# 5' Rimless - The Malaysian Driftwood Installation



## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I have been picking away at this project for a little while: building a light mount, gathering equipment, etc... Just this evening I was finally able to get the tank itself onto the stand (it has been in the garage waiting on sufficient muscle and planning to make the move into the house). I figure this is a good time to start a journal.

Here's where things stand as of this evening:




























Some of you may be familiar with this space, as it is the same spot that previously housed a 68g chronicled in this tank journal. As I came to realize (and note in that journal), this is the best spot in my house for a larger tank due to the arrangement of floor joists for the main level, which sits above a full unfinished basement. Ultimately, as much as I loved that tank, it was a missed opportunity for the space. I finished that project on a high note and took it down to make room for this five-footer. This tank size is a much better fit.

I already knew I was going to put a bigger tank in this space when I found this truly massive piece of driftwood at my local fish shop. Once I had the wood, the contours of the project started to take shape. For example, I was going to need spot lighting from about 90" off the floor. There will be no lid. There will be the potential for emergent growth and/or a mixed aquatic and terrestrial planting. Many things are still unknown, but they're starting to fall into place. One thing at a time!

First - the name of the tank journal should reflect the absurdity of the wood's proportions. Check.

Next is plumbing.

Then, hardscape.

More (much more) to come.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

Nice setup and great looking space! What size tank is this and where did you get it?

Looking forward to seeing where you go with it.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> Nice setup and great looking space! What size tank is this and where did you get it?
> 
> Looking forward to seeing where you go with it.


Thanks! It's supposed to be a dining room, but after several attempts, we decided we just aren't dining room people. Works much better as a sitting room for us.

It's a Waterbox brand tank measuring 60"L x 25"W x 22"H (130G). While the waterbox tanks don't have the beveled corners, the glass and silicone work are just as nice as UNS (we also have a 90U and a 50G waterbox), and they're not so hard to come by. I ordered this on their website when it was back-ordered, and it was in my garage two weeks later.


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## robmcd (Sep 8, 2020)

Where did you score a piece of MDW that big??


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

robmcd said:


> Where did you score a piece of MDW that big??


Got it from Exotic Aquatics in Boulder, Colorado.


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## dantimdad (Oct 17, 2007)

What lighting is that?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

dantimdad said:


> What lighting is that?


Those are Kessil a360x lights with 35 degree reflectors. 

They are pricey, and there are things I don't love about them, but I already had two of them from the tank I took down to make room for this one. I also needed whatever lights I used to be really high off the water while also not blinding someone sitting on the couch. In the end they were the obvious (maybe only?) choice for my situation.


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## Griznatch (Nov 9, 2020)

This going to be an awesome tank. That piece of wood is perfect for the tank.


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Those are Kessil a360x lights with 35 degree reflectors.
> 
> They are pricey, and there are things I don't love about them, but I already had two of them from the tank I took down to make room for this one. I also needed whatever lights I used to be really high off the water while also not blinding someone sitting on the couch. In the end they were the obvious (maybe only?) choice for my situation.


Are there any other lights that you would try? I'm considering turning my 22-long into a paludarium with the lights about three feet away from the water surface. I'm trying to figure out what lighting would work at that distance or if I just need to put lighting directly over tank.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Griznatch said:


> This going to be an awesome tank. That piece of wood is perfect for the tank.


Thanks - I hope so! It's a really inspiring hunk of wood, but it makes every aspect of the build really challenging.

At the moment I'm puzzling over the in-tank intake and return plumbing. It's tricky when there's a giant oar-shaped obstacle jutting through the flow zone! (I did this to myself...)


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

gjcarew said:


> Are there any other lights that you would try? I'm considering turning my 22-long into a paludarium with the lights about three feet away from the water surface. I'm trying to figure out what lighting would work at that distance or if I just need to put lighting directly over tank.


Hmmm. I think that, depending on how much intensity you need and how much spill is allowable, you could have lots of options. Are you thinking the lights would be mounted to the top of an enclosure itself, or on some other sort of mount?


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Hmmm. I think that, depending on how much intensity you need and how much spill is allowable, you could have lots of options. Are you thinking the lights would be mounted to the top of an enclosure itself, or on some other sort of mount?


It would be nice to mount them to the top of the enclosure to provide an unobstructed view. If that is unrealistic though, I could always look at mounting a light closer to the water surface. Light level would ideally be at least medium (let's say 30 par at substrate). I don't want to do one of those paluldariums where the water part is neglected, I want it to be lush from the bottom up.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

gjcarew said:


> It would be nice to mount them to the top of the enclosure to provide an unobstructed view. If that is unrealistic though, I could always look at mounting a light closer to the water surface. Light level would ideally be at least medium (let's say 30 par at substrate). I don't want to do one of those paluldariums where the water part is neglected, I want it to be lush from the bottom up.


Yeah, I think mounting high off the water without a ton of spill and lots of lost par is tricky without a way to concentrate the light. I'm not sure what I would have done for this tank if I couldn't use those really narrow beam reflectors...


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## dantimdad (Oct 17, 2007)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Those are Kessil a360x lights with 35 degree reflectors.
> 
> They are pricey, and there are things I don't love about them, but I already had two of them from the tank I took down to make room for this one. I also needed whatever lights I used to be really high off the water while also not blinding someone sitting on the couch. In the end they were the obvious (maybe only?) choice for my situation.



I thought maybe they were kessils but the reflectors threw me. I am teetering on the edge between a160we and AI prime 16hd for my 12 foot tank. I will need 5 of whatever I get.

Thanks for the reply.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

dantimdad said:


> I thought maybe they were kessils but the reflectors threw me. I am teetering on the edge between a160we and AI prime 16hd for my 12 foot tank. I will need 5 of whatever I get.
> 
> Thanks for the reply.


I see. For what it's worth, I have an AI prime, and that thing is _loud._ You might see if you can see/hear one in person before committing to having five of them going at once.

Even at middling output levels the fan will kick on at full speed sometimes.


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## dantimdad (Oct 17, 2007)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I see. For what it's worth, I have an AI prime, and that thing is _loud._ You might see if you can see/hear one in person before committing to having five of them going at once.
> 
> Even at middling output levels the fan will kick on at full speed sometimes.


I have one on a nano reef. I don't notice the noise on my desk. But, then again, it's on my left side and the hearing in that ear is going. LOL


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

dantimdad said:


> I have one on a nano reef. I don't notice the noise on my desk. But, then again, it's on my left side and the hearing in that ear is going. LOL


Interesting! Maybe I got a bad one... I do really like the quality of the light from them, and they have a nice form factor.


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## dantimdad (Oct 17, 2007)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Interesting! Maybe I got a bad one... I do really like the quality of the light from them, and they have a nice form factor.


I will know soon. I have 3 more coming for my reef tank install and I will fire them up all at once and listen with my good ear. If they are loud, they go back.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Leak tested! 8 year old for scale...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Plumbing progress!

Today I finished the return assembly and tied it into the line I attached to the wall prior to getting the tank and stand situated.

Here's the return assembly, which is designed to hang on the end of the tank:



















Note that since they will be completely in the tank, the return 'jets' (the 90deg elbows on the very ends) are not cemented and can be adjusted for depth or direction.

Here it is all tied in:



















The intake assembly is next, but I need to order some parts before I can start (I ended up changing the return design at the last minute and stole some fittings that were to be used for the intake). I hope to get that going next weekend.


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## cramdub (Oct 4, 2021)

Nice, but lots of hard 90o bends for pressure drop!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

cramdub said:


> Nice, but lots of hard 90o bends for pressure drop!


I'll be running a high pressure booster pump in line. So it's all good


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## Griznatch (Nov 9, 2020)

Looking good so far, love the 8 year old for scale


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

An 8 year old makes a poor benchmark as they grow very fast even without CO2


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> An 8 year old makes a poor benchmark as they grow very fast even without CO2


Seriously. Even with my low tech setup he grows like a weed!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Plumbing progress!

Last night I finished the intake assembly and this evening I was able to get the pump and canister plumbed in and everything running.

The assembly has a deep water intake (I ended up using a Fluval FX piece for this) and a skimmer. The skimmer currently has black schedule 40 for the upright portion (stand pipe? nesting pipe?) but I'll be replacing it with clear sch 40 when it arrives. The bobber itself was taken from a Jardli skimmer. I had to add a bit of pipe insulation to keep it buoyant with the level of throughput I've got.










Since the beginning I've planned to have a naked-but-clean mechanical aesthetic. Kind of like naked style motorcycles where the mechanicals aren't hidden behind a fairing, but it's still sexy. I maybe wish I'd used black sch 40 for the intake assembly, but I can always replace it down the line if I don't get used to it.





































I'm currently just running the canister and pump for testing. Still need to install the heater, sterilizer, and reactor.










All in all the plumbing works as intended. Whether or not this will yield good circular (rectangular?) flow with all the hardscape in place remains to be seen...

More to come.


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

Wow. Really great. Enjoying following along here.


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

I love it that you made your own skimmer.

Can you say something about the booster pump? Is it DC and controllable? On the filter output side? Quiet?
I would consider one for my 75g so that I could split my return and get better flow along the back of my tank. Although my tank is very stable right now and I am hesitant to mess with the balance.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

I like your idea for dealing with filtration. Instead of trying to hide it, make it obvious and just make it clean. And you did make it clean! My own engine room is a mess on my larger tank ;P 

If you have the option I would definitely make everything in the tank black including that stand pipe for the skimmer. Reason being is algae. On my newt tank I have some regular white pvc on the return to create a diy skimmer. It collects algae like mad and frankly is mostly uncleanable. I mean I scrub it but the pvc is porous enough that the algae has settled into the pores and is now resistant to all scrubbing. I kind of gave up and will be replacing it with a different configuration down the line. Black pvc on the other hand is much more likely to hide green algae then light gray and certainly more then clear pieces. 

The scrubbing issues is one reason why the only equipment in my big tank are stainless steel lily pipes. The skimmer piece is clear acrylic. If it was possible to make that stainless steel I would leap at the chance. As it is I am debating buying a whole different set of lily pipes just to get a skimmer unit that is made of black plastic instead. I am guessing you want to preserve the 1" diameter of piping all the way through and to my knowledge no one makes 1" steel lily pipes. So if you wanted to take full advantage of your flow you would need 2 sets of steel pipes and a couple of splitters.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> I love it that you made your own skimmer.
> 
> Can you say something about the booster pump? Is it DC and controllable? On the filter output side? Quiet?
> I would consider one for my 75g so that I could split my return and get better flow along the back of my tank. Although my tank is very stable right now and I am hesitant to mess with the balance.


Sure!

It is a DC controllable pump with 1300gph Max flow and 12' head height (i.e., flow won't decrease easily with increased pressure). It's extremely quiet, but...



Spoiler















So, yeah, dropped some coin on a ultra quiet german return pump for this tank, but that wouldn't have been needed for a smaller tank... This tank is just big enough that the Eheim universal AC pumps I like (and which are bullet-proof and relatively cheap) wouldn't do it.

The DC pumps are tricky because they can be quieter than an Eheim in a raw decibel sense, but the sound can be much less... organic? The Eheims have a hum that is pretty quiet after they break in and which doesn't bother me at all. I have an Echo Tech Marine DC pump in the living room for example that is 'quiet' but the sound it does put out is pretty high pitched and not my favorite.

As for its placement - the pump is immediately after the canister (on the canister out) and will be right before the reactor. The reactor will then go to the sterilizer which will go to the heater which will go to the hard pipe return line. There are a few reasons for that placement. First is that canister keeps debris out of the pump. Also, the pump in the FX4 is in the bottom of the canister (rather than in the canister head which is more typical), which makes priming the system super simple. To start up the system from scratch I have to fill the FX 'bucket' with water and turn it on. It pumps out the entire contents of the canister before it starts sucking wind, so it starts the syphon on the intake line without me having to do anything special. Once the air is mostly out of the line I can turn on the booster pump and turn off the FX. This placement also allows me to generate some pressure in the reactor which is useful for dissolution and keeping the noise down.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> I like your idea for dealing with filtration. Instead of trying to hide it, make it obvious and just make it clean. And you did make it clean! My own engine room is a mess on my larger tank ;P
> 
> If you have the option I would definitely make everything in the tank black including that stand pipe for the skimmer. Reason being is algae. On my newt tank I have some regular white pvc on the return to create a diy skimmer. It collects algae like mad and frankly is mostly uncleanable. I mean I scrub it but the pvc is porous enough that the algae has settled into the pores and is now resistant to all scrubbing. I kind of gave up and will be replacing it with a different configuration down the line. Black pvc on the other hand is much more likely to hide green algae then light gray and certainly more then clear pieces.
> 
> The scrubbing issues is one reason why the only equipment in my big tank are stainless steel lily pipes. The skimmer piece is clear acrylic. If it was possible to make that stainless steel I would leap at the chance. As it is I am debating buying a whole different set of lily pipes just to get a skimmer unit that is made of black plastic instead. I am guessing you want to preserve the 1" diameter of piping all the way through and to my knowledge no one makes 1" steel lily pipes. So if you wanted to take full advantage of your flow you would need 2 sets of steel pipes and a couple of splitters.


Thanks! Wasn't sure if it would be to any one else's liking, but I'm digging it.

I want the stand pipe specifically to be clear so I can see how low the air is getting pulled. But, yeah, It will get the funk. I'm going to see how the grey plays out once it's all planted since I'm thinking it's going to be pretty jungly on that left side, and there may just not be enough light on it to be a problem.


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## Bootsy (Jul 4, 2021)

Aquatic structural expressionism!

Love it.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Bootsy said:


> Aquatic structural expressionism!
> 
> Love it.


::Googles structural expressionism::










Yes!

Now I wish I'd gone all in and used blue pipe...


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## Bootsy (Jul 4, 2021)

Move over nature aquariums and Dutch scapes!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

TUUUUUUUUBES!










Okay, this is the first time I've done an entire build with 1" tube. It takes up a lot of space...


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

I especially like the small glass with a "beverage" and ice in it!


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> TUUUUUUUUBES!
> 
> View attachment 1033893
> 
> ...


Lol now that's the kind of spaghetti nest I would expect from an all inline critter. I hope the drink is suitably celebratory!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I was happy to see that the inline heater (build thread here) is performing well this morning...










The tank was reading 65° when I filled it yesterday afternoon, and it was pretty chilly on the main level overnight. It's holding steady at 78° this morning.

I also verified yesterday that placing the thermometer inside the housing was a good choice when I turned off the pump for a while and forgot to turn off the heater... Oops. In any case, it shut off as expected!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

We have cabinet doors!










I left them off while I was doing all the mechanical work, but now that's complete. This really feels like an inflection point... on to the hardscape!

Also, the 'clear' PVC came in today, so I replaced the black stand pipe with a section of it. I like being able to see, but this is not clear. It is purple. One of these days I'm going to get some legit clear 90deg elbows for the return jets (two sets so I can just wash the dirty set in the dishwasher and always have another ready to go) - I'll pick up some for real clear 3/4" for the stand pipe then. 

In any case, it's nice to be able to see how the skimmer is doing. As you can see, it really pulls down low. In fact, the whole system is power-limited by the skimmer. If I turn the pump up much higher, the skimmer will start sucking wind. I could add some slits to the stand pipe to give me a little more wiggle room, but I suspect this will be enough flow (though it's always hard to tell without anything in the tank). 

Ideally, I would have a larger diameter stand pipe and floating weir, though it's tricky to do with off-the-shelf PVC sizes as only certain combinations nest very snugly. Something to fiddle with down the road I guess.


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## Griznatch (Nov 9, 2020)

Looking great so far. Not sure I've seen a prettier set up with nothing in it before


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Griznatch said:


> Looking great so far. Not sure I've seen a prettier set up with nothing in it before


Ha - thanks! I hope I don't screw it up!


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

[QUOTE="EmotionalFescue, post: 11430039, member: 408051"

In any case, it's nice to be able to see how the skimmer is doing. As you can see, it really pulls down low. In fact, the whole system is power-limited by the skimmer. If I turn the pump up much higher, the skimmer will start sucking wind. I could add some slits to the stand pipe to give me a little more wiggle room, but I suspect this will be enough flow (though it's always hard to tell without anything in the tank).[/QUOTE]

How about adding a "Y" to your return plumbing and positioning a second non-skimmer return in the opposite rear corner? That seems like a long tank to just have the one return at one end.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> How about adding a "Y" to your return plumbing and positioning a second non-skimmer return in the opposite rear corner? That seems like a long tank to just have the one return at one end.


There are two on the left side, but I take your point.

Originally I was thinking I might have a spraybar on the right side pointing straight down the glass in addition to the returns on the left, but I decided against it for aesthetic reasons. That evolved into having one return in the front left corner and one about halfway down the back glass pointing to the far right. I actually got as far as building the assembly before deciding I just didn't like how it looked.

I'm all about good flow as a key to a successful tank, so I am going to pay close attention to it, but I've decided that if I have flow issues, I will fix them with one or two magnetic power heads instead of additional return plumbing. To get ones that will work with the thickness of this glass will cost me an arm and a leg, so I'd rather not go there, but we'll see.


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

I wanted to add one small powerhead to help push flow across the back of my 75g tank but I have a lot of neo shrimp and did not want to make bouillabaisse out of my tank water. I have one Oase 600 and the plants are doing well so I decided to leave well enough alone.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> I wanted to add one small powerhead to help push flow across the back of my 75g tank but I have a lot of neo shrimp and did not want to make bouillabaisse out of my tank water. I have one Oase 600 and the plants are doing well so I decided to leave well enough alone.


The most success I've had with planted tanks has been when I've used a spraybar. That wasn't going to work with this tank because of the giant emergent wood. So I'm a bit nervous, but I feel pretty good about the power head backup plan. 

I'm going to have shrimp as well, but you can buy 3d printed pump guards to help prevent making shrimp soup, so I'll probably have to do that.


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> ...but you can buy 3d printed pump guards to help prevent making shrimp soup, so I'll probably have to do that.


Cool. Do you have a link for a source? Thanks.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> Cool. Do you have a link for a source? Thanks.


Here's the one I was looking at. It fits the specific powerhead I was looking at... Not sure about similar items for other heads.


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## Njroth (Dec 23, 2020)

This build is so epic. Really enjoying following along. Cant wait to see how it turns out!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Njroth said:


> This build is so epic. Really enjoying following along. Cant wait to see how it turns out!


I'm glad you're enjoying it!

There's still so much to do... I'll keep posting about the twists and turns along the way.


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## buggyInteger (Aug 24, 2021)

_Really_ like it so far, those photos look super professional! 😄
Don't know if you mentioned it before, but do you have any plans regarding livestock yet? Or are you just going to go with the flow? 🙂


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

buggyInteger said:


> _Really_ like it so far, those photos look super professional! 😄
> Don't know if you mentioned it before, but do you have any plans regarding livestock yet? Or are you just going to go with the flow? 🙂


Thank you!

I'm really drawn to rainbow fish and was thinking about a school of a smaller, non praecox species. Their group dynamic is too fun.

I also really like Denison barbs aka Roseline sharks. I have never kept them but often see them in communities with rainbows. Looks like they're endangered, however, so idk.

Now that I have a relationship with a local shop owner who said he'll always take cories, cories! Plus a healthy troup of amanos. 

I'm not going to try and stock all at once though... I'm going to set up a quarantine tank which I'll use to stock this tank in batches.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Made a little progress on the hardscape today.

I mounted the wood to slate (2 layered 1'x2' pieces) and got it into the tank.










Pokemon comforter for glass protection...










This gives a view of the usable planting space around the backside of the wood:



































Next I need to figure out what I'm going to use for rock. I'll be using that and waterfall foam to segregate planting and open beach areas. I've got a fair bit of local river rock, so I could go scavenge some more of that, or use something from the rock yard. My wife used mixed sizes of granite riprap in one of her tanks and it looks great. So, that might be an option. I'll be going out of town in a week and a half, so the rock may have to wait. Figured I'd get the wood soaking in the meantime.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Now that I've got the wood in there, I've got lots of little bits floating around the water, and I can get a better sense of my flow situation... I think it's good!

I've got nice currents shooting past the emergent wood, and - critically - I can see a nice, gentle, and consistent flow along the bottom from right to left, back toward the intake.



Spoiler


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

added the accessory piece of wood back in on its own slate. I think it will help tie the room together once planted.


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

Don't talk to me or my son ever again

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

gjcarew said:


> Don't talk to me or my son ever again
> 
> Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk


?

I don't think I've ever talked to you at all, so I'm going to assume you meant to post this somewhere else.


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

Sorry, it's a dumb meme referring to your big piece of wood and your big piece of wood's "son." Sometimes I forget not everyone hangs out in the same weird corners of the internet as I do.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

gjcarew said:


> Sorry, it's a dumb meme referring to your big piece of wood and your big piece of wood's "son." Sometimes I forget not everyone hangs out in the same weird corners of the internet as I do.
> 
> Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk


Oh lol - my bad.

I just asked my daughter, "do the words 'dont talk to me or my son ever again', mean anything to you?". She goes, is that that meme? Ha!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I pulled the canister out today so I could fill it with floss, and while I had it out I snapped a pic of the cabinet.










It's a bit easier in this picture to see how the water treatment system is designed to be modular. The system has three modules, each of which can be removed with the tank and lines wet: (1) the canister, (2) the pump and reactor, and (3) the sterilizer and heater. The cam-lock couplers and ball valves (i.e., DIY 1" quick connects) take up a lot of real estate, but they were critical for this kind of modularity.

_Edit to note that that the rag under the pump intake isn't to catch a leak - it's just to keep the pump from tipping under the weight of the input hose._

And, just for fun, here's the tank shot:










This hobby is not for the impatient (or, even better, it's good therapy for the impatient ::raises hand:: ).

Onward!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I decided to try a little experiment...

The wood is leaching massive amounts of tannins. Intuitively, I feel like it will be done doing that sooner if I provide fresh water rather than leaving it to marinate in its own juices, so to speak. I don't know - can the water reach a saturation point with respect to tannins? In any case, fresh water feels like the right move. 

Instead of doing a bunch of water changes, I thought I would put my reactor to use for it's intended purpose as a filter. I happened to have an empty media canister on the shelf of everything in the basement, so I picked up some carbon, filled it up and installed it in the housing.










So what do we think? Will it clear the water, which currently looks like this?










If so, how long will it take?

I have no idea? Let's see!


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

Carbon, Purigen and ...water changes.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> Carbon, Purigen and ...water changes.


I'm gonna see if I can get by with just the first of those!

There's like two liters of carbon in there.

I'm not morally opposed to water changes or anything, but I'm curious. Plus I'm about to go out of town for a week, so I might as well let it run and see what happens.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

It honestly looks like you are experiencing a bacteria bloom with the cloudy water. So it probably will clear up in a few days as things balance out. I have wondered about the same thing as you, whether water-changes changes anything or is it just time that gets the tannins out. When I boil wood I don't change the water but it gets all the tannins out. But then again in that situation the wood IS being boiled. /shrug


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> It honestly looks like you are experiencing a bacteria bloom with the cloudy water. So it probably will clear up in a few days as things balance out. I have wondered about the same thing as you, whether water-changes changes anything or is it just time that gets the tannins out. When I boil wood I don't change the water but it gets all the tannins out. But then again in that situation the wood IS being boiled. /shrug


Having recently had a bacterial bloom, I definity think it's the wood leaching. I suppose it could be both since it wasn't boiled. I could turn on the sterilizer but then my experiment would be tainted! Lol


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Okay, the experiment seemed to be working, but I got impatient after I realized I had way more river rock on the hardscape shelf than I realized...

The plan here is to have sand in front of the rocks and planting substrate (I'm thinking a thin layer of aquasoil capped with black flourite) behind. I'm going to fill the gaps in the rocks with black waterfall foam to maintain good separation between the two zones.










I will be adding smaller rocks down to fine gravel to make the wall look less wall like, but that will wait until the sand is in. I'm sure there will be much fiddling.










Here's what the planting zones look like:



















and here's the view from the couch:










I've also decided I really want a school of Denison Barbs. I'm thinking a dozen. I'll also have a school of Cories and a troup of Amanos. Maybe a pleco to eat the Cory eggs. I dunno, they can make such a mess...

Anyway, that's where things stand!


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> The plan here is to have sand in front of the rocks and planting substrate (I'm thinking a thin layer of aquasoil capped with black flourite) behind. I'm going to fill the gaps in the rocks with black waterfall foam to maintain good separation between the two zones.
> 
> I will be adding smaller rocks down to fine gravel to make the wall look less wall like, but that will wait until the sand is in. I'm sure there will be much fiddling.


Beach in front and root plants in the back. Good plan, especially if you have schooling fish. Also good for feeding as most of the food can be dropped in front where the cleanup crew can get to it easily and you can hoover it up on water change day.

What plants will you grow on the branches out of the water?

Following with great interest!


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

Looks nice! River stones make it very chill.

Because I didn't want to police substrate in my 75 gallon, I made the substrate homogeneous, all pool filter sand. I am so glad I did, probably the best decision I made with that tank. Especially seeing my pygmy corries and apistos move the substrate around. Unless you want to spend all your time moving the black substrate to the back, I'd suggest doing the same. Inert substrate is just fine as long as you're dosing the water.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> Beach in front and root plants in the back. Good plan, especially if you have schooling fish. Also good for feeding as most of the food can be dropped in front where the cleanup crew can get to it easily and you can hoover it up on water change day.
> 
> What plants will you grow on the branches out of the water?
> 
> Following with great interest!


Yeah I tried the multiple substrates in one tank thing before and it didn't work out so well, but I'm trying to be much more careful about it this time.

I'm not sure about the terrestrial plants... There are lots of vines that could work, but it could easily end up looking kinda derpy, especially if there aren't epiphytes below the water to tie it all together. 

I'm gonna tread lightly there and will probably just start with the aquatic plants. Even there I think I'll probably probably plant in phases, starting with rooted plants and adding epiphytes later.

Thanks for following along and asking questions! It's great to be able to discuss the ins and outs of a big project with like minded folks.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> Looks nice! River stones make it very chill.
> 
> Because I didn't want to police substrate in my 75 gallon, I made the substrate homogeneous, all pool filter sand. I am so glad I did, probably the best decision I made with that tank. Especially seeing my pygmy corries and apistos move the substrate around. Unless you want to spend all your time moving the black substrate to the back, I'd suggest doing the same. Inert substrate is just fine as long as you're dosing the water.


I have trauma over substrates mixing in a prior tank, so I feel ya on this... But I've put a lot of thought into it on this project, and when it comes right down to it, I just don't want huge swaths of light substrate. Just not the look I want for this. But I also really want sand... SO, I'm trying to be very proactive about it and make design decisions that will limit mixing.

First is making the separation as seamless as possible, that's where the polyurethane foam comes in. I don't have a lot of experience with the stuff, but it can do what I need. Just need to take it slow.

Second is the choice of planting substrate. When I had a problem before I was using stratum. That stuff is just too light, and it got kicked around by fish and water currents way too easily. Flourite is heavy and jagged, so it locks together well and won't blow around.

No risk, no reward!


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

Waterfall foam is definitely a good option, but have you thought about stuffing filter floss in the gaps from behind? That gives you a little more flexibility if you decide to change the scape. It also holds substrate back very well and is invisible when done right, I've used it on previous scapes.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I have trauma over substrates mixing in a prior tank, so I feel ya on this... But I've put a lot of thought into it on this project, and when it comes right down to it, I just don't want huge swaths of light substrate. Just not the look I want for this. But I also really want sand... SO, I'm trying to be very proactive about it and make design decisions that will limit mixing.
> 
> First is making the separation as seamless as possible, that's where the polyurethane foam comes in. I don't have a lot of experience with the stuff, but it can do what I need. Just need to take it slow.
> 
> ...


The problem with the foam is that it will basically destroy the rocks for future scapes as it will stick to them forever or require you to do wacky things like use wire wheels in drills to clean the rocks in the future. Also foam is crazy sticky (think silicone sticky) so its easy to have a disaster. For instance, you will want to make sure the foam comes NOWHERE near a side wall. If it does you are in trouble. You can clean it off with a razer once it dried, but... I mean, it increases risk of scratching your tank as well as issues with it sticking to silicone seams etc etc.. Honestly I cringe when you say you are going to use it inside a rimless tank. I would also suggest filter foam/floss to separate your two sections.

I feel ya on not wanting wide swaths of just sand. A while back I had a 40 gallon where I tried to layer substrates. It didn't work but for a little while it looked super cool. Basically I had dirt, then safe-t-sorb then sand. The safe-t-sorb was lighter then the sand and came to the surface. Eventually it was the only thing you could see on the surface which was not the look I wanted. For a little while though there was sand and safe-t-sorb together on the surface and due to the fish moving it around as well as the flow of the tank, it ended up looking really really natural. I loved it. I am trying to recreate that look in my current tank with a few handfuls of safe-t-sorb plopped down on the sand and I'm letting the currents and fish move it all wherever they want. This breaks up the solid sand.

Here is a picture from that old 40 breeder setup:


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

gjcarew said:


> Waterfall foam is definitely a good option, but have you thought about stuffing filter floss in the gaps from behind? That gives you a little more flexibility if you decide to change the scape. It also holds substrate back very well and is invisible when done right, I've used it on previous scapes.
> 
> Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk


All options are on the table! I'm going to start with the foam because I'm shooting for a rigid scape that can last the life of the livestock.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

@minorhero 

I think I left out some helpful context... My wife just recently finished this tank:










It's a 75s waterfall tank with a rock structure assembled with foam. I helped with the plumbing and some with the foam. 

We learned a lot about how to work with the stuff on that build. For example, it's super messy, less is more etc etc. One key lesson is to know that it will get on the tank and to just not worry about it until it's dry. Then it scrapes right off. Easy peasy.

But, DO NOT TRY TO DO ANY CLEANUP WHILE ITS WET.

I feel pretty good about the foam, but always reserve the right to change course if it doesn't go well!

Thanks for the input - much appreciated.


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

gjcarew said:


> Waterfall foam is definitely a good option, but have you thought about stuffing filter floss in the gaps from behind? That gives you a little more flexibility if you decide to change the scape. It also holds substrate back very well and is invisible when done right, I've used it on previous scapes.
> 
> Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk


I used filter floss to fill gaps between rocks and under and around wood on my 75g similarly. So far it has worked great. Very little aqua soil migrating to The Beach"...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I wasn't planning to do the foam today, but... I have no self control when I'm in the new tank build fugue.

Here it is, all foamed up:
































































It went really well. No big oops moments, and none got on the glass except for at the ends of the wall where I meant for it to. It takes some nuance for sure, but it was a really great experience overall.

I guess I need to get some substrate...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Reflooded.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Small update. I added sand tonight:










I also made a slight change to the (tank) return plumbing... after returning home from a weeklong trip, the tank had quite a bit of surface film. With the wood and rocks in place, the surface flow had some dead zones. As an alternative, I blocked the front return to see how it would change the flow. The result was a nice circular pattern both in the water column _and _on the surface, and by the next morning the surface was completely clear. Once I'm 100% settled on this approach, I'll modify the return assembly to remove the half that currently feeds the frontmost of the two returns.

Next is to acquire and install the planting substrate. I was originally leaning toward a light layer of aquasoil capped with black flourite. Now I'm leaning more toward just black flourite. I'm still thinking about what the planting might look like. More on that later...


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## niget2002 (Dec 20, 2020)

This is a really good setup. I like seeing/reading your choices and why you made them. I look forward to following along. I'm currently in the process of setting up a new tank myself and find myself making similar decisions.

I also like that you took over the dining room with a sitting area. We opted to not use the dining room in the latest house too. Instead we converted ours into the wife's art room. I'm thinking I should find somewhere else for her art room to be so I can take it over as an aquarium room 

I'm planning on doing a similar equipment setup for my tank. I'm starting to wonder if the fluval 307 will have enough pressure for the filter, heater, and reactor or if I should be considering a booster pump. I ran a Jebao DC-12000 on a previous tank and always like how quiet it was. I guess I'll start with what I have and see what happens.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

niget2002 said:


> This is a really good setup. I like seeing/reading your choices and why you made them. I look forward to following along. I'm currently in the process of setting up a new tank myself and find myself making similar decisions.
> 
> I also like that you took over the dining room with a sitting area. We opted to not use the dining room in the latest house too. Instead we converted ours into the wife's art room. I'm thinking I should find somewhere else for her art room to be so I can take it over as an aquarium room
> 
> I'm planning on doing a similar equipment setup for my tank. I'm starting to wonder if the fluval 307 will have enough pressure for the filter, heater, and reactor or if I should be considering a booster pump. I ran a Jebao DC-12000 on a previous tank and always like how quiet it was. I guess I'll start with what I have and see what happens.


Thank you. We just couldn't stand devoting an entire room of our house to a function we almost never utilized. But, in the end, I think _any room_ can be an aquarium room if you want it bad enough!

The booster pump concept has been a real game changer for me. It just gives you so much more flexibility for inline equipment and especially a reactor.


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## niget2002 (Dec 20, 2020)

We downsized when we moved into this house... basically loosing two rooms in the process, but gaining acreage and a 1300sq ft shop for all my toys. My office also houses my fish tank, so the 40 gallon is the largest I can cram in here. I tell people I traded a 120 gallon reef tank for the shop in the move.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

niget2002 said:


> We downsized when we moved into this house... basically loosing two rooms in the process, but gaining acreage and a 1300sq ft shop for all my toys. My office also houses my fish tank, so the 40 gallon is the largest I can cram in here. I tell people I traded a 120 gallon reef tank for the shop in the move.


Ah, I see. I'm sure it's worth it in the end. I would love to have a dedicated workshop!


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## cbnlibra (Oct 20, 2019)

nice tank!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

cbnlibra said:


> nice tank!


Thank you!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I placed the planting zone substrate this afternoon.





































I realized that I had a fair amount of seasoned tropica soil in the deep freeze, so I ended up putting down a decent layer of aqua soil which I then capped with black flourite. The two look surprisingly similar in terms of color and size, so eventual mixing shouldn't be an issue.

I guess I need to figure out my planting strategy! I have two general plans in mind... 

