1.5 weeks and this is how all of the Tests measure out:

NH3: 0 ppm
NO2: 0 ppm
NO3: 8-10 ppm
pH: 6.4
KH: 1-2 dKH
GH: 0-1 dGH
Temp: 78F

Based on this, i am calculating that i have 12-24ppm of CO2, but my drop checker is showing quite high, 45ppm+.

Having used tank water, i am not sure how that changes the drop checker, as it did not include 4dKH liquid. Also i have not given it a few hours to equilibrate either. I will see how it settles out.

Aquarium now has 75-80% clarity back, will take some shots once back to 100%.

Fertilizers are in the mail.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

The cheap drop checker I got in town said to use aquarium water, and because my KH is so low, it was misreading. 

I created some stock ~4dKH solution from 4 ml RO/DI water and 1.5 ml Tap ( tested thrice at 3.5-4 dKH), and viola! Green co2 drop checker fluid! Chemistry fun.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

All of the Kribensis have paired off, will probably have 3 separate broods of young by end of next week.

Here is a short full tank video:
http://youtu.be/YvLP66BqkJE

and a closeup of one of the male Kribensis 
http://youtu.be/0tTRo80lUSE

enjoy.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

I saw some posts on this forum about backlighting through the opaque background with LED, then i ran into some nice blue LED,s and thought to give it a go.

I also planted 4 new plant groups, some Sunset Cryptocryne Wendtii, a small moneywort, or bacopa ( not sure, will ahve to get a proper ID on everything once done!), a large group of red Cabomba, and some Rotala indica.

Finally busted out the old DSLR for this set

Here is the tank shot with all lights on, blue backlighting:










and, sleepytime for fishes:










Any thoughts on aquascapng/plantings will be greatly appreciated.


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## rbarn (Mar 21, 2009)

Xirxes said:


> Any thoughts on aquascapng/plantings will be greatly appreciated.



Looks good. Give it a few months to fill in before making any major changes


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

Those angels look so tiny in that huge tank.


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## tomfromstlouis (Apr 2, 2012)

I think this is already looking good and will be great as the plantings mature. I like the islands look. I personally am not a big fan of the light colored background. Especially with the platinum angels I am thinking a black background would look best. If you had black angels then you would need no change IMO. Keep us posted on the progress!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

I feel that way as well about the background, but the real goal is to have a number of large background plants that stand out well, then the platinums will pop against the plants.

I have also always had black backgrounds, wanted to try something different. Maybe I will fit a black board or felt behind the opaque background to darken it up for a test.


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## All your base (Dec 6, 2006)

I like the light background but then again I am probably biased.

I like the islands, too. I wish I had the restraint to leave that much open space.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

My current goal is to have the Pygmy chain swords carpet the whole floor, except for a path down the center.

I am not anywhere near as patient as rbarn, and Pygmy chain swords are notoriously slow growers, so we shall see!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Not happy with the uneven distribution of light in the tank, raised the lighting fixtures up 10 inches off of the water.

Much more diffused over the whole system now, but it is visibly dimmer. I am reading a lot about how ferts and co2 can compensate for not having blaring light, so I will try this for a bit, new pics tomorrow.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

As expected, yesterday and today three pairs of kribensis started escorting their separate broods around the world near their breeding caves. 

This is a testament to soft water, planted aquaria and Kribensis fish:

Exactly 2 weeks to the day from being plopped into the brand new aquarium and they have young in a mixed aquarium, with 60 other fish!










http://youtu.be/MIQYjOMuvrE

Happy 4th of July and enjoy!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Today's focus: reigning in my photoperiod.

All of the systems I have ever had have run long lighting cycles, but I realizing now that the system isn't benefitting from this, and I am reigning the light in.

Today I switch from 15 hours (08:30 to 23:30) down to 11 hours (11:00 to 22:00). Perhaps this will stop the growth of glass film algae, while still allowing plants to do their thing.

First runners popping up from dwarf chain swords, all stem plants showing 2" growth in 2 weeks.

