# " ATHENRY"- 40B UPDATE with pic 12-4-11 (post 40)



## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

looking good! think hc will be a good choice!


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks Luke! I have been watching your Riparium come together looks great.


Added side note about the set up-
BTW...the black background may be temporary. I put it up to see how it would look but may end up doing a foam core with backlight. The stand should be here Tuesday hopefully.


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

I got the HC today (Thanks plantedrandall and aquabotanic!!!) It went alot further than I thought.
I decided against the sand path and opted to use HC instead.
So here it is all planted. Please dont hesitate to make suggestions!


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

*Update time!*

Time for a quick update. I am about 3 weeks into the emersed HC set up. I also just finished building 2 matching stands for my 20G as well as the 40B. All in all not too bad for my first time using the garage for something beyond auto stuff!
Here are a few pics. 

3 weeks in and compared to the first pic you can really see a big difference!









The stands before they were skinned. The top and bottom are 3/4" ply. 









Skinned with MDF 1x4's, the sides are beadboard, and a couple decorative mdf pieces in the corners. Primed with Shellac based primer and coated with high gloss enamel. ( I wouldnt use this as my paint choice a second time around unless I was going to spray it!)









This one is for the 20G...gives a better look at the beadboard on the sides.


----------



## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

BEAUTIFUL tank. That's going to look amazing when filled with water!
Stand looks great too- nice job. :thumbsup:

At first i thought that the rocks were kinda on the small side for your tank, but it looks REALLY good.


----------



## ldk59 (Jan 30, 2009)

Tank is looking good... DSM is the way to go with HC !!

Those stands are very nice looking (first effort or not)...

Larry


----------



## nemosreef (Oct 19, 2007)

everything looks great.


----------



## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

HC is off to a great start homie. Looks good.


----------



## Holokai (Jan 10, 2007)

Wow, looking great. Nice stands too. roud:


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

AzFishKid said:


> BEAUTIFUL tank. That's going to look amazing when filled with water!
> Stand looks great too- nice job. :thumbsup:
> 
> At first i thought that the rocks were kinda on the small side for your tank, but it looks REALLY good.


 Thanks! I was a little worried about the size of the rock as well but I actually took one of the larger pieces out and it really seemed to help. The rock is mostly in the front with the small leaves of the HC and it seems to work ok so far. The trick is going to be finding the right plants for the background that will also work with their size. I may be tweeking my initial plan a little now that I have seen it set up. 



ldk59 said:


> Those stands are very nice looking (first effort or not)...
> 
> Larry


 There are a few mistakes that I wont be pointing out to the wife...she allowed them in so they must look ok. She said that she got final approval on furniture so....I was under a microscope. 



speedie408 said:


> HC is off to a great start homie. Looks good.


 Thanks Speedie...coming from you it means alot. Your 40 is one of my favorite tanks. :thumbsup:



nemosreef said:


> everything looks great.


 Thanks nemo!



Holokai said:


> Wow, looking great. Nice stands too. roud:


 Thanks Holokai, I just hope all the planning pays off. When I fill it with water I really hope its not algae fest 2010. LOL


----------



## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Looks great! Good composition, nice hardscape. When are you planning on flooding and finishing off the planting?


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Gatekeeper said:


> Looks great! Good composition, nice hardscape. When are you planning on flooding and finishing off the planting?


 Right now as you can see the light fixture is on the tank. This next weekend is a light hanger project to suspend the lights. I should also be able to get some of the plumbing set up. If all goes well with the projects it should be weekend after next when its finally gets water. Which means I hit the swap and shop this weekend as well. Hopefully I can nail down the plant choices...I have been bouncing back and forth on the rest of the plants. I do feel I need to keep the leaf size small which is making me lean toward Rotala Sp. Green. , R. Colorata, L. Aromatica,Blyxa J. for midground, and either Staurgyne or anubias petite for some texture change around the rocks.

IDEAS WELCOME! The deadline is fast approaching when I need to commit...as you can tell I haven't!


----------



## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Rotala? I would never have envisioned that for this scape. Rocks are a bit low for a high growing bushy stem plant IMO. I liked the Blyxa japonica or a nice thicket of cryptocoryne, maybe even Downoi or Erio.

Should be interesting to see this develop with that stem plant selection. I have been amazed before by people on this forum and some of the scapes that they pull off, so I wouldn't be surprised if it happens again! LOL!


----------



## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Nate,

I think Gatekeeper has a good point about the stems overshadowing your rockscape. That is what I experienced in my 40B as well. I've since taken out the big rock I had near the back because of this. You couldn't even see the rock after the plants grew in. You're rocks are smaller compared to the rock I had so they'd be swallowed in a matter of weeks with Rotala. It's def doable if you keep trimming the stems back. You're idea for the mid - foreground sounds good.