The first would employ vals on the back and left. These would ride the flow and drape across the length of the tank. The zone in front would then have crypts and some sort of shape- and color-contrasting ground cover. Maybe hydrocotyle tripartita? I might also try some needle leaf java fern on the heavy left end of the wood. The second option is... a lot of stems of some sort plus the java fern. I've been looking at Amano's book a lot, and I really like a lot of those early scapes with just a lot of variety of stems and ferns. I'm leaning toward the second option. I think the first could look cool, but it would utilize a lot of the same plants I've got in my other tank, and that seems kind of boring.

More to come.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I mentioned in the previous post being inspired by some vintage Amano tanks. Here are a couple that are really speaking to me:



















It's funny that I'm feeling these tanks so hard now, because it was Amano's later style (i.e., open sandy areas contrasting with elevated, rock-bordered planting zones punctuated with emergent wood) that in part inspired the hardscape.

So, here's where I think I'm at... 

I'm able to adjust the direction of my lights to keep the sandy areas illuminated but not blasted, the back lit intensely, and the front planting zone lightly lit. I think that something like the above could work for me. I'm thinking lots of anubias bushing out against the rocks in the lower lit portion of the planting zone. I would mix some cryp undulata red into that area as well. That plant will contrast the anubias nicely in terms of color and texture and will thrive in the lower light.

On the back of the big piece of wood and at the base of the smaller piece on the right, I'm thinking narrow leaf java fern. And along the back, various taller stems and maybe a sword or two.

Given how much of the 'look' will come from java fern and anubias, this scape will take a while to mature, requiring much patience from me. Stretch goals...


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

Will you adorn the wood or leave it bare for contrast?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> Will you adorn the wood or leave it bare for contrast?


I'm planning to attach fern and anubias to the wood near the base, but to leave the long branches bare.

I tend to scape in layers and stages, so my thinking may change once I've got the initial group of plants filled out.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Welp. Plants ordered. I just can't seem to cool my jets on this project... Although we are on the cusp of sustained freezing overnight lows in my area, so I was feeling the pressure a bit. Plant list under the spoiler.



Spoiler


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

With the arrival of a new chair, the sitting room project is nearly complete! 










It started about a year ago, looking like this:










I just need to get this tank planted... aaand get through the two or three months of new tank struggles. sigh. You've really got to want it with this hobby, huh?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Plants are coming on Friday, so I figured it's time to get the co2 figured out for this tank. With a freshly filled bottle, and the filter housing back in reactor mode, I'm ready to get this show on the road...










Our tap has really low kh, and the driftwood drags the pH down quite a bit (it is a pretty big piece of wood). Tap pH is ~7.3 and the degassed tank measures 6.7 tonight. I'm shooting for a drop of 1.2, or a target pH around lights-on of 5.5.

I'm using a flow meter with a 106ccm (air) tube, a 150mm scale, and a really kick-ass precision valve. I also happen to have a data sheet for this tube, which is super helpful. So, where to start? Well, my livingroom tank (the other journal in my signature) has a flow meter with a ccm (air @ 15psi) scale, and I run at 18ccm on that scale to get a similar drop to the one I'm shooting for here. According to my data sheet, that would be equivalent to 57mm on this meter's scale. I'm doing a test run tonight at 70mm, which corresponds to 25.6ccm (air). That's a 42% increase relative to the other tank. This tank's water volume is probably in the neighborhood of 100 gallons (factoring out hardscape and a low water line), where the other tank is around 70. In other words, this tank has ~43% more water volume. So, 70mm seems like a reasonable place to start.










I'm really lucky to have snagged this meter/valve combo. I'm able to dial in a precise flow rate and it doesn't move. At all.

The reactor is working as expected. I'm using a slightly different design this time with the co2 line running right into the housing through a bulkhead. It makes the plumbing a bit simpler because I don't need a barb between the bypass and the housing. All in all, I like it.










I'm using a Milwaukee monitor to track the pH.



















So what am I trying to achieve here? Really I just want to get things in the ball park before the plants go in. I'll keep the pH monitor in the tank for a while and will tweak as needed.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

CO2 update. 

It ended up taking an 80mm scale reading (32.4 ccm air) to hit pH=5.5 yesterday.

Shut the CO2 off around 4pm yesterday and it climbed back up to 6.4 over night. So, strong surface agitation and skimming are working well for me here.

Planting is this evening!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Planted!

The planting itself went really well. Gets easier every time. I'm really happy with the result as well... I'm not sure about the Brazilian Pennywort right up front, but we'll see. Some pics...


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Sure!
> 
> It is a DC controllable pump with 1300gph Max flow and 12' head height (i.e., flow won't decrease easily with increased pressure). It's extremely quiet, but...
> 
> ...


I am still pondering a booster pump for my Oase 600. Would you mind revisiting this?

So my thought is to add the booster pump to the outlet and "Y" the output but I am uncertain about how the two pumps will work in tandem. One thought that I had was to remove the impeller from the Oase and unplug the motor, leaving the external booster pump to take over the pulling. In this way there would be no fighting or obstruction from the Oase. I would just need to dial in the flow using some external valves or a DC pump controller. It seems to me that priming and restarting would not change. I realize that some will suggest simply getting a new larger filter but I really love the Oase prefilter, internal heater and media baskets. 

If I had it to do over again I would buy a tank drilled for an overflow and use a sump. I would also get a 5' or 6' tank!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> I am still pondering a booster pump for my Oase 600. Would you mind revisiting this?
> 
> So my thought is to add the booster pump to the outlet and "Y" the output but I am uncertain about how the two pumps will work in tandem. One thought that I had was to remove the impeller from the Oase and unplug the motor, leaving the external booster pump to take over the pulling. In this way there would be no fighting or obstruction from the Oase. I would just need to dial in the flow using some external valves or a DC pump controller. It seems to me that priming and restarting would not change. I realize that some will suggest simply getting a new larger filter but I really love the Oase prefilter, internal heater and media baskets.
> 
> If I had it to do over again I would buy a tank drilled for an overflow and use a sump. I would also get a 5' or 6' tank!


Always happy to talk pumps and plumbing!

I'm not sure I'm following what you mean when you say "Y the output" - can you elaborate?

I don't think you need to get a bigger filter just to get a bigger pump. I feel like that's a bit of a trap with the planted tanks... When it comes down to it, we don't often need the filtration volume of canisters that come with pumps powerful enough for our purposes (powering reactors especially). On this tank, for example, I'm using an FX4. I don't really need more volume than that, but the pump wouldn't come close to providing the power necessary for all my in-line mechanicals. Much easier to buy the canister based on the filtration volume and features you want and add a booster pump.

As for taking the impeller out... I think it really depends on your system. The FX4 doesn't have a priming mechanism, so there's no good way for me to get water to the booster pump from a dry startup without turning the canister on. That's a really nice feature of my setup because I don't ever have to manually start a siphon.

I'm not familiar with the Oase - if it has a nice priming capability, you may be fine taking the impeller out and calling it a day. One option is to put a tee after the booster pump with a ball valve and a short length of tubing. You can use that tee'd tubing to start the siphon manually and then close the valve. Easy peasy. I was going to do that here before I realized it wasn't necessary given how the FX is built.

There were two reasons I didn't choose a sump for this tank. First is that I wanted my filter intake to draw from low in the water (vs. purely from the surface like you get with an overflow). Second is that I didn't want to lock into a filtration arrangement - specifically, the placement of the overflow. As much as I want this tank to run for years and years, whatever the next iteration looks like, I may not want it to be peninsula style. I might want to black out the glass and do a spraybar all along the back. Who knows! A canister lets me do the filtration however I want and in a non-permanent way.


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Always happy to talk pumps and plumbing!
> 
> I'm not sure I'm following what you mean when you say "Y the output" - can you elaborate?
> 
> ...


 By "Y" I mean splitting the output so that I could put another inlet on the opposite side of the tank and in the back corner to get good flow across my dense back side.

Thanks. That was very helpful!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Small update.

I'm homing in on the correct flow rate for the CO2. It looks like it's going to be in the 90-95mm range. A fair bit higher than I expected. I'll have to see how long a 10lb bottle lasts at this rate, but I'm thinking about switching to a 20. I can get those swapped at the local welding supply shop, whereas I currently have the 10s filled at a department store. Time will tell.

Some plants have started to melt a bit. I actually got pretty lucky on that front since it ended up being colder than expected while they were in transit. In any case I added some established media from the sump of the 80g to the canister last night. Hoping that will help a bit with the new tank struggles. I plan to do periodic infusions of sump sponge over the first few months.

I also ordered an ATO pump. It's a 50ml/min paristaltic pump that I'll use to dump a gallon into the display each day. That seems to be my rough evaporation rate so far. I'll use a 10g reservoir of some sort. I'd like to use a Tamco storage tank vs say an old aqueon since it will fit much more efficiently in the stand. Having a hard time biting the bullet on that for some reason. I think I'm offended by the shipping cost, lol. Just a drop in the bucket compared to the overall project I guess!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some pics...


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## Griznatch (Nov 9, 2020)

Looking fantastic so far!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Griznatch said:


> Looking fantastic so far!


Thank you!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

My wife had some cuttings from her fern tank, so I'm trying a thing...










I've got two different vine cuttings pressed into the natural concavity on the back of the wood. I'm hoping these will attach themselves and that their roots will stay for the most part out of sight due to the wood's natural shape.

I'm not sure how this will look in the end, but I think it will work better if the green above the water isn't disconnected from the green below the water. So, I'll need to get some Java Fern to fill in just below the water to make it more visually connected.










I think I'd put pool noodle and zip ties right up there with gaffer's tape on the list of indispensable household items.


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

What's the pool noodle for? I like moss, monte carlo, and hydrocotyle tripartita for bridging that land-water gap. Java fern can look very sad growing near the water surface.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

gjcarew said:


> What's the pool noodle for? I like moss, monte carlo, and hydrocotyle tripartita for bridging that land-water gap. Java fern can look very sad growing near the water surface.


It's keeping the stems pressed against the inner curve of the wood. I'm thinking I'll have an easier time getting it to attach where I want it to that way.

Good point about the fern... I may not need anything at all once the stems in the back grow larger.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

The ATO pump came today, and I realized I needed a way to get the output into the tank! My only fabrication skills involve wood, so I made this little block thingie to sit on the edge of the tank:




























You can't really tell in this pic, but it matches the blocks+pipe aesthetic of the light mount and also the color of the wood in the tank. I have to say, the DIY aspect of this hobby is really enriching for me. One of my favorite things is identifying a need and making something to fill it.

Update on co2... I backed off a bit and am now sitting at 80mm which is 26.2 ccm of co2 (or a 32.4 ccm air equivalent). That had my pH dipping down to 5.3. I think what's happening here is that my wood is leaching throughout the week, dropping my baseline pH along the way. I went ahead and took a sample today and will measure tomorrow or the next day. I suspect it will be around 6.5, not the 6.7 I saw from my 2 day post water change degassed sample.


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## sidefunk (Apr 22, 2010)

Oh wow, dream build. Just breezed through for pics but looking forward to going back and reading this journal. Love a good tank build journal and this one looks exceptional. Also looking forward to seeing this tank mature. Nice work!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

sidefunk said:


> Oh wow, dream build. Just breezed through for pics but looking forward to going back and reading this journal. Love a good tank build journal and this one looks exceptional. Also looking forward to seeing this tank mature. Nice work!


Thank you! It has been a dream build for me. Not sure what I'm going to do with myself when it's over...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I'm all about daily engagement with my tanks. I like dosing fertilizers myself every morning and trimming in the evening. For some reason, though, I really hate topping the water off every day. That's one thing I'm happy to automate!

I finally bit the bullet and bought a 10 gallon Tamco tank that fits very nicely in the one spot I have available for a reservoir.





































At 50ml/min it should need to run for 75mins to add a gallon. I've got a piece of of tape on the side of the tank where I want to maintain the waterline - I'll keep an eye on that over the next few days and adjust the time until it's in the right zone. Then I should just have to fill the tote once a week on water change day. Woop!

I also decided the vines probably weren't going attach themselves the way I wanted. I pushed them into a dab of silicone in the inner curve of the wood above the water line. We'll see how this works out.










Most of the crypts have melted now (I love them, but they're so dramatic), plus two of the anubias rhizomes.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Floaters on parade


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

Perfect flow pattern!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> Perfect flow pattern!


Yep, flow seems to be good. I really like having floating plants. They're just so peaceful and relaxing somehow. They can be a pain though when they congregate and block light beneath, so it's really nice to have them always on the move. I can just take a handful out every day or so and it works out nicely.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## IScapedAThing (Mar 16, 2021)

Wow, great job on your scape! It looks great!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

IScapedAThing said:


> Wow, great job on your scape! It looks great!


Thank you!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Things are going as expected. A fair amount of melt and diatom algae. I put a bit of sponge from my established tank in the filter during the water change again this week... not sure how much of an effect it will have at this point but figure it can't hurt.

Having the ATO up and running for a minute now I can say that IT'S FANTASTIC. One of the great things about a tank with a sump/overflow is the constant water level. That's trickier with a canister filtered tank where the evaporation is coming from the display, and the ring that results at the water line is not my favorite. Having an ATO has completely eliminated that, and it really makes a difference visually. I would say the impact is felt especially strongly here because standing at the edge of the tank and enjoying the water lettuce circulation is something I find myself doing a lot.


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## TheUnseenHand (May 14, 2017)

Sumps are just the best. An ATO is one of the first life-changing parts of a sump. The next is getting your pH, lighting, temperature control, fert dosing etc. automated via a controller like an Apex with all of that equipment hidden in the sump/cabinet.


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## tegra1027 (Nov 23, 2021)

To a newb in the aquascaping world, this is both inspiring and overwhelming. You have been very helpful to me in my post about balancing my tank and I see now that there is so so so much for me to learn. I knew that there was already, but not to this level. I am excited and eager. Thank you for posting your build. I look forward to watching it progress. BTW, if you are ever in the Chicago area, I'd love to have you over and critique my tank. I have a 7 year old boy and a gf, so your family is more than welcome as well. Ill supply beer or drink of choice.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

tegra1027 said:


> To a newb in the aquascaping world, this is both inspiring and overwhelming. You have been very helpful to me in my post about balancing my tank and I see now that there is so so so much for me to learn. I knew that there was already, but not to this level. I am excited and eager. Thank you for posting your build. I look forward to watching it progress. BTW, if you are ever in the Chicago area, I'd love to have you over and critique my tank. I have a 7 year old boy and a gf, so your family is more than welcome as well. Ill supply beer or drink of choice.


How kind!

It's a very rewarding hobby in large part because there is so much to it. I know I have a lot more to learn myself and will always be able to improve. Glad I was able to help - you should start a journal!


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## tegra1027 (Nov 23, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> How kind!
> 
> It's a very rewarding hobby in large part because there is so much to it. I know I have a lot more to learn myself and will always be able to improve. Glad I was able to help - you should start a journal!


You are right about that. There is always room to improve. I guess it would be important to realize how far one wants to go with the project. Dont really know until you know how far there is to actually go LOL. Here is my Journal  First Planted Tank- High Tech 75G


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

tegra1027 said:


> You are right about that. There is always room to improve. I guess it would be important to realize how far one wants to go with the project. Dont really know until you know how far there is to actually go LOL. Here is my Journal  First Planted Tank- High Tech 75G


Ah, I missed that! subscribed


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## tegra1027 (Nov 23, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Ah, I missed that! subscribed


Thanks. Feel free to drop in with any advice at any time! I bought all my plants by suggestion and really didnt/dont have a clue. So as they melt and die off, I'm waiting on them to come back to life and then most likely will have to relocate them.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I've been running one of the Kessils at 1% power for a couple hours in the evenings. It puts just a bit of light into the tank to enjoy it after the light period has ended (it's much more subtle in person than it appears in the video).


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fun with floaters and slow shutter speeds.


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## buggyInteger (Aug 24, 2021)

The floaters going round and round + the light breaking with the water movement is really hypnotizing 😄


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

buggyInteger said:


> The floaters going round and round + the light breaking with the water movement is really hypnotizing 😄


It seriously is!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I'm still working out how I'll stock this tank (still leaning toward a school of Denison Barbs), but Amanos were always going to be in the picture. They are robust, long-lived, functionally sterile, eat algae and algae-causing fallen fish food, and have a small bio load. In large numbers, I have found them to be a super-effective clean up crew (and I tend to be a bit dubious of the concept of a clean up crew, generally). Today I started with a dozen. Wave 2 (+30) will arrive as soon as it's warm enough for an order from Aquatic Arts to ship.





































As you can see, there's plenty of floofy brown diatom algae for these guys to snack on!

It's nice to have some life in the tank (beyond plants, of course)! This is a baby step for sure... more to come.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Not sure if you ever get up to Fort Collins, but The Fish Crew on Harmony has a bunch of Denison barbs in their 225 in the front entryway. Really good looking fish.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> Not sure if you ever get up to Fort Collins, but The Fish Crew on Harmony has a bunch of Denison barbs in their 225 in the front entryway. Really good looking fish.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I head down to Boulder to hit the fish store more often than up to Fort Collins, but that big planted tank at Fish Crew has always been a looker. Awesome tank.

Last time I was up there they only had one Denison in that tank. Sounds like they got a fresh school?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I don't think I have ever mentioned my fertilization protocol for this tank... In the interest of transparency for anyone reading this journal and having date-stamped documentation for myself, I want to get this down in writing.

Fertilizers are mixed into solution from dry. Dosing figures are ppm/wk with a single 50% water change. I'm assuming a 105 gallon water volume figure for dosing calculations.

Micros

500ml dosing bottle
15ml daily dose
GLA EDTA- and DTPA-chelated micro mix with 7% iron
Benchmarking on iron
Adding 16.22 grams to the bottle
Total Fe is 0.6ppm
Macros

1,000ml dosing bottle
30ml daily dose
55.54 grams KNO3 (18ppm NO3 + 11.35ppm K)
12.20 grams KH2PO4 (4.5ppm PO4 + 1.85ppm K)
32.90 grams K2SO4 (7.8ppm K)
Total K is 21ppm
NO3|PO4|K = 18|4.5|21
GH

Tap is 2-3 dGH
Muni water report does not break out Mg and Ca, but I did find an old testing report for streams and reservoirs in the area with a 10:1 Ca-to-Mg ratio
I'm adding 2.61ppm Mg / wk (0.6 dGH)
50g MgSO4.7H2O in the macros dosing bottle

I'm adding 5.45ppm Ca / wk (0.76 dGH)
1 tablespoon CaSO4.2H2O after water change


I'm using the same dosing bottles for my other planted tank, which I'm assuming is 70g after hardscape. I dose 20ml macros and 10ml micros into that tank per day to get the same ppm/wk listed above for this tank. That makes dosing both pretty easy.

My Mg and Ca dosing is the weakest link here... or at least the most mysterious. I have definite room for improvement in that I should figure out the actual ratio of Ca and Mg in my tap water. Right now I'm just trying to keep dGH over 4 and winging it on the ratio.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

SHRIMP!


































I now have a full complement of Amanos - 37 of the little guys!


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

Amano shrimp is one of the happy joys of our hobby. Nice shots!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> Amano shrimp is one of the happy joys of our hobby. Nice shots!


Agreed! I have developed quite an affection for them.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Only one shrimp death, and the rest are happily strip mining my driftwood for every last morsel of diatom floof.




























The tank is doing fine... Still kind of a nasty brown mess, but the plants are filling in. I'm not running the lights super high, and the aqua soil I used as my base layer was seasoned, so I'm expecting steady-and-not-too-fast growth. So far, that's what I've been getting. It's hard at first because I'm impatient and want it to fill in, but I'm going to appreciate it when everything is fully grown and I don't have to trim every other day.










Crypts are starting to put out some fresh growth. I aught to get in there and trim out all the old leaves that didn't quite melt but that aren't doing great either. WiIl probably do that this weekend.










My terrestrial plants have developed some decent roots now and are beginning to put out some fresh growth. Once they get a bit longer I'll start to work them around and into the crook of the wood. I think. We'll see. Kinda just following my nose with these.










As for stocking, I'm still planning to do a school of Denison Barbs. I'm also thinking I'm going to put a pleco in here. Specifically, an L128 (aka Blue Phantom). With this wood and the big cave that it forms on the back side, plus all of the smooth rock surfaces, it just seems a shame to not have a pleco! I am somewhat unsure about the combination of these two fish though. Their temperature ranges overlap by only one degree: 77. If anyone has experience with these fish and keeping them at the edge of their temperature ranges, please chime in. Currently planning to run the tank at 77 with both species together.

That's it for now.


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## Bootsy (Jul 4, 2021)

I can’t wait to see the barbs in your tank. They’re one of my favorite fish.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Bootsy said:


> I can’t wait to see the barbs in your tank. They’re one of my favorite fish.


I CAN'T EITHER!

One of my local shops has them right now, but they want $38 per fish! For a round dozen, that just seems absurd when Aquatic Arts has them for like $115/dozen. That would likely mean waiting until spring, though...

I'm going to get the quarantine tank set up this weekend, so I'll be ready to act one way or another.


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## Njroth (Dec 23, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I CAN'T EITHER!
> 
> One of my local shops has them right now, but they want $38 per fish! For a round dozen, that just seems absurd when Aquatic Arts has them for like $115/dozen. That would likely mean waiting until spring, though...
> 
> I'm going to get the quarantine tank set up this weekend, so I'll be ready to act one way or another.


I got my rainbows and ottos from aquatic arts. I had a really good experience with them. There packing was top notch, and they even threw in a few extra fish. Only caveat is fish were really small.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Njroth said:


> I got my rainbows and ottos from aquatic arts. I had a really good experience with them. There packing was top notch, and they even threw in a few extra fish. Only caveat is fish were really small.


Yeah we've had a couple of orders from them, and their service and packaging have always been good.

This latest batch of shrimp came from them, too. They were actually a lot larger than the Amanos we've been able to find locally and for about half the cost.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Do Denison barbs jump at all? 


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> Do Denison barbs jump at all?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I think most all fish can jump, but from what I can tell they are not the jumpiest species. I'm keeping the water level low, and that should help considerably, but I take your meaning.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Just a small update...

First, I set up a quarantine tank in my office (next to the sitting room where the big tank is) for the fish that will eventually go into this aquarium:










It's 35 gallons up top with a sump below at 42 total gallons in total. I'm cycling this tank now so I can be ready in case I find some fish locally. Otherwise I'll just keep dosing ammonia until spring when I can have them safely shipped :\

After the main tank is stocked, I'm thinking I might turn this into a cichlid tank... we'll see.

I did a water change on the big tank this evening and snapped a couple pics of my transition zone greenery.

The vines have really started to root heavily and are putting out some fresh growth:









And some moss that I rubbed into the narrow branch just above the water line has taken hold and started to spread a bit:









Regarding the stocking... 

I was able to get the pleco (L128). He's really small (like 1-1.5") and is currently chilling in one of my wife's quarantine tanks. Having the pleco already in house and knowing that 77 is at the bottom of its natural temperature range while 77 is at the very top of the barbs' range has me wondering if I shouldn't rethink the barbs... 

I could get a school of rainbows that are comfortable in warmer soft water. Something like Melanotaenia trifasciata. Those fish seem like a really natural fit for my water, where I'd be on the edge of the barbs' pH and temperature ranges. Decisions must be made. But there's still time...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I'm starting to get a bit of green algae in the tank, and it's... weird. I've never seen this one in any of my tanks before.



















I tried looking up what it might be, but don't see anything that looks quite like this. In looking, I found this website that has some nice scanned drawings of common algae types: 



COMMON ALGAE DRAWINGS



I thought it looked most similar to Chara under "algae growing on reservoir walls":










But what I've got seems to branch laterally rather than sequentially.

Anyone seen this one before? Kinda cute, as far as algae goes...


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Hydra!!!!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Oh damn, I see you are correct. I've never had them before. 

::commences research::


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## buggyInteger (Aug 24, 2021)

That really looks like green hydra 😦


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

buggyInteger said:


> That really looks like green hydra 😦


Definitely what it is...



Spoiler


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## kaskiles (Sep 9, 2021)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

kaskiles said:


>


That's awesome.

Is it strange that I'm kind of excited by this hydra-in-my-tank development?


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## TheUnseenHand (May 14, 2017)

EmotionalFescue said:


> That's awesome.
> 
> Is it strange that I'm kind of excited by this hydra-in-my-tank development?


Nothing wrong with embracing the diversity of your little aquatic ecosystem in a glass box  As long as you understand the potential implications of doing so that is lol.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

TheUnseenHand said:


> Nothing wrong with embracing the diversity of your little aquatic ecosystem in a glass box  As long as you understand the potential implications of doing so that is lol.



Indeed!

I'm obviously a total n00b when it comes to these creatures, but my impression is that they may be difficult to eradicate and may not be much of a problem in this tank anyway...?

I'm not going to have small fish species or fry in this tank, and I would expect their food supply to dwindle as the tank establishes. I don't know - should I be more concerned? I'd love to hear from anyone who's dealt with them. I guess I don't mind them being in there, but I don't want the whole tank coated in the damn things either. I just don't expect that to happen once it's a bit established and clean. There's been a lot of diatom fluff in there, presumably supporting the tiny creatures these things feed on...

I guess the one concern would be them messing with the Amanos. I haven't seen any evidence of that so far.

Any advice welcome!


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

I think they are only dangerous to baby shrimp, so as long as you aren't trying to breed cherries in there you should be fine.

Dewormer like panacur-c gets rid of them if you decide to go that route. 

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

gjcarew said:


> I think they are only dangerous to baby shrimp, so as long as you aren't trying to breed cherries in there you should be fine.
> 
> Dewormer like panacur-c gets rid of them if you decide to go that route.
> 
> Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk


Good to hear - that aligns with what I've been reading. Plus... they're pretty cool!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

First fish!



















Plecos poop a lot and can have kind of a bull in a china shop vibe (especially in a planted tank), but I do really enjoy them. So, while he won't be a low impact fish, I'm really happy to have him in here. I look forward to watching him grow!


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Regular pleco or BN?

Also: why did you go with an FX4 over an FX6?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> Regular pleco or BN?
> 
> Also: why did you go with an FX4 over an FX6?
> 
> ...


Not a bristlenose, but a small species. These max out at 7". 

From the beginning of this project I was planning to use an external pump to power the filtration system since it would include a large reactor, heater, and sterilizer. Once I factored out the GPH of the canister's built-in pump it was just down to media volume in the filtration chamber. I didn't really need any more media volume than the FX4 provided. Plus, I already owned an FX4!


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Not a bristlenose, but a small species. These max out at 7".
> 
> From the beginning of this project I was planning to use an external pump to power the filtration system since it would include a large reactor, heater, and sterilizer. Once I factored out the GPH of the canister's built-in pump it was just down to media volume in the filtration chamber. I didn't really need any more media volume than the FX4 provided. Plus, I already owned an FX4!


Interesting. 

Have you measured the GPH at the outlet with your setup? Do you run the pump on the FX4 too, or just the DC pump?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> Interesting.
> 
> Have you measured the GPH at the outlet with your setup? Do you run the pump on the FX4 too, or just the DC pump?
> 
> ...


I haven't measured, but it's quite high, as the planned stocking is species that appreciate a lot of flow.

Iirc the pump is rated for 1,300 gph at 50w with 13' max head. It's currently running at 48w. I don't know what level of resistance the pump is working against but unlike in a normal return-from-sump configuration, the return head here is offset by the intake. All the pressure is from the mechanicals.

I only use the canister's pump when I have air in the lines. So, when I first set it up and sometimes after water changes.

I had a proto version of this on a prior tank with an Eheim AC pump. This current arrangement is approaching filtration nirvana. If I only had an intern to clean the filter...


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

[QUOTE="EmotionalFescue, post: 11435197, member: 408051"
I only use the canister's pump when I have air in the lines. So, when I first set it up and sometimes after water changes.
I had a proto version of this on a prior tank with an Eheim AC pump. This current arrangement is approaching filtration nirvana. If I only had an intern to clean the filter...
[/QUOTE]

Do you leave the cannister impeller in place and just unplug the power? Does this not cause drag as the impeller magnet is still attracted to the original motor that is no longer spinning? Or does this not really cause an issue?

I am still considering this setup with my Oase Biomaster as it has developed a considerable hum. I am currently in negotiation with Oase to replace the head but if they balk then I might try your method. I love the Oase otherwise. They did send me a new impeller but it had no effect.

Thanks!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> Do you leave the cannister impeller in place and just unplug the power? Does this not cause drag as the impeller magnet is still attracted to the original motor that is no longer spinning? Or does this not really cause an issue?
> 
> I am still considering this setup with my Oase Biomaster as it has developed a considerable hum.


Yes, the FX4 is just unplugged (or, more accurately, its position on the DJ strip is switched off) until I need it. I haven't removed its impeller. I'm sure it creates some drag, but not to any noticeable degree. 

Note though that with the FX4 it's useful to keep the impeller in because I can turn the canister on to start the siphon on the intake or purge air in the lines. That's useful because the canister's pump is in the bottom - that's not the case with the Oase. Since you have the pump in the canister head it won't be useful in the same way, but you do have the little manual priming pump. So, in your case, I think it might make sense to remove the impeller and just use the priming action to get water to the in-line pump. 

That sucks about the hum. When I first put the Eheim on the 90U it was as a true booster pump - I was running it and the FX4 at the same time. But the FX had gotten pretty loud relative to when I first bought it, so I tried just turning it off and letting the Eheim do all the work. That worked splendidly and led to the arrangement I've got going now.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some pictures and updates...










Plants are growing well and not too fast...










There is still a fair amount of diatom algae, but it's not at an unmanageable level...










I need to get in and cut out some of that java fern that didn't transition well...










I've completely redone this end of the tank, taking out most of what was originally there. I've kept just a bit of the hygrophila and have added the red sword and hydrocotyle. The swords came out of the living room tank where they were not thriving due to the low light levels in that tank. It's perked up quite a bit in this spot. The hydrocotyle is coming from cuttings from this tank, so I'm just plugging new bits in as they become available.










I also got a power head. I think my flow was pretty good before - and fine for the plants - but I was getting a low intensity back current along the front glass that was depositing detritus all along the beach. The power head is now working in conjunction with the return nozzle to create a wall of water along the length of the front glass that then slides back to the intake and skimmer through the plants along the back of the tank. To get the combined flow where I wanted it, I turned the pump down to 36w from 48w. I closed the bypass on the reactor down some to keep the flow through the reactor the same.

The power head is a bit bulky once the shrimp guard is in place, but it's on the far left where the intake and return assemblies are, so about as out of the way as things get in this tank. So far, I think it's working quite well... I will say, though, that it's way more power than I need for this tank. I really wanted one that had separate wet and dry sides to keep from having a power cord in the tank, but had to get the medium sized one due to the thickness of my glass. I'm running it at its lowest setting and could probably have gone a bit lower. The pleco (now called Ringo) loves it though, being a species that comes from areas of heavy river flow over rocks.










Here he is, nestled into the rocks in the flow zone.

The quarantine tank has been started with established media from another tank, but is only burning through 0.5ppm ammonia every other day at the moment. So, still a little ways to go before I can put fish in there. If it was done now, I would probably go with rainbows since one of my LFSs currently has a tank full of Melanotaenia Trifasciata (Goyder River Rainbows)! But, it's not ready, so I wait. We'll see what's available when I can burn through 1-2ppm in 24hrs...

That's it for now.


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Sure!
> 
> It is a DC controllable pump with 1300gph Max flow and 12' head height (i.e., flow won't decrease easily with increased pressure). It's extremely quiet, but...
> 
> ...


After a bit of negotiation Oase is sending me out a replacement pump head. If it does not do the trick I will probably get an external pump. The pump you use sounds like a great choice but you are correct about the cost! Do you have any recommendations for a "Plan B" pump for my 75g tank that would not be as pricy? Eheim? I could live with an AC pump if it is quiet, reliable, and can work with it's flow adjusted by a simple ball valve.

Thanks!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> After a bit of negotiation Oase is sending me out a replacement pump head. If it does not do the trick I will probably get an external pump. The pump you use sounds like a great choice but you are correct about the cost! Do you have any recommendations for a "Plan B" pump for my 75g tank that would not be as pricy? Eheim? I could live with an AC pump if it is quiet, reliable, and can work with it's flow adjusted by a simple ball valve.
> 
> Thanks!


Hmmm. The Eheim 1260 is I think the best choice for a really well built and reliable AC pump in the flow range you need. It's the one I was using in line on the 68g tank that was running in this spot before this one. It's rated for 640gph and runs for $170. It is not silent and it takes a little while to break in and reach its quietest level. I don't find the sound bothersome but your mileage may vary on that. You will definitely need to put a silicone trivet or something similar under it, and you'd also do well to get some silicone tubing to connect to it to minimize vibration which is normal with AC pumps.

For DC pumps, I've used two brands on larger tanks: Ecotech Marine (Vectra M2) and Royal Exclusiv (Red Dragon Mini Speedy). While the former is rated for up to 2000gph, it's distastefully noisy beyond 1/3 power. The latter is only rated for 1300gph but is dead quiet full out... and it's $250 more than the Ecotech which wasn't cheap to start. So, not sure I can recommend either of those as a good fit for you.

There is always Jebao, though reliability seems unsurprisingly hit or miss. BRS has this brand, which seems interesting:









eFlux 6009 DC Flow Pump (1050 GPH) - Current USA


The Current USA eFlux DC Water Pumps are a completely controllable, quiet, powerful, and compact return pumps that can be installed inline or external on marine or fresh water systems. Features Soft start gently ramps pump to speed Controllable, adjustable flow rate Quiet operation Up to 65%...




www.bulkreefsupply.com





About the same cost as the Eheim but variable speed DC.


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## TheUnseenHand (May 14, 2017)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Hmmm. The Eheim 1260 is I think the best choice for a really well built and reliable AC pump in the flow range you need. It's the one I was using in line on the 68g tank that was running in this spot before this one. It's rated for 640gph and runs for $170. It is not silent and it takes a little while to break in and reach its quietest level. I don't find the sound bothersome but your mileage may vary on that. You will definitely need to put a silicone trivet or something similar under it, and you'd also do well to get some silicone tubing to connect to it to minimize vibration which is normal with AC pumps.
> 
> For DC pumps, I've used two brands on larger tanks: Ecotech Marine (Vectra M2) and Royal Exclusiv (Red Dragon Mini Speedy). While the former is rated for up to 2000gph, it's distastefully noisy beyond 1/3 power. The latter is only rated for 1300gph but is dead quiet full out... and it's $250 more than the Ecotech which wasn't cheap to start. So, not sure I can recommend either of those as a good fit for you.
> 
> ...