GLA drop checker and EI ferts come tomorrow, I've been using Flourish regular 1.5x dose every other day, Brightwell Iron and Potassium full dose every other day, 20% WC on the 7th day.

Working on ordering/cutting some 3/4" OD glass pipe for intake/outlet after I reign in slight glass pane film algae. Maybe a local glass lower can create a large lily pipe for me from stock!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Let the nutrient balancing act begin!

Started dosing dry ferts, for 150 gallons, due to low planting a, 6 grams N, 1.1g P, 4g Fe.

Added a bit of Equilibrium to bring GH to 3dGH, sitting at 2-3 dKH.

Co2 is honing in on the sweet spot, seems to be about 2.5 bub/s.

Better regulator coming in mail with actual bubble counter ( right now listening to bubbles exit tube into intake of FX5).

Shorter photoperiod seems to be helping, but won't know for sure until all levels are reached. I don't seem to get any pearling until 7-8 hours of light.

Added another bushy nose plecostomus, 2 small SAE's to manage all possible algaes.

Might take better part of a month to balance all the parameters. 

Using this thread as a log, since I have so many lurkers, not many posters! Always love feedback or questions.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Small update:

First week of dry fertilizing on the books.

Nitrate at 20-25ppm
PH daytime 6.3
GH 3-4
KH 2
CO2 good green (30-40)
Plants are responding ( Except red nesaea CURSE YOU!)

Added 25 rummy nose tetras, 12 small panda corydoras.

Short video here.

http://youtu.be/vZfLUeIDZow


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Latest developments:

Plants have mostly settled in. Cabomba growing 5 inches a week, seeing new runners from all of the pygmy chain swords. getting a lot of pearling with new CO2 reg dialed in.

Here's a shot of the second set of Angel eggs since tank was established. Lots of breeding going on in here. Always happy to see it.










All the recently added fish doing very well.

Began adding flourish iron alongside EI dosage CSM+B. I think the plants are responding well.

Film algaes are slowing down as plant growth is taking off. Such a good sign!

I will wait a full month for progress pics of plant growth.

Question in the meantime, as far as root fertilizers go, in 100% eco-complete substrate, how often do i need to re-fertilize with time release root fertilizers (Grow power to be exact)?

Stay tuned for growth updates as the feature fills in!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Progress update here: Grow in rate is pretty good, going to trim for housewarming party at end of week, will post pics of how it is then after 60% water cahnge, filter cleanout, purigen recharge, etc.

Co2 is dialed in, daily i get pearling that covers water surface with oxygen bubbles, film algae down to once weekly magnet glass cleaning.

Here we are


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## MobileMedic (Jun 17, 2013)

That is such a good looking tank! I dream of having something like this someday. Subscribed.


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

Starting to fill in, looking good. The angels look like they're growing too. It's amazing you have so much breeding going on in there. Keep up the good work.


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## tatersalad (Dec 7, 2011)

Looks great! It won't take long for that pygmy chain sword to carpet


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Photoshoot day!

Well i have been busy with the business and new house. Open house was last weekend, and the tank was a big hit. 

Everything is growing in nicely. I will definitely be looking for scaping tips with my existing plants, in order to better use the space/hide the equipment.

Without further Adue:










Loving the heavy growth, but the pygmy chain swords are getting quite large! They have hit the glass on all sides, i think i want to keep the middle slear, or maybe try something really low lying that i can keep small, maybe some cryptocoryne parva?

Anyways, current conundrums: 250-300 growing kribensis babies. They are all surviving, the loaches are not eating them like they used to! PLEASE let me know if you have a good way to catch a ton of small (.3 inch) fish lol. Also i will be donating these to anyone who wants them for local pickup in San Diego area.

Trimming/ scaping recommendations for my current pplant specimines and additional plant recommendations? Everything that is in right now is doing exceedingly well. I am cutting off about a foot(!!!!) of cabomba (far left) every two weeks off of each stem. I think i want to keep the pennyort shorter in the future as well.

Drop checkers need some algae cleaning for sure. 