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Points are well taken. 

The reason behind the Rotala is the scape is based loosely on this tank. My idea was to use the HC path as a focus rather than the large rocks which are the focus in this tank. The large rocks in his midground would be replaced by midground plants like Blyxa and staurogyne. etc. I am imagining less pink or red (though I do want highlights) hence the Rotala Sp. green. with highlights of Colorata.
I have always loved the very trimmed look he has in this tank and in my 20G my Rotala has always looked lanky and lacked any shape. Its one of my aquascaping goals to learn the fine art of trimming. 
Do you think I have enough room front to back to pull off the look I am after here? Thanks or the advice I will take all the help I can get!


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

UPDATE~

Well I finished the Grigg style reactor and got all the plumbing hooked up yesterday. It was just in time as the Blyxa arrived just as I was wrapping up. (Thanks CL!)
Got it all planted and filled the tank. Drop checker is a nice greenish yellow! I have some Rotala on the way to go behind the Blyxa. If it doesnt look like I imagined I will pull it out and stick it in my other tank. Hopefully I wont have to. 
Here is a few pics! (Pardon the bacteria bloom, I guess the cycle is started. LOL)

















Thanks for looking!
Nate


----------



## Holokai (Jan 10, 2007)

Looking good!


----------



## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Looks very good.


----------



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Nice blyxa 
That thing should look ridiculously amazing in no time when that blyxa puffs up


----------



## nemosreef (Oct 19, 2007)

Tank is realy making progress and look great.


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks for the words of encouragement everyone! So far so good, now if the algae will honor our agreement not to bother each other. :hihi:


----------



## mgdmirage (Mar 30, 2009)

Looks great


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Well, I finally got some time this week to hang the lights. I used a shelf bracket and mounted the light mounted to it. I can raise or lower the light by either using the bolt and nut hangers or by raising and lowering the shelf itself. It turned out more secure than I was hoping for. The wall will fall before the light does! :biggrin: 
Alot more light spills into the room which is annoying but hopefully I will avoid the algae issues. I used Hoppys PAR/ Distance thread for reference where to hang them.










The bolt goes through the shelf and has washer and nut on top.










and finally a shot with the Rotala planted. It has been in for 2 weeks and is will be trimmed heavily this weekend to start the hedge/bush process. Had some melting issues with the Blyxa and it has thinned out alot Hopefully it has stopped now. It has definately slowed down.


----------



## chilled_fire (Jun 4, 2010)

the tanks looking really good, i didnt go throu all coments and I dont know if anybody mentioned tis but Rotala grows like crazy , needs trimming almost every week in my tank.
But even with out Rotala tank looked really nice !


----------



## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Lookin good Nate. Keep it up man.


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks for the replies and compliments! 

@Speedie- I just got the thing set up and I already want to dump it for a 120P THANKS!!!!$$$!!!!! LOL


----------



## DDA (Mar 11, 2010)

look good roud:


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

*Heeeellllp!*

Ok the HC is driving me nuts! Everyday I come home to find the HC floating and clogging the filter. I trimmed last week thinking that was what was causing the problem but still the problem persists. 
The filter flow doesnt appear to be too strong( I was actually considering adding a powerhead to hit a few areas with less flow)
Maybe the Flourite is just too course??
I like the look of the HC but I am ready to rip it out!

So 2 questions-
1.) Is it possible to add sand at this point to give the HC something denser to root in? Would this even be a benefit at this point?

2.) If getting this stuff to stay put wont happen, I would love some ideas for foreground plants that would do well in Flourite black. Something that isnt going to uproot all the time and would look good with the Blyxa and the rest of the plan. Tropica 049 maybe?
Thanks for any input!!!


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

*Update*

Time for an update. 
We moved across town somewhat unexpectedly and though I was a little nervous to move it things went well. The plants didn't seem to even notice.
I lost some of the HC due to uprooting but now it seems to stay in place as it is held down by some string algae. :icon_roll Win some you lose some. lol
I planted some Staurogyne in the foreground. Eventually I may end up just taking out the HC as it just sucks to maintain it. It does add some nice contrasting texture though so I dunno.
Other than that things have looked great. No other algae at all and the plants are pearling like crazy. The Rotala is due for a haircut and a good shaping this week.
Just got some 5 Sterbai cory and 6 Oto's in QT getting ready to go in as well. 
Thanks for looking!








The tropica 049


----------



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

Wow looking great. I suggest moving some of the rocks closer together, they look to organized and would look better if you had several bunches of rocks.


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Lil' Swimz$ said:


> Wow looking great. I suggest moving some of the rocks closer together, they look to organized and would look better if you had several bunches of rocks.