I'm hesitant to recommend this course of action, but I have used Jebao pumps in the past and the good ones are quite good. I had one flat out die a few weeks in, but the other 3 were work horses. They were generally quiet. Not the most quiet, but for the price the noise was more than acceptable. So you could buy a couple since they are so cheap and if one craps out you have a backup. All that said, it's been years since I've bought one.

If you were considering Ecotech, I'd just pay the extra for the Royal Exclusiv for the reasons described in the post I quoted. I'd love for Innovative Marine to make a larger size Mighty Jet pump. They are definitely my favorite DC pump. I can open my stand cabinet and wonder if the thing is even running. I have a couple that have been going that way for 2 years now.


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

Well I got the replacement filter head in this morning and it made no difference. I am stumped.

I am thinking that I might try the eFlux or the Jebao and if the concept works I can always replace them down the road with a Red Dragon Mini. I would hate to buy the Red Dragon only to find out that the hum not is coming from the internal motor itself!

So I now have my Echo Dot programmed so that If I say "Quiet" the filter turns off for 30 minutes/on for 10 minutes/off for 30 minutes/then on again. This allows me to enjoy my other hobby, high end audio, in the same room


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## TheUnseenHand (May 14, 2017)

mourip said:


> Well I got the replacement filter head in this morning and it made no difference. I am stumped.
> 
> I am thinking that I might try the eFlux or the Jebao and if the concept works I can always replace them down the road with a Red Dragon Mini. I would hate to buy the Red Dragon only to find out that the hum not is coming from the internal motor itself!
> 
> So I now have my Echo Dot programmed so that If I say "Quiet" the filter turns off for 30 minutes/on for 10 minutes/off for 30 minutes/then on again. This allows me to enjoy my other hobby, high end audio, in the same room


Ooooo I'm just getting into, well let's call it medium end audio lol. I'm going to try not to hijack this thread, but I may ask your opinion on a headphone/amp setup I'm considering.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> So I now have my Echo Dot programmed so that If I say "Quiet" the filter turns off for 30 minutes/on for 10 minutes/off for 30 minutes/then on again. This allows me to enjoy my other hobby, high end audio, in the same room


Sounds to me like the Red Dragon is an investment for both hobbies simultaneously!


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Does the BB in the filter suffer with 30min without power/water movement?


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

Le duke said:


> Does the BB in the filter suffer with 30min without power/water movement?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I believe that it is OK. My pump is probably off longer than that when doing a more involved maintenance like removing my tubing and lily pipes for cleaning. Also I have read from some posters that in a heavily planted tank the contents of the tank have more than enough BB to do the job. Some folks even remove the media in their filter and just use it for filtering, polishing and water movement.

Sorry @EmotionalFescue. Back to our regularly scheduled programing!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Big update!

Long story, short: there was a late-breaking calamity with the quarantine tank that only became apparent after I got home with... 13 juvenile Rainbows (Melanotaenia Trifasciata; aka Banded Rainbowfish).










Sooo these guys went straight into the display, though that wasn't the intension at all. There are multiple downsides and risks to this arrangement... First is obviously that any potential lurking disease in these fish puts the whole tank at risk. We've had tanks taken out by Columnaris before, and I really don't even want to think about having to take this one apart and start over. Nothing left to do now but pray (and run the UV).

Next is that the original plan - to let the display tank settle into itself for another month and then move the fish over with their media from the QT - is scrapped. I'm now relying on my existing beneficial bacteria and plants to deal with the ammonia from these fish. I've got a few things working in my favor here. One is that these fish are juveniles and still pretty small (about the size of full grown Praecox), and they're in a pretty large-volume tank. I've also got fast-growing stems to sponge up that waste. These _are juvenile fish,_ though, and they need to be well-fed twice a day. I'm going to have to be extra on top of cleaning and water changes, which sucks because...

This tank is now in quarantine from the rest of the tanks in the house. Which means I can't use the pump-driven water change system that's hooked up to the utility sink. Instead, I'll be siphoning out into a rolling trash can. I then roll that trashcan over to the utility sink and pump it out with a utility pump that lives exclusively at the bottom of the trashcan. I will have to do that twice though because this is a big ass tank. I will then fill with a hose connected to the utility sink that won't be used on other tanks. I'll really be appreciating that water change system over the next month.

Okay, that's the bad. Now for the good. These fish are gorgeous and have really interesting behavior! 

Now, you may recall that I was originally planning to stock with Denison Barbs. In the end, I decided that a proper tank for those fish would be cool water. That's just not what this tank was going to be. The banded rainbows, though, are ones that I've had my eye on for a while after reading about them in my Rainbowfish book.










While these fish are still young and not colored up, they're already real lookers. Also, they _love _the powerhead. I've got it running with a slow changing random flow pattern that peaks at 5% throughout the lighting period. That means they spend a lot of time schooling against the current right at the front glass. Fantastic. They're not too shy either and are happy to ride that current while I stand right in front of the tank. 

The LFS and I did our best to sex them, but it's a little tricky with this species, as they don't differentiate at this age as well as some other species. I tried for 5 males and 8 females. Some are obvious - one way or the other - while some of the others are a little less clear. We'll see what happens there. In any case, there's already some intense spawning behavior (real or practiced - I'm not sure). This morning, one male was guarding the Rotala bush, driving everyone else away that came near. He would periodically venture out and try to get a female to follow him back there. There's also been a bit of sparring and flashing.

Here are some pics from the past couple days...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Sparring!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

More fish pics


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Get them in Boulder or through the mail?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> Get them in Boulder or through the mail?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Boulder - Aqua Imports


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Pics.





































Diatoms are running wild because the shrimp are hiding from the fish. 🤦‍♂️

The last time I attempted this little two-step with a first wave of Amanos followed by a school of fish, the shrimp didn't hide. While these fish will get a lot bigger, they're small now... I suppose the shrimp just didn't have as many hiding places in that tank? IDK. Anyway, I hope they get braver with time and as they get bigger themselves.


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

When I added my school of Rummy Nose Tetras then my shrimp stopped playing on "the beach" and now are mostly on the very top of the java ferns and Red Rubin swords. There are also a lot less of them!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Diatoms!

Snails!!!


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## Njroth (Dec 23, 2020)

Loving all the pictures. Really makes me want to step up my photo game. looks like the new bows are already showing some awesome color!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Njroth said:


> Loving all the pictures. Really makes me want to step up my photo game. looks like the new bows are already showing some awesome color!


I'm glad you're enjoying them!

Yes, they're coloring up fast... I think I may have ended up with more males than I intended to :|


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## platy21 (Jun 23, 2020)

Your tank is amazing!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

platy21 said:


> Your tank is amazing!


Thank you!


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Is that stand the “standard” WB stand for the 6025? 

If so, how do you like it?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> Is that stand the “standard” WB stand for the 6025?
> 
> If so, how do you like it?
> 
> ...


It is. Now that it's set up, I'd say it's pretty nice. It looks very nice on the outside and fine on the inside. The only major complaint is the leveling feet. Their implementation on this stand is a total design failure in that in order to adjust them you have to flip the whole stand over. And, of course, once you flip it over it's no longer clear what adjustments are needed. There are 32 of them...

Comparing to the stand on my Red Sea tank which looks very similar, the Red Sea is just so much better because of the leveling feet. On that stand, the last part you assemble is the floor of the cabinet. Before you do that, you adjust all the leveling feet with the stand in place and the tank on top.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Cool. 

Several years from now, as a 40th birthday present, my wife may grant me permission to get a really nice setup like the 6025. 

Did you get it locally or order it from WaterBox? 

Colorado Springs is a wasteland when it comes to many things, and anything high end in terms of aquarium supplies is out of the question. There’s a local kid who is making a go of it, basically selling plants and fish in a strip mall on my way to work but everything else is big box.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> Did you get it locally or order it from WaterBox?


Directly from Waterbox. I'm lucky to have good options for livestock, but equipment is hit or miss. One of the places in Boulder does carry UNS tanks, but the 120p is the largest I've ever seen there.

Having had UNS and RedSea tanks, I can say the waterbox tanks are really nice. Definitely recommended.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Last night during a water change, I sprayed some algae growing high on the wood with hydrogen peroxide. Now it looks like electric pink troll hair:










Fish are doing well. There has been a lot of serious business happening in the rotala bush...










Other than that, not much to report. Just motoring through the ugly duckling phase with as much grace as I can muster.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

EF, did you consider acrylic for the "clear" section of the skimmer? 

I have a couple of acrylic skimmers heading my way. Plan on heat-bending 25mm OD/ 21mm ID acrylic tubing and making lily pipes complete with skimmers and adjustable flow for the FX6 I bought for my 75. Basically replicating the GLA glass lily pipe intake w/skimmer, but in 25mm size for a real big canister.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> EF, did you consider acrylic for the "clear" section of the skimmer?
> 
> I have a couple of acrylic skimmers heading my way. Plan on heat-bending 25mm OD/ 21mm ID acrylic tubing and making lily pipes complete with skimmers and adjustable flow for the FX6 I bought for my 75. Basically replicating the GLA glass lily pipe intake w/skimmer, but in 25mm size for a real big canister.


The bobber / floating weir portion of the skimmer is acrylic - it's a piece of an old Jardli skimmer/intake. That piece nested beautifully in schedule 40 3/4" PVC, so that's what I used for the stand pipe.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> The bobber / floating weir portion of the skimmer is acrylic - it's a piece of an old Jardli skimmer/intake. That piece nested beautifully in schedule 40 3/4" PVC, so that's what I used for the stand pipe.


I meant the piece that you described as “purple”, AKA the stand pipe. 

I will likely have extra pieces of acrylic pipe, fittings and skimmers left over when I’m done. Let me know if the purple gets to be too much and I can send you some.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> I meant the piece that you described as “purple”, AKA the stand pipe.
> 
> I will likely have extra pieces of acrylic pipe, fittings and skimmers left over when I’m done. Let me know if the purple gets to be too much and I can send you some.
> 
> ...


Very generous! I'm just not sure it would fit into the PVC elbow at the base of the skimmer assembly... That said, if you have some left over, I'd be happy to give it a whirl!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Update!

I have changed many things... To start, I tore out all of the stems that were planed behind the wood. It was just not a good location to be dealing with plants that need regular trimming and topping. To replace them, I went plant shopping in the livingroom tank.










I've got some leopard val and crypt petchii there.

Here's what the tank looks like today:










I guess I've got jungle on one side, sunny beach on the other and a transition zone I'm still refining in the middle. Here's a detail of the left side (note that I put the ferns up front and moved the anubias to the back side of the wood. I'm actually going to rehome it to the livingroom tank once this tank is out of quarantine).










I'm not sure if the brazillian pennywort will be able to stay there once the vals thicken a bit, but I didn't want to throw it away altogether just yet.

In general I'm much happier with this look, and I think it will integrate much better visually with the terrestrial plants above the water, which was always something I wanted to do with this tank. To that end, I added a money tree, some pothos, and some monstera deliciosa to the mix:










The swiss cheese vine and the pothos will grow out along the tank rim. I plan to keep them where I want them with dabs of clear silicone on the tank rim. The monstera and pothos are rooting in the water but the money tree is potted. I made a little pedestal for it to sit on in the (very) narrow space between the tank and wall:










I still need to stain the wood and repot the plant. I plan to do that this weekend (so many projects, so little time!).










The diatoms are starting to improve, and the shrimp are starting to venture out more. I also plan to put a fresh infusion of sump sponge from the livingroom tank into the canister this weekend. I think that's been helping to mitigate the new tank growing pains.


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## gjcarew (Dec 26, 2018)

You almost have a biotype-style setup there. It would be cool to see some leaf litter, I think it would really complete the look!


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## JasonBD77 (Feb 6, 2013)

This is so awesome! Looks great in the space!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

gjcarew said:


> You almost have a biotype-style setup there. It would be cool to see some leaf litter, I think it would really complete the look!


Yeah, there are some great rainbowfish underwater biotope videos on youtube, and there are definitely some natural spots like this (high flow, long grasses, etc...). I feel like my focus is really shifting toward the fish.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

JasonBD77 said:


> This is so awesome! Looks great in the space!


Thank you! I feel like it's starting to come together. A little more with each change...


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

What kind of evaporation rates do you have on that? 1500 square inches is a lot of surface area in dry CO. How often are you filling up the ATO?

I suppose it depends on your water change regimen, too. You're pretty lightly stocked, still, it appears.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> What kind of evaporation rates do you have on that? 1500 square inches is a lot of surface area in dry CO. How often are you filling up the ATO?
> 
> I suppose it depends on your water change regimen, too. You're pretty lightly stocked, still, it appears.


The ATO pump runs for 75mins a day, which is right around a gallon. The ATO reservoir holds 15 gallons, so I'm able to just fill it up when I do my once-weekly water change, and I should still have plenty of overhead to work with once the monstera and pothos start drawing a lot of water too.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Is the rate of evaporation higher in the winter, when it is likely a bit drier, or in the summer, being a bit warmer and with the A/C running (and pulling moisture out of the house)?

Also, do you run the water level 3-4" below the rim in case fish get a bit frisky? It appears that way in your photographs but I didn't know the reasoning behind it.

I've never run a rimless tank before, thus my questions/concerns about evaporation rates.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> Is the rate of evaporation higher in the winter, when it is likely a bit drier, or in the summer, being a bit warmer and with the A/C running (and pulling moisture out of the house)?
> 
> Also, do you run the water level 3-4" below the rim in case fish get a bit frisky? It appears that way in your photographs but I didn't know the reasoning behind it.
> 
> I've never run a rimless tank before, thus my questions/concerns about evaporation rates.


I've only had the ATO going for a little bit, so I don't yet have a good sense of the summer rate, but I did recently add 5min/day to the pump timer as I seemed to be falling a bit short after a few days once the temps really dropped.

Yes, I'm keeping the water level low because the wood prevents me from having a lid. I may still get jumpers at some point, but I don't want to set the fish up for failure. It seems like a lot of 'jumpers' are really more skippers and floppers that can be stopped with a bit of a barrier above the water line. To get out of this tank, a fish would have to pull a serious Free Willy maneuver. Between that and the tank not being in a high traffic zone, I'm hoping to keep the jumper rate near zero. So far so good!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fish pics...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I finally caught one of them doing the stretching/yawning thing they do!










He just happened to do it as I was depressing the shutter button.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I've been feeding a mix of various frozen foods and these sinking pellets. The way they zoom around and skim them off the surface is quite a sight! In nature, I believe they get most of their food from insects on the water surface, so it makes sense that they would be so adept at feeding this way. Really hard to get a decent picture though... I might have to try and get a video of it.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

One of the great things about a journal is being able to track the growth of things that change gradually enough that you lose track of it. Here's the current state of the terrestrial plants, for date-stamped documentary purposes:




























I also ordered a hang on back, in-tank acrylic refugium for the large monstera and the pothos. The idea is to get them to root bind themselves into a contained space rather than have the roots totally take over the back of the tank. I think eventually the refugium will be well-hidden behind the vals.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

I'm crushing hard on your tank 💙


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> I'm crushing hard on your tank 💙


How sweet - thank you. It's a labor of love...


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

EmotionalFescu. Based upon your pump/filter setup and a post by @minorhero I bought a FZone pump which arrived today. My hope is that it will allow for a bit more flow in the tank and also be quieter than my Oase 600 which has developed a serious hum. Like you, I will plumb it on the filter output. I may even spit the output and/or the input depending on how the flow works out. This afternoon I ran it using a 5 gallon bucket. It has very strong but adjustable output and is nearly silent. My only concern right now is that I can get good flow without pulling in air via the surface skimmer.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> EmotionalFescu. Based upon your pump/filter setup and a post by @minorhero I bought a FZone pump which arrived today. My hope is that it will allow for a bit more flow in the tank and also be quieter than my Oase 600 which has developed a serious hum. Like you, I will plumb it on the filter output. I may even spit the output and/or the input depending on how the flow works out. This afternoon I ran it using a 5 gallon bucket. It has very strong but adjustable output and is nearly silent. My only concern right now is that I can get good flow without pulling in air via the surface skimmer.


Nice - I'll be interested to hear how it turns out!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

The refugium/planter box arrived today...










The plants are suspended in there with zip ties. I should be able to remove them once everything is root bound wall to wall.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Full tank shot (with bonus flashgun reflection):










Things are going pretty well with the tank... I think I'm on the tail end of my new tank diatom bloom, though core of the rotala bush is riddled with the floof. I figure I can scalp it and leave the substrate undisturbed, or I can let it grow out nice and shaggy, pull it all, and replant tops. I think the latter option is the more risky one.

I also did something a bit kooky with the lights. One thing I really hate about the Kessils is that the red channel is underpowered, so once you get above about 35% power with the red maxed out, the reds get swamped. Regardless, even at low power, it's hard to balance the red for the front and the back of the tank and you end up with a lot of red splash on the wall. Sooo I started playing around with some color correcting gels I had on the photography shelf...

I tried lots of different colors, but it was this pink shade with a lot of magenta in it that worked the best:










That's the 35 degree reflector half covered with gel and with a DIY shade made of pond liner!










It's impossible to convey their effect in photographs, but it made a really big/nice difference. The sand up front is a much more pleasing tone while the wall behind the tank doesn't have a red cast. Plus, the gels reduce the light output by 2 stops (in photography terms, not sure how that relates to par), which makes it easier to get light on the plants without blasting the beach.

In photography its common to have all sorts of light modifiers for your flashes. It would be great to see more of that for aquarium lighting - gels, grids, all sorts of reflectors, etc...


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

Love all the emersed growth in this tank! It's very inspiring.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> Love all the emersed growth in this tank! It's very inspiring.


Thanks - it's definitely one of my favorite aspects of this tank at the moment.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

The fish are starting to get some really nice colors...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I topped the rotala recently, and it made the spawning behavior a lot more obvious... get a room, guys.






look at the flashing on the male on the bottom right in the (crappy phone) video linked above. So cool to see how they can turn it on and off like that.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

If you guys could only see how hard this guy is working to get that pretty lady into his java fern bush...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> If you guys could only see how hard this guy is working to get that pretty lady into his java fern bush...
> 
> View attachment 1037284


Did it work? Did she fall for it?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

She went as far as checking out his digs... What happened once they were back there... Who can say?


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> She went as far as checking out his digs... What happened once they were back there... Who can say?


Well I'm sure he's not the type to kiss and tell. But at least she noticed him. Good man.


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## Bootsy (Jul 4, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> She went as far as checking out his digs... What happened once they were back there... Who can say?


What happens in the plants stays in the plants.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Bootsy said:


> What happens in the plants stays in the plants.


or sometimes eventually swims out of the plants and starts nibbling on infusoria 😅


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## fredw3533 (12 mo ago)

minorhero said:


> Nice setup and great looking space! What size tank is this and where did you get it?
> 
> Looking forward to seeing where you go with it.


What’s the size tank?


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

fredw3533 said:


> What’s the size tank?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It’s a WaterBox ClearPro 6025. 

60x25x22in/1536x643x550mm.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Did WaterBox stop offering the 6025 in a Peninsula version?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> Did WaterBox stop offering the 6025 in a Peninsula version?


doesn't look like it. it's in stock with black cabinet:









Saltwater Aquariums







waterboxaquariums.com


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

If you look at their Clear Pro page, they used to offer a Clear Pro 6025 Peninsula, which was just a 6025 + peninsula style cabinet.

The Peninsula version you linked to has a sump. 

You can see the model I'm talking about here, if you scroll about a quarter of the way down the page:









Freshwater Aquariums







waterboxaquariums.com


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> If you look at their Clear Pro page, they used to offer a Clear Pro 6025 Peninsula, which was just a 6025 + peninsula style cabinet.
> 
> The Peninsula version you linked to has a sump.


Ah, I see. They seem to change up their product offerings pretty often, so I wouldn't be surprised if they nixed that offering.


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## ElleDee (May 16, 2020)

Hey @EmotionalFescue, when you selected that pump were you worried about the additional flow compromising your canister? Looking at older threads about booster pumps it seems like that was a concern some people had. Is that pump pressure rated?

I'm toying with the idea of using a Iwaki or Pan World mag drive pump in this application, but they are not adjustable so buying the right sized pump is important, but I'm not entirely sure what the risks are if you go too big. 

Love the build and the journal is a treat!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

ElleDee said:


> Hey @EmotionalFescue, when you selected that pump were you worried about the additional flow compromising your canister? Looking at older threads about booster pumps it seems like that was a concern some people had. Is that pump pressure rated?
> 
> I'm toying with the idea of using a Iwaki or Pan World mag drive pump in this application, but they are not adjustable so buying the right sized pump is important, but I'm not entirely sure what the risks are if you go too big.
> 
> Love the build and the journal is a treat!


Hmmm. If you had a booster pump placed before the canister, I think you could theoretically create more pressure than the canister could handle, but since this one is placed after the canister increased pressure shouldn't be an issue. I guess if I were using an Oase canister I would worry about the opposite problem - too little pressure in the canister exacerbating the prefilter sucking issue those canisters have. That said, I don't think I'm blowing too far past the GPH rating of this canister, I'm just not allowing all my in-line mechanicals to degrade my flow.

The pump can handle decent head pressure, but it's not pressure rated in the same way some of the Iwakis are.

One thing to consider with an AC pump is that you can always adjust their flow without choking them down. If you install a bypass loop with a valve, you can divert some of your flow right back into the pump. Like this:










I did this for a while with an oversized return pump in a sump - I branched off the return line with a ball valve so some amount of the flow went right back to the sump.


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## ElleDee (May 16, 2020)

Thanks for the response! I hadn't considered a bypass - I would still prefer to avoid that situation, but it's good to have a plan B. 



EmotionalFescue said:


> That said, I don't think I'm blowing too far past the GPH rating of this canister, I'm just not allowing all my in-line mechanicals to degrade my flow.


So you don't think your actual gph turnover is too far past the 450 gph of the native fx4 pump? Just making sure I understand your benchmark here.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

ElleDee said:


> Thanks for the response! I hadn't considered a bypass - I would still prefer to avoid that situation, but it's good to have a plan B.
> 
> 
> 
> So you don't think your actual gph turnover is too far past the 450 gph of the native fx4 pump? Just making sure I understand your benchmark here.


I think the fx4 is 700gph? 










I've got my pump set at 40 watts which should be around 1,040 with no head. I figure the water actually flowing through the canister is somewhere south of 900. Since the fx4 has the same base design as the 6, I think I'm probably still well within design tolerances. This is all a bit squishy of course...


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## ElleDee (May 16, 2020)

Sorry, my mistake. 700 gph it is.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Fluval is one of the few (only?) companies that tries to show you the loss of performance due to head + filter media. 

Theoretically, an in-line pump mounted ~2ft higher than the normal FX4/FX6 pump should be far more efficient, correct? That’s ignoring a more efficient design, DC vs AC, etc. 

My concern with running too powerful a pump would be potential damage to the foam filter media.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> My concern with running too powerful a pump would be potential damage to the foam filter media.


Well, there are no signs of trouble thus far... One of these days I'd like to plumb in a flow meter so I can know what my actual turnover rate is. If I ever spot one on ebay for a reasonable price, I might have to snatch it up.


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

My external pump is working wonderfully. It is absolutely silent from outside the stand. I have it set at about 80% which gives me a bit of extra flow above what the stock Oase does.

Question. Do you have your reactor before or after your external pump? I went back to look at your original photos but could not really tell. I have my inline diffusor before the pump figuring that the very small bubbles would be further dissolved by the pump. My Oase motor is turned off but the impeller is still in place. This setup has not made much difference regarding bubbles but flow and noise are great.

So my question is do you think that there is a compelling reason one way or the other regarding the placement of a CO2 device relative to the external pump?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> Question. Do you have your reactor before or after your external pump? I went back to look at your original photos but could not really tell. I have my inline diffusor before the pump figuring that the very small bubbles would be further dissolved by the pump. My Oase motor is turned off but the impeller is still in place. This setup has not made much difference regarding bubbles but flow and noise are great.


I have my pump after the canister and right before the reactor. While I don't think it would matter too much one way or the other for an inline diffuser (as long as the bubbles aren't making the pump noisy, and it sounds like they aren't in your case), my experience has been that the more pressure you can build inside the reactor the better. There's less sloshing and better dissolution. That's one of the reasons I really like the inline pump arrangement - it's another tool for getting the most out of a reactor.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

This is my spot to chill out and be by myself for a little while in the evenings before heading up to bed (after everyone else already has). The rainbows are really active at this time of night, and the smallest bit of warm light on the tank gives the space a very relaxed vibe. This room is really helping me make it through the cold dark months.


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## Njroth (Dec 23, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> This is my spot to chill out and be by myself for a little while in the evenings before heading up to bed (after everyone else already has). The rainbows are really active at this time of night, and the smallest bit of warm light on the tank gives the space a very relaxed vibe. This room is really helping me make it through the cold dark months.
> 
> View attachment 1037581


looking awesome! the tank fits in that space just perfect.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Njroth said:


> looking awesome! the tank fits in that space just perfect.


Thank ya! Definitely fits much better than the three footer that used to be in that spot.


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## tegra1027 (Nov 23, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> This is my spot to chill out and be by myself for a little while in the evenings before heading up to bed (after everyone else already has). The rainbows are really active at this time of night, and the smallest bit of warm light on the tank gives the space a very relaxed vibe. This room is really helping me make it through the cold dark months.
> 
> View attachment 1037581


It looks extremely cozy and relaxing! Gret job with everything. I saw your before pics of the room as whole. Looks amazing! Did you design it all yourself?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

tegra1027 said:


> It looks extremely cozy and relaxing! Gret job with everything. I saw your before pics of the room as whole. Looks amazing! Did you design it all yourself?


Thank you kindly!

Yes, this was all an inside job, though I will say that it took a solid 20 years of marriage to get to the point where we can decorate a room together to everyone's satisfaction.


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## Bootsy (Jul 4, 2021)

I spy a uke.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Bootsy said:


> I spy a uke.


Yes, we've acquired several instruments over the years from the kids' music lessons. I can reliably pick out Mele Kalikimaka and Auld Lang Syne and strum some chords, but that's about it. I'd like to take some lessons myself someday...


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## Bootsy (Jul 4, 2021)

It's a fun instrument and pretty easy to pick up. Also surprisingly easy to transition to guitar.


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## tegra1027 (Nov 23, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Thank you kindly!
> 
> Yes, this was all an inside job, though I will say that it took a solid 20 years of marriage to get to the point where we can decorate a room together to everyone's satisfaction.


Ha!! I know what you mean... I'm looking forward to that day.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Haven't posted a full tank shot in a while...










I recently removed all of the rotala and replanted tops - it's still coming in, and I'm trimming daily to get a nice bush. I've also got some seriously ratty looking java fern zip tied to the wood on the right. Classy. So, that's gonna take a couple months to fill out and adhere itself. The crypts are just starting to catch their snap. They should be nice and big in no more than six months lol. 

I've cut away all of the existing val leaves and new growth is coming in nicely, but it definitely hasn't filled out yet. I'm regularly cutting away ratty looking hydrocotyle. There's still some diatom algae... I just crossed the 3 month mark since planting day, so I'm really just channeling my zen as much as possible and waiting for the tank to settle. Keeping things constant and letting it all shake out. There's a nice coating of hard green algae on the river rocks, which I'm leaving as-is. It has a homogenizing visual effect and they contrast nicely with the sand, which stays nice looking throughout the week. I don't think they photograph very well though!

The growth above water is going nicely...
















So, all in all, I'm just keeping things steady Eddy and being patient while the tank finds its groove.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

The whole thing is just such a beauty ♥


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

All of my tanks end up with green algae on the rocks at some point. Interestingly some rocks seem more prone to it then others. If there is a good way of getting rid of it short of turning effected rocks upside down, I don't know it. I have even used steel brushes, and dripped hydrogen peroxide on bare rocks during water changes... nothing. If you ever figure out a solution let me know.

Layout of the tank is really nice, lends itself to the whole vibe you have in this room.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> The whole thing is just such a beauty ♥


Thank you! It's still in its ugly duckling phase at the moment, but I'm happy with its current trajectory.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> If you ever figure out a solution let me know.
> 
> Layout of the tank is really nice, lends itself to the whole vibe you have in this room.


I think the secret might be having an ADA intern with a scrub brush lol.

Thankfully, I'd planned for them to all turn green, so it's not any kind of dispiriting surprise.

And thank you!


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## ElleDee (May 16, 2020)

Your layout has such a sense of ease that's really lovely. It's a large tank, but you haven't tried to cram too much in there and it keeps the focus on the wood. I am looking forward to how it matures.

What kinds of crypts do you have in there? Just C. undulata Red? How tall do you reckon that will get?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

ElleDee said:


> Your layout has such a sense of ease that's really lovely. It's a large tank, but you haven't tried to cram too much in there and it keeps the focus on the wood. I am looking forward to how it matures.
> 
> What kinds of crypts do you have in there? Just C. undulata Red? How tall do you reckon that will get?


Thanks so much! I had way too much in there at the start, but I've gradually replaced and parsed down to only a handful of species. I'm not very good at planning, executing and keeping a plant layout, but I can usually end up with something I'm happy with, after a lot of fiddling.

I've got undulata and undulata red in that front crypt garden. I've got both in my 80 gallon (these came from there), and they're both around 10-12" high in there! They surprisingly look nice together too. I'm hoping to eventually have a soft pillow of bright green hydrocotyle with contrasting sharp bursts of dark, earthy crypt in that front zone. They just take so. Long. To. Fill. Out.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Thank you! It's still in its ugly duckling phase at the moment, but I'm happy with its current trajectory.


Nope nope, it’s clear that it’s going in a really great direction ⭐ Can’t wait to see where it goes.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fish pics...














































*the water is not usually this dirty - I'd just put a squirt of baby brine in for the filter feeders


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

SYSTEMS CHECK: That Damned DJ Strip

I have used several of the American DJ rack mount power strips over the past couple years, and any time I have them mounted in a vertical orientation, eventually, inevitably - _infuriatingly_ - switches fail. I canibalized the first one this happened to, salvaging the remaining good switches to be used to repair later failures in replacement strips. This worked well enough for a time, but the switches are an absolute PITA to change out. After doing this more times than I care to recall, I'm trying something new.










This Pyle-branded strip is about the same price as the ADJ model (~$50) and has 9 stations instead of 8. Plus, it clearly utilizes different switches. Whether or not they will suffer the same fate... time will tell. For now, I'm enjoying having a switch for each component after having two switches fail within a week of each other on the ADJ strip (I had the heater running in the cabinet light spot, and the powerhead was doubled up with the grow lights).

I see a lot of people using those ADJ strips vertically mounted in their aquarium cabinets, and I can't be the only one to experience this. So, hopefully this will be useful to someone out there.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

This thread should be pinned at the top. High tech but actually natural looking, high volume, with good numbers of fish. Every time I come back I learn something new.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> This thread should be pinned at the top. High tech but actually natural looking, high volume, with good numbers of fish. Every time I come back I learn something new.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That is high praise! Thank you.

I have really enjoyed keeping my (many) tank journals as a thing I do for myself, so it's great to know that others get something out of them too.


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## puopg (Sep 16, 2012)

I just like how cozy the room feels with the lighting temp and stuff. Im hoping to achieve a similar vibe for my little nature corner of the house too.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

puopg said:


> I just like how cozy the room feels with the lighting temp and stuff. Im hoping to achieve a similar vibe for my little nature corner of the house too.


It's definitely my favorite place to hang out. Having the lights on low and warm for a bit in the evenings is really nice too.


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

Looks awesome. I like how serene it is with the sand, the driftwood, and those beautiful fish.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fat Guy said:


> Looks awesome. I like how serene it is with the sand, the driftwood, and those beautiful fish.


Thank ya, sir!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

A short timelapse of the rainbows at night - this is one of my favorite times to watch them


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some pics...














































Somewhat interesting update today... I've started to see a bit of BBA in a couple of spots in the tank. Nothing much, but I've been cutting it out when I spot it. Today, I was noticing some rotala stems in the middle of the bush with BBA on their leaves. When I cut it out in a couple of spots, I noticed eggs on the same leaves that were covered in algae. This made me wonder - are spawning areas more prone to algae? Due to... excretions? LOL. Anywho... I dropped the temp a degree (from 79 to 78) and upped the CO2 just a tad. Will continue to monitor and remove when I spot it.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

Are you still doing EI dosing or did you switch back to pps-pro? From memory I think you switched off of pps-pro at some point earlier? 

I have no idea if spawning can cause more algae. I mean.. in theory if you have something decomposing in the tank (like a failed spawn) it should be releasing nutrients but that seems pretty minimal. 

Love seeing updates on this tank. Its definitely a fun ride.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

Nice Pics! What do you have in there that you need the temps 78-79?


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Could it be that fish will spawn near algae to provide fry with a nearby source of Infusoria?

Or, you know, maybe it’s the excretions thing.

Your photos are so beautiful.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> Are you still doing EI dosing or did you switch back to pps-pro? From memory I think you switched off of pps-pro at some point earlier?


I used pps pro as a jumping off point for diy ferts a couple years ago, but use a different mix now. I still dose daily from solution though.

I don't think I'm too far off of pps pro high light levels except on phosphate. I dose 18/4.5/21+0.6 for NO3/PO4/K plus micromix benched on Fe.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Asteroid said:


> Nice Pics! What do you have in there that you need the temps 78-79?


Thanks! There's a Blue Phantom Pleco in there.

So, I'm at the bottom of his range now, but I think he'll be alright. Kinda hard to tell if a Pleco is uncomfortable...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Could it be that fish will spawn near algae to provide fry with a nearby source of Infusoria?
> 
> Or, you know, maybe it’s the excretions thing.
> 
> Your photos are so beautiful.