Does anyone have recommendation for a high flow outlet for FX5 (3/4' I.D.) that is less visible than the standard inlet?

All of the wood is properly waterlogged, so i am happy with that, rocks have bee removed.

Current additive regime: Modified E.I. dosing:
3x weekly: 1 Tbsp No3, 1/2 Tbsp PO4, 1/4 Tbsp K2SO4
3x weekly: 1/2 Tbsp CSM+B, 20 ml Flourish Iron
weekly: 25% water change
daily feedings: 3-4 HEAVY flake feedings
monthly: Full filter dissasembly/ cleaning/ 2 lg bag purigen recharge.

I hope you enjoy as much as i am, love any input or questions!


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

The easiest way to get rid of the fry in a big tank like that is to let them grow out until they're big enough to net out. Ever consider doing a tank with 500 Kribs in it?


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## primo (Jul 28, 2013)

Great tank, really like the plant diversity and gives me hope for maybe keeping all the different species I have instead of narrowing them down. Granted I don't have near the room you do!

Chain swords have taken off wonderfully!

Ryan


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## Bruce_S (Jul 26, 2012)

I suppose you could try to catch the little kribs between the plants with a siphon hose . . .

Beautiful tank, and obviously happy residents!

~Bruce


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Planning for all adults to be out by weeks end.

Creating a fry/baby catching rig (2" intake screen with food inside hooked to 1" ID hose filled and controlled with ball valve).

Let the babies in, then pop the valve and suck them all out at once into 30 gallon tub.

I will document closely and post results!

I plan to add in some locally grown blue rams to replace the 16 adult kribs. They should have a harder time breeding.


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

Awesome tank...good luck getting that fry! Blue rams will look great in that tank.


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## BoxxerBoyDrew (Oct 16, 2005)

AWESOME TANK!!!

Did you ever get a answer from the tank maker as to why the tank cracked??? That would have freaked me the hell out!!! I have had 30g of water on the living room floor from a overturned trashcan/water tank that had R/O water in it and it flooded the entire room!!! I could only imagine 240g of water on the floor!!

The plants are looking very healthy, and fish are obviously happy with all of the spawning going on! The Kribs in my 55g are filling it up with babys, so I can only imagine what they are doing in the 240! I have a dozen albino corys helping to thin out the fry some, but once they get a bit of size to them the corys ignore them! From the 6 Kribs I started with 6 months or so ago I now have 14+! So I am thinking on going to German Rams too!

I too think the P. chain Swords are getting a bit to big! They are hiding the cool wood you have! Can they handle trimming down, or will they die off? Never had them before, so I don't know. Maybe the crypt Parva will stay shorter for you!

Anyway keep up the great work on the beautiful aquarium!!!
Drew

p.s. subscribed!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

The tank mfg blamed my stand ( not likely, I checked its construction for level and contact in every direction possible, but this kept them from having to pay for it ). I think it was a defect sealed into the bottom rail that cracked it.

I am giving the tank a week long break from the maintenance process (read: I'm lazy this week). No additives, no water change, no filter clean. Work has been heavy and remodels/baby on the way.

Next week tank gets an overhaul. I am going to move some plantings around and trim down the chain swords heavily, see how they respond. Also Co2 has about 2 weeks left 400 lbs left.

I currently have 300+ kribs growing in the tank. Haven't had the time to harvest them out. They nibbled up the fine stem plants heavily.

I will post pics when the overhaul is done. Right now the overgrown stems are blocking light on half the tank, changing the growth rate of lower growing plants.

Check back in a week for progress!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

It has been quite some time, but i gave the aquarium a much needed overhaul this weekend, and figured i would post some before and after shots.

Everything is growing well, i usually scoop out about 30-50 young kribensis with each heavy plant trimming and take them in with the plants for credit at my LFS.

Originally i had a dozen platinum angels, but i believe that they had some genetic frailties, because these fish, and only these fish, became ill frequently, and despite many rounds of treatment, the last of the fish survived only until about 2 weeks ago.