 Thanks,
Yep, I was warned by Speedie that the rocks were going to hide and they did. We have alot of Manzanita here and I have been wondering what it might look like instead of the rocks...hmmmmmmm


----------



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

Oh wow sorry, I only saw the first page, didn't realize this was longer, sorry about that.
Best of luck! Will read whole journal know


----------



## MissMTS (Oct 8, 2008)

Your tank looks fantastic Nate  I really like the simplicity of just using a few species of plants. I had a really hard time with HC when I tried it... I couldn't ever get it to stay rooted. Yours looks great though. If you can get it to cooperate with you it looks really nice as it is. The Starougyne is a really neat plant. I am loving mine... the shape is so unique and they grow pretty quickly and seem to be very low maintenance. I can't wait to see the sterbai in your tank once they get out of quarantine.


----------



## ghotifish (Feb 16, 2009)

Thanks for your help with my algae. I like your tank - you've got the Blyxa carpet I've been going for....mine always just starts looking good and then some problem hits and they melt back to almost nothing...wash rinse repeat...


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

MissMTS said:


> Your tank looks fantastic Nate  I really like the simplicity of just using a few species of plants.


Thanks! It is difficult to limit the plant count. My last tank was 1/2 the size and 3 times as many species. LOL



ghotifish said:


> Thanks for your help with my algae. I like your tank - you've got the Blyxa carpet I've been going for....mine always just starts looking good and then some problem hits and they melt back to almost nothing...wash rinse repeat...


 Thanks. I meant to compliment yours as well. Its a jungle!
The Blyxa has been the lowest maintenance for me so far. The HC on the other hand ...grrrr.


----------



## audioaficionado (Apr 19, 2011)

Nate, how's that tank coming along?


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Hey Audio, sorry I missed your post there!I was just coming in to post an update as it has been far too long. 
Well, the tank took a bit of a dive due to some thread algae which got into my HC. When I tried to clean it up it just tore the HC out as well. It got into the Rotala as well. The tank never really recovered from it. I tore most of the plants out a month or so ago and saved some of the Blyxa but that was all. 
I ended up raising my lights a ton more after following Hoppys threads. I am becoming a firm believer that less is more with lighting. Since raising the light and dialing in the Co2 the algae is all but gone. (at least for now)
I planted some Narrow Leaf Java Fern, various crypts, and a ton of fissidens fontanus. I am currently waiting for this to grow out. I am really just concentrating on plant growth and less on landscaping at this point. I am also getting a ton of Sterbai Cory eggs though I have not actually had any Fry as of yet. The blue background is going away next weekend.


----------



## TwoStrokeKing (Mar 24, 2011)

Those stands look professional! nicely done.


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Long over due for an update.....still no sterbai fry but they are still laying eggs. The tank has grown a ton since the last post! I had no idea until I accidentally clicked on my sig. LOL
Anyway on to the goods...


----------



## frenchymasters (Nov 28, 2011)

do you collect the eggs after they lay them? if not they are just going to keep eating them.


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

frenchymasters said:


> do you collect the eggs after they lay them? if not they are just going to keep eating them.


 I collect them on and off. They turn white after a few days though. I have experimented with waterflow over the egg surface (which I have read can keep them from going bad) No luck...any ideas let me know!
Nate


----------



## dragonsong93 (Nov 25, 2011)

WOW!! Stunning tank, really amazing.


----------



## [email protected] (Nov 7, 2010)

Tank looks great. the Narrow Leaf java fern has taken off.




Nate McFin said:


> I collect them on and off. They turn white after a few days though. I have experimented with waterflow over the egg surface (which I have read can keep them from going bad) No luck...any ideas let me know!
> Nate


 When i raise my corys i put the eggs either in another small tank or in one of those liver breeder plastic things. The next thing i do put an air stone (connected to air pump) in which creates flow.


Also, How do get you eggs out of the tank, so you scrape them with a razor or do you use your fingers, because you might be squashing them. ( I use my fingers).

HTH.


----------



## frenchymasters (Nov 28, 2011)

Nate McFin said:


> I collect them on and off. They turn white after a few days though. I have experimented with waterflow over the egg surface (which I have read can keep them from going bad) No luck...any ideas let me know!
> Nate


alder cones help keep them from going bad but if they keep turning white they may not be fertile but also if you have good ones and the bad ones keep infecting them then i would try methalaine blue or alder cones


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

frenchymasters said:


> alder cones help keep them from going bad but if they keep turning white they may not be fertile but also if you have good ones and the bad ones keep infecting them then i would try methalaine blue or alder cones.
> I have read about methaline blue but I have not tried it yet. I had not heard of alder cones, after a little research it looks like a good way to go. Thanks!