It was such a strange place for algae I have to think the cause and effect relationship was going in the other direction, but it's hard to be certain of anything in this planted tank business!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> It was such a strange place for algae I have to think the cause and effect relationship was going in the other direction, but it's hard to be certain of anything in this planted tank business!


You need to replicate these findings and then publish a paper on how bow excretions stimulate algae growth in otherwise inhospitable environments 😊


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Thanks! There's a Blue Phantom Pleco in there.
> 
> So, I'm at the bottom of his range now, but I think he'll be alright. Kinda hard to tell if a Pleco is uncomfortable...


A pleco, low plant mass and high temps. Yep, your gonna have to work a little harder to keep it BBA/Algae free. I didn't realize plecos needed temps that warm. Anyway I know its a good size tank, but plecos as you know are poop machines. So anywhere organics are going to take hold, wood, slow growing leaves, even microscopic crevices in inlet/outet hardware can house organics as they start to decompose. Doesn't matter how big the filter is.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Would more clean-up crew help?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Asteroid said:


> A pleco, low plant mass and high temps. Yep, your gonna have to work a little harder to keep it BBA/Algae free.


Definitely. At the outset I knew I was making things difficult for myself with this one, and that's been part of the fun with it. Sort of a "I backed myself into a corner and have to fight my way out" kind of thing.

First is the wood. It's hard to convey in pictures how absolutely monstrous the thing is. So I have really limited plantable space which I'm targeting with spot lights that feather in intensity over the unplanted areas. I usually would prefer a spraybar, but that wasn't possible with the emergent wood, etc... I've also found that these rainbows _love_ high flow. So I've got a pretty good current going along the front glass, which plows into the rotala on its return leg across the back glass. Fish love it, but it's maybe less than ideal for the plants. BUT _the fish love it _so I'm okay with it.

I've also got a nature scape vibe going on here, and I'm not necessarily shooting for algae free. If the things I'm doing for fish service and hardscape lead to some persistent algae in some places, I'm going to be okay with that as long as I'm short of bloom territory (especially if it's on hardscape).


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I used pps pro as a jumping off point for diy ferts a couple years ago, but use a different mix now. I still dose daily from solution though.
> 
> I don't think I'm too far off of pps pro high light levels except on phosphate. I dose 18/4.5/21+0.6 for NO3/PO4/K plus micromix benched on Fe.


I don't know why I thought you were doing pps-pro, I must be confusing you with someone else's tank. My knowledge of fert mixes is definitely less advanced then your own. I've just been following pps-pro or EI depending on the tank. My 120P is the least algae prone tank I've ever had and its using the nicolg pps-pro method of dosing. Plus I'm dosing on my estimate of actual gallons of water in the tank. So my tank is technically 78 gallons, but I think there is closer to 40 gallons of water in there once you take into account all the hardscape and substrate, so I'm dosing based on that 40 gallon volume. PLUS my tank auto doses at 7am, but I do water changes later in the day then that. So on water change day its technically not getting properly dosed at all. All of this has me thinking that very low levels of fertilizer coupled with big water changes once a week is the way to go.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

@Asteroid - in thinking about this some more, I realize that I maybe haven't ever put down in the journal my thinking about risk mitigation related to the points you raised...

What is it about a heavy planting that is protective against algae? In my mind, it's two things. First is that plant mass provides stability for a tank in the same way that sand in the bilge of a ship does. It's ballast that makes the tank resilient to nutrient (mostly ammonia?) swings that algae can rapidly take advantage of. Second is that it prevents having a bunch of light falling on rocks, wood, and sand where algae can take hold and make use of available fuel.

The terrestrial plants rooted in the water in this tank provide ballast in the same way that a larger aquatic planting would. So they're not here _just_ for aesthetic reasons (though I do think they look fabulous). Those plants add ballast but don't help to cover the hardscape. To help with that, I've got very targeted lighting that puts growing light on photosynthetic surfaces and viewing light on hardscape (more or less).

I also have always had in the back of my mind an escape hatch strategy for this tank... I've set myself up for difficulties in part by having this big rotala bush that is getting some heavy light. If my overall constraints mean that high light zone will be problematic even once the tank is established, I can fall back to a lower light plant selection and take my foot off the gas with the lights. Currently, I don't think I'll have to do that (and I'd hate to give up on my bright green bush), but it's always an option.

So far there have been no big post-diatom blooms, and I take that as an encouraging sign. Consistency, consistency, consistency in CO2, fertilizers, light, and maintenance is my watchword here.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Would more clean-up crew help?


With the exception of Amanos, I'm generally pretty dubious of the whole clean up crew concept. Cleaner fish excrete waste, and I think it's usually pretty hard to say they're helping more than they're hurting the algae situation. I do have about 30 Amanos in here though, and they are doing a good job keeping the wood pretty clean. I also just like them though!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> I don't know why I thought you were doing pps-pro, I must be confusing you with someone else's tank. My knowledge of fert mixes is definitely less advanced then your own. I've just been following pps-pro or EI depending on the tank. My 120P is the least algae prone tank I've ever had and its using the nicolg pps-pro method of dosing. Plus I'm dosing on my estimate of actual gallons of water in the tank. So my tank is technically 78 gallons, but I think there is closer to 40 gallons of water in there once you take into account all the hardscape and substrate, so I'm dosing based on that 40 gallon volume. PLUS my tank auto doses at 7am, but I do water changes later in the day then that. So on water change day its technically not getting properly dosed at all. All of this has me thinking that very low levels of fertilizer coupled with big water changes once a week is the way to go.


Yeah, I calculate my dosing assuming 105 gallons in this tank (taking 25 off the total capacity).

Regarding your thinking on the ideal strategy... I think it really depends on the tank and what you've got planted in there. I tend to think that consistency and cleanliness are paramount more than the absolute dosing levels. And definitely the less you push the light, the more you can get away with a super lean dosing strategy.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> With the exception of Amanos, I'm generally pretty dubious of the whole clean up crew concept. Cleaner fish excrete waste, and I think it's usually pretty hard to say they're helping more than they're hurting the algae situation. I do have about 30 Amanos in here though, and they are doing a good job keeping the wood pretty clean. I also just like them though!


Yeah I really like mine too! They are so industrious. It makes me laugh how they pick up snails, roll them around, dust them off and chuck them to the side.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

EmotionalFescue said:


> @Asteroid ...
> What is it about a heavy planting that is protective against algae? In my mind, it's two things. First is that plant mass provides stability for a tank in the same way that sand in the bilge of a ship does. It's ballast that makes the tank resilient to nutrient (mostly ammonia?) swings that algae can rapidly take advantage of. Second is that it prevents having a bunch of light falling on rocks, wood, and sand where algae can take hold and make use of available fuel...


I'm sure it can be debated on several fronts, but yeah I think the stability is definitely part of it, it doesn't allow an "opening" for algae to take hold. I mean the potential for algae is always there, it's certain conditions that spores are "activated" and become the algae we see in our tanks. 

I can't think of anything that is better than fast growing plants in keeping the tank clear of algae. They are instantly and continually removing toxins from the water. Water changes are great, but they'll not continuous (could be) but usually once a week. The bio-filter which to me is mostly in the tank once it's established does not prevent algae. Go into a petco/petsmart and there's usually is a ton of BBA on everything, yet they have a big centralized filtration system, but they are fish heavy and plant light. There is no debate that when you plant heavy there is much more wiggle room with algae in terms of light and fish load.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Asteroid said:


> I'm sure it can be debated on several fronts, but yeah I think the stability is definitely part of it, it doesn't allow an "opening" for algae to take hold. I mean the potential for algae is always there, it's certain conditions that spores are "activated" and become the algae we see in our tanks.
> 
> I can't think of anything that is better than fast growing plants in keeping the tank clear of algae. They are instantly and continually removing toxins from the water. Water changes are great, but they'll not continuous (could be) but usually once a week. The bio-filter which to me is mostly in the tank once it's established does not prevent algae. Go into a petco/petsmart and there's usually is a ton of BBA on everything, yet they have a big centralized filtration system, but they are fish heavy and plant light. There is no debate that when you plant heavy there is much more wiggle room with algae in terms of light and fish load.


I think we're saying the same thing... more plants means more uptake (and especially less potential for free ammonia?). My thinking is that I can have high uptake with plants like monstera and pothos rooted in the water to achieve the same goal as a heavy aquatic planting that is otherwise prevented by my hardscape (I did this to myself). That and being careful where I point the light in the tank, I should be able to mitigate a lot of the risk of a light planting. Right? Maybe? That's the theory anyway...


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I think we're saying the same thing... more plants means more uptake (and especially less potential for free ammonia?). My thinking is that I can have high uptake with plants like monstera and pothos rooted in the water to achieve the same goal as a heavy aquatic planting that is otherwise prevented by my hardscape (I did this to myself). That and being careful where I point the light in the tank, I should be able to mitigate a lot of the risk of a light planting. Right? Maybe? That's the theory anyway...


Pretty much, I think so, The emersed plants will definitely be in your favor. Going against you would be fish load, higher temps and if the light is too strong (not saying it is). Even in clean tanks those factors increase the likelihood of algae developing. My tanks always have alot of hardscape like yours, which I enjoy more than individual plants. I let people like @Greggz grow all the tough stuff and I get to enjoy the pretty colors, LOL. 

I think you and I need a support group here for underplanted, planted tanks.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Asteroid said:


> Pretty much, I think so, The emersed plants will definitely be in your favor. Going against you would be fish load, higher temps and if the light is too strong (not saying it is). Even in clean tanks those factors increase the likelihood of algae developing. My tanks always have alot of hardscape like yours, which I enjoy more than individual plants. I let people like @Greggz grow all the tough stuff and I get to enjoy the pretty colors, LOL.
> 
> I think you and I need a support group here for underplanted, planted tanks.


Ha, indeed. We can all live vicariously through @Greggz!


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

LidijaPN said:


> Would more clean-up crew help?


Yeah I agree with @EmotionalFescue that the concept of a clean-up crew is pretty much a myth. They make a ton of waste, especially Plecos, but even shrimp. If you have a solid light substrate you would be amazed at what they can do. It looks like salt and pepper every day. My feeling is that if you think you need a clean up crew your overfeeding and not doing the right maintenance to begin with.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Asteroid said:


> Yeah I agree with @EmotionalFescue that the concept of a clean-up crew is pretty much a myth. They make a ton of waste, especially Plecos, but even shrimp. If you have a solid light substrate you would be amazed at what they can do. It looks like salt and pepper every day. My feeling is that if you think you need a clean up crew your overfeeding and not doing the right maintenance to begin with.


That’s fascinating because everyone talks up the clean-up crew so much… I get the idea of shrimp as clean-up because they’re light in terms of bioload. Pleco not so much. It also depends on what you need them to do… like shrimp might poop on the substrate but get algae off your plant leaves. That could still be useful. Also their poop is probably less ‘caloric’ for algae than fish poop? Hence the light bioload? My snails poop a lot but do they also help? I wouldn’t know without having two identical tanks, one with them and one without. I know my diatoms vanished when shrimp came but it could have just been their time to go.


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Asteroid said:


> Yeah I agree with @EmotionalFescue that the concept of a clean-up crew is pretty much a myth. They make a ton of waste, especially Plecos, but even shrimp. If you have a solid light substrate you would be amazed at what they can do. It looks like salt and pepper every day. My feeling is that if you think you need a clean up crew your overfeeding and not doing the right maintenance to begin with.


Agreed.

People are always surprised that I don't have a single "cleaner" or "algae eater" in my tank. 

Many create more waste and problems than they fix, especially pleco's and BN's.

And you guys living vicariously through me has got to stop. I might just have to send you each a box of big fast growing flowery stems to cure that!!


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

Greggz said:


> ..And you guys living vicariously through me has got to stop. I might just have to send you each a box of big fast growing flowery stems to cure that!!


Not that I don't appreciate the offer, but if they get delivered when I'm not around my wife will surely think they're flowers and they'll be in a vase on the kitchen table when I walk in.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Greggz said:


> And you guys living vicariously through me has got to stop. I might just have to send you each a box of big fast growing flowery stems to cure that!!


As long as you don't mind the idea of them getting covered in fish goo...


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## Bootsy (Jul 4, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> As long as you don't mind the idea of them getting covered in fish goo...


Mmmmmmmhhh, fish goo.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Bootsy said:


> Mmmmmmmhhh, fish goo.


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## Bootsy (Jul 4, 2021)

Asteroid said:


> If you have a solid light substrate you would be amazed at what they can do. It looks like salt and pepper every day.


And the snailllz!! I made the mistake of using very fine light sand as a cosmetic “beach.” So dirty. Still ok with the snails, but even the tiny ones create a lot of poop.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Greggz said:


> And you guys living vicariously through me has got to stop. I might just have to send you each a box of big fast growing flowery stems to cure that!!


As long as you don’t mind them dying slow agonising deaths in my badly lit Thrive-fertilized sad newb tank 😅


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Bootsy said:


> And the snailllz!! I made the mistake of using very fine light sand as a cosmetic “beach.” So dirty. Still ok with the snails, but even the tiny ones create a lot of poop.


They do seem to poop out the equivalent of their bodyweight daily. But so cute. I find snails and shrimp both have more personality than fish, my fish at least.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> They do seem to poop out the equivalent of their bodyweight daily. But so cute. I find snails and shrimp both have more personality than fish, my fish at least.


I think it depends on whether or not - and to what extent - you're adding food specifically for these creatures.

If there's something eating, say, decaying fish food in your tank that would have been there regardless of whether or not a snail or shrimp was feasting on it, then there would be a net gain for the tank. There has to be, right? If something is eating a morsel of some sort, they're deriving energy from it and the waste they produce therefore must have less energy. You've converted some energy to life, and that living thing sh*ts out something less energetic. That's why I'm not worried about the bioload of the Amanos - I'm not target feeding them, and their little turds (which totally make the sand look peppered) are less energetic than whatever they consumed to produce them... I guess the caveat there would be if the shrimp are eating something living, like algae. But even then, if a shrimp eats one unit of algae, the poop resulting from that could only support something less than one unit of algae, right?

I think where the clean up crew becomes problematic is when you end up feeding them specifically. Like, when they eat all the algae! They're still in there hungry. That's where I think catfish are a problem as a clean up crew, for example.

And even in the case of the Amanos, I end up feeding them, I must admit. These ones aren't really into shrimpee sticks yet because there's still plenty of fresh algae for them to eat, but the shrimp in my 80g get treats on water change day. (I may also overfeed the fish a bit so they have noms throughout the week... damn. see? cleanup crew is BS lol).


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Evening mood










I threw a drop checker in there today for kicks...



Spoiler



it was yellow



There are hints of warm weather on the horizon - three days in the 60s next week! It is most welcome after this bout of single digits. As soon as it seems reasonable to do a mail order, I'm getting some more java fern!

The Monstera finally decided it had spent enough time on its roots and put out some new growth. The new leaf has a split, which was surprising. I didn't think they did that until they were more mature. Maybe the rich hydroponic environment and strong grow lights jumpstarted the process. I'm still not exactly sure how the planter box is going to work out. Surely it couldn't root heavily enough to break the box... Surely.

I'm at the point now where I feel like day 5 is a good water change day. Hopefully I'll make it to a 7 day periodicity before too long.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I think it depends on whether or not - and to what extent - you're adding food specifically for these creatures.
> 
> If there's something eating, say, decaying fish food in your tank that would have been there regardless of whether or not a snail or shrimp was feasting on it, then there would be a net gain for the tank. There has to be, right? If something is eating a morsel of some sort, they're deriving energy from it and the waste they produce therefore must have less energy. You've converted some energy to life, and that living thing sh*ts out something less energetic. That's why I'm not worried about the bioload of the Amanos - I'm not target feeding them, and their little turds (which totally make the sand look peppered) are less energetic than whatever they consumed to produce them... I guess the caveat there would be if the shrimp are eating something living, like algae. But even then, if a shrimp eats one unit of algae, the poop resulting from that could only support something less than one unit of algae, right?
> 
> ...


Yeah yeah that actually makes a lot of sense. I’m not feeding my shrimp anything except the odd spinach leaf or zucchini slice... both get eaten without a visible morsel left. The zucchini is apparently gross to the cherries but the two Amanos literally demolished the whole slice overnight.

On the whole yeah, I do think they eat the algae and biofilm and crud and the dead leaves for sure... so they’re probably a net positive for my tank.... they’re always scrubbing the substrate too. Like the tank looks cleaner overall since they joined. But yeah, I can see how a plec would probably be the opposite.

I think my snails are helping things too, though. And I definitely don’t feed them.

Unrelatedly, I can’t get over how great your tank looks. I’d wanna live in there.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Unrelatedly, I can’t get over how great your tank looks. I’d wanna live in there.


Thank you


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Saturday morning fish pics...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

And just because, here's a cameo from our beardie, Little Joe:

















He just had a shed, which makes him super grumpy, but he's feeling better today.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> And just because, here's a cameo from our beardie, Little Joe:
> 
> View attachment 1038341
> View attachment 1038340
> ...


I have new appreciation for reptiles. Do you have his enclosure planted? No experience with bearded dragons, so not sure if they can have plants or not.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> I have new appreciation for reptiles. Do you have his enclosure planted? No experience with bearded dragons, so not sure if they can have plants or not.


We got him as a baby, and the learning curve was really steep. We've had him for about a year and a half, and we've really only dialed it in completely in the past few months. So, for now, we have him in the lizard equivalent of a plastic plant aquarium. It's big, but all that's in there is wood and hammock. 

We have talked about going bioactive, especially now that he's not eating so many roaches and his poop doesn't smell so bad, but we're a little worried about upsetting the apple cart. He's also in my son's room, and he's only 8. So, the simpler the better.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> We got him as a baby, and the learning curve was really steep. We've had him for about a year and a half, and we've really only dialed it in completely in the past few months. So, for now, we have him in the lizard equivalent of a plastic plant aquarium. It's big, but all that's in there is wood and hammock.
> 
> We have talked about going bioactive, especially now that he's not eating so many roaches and his poop doesn't smell so bad, but we're a little worried about upsetting the apple cart. He's also in my son's room, and he's only 8. So, the simpler the better.


The son's room part will definitely throw it off a bit. Otherwise, I'd say going bioactive is suuuuuper easy. Especially compared to running a planted tank. Going bioactive is plant substrate (can use aquarium soils here, I am running both my gecko tank and a dart frog grow out on calcined clay (safe-t-sorb) mixed with aquasoil) and then you dump in springtails and isopods. For my critters I put down leaf litter. Plant any plants. Add a light (aquarium lights work here as well), and water as needed like its a house plant.

I have no idea about the conditions for a bearded dragon though. I am keeping pretty humid critters (60-80% humidity). So things are wet. I think bearded dragons are more arid? So your plant choices would greatly differ. Which species of isopod would also likely differ since the dragon will DEFINITELY eat anything he finds, so how fast they breed will probably be important whereas for my dart frogs I wanted ones that wouldn't breed very fast and/or would stay underground.

Outside of that though, its nice to never have to clean up poop. And the enclosures smell better (smell like the forest, or a potted plant).


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## vraev (Apr 13, 2012)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Saturday morning fish pics...
> 
> View attachment 1038330
> 
> ...


Those are some incredible pics. I am assuming these are either a DSLR or mirrorless.. the quality of DOF/bokeh, grain, texture, compression from longer lenses is so awesome and smooth. None of the overprocessed look you get from even the best cell phone shots.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> I have no idea about the conditions for a bearded dragon though. I am keeping pretty humid critters (60-80% humidity). So things are wet. I think bearded dragons are more arid?


Yeah, they are not wet lizards. The humidity in their enclosures has to remain pretty low. I know people do bioactive with them, but I'm not sure what extra steps - if any - are needed to keep the humidity down while still having an earthy, composting substrate.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

vraev said:


> Those are some incredible pics. I am assuming these are either a DSLR or mirrorless.. the quality of DOF/bokeh, grain, texture, compression from longer lenses is so awesome and smooth. None of the overprocessed look you get from even the best cell phone shots.


Thank you! Yes, these were taken with a Sony mirrorless. I've thought about doing a post (or series of posts) on my photo gear and the topic of aquarium photography in general... They're difficult objects to photograph, and I'm still figuring out how to do it well. Might be good to put some of my thoughts down in writing.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

ON THE TOPIC OF RAINBOWFISH

We have now kept three varieties of Rainbowfish: Melanotaenia praecox (AKA dwarf neon), Melanotaenia trifasciata (the ones in this tank; AKA Goyder river banded), and Pseudomugil gertrudae (blue-eyes). In each case we have kept them in large groups of males and females, and it's always the group dynamic and mating behaviors that I find most interesting.

While these three types of Rainbows are very different in size and appearance, their mating behaviors and competitive posturing are very similar. Outside of normal spawning times, which are typically concentrated in the morning hours, the males are constantly jockeying for position - either over the popular spawning spots (making sure their goo is the _only goo_ in the rotala bush) or at the front of the pack swimming into the current. Their aggressions are very fleeting and situational, and no fish gets singled out or relentlessly tormented. No one seems to take things personally, and everyone seems to get a turn in front. The females are usually off on their own during these times, swimming along the current in peace.

_During spawning_ is when things are most exciting. In these times, the ladies call the shots. Wherever they meander over to, the males show up and put on a display. They turn on their headlights full blast while they shake and shimmy and try to coerce the female into the nearest bush to lay her eggs, which they can have the first shot at fertilizing. Sometimes they get a lady to themselves, but, more often than not, there's some competition.

For whatever reason - either due to fate or random chance - we seem to end up with a sex imbalance that favors males at about 2:1. This usually means that the ladies deposit their eggs and wander off largely unmolested while the males duke it out over step 2 (that's the one with the goo). Again, there's jockeying, but no real violence in the aggression the males display here. It seems like everyone is a pretty good sport, and the male that wins the contest for the spawning grounds ends up stuck guarding it for hours on end. It hardly seems like much of a prize, which means I don't feel the least bit bad for the losers.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Pics


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## vraev (Apr 13, 2012)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Thank you! Yes, these were taken with a Sony mirrorless. I've thought about doing a post (or series of posts) on my photo gear and the topic of aquarium photography in general... They're difficult objects to photograph, and I'm still figuring out how to do it well. Might be good to put some of my thoughts down in writing.


Yea. Do share indeed. I have found it challenging to shoot without reflections in the glass. I have contemplating buying a polarizing filter, but for now, I tend to shoot at night with all other lights turned off to get the best pictures without any glare. On top of that shooting fish that tend to move pretty fast is tricky as well.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

vraev said:


> Yea. Do share indeed. I have found it challenging to shoot without reflections in the glass. I have contemplating buying a polarizing filter, but for now, I tend to shoot at night with all other lights turned off to get the best pictures without any glare. On top of that shooting fish that tend to move pretty fast is tricky as well.


Yeah, for sure. There are various things I've tried... for taking fish pics, I try to just close the blinds and turn off the room lights. For whole tank shots, there are more options.

For this photo, for example, I took two exposures with a tripod. The first one had all the room lights on and included horrible reflections on the tank. For the second one, I turned off all the room lights and exposed for the tank itself. I then layered the second exposure over the first one with a layer mask and painted the correctly-exposed and zero reflection tank into the exposure with the properly lit room.










Here are the two frames I started with:










Looks like I may have also fixed some as-of-yet unpainted spackle - don't judge me!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## vraev (Apr 13, 2012)

That is awesome. Yea...I never really try masking in Lightroom/photoshop for photography. That is definitely something I will try.  . thanks.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Your photos are beyond stunning!!!! I’d definitely want to hear more about the gear etc. And the behavioral/goo update is by far my favorite so far. I also find the fish behaviors the most fascinating, though I barely know them yet.

Your tank is everything I want from a tank one day ⭐ By the way do you use Photoshop for your editing?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Your photos are beyond stunning!!!! I’d definitely want to hear more about the gear etc. And the behavioral/goo update is by far my favorite so far. I also find the fish behaviors the most fascinating, though I barely know them yet.
> 
> Your tank is everything I want from a tank one day ⭐ By the way do you use Photoshop for your editing?


You're too kind! I started off most interested in the plants and plant husbandry, but I've really come to enjoy the fish first and foremost.

I use photoshop in the traditional sense as a final stage, usually just to run my resize and export macros. Most of the editing is done within Adobe Camera Raw. It's technically a Photoshop plugin, but it's really more of a standalone app. Anything requiring layers gets the full Photoshop treatment though.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some night shots...

It's a sad irony of rainbows (at least from a photographic perspective) that they look their best with a bit of ambient light, when the tank lights are off. That just so happens to be the hardest time to photograph them!





































There he goes!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some pics...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

The tank has been doing well lately. I've got a bit of bba on the tops of some of the vals where they're exposed to a steady current and pretty high light along the back glass, but it doesn't seem to be spreading. I'm not going to do anything to specifically combat that... I suppose it might go away or I might just have some endemic bba in this tank (in the parlance of our times). The new-tank-specific algae has been steadily abating for a while, though i still have a bit of brown floof (aka 'tank cheese') blowing around. I expect this will taper off eventually. In general, I think the algae is maybe taking a bit longer to peter out in this tank given that I'm feeding these fish twice a day, including frozen every other day. All in all, though, things are looking good. The fish are happy. I'm happy. Everybody is happy.










Eventually I'll grow that rotala bush big enough to cover that light switch!










I did change one thing up this week (it's all going so well, it must be time to change something, right?!)...

I normally like to run my lights at a fixed percentage for 8hrs. If I need to change anything, I can just change the intensity. Easy. Well, I think the tank looks better with the lights lower, and I've read a lot of people advocating for a relatively short burst of higher light mid day, so I'm giving that a shot. 25% throughout except for a 2hr period in the early afternoon at 50%. Before I was doing 40% all day. We'll see what shakes out!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Curious to hear how the new light regime works out for you. If the fish are difficult to photograph I can’t tell from your absolutely amazing photos ⭐

What’s the name of the cute little box that holds your emersed pothos? I just got a cutting and I’m racking my brain a little how to assemble it into the tank.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Curious to hear how the new light regime works out for you. If the fish are difficult to photograph I can’t tell from your absolutely amazing photos ⭐
> 
> What’s the name of the cute little box that holds your emersed pothos? I just got a cutting and I’m racking my brain a little how to assemble it into the tank.


Aw, thanks... it's a hang-on-back refugium, mostly used for livestock isolation. This one is made by CPR Aquatic.

We've got a couple of them, and they work great. I started out using one here, but the Monstera roots are serious business, and I didn't want them taking over the tank.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

That is so exactly what I need!! And is also giving me DIY ideas lol. Thanks!!!!


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

I think you'll be better off with just the burst, especially with limited plant mass. I've been doing that for as long as I can remember. Even before all the programmable stuff came out I'd always run two strips, one for 7-8 hrs the other for just 2 hrs. Grew some incredible hi-light carpets and stems without issue and I believe helped with algae control. My current tank which is plant-mass limited gets around 18 hrs of light with a 3 hr burst.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Asteroid said:


> I think you'll be better off with just the burst, especially with limited plant mass. I've been doing that for as long as I can remember. Even before all the programmable stuff came out I'd always run two strips, one for 7-8 hrs the other for just 2 hrs. Grew some incredible hi-light carpets and stems without issue and I believe helped with algae control. My current tank which is plant-mass limited gets around 18 hrs of light with a 3 hr burst.


I'm encouraged so far... I've definitely got more intense pearling than I did before.


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

Man, I've been binging your journal for the past couple of days and your set-up is awesome! Tank is really coming into it's own and the whole vibe of the room is perfect.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> Man, I've been binging your journal for the past couple of days and your set-up is awesome! Tank is really coming into it's own and the whole vibe of the room is perfect.


Thank you! I feel like it's finally hitting its stride...


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## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

I love big lighting intensity/spectrum shifts throughout the day! My sunset program is dim and very red and it's my favorite time to observe the tank. Looking good!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Jaguar said:


> I love big lighting intensity/spectrum shifts throughout the day! My sunset program is dim and very red and it's my favorite time to observe the tank. Looking good!


Yeah, part of the reason I'm loving this change is I can have the reds at a high intensity, which really makes everything pop.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Yeah, part of the reason I'm loving this change is I can have the reds at a high intensity, which really makes everything pop.


I like that too and I agree (I think you said this) that the tank looks better with different dimming effects. I like when my tank looks reddish, unfortunately haven't been able to communicate that look in pics.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Asteroid said:


> I like that too and I agree (I think you said this) that the tank looks better with different dimming effects. I like when my tank looks reddish, unfortunately haven't been able to communicate that look in pics.


I've decided it's essentially impossible for me to have the tank look in pics like it does to me in person. It's especially hard if I try to include some of the room in the picture. The mixture of ambient and tank light means either one or the other looks like crap.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I've decided it's essentially impossible for me to have the tank look in pics like it does to me in person. It's especially hard if I try to include some of the room in the picture. The mixture of ambient and tank light means either one or the other looks like crap.


Very true, you can certainly do some nice post stuff, but I can only do that so much, still have to work for a living. Your room shots like great BTW.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Asteroid said:


> I can only do that so much, still have to work for a living


Ha! I have to do that too. I just neglect my family... (just kidding, I really just get less sleep than I should)


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Asteroid said:


> Your room shots like great BTW.


...and thank you!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

This poor guy has an eye injury of some sort


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Is it easy to tell which ones are the girls and which ones are the boys?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Is it easy to tell which ones are the girls and which ones are the boys?


It wasn't when they were in the fish store(!), but it is now. That last pic is a female. Much less vibrant coloration and a different body shape.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Oooh ok so most of your photos are boys? 

Yeah it’s tough with the young ones... I was trying to sex some store gouramis with the lfs guy (one of the 6 I no longer listen to lol) and he claimed to be able to tell but it seemed a highly dubious prospect to me hahah.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Oooh ok so most of your photos are boys?
> 
> Yeah it’s tough with the young ones... I was trying to sex some store gouramis with the lfs guy (one of the 6 I no longer listen to lol) and he claimed to be able to tell but it seemed a highly dubious prospect to me hahah.


Yeah, I tend to photograph the males more. Partly because I have more of them but mostly because they're more interesting and active. They're always zooming around, jockeying, sparring, etc... 

Some rainbow species - like dwarf neons, for example - are really easy to sex. These ones are tougher. In the store they pretty much all looked the same. Even now, when they get scared, they all drop their color and the boys are no more colorful than the females. They've matured enough now that their body shapes give them away, but a couple months ago when they were in the store it was pretty much a crapshoot.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Yeah the boys look a little chonky compared to the girl. But she’s very pretty too.


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## vraev (Apr 13, 2012)

OMG Those pictures are fantastic. I just love it. Maybe I am spoilt by DSLR/actual camera pics but man...something about the look of that beautiful bokeh...it's just awesome. Not to mention your subject matter are beautiful as well.  Love it. Very picturesque.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

vraev said:


> OMG Those pictures are fantastic. I just love it. Maybe I am spoilt by DSLR/actual camera pics but man...something about the look of that beautiful bokeh...it's just awesome. Not to mention your subject matter are beautiful as well.  Love it. Very picturesque.


Thank ya thank ya. Always a joy when two hobbies can come together and complement one another.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Okay, guys. At the risk of confusing correlation with causation, I think this lighting change has really made a big difference. 

The plants are doing great, and I'm seeing less algae all around. The tank all of a sudden feels balanced in a way that I was very much still working toward (and thought was a month or so away).


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Okay, guys. At the risk of confusing correlation with causation, I think this lighting change has really made a big difference.
> 
> The plants are doing great, and I'm seeing less algae all around. The tank all of a sudden feels balanced in a way that I was very much still working toward (and thought was a month or so away).


Can you reiterate what exactly the change was, for the technically-challenged? 8 hr light period, mostly dim, 2 hrs of bright light in the middle?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Can you reiterate what exactly the change was, for the technically-challenged? 8 hr light period, mostly dim, 2 hrs of bright light in the middle?


Sure. Before I was running the lights for 8 hours at 40% power. Now, I'm running them for 8hrs but at 25% except for a 2hr period at 50%. So that's like a 20% reduction in overall output, but the plants don't seem to mind a bit.

It seems like that 20% reduction may be reducing algae without impacting plant growth.

Now it's still early into the change, and there are lots of lurking variables, but anecdotal evidence is compelling!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Haven’t you implemented this a few days ago? Can the change give results so fast?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

It's been about a week. Things happen a lot faster in a high light tank!

I cut out rotala more or less constantly, for example, and the spawning spots would get algaefied right away. The fish are still spawning, but I'm not seeing that turn into algae like before. New growth this week is also 'cleaner', let's say, than it was last week.

If anything, I would say the lighting change may have hastened the balancing that was happening anyway.

But I'm a statistician, so I'll put asterisks and qualifiers all over everything!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some closeups...


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

I’m amazed at the shots you’re able to get. Incredible!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

they have such concerned faces. Like they saw something a little sus and they’re wondering whether to speak up.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> I’m amazed at the shots you’re able to get. Incredible!


It took me a couple decades to finally get a proper macro lens. There was always something higher on the priority list, and I spent many of those years rather poor... Anyway, I'm glad I did!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> they have such concerned faces. Like they saw something a little sus and they’re wondering whether to speak up.


"Guys, the Giant Food Monster is holding the face tube again. Just act natural"


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Was on the stool cleaning the glass and thought I'd catch the top view. It looks different from up here...










I think this was the last of the 5-day water changes. Things really seem to have settled quite a bit, so next week I'll change it on Friday and stick to Fridays after that. Feels good to be through the new tank funk.


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## vraev (Apr 13, 2012)

Looks awesome. Love those fish pics too.  .


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

vraev said:


> Looks awesome. Love those fish pics too.  .


Thanks!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Night life


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Where do they sleep?


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## Talhart (Jan 11, 2022)

LidijaPN said:


> Where do they sleep?


With the fishes!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Where do they sleep?


They don't have a designated sleeping spot.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

A few pics from this morning... their colors are really coming in, and they're most prominent in the early morning.


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## BluCardi (Dec 29, 2021)

This tank has such a natural vibe and aesthetic. Everything aspect seems to compliment the next. From the hardscape to the densely planted area on the left moving into a more open spaces. 