60 Cardinal tetras due in next week, to keep the livestock smaller.

Enjoy!

Before:









After:


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## drb (Aug 12, 2011)

Very nice cuz!


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## lamiskool (Jul 1, 2011)

beautiful tank, love the white background


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Back again! 

Whipping up the tank after a long run of letting the tank run low tech, zero maintenance.

The Java ferns and dwarf chains grew out of control, so I removed all of the chain swords.

Quite a bit of organic debris built up over the last 2 years, and I am slowly but surely getting it all out.

Recharged the Co2, started dosing ferts again, the whole deal.

I got my hands on a few tissue grafts of S. repens and am planting that over root tabs to start a new, lower style carpet.

Pulled an unknown plant from the pond to try in the rear, and what I believe is a bacopa back on the left hand side.

Ferns are now ~8 years old transfered from my older setups. I think they need a big thinning still.

Let me know what you think!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Just logging activity for today:

siphoned more substrate buildup, heavily thinned Java fern both types, added Red/green rotala, moneywart, a redish bacopa 2 x small anubias barteri and a bronze myrophilium.

Will be a few weeks of substrate siphons before the tank really cleans up.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Picture update today, still a long way to go until it is filled in.

aquarium 1-3 

aquarium 1-2 

aquarium 1 

aquarium 1-4

I think 6 months from now ill be full!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Today i decided to check up on how my EI dosing is actually stacking up in the water column.

I tested GH, KH, pH, NO3.

After finding a near zero reading of Nitrate, I added the difference between (1 tsp) what I normally add (2 tsp) and the Wett's calc dosage (3tsp) of KNo3.

Right after I did this, it dawned on me that there is almost no way that a daily large pinch of flake food to over 150 assorted fish would give a 0 Nitrate reading, when I am only doing 15-20% WC weekly!

Turns out the test kit was expired.

Upon new test, with new kit, I am registering 80-100ppm nitrate! I don't know if the relatively fresh (~35 min previous) addition of dry KNo3 is creating a false high, or what, but I will test daily with no addition for next week.

So, now we have a 30% WC, going to try heavy fish feed daily
NO Kno3, 1tsp KH2PO4, 1 tsp K2SO4 x 3 weekly
40ml Brightwell Iron, 1 tsp CSM+B x 2 weekly.

For an update, here is water change time video of system. Enjoy!

https://vimeo.com/122712185


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

The nitrate situation seems to be under control, residing currently at 25-40ppm, with a 25% water change slated for tomorrow.

I have been keeping the system re-constituted to 4 dGH and 4 dKH, and lowered temps to 74F, all to give my plants a bit of an edge, compared to the 2/3 dGH/KH and 76F that i always had for discus and Angels, as i have neither now. 

BBA is still hanging around after an EXCEL dose, lime green CO2 checker, PO4 at 2-3ppm, proper micros and iron. I think it may just take a while to die down. have 3 siamese algae eaters, and keeping parameters pinned until i see results.

Purchased another 3 pots of Stauragyne repens to fill out more of the carpet. It seems to be getting a good hold, i am seeing a lot fo growth and rooting, but it has not solidified yet into a carpet, which I'm sure cannot be expected in a month's time.

Here are a few shots i took yesterday, with my actual DSLR. Enjoy


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Finished another S. Repens carpet installation today. So many small plantlets! Now I know what a hair follicle implant specialist feels like! Over 100 plantlets set today.

Older segments really spreading out after a month in the tank. Now the long wait for full carpet!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Little video update after a week of algae fighting.

https://vimeo.com/125919229

Stauro carpet coming in. 1.75 months since first planting.


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## NotCousteau (Sep 25, 2014)

Beautiful tank! Those kribs have great coloration.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

NotCousteau said:


> Beautiful tank! Those kribs have great coloration.



Thank you.

I always loved kribs, you should see them when no co2 and I drop nitrates to 5 ppm. 









However when I do this I get tons of krib babies.

In hindsight, with a real focus on plants I would not have put them into this tank. They produce too many medium sized fish and they get violent on the plants when brooding.