[email protected] said:


> Tank looks great. the Narrow Leaf java fern has taken off.
> 
> 
> 
> ...





dragonsong93 said:


> WOW!! Stunning tank, really amazing.


 Thanks!


----------



## ghotifish (Feb 16, 2009)

I like your light hanging setup. I've been thinking that my light was too high for a while now. Can light that is too high lead to slow growth? We've had injected CO2, good flow and filtration, and T5HOs since the tank started - and never had the fast growth that other folks seem to get. (Don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily mind not having 
to trim ever 5 days). My wife settled on using window screen directly over the light over half the tank to deal with some algae on our anubias, but that setup you've got looks pretty sweet too. 

Your setup has grown in nice, you should post another recent picture. Good luck on the cory eggs.


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

ghotifish said:


> I like your light hanging setup. I've been thinking that my light was too high for a while now. Can light that is too high lead to slow growth? We've had injected CO2, good flow and filtration, and T5HOs since the tank started - and never had the fast growth that other folks seem to get. (Don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily mind not having
> to trim ever 5 days). My wife settled on using window screen directly over the light over half the tank to deal with some algae on our anubias, but that setup you've got looks pretty sweet too.
> 
> Your setup has grown in nice, you should post another recent picture. Good luck on the cory eggs.


Thanks for stopping in Ghotifish! 
I have never heard of too high of light causing slow growth with the exception of if the high light causes a deficiency of ferts or co2. Which obviously happens all the time. I have been alot happier with my tank since I bumped it up a few notches. I always felt like I was chasing my tail with algae/deficiency and bad growth. Now the growth is slower (I am good with that) and I dont see nearly the problems with algae I used to.

The last pic in my thread is is from last week. So it fairly recent. :biggrin:
I will be watching your thread to see how things turn out for ya. 
Good luck!
Nate


----------



## Doc7 (Apr 7, 2011)

Subscribed. Great tank.

I'm looking into going to more powerful lighting that is suspended higher above the tank, much like yours. That way there will be more even lighting throughout the tank instead of high lighting at the top and very low lighting at the bottom; this recently bit me when I did a major trim and it took a LONG time for the stems to recover, allowing algae to get a pretty good start in my tank.

How bad's the light spillage with your setup? I have my couch to watch TV from right next to the tank so I'm not sure if the T5HOs would be blinding while laying on it. Amazing the kinds of things you need to think about before messing around with the dang fish tank in the living room!


----------



## Nate McFin (Mar 19, 2009)

Doc7 said:


> Subscribed. Great tank.
> 
> I'm looking into going to more powerful lighting that is suspended higher above the tank, much like yours. That way there will be more even lighting throughout the tank instead of high lighting at the top and very low lighting at the bottom; this recently bit me when I did a major trim and it took a LONG time for the stems to recover, allowing algae to get a pretty good start in my tank.
> 
> How bad's the light spillage with your setup? I have my couch to watch TV from right next to the tank so I'm not sure if the T5HOs would be blinding while laying on it. Amazing the kinds of things you need to think about before messing around with the dang fish tank in the living room!


 Thanks for subscribing!

Sorry for the late reply, I have been busy on the dendroboard researching a dart frog tank.:icon_mrgr

I am due for an update soon here. Today is maintenance day so I will see if I cant add a few new pics. 

There is alot of light spillage which I got used to pretty quick. If I was laying right next to it, it might be different. I know what you mean about all the different aspects of the tank beyond the livestock. I spent a LONG time researching before building. It really will pay off for you. 
I am off to check out your thread...:thumbsup:

-Nate


----------



## Doc7 (Apr 7, 2011)

Nate McFin said:


> Thanks for subscribing!
> 
> Sorry for the late reply, I have been busy on the dendroboard researching a dart frog tank.:icon_mrgr
> 
> ...



How high above the tank rim would you say the bulbs are now?

I am thinking of building a tank canopy before I get the HO lights so I don't need to deal with excess light spillage. I'll probably need to put together a mockup first though because if it's as tall as I think it may need to be (for lights to be ...28"? above the substrate, or 12" above the tank) that might end up making the 40B look a bit "Squashed"

I would hate to build the canopy and it is just insanely too far tall, or, much worse yet, it is too short and I would need to build a new one to raise the lights higher. It looks like yours might be about 21" off the substrate? Just guessing from using a ruler on my monitor on a picture in another thread you posted in, and making some comparisons to distances on my 40B.


----------



## sketch804 (Mar 2, 2011)

great looking 40breeder here! Very well put together and aquascaped! I really like the use of open space in the middle of this one..cant wait to see more..


----------