Firstly, the light hanging unit. Where did you buy? And if you constructed it yourself, can you explain the materials specifically the type of wood and how it's secured to the wall.

Secondly, the glass and in particular how you keep water stains / calcium from the rim. From the initial setup through to your last picture I haven't seen any hard water deposits.

Thanks. I'm now following...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

BluCardi said:


> This tank has such a natural vibe and aesthetic. Everything aspect seems to compliment the next. From the hardscape to the densely planted area on the left moving into a more open spaces.


Thank you!



BluCardi said:


> Firstly, the light hanging unit. Where did you buy? And if you constructed it yourself, can you explain the materials specifically the type of wood and how it's secured to the wall.


I put this together myself. I used Oak hobby board from my local home improvement store along with 3/4" galvanized steel pipe. The blocks that the pipes pass through are each attached to the backing board with 4 screws run in from the back, and the backing board itself is attached to the wall at three studs - 3 screws in each stud. I was pretty lucky with the stud placement in that the center stud was right where I wanted the center of the tank to be. I was somewhat unlucky though because the three studs weren't evenly spaced, so the leftmost column of screws is closer to the center than the rightmost one is. Pretty sure I was the only one that noticed though (until now, now that I pointed it out lol).



BluCardi said:


> Secondly, the glass and in particular how you keep water stains / calcium from the rim. From the initial setup through to your last picture I haven't seen any hard water deposits.


This is a combination of two factors. First is that I have an auto top off system running on this tank, so the water line is pretty constant. The system itself is pretty crude - just a parastaltic pump running on a light timer.

The second is that my water is very soft. I dose magnesium in my macro mix and was dosing calcium directly into the tank once a week at water changes. I'm currently not dosing any calcium and my dGH is running at 4. My municipal water report doesn't include breakouts of calcium and magnesium, so I'm assuming that my water is like most others' and favors calcium over magnesium.


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## BluCardi (Dec 29, 2021)

I appreciate the info @EmotionalFescue

I actually searched the waterbox site on the chance that the light unit might be a bespoke piece they offer exclusively. It's very unique and like everything else compliments the aquarium. It looks so sturdy and "floaty" at the same time that I had to ask how it was set up.

Initially, I thought you had the best algae scraper in the hobby that got rid of your water stains, all without leaving a trace. My tap TDS is 430. I think I might have to take the RO route if I ever get into rimless tanks.

Thanks for posting.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

BluCardi said:


> Initially, I thought you had the best algae scraper in the hobby that got rid of your water stains, all without leaving a trace. My tap TDS is 430. I think I might have to take the RO route if I ever get into rimless tanks.


Yeah my tap TDS is around 45. I've thought about setting up RO in the basement just to have a project going in between tank builds, but I just can't justify it.


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## BluCardi (Dec 29, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I put this together myself. I used Oak hobby board from my local home improvement store along with 3/4" galvanized steel pipe. The blocks that the pipes pass through are each attached to the backing board with 4 screws run in from the back, and the backing board itself is attached to the wall at three studs - 3 screws in each stud. I was pretty lucky with the stud placement in that the center stud was right where I wanted the center of the tank to be. I was somewhat unlucky though because the three studs weren't evenly spaced, so the leftmost column of screws is closer to the center than the rightmost one is. Pretty sure I was the only one that noticed though (until now, now that I pointed it out lol).


Can I ask what the "blocks" are called?

I've searched UK DIY sites and can't seem to find them.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

BluCardi said:


> Can I ask what the "blocks" are called?
> 
> I've searched UK DIY sites and can't seem to find them.


They're sections I cut off of a larger piece of 3 inch by 3 inch by 4 feet oak hobby board:










In the states we have a couple of big chain stores dedicated to home improvement. They have a section with hardwood boards of various sizes. I made a similar mount for a different tank - for that one I just glued smaller pieces together to make the blocks:


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some fish pics from this morning...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

There was a small plant-related emergency today... The swiss cheese vine growing on the emergent wood had grown and gotten heavy enough that the silicone holding it in place gave way, allowing the plant to fall into the aquarium. Reattaching with more silicone proved unworkable, so I ended up pinning it down with coax staples.




























This worked well enough. The staples are on the back side of the wood and don't stand out very much. I don't think the plant itself was harmed in the commotion and reattachment operation, but it did get my heart rate up a bit. Between the plant falling in the water, me being above the tank on a ladder, and the shockwaves from me hammering the staples into the (very hard) wood, the fish were not pleased. It took them all afternoon to recover.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> There was a small plant-related emergency today... The swiss cheese vine growing on the emergent wood had grown and gotten heavy enough that the silicone holding it in place gave way, allowing the plant to fall into the aquarium. Reattaching with more silicone proved unworkable, so I ended up pinning it down with coax staples.
> 
> View attachment 1039554
> 
> ...


Does this mean you will need to use staples or similar means to attach the plant as it gets bigger, or will it eventually grow into the wood?


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

minorhero said:


> Does this mean you will need to use staples or similar means to attach the plant as it gets bigger, or will it eventually grow into the wood?


I don’t think this sort of plant attaches in any way?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> Does this mean you will need to use staples or similar means to attach the plant as it gets bigger, or will it eventually grow into the wood?


It doesn't attach itself, but it's now got two anchor points and is getting to the point that more growth will drape rather than have to climb, so I don't think I'll need more staples.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> I don’t think this sort of plant attaches in any way?


Right, it does not. I'm guessing it's a creeping ground cover type plant in its natural environment.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Aquarium keeping is a wonderful and enriching hobby in so many ways, but it's been an especially natural fit for me because I work from home. I get to interact with the tank and fish throughout the day, whether it's a quick glance on the way to the kitchen (inevitably for more coffee), the afternoon feeding session, or my own lunch break. Or, like today, watching the fish chase each other around the tank from my office door while on a conference call...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Night moves...


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## vraev (Apr 13, 2012)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Aquarium keeping is a wonderful and enriching hobby in so many ways, but it's been an especially natural fit for me because I work from home. I get to interact with the tank and fish throughout the day, whether it's a quick glance on the way to the kitchen (inevitably for more coffee), the afternoon feeding session, or my own lunch break. Or, like today, watching the fish chase each other around the tank from my office door while on a conference call...
> 
> View attachment 1039595


Beautiful angle, pic and tank. . You are tempting me to upgrade to a bigger tank lol


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## MoreliaViridis (May 19, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Aquarium keeping is a wonderful and enriching hobby in so many ways, but it's been an especially natural fit for me because I work from home. I get to interact with the tank and fish throughout the day, whether it's a quick glance on the way to the kitchen (inevitably for more coffee), the afternoon feeding session, or my own lunch break. Or, like today, watching the fish chase each other around the tank from my office door while on a conference call...
> 
> View attachment 1039595



Looks amazing
And that crystal clear water is to die for..

I always wanted to try out Melanotaenia group but they get too big and bulky for my mere 29g.
Are they M. trifasciata?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

vraev said:


> Beautiful angle, pic and tank. . You are tempting me to upgrade to a bigger tank lol


I won't try to influence you one way or another, but...



Spoiler


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

MoreliaViridis said:


> Looks amazing
> And that crystal clear water is to die for..
> 
> I always wanted to try out Melanotaenia group but they get too big and bulky for my mere 29g.
> Are they M. trifasciata?


Thank you!

Yes, they are M trifascista. Really fun, active fish.


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Aquarium keeping is a wonderful and enriching hobby in so many ways, but it's been an especially natural fit for me because I work from home. I get to interact with the tank and fish throughout the day, whether it's a quick glance on the way to the kitchen (inevitably for more coffee), the afternoon feeding session, or my own lunch break. Or, like today, watching the fish chase each other around the tank from my office door while on a conference call...


This is cool! I work from home too so am setting up a smaller tank beside my desk; time will tell if this affects my productivity 😂


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> This is cool! I work from home too so am setting up a smaller tank beside my desk; time will tell if this affects my productivity 😂


I have a personal ban on planted tanks in my office because they are too distracting, but my wife has happily filled her office with tanks, so I think it really depends on your disposition. Only one way to find out!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Tank shot Tuesday...










There have been some minor changes. 

I moved the java fern that was in front of the cave on the left over in front of the wood on the right. There is a bunch of fern attached to that wood as well - as that fills in, it should all blend together. I'm debating whether or not to order some more to place on the slope of the wood on the left (the part that descends into the crypt garden at the front). Thoughts welcome. Since I moved the fern, the rock it was shading sticks out a bit, as it's the only one without a green coat (i.e., the big orange potato on the left). It will catch up eventually.

I also took out all of the smaller loose rocks from the sandy area and filled the spaces in between the larger fixed rocks with sand. I think this actually looks _less_ wall-like than with the small rocks, even though their whole point was to make it look more natural. Sometimes you just have to try a thing and see if you like it. I'm probably going to take out those last two 'island' rocks as well, now that I'm paying attention enough to blog about it...

Now that I'm four months in, I think it's time to replace some of the sand. At least the area front and center. That area gets more light, and that sand is looking a bit grimy. If only I had some catfish to keep it churned... I'm not ready to go there.


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

Tank looks great! I wouldn't worry about the rock as it honestly just looks like the light is hitting it different and as you said will blend more over time. 

I love how often you shoot pictures of it; shows how much love and appreciation it gets.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> Tank looks great! I wouldn't worry about the rock as it honestly just looks like the light is hitting it different and as you said will blend more over time.
> 
> I love how often you shoot pictures of it; shows how much love and appreciation it gets.


Ha, thanks. I'm always taking pictures of things. It used to be my kids, but they stopped being receptive to that a long time ago... now it's the fish that have to put up with it.


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Ha, thanks. I'm always taking pictures of things. It used to be my kids, but they stopped being receptive to that a long time ago... now it's the fish that have to put up with it.


HAHA! How much processing do you do? I used to love photography but started hating uploading, sorting, and editing; just a smartphone shooter now.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> HAHA! How much processing do you do? I used to love photography but started hating uploading, sorting, and editing; just a smartphone shooter now.


I shoot everything raw, and for 99% of shots I don't do anything beyond applying a preset in ACR (Adobe Camera Raw - the raw processing engine used by Lightroom and Photoshop) and running a resize/save macro (which also adds the black borders all my photos have). It's pretty quick, all things considered, but I feel you on just not wanting to deal with it. When I got into aquariums I was in a photography lull and just took shots with my phone. I quickly got frustrated by how hard it was to take photos of tanks and fish with the phone, and that got me to pull out the big guns for the first time in a while.


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## BluCardi (Dec 29, 2021)

MoreliaViridis said:


> Looks amazing
> And that crystal clear water is to die for..


Indeed!

These low iron aquariums have forced me to rethink a few things. They're more expensive than the standard float glass but when combined with some skill which @EmotionalFescue clearly possess, the aquarium morphs into a visual spectacle. 

@EmotionalFescue have you considered a dedicated youtube page?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

@BluCardi - you're too kind!

I can honestly say I have not considered starting my own YouTube channel. For whatever reason, I've never been a big consumer of YouTube videos. I tend to favor reading and sharing on forums.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> @BluCardi - you're too kind!
> 
> I can honestly say I have not considered starting my own YouTube channel. For whatever reason, I've never been a big consumer of YouTube videos. I tend to favor reading and sharing on forums.


I could definitely see you sharing the quiet slow changes and ever evolving life of that beautiful tank. Sort of Foo the Flowerhorn vibes.


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## BluCardi (Dec 29, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> @BluCardi - you're too kind!
> 
> I can honestly say I have not considered starting my own YouTube channel. For whatever reason, I've never been a big consumer of YouTube videos. I tend to favor reading and sharing on forums.


And it has been a good read!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

The rainbows trying to find the pleco's repashy


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Rainbow pics


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Terrestrial plants update...

There's a fresh Monstera leaf with a single, almost-but-not-quite split. I think the next one might go all the way.










The swiss cheese vine and... whatever the small leaf vine is are both doing very well. The swiss cheese seems to have taken no damage in its spontaneous dismount from last weekend.










The money tree is going totally bananas under the grow light. That big leaf is about 16" across!. That leaf - and only that leaf - has some light splotches and has not flattened out completely. Not sure if it doesn't like being watered with aquarium water. Maybe watering too little. Or too much... in many ways, aquarium plants are easier.










In any case, it's getting big quickly. I'm going to pick up a longer riser for that leftmost light today. That will buy me some time, but eventually I'll have to just prune the top and see what happens.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I finally replaced that ratty-tatty sand from the front of the tank. Here it is, all fresh - for posterity (i.e., before it gets ratty again)...

Crop top:









Full:


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

Looks great, per usual! What kind of sand are you using again?


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Yep, still looks amazing <3

Do you have any shrimp in there and do they climb your emersed plants? I just found a crispy shrimp on the floor very far from the tank.... I'm pretty sure she climbed the peace lily.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> Looks great, per usual! What kind of sand are you using again?


Thank ya kindly. It's HTH pool filter sand. Hat tip to @minorhero for turning me onto that brand. It's great stuff. Nice color, variation, and size. It gravel vacs really well, too.


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Thank ya kindly. It's HTH pool filter sand. Hat tip to @minorhero for turning me onto that brand. It's great stuff. Nice color, variation, and size. It gravel vacs really well, too.


Oh awesome! I've got three bags of it in my car for our 75g upgrade. I remember seeing it mentioned somewhere but couldn't remember which journal. Do you pre-rinse it?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Yep, still looks amazing <3
> 
> Do you have any shrimp in there and do they climb your emersed plants? I just found a crispy shrimp on the floor very far from the tank.... I'm pretty sure she climbed the peace lily.


I do, and they do not, from what I've observed. I have found a few on the floor. Watching the tank at night, I'm pretty sure I know what happened to those ones. When the shrimp swim into the open area on the right of the tank, the rainbows swarm up on them to inspect, and the shrimp do this hypersonic pop to escape. I think the unfortunate ones pulled that maneuver too close to the surface and ended up on the floor. Probably not what happened with yours though, given the small size of your fish. Always sad to find crispies on the floor though!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> Oh awesome! I've got three bags of it in my car for our 75g upgrade. I remember seeing it mentioned somewhere but couldn't remember which journal. Do you pre-rinse it?


I did the first time I used it, but hardly anything came off, so I haven't since.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I do, and they do not, from what I've observed. I have found a few on the floor. Watching the tank at night, I'm pretty sure I know what happened to those ones. When the shrimp swim into the open area on the right of the tank, the rainbows swarm up on them to inspect, and the shrimp do this hypersonic pop to escape. I think the unfortunate ones pulled that maneuver too close to the surface and ended up on the floor. Probably not what happened with yours though, given the small size of your fish. Always sad to find crispies on the floor though!


Hahahh I've seen the hypersonic pop once when shrimp and chili collided by accident. But yeah in general since there is a lid on, I assume Lemon climbed the plant and toppled out. She was always a bit too much of an explorer.

It is sad 😑 Probably would be less sad if I had a hundred of them. Maybe I will become more jaded with time. 

I'm trying to brainstorm some emersed plant setup that wouldn't encourage shrimp adventures in the afterlife. There must be a way. I like the emersed plants, the idea and function as well as the look.... but not at the cost of the shrimpies.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> It is sad 😑 Probably would be less sad if I had a hundred of them. Maybe I will become more jaded with time.


The fact that there is life on the line is a big part of what gives the hobby its depth and keeps it engaging for me.

Creating and maintaining a balanced ecosystem is immensely satisfying, but even when you're doing everything right, things happen. I don't know if you'll become jaded - I don't think I have. Life is valuable, and that life is in your care. That's always something to be respected. But, perspective is important. I eat meat. I swat flies. We feed live roaches to our bearded dragon. My interactions with creatures lower on life's totem pole take many forms. Caring for fish in a planted aquarium is one of the most beautiful and harmonious of them. Maybe it is for you too. You certainly seem to care deeply about the creatures under your care.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Yep that’s a fair point. Sometimes I get overly philosophical about it and need to remember we had chicken for lunch. 

I was wondering idly today, if there were fish gods and cattle gods and poultry gods and insect gods and all sorts watching us all from above, which ones would be pleased with me and which ones would be cross... hahah. 

I do think the ‘firsts’ are the most dramatic. When I lost my first chilis I was at the verge of mental collapse, running around in a total panic. With the little lampeyes I lost today I was already a lot more ‘eh well you’ve got to expect this sort of thing in the initial adjustment period’. But I don’t think I’ll ever stop trying to do my best for them. And that best will definitely keep improving. I do feel a little bad that they have to suffer for my learning curve tho 😔


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I tested my nitrates last night, and they were maybe 10ppm. Given my dosing regime, I would expect double that. And ~20 or so is what I've seen in this tank before now. I'm not a big tester, and I don't do it very often, but the reason I did this time is that I'm not really sure how much I need to be dosing to compensate for the terrestrial plants, which are obviously getting bigger by the day. I think this tank is kind of weird in that it combines these terrestrials and high light stems. I don't want the terrestrials to starve everything else out. For now, I'm going to bump up the macros (40ml/day instead of 30ml) and see what I see.

That will put me at 24|6|28 +.6 NO3|PO4|K+Fe per week. Which is real damn high, but I'm rolling with the EI/nonlimiting nutrient ethos here, and 10ppm nitrates (as a crude proxy for everything) is a bit low for comfort.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

I know there are few touching points between our two tanks, but my nitrates were hovering just under 10 at the end of my week before water change, and everyone was starving. I think upping macros is a good call.


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## Talhart (Jan 11, 2022)

I have been following your build in absolute awe. Your scape is a work of art! I have taken numerous notes on the details of your build. I am pending delivery of a 110g custom tank next week......my last tank: 55g, 40 years ago. Two Oase 850 therms and two Kessil 360x are ordered. 

You mention UV sterilizer.....could you provide details? DIY or store-bought ? How was it plumbed in? I know it's an "optional" part, but I would not be without it in my 2000G outdoor Koi pond.

Thanks so much for your journal. I will start one after the delivery truck shows up.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Talhart said:


> I have been following your build in absolute awe. Your scape is a work of art! I have taken numerous notes on the details of your build. I am pending delivery of a 110g custom tank next week......my last tank: 55g, 40 years ago. Two Oase 850 therms and two Kessil 360x are ordered.
> 
> You mention UV sterilizer.....could you provide details? DIY or store-bought ? How was it plumbed in? I know it's an "optional" part, but I would not be without it in my 2000G outdoor Koi pond.
> 
> Thanks so much for your journal. I will start one after the delivery truck shows up.


Thank you for the kind words!

My sterilizer is a 15w Aqua Ultraviolet model. I got one to to treat a bacterial bloom a couple years ago and haven't looked back. They're kind of tricky because when they're working... nothing happens. So you have to take it on faith that they're actually doing something. It's a bit easier to believe having seen it clear up a bloom that no amount of water changes was having an impact on.

I look forward to your build!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Small update...

After a week of 33% more macros, I'm sitting at 20ppm nitrates. The rotala tops were also much fuller and were even trying to turn a bit orange at the surface (this is rotala _green_, mind you). 

So, I'm going to keep this dosing in place and will test again next week.

BBA has disappeared aside from on a couple old java Fern leaves and val tips. No new growth that I can see. The only algae I've got now is on the wood. It's primarily some very soft branchy stuff that seems to like the brightest and flowiest spots. I think it can stay, as it's kinda cute 

That's all for now.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

You got rotala green to turn orange, you have powers! ⭐

I agree that some types of algae are cute. I’m growing some weird ones on my windowsill in moss growout jars and they’re pretty cool....

I feel like the whole AAAH ALGAE!! KILL IT WITH FIRE!! thing is not always called for? My snail has algae growing on his shell and it’s crazy cute. I hope it doesn’t bother him tho.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> I feel like the whole AAAH ALGAE!! KILL IT WITH FIRE!! thing is not always called for?


For sure. I cannot abide algae on my plants, but hardscape gets a pass if the algae is cute lol.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

My rocks are covered in algae. It’s 1/4” tall and looks like fuzz. Snails and other invertebrates love it. 

One thing that bothers me about some tanks I see on YouTube is that they are too sterile. They look like they would be incapable of supporting life. Like a handful of ostracods would starve to death. I realize that an aquarium is incapable of truly pulling it off, but I like the idea of an actual ecosystem. I introduced ostracods and pond snails to my tank for exactly that reason. They eat, reproduce, and are food in turn for my fish. The fish poop, which feeds the algae, and the many invertebrates eat that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Le duke said:


> My rocks are covered in algae. It’s 1/4” tall and looks like fuzz. Snails and other invertebrates love it.
> 
> One thing that bothers me about some tanks I see on YouTube is that they are too sterile. They look like they would be incapable of supporting life. Like a handful of ostracods would starve to death. I realize that an aquarium is incapable of truly pulling it off, but I like the idea of an actual ecosystem. I introduced ostracods and pond snails to my tank for exactly that reason. They eat, reproduce, and are food in turn for my fish. The fish poop, which feeds the algae, and the many invertebrates eat that.
> 
> ...


Yep same, I find that approach to aquarium keeping far more attractive than the ‘not a hair out of place’ style tanks.... like one side is trying to subdue nature and make it behave, and the other relishes the weirdness and the wildness.... 

I’d actually love that green fuzzy algae on my rocks. Sadly so far all I get is dusting of brown on the glass and the two sprigs of green on the shell of my largest ramshorn (he came with it lol. It’s his hairstyle)


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fish pics...


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

Stunning as always!

What macro lens did you say you use?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> Stunning as always!
> 
> What macro lens did you say you use?


Thanks!

It's a Sony 90mm f2.8


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

SPOTLIGHT: ALGAE

Here's a short clip of the handsome algae growing high up on the driftwood. Look how it flows it the current! So peaceful!

Also, I figured out (read: had really never tried before) how to shoot high quality video on my stills camera. Kinda excited about the possibilities there...

Cheesey jazz both because it struck me as inexplicably hilarious and because it was a good way to drown out the background kid chatter. I also learned how to do that today!


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

lol your algae is very classy ;P

What software are you using for the video?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> lol your algae is very classy ;P
> 
> What software are you using for the video?


That's actually just straight out of the camera! I overlaid the audio in youtube with their basic editor...

The other (basic) thing I learned the other day was how to set custom white balances in my camera. That was never really needed for stills because I shoot raw, but will work well with video. 4K video plus custom white balance really be a powerful combo for... videos of my aquarium lol.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> That's actually just straight out of the camera! I overlaid the audio in youtube with their basic editor...
> 
> The other (basic) thing I learned the other day was how to set custom white balances in my camera. That was never really needed for stills because I shoot raw, but will work well with video. 4K video plus custom white balance really be a powerful combo for... videos of my aquarium lol.


Nice! I didn't even know youtube had an editor heh.


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## BluCardi (Dec 29, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> SPOTLIGHT: ALGAE
> 
> Here's a short clip of the handsome algae growing high up on the driftwood. Look how it flows it the current! So peaceful!
> 
> ...


Sign me up!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Tank Shot:










The only real update is that my water has suddenly gotten (relatively) much harder. I usually check the TDS before and after water changes, and after the most recent one yesterday, it had gone up! Sure enough, I checked the tap and it was ~160, where it's normally ~45. GH and KH tests turned up 8 and 5, where it's normally 3 and 2.

Now, I can't say for sure that this hasn't happened in the past and gone unnoticed, in periods when I was less attentive to such things... but, it's had me a bit concerned nonetheless. Hopefully the change doesn't have any (or many) negative impacts, but only time will tell. In the meantime, I'm going to be checking the tap daily to see where things stand. I'm guessing the municipality switched sources, and it may go back to where it was once the snowpack begins to melt in earnest. I may give the water department a call on Monday.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Tank Shot:
> 
> View attachment 1040656
> 
> ...


This happens to mine seasonally. My water about 30 minutes outside of Baltimore comes from reservoirs in the area. I can get over a 1 point of ph difference depending on what time of year it is. Plus every so often the water department backflushes the pipes. When that happens it increases TDS by an order of magnitude. If I do a water change on those days I risk losing fish.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> This happens to mine seasonally. My water about 30 minutes outside of Baltimore comes from reservoirs in the area. I can get over a 1 point of ph difference depending on what time of year it is. Plus every so often the water department backflushes the pipes. When that happens it increases TDS by an order of magnitude. If I do a water change on those days I risk losing fish.


Ugh. I don't think I have it quite that bad, thankfully.

This is definitely making me reevaluate the cost/benefit breakdown of getting set up for RO... But, with all these tanks, it would be no small undertaking!


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Ugh. I don't think I have it quite that bad, thankfully.
> 
> This is definitely making me reevaluate the cost/benefit breakdown of getting set up for RO... But, with all these tanks, it would be no small undertaking!


It's a pain..... avoid if at all possible. Would seriously consider a whole house filter (not salt based) if I wanted it for my freshwater hobby. I just used my rodi for the first time to fill my saltwater tank. I'm super glad that 10% weekly water changes are considered on the upper end of proper saltwater maintenance.


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## BluCardi (Dec 29, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> The only real update is that my water has suddenly gotten (relatively) much harder. I usually check the TDS before and after water changes, and after the most recent one yesterday, it had gone up! Sure enough, I checked the tap and it was ~160, where it's normally ~45. GH and KH tests turned up 8 and 5, where it's normally 3 and 2.
> 
> Now, I can't say for sure that this hasn't happened in the past and gone unnoticed, in periods when I was less attentive to such things... but, it's had me a bit concerned nonetheless. Hopefully the change doesn't have any (or many) negative impacts, but only time will tell. In the meantime, I'm going to be checking the tap daily to see where things stand. I'm guessing the municipality switched sources, and it may go back to where it was once the snowpack begins to melt in earnest. I may give the water department a call on Monday.





minorhero said:


> This happens to mine seasonally. My water about 30 minutes outside of Baltimore comes from reservoirs in the area. I can get over a 1 point of ph difference depending on what time of year it is. Plus every so often the water department backflushes the pipes. When that happens it increases TDS by an order of magnitude. If I do a water change on those days I risk losing fish.


Here in the UK our water parameters get worse in the warmer months. Overall TDS is usually the first indicator, then a rise in PH, Calcium, Nitrate and in the warmest months some reports of ammonia readings.

Non hobbyists call it "Fizzy tap water."

I usually reduce my fert dosing by 50% to compensate.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

The spring melt, or start of it, kicks up sediment in the reservoirs (and creeks, rivers, etc.). 

I do a lot of fly fishing and it’s pretty common for April and May to have the highest turbidity. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Suddenly very grateful for Montréal tap water 💧⭐😅


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> The spring melt, or start of it, kicks up sediment in the reservoirs (and creeks, rivers, etc.).
> 
> I do a lot of fly fishing and it’s pretty common for April and May to have the highest turbidity.
> 
> ...


Hmmm, yes, this makes sense and would go a long way toward explaining how I could have missed it in the past when I didn't monitor TDS and only checked hardness occasionally.

If it only lasts a couple months and doesn't get worse than it is now, I think I can motor through without too much trouble.

If it gets worse or starts to cause problems I may do RO. My basement is unfinished, so I've got space for a couple 100g tanks down there. It would be a fun plumbing/mechanical project, but won't be worth it if it's just a short period every year that I can push through with established tanks.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Suddenly very grateful for Montréal tap water 💧⭐😅


I'm usually so grateful for the beautiful water that flows out of my tap too! You might monitor yours for the whole first year - you could have a parameter shift too...


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I'm usually so grateful for the beautiful water that flows out of my tap too! You might monitor yours for the whole first year - you could have a parameter shift too...


I’ve already noticed a slight shift.... pH was 7.6 when I started in November and around 8 now... in my case it’s mitigated somewhat because half the water I use for the tank is remineralized distilled. But for sure it’s worthwhile keeping an eye on tap.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## pseudomugil (Aug 12, 2013)

When I used to work at a LFS, there was a week every spring when we couldn't do water changes because the city was flushing the pipes and that put a ton of ammonia and chloramine into the water. They didn't provide notice or anything, so there was one year that we lost all the fish in a couple of our systems because of contaminated water changes.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

pseudomugil said:


> When I used to work at a LFS, there was a week every spring when we couldn't do water changes because the city was flushing the pipes and that put a ton of ammonia and chloramine into the water. They didn't provide notice or anything, so there was one year that we lost all the fish in a couple of our systems because of contaminated water changes.


Man, that's nuts!


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

You guys have me worried about my water now ha. Although @EmotionalFescue, your harder water is still fairly soft compared to my normal so...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> You guys have me worried about my water now ha. Although @EmotionalFescue, your harder water is still fairly soft compared to my normal so...


Yeah, if this is as bad as it gets, it's still pretty good. I'm more concerned about the inconsistency and the possibility that this isn't as bad as it will get...

I'm already designing the RO system in my head lol.


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

pseudomugil said:


> When I used to work at a LFS, there was a week every spring when we couldn't do water changes because the city was flushing the pipes and that put a ton of ammonia and chloramine into the water. They didn't provide notice or anything, so there was one year that we lost all the fish in a couple of our systems because of contaminated water changes.


Our water system in DC does the same. All I need to do is turn on the tap to tell when it is happening. I just always add extra Prime whenever I do a water change or top-off. Prime makes this a non-issue for those tap water additives. As long as I add extra Prime my critters do well regardless.


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## MoreliaViridis (May 19, 2021)

They also pump more chloride in whenever it rains.
At least thats how it works where I live.


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## BigMamaCleo (Jul 26, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Reflooded.
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 1034254


Is that a sheet of plexiglass (glass?) under the hard scape? Protecting your main tank?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

BigMamaCleo said:


> Is that a sheet of plexiglass (glass?) under the hard scape? Protecting your main tank?


Yep. Not sure that it's necessary, but it makes me feel a bit better about piling rocks and slate in there.


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## BigMamaCleo (Jul 26, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Yep. Not sure that it's necessary, but it makes me feel a bit better about piling rocks and slate in there.


Thanks. It seems like I've seen/heard about placing foam or rubber under rocks.
And for the record: you create a great journal. I appreciate the time and effort you put into it as much I appreciate your ability to create a nice scape. I'm not very right-brained, lol, but one can learn, and I like your style!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

BigMamaCleo said:


> Thanks. It seems like I've seen/heard about placing foam or rubber under rocks.
> And for the record: you create a great journal. I appreciate the time and effort you put into it as much I appreciate your ability to create a nice scape. *I'm not very right-brained, lol, but one can learn*, and I like your style!


Ha - thanks! It turns out I really like creating and maintaining a tank journal as a sort of permanent record (for better or worse) of a tank and where I am/was at as a hobbyist. Maybe not as much as I enjoy creating the tank itself, but it is a creative outlet all its own. It's nice to hear that others are getting something out of it too.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

I’m just here for all the bow glamour shots ⭐ Vogue vogue! ⭐


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> I’m just here for all the bow glamour shots ⭐ Vogue vogue! ⭐


There's a little something for everyone!


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

I'm curious how your pleco is doing?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> I'm curious how your pleco is doing?


Fine, as far as I can tell. He is the shyest fish I have ever seen, though... I also have no evidence of him eating anything but the algae that forms on the rocks, though I put things like zuccini, morning wood repashy, and various bottom feeder wafers. He's still very small though. I think he just prefers fresh algae to anything else, and at his current size there's enough to sustain him. I expect he will eat other things as he gets bigger.

You can lead a Pleco to repashy, but you can't make him eat... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Fine, as far as I can tell. He is the shyest fish I have ever seen, though... I also have no evidence of him eating anything but the algae that forms on the rocks, though I put things like zuccini, morning wood repashy, and various bottom feeder wafers. He's still very small though. I think he just prefers fresh algae to anything else, and at his current size there's enough to sustain him. I expect he will eat other things as he gets bigger.
> 
> You can lead a Pleco to repashy, but you can't make him eat... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


What species is he again?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> What species is he again?


L128 AKA "Blue Phantom"


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## BigMamaCleo (Jul 26, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Tank shot Tuesday...
> 
> View attachment 1039621
> 
> ...


For what it’s worth, of all your tank shots, this is my favorite. I‘m not sure if it’s your fern change or _what,_ but _something _spoke to me. I like the whole look. It’s really nice.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

BigMamaCleo said:


> For what it’s worth, of all your tank shots, this is my favorite. I‘m not sure if it’s your fern change or _what,_ but _something _spoke to me. I like the whole look. It’s really nice.


Oh, thank you. I like this arrangement too. With the exception of a couple small rock changes, this is still what it looks like.

It's pretty far from where I started, but that's usually how it goes for me. I don't ever manage to stick with the plants I start with.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

TDS is up to 200. dKH is up to 6. Three shrimp have died after water changes (between this tank and the 80g - I did less than normal, but still too much I guess). Crypts are getting melty.

This has me wanting to make the switch to RO, but I'm trying to not be too reactionary. If this is a couple months kinda deal, and if next time I know it's coming and can make the transition more smoothly... maybe I can deal with it. I just don't like inconsistency and I _really_ don't like not being in control of such a critical aspect of the tank. What's giving me pause is the scale of the problem... 

We have... many tanks. About 340 gallons worth. If I'm going to go through the trouble of RO, I'm going to do it to a scale that it would cover all the tanks without doing more than one remineralization per week. I'm thinking that means a 200 gallon tank for remineralized and heated water ready for changes throughout the week, and a matching 200g tank for fresh RO.

These tanks would sit in the basement, and their output would come up to the main level under the utility sink in the laundry room. A single pump would drive the whole system, including transfer of virgin RO to the mixing tank, and delivery of either straight RO or remineralized water to the main level. I have this all planned out. But it will cost so. much. money. BUT It will also be super fun...

Both my wife and I are very invested in this hobby, and I think it would be a good change to make, but we're already stuck making the transition to this water, so I guess we have some time to think it over and see how much of an impact it has. More to come on this front, I'm sure.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some random pics


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fish pics


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Wish you could take pics of my tank ⭐


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Wish you could take pics of my tank ⭐


As someone who is active on a forum full of people as passionate about planted tanks as I am, I've often thought about the inherent and unavoidable isolation of the hobby... our creations are forever chained to our homes, and the only way we can share them with one another is through pictures, which are devilishly hard to take and never do our tanks proper justice. I want you to come into my sitting room and talk about my tank with me, and I want to come into yours and do the same! The people that _do_ come into my sitting room just don't care like you all would... Oh well. We'll all just have to carry on sharing rough 2D interpretations of our tanks with one another.