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## NotCousteau (Sep 25, 2014)

Wow, great picture and great male! How many pairs do you have in there? The krib is one of my favorites, but I no longer have any.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Currently there are about 8 females, 20 breeding aged males, another 10-12 juveniles.

All born in tank.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

I am currently placing a basket over a 6x12" section of the soon to be carpet substrate to keep the kribensis out so the S. Repens can root.

Also just got in my new regulator from Alanle, Full stainless Ir6000 with swagelok needle valve and parts. Tossed this on a new 10 lb tank to give me a longer run time.









After all of the recent algae treatments and pinning the CO2, hitting problem spot algae areas, everything looks amazing! Will post pics after water change on Sunday.

I do have to say, you can really tell when you hit the CO2 sweet spot, as the plant growth shoots up, and rips ferts out of the water like crazy.


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## BoxxerBoyDrew (Oct 16, 2005)

Tank is lookin good Bud!!!

You have learned like I have that Kribs are Beautiful, but not the best planted tank fish! They work in planted tanks, but when they start breading they can tear up the plants, and they can fill up the tank with nothing but Kribs in no time flat!!! My 55g has at least 7 breeding pairs, and that is with a dozen or so cories eating allot of the fry too!!! I have a 20g and a 10g that have fry and sub adults in them that I rescue out of the Fluval canister filters when i do the monthly canister cleaning! LOL I am fixing to redo my 55g ,for real this time! LOL and all of the Kribs are going to the LFS for credit! I am really thinking of going with German Rams! I know they will breed too, but NOTHING like Kribs! Plus the Rams won't tear up my plants when spawning either! Heck one of the biggest Male Kribs will bight me when I am cleaning the tank and won't let go of the edge of my finger, even as I am lifting it up out of the water! If he gets the edge of the scrubbing pad I can almost lift his head out of the water before he lets go if he has free swimming fry!!! CRAZY RASCAL!!!

Anyway Glad to see Ya back around again, and I can't wait to see the tank fill in! 
Take Care!
Drew


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Video update today. Not all that pleased with the quality, but this is by iPhone for iPhone I guess.

I'll make some video next week with the DSLR.

http://www.youtube.com/attribution_link?a=TY2bOd9LG-E&u=/watch?v=B9vZaE7KRg4&feature=em-upload_owner

I was completely unsatisfied with that video. Here is an HD version.

https://youtu.be/TtwoTckSnyg


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

cool video! the tank is lookin great!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

After staring sadly once again at the fields of Staurogyne repens that have hundreds of Kribensis bites on them, i have decided to pull all of the driftwood, drain the system down to 3" of water and empty the tank of kribensis.

I am tired of the havoc they wreak on the plants. This is the only way to get the carpet i am looking for.

Stay tuned this weekend for the process!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Received a few alternathera reinekki mini today, and as I put them in, one of my kribensis came over and took a nip, pulling it out of the soil and then it looked right at me and I....just.....SNAPPED!

I immediately set up to get them out, and I knew it was like Ultron and if even ONE of them stayed, I will have lost.

All wood and stone came out, two nets and two hours later I got the last one of them out!
















Now I have 40+(!!!!!) kribensis aerating over night, and after two more hours of re-aquascaping and replanting everything for the new layout, including a 30% water change getting to all the good stuff that's been hidden for two years, I'm finally settling down for beer-thirty. 

I am so ready for the plants to grow without getting chomped.

Here it is! I'll make a good video once it's all settled.


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Sorry to hear about the Kribs.  Hope you can get some decent money for them somewhere. The new aquascape sure looks nice though.  Will be watching for updates.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

wow well that was a bit of a friday project huh, well good it is over now - you earned a couple beers thats for sure! the tank looks great and clean now too


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

Great thread. So what are you going to stock in the tank now??


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

The Dude said:


> Great thread. So what are you going to stock in the tank now??



We may keep a pair of apistogramma or something serially, as they do not live long, but I still have over 100 fish in the tank, I'm definitely not putting anything in that can breed.