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## Bootsy (Jul 4, 2021)

So what I hear you saying is . . . PARTY AT THE FESCUE HOUSE!!!! 🎊🎉🥂

I will bring the plastic cups.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Bootsy said:


> So what I hear you saying is . . . PARTY AT THE FESCUE HOUSE!!!! 🎊🎉🥂
> 
> I will bring the plastic cups.


YES!



Spoiler


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> As someone who is active on a forum full of people as passionate about planted tanks as I am, I've often thought about the inherent and unavoidable isolation of the hobby... our creations are forever chained to our homes, and the only way we can share them with one another is through pictures, which are devilishly hard to take and never do our tanks proper justice. I want you to come into my sitting room and talk about my tank with me, and I want to come into yours and do the same! The people that _do_ come into my sitting room just don't care like you all would... Oh well. We'll all just have to carry on sharing rough 2D interpretations of our tanks with one another.


Yessss a lot of this!!! I mean we don’t even get people visiting that often (not even just covid, my hubs is a loner type so I mostly meet with my friends outside the apartment) but those that do come might say ‘oh nice’, or not even that. Hubs’ cousin came by and literally sat next to the tank for 3 hours and never even glanced at it, to him it was as fascinating as the coffee table. I deeply don’t comprehend that.

I’m absolutely down for a party at the Fescue house 

This is perhaps the potential strength of local clubs, I know some people from the Montreal aquaristics FB group did sort of become friends and visit each other and talk tank stuff.... so I guess it’s not 100% impossible? Just hard.

But seriously, if any of you guys are ever in Mtl, do come by ⭐ You can meet Flatty and Chuglus.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

A few random pics...










The swiss cheese vine has gone rogue, growing out from the wood and toward the lights...










...but I want it to grow up toward the light mount, so I'm guiding it over in that direction with some paracord and ankle wrap.










I'm hoping I'll be able to guide the swiss cheese (a couple different vines) and some pothos up to the light mount where it can drape over the tank. The room is pretty dim, though, so I'm not sure how well it will work in the end.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

They're not going in this tank (or any planted tank), but my wife got some new goldfish, and they're pretty cool... so, I thought I'd share!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

I love how tubby goldfish are.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> They're not going in this tank (or any planted tank), but my wife got some new goldfish, and they're pretty cool... so, I thought I'd share!
> 
> View attachment 1041410
> 
> ...


These guys are awesome!! I wish my wife cared half as much as me about fish. We'd really have a lot of tanks then! 

I am thinking hard about a goldfish pond this summer. What kind are these?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> These guys are awesome!! I wish my wife cared half as much as me about fish. We'd really have a lot of tanks then!
> 
> I am thinking hard about a goldfish pond this summer. What kind are these?


Its great that we're both into aquariums, but it's also kind of dangerous because we're always enabling each other to set up new tanks and buy sweet equipment...

These are Orandas. Really beautiful and profoundly goofy fish.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Its great that we're both into aquariums, but it's also kind of dangerous because we're always enabling each other to set up new tanks and buy sweet equipment...
> 
> These are Orandas. Really beautiful and profoundly goofy fish.


I could go for some of that enabling hahah 😂 This way every addition is a bit of an uphill battle.... Not the plants hahah, not like he knows what’s in there. But he is very much against the proliferation of gear. And the jar is getting some side-eye as well lol.


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## BluCardi (Dec 29, 2021)

Did your photography skills develop alongside your journey in the hobby or elsewhere. I mean, sheesh  

Your goldfish look stunning. 

You have captured an incredible amount of detail in each pic.


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## Bootsy (Jul 4, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> They're not going in this tank (or any planted tank), but my wife got some new goldfish, and they're pretty cool... so, I thought I'd share!


So cool. I have considered Orandas over the ears, but never got around to trying them. What does her setup look like?


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

Your monstera is looking really good! Have you had any further issues with it staying attached to the driftwood?

Do you have floaters in the tank or have your stems just completely grown in the back, left half of the tank?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> I could go for some of that enabling hahah 😂 This way every addition is a bit of an uphill battle.... Not the plants hahah, not like he knows what’s in there. But he is very much against the proliferation of gear. And the jar is getting some side-eye as well lol.


It was always like that for me and photography. I could never get her into it, so it was always hard to justify some new lens or whatever piece of gear I wanted (or thought I needed) to take my hobby to a new level. Now it's more like, "$700 for a German return pump? Yeah that seems reasonable Do it."


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

BluCardi said:


> Did your photography skills develop alongside your journey in the hobby or elsewhere. I mean, sheesh
> 
> Your goldfish look stunning.
> 
> You have captured an incredible amount of detail in each pic.


I've actually been into photography since I was a teenager. That's where all my hobby money _used _to go lol.

And thank you


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Bootsy said:


> So cool. I have considered Orandas over the ears, but never got around to trying them. What does her setup look like?


Right now she's got them in the UNS 90U 68g) that this tank replaced, but we'll need to get them into something bigger within a couple years. Probably a 5' RedSea.

We'd love to have a Shebunkin pond in the back yard at some point, but the only logical spot for it is right where I put a flag stone patio that cost me dearly in blood, sweat, and tears. I don't know that I'll ever be able to bring myself to dig it up.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> Your monstera is looking really good! Have you had any further issues with it staying attached to the driftwood?
> 
> Do you have floaters in the tank or have your stems just completely grown in the back, left half of the tank?


Yeah it's doing great. I attached it with coax staples, so it's not going anywhere!

There's a bit of water lettuce in the planter box, but that's it for floaters.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> As someone who is active on a forum full of people as passionate about planted tanks as I am, I've often thought about the inherent and unavoidable isolation of the hobby... our creations are forever chained to our homes, and the only way we can share them with one another is through pictures, which are devilishly hard to take and never do our tanks proper justice. I want you to come into my sitting room and talk about my tank with me, and I want to come into yours and do the same! The people that _do_ come into my sitting room just don't care like you all would... Oh well. We'll all just have to carry on sharing rough 2D interpretations of our tanks with one another.


This is quite profound and echoes my own thoughts on the matter.

Even the aquascaping contests that go on are in reality 'picture contests' because no one is coming to people's homes all over the world to look at the tanks. 

I hear you about the people that do come into your house. When folks come visiting they might spend a few minutes admiring the tanks (which I soak in greedily) but after that, they could care less. This is not their fault, its just not their hobby. Its a rare person who even keeps fish at all that sees my tanks in person and so far I haven't had anyone over that keeps both plants and fish together. Its only through the internet that I get any feedback at all, and that's a big part of why I am so active on the forum.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

@minorhero totally. You guys are literally keeping me sane since I started the tank. If I hadn’t found this forum I would have exploded into confetti from pent up desire to talk tank stuff.


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## BluCardi (Dec 29, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I've actually been into photography since I was a teenager. That's where all my hobby money _used _to go lol.
> 
> And thank you


I have a DSLR. Sony a50 but it shipped with the standard lens and I haven't put the time in to use it other than to take pics which are _"Better"_ than my iphone's capabilities. I found those pics quite inspiring. So I might fire it up later today and see what I can capture of my black skirts.

This journal is very inspiring. I've been reading through several but every time I read your updates I get the desire to go low iron glass / rimless and get a bespoke light unit that's drilled into my studs. I think they call that "Tank Envy!"


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

BluCardi said:


> I have a DSLR. Sony a50 but it shipped with the standard lens and I haven't put the time in to use it other than to take pics which are _"Better"_ than my iphone's capabilities. I found those pics quite inspiring. So I might fire it up later today and see what I can capture of my black skirts.
> 
> This journal is very inspiring. I've been reading through several but every time I read your updates I get the desire to go low iron glass / rimless and get a bespoke light unit that's drilled into my studs. I think they call that "Tank Envy!"


This ☝ x100 ha.

I've read through his build several times as I absolutely love everything about this tank. Also with you on the photography. I've got a basic Pentax K-50 with the 18-135 kit lens; @EmotionalFescues shots makes me want to get a macro lens.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

BluCardi said:


> I have a DSLR. Sony a50 but it shipped with the standard lens and I haven't put the time in to use it other than to take pics which are _"Better"_ than my iphone's capabilities. I found those pics quite inspiring. So I might fire it up later today and see what I can capture of my black skirts.


Nice. A DSLR will give you a lot more flexibility for fish shots. Specifically, more refined focusing and the ability to control your shutter speed. With a kit lens, you'll be limited on your max aperture (i.e., f number - the smaller the number the more light-gathering ability the lens has), which will drive your ISO up and your shutter speed down. I've been meaning to do some posts in here that focus on fish tank photography... I should really get on that.



BluCardi said:


> This journal is very inspiring. I've been reading through several but every time I read your updates I get the desire to go low iron glass / rimless and get a bespoke light unit that's drilled into my studs. I think they call that "Tank Envy!"


I'm glad you find it inspiring!

I spent a ton of time planning and executing this build, all in an effort to make it a durable scape (i.e., something I don't want to tear down in a year). I'm really happy with how it's coming together, and, so far, I haven't had any of the nagging "I wish I'd done X differently" kinds of feelings I usually get after I set up a tank. It's nice to think it's helping to get other hobbyists' juices flowing in the same way that so many others' journals have done for me.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> Also with you on the photography. I've got a basic Pentax K-50 with the 18-135 kit lens; @EmotionalFescues shots makes me want to get a macro lens.


This ties into what we were discussing above - we can only share our tanks through our photographs, so I think good photo gear is a really solid aquarium (or at least aquarium-adjacent) investment. I say go for it (and go ahead and treat yourself to a nice German return pump while you're at it)!


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## niget2002 (Dec 20, 2020)

minorhero said:


> This is quite profound and echoes my own thoughts on the matter.
> 
> Even the aquascaping contests that go on are in reality 'picture contests' because no one is coming to people's homes all over the world to look at the tanks.
> 
> I hear you about the people that do come into your house. When folks come visiting they might spend a few minutes admiring the tanks (which I soak in greedily) but after that, they could care less. This is not their fault, its just not their hobby. Its a rare person who even keeps fish at all that sees my tanks in person and so far I haven't had anyone over that keeps both plants and fish together. Its only through the internet that I get any feedback at all, and that's a big part of why I am so active on the forum.


I used to have this issue when I kept your normal 'everyday fish tank'.

I find guests to my house usually spend a great deal of time at the planted tank. Larger tanks also seem to draw guests to them.

I found most guests spent the most time at my tank when I had the large 120G Reef tank. There was so much going on in that tank from the corals to the invertebrates that they would spend quite a bit of time watching the tank. Everywhere you looked, you so more/different life.

I find my current planted tank is doing the same. Whether it's the number of fish in the tank, the shrimp, snails, or plants... I'm not sure. Some people will just glance at it, but most will get caught at it for quite a bit.

I've also found having tanks closer to eye-level causes people to view it longer. Most people don't want to bend over to look at a tank for a long time. I tend to make my stands just a tad taller to help with this. It helps that I'm a taller person, so I don't need a step stool to work on the taller tanks.

My dad couldn't care less about the tank, but even he'll admire the stand for a while and ask me questions about it or the equipment inside of it


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

niget2002 said:


> I find guests to my house usually spend a great deal of time at the planted tank. Larger tanks also seem to draw guests to them.


Maybe I'm suffering from a lack of sample size. I think I can count on one hand the number of guests we've had in the past two years. That was only mostly due to COVID. I'm not a hugely social person and am generally content to do without people... ha. My mom is always very interested in and complimentary of my tanks when she visits (guys, my mom thinks I'm cool), but she's definitely the exception.

Wait, I forgot, the dishwasher repair guy was really interested in this tank when he was here a few weeks ago. I think he said, "oh my god - that's amazing" when he came in, which I greatly enjoyed, not gonna lie. I guess he has an algae farm that he inherited from his former roommate and didn't know that planted tanks could have clear water and be algae free. He totally failed to repair my dishwasher, however. Maybe that's why I forgot about him.


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## BluCardi (Dec 29, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Nice. A DSLR will give you a lot more flexibility for fish shots. Specifically, more refined focusing and the ability to control your shutter speed. With a kit lens, you'll be limited on your max aperture (i.e., f number - the smaller the number the more light-gathering ability the lens has), which will drive your ISO up and your shutter speed down. I've been meaning to do some posts in here that focus on fish tank photography... I should really get on that.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sign me up for the fish tank photography posts. 

I haven't looked at ISO or shutter speeds for a while now. I hope to get back into photography with a Sony A200 or equivalent. I usually just fiddle around with the settings until I'm happy and reddit the rest... 

I hope we see more of the goldfish soon.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Maybe I'm suffering from a lack of sample size. I think I can count on one hand the number of guests we've had in the past two years. That was only mostly due to COVID. I'm not a hugely social person and am generally content to do without people... ha. My mom is always very interested in and complimentary of my tanks when she visits (guys, my mom thinks I'm cool), but she's definitely the exception.
> 
> Wait, I forgot, the dishwasher repair guy was really interested in this tank when he was here a few weeks ago. I think he said, "oh my god - that's amazing" when he came in, which I greatly enjoyed, not gonna lie. I guess he has an algae farm that he inherited from his former roommate and didn't know that planted tanks could have clear water and be algae free. He totally failed to repair my dishwasher, however. Maybe that's why I forgot about him.


I promise you your mom is not the only one who thinks you’re cool 😎 

I’d also be down for photography tips, even though my SLR days are long in the past..... so long ago that it actually wasn’t digital, gasp! I used to do the whole developing film in a red-lit room thing.

I’d be so excited if the repair man liked my tank lol. It’s weird tho. Like my friends try to show interest but when I try to talk to someone who isn’t in it I realize how deep the rabbit hole really is.... like what can I tell them? ‘My ludwigia meta was putting out super tiny leaves for weeks and I was sure she was stunting but has now suddenly started to widen at the crown again and go pink, and I don’t know if it’s down to the slight fert tweak, the fact that it has adapted to my tank, or simply because she’s reaching more light now......’ like nobody can have a reaction to that if they’re not into the same thing...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> I promise you your mom is not the only one who thinks you’re cool 😎


Okay, so my mom _and people on the internet_ think I'm cool. Take that, world! haha



LidijaPN said:


> Like my friends try to show interest but when I try to talk to someone who isn’t in it I realize how deep the rabbit hole really is.... like what can I tell them? ‘My ludwigia meta was putting out super tiny leaves for weeks and I was sure she was stunting but has now suddenly started to widen at the crown again and go pink, and I don’t know if it’s down to the slight fert tweak, the fact that it has adapted to my tank, or simply because she’s reaching more light now......’ like nobody can have a reaction to that if they’re not into the same thing...


Oh they can have a reaction alright...



Spoiler


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Okay, so my mom _and people on the internet_ think I'm cool. Take that, world! haha
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Much too accurate hahah. They’re like ‘that’s... great for you...?’


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Those goldfish are beautiful! Fancy goldfish have always had a special place in my heart. When I was a kid we turned an old inground hot tub into a goldfish pond. 


HA! HA! That gif sure can be accurate! Pre-covid I had a few friends in the hobby that would come by regularly and check out all the tanks(or I would stop by their houses). It was nice to hang out with others you could talk shop with. More recently these convos are kept mainly to texts or now back at local club meetings. I know I've said it before in other threads but that really is something I love around being involved with my local clubs. Being able to connect with people in the community that have at least one of the same hobbies I do. Sure, most of the people I only see at the monthly meetings, but a handful have become good friends. We've taken trips together to conferences, other groups events, collecting, and at least one couple just to hang out. Most of my non-aquarist friends have known me long enough to know how much I love this hobby, along with the time and effort I put into my tanks. They mostly show enough interest that they want to do a walk through and see how everything looks. While they appreciate the beauty of my planted tanks, for the most part they are rarely interested in the details.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some pictures from this evening...










The vals are getting pretty long!










I decided I didn't like the swiss cheese diverting over to the light mount after all. 










"ugh. he's taking pictures again..."



















Intrepid wanderer.










The jungle.










My wife's guppy pond.










...and the golden girls.


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

Great pictures as always. Especially like the perspective of 'the jungle'!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

All beautiful!! But my fave is the snail pic. I love to see them gliding like that, dwarfed by this wild expanse of artificial jungle, and wonder how it feels to be so small and so free in this perfect tended world.

Also can we have more pics of the stunning guppy tank? How do you avoid millions of guppies?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Also can we have more pics of the stunning guppy tank? How do you avoid millions of guppies?


I'll have to take some more pics! She did a really great job with it - it's a really cool tank.

You start by only having dude guppies


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Full tank shot


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

window light is the best light


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Are you ever just sitting there enjoying your tank and find yourself irresistibly compelled to take a photograph? No? Just me? Sigh... This is part of the dark side of the photo hobby for me: an inability to just enjoy things without photographing them. It's mostly harmless, but can get in the way of things from time to time (this phenomenon has led to me pull back from photography at various points in the past). That got heavy. I think I can safely categorize this morning's behavior as harmless.

BUT I DIGRESS... here's a cropped photo of the tank in its current state:










One thing I'm not super happy with is the sparsity of the rotala bush on the bottom left. I recently moved the #4 light back further toward the wall to get more light on the crypts (have I mentioned how the giant piece of driftwood makes everything about this tank a giant pain in the ass?), and that resulted in more light spilling directly onto the wall itself from behind the glass, thereby backlighting my rotala bald spot. The vals should thicken over time and block it, and I'm mostly just picking nits anyway - I'm generally really happy with the tank, though the scape hasn't yet reached its final (imagined) state.

I'm still waiting for the crypts and java fern to fill out. The shifting back of the #4 light should, hopefully, speed things up a bit. The vals should also thicken up considerably, which will necessitate a thoughtful thinning strategy. I'm not trimming any val leaves in this scape since they have room to sweep across the entire length of the tank, so I think I will every so often just snip out some evenly distributed proportion of leaves right at the bottom (in addition to sniping ill-placed runners when I spot them).

Also - an update on the water... TDS got up to a bit shy of 300 and the dKH creeped up to 6. This lasted for about two weeks. This tank wasn't hit so hard (I'm guessing because of the aqua soil), but we lost quite a few shrimp and many plants melted across our planted tanks. Water is now back to a TDS of ~50 and dKH of 2.

I really don't want to go through this again. Now the question is what scale the solution takes. On one hand, I have the option of going all in - putting all of the planted tanks on remineralized RO full time. On the other, I could devise a scaled down escape hatch strategy that allows me to make water to match our _normal_ water and use it only during periods when the tap goes haywire. The problem with option 2 is that there is simply no room on the main level of my house to make and keep the quantity of water needed for water changes in the two bigger tanks (this one and an 80g in the living room). The basement is unfinished, however, so the water storage can go down there and get pumped up to the main level. At a minimum, I will need to install a utility sink, buy a pump and a single large storage tank to make that happen. If I'm doing that much, maybe I should just go all the way and add a second storage tank and some more permanent plumbing to get me to option 1. Still trying to work this out... It would be an easier call if the water weirdness lasted longer.

Well, that ended up being quite the blahg!


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## Bootsy (Jul 4, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> have I mentioned how the giant piece of driftwood makes everything about this tank a giant pain in the ass?


My time away from this hobby caused me to forget the absolute tension between how cool a piece of wood looks and how big a pain it is to arrange plants so you can see them and they get enough light.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Bootsy said:


> My time away from this hobby caused me to forget the absolute tension between how cool a piece of wood looks and how big a pain it is to arrange plants so you can see them and they get enough light.


Totally. The tension is real!


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> window light is the best light
> 
> View attachment 1041852


I'm glad to see you are human and take pictures with reflections too! 😂

Good update on the tank. The continued work has really paid off as it looks amazing.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> I'm glad to see you are human and take pictures with reflections too! 😂
> 
> Good update on the tank. The continued work has really paid off as it looks amazing.


You should see what's involved in getting a full tank shot without reflections... I'll try and capture it in words and photos one of these days. I'm sure the sight of it is quite harious!

and thank you


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Are you ever just sitting there enjoying your tank and find yourself irresistibly compelled to take a photograph? No? Just me? Sigh... This is part of the dark side of the photo hobby for me: an inability to just enjoy things without photographing them. It's mostly harmless, but can get in the way of things from time to time (this phenomenon has led to me pull back from photography at various points in the past). That got heavy. I think I can safely categorize this morning's behavior as harmless.
> 
> BUT I DIGRESS... here's a cropped photo of the tank in its current state:
> 
> ...


I've considered this myself. The easiest solution is to essentially make a spigot on your main level and then run a hose from the spigot to your tanks. Smart switches can make turning the water on and off in your basement pretty easy. 

The problem is that its horrible ;P Well more horrible then running water from your tap. This is why I haven't done it yet.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> I've considered this myself. The easiest solution is to essentially make a spigot on your main level and then run a hose from the spigot to your tanks. Smart switches can make turning the water on and off in your basement pretty easy.
> 
> The problem is that its horrible ;P Well more horrible then running water from your tap. This is why I haven't done it yet.


I think the way I would do it it shouldn't be too bad... In fact, the refills would be way faster and the water would be pre heated. Or do you mean the remineralization part?


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I think the way I would do it it shouldn't be too bad... In fact, the refills would be way faster and the water would be pre heated. Or do you mean the remineralization part?


It's more the additional steps and maintenance needed. Want to do a water change? Then you need to make water. It takes hours or days to refill a tank of water. And if your auto shutoff fails you have a flood unless you are babysitting it. If something happens and you need to do a big water change in a hurry you will have to wait for the water to refill in or switch back to using tap and run into the potential problems that brings to the table etc. 

I am doing this for my saltwater tank because I have to. I also mix salt into a holding tank as well so there is that additional step. But being tied down to a water change the size of my storage system and my foresight in making water is just annoying. If you MUST do it then you do it and that's the price of the hobby. But I am definitely trying to avoid it right now in my freshwater tanks. Not because I can't do it, but because life is soooo much simpler if I am hooking a hose up to a sink and turning the handle to refill a tank.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> It's more the additional steps and maintenance needed. Want to do a water change? Then you need to make water. It takes hours or days to refill a tank of water. And if your auto shutoff fails you have a flood unless you are babysitting it. If something happens and you need to do a big water change in a hurry you will have to wait for the water to refill in or switch back to using tap and run into the potential problems that brings to the table etc.
> 
> I am doing this for my saltwater tank because I have to. I also mix salt into a holding tank as well so there is that additional step. But being tied down to a water change the size of my storage system and my foresight in making water is just annoying. If you MUST do it then you do it and that's the price of the hobby. But I am definitely trying to avoid it right now in my freshwater tanks. Not because I can't do it, but because life is soooo much simpler if I am hooking a hose up to a sink and turning the handle to refill a tank.


Ah, yeah, I see. My option 1 avoids much of this by having two tanks. One for fresh RO and another for remineralized, and both will be big. Draw on the remineralized while the RO is being refilled. Then transfer and remineralize once a week or every other week depending on the tank sizes and needs.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

fish pics


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Show - us - the - guppy - tank!!
Show - us - the - guppy - tank!!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Lol. I'll try to get in there and snap a pic or two soon.


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## Bootsy (Jul 4, 2021)

[cough] goldfish [cough, cough]


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Haha. You guys are gonna give me a complex...


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

How big are your rainbows now?

You're back to putting us all in our place with your print-worthy shots!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> How big are your rainbows now?
> 
> You're back to putting us all in our place with your print-worthy shots!


The biggest males are maybe 3.5 inches. So they've got a lot of growing to do still.


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> The biggest males are maybe 3.5 inches. So they've got a lot of growing to do still.


How big will they get?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> How big will they get?


Their adult length ranges from 12-15cm (4.7-5.9"). I haven't kept them before, so I'm just basing that off of what I've read.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Haha. You guys are gonna give me a complex...


Well it's not that your tank is not amazing. It is legit amazing and absolute tank goalz. 

It's just that it's ..... extremely well documented <3


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Their adult length ranges from 12-15cm (4.7-5.9"). I haven't kept them before, so I'm just basing that off of what I've read.


oh wow that's way bigger than I expected.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> It's just that it's ..... extremely well documented <3


HA! I don't know what you're talking about.

So, you guys think it's time for a fresh full tank shot, or what?


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> HA! I don't know what you're talking about.
> 
> So, you guys think it's time for a fresh full tank shot, or what?


Fresh full room shot!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

As requested!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Love love love that guppy tank. Are those koi guppies? Shrimp would make such an empire in that rock structure ❤

so… where’s that new full tank shot we’ve been promised?


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

You've both got the whole emersed plant thing down pat!


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## MoreliaViridis (May 19, 2021)

Plz adopt me as pet


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

MoreliaViridis said:


> Plz adopt me as pet


Haha - the more the merrier!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

For the sake of completeness, here's my daughter's rabbit, Leo:



















That's the whole farm!


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

Leo's a cutie!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Oh my gosh!!!! I love rabbits but everyone says they’re a TON of work. Do you guys find Leo a ton of work? He is a delight ♥


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Oh my gosh!!!! I love rabbits but everyone says they’re a TON of work. Do you guys find Leo a ton of work? He is a delight ♥


He's great, actually. He's got a really fun, warm personality, which I wasn't really expecting.

In terms of difficulty, I would rate him below lizard and planted tank but more than a cat. He's also way more interactive than a lizard and less aloof than a cat. He does poop _a lot_, but it doesn't stink at all. And he is litter box trained. But he does chew through cords and, well, everything else too. On balance I'd rate him slightly above a cat on net enjoyment.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> He's great, actually. He's got a really fun, warm personality, which I wasn't really expecting.
> 
> In terms of difficulty, I would rate him below lizard and planted tank but more than a cat. He's also way more interactive than a lizard and less aloof than a cat. He does poop _a lot_, but it doesn't stink at all. And he is litter box trained. And his poop doesn't stink. BUt he does chew through cords and, well, everything else too. On balance I'd rate him slightly above a cat on net enjoyment.


Oh the litter box use puts him over a cat for sure!! If he weren’t litter box trained it would be quite a different experience 😂 My friend had a rabbit and was full of amazing personality anecdotes about him. I’ve always lowkey wanted one.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Oh the litter box use puts him over a cat for sure!! If he weren’t litter box trained it would be quite a different experience 😂 My friend had a rabbit and was full of amazing personality anecdotes about him. I’ve always lowkey wanted one.


Yeah, I would easily recommend it. This guy is a Flemish Giant and could get up to 25lbs! He's already much bigger than your garden variety rabbit and is only half grown.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Yeah, I would easily recommend it. This guy is a Flemish Giant and could get up to 25lbs! He's already much bigger than your garden variety rabbit and is only half grown.


Big bunneh!! ⭐ Do want!


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

25lbs?! I've had dogs smaller than that ha.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> 25lbs?! I've had dogs smaller than that ha.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Matt at Poth-O-Carry said:


> Have you checked out my Poth-O-Carry Versa Max for Monstera? Let me know if you think i need to offer something beefier


No, I wasn't aware of that product. What I ended up using serves a similar purpose, which is root containment as much as support. Good to know that's available!


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> View attachment 1041684





EmotionalFescue said:


> View attachment 1041846


@EmotionalFescue what types of plants do you have in the left corner? I know you said you had Monstera in the refugium but it looks different than the plant growing up the driftwood which I thought was Monstera...

Do you have them anchored in a specific way to get more vertical growth?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

The plant growing up the wood is not monsters... Not sure of its proper name. I just call that one the swiss cheese vine.

The tall plant in the box is monstera deliciosa. I had it suspended with zip ties until it root bound itself in the box. Now it's holding itself up.


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> The plant growing up the wood is not monsters... Not sure of its proper name. I just call that one the swiss cheese vine.
> 
> The tall plant in the box is monstera deliciosa. I had it suspended with zip ties until it root bound itself in the box. Now it's holding itself up.


Do you have any substrate in the box or just the bare roots?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> Do you have any substrate in the box or just the bare roots?


I started out with no substrate. After the roots filled the space out a bit, I added Flourite. This approach is based on nothing more than my intuition... kind of an experiment where I'm just following my nose. I don't know, for example, how the monstera will do root bound. I could, like, look it up, but that's not really my style lol.


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## pseudomugil (Aug 12, 2013)

EmotionalFescue said:


> The plant growing up the wood is not monsters... Not sure of its proper name. I just call that one the swiss cheese vine.
> 
> The tall plant in the box is monstera deliciosa. I had it suspended with zip ties until it root bound itself in the box. Now it's holding itself up.


The plant growing up the wood could be monstera adensonii, which is the other, more vine like, monstera that's commonly available.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

pseudomugil said:


> The plant growing up the wood could be monstera adensonii, which is the other, more vine like, monstera that's commonly available.


yes, I believe you are correct!


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

pseudomugil said:


> The plant growing up the wood could be monstera adensonii, which is the other, more vine like, monstera that's commonly available.


That makes sense; and glad I'm not crazy (well, as crazy ha) as I've always associated that leaf type as monstera so guess I just wasn't familiar with the deliciosa variety.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> That makes sense; and glad I'm not crazy (well, as crazy ha) as I've always associated that leaf type as monstera so guess I just wasn't familiar with the deliciosa variety.


yeah, I guess I need to be a little less loose-y goose-y with my verbiage!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Spawning and sparring!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

You always have spawning!!! Are you exporting trifasciata (are these even trifasciata lol?) all over? Or do they get eaten mostly?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> You always have spawning!!! Are you exporting trifasciata (are these even trifasciata lol?) all over? Or do they get eaten mostly?


I have never tried to breed rainbows, but my understanding is that it's very easy to get them to spawn, but in order to get fry you have to move the fertilized eggs to a different space. Otherwise they all get eaten.

_It's the ciiirrrrcle of liiiiiiife_


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Oh ok! Because otherwise you’d have to be carting them off by the boatload hahah


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

No half measures in this house!



















I'm taking PTO next week (all work and no play makes EmotionalFescue a stabby MFer), and I've got myself a serious project in the pipeline.

More - _so much more_ - to come...


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

I’m so excited to follow this project!!


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> No half measures in this house!
> 
> View attachment 1042408


Go big or go home!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Supplies


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Goldie drop


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## Katmanreef (Jul 6, 2017)

This tank is amazing, good job! I really like large tanks like this, and seeing all the equipment and work it takes to make it a reality. Amazing photography as well!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Katmanreef said:


> This tank is amazing, good job! I really like large tanks like this, and seeing all the equipment and work it takes to make it a reality. Amazing photography as well!


Thank you!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Those goldfish look perpetually scandalized.


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## puopg (Sep 16, 2012)

I’m digging the tall storage tanks! I did that too and it really saves space. I wish I had that 200 gallon one though! Mines only 50


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

puopg said:


> I’m digging the tall storage tanks! I did that too and it really saves space. I wish I had that 200 gallon one though! Mines only 50


I actually have about 1,400 square feet of unfinished basement to work with, so space wasn't an issue. But these were the biggest ones I could fit through the door!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Those goldfish look perpetually scandalized.


I think they find any extended period in which they are not being fed to be scandalous!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I think they find any extended period in which they are not being fed to be scandalous!


I’m with them. I can’t imagine what my constant facial expression would be if I wasn’t able to open the fridge door by myself.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

OPERATION REVERSE OSMOSIS - PHASE ONE: UTILITY SINK

With the kids off to school and Mrs Fescue unhappily at work, I started my first day of PTO with coffee and a legal pad...










Once I had a solid list, I was off to the home improvement store. It started off a little shaky in the ABS fittings section... The box that was supposed to contain 2"x1.5" sanitary tees contained all manner of fittings, not one of which was a 2"x1.5" sanitary tee. Likewise in the p traps box... People. _Come on._ We are living in a society, and the least you can do is to put your discarded fittings back in the proper box! Anyyyyyway... I was able to secure everything on my list with only one stop. I was feeling very satisfied with myself.

Back in the basement... The space:










The sink:










The goal being to get the sink into the space. This involved several steps... First was attaching some boards to the wall. These will secure the water lines for the sink, and I'll also mount the RO unit to the topmost one. I'm running 1/2" PEX down the wall to the sink, and they're tying into 3/4" lines in the ceiling. Here are the existing lines, before splicing:










Here is the wall prepped with the sink lines, before tying into the main lines:










There are three ways to secure PEX to barbed fittings - I chose crimp rings. For the most part they were easy to work with, but I did get one bad crimp while teeing off of the hot main line. It wasn't the end of the world, but it did require another trip to the home improvement store. So much for my one stop self satisfaction. In the end, it all worked out:



















I also added a 1/4" compression shutoff fitting to the cold line for the RO unit. The guy at the hardware store didn't know what I was talking about when I asked for brass tube inserts and plastic sleeves, but we figured it out eventually. The RO unit will mount to the board above and to the right of the sink. The booster pump will sit on top of the old Ikea shelf.

Next up is the hard plumbing for the mixing station. I think I'll try to knock that out tomorrow. I may also sneak away for a night of camping. I haven't been up in the hills yet this year, and the weather is great in Northern Colorado right now.

More to come.


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## Goodwood (May 5, 2021)

Camping = Sleeping outside = Necessity = Do it!

RO system looks great... but sleeping outside on your own accord is the bee's knees!

P.S. 
The best use for Christmas lights I have seen in a while


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

OPERATION REVERSE OSMOSIS - PHASE TWO: ELECTRICAL AND MIXING STATION PLUMBING

I made a ton of progress today! I started off by running power over to a DJ strip on the shelf. Two positions on the strip have Kasa plugs - one each for the heater and pump. I also finished all of the hard plumbing that connects the tanks to each other and to the pump that will run the whole system. I didn't stop to take any pics in the middle of the pipe fitting, but here's the end result:










The tank on the right will store fresh RO and the tank on the left is for remineralized water. Throughout any given week, we will draw on the remineralized water while the RO reserve is being replenished. At some point in the week, I'll transfer fresh RO over to top off the remineralized tank. I'll need to add only enough Ca and Mg for the water added. I'm thinking I'll add lines between the existing gallon markers and will print out a cross reference sheet that has the proper salt weights based on the level of the remineralized water before topping off. Not sure if that description made sense, but essentially I'll be able to look at the sheet and say, "since there are already x gallons in there, I should add y grams of Ca and z grams of Mg to get the whole tank to its target hardness".

I did take a few pics of the heater setup for the remineralization tank... I want the heater to hang down into the tank and not touch any of the side walls, but I don't want it to be fiddly, and I still want to be able to close the lid.










To achieve this I've got the heater power cord running through a cable gland threaded into a bulkhead:










This will keep the height of the heater constant. The cord is spliced back together and housed inside PVC with the other end of the cord also secured in a gland so the spliced portion of the cord is protected from movement and moisture. This is the same thing I did with the inline heater for the big tank, and it worked really well there. Here it is all put back together:










I'm heading out to the wilderness tomorrow, so I think I'll wrap everything else up on Friday. Thankfully, the bulk of the work is done!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

this is wild ❤


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

The thing I love about your projects are how well thought out and thorough they are! You weren't kidding when you said no half measures in your house.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> The thing I love about your projects are how well thought out and thorough they are! You weren't kidding when you said no half measures in your house.


Ha, thanks. There are some things I like to play jazz with, like plant selections and layouts, but for big mechanical projects I definitely like to have everything fully planned out before I start cutting and glueing!

It's all really over the top, I think, but as I get older, I'm accepting more and more that I'm just an over the top kind of guy.


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## ddiomede (Feb 21, 2011)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Ha, thanks. There are some things I like to play jazz with, like plant selections and layouts, but for big mechanical projects I definitely like to have everything fully planned out before I start cutting and glueing!
> 
> It's all really over the top, I think, but as I get older, I'm accepting more and more that I'm just an over the top kind of guy.


It's really a good way to be with anything mechanical. One thing I always like asking myself is "what if this breaks. How hard would it be to replace it". 

My last reef tank's plumbing was designed to be able to remove anything from the system by just turning valves and removing unions. I designed it with needing to take the whole tank down in the event I moved. 

It worked almost exactly intended when almost 10 years after it being set up I moved. The only issue I had was the bulkhead nuts seized into place and turning the nut with a wrench just made the whole bulkhead spin because I couldn't get into the overflow and hold it in any way that helped. I had to use a Dremel to cut the nuts off the return and drain lines. Aside from that everything came apart super easy lol. I remember selling off my calcium reactor two years before the move. I turned some valves, removed the reactor, then cut the pipes and installed caps. This was with the system running. 

The only way to plan something like that is to draw it out. I'm having a blast following this thread because this is basically how I'd tackle something like this too.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

ddiomede said:


> It's really a good way to be with anything mechanical. One thing I always like asking myself is "what if this breaks. How hard would it be to replace it".
> 
> My last reef tank's plumbing was designed to be able to remove anything from the system by just turning valves and removing unions. I designed it with needing to take the whole tank down in the event I moved.


Unions unions unions. I really should have used more for the tank plumbing. I had a hard time with some of the angles. I definitely used a lot here! 8 regulars and four true union ball valves plus one true union check valve. They make everything so much easier from fitting to servicing.

Glad you're enjoying following along!


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## ddiomede (Feb 21, 2011)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Unions unions unions. I really should have used more for the tank plumbing. I had a hard time with some of the angles. I definitely used a lot here! 8 regulars and four true union ball valves plus one true union check valve. They make everything so much easier from fitting to servicing.
> 
> Glad you're enjoying following along!


A great thing to do whenever doing plumbing is buy a bunch of 90's, 45's, and the street versions of them and just return what you don't use after you're done. Makes any plumbing job that much easier.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

OPERATION REVERSE OSMOSIS - PHASE THREE: BREAK ON THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE

One of the final pieces of the RO water change system puzzle was getting the water from the basement to the main level of the house - I finally did that today. The water will come up from beneath the utility sink cabinet in the laundry room. This is the utility sink I use for water changes currently. I will still use it for the draining portion under the new system.










As you can see in this photo, I had to abandon my first hole location because the floor tile extended further than I thought. I could have gotten a masonry hole saw, but I figured it was easier to just move to the back of the cabinet in line with with the drain and supply lines which are past the end of the tile.

The pipe is gripped in a clamp which is attached to that block of oak.










Here it is on the basement side (pre cut):










And after I cut it and attached a threaded elbow:










I will connect that pipe to the remineralization tank via 1" PEX. I didn't do that today because I had to order the clamps I need to attach the PEX to the joists. Strangely, both Home Depot and Lowe's didn't carry them in 1"...

Also... we're officially making water!



















Don't mind the water spot under the sink - I had a leaky p trap, but it is now fixed!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

See, _you_ know what a PEX is! I had a weird Home Depot experience today with a guy going ‘nah you don’t need those fittings, those are PEX fittings’ and me looking at him like he was speaking in tongues. (Well he was speaking in French, close enough to tongues, lol)


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> See, _you_ know what a PEX is!


PEX was once strange and mysterious to me as well, but I'm beginning to uncover its secrets.

You starting a new project?


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> PEX was once strange and mysterious to me as well, but I'm beginning to uncover its secrets.
> 
> You starting a new project?


It’s suitably dinky!! 😉 Wrote up the intro so far over in the journal, hopefully the weekend will let me do some measuring. It’s a superbly ramshackle contraption, literally diametrically opposite of your majestic People Pickling Capacity Vats. But I’ll be superbly annoyed if it doesn’t at least work.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I seem to be making a consistent 5 gallons per hour with about a 1:1 product to waste ratio. I think that's about as good as it gets, efficiency-wise.


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## CGY_Betta_Guy (Jul 26, 2010)

Any considerations/concerns with algae growth in your remineralized tank since it is sitting next to a window?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

CGY_Betta_Guy said:


> Any considerations/concerns with algae growth in your remineralized tank since it is sitting next to a window?







I maybe aught to put a sheet over that window!


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## plantnoobdude (Jun 25, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I maybe aught to put a sheet over that window!


pure RO will not have any nutrients, algae should not grow. unless you have some decomposing stuff in the container like leaves.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

plantnoobdude said:


> pure RO will not have any nutrients, algae should not grow. unless you have some decomposing stuff in the container like leaves.


that makes sense. I was expecting to maybe have to deal with mold/mildew at some point. I'll just have to see how things go and adjust as necessary.


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

plantnoobdude said:


> pure RO will not have any nutrients, algae should not grow. unless you have some decomposing stuff in the container like leaves.


I get mold or bacterial slime in varying amounts in my reservoir toward the end of my fertilizer automated fill up no matter how carefully I sterilize the container. Granted it is not algae but who knows what comes along with one's remineralization powder. I am using RO water with the concentrated ferts.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Up and running!










I started with a 100g remineralization batch, and after some system tests was left with ~76g. Everything worked swimmingly, with the exception of the heater. I tried getting by with the largest Eheim, which is 300w. It just isn't powerful enough (I maybe should have put some sort of insulation under the tanks!), and I could only hit about 71 degrees. Anyway, I ordered an Inkbird and a 500w element to replace the Eheim. This will work for now since I'm just doing daily small water changes for a week to get the tanks used to the new water. 

Once everything checked out, I mixed a full 180g. This is a pretty good simulation of what I'll be doing every week: starting with some number of gallons already mixed in the remineralization tank, topping off with fresh RO, and remineralizing based on the newly-added gallonage. The first step of this process is setting all the valves for transfer from the RO tank to the remineralization tank.














































I put a piece of gaffer's tape to mark the amount of already-mixed water prior to the transfer. I plan to make this a regular practice, since I can _definitely_ see myself topping up and not being able to remember how much was already in there.










I may be topping up different amounts in any given week, so, to make things easy, I calculated the number of grams needed to remineralize 100g at 30ppm Ca + 15ppm Mg. If I need to actually do 84 gallons, I just multiply those weights by 0.84; for 120g, I multiply by 1.2, etc... In today's exercise, I was starting with 76g already mixed and wanted to top off to 180g, so my multiplier was 1.04.










I'm using calcium sulfate and magnesium sulfate to remineralize, and the the calcium sulfate has very low solubility. If I just dump the powder in the tank, it'll clump like mad, but I found when I was adding it to my aquariums directly that it was fine if I added it as a slurry.



















At this point, I've got plenty of water ready to go for the whole week.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

On Water Changes

Now that the new RO system is up and running, I wanted to lay out how I will be doing water changes for this tank (and all other planted tanks in this house). The great thing about the new system is that it's not very different from the old system, and where it's different, it's an improvement over the old way...










As before, I'm using a Python gravel vac system that stretches about 35 feet to a utility sink in the laundry room.










The hose runs first into an Eheim Universal 1262 pump and then up to the sink via the standard Python faucet attachment. Under the old system, I would turn the pump off after the draining was complete, close an inline ball valve and start the faucet on full hot, let it run for a minute to heat up the hot water supply line to the sink, switch it to full cold for a minute to fully chill the cold water supply line, then find the 77degree point. Once the temp stabilized, I would open the inline ball valve, close the Python faucet valve, and start the refill (I would add dechlor to the tank while all these faucet shenanigans were taking place)...










Under the new system, I close valves and pop the hose off of the pump via a cam-lock coupler, then reattach the hose to the remineralization tank spigot underneath the utility sink. Once attached, I open the valves on either side of the coupler and kick on the pump with my phone.










The remineralization tank is heated, so there's no more fiddling with the faucet, and the pump is putting out to the tank at a slightly faster rate than the faucet was before. I'm not sure what the difference is exactly, but i'm putting water back into the tank now at about 3.2 gallons per minute. That means my final head height is ~30-32 feet for this tank. It will be less for the living room tank, since I will only be using about 1/4 of the hose length.

I'm keeping an empty 5 gallon bucket on hand in the event that I lose my connection to the smart plug running the pump in the basement. I figure if that happens, I'll throw the gravel vac end of the hose into the bucket, carry it to the utility sink, and go down and switch off the pump manually.

After the refill is complete, I pop the line off the spigot, put it back onto the pump (which is plugged into a smart plug with a dedicated remote control), and run the pump for a few seconds to bleed the line. The hose then gets coiled up and put on its hook in the laundry room, and it's ready to start draining for the next water change.

All in all, I think this is about as dialed in as this is likely to get, and I'm pretty satisfied with it!


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

Yep, that's a pretty sweet setup and I'm definitely jealous!

What is your plan to switch completely over to RO water in the tanks? Do you need to do it over several smaller changes or are you remineralizing close enough to the current tank water from the tap that it doesn't really matter?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> Yep, that's a pretty sweet setup and I'm definitely jealous!
> 
> What is your plan to switch completely over to RO water in the tanks? Do you need to do it over several smaller changes or are you remineralizing close enough to the current tank water from the tap that it doesn't really matter?


I did ~10% water changes in the two big tanks last night. I plan to do that every day this week. After that, I think I should be good to go with the normal 50% changes. I'm doubling my dGH and dropping to zero dKH, so I want to be pretty careful to make the transition gradually.


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## Virtus (11 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I did ~10% water changes in the two big tanks last night. I plan to do that every day this week. After that, I think I should be good to go with the normal 50% changes. I'm doubling my dGH and dropping to zero dKH, so I want to be pretty careful to make the transition gradually.


 Can you elaborate on your decision with the gH and kH? Not questioning it, just curious on reasoning; especially for zero kH.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Virtus said:


> Can you elaborate on your decision with the gH and kH? Not questioning it, just curious on reasoning; especially for zero kH.


Sure!

The tl;dr version is that I'm just following the path laid out by other experienced hobbyists who have made their own water for their impressive high-tech tanks.

For GH, the increase just flows naturally from specifying actual targets instead of just taking what comes out of my tap. I've never had a good handle on my Ca/Mg breakdown, and I'm curious what effects I will see from this change.

For KH... there is some controversy. My take on the question of whether or not to add KH is that it's typically included based on the perception that pH swings are dangerous for livestock. This isn't necessarily false, but there's some nuance to it. If you have a clean planted tank with pH swings from injected CO2, the situation is not the same as it would be in a fish-focused tank with pH swings from other sources. Since I'm in the former camp, and since plants generally seem to prefer no KH, I don't see a compelling reason to add it.


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## Chucker (Apr 9, 2011)

Two thoughts about warming up the storage tank... Hot water heater blankets might help hold in heat, though as you note, contact with the floor will suck away temp. Looking back, you're only using cold water to make up RO, correct? If you check your RO manual, you'll likely find the unit is more efficient in the 70°F-80°F range than standard cold water faucet temp, and then you'd only have to maintain temp, not raise it.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Chucker said:


> Two thoughts about warming up the storage tank... Hot water heater blankets might help hold in heat, though as you note, contact with the floor will suck away temp. Looking back, you're only using cold water to make up RO, correct? If you check your RO manual, you'll likely find the unit is more efficient in the 70°F-80°F range than standard cold water faucet temp, and then you'd only have to maintain temp, not raise it.


I've got a 500w element with an inkbird on there now and it has no problem holding temperature.

Interesting point about the best temp for RO efficiency - I didn't realize that.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

A couple of random pics...



















I spent a lot of time and energy setting up the new RO system and haven't been keeping up with updates on the aquarium itself... the short version is that the tank struggled a bit after the water went haywire. Especially the crypts, which pretty much all melted. I also recently have noticed a general lack of vibrancy, which has coincided with the monstera really taking off. I upped the dosing this week, and the plants are all looking better. I'll check the nitrates tomorrow before I change the water. 

Of course, the change in fertilizers coincides with the shift to new water, so, as with most things in this hobby, it will be difficult to pin down exactly how much effect each change had. Nevertheless, the tank is looking good, and I'm happy with its trajectory. 

New full tank shot coming soon.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> A couple of random pics...
> 
> View attachment 1043386
> 
> ...


The low down shot is a fun perspective!

Will be interested to see how your water shift affects your tank in the coming months. In the back of my mind shifting to full RO has been the nuclear option for tank keeping for years. I just haven't wanted to commit, so now I can live vicariously


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> Will be interested to see how your water shift affects your tank in the coming months. In the back of my mind shifting to full RO has been the nuclear option for tank keeping for years. I just haven't wanted to commit, so now I can live vicariously


I am interested too! At the end of the day, I decided I just wasn't willing to accept the risk of more water weirdness outside of my control after having investing so much in the hobby. It also helps that it was a fun project and that it made water changes easier.


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## ddiomede (Feb 21, 2011)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I am interested too! At the end of the day, I decided I just wasn't willing to accept the risk of more water weirdness outside of my control after having investing so much in the hobby. It also helps that it was a fun project and that it made water changes easier.


You absolutely made the right choice. Tap is a variable outside of our control. When I first set up a nano reef, I didn't want to make RODI water, or invest in an RODI system, or mix salt for that matter so I bought premixed salt water from an LFS. I noticed that my corals didn't seem to be happy so I bought a Milwaukee salinity testing unit and they were adding way too much salt. When I asked how they tested their water he pulled out one of those old school salinity testing units that you fill up with water and wait for the needle to settle to read you the SG. The problem with those is they get dirty and if effects the reading. I went home and got my Milwaukee unit and brought it over to show him how far off his water was. I then just started buying RODI and mixing the salt myself. I started fighting algae and bought a TDS meter and the water was showing higher than expected TDS. It should read 0 TDS when you use DI. So I bought an RODI system. But starting with a blank slate and tailoring it to the GH and KH you want is honestly the best way to go. With saltwater it's a little easier because the manufacturer does all the mineral mixing themselves and you just need to mix in enough salt to hit your salinity/SG. 

I'm sure I'll go in this direction as well once I start running into issues that I can't figure out. Once I do I'm sure I'll be hitting you up for your remineralization recipe


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

ddiomede said:


> starting with a blank slate and tailoring it to the GH and KH you want is honestly the best way to go.


Yep. I just couldn't stomach the thought of all my learning and refinement being undermined by random shifts at the tap. Now that it's set up and the money is already spent, I'm really happy to have it. Thankfully the saltwater guys figured out long ago what a proper mixing station should look like. Having two tanks and one pump makes the system really user friendly.


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## MoreliaViridis (May 19, 2021)

I find sudden shift in KH can seriously impact tank dynamics so crypts melting away isn't too too surprising....


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

MoreliaViridis said:


> I find sudden shift in KH can seriously impact tank dynamics so crypts melting away isn't too too surprising....


Yeah, I pinned most of the blame on the KH shift. Pre-freakout KH was 2, and it went up to 6 overnight. Even smaller than normal partial WCs with the newly-hard city water were nuking Amanos. Shifting to 0 KH remineralized RO has been smooth with no deaths. That made me think that decreasing KH is easier on a tank than increasing it. But I maybe already weeded out the sensitive shrimp, so it's hard to say.


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## MoreliaViridis (May 19, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> That made me think that decreasing KH is easier on a tank than increasing it.


It is. Dunno why but thats just how it is.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Yeah, I pinned most of the blame on the KH shift. Pre-freakout KH was 2, and it went up to 6 overnight. Even smaller than normal partial WCs with the newly-hard city water were nuking Amanos. Shifting to 0 KH remineralized RO has been smooth with no deaths. That made me think that decreasing KH is easier on a tank than increasing it. But I maybe already weeded out the sensitive shrimp, so it's hard to say.


How did you settle on your remineralization formula, I'm curious? I mean, and what is it, lol.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> How did you settle on your remineralization formula, I'm curious? I mean, and what is it, lol.


Same as the fertilizer dosing - I just got it in the ballpark of what other users were doing. I went with 30ppm Ca + 15ppm Mg. I'm not adding any KH.

I never had a good handle on my Ca and Mg breakdown in my tap water, but my dGH was somewhere between 3 and 4. Assuming it favored Ca based on an old study of the area's runoff water, I added extra Mg in my macro dosing bottle. It was pretty slap-dash, and I'm wondering if I may have had some some plant health issues as a result. At least now I'm confident I have enough - and not too much - of both.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fresh full tank shots:



















I think the biggest changes since last time are probably how much the vals have filled in and the removal of the monstera vine. Well, it's not removed completely, but I chopped it down to the base. It started to drop leaves in some places and put out new ones in others. It was just getting kinda gangly looking. I expect it to come back bushier.

I'd really like to get the pothos up to the light bar to enhance the jungly aesthetic, but it's proving more difficult than I anticipated! We'll see if I can ever get it all the way up there.

Other than that, the tank is cruising along, recovering from the moderate, hardness shock-induced melting. The fish are doing well, and the shrimp are venturing out a lot more now that they're bigger.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Pothos will get there for sure, a friend here has a tank with pothos that is literally draping over half her living room. Like that thing is traveling along her walls. 

Your fish are SO BIG! I forget how big they are when I don't see full tank shots for a while. My fish look nonexistent compared to your fish lol. They're like fish atoms. Quark fish.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Your fish are SO BIG! I forget how big they are when I don't see full tank shots for a while. My fish look nonexistent compared to your fish lol. They're like fish atoms. Quark fish.


They don't seem big to me! They've got quite a bit more growing to do too...


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## ddiomede (Feb 21, 2011)

I just love your tank! Tanks that are very natural looking really grab my attention.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

ddiomede said:


> I just love your tank! Tanks that are very natural looking really grab my attention.


Thanks! I gravitate toward the more natural looking nature scapes too. 

What a fun hobby!


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> They don't seem big to me! They've got quite a bit more growing to do too...


I think it's just because I gravitate towards speckfish lol.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fresh pics of the emergent growth:


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## MoreliaViridis (May 19, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Same as the fertilizer dosing - I just got it in the ballpark of what other users were doing. I went with 30ppm Ca + 15ppm Mg. I'm not adding any KH.
> 
> I never had a good handle on my Ca and Mg breakdown in my tap water, but my dGH was somewhere between 3 and 4. Assuming it favored Ca based on an old study of the area's runoff water, I added extra Mg in my macro dosing bottle. It was pretty slap-dash, and I'm wondering if I may have had some some plant health issues as a result. At least now I'm confident I have enough - and not too much - of both.


I find Ca:Mg ratio to be completely irrelevant unless you have very high amount of something. At least I've tested all the way down to 1:1...








Only thing that had some effect for me was dosing high Ca.
Ca inhibits a lot of stuffs. Pretty much everything except N.
I've seen some bad stuffs happen at 8dGH. But my dosing, especially traces, are lean. Also traces except Fe is not chelated and I think that matters a fair bit here...

So theres quite a wiggle room.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

MoreliaViridis said:


> I've seen some bad stuffs happen at 8dGH. But my dosing, especially traces, are lean.


I don't have strong intuition around Ca and Mg... I'm definitely leaving open the possibility of some experimentation on this front.

I do think this is the last big thing for me to take control of. Where I end up, I'm not sure, but at least I decide the direction now!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some night light pics










Whenever I take these full tank shots, I go stand just outside the frame on the right and wave my arms in the air to get the fish to school up like this. There doesn't seem to be any lasting trauma from this tactic, as they're back to swimming around like maniacs within ten seconds. Still, I wonder if it's a sign of bad character...


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Bad character on the fishes’ part or yours? 😅

Mine don’t seem to have any reaction to me except when it’s wormtime.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Bad character on the fishes’ part or yours?


Mine. But I was just joking really. I decided a long time ago that I'm a moderately sketchy character.


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Mine. But I was just joking really. I decided a long time ago that I'm a moderately sketchy character.


moderately sketchy is probably the best way to go through life


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

fish pics


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Always killing it with the fish pics! Absolutely beautiful fish!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

johnson18 said:


> Always killing it with the fish pics! Absolutely beautiful fish!


Thank ya!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

water change snaps


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

fish pics


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## vraev (Apr 13, 2012)

Absolutely incredible. Great pics as always.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

vraev said:


> Absolutely incredible. Great pics as always.


Thank you 😀


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

evening mood


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> evening mood
> 
> View attachment 1044221


Looking very, very good. I appreciate the open simple feeling...

Question. How is your Red Dragon pump working for you? I have an Fzone that is great and was very inexpensive but for some reason they are no longer available. I am now on the lookout for a similar DC adjustable pump with a little more gph headroom. Perhaps in the ~1200gph range. It would also be nice if it came with 5/8" Id hose barb fittings like my Fzone has. I contacted the Fzone company and was told that these DC pumps are now only available on their stainless steel ADA knock-off filters. Odd since they were such a great value.

The Red Dragon seems like the Porsche of aquarium pumps. I would love one but already have enough money sunk into to my tank to have bought a used car!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> Looking very, very good. I appreciate the open simple feeling...
> 
> Question. How is your Red Dragon pump working for you? I have an Fzone that is great and was very inexpensive but for some reason they are no longer available. I am now on the lookout for a similar DC adjustable pump with a little more gph headroom. Perhaps in the ~1200gph range. It would also be nice if it came with 5/8" Id hose barb fittings like my Fzone has. I contacted the Fzone company and was told that these DC pumps are now only available on their stainless steel ADA knock-off filters. Odd since they were such a great value.
> 
> The Red Dragon seems like the Porsche of aquarium pumps. I would love one but already have enough money sunk into to my tank to have bought a used car!


Thank you!

The Red Dragon is fantastic. It's built like a tank out of ultra durable materials, has a really useful flow range and great pressure characteristics. And it's silent throughout its entire range.

Highly recommended!


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Thank you!
> The Red Dragon is fantastic. It's built like a tank out of ultra durable materials, has a really useful flow range and great pressure characteristics. And it's silent throughout its entire range.
> Highly recommended!


So... if I throw monetary caution to the wind and get the Red Dragon can you suggest how I can get to 5/8" barbed fittings without extending the hard connections too much? From photos I have seen it is difficult for me to tell what kind of adapters I would need.

Thanks!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

mourip said:


> So... if I throw monetary caution to the wind and get the Red Dragon can you suggest how I can get to 5/8" barbed fittings without extending the hard connections too much? From photos I have seen it is difficult for me to tell what kind of adapters I would need.
> 
> Thanks!


It comes with union fittings on the input and output sides. The easiest thing to do on the inlet is to cement a reducing bushing right into the union. One of these:









Schedule 80 Reducing Bushing Spigot x Female Thread


Spigot x Female Thread. PVC for your plumbing needs. Use Schedule 80 Spigot x Female Thread (FPT) Reducing Bushing to reduce pipe size by inserting directly into a fitting or valve. More professional look than white Schedule 40 PVC. The golden rule of plumbing is that every job takes three...




www.bulkreefsupply.com





You can then thread a 5/8 barb with 3/4 threads right into the bushing.

The outlet is only 3/4 though, so that won't work there... On the output you would cement a reducing coupler to the union (3/4x1") and a bushing into the coupler. Then you could thread a 5/8 barb into it. It would be simpler with 3/4 tubing because you could just cement a 3/4 barb right into the union...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

pics














































I've also taken the lighting to new heights!










In an effort to future proof for the jungle, I raised the #1 light quite a bit. It's now got an 18" riser - the old one was 5.5". At this point, it would really be better if the riser's base elbow was closer to the #2 light with a longer mounting arm at the top. I can definitely do that at some point, but... it was more than I had in me right now. I expect it will just stay this way. ha.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

This Monstera is going bananas


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

fish pics


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## tsouth01 (Sep 29, 2019)

Beautiful shots. I love the natural aspect of all of the inhabitants you've chosen. Feels like a true 1:1 representation of the jungle <3


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## LidijaPN (12 mo ago)

Do you take your shots while the lights are dimming or something? The pictures are amazingly beautiful but in terms of light the tank looks very dark....?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

tsouth01 said:


> Beautiful shots. I love the natural aspect of all of the inhabitants you've chosen. Feels like a true 1:1 representation of the jungle <3


Thank ya! I do really enjoy the to-scale nature scape aesthetic.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

LidijaPN said:


> Do you take your shots while the lights are dimming or something? The pictures are amazingly beautiful but in terms of light the tank looks very dark....?


It's hard to convey in full tank shots, but there are some parts of the tank that are very dark due to shading from the wood or draping vals. I sometimes like to catch the fish when they're just peaking out of one of these shaded zones into the light.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fresh FTS


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I always struggle a bit when I try to photograph the whole tank and emergent growth at once, because the room just isn't very big and I'm forced to use a wide angle lens which distorts what the tank actually looks like. At wide angles, for example, the sandy area at the front of the tank ends up looking much bigger than it does in person.

Here I tried something different: shooting a bunch of frames at 70mm (a much more natural perspective relative to human vision) and stitching them together in photoshop. I've never done this before, but after some hiccups I figured it out, and I think it ended up pretty cool!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

fish pics



















and a rare sighting of the aptly named blue phantom pleco


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Okay, so that random attempt at panoramic stitching last week has gotten me a bit obsessed about the technique...

First, I should say that I've been doing the photography thing for a fair bit of time now, having picked it up as a serious hobby / obsession in the mid 90s. Back in those bad old days of film photography, getting high-quality panoramic photos was something that was dramatically out of reach for me because it required stupendously expensive cameras and lenses that could expose a wide expanse of film in a single exposure. Something like this guy:










Despite never having the perfect alignment of disposable income and photographic priorities that would have enabled true panoramic photography, I always wanted to give it a go. Now, while digital stitching is not the same thing, you can get some really amazing results with it, especially with stationary subjects. It always just seemed so damn hard though...

Well, it turns out, if you write something off as too difficult, technology marches on just the same, and a thing that once seemed too difficult to be worthwhile can become shockingly simple and accessible. Thank you, Adobe and your huge investment in AI!

I even picked up a new tool to make the stitching process more seamless (pun intended):










That plate that the camera is attached to is what's known in the biz as a 'nodal rail'. It turns out that the biggest impediment to pano stitching is parallax effects. Basically, when you pan from left to right (or right to left if you're in the southern hemisphere), near objects can laterally shift relative to more distant ones. This means that the content of two overlapping frames is not consistent, thereby making those frames much more difficult to blend together. But, if your axis of rotation is centered on the nodal point of your lens (the point in the optical path at which the rays of light converge), the parallax effect is removed. Distant objects do not shift relative to near ones as you pan, and stitching becomes much much simpler.

Aaaaannnnyway, I'm very excited about my panoramic prospects. Even more than that, I'm excited _to be excited_ because I just haven't had much urge to get out and shoot for... _a while_. For now, I've only tested with - you guessed it - a photo of my fish tank.










It's almost like I've got that massive Fuji 617 or Widelux I lusted over back in the 90s.

I promise to take photos of non-fish-tank subjects. I might even post one or two of them here...


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Okay, so that random attempt at panoramic stitching last week has gotten me a bit obsessed about the technique...
> 
> First, I should say that I've been doing the photography thing for a fair bit of time now, having picked it up as a serious hobby / obsession in the mid 90s. Back in those bad old days of film photography, getting high-quality panoramic photos was something that was dramatically out of reach for me because it required stupendously expensive cameras and lenses that could expose a wide expanse of film in a single exposure. Something like this guy:
> 
> ...


NICE! 

Shooting a panoramic with a 90mm macro, diving right in!

Can you use software to remove the lens distortion automatically or is it something you need to manually?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> NICE!
> 
> Shooting a panoramic with a 90mm macro, diving right in!
> 
> Can you use software to remove the lens distortion automatically or is it something you need to manually?


Photoshop let's you choose the projection when aligning the layers. For this latest one I chose a cylindrical projection because I kind of liked the effect. It looks like what you'd get with a swing lens pano like the Widelux. You can also choose an automatic projection algorithm that would get you 90% of the way there with a distortion free panoramic.

Photoshop also has a distortion correction tool that is really nice for tank shots because you select pieces of the photo that should be straight vertical and horizontal lines, and it does the rest. That takes care of that last 10%.

EDIT:

Here's the result with all of the geometric distortion removed:


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## ddiomede (Feb 21, 2011)

I was really into photography at one time and miss it. I think one of the best pano shots I ever created was when my dad took me out on his boat on Lake Michigan and I took several overlapping shots of the skyline and came up with this

The full fledged version of photoshop has become too expensive so I've been looking for a decent macOS software. Affinity Photo seems to have all the tools, but I haven't really spent much time behind my DSLR.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

ddiomede said:


> I was really into photography at one time and miss it. I think one of the best pano shots I ever created was when my dad took me out on his boat on Lake Michigan and I took several overlapping shots of the skyline and came up with this
> 
> The full fledged version of photoshop has become too expensive so I've been looking for a decent macOS software. Affinity Photo seems to have all the tools, but I haven't really spent much time behind my DSLR.


Nice! Followed.

I use the subscription version of photoshop these days. It's $10/mo, cancel whenever. They're putting out so much functionality so often, I feel like it's actually a good deal. But, that really depends on your use case.


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## ddiomede (Feb 21, 2011)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Nice! Followed.
> 
> I use the subscription version of photoshop these days. It's $10/mo, cancel whenever. They're putting out so much functionality so often, I feel like it's actually a good deal. But, that really depends on your use case.


Thanks! Oh wow, I didn't know it was that inexpensive. I'll need to check it out once I get back into it again. Unfortunately a new camera is pretty far down the list right now but hopefully over the next couple months that will change. My camera is at least 11-12 years old (XSI) so with full frame sensors becoming more common and less expensive, I'll likely go in the full frame direction even though I technically make a couple of my lenses unusable, which is fine since I wasn't in love with them.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Photoshop let's you choose the projection when aligning the layers. For this latest one I chose a cylindrical projection because I kind of liked the effect. It looks like what you'd get with a swing lens pano like the Widelux. You can also choose an automatic projection algorithm that would get you 90% of the way there with a distortion free panoramic.
> 
> Photoshop also has a distortion correction tool that is really nice for tank shots because you select pieces of the photo that should be straight vertical and horizontal lines, and it does the rest. That takes care of that last 10%.
> 
> ...


AH! Even better (in my opinion)  

I love using the lens profile functions in photoshop to automatically remove distortion. I wasn't sure if those stopped applying once you began stitching together images. I've never stitched pictures before, I went the route of buying a 16-35mm lens instead, but even then there are times I wish I had the capability on hand.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> AH! Even better (in my opinion)
> 
> I love using the lens profile functions in photoshop to automatically remove distortion. I wasn't sure if those stopped applying once you began stitching together images. I've never stitched pictures before, I went the route of buying a 16-35mm lens instead, but even then there are times I wish I had the capability on hand.


Yeah, I've got a 16-35 also. Great great lens, though it does really change the look of things at the wide end. Often that's what I'm looking for, but I'm also interested in comparing what it looks like to get that same sort of sweep with medium range lenses and stitching. I might try to get out and shoot a bit in the real world this weekend.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

@EmotionalFescue, do you have your UV running 24/7? 

I’m wondering about putting mine on a timer to have it run for only part of the day. In addition to improving water clarity and decreasing waterborne bacteria and viruses, it can also kill algae. But, I want SOME algae in my tank for the otos and snails, and I need it to be able to reproduce at a rate high enough to keep them supplied. 

Any thoughts on this? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> @EmotionalFescue, do you have your UV running 24/7?
> 
> I’m wondering about putting mine on a timer to have it run for only part of the day. In addition to improving water clarity and decreasing waterborne bacteria and viruses, it can also kill algae. But, I want SOME algae in my tank for the otos and snails, and I need it to be able to reproduce at a rate high enough to keep them supplied.
> 
> ...


I have it on a timer so it doesn't run while the lights are on. The thinking there was to avoid the possibility of the UV inducing precipitation of the micros, which I put in daily. 

I haven't noticed sterilizers affecting algae one way or another in any of the tanks I've used them on (this one plus two others), but I can't say it's doing nothing on that front... If I was trying to induce some (but not too much) algae, I would start bumping the light up before I would do anything with the sterilizer.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Got out for a minute after work to try some real world panos...










Nothing special, but I'm pumped to get out some more. I quickly realized, however, that I need a leveling base for my tripod...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

a somewhat more relevant pano


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I don't really have much in the way of tank updates, but I was able to get out and take some photos this evening...




























Yeah, so, I'm not feeling the planted tank bug much at the moment, but the photography bug has really taken a bite. Thankfully, this aquarium is cruising along nicely and just doesn't require much of me at the moment. I still spend a lot of time with the tank, but mostly just to enjoy it, not to fuss with it. I've learned after many years to surrender to the flow of my hobby interests. Enjoy the peaks of frantic interest and don't get too worried about the times you're just not feeling it. It always comes back. Until then, I'm going to lean into the photography a bit (while always keeping up with my water changes, of course).


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Snapped a few pics of the top growth during a water change this afternoon...



















The Monstera has gotten _so big._










Now that the #1 light is so high, I figured it was a good time to finally start routing one of the pothos up to the light mount. It's currently hanging by a couple of zip ties (note to self: get green zip ties!), but hopefully I can get it over the top in such a way that it will support itself.