I'll definitely be putting in a hell of a lot more s. repens, and I think I am going to try and cover the back wall with pogostemen erectsus.


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## Donald Corbett (Apr 1, 2015)

That thing is beautiful! Did you do some sort of additional floor work to support it or is this a cement floor?


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Donald Corbett said:


> That thing is beautiful! Did you do some sort of additional floor work to support it or is this a cement floor?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



This floor luckily is tile on our concrete slab, so no reinforce needed.

I do say that reinforcement, unless your home is on stilts, is often unneeded. I have had 125 gallon glass upstairs in an appartment in years past.


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## chayos00 (Sep 22, 2013)

I have to ask with the 240 and dosing CO2, how often do you have to refill your CO2? I'm almost done with the stand on my 125g and was debating about CO2, but it will be a sump based system, so I know I'll be fighting the off gassing from that.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

Xirxes said:


> We may keep a pair of apistogramma or something serially, as they do not live long, but I still have over 100 fish in the tank, I'm definitely not putting anything in that can breed.
> 
> I'll definitely be putting in a hell of a lot more s. repens, and I think I am going to try and cover the back wall with pogostemen erectsus.


apistogramma sounds good! I really love these fish, they are definitely one of my favorites!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

chayos00 said:


> I have to ask with the 240 and dosing CO2, how often do you have to refill your CO2? I'm almost done with the stand on my 125g and was debating about CO2, but it will be a sump based system, so I know I'll be fighting the off gassing from that.


I had a 5 lb until very recently, and i need to run about 4bubbles/sec to hit 30ppm CO2, the 5 lb lasts around 3.5 months. 

Remember that the system is well sealed, so no leaks, and i am only running CO2 for 9.5 hours a day. 2 hours before lights on (i open front door and get morning sunlight on tank) and shuts off 1/2 hour before lights out on an 8 hour light period.

New CO2 tank is 10lb, and i am running it at about 3.7 bps after the heavy trimming to get the same 30ppm CO2. I will keep tabs on how long this one takes to drain. I am hoping for 8 months.

Bump:


andrewss said:


> apistogramma sounds good! I really love these fish, they are definitely one of my favorites!


I love and dont love these fish. compared to most i keep (even my cardinal tetras are at least 2 years old, and the loaches turn 8 this year!), the apistos just burn out so fast, almost never making 2 years old.

We will see, i really want to focus on the plants.

Today i tied my willow moss to a number on the newly exposed branches, and tweaked the emerged setup that is now in the canopy above the tank. It is growing Ar mini, staurogyne repens, pogostemon erectus and willow moss currently, but is only 3 days setup!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

I was closing up the house tonight, and I saw a flurry of movement in the tank after lights out. Normally all fish are still as statues, but tonight it was active.

I thought "well I finally gassed my fish", but NO! The cardinal tetras are breeding! I thought that this was almost impossible to see, but here it is.

Here's a video I grabbed, (proof of breeding at about 25 seconds top left at surface) Enjoy! I'll upload HD tomorrow.

https://vimeo.com/127686809


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Tonight our first shipment of aquacultured plants arrived, and after hundreds and HUNDREDS (400+) of individual plantings, the tank is officially ready to grow out.

http://youtu.be/ye8G7P0LvT4


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Here are a couple of top down shots for the night.









Top is emerged form peruensis changing to submerged, and deep purple is fully submerged form. Notice how perfectly aligned the leaves are on the submerged so as to not shade the leaf below at all. Amazing.

















AR mini submerged form compared to emerged/sub changing peruensis here.









Lastly my horribly melty pogostemon erectus emerged. I have a feeling that what is left will pull through, but I think it will take some time to look nice. Time will tell if I get impatient and rip it out.


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## treyLcham (Sep 9, 2014)

Love the schooling of cardinals!!! Also the tank plants are looked really good!! 


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Today I INTENTIONALLY DECREASED the lighting on the system! Never thought I would say that, but my stem plants are all growing horizontally at half tank height and all Anubias getting green spot Algae. The staurogyne reopens also seem to be growing, but staying SUPER tight and not spreading as much as I'd like, even though they are healthy and full since all kribensis were removed.