I'm not sure what this plant is called, but whatever it is, it's doing great!


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## buggyInteger (Aug 24, 2021)

Absolutely gorgeous shots!


EmotionalFescue said:


> I'm not sure what this plant is called, but whatever it is, it's doing great!


I believe that's ficus pumila minuta(?)


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

buggyInteger said:


> Absolutely gorgeous shots!
> 
> 
> I believe that's ficus pumila minuta(?)


Oh nice - you're right! Thanks for that


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Trimming the Vals. Kiiiiinda tricky...










I really don't want to cut the Vals along the leaf, but that means when they get too long, they need to come out at the base. I tried isolating the ones that need to come out and then tug on one with my right hand while trying to cut it at the base (in the midst of the root-tangled inky blackness that is the left side of the tank) with my left. That was... impossible. In the end I found that a quick yank pulled only the leaf I wanted to remove without uprooting the whole plant.

Truly a pain in the ass!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some pics...

Time for a sand refresh (and to hack the rotala down _all the way_)!










I have found that sand removal is best done via siphon.










growth!


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

SAND REMOVAL!

I've never done that in one of my tanks. I guess this was a pretty thin purely aesthetic layer so you just wanted to get rid of the fish poop?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> SAND REMOVAL!
> 
> I've never done that in one of my tanks. I guess this was a pretty thin purely aesthetic layer so you just wanted to get rid of the fish poop?


It had just gotten a little dingy looking after a while. The sand in a couple spots gets pretty heavy light, so it gets to looking a bit green, and when I gravel vac that green stuff gets distributed all over the beach area. This was the first time I've taken it all out - after ten months, it just seemed like it was time. But, as you say, it's really just a thin aesthetic layer around the perimeter, so it wasn't too bad at all.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some fish pics. It was a bit hazy after adding the new sand...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

fish pics...

Ringo's been a bit less shy lately. Still refuses to eat anything but rock algae... or to grow to any perceptible degree.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

More fish pics...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

The tank today:









I kind of like it with the rotala low, but I'm pretty sure I'm too lazy to keep it that way... I think the fresh sand really spruced up the joint!


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

this tank is sick
rotala grows too fast lol. hard to keep up with it sometimes


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

klibs said:


> this tank is sick
> rotala grows too fast lol. hard to keep up with it sometimes


Thank ya. It grows so fast but looks so good and is so easy I just keep coming back to it.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fish pics


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

They really look their best with window light...


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## vraev (Apr 13, 2012)

Incredible shots as always. wow.


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## vraev (Apr 13, 2012)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Some fish pics. It was a bit hazy after adding the new sand...
> 
> View attachment 1045890
> 
> ...


Crazy how cinematic your shots look. Just perfect. What F stop are you using again for this? and which lens again? beautiful creamy bokeh and nice level of DOF. I really love the grain too...just adds a bit of that "magazine" vibe.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

vraev said:


> Crazy how cinematic your shots look. Just perfect. What F stop are you using again for this? and which lens again? beautiful creamy bokeh and nice level of DOF. I really love the grain too...just adds a bit of that "magazine" vibe.


Hey, thanks!

Those were all shot with a 70-200mm zoom at f4, 1/500, and ISO 12,800 (the grain is just natural noise from high ISO), give or take.


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## BigMamaCleo (Jul 26, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Some fish pics. It was a bit hazy after adding the new sand...


Any special technique for adding back sand when there is water in the tank?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

BigMamaCleo said:


> Any special technique for adding back sand when there is water in the tank?


I wouldn't say that I have any sort of technique for getting it into the tank... I just use a plastic cup to put it in. It is helpful to do it with the filter turned off and right before a large water change.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> They really look their best with window light...
> 
> View attachment 1046078
> 
> ...


I think this first picture is your best fish pic yet. Natural light is just so great. I think one day we will be able to replicate it by artificial means but we are definitely not there yet.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> I think this first picture is your best fish pic yet. Natural light is just so great. I think one day we will be able to replicate it by artificial means but we are definitely not there yet.


thanks! yeah, with the lights off, the glare makes it so hard to take a decent photo, but the colors look 'right'. with the lights on, the colors go crazy, but it's much easier to control glare. as with everything else in this hobby - it's complicated.


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## BigMamaCleo (Jul 26, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I wouldn't say that I have any sort of technique for getting it into the tank... I just use a plastic cup to put it in. It is helpful to do it with the filter turned off and right before a large water change.


Thanks. I know it was a silly question, but I thought I might learn some great technique…lol. One never knows!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

fish pics...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Full tank shot:










It was starting to get a bit crowded on the window side, so I decided it was time to retire the money tree. It looks a bit naked at the moment without it, but the Monstera is about to put out a new leaf that should start to fill out that empty space. I might put something else on the stand where the money tree was, but I'm thinking of something that will stay low. Something drape-y and/or bushy perhaps? Though I do like having a little light on the left of the tank... Maybe I'll just leave it empty.


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## vraev (Apr 13, 2012)

Looking great.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

tank's cruisin. here are some fish pics!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some pics...

I think I need to raise the #1 light again :/


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

fish pics


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> fish pics
> 
> View attachment 1046969
> 
> ...


These are fun!


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## feneco5 (Jun 3, 2014)

Spectacular build and photographs! Been following this thread for awhile. Love how it has turned out.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> These are fun!


Thanks! Every once in a while I feel like I can find some new angle or light, but that gets rarer and rarer the longer the tank has been up...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

feneco5 said:


> Spectacular build and photographs! Been following this thread for awhile. Love how it has turned out.


Thank you! Glad to have you following along.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

How is your inline heater holding up? Is the heating element one of the Bulk Reef Supply units?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> How is your inline heater holding up? Is the heating element one of the Bulk Reef Supply units?


No issues so far. The element is a 500w Hygger I grabbed off the fish tank shelf in the basement. It had actually already seen a year of service in another tank before I put it back into use here.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I raised and offset the #1 light today:










Not sure how I feel about the angled approach here... It would maybe be better to have the riser perfectly vertical with a longer mounting bar. I guess I can change it if I don't get used to it (I often take that approach, and I usually get used to whatever the change is).

Also, Ringo's been hanging out in the open today:


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## Whiskeyjack (5 mo ago)

Devoured this thread while procrastinating at work. Loved seeing the progress and especially the build! I always appreciate when people take the time to show their methods and not just the finished product. Also really love the industrial look of the lights, though personally I would have spray painted the mounts black to match the lights as well. 



EmotionalFescue said:


> It was starting to get a bit crowded on the window side, so I decided it was time to retire the money tree. It looks a bit naked at the moment without it, but the Monstera is about to put out a new leaf that should start to fill out that empty space. I might put something else on the stand where the money tree was, but I'm thinking of something that will stay low. Something drape-y and/or bushy perhaps? Though I do like having a little light on the left of the tank... Maybe I'll just leave it empty.


You could try for a calathea or perhaps a ZZ plant?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Whiskeyjack said:


> Devoured this thread while procrastinating at work. Loved seeing the progress and especially the build! I always appreciate when people take the time to show their methods and not just the finished product. Also really love the industrial look of the lights, though personally I would have spray painted the mounts black to match the lights as well.
> 
> 
> 
> You could try for a calathea or perhaps a ZZ plant?



Thanks. I considered black for the mount, but in the end I decided the stained look more effectively tied it into the decor of the room and the emergent growth.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

fish pic


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

What's your stocking these days?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> What's your stocking these days?


13 rainbows, some number of Amanos (they don't come out much anymore since the fish have gotten bigger), and 1 or 2 Vampire shrimp (which I also never see)

I'd like to add some Cory cats, but I just can't stand the thought of setting up a quarantine tank :/


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some fish pics...

There was much jockeying to be the keeper of this hole today.









some more


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fish pics...



















General tank update...

Having a bit of cyano on the most heavily lit sections of wood, which I'm treating with UltraLife. 

I have also decided that I'm sick of the hydrocotyle and rotala. Soooo, I'm trying to dream up something new for the central, garden area of the tank. I'm currently thinking of a floating forest aesthetic with leggy tiger lotus in the front and some swords in the back. I might like to fit some hydrocotyle verticillata in there too, maybe around the corner on the right. 

More to come on that pretty soon, since we're quickly moving into the temperature sweet spot for shipping plants to my neck of the woods!


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## BigMamaCleo (Jul 26, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Fish pics...
> 
> View attachment 1047413
> 
> ...


Would you mind sharing the parameters you used for these two pictures? Aperature, Shutter speed, ISO,....special filter? Thanks. The pictures are nice. I'm finding I have a tendency to shoot dark pictures, and I really like these two you posted.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

BigMamaCleo said:


> Would you mind sharing the parameters you used for these two pictures? Aperature, Shutter speed, ISO,....special filter? Thanks. The pictures are nice. I'm finding I have a tendency to shoot dark pictures, and I really like these two you posted.


Sure thing - here you go:










The color profile is taken from an old VSCO film-emulating preset, but the rest of the above can be replicated.


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## BigMamaCleo (Jul 26, 2020)

Thank you!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some fishy closeups...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

more fish pics


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## itsdirk (Dec 16, 2021)

If Ringo is like any of the plecos I’ve kept he’ll eat the swords. Love the tank.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

itsdirk said:


> If Ringo is like any of the plecos I’ve kept he’ll eat the swords. Love the tank.


Interesting. Well, as long as he doesn't eat too much, it might be a welcome change since he hasn't shown any interest in anything else I've tried to feed him.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Fresh full tank shot










The emergent plants - and especially the big Monstera - are growing like gangbusters. This is no doubt the result of the stupendous amounts of fertilizers I'm putting in the tank every week - an amount that I just increased this week, in fact... 

I checked the nitrates at the end of last week because the submerged plants were looking a little lethargic and it came back around 10ppm. That was with a daily 60ml infusion of a saturated EI macro solution (plus micros)! The Monsteras and Pothos just drink nearly all I put in, and to get enough in the column for the submerged plants I have to scale up the ferts, which causes the emergents to grow even more aggressively, and the cycle continues...

So, now I'm up to 80ml macro solution per day. I'm not sure off the top of my head how many ppm/wk that is, but whatever it is, IT'S A HELL OF A LOT.

I think this arrangement of heavy emergent plus full planted would do better with less demanding aquatic plants. That brings me back to wanting to take out the hydrocotyle and rotala and replace them with something a little more easy going. But, well... I just can't bring myself to replant the tank right now. So, I think I'll just keep on keepin on with this arrangement for now.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

Great tank!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

oldpunk78 said:


> Great tank!


Thanks!


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## puopg (Sep 16, 2012)

Oh dang, i love the monstera growing so big! Is that just rooted in the water?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

puopg said:


> Oh dang, i love the monstera growing so big! Is that just rooted in the water?


Yeah, though it's primarily growing out of a refugium box attached to the back glass. Here's a post on it: 5' Rimless - The Malaysian Driftwood Installation


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

a little late afternoon sparring sesh...


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## puopg (Sep 16, 2012)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Yeah, though it's primarily growing out of a refugium box attached to the back glass. Here's a post on it: 5' Rimless - The Malaysian Driftwood Installation


Awesome thanks, I kinda wanna grab one of those, can you link me to where you found one? Thanks!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

puopg said:


> Awesome thanks, I kinda wanna grab one of those, can you link me to where you found one? Thanks!


sure, here you go: CITR 3 PRO Small - No Pump — CPR Aquatic, Inc


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## puopg (Sep 16, 2012)

EmotionalFescue said:


> sure, here you go: CITR 3 PRO Small - No Pump — CPR Aquatic, Inc


Ah I should've guessed, good ol CPR haha


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

fish pics by window light


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Saturday morning sparring


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I pulled the macro lens out right after the lights came on this morning. That's when the lights are at their reddest, and it really brought out the fishes' colors.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

...and some more (sorry - I just can't help myself!)...


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## pseudomugil (Aug 12, 2013)

I don't see why you should feel the need to apologize for sharing so many stunning photos with us! I really enjoy following this journal and your photography never disappoints.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

pseudomugil said:


> I don't see why you should feel the need to apologize for sharing so many stunning photos with us! I really enjoy following this journal and your photography never disappoints.


Aw, thanks!

The tank hasn't changed much lately aside from some fertilizer changes, so there's not too much to post about... but I always seem to have some fresh glamour shots of the fish!


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

So, my wife and I were trying to decide what color cabinet to get for the (approved!) 6025. I showed her this thread, described my plan for the layout, etc. 

One thing we ended up talking about was why flow from left to right looks “natural” to us, but from right to left looks weird. There are other, real world examples of that. For example, when I think of a river, I think of it flowing from north to south. The main drainages of the US, for example. Yet, when we were sitting there with our son, eating tacos, we were next to the Blue River (Breckinridge), which flows south to north. Similarly, the Nile seems odd, to me, flowing south to north.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> So, my wife and I were trying to decide what color cabinet to get for the (approved!) 6025. I showed her this thread, described my plan for the layout, etc.
> 
> One thing we ended up talking about was why flow from left to right looks “natural” to us, but from right to left looks weird. There are other, real world examples of that. For example, when I think of a river, I think of it flowing from north to south. The main drainages of the US, for example. Yet, when we were sitting there with our son, eating tacos, we were next to the Blue River (Breckinridge), which flows south to north. Similarly, the Nile seems odd, to me, flowing south to north.
> 
> ...


Congrats on the 5 footer - it's a great format for a planted tank.

How interesting. I went left to right with this tank because of the room layout, but now that I think about it, left to right does seem more natural... Maybe it has a bit to do with the direction we read and write in?


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## Rob23 (4 mo ago)

EmotionalFescue said:


> How interesting. I went left to right with this tank because of the room layout, but now that I think about it, left to right does seem more natural... Maybe it has a bit to do with the direction we read and write in?


This is a really interesting thought. I often find myself thinking the left to right flow seems more natural, but sometimes the room dictates the opposite. I wonder if any of our members whose first language reads from right to left see the opposite as more natural.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

@EmotionalFescue : Do you feel that the surface skimmer is a necessary part of your setup? 

I started a thread about some 25mm SS jet pipes I’ll be making. Or if the questions I have is whether I need a skimmer or not.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> @EmotionalFescue : Do you feel that the surface skimmer is a necessary part of your setup?
> 
> I started a thread about some 25mm SS jet pipes I’ll be making. Or if the questions I have is whether I need a skimmer or not.
> 
> ...


I do. I have found the most success when I've kept CO2 rock steady, and I think surface skimming is one of the best ways to achieve that, along with decent surface agitation. Plus, having it integrated into the intake just makes it a set it and forget it kind of thing you never have to worry about.


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I do. I have found the most success when I've kept CO2 rock steady, and I think surface skimming is one of the best ways to achieve that, along with decent surface agitation. Plus, having it integrated into the intake just makes it a set it and forget it kind of thing you never have to worry about.


Cool. I’ll be plumbing a tee, an elbow and an up-pipe into my 304 SS jet pipe intake now. 


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Today is water change day, and I'm going to mow the rotala down pretty short, so I figured I would grab a shot of the tank before I do that. As long as I'm here, I'll give a general update as well...

The emergent plants have been doing amazingly well and the submerged plants have been struggling somewhat. I believe these are two sides of the same coin...

A couple of weeks ago on water change day I did a nitrate test (Salifert) after noting that the plants looked a bit lethargic and that there was some cyano proliferation in parts of the tank. Sure enough, I was only able to detect ~10ppm nitrate. So, this past couple weeks I've been running a +33% daily fertilizer regime. Last week I picked up ~20ppm nitrate on water change day. This week I've also been running a reduction (duration and intensity) on the #1 light program in an attempt to further reduce the uptake from the big Monstera. The submerged plants definitely seem to have perked up since the change. That change brings me to a weekly infusion of 56ppm nitrate, 14ppm phosphate, and 65ppm K. Those are the same ratios I've been using for a couple years now, just (massively) scaled up. To be honest, I'm well outside my comfort zone dosing at these levels, but it seems necessary given the ravenous appetites of the Monsteras, Pothos, and Creeping Fig.

I also noted within the past few weeks some tufts of BBA, mostly on the tips of the longest Vals draping into the high light zone. Now, curiously, BBA has never been much of an issue in this house. I've experienced all manner of other algaes, but hardly any black beard. Except for in one of my wife's tanks - a shell-dwelling cichlid tank with aragonite substrate. She had some spiderwood in there there that became completely encased in black beard.

Without any hard evidence - and potentially confusing correlation for causation - I surmised this was down to general hardness. At that time, all the tanks were on city water, which only had a dGH of ~3-4. When I set up the RO system I went with 30ppm Ca and 15ppm Mg which was about 8 dGH. Thinking that was maybe a bit high, last week I lowered the remineralization to 24ppm and 12ppm Mg, or about 6 dGH. We'll see what effect it has, though I'm not really worried about it being too little, given my experience running high light tanks with much softer water.

I think that about covers it!


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

My city water down here in COS is super soft. <2 dGH per my Salifert tests. Started adding GLA GH Booster to get it up to 5 dGH. Cured some chlorosis issues I was having.

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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

That's more like it...


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## Rob23 (4 mo ago)

Tank is still looking amazing. I'm interested to see what impact the reduction in general hardness creates. Please keep us posted.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Pretty hard to capture in photos, but a couple of these guys really had their headlights shining brightly last night...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

A couple of random pics...


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## ddiomede (Feb 21, 2011)

Tank is looking great, seems like it's humming along nicely.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

ddiomede said:


> Tank is looking great, seems like it's humming along nicely.


Thanks. Yeah, I make little tweaks here and there, but nothing major going on. I almost changed out the plants and then... didn't. I almost sucked out the sand and replaced it with a natural rock mix and then... didn't. Maybe this winter I'll muster the energy to change things up a bit, but then maybe not. It's probably a good exercise for me to just be with this tank and not change it just for the sake of change.


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## ddiomede (Feb 21, 2011)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Thanks. Yeah, I make little tweaks here and there, but nothing major going on. I almost changed out the plants and then... didn't. I almost sucked out the sand and replaced it with a natural rock mix and then... didn't. Maybe this winter I'll muster the energy to change things up a bit, but then maybe not. It's probably a good exercise for me to just be with this tank and not change it just for the sake of change.


That's really the hardest part is leaving it be. I'm still going through growing pains on mine and having been considering replacing many of the Rotala stems because half of them aren't doing very well. But then I start thinking about the amount of work it'll take to plant new plants and let them get used to my water, ferts, lighting, etc. and I lose the motivation.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

A couple pics...



















The tank has been responding well to the increased fertilizers - the plants look more plump and vibrant. I think it will take a while longer to assess the impact of the remineralization change. That could be part of the increased plant health, but since I changed two things at once it's impossible to know!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Saturday snap...










The tank is doing quite well at the moment. The plants are really appreciating the increased fertilizers, and the GH reduction is at least not hurting anything. It's probably helping, but it's hard to tell. The hydrocotyle in front especially is growing nicely, while it's always been a challenge to get things to grow well down there. Maybe some of those crypts in that zone will finally get big. They completely melted away in The Great Water Hardening of 2022, and are taking their sweet time coming back in full. It surely doesn't help that they're surrounded by hydrocotyle, but I'm really wanting them to burst out from a pillowy cloud of green, so they'll just have to deal.

I'm at the point where I've run out of room for the big monstera to grow any more, so last week I cut off the most recent fresh shoot. I didn't cut it low enough, though, so it immediately sent out a fresh shoot from the stump. I sheered it all the way down to the base this morning. I'm not sure how this plant will respond to this kind of pruning (i.e., is it a grow-or-die situation?)... if it doesn't take it well, I suppose I'll just have to cut it back and let it grow out anew.

I also had to intervene to pull a couple big leaves out from in front of the #2 light. I used a combination of fishing line and green vet wrap to pull the leaves back and anchor them to the light mount. All in all I think it's worked out well as it does the trick nicely without being visually obtrusive.

'til next time...


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## ddiomede (Feb 21, 2011)

I love how that whole left side looks. It really blends well into the tank and look very natural. 

My monstera that I had in my tank were transplanted into pots recently so I'm looking forward to them getting big, but seeing yours gives me an idea of how they'll get, which I'm looking forward to.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

ddiomede said:


> I love how that whole left side looks. It really blends well into the tank and look very natural.
> 
> My monstera that I had in my tank were transplanted into pots recently so I'm looking forward to them getting big, but seeing yours gives me an idea of how they'll get, which I'm looking forward to.


Thanks!

I've seen them much smaller, but this one I think went bananas from the massive, continuous supply of fertilizers.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

some fish pics...


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

@EmotionalFescue: Have you been to Aqua Imports recently? If so, do they have any large driftwood there?

Might stop there en route to my in-laws’ in FC tomorrow.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> @EmotionalFescue: Have you been to Aqua Imports recently? If so, do they have any large driftwood there?
> 
> Might stop there en route to my in-laws’ in FC tomorrow.
> 
> ...


Haven't been in a couple months, though I need to head down there this weekend for some frozen food...

Last time I was there they didn't have too much and nothing very big. That said, I have seen truly enormous pieces there from time to time, so it may be worth checking out. 

I got the piece in this tank from Exotic Aquatics which is only a couple blocks from Aqua Imports, so if you're going to one you might hit both. Though Exotic is under new ownership, so I'm not really sure what it's like in there these days...


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## Jefflmod (Aug 25, 2016)

Looking good!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Jefflmod said:


> Looking good!


Thanks!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I went to the fish store a few days ago to get some frozen food. They didn't have the food I was looking for, but they _did have_ a nice selection of fresh tissue cultures. I grabbed a few cups of juncus repens, crypt undulata, and a chain grass of some variety (I don't remember the name and threw the cups away without writing it down!). Out with the old and in with the new...

Step 1 was rinsing the new substrate... and dumping it all over the floor after ripping the bag like a dummy.









I removed all of the hydrocotyle and rotala from the central garden area. I left the crypts that were already there... they couldn't thrive surrounded by the hydrocotyle, but I haven't given up on my dreams of a crypt garden front and center. So, I removed the competition and added a bunch of fresh plants.









After syphoning the old substrate, I added (most of :\ ) a fresh bag of fluorite black. I always had trouble planting in that zone because of the accessory wood. It's now got a thick, plantable layer, and I quite like the little hill it made as well.









I've got the juncus in the old rotala spot with the chain grass along the base of the hill. The crypts are planted in the same general area, and once they get tall the grass is gonna have a hard time... I really didn't need as much of the grass as I got, so I used it, but I doubt there's a long-term place for it.









Top view.









We'll see how it turns out, but I'm excited for a bit of change!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I was looking back through the journal today to see when I planted this tank, and I realized that I missed its first birthday - first planted on Nov 12, 2021.

Happy belated birthday, big tank!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Not much going on - just waiting for the new plants to fill in - but I treated myself to a new lens with my holiday bonus, and what better test for an _ultra_ altra wide than a close quarters full tank shot?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

...and another










Given the rabbit's proclivity for cord destruction, it seemed prudent to keep the tree in the sitting room this year.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> ...and another
> 
> View attachment 1048921
> 
> ...


Nice shots!! What lens did you pick up?

I might have missed this before, but I am now fascinated that you have a rabbit in your house? I've heard they can be house trained but have never seen it in person. How long have you had the bunny?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> Nice shots!! What lens did you pick up?


It's a 12-24mm. Crazy how wide lenses can go these days. I remember lusting over a 20mm back in the 90s thinking it was exotic!



minorhero said:


> I might have missed this before, but I am now fascinated that you have a rabbit in your house? I've heard they can be house trained but have never seen it in person. How long have you had the bunny?


Yep, a Flemish Giant. He's a good pet, though he does chew on things. He's completely litter trained, and his box doesn't smell like a cat box does. We've had him for 9 months now.


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## ddiomede (Feb 21, 2011)

EmotionalFescue said:


> It's a 12-24mm. Crazy how wide lenses can go these days. I remember lusting over a 20mm back in the 90s thinking it was exotic!
> 
> 
> 
> Yep, a Flemish Giant. He's a good pet, though he does chew on things. He's completely litter trained, and his box doesn't smell like a cat box does. We've had him for 9 months now.


We're gonna need a pic of the rabbit lol.

ETA: I'd love to get a rabbit but I'm not quite sure how my Aussie would do with it. I'm almost positive he'll murder cats and squirrels if given the chance, and he sort of has the same reactions when he sees some of the wild rabbits around here. I'm just not sure if he wants to herd them, or murder them lol.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Ask and ye shall receive...


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Ask and ye shall receive...
> 
> View attachment 1048958


BUNNY!

My daughter (age 5) is wild for a bunny right now. I'm just not going to tell her there is someone on the fish forum that has one in their house  I keep telling her she has to wait until she is old enough to take care of one herself and then it will be an outside animal.

That's a nice lense! I have a 16-35 for my camera that is my primary goto lense for full tank shots or general landscape shots, I completely love it and it definitely gets the most use out of any of my lenses.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> That's a nice lense! I have a 16-35 for my camera that is my primary goto lense for full tank shots or general landscape shots, I completely love it and it definitely gets the most use out of any of my lenses.


I have a 16-35 too which was my go to wide angle environment/landscape lens. I'll have to see if it still gets used, though I expect not, since I mostly used it at its wider mils and this lens is better corrected. It may eventually get sold to partially cover the 35mm I've got my eye on (it never ends lol).


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I always seem to get the photo bug in wintertime... this wasn't ever much of a problem when most of my shooting was of my kids when they were small, but now that they're getting older, they're less and less into being photographed. I've struggled trying to make the transition back to photography emphasizing other subjects outside the home. It takes more planning and dedication of time. Winter makes that all the more difficult. I'm going to continue to work on that, but in the meantime, I'm trying to find new and interesting ways to photograph my fish! lol, I know - these are the most thoroughly photographed fish in all of human history...

Today, I tried capturing the frenzy that erupts at feeding time. Okay for a first effort, I think, but I think I'll give it some more tries.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> @EmotionalFescue: Have you been to Aqua Imports recently? If so, do they have any large driftwood there?
> 
> Might stop there en route to my in-laws’ in FC tomorrow.
> 
> ...


@Le duke - went to Aqua Imports today and they had some really big pieces...










That's my 5'2" daughter for scale.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

fish pics


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> fish pics
> 
> View attachment 1049301
> 
> ...


Your macro lens is awesome. Mine is terrible, I'm so jealous!! Plus, nice fish


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> Your macro lens is awesome. Mine is terrible, I'm so jealous!! Plus, nice fish


It's optically very good, but the AF hunts quite a bit, which makes getting sharp pics of the rainbows pretty tricky. I actually switched from using continuous tracking AF to single AF for these shots and it worked pretty well. I just smashed the shutter button all the way down and it grabbed focus in the split second before the exposure. Or, it didn't and there was a whole frame of mush!


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## Count Krunk (2 mo ago)

Love thicc rainbows, great pics


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> It's optically very good, but the AF hunts quite a bit, which makes getting sharp pics of the rainbows pretty tricky. I actually switched from using continuous tracking AF to single AF for these shots and it worked pretty well. I just smashed the shutter button all the way down and it grabbed focus in the split second before the exposure. Or, it didn't and there was a whole frame of mush!


My macro is sadly manual, making taking pictures a chancy proposition, plus its just not all that sharp gosh darn it.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> My macro is sadly manual, making taking pictures a chancy proposition, plus its just not all that sharp gosh darn it.


Ah, yeah, that's tricky!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Count Krunk said:


> Love thicc rainbows, great pics


Thanks!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

top growth as of this morning


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Post-lunch huddle


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Got some good algae growth on those rocks. Nice and non-sterile. 


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> Got some good algae growth on those rocks. Nice and non-sterile.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


ha, yes. I think I'd have to feed these guys a lot less (and not frozen food every other day!) if I wanted sterile. Thankfully I'm okay with things a bit fuzzy.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I just had the best canister cleanout of my life!

When I set up the RO station in the basement, I added a valved cam-lock coupler thinking it would be handy for doing water changes on a future, hypothetical basement pond or tank, but before today I had never hooked a hose up to it. I also installed an extra large utility sink thinking it would be great for canister clean outs. But, for whatever reason, I never actually used it for that. I guess I just thought it would be too cumbersome to cart the full FX4 down and back up the stairs.

Up until now, I have always cleaned out the canister during a water change so that I can use tank water to clean it. But it always ends up being a bit much to do all in one go. Today I decided I would just do a canister cleanout on its own, and I'd use the utility sink in the basement. PLUS, I brought down my water change hose that has a coupler on the end.

This ended up working out really well because I could use heated water from the remineralization tank to wash the sponges and to refill the FX4 after giving it a good spray-down.










I still need to get a proper light above the sink!










I'm glad I gave this a shot because now I know it's so much easier, despite the trips up and down the stairs. And, truth be told, I've been going too long in between canister cleanings, and it's been showing in the cleanliness of the tank. I hereby resolve to get back on a monthly rotation!


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> I just had the best canister cleanout of my life!
> 
> When I set up the RO station in the basement, I added a valved cam-lock coupler thinking it would be handy for doing water changes on a future, hypothetical basement pond or tank, but before today I had never hooked a hose up to it. I also installed an extra large utility sink thinking it would be great for canister clean outs. But, for whatever reason, I never actually used it for that. I guess I just thought it would be too cumbersome to cart the full FX4 down and back up the stairs.
> 
> ...


That sink is awesome! With the fx4 for scale, you get a really good idea how big it must be. I have a utility sink as well but I would guess it's just over half the size you have there, and I already can't imagine not having it.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> That sink is awesome! With the fx4 for scale, you get a really good idea how big it must be. I have a utility sink as well but I would guess it's just over half the size you have there, and I already can't imagine not having it.


Yeah it's huge. It's made for dog groomers!


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## BigMamaCleo (Jul 26, 2020)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Post-lunch huddle
> 
> View attachment 1049373


That's a great shot.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

BigMamaCleo said:


> That's a great shot.


thanks!


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

some window light shots of the fish from this morning


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

EmotionalFescue said:


>


The collective gasp of all of us coveting that massive sink!

But also, what a fantastic idea. That's way better than the normal half size most of us have and isn't much more expensive in the grand scheme of things. Could even make a great dog washing station. 

Time to start scrolling through marketplaces...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

somewhatshocked said:


> That's way better than the normal half size most of us have and isn't much more expensive in the grand scheme of things.


Yep, exactly. Since I was starting with a blank space, I figured I might as well go _big._ The price difference was pretty trivial.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

pond style


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

some (nearly) full tank shots



















slow plants being slow. just waiting for everything to fill in...


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## Bootsy (Jul 4, 2021)

Just gorgeous — all of it. Also envying that utility sink.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Bootsy said:


> Just gorgeous — all of it. Also envying that utility sink.


Thank ya! 

the sink kicks ass


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

pics


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Random question: 

What percentage of each hour is your heater on, if you had to guess?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> Random question:
> 
> What percentage of each hour is your heater on, if you had to guess?
> 
> ...


Hmmm. I haven't the faintest idea... I'll try to keep the cabinet open when I'm sitting in there next time.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

some pics


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## Le duke (Jun 29, 2021)

Do you think a 15 or 20lb tank would fit in the 6025 stand?

27” and 27.6” respectively. Want to decrease my CO2 tank changes. 


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Le duke said:


> Do you think a 15 or 20lb tank would fit in the 6025 stand?
> 
> 27” and 27.6” respectively. Want to decrease my CO2 tank changes.
> 
> ...


It really depends on your regulator... there's 30" of vertical space available in the cabinet. my regulator's gauges extend about 2" above the top of the bottle, and my flow meter extends 4" above. I couldn't fit either with my current setup, but it could be done with some tweaking.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> View attachment 1049843
> 
> 
> View attachment 1049844
> ...


These closeups are absolutely awesome!! I REALLY need a better macro.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> These closeups are absolutely awesome!! I REALLY need a better macro.


Thanks!

A good AF macro is a solid investment for an aquarist. What kind of camera do you shoot with?


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Thanks!
> 
> A good AF macro is a solid investment for an aquarist. What kind of camera do you shoot with?


Sony A7iii

It's an awesome camera, but I only have a couple of good lenses for it.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> Sony A7iii
> 
> It's an awesome camera, but I only have a couple of good lenses for it.


Yep, great camera. I shoot with an riii. Back when I was shopping for a macro, it was between the Sony 90mm and the Sigma 105mm. I ended up with the Sony, but the Sigma is supposed to be fantastic and is really reasonably priced.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

EmotionalFescue said:


> Yep, great camera. I shoot with an riii. Back when I was shopping for a macro, it was between the Sony 90mm and the Sigma 105mm. I ended up with the Sony, but the Sigma is supposed to be fantastic and is really reasonably priced.


If it were on sale today........... I probably just missed all the best sales of the year as well. Hard decision between the 105 and 70mm for my purposes.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)




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## Mr.Shenanagins (May 2, 2017)

Are these M. Parva? Thinking of getting some for my tank. I love the neons but I just cannot get a healthy batch and I’m tired of spending money to watch them wither away and die. I currently have a nice shoal of Peacock Gudgeons and I have a pair that keep spawning. Trying now to attempt to raise the fry once they hatch.


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Mr.Shenanagins said:


> Are these M. Parva? Thinking of getting some for my tank. I love the neons but I just cannot get a healthy batch and I’m tired of spending money to watch them wither away and die. I currently have a nice shoal of Peacock Gudgeons and I have a pair that keep spawning. Trying now to attempt to raise the fry once they hatch.


M trifasciata. I've had them for a year now and so far no issues ::knocks on wood::


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

couple randos...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

fish pics



















I don't know what's up with the spots in their eyes. I can't tell if they're injuries or some sort of fish cataracts, or what...


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

I sold some photo gear and bought that 35mm I mentioned lusting over a few posts ago. Just an amazing lens, and though I've mostly been putting it to other uses, I think it brings a new and interesting feel to the fish portraits...


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

These are some amazing shots, but that last pic is epic! Well done! Is this an F1.4 or 1.2 lens?


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

minorhero said:


> These are some amazing shots, but that last pic is epic! Well done! Is this an F1.4 or 1.2 lens?


Thanks! It's the Sony GM 1.4


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## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

Some photos from today when the powerhead was really cooking (it runs really high for about a half hour each day to help clear crap that's settled on the sand):


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