I moved my ray ii fixtures from 2" above water to 12" above water, giving a full 36" above substrate. I should have 40-60 par across full tank now rather than 80-100.

Here is a shot with new, lower, more evenly spread lighting.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Here is a little video of those tiny bubbles we all love.

http://youtu.be/YnHI93kGV7A


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## Mikeygmzmg (Mar 19, 2015)

Awesome tank Xirxes. Sick choice of plants. Those Stauros will fill up quick. Just keep propagating every chance you get.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Thanks. As you can see I'm getting some yellowing and GSA on the lower leaves of stauro. It is maddening.

I know they have tons of light, and they have excess of every nutrient I can accurately test, with CO2 dialed in. 

I have 2 big clown loaches that make tiny propogations almost useless, as they just get knocked out less than 1-1.5" of stem. I might just have to wait the long haul. 

It's been about 2.5 months now and this process is definitely a patience building excercise.


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## Mikeygmzmg (Mar 19, 2015)

You aint kidding on the patience. If the tank is still pretty new, don't worry. I had the same exact thing happen with my stauro in the beginning and then they were fine. 

Be sure to prune off the leaves that are clearly dead so you allow more light to pass through to the rest of them!


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

Tank is 2 years old, so not new, but the stauro is 2.5 months at oldest, added in 5 additions from 3 different sources. 


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

So I found that I was killing my tank with kindness!

By overdosing ferts/minerals/flourish excel and tweaking the light too much, I did some big damage on the whole tank.

GSA all over, yellowing and curling leaf tips, heavy leaf shedding. Not good.

So I did a hard reset this weekend, and I am going to get back to basics.

Goals: 
N: 10ppm
P: 1ppm
K: 10ppm
GH: 4
KH: 4
Fe: .5 ppm

Current levels after 75%(!!!) WC and filter clean/purigen recharge:
N: 25ppm
P: 3ppm
K: unknown (tester in mail)
GH: 4
KH: 4
Fe: unknown (tester in mail)

I also updated my lighting power timing to accommodate 2 new fixtures for color balance:

CO2 timing: 10:00am-10:00 pm

2x 48" dual bulb aquatic life T5HO, one 6kK, one pink (one unit for full length of tank ~20-30 par any given spot) timing: 11:00am to 11:00 pm

Rear 2x 48" finnex ray 2 DS 7kK led (one for length of tank 40-50 par) timing: 1:00pm to 9:00pm

Front 2 x 48" finnex Ray 2 DS (40-50 par) timing: 3:00pm-7:00pm

That gives me 4 hours of 20-30ppm (sunrise/set), 4 hours of 60-80 (early/late afternoon), and 4 hours of 100-130 par (midday sun).

Now I am really not going to add anything for a full week and see how the levels change due to food alone.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

oh! well hopefully the levels get better!


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## DvanK (Feb 27, 2009)

Xirxes said:


> ..
> 2x 48" dual bulb aquatic life T5HO, one 6kK, one pink (one unit for full length of tank ~20-30 par any given spot) timing: 11:00am to 11:00 pm
> 
> Rear 2x 48" finnex ray 2 DS 7kK led (one for length of tank 40-50 par) timing: 1:00pm to 9:00pm
> ...


You really shouldn't have 12 hour photoperiod. That's way too long and you are asking for trouble.

Your tank will be fine anywhere from 6-8 hrs of light per day.


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## Xirxes (Aug 18, 2008)

DvanK said:


> You really shouldn't have 12 hour photoperiod. That's way too long and you are asking for trouble.
> 
> 
> 
> Your tank will be fine anywhere from 6-8 hrs of light per day.



4 of those hours are extremely dim. 15-25 par

Upon changing to this schedule, I already see less GSA.

**Edit** in line with my getting back to basics, I am taking your advice, and the new timing will be :

Co2: 12-8
Dim: 1-9
Rear full: 3-8
All on: 4:30-6:30


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