# Ry's 40B Ultra High Tech - 10/10/16 Update!



## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

Below are pictures of the tank stand showing the lift system for the hood. I bought a 24" 12VDC Linear actuator and used 2 additional 1.5" aluminum tubings attached at the back of the stand and hood as a rail system. The Linear actuator is rated for 150lbs and the total hood weight should be around 20-25lbs. I power the actuator with a 12V laptop adapter connected to a rocker switch that reverses the polarity of the line to the actuator which makes it go up and down.



















The picture shows the actuator and the switch box. The actuator is rated for 150lbs so I ended up using only 1 actuator. 









The hood is reinforced with an aluminum plate to prevent the back panel of the hood from twisting.


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## Immortal1 (Feb 18, 2015)

Wow, very nice on the canopy lift! Kinda looks like some of my creativity, LOL.
Anyway, if you 5 gallon is any indication, your 40b should be pretty amazing.


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

That is crazy cool... I wish I had a tenth of that ingenuity


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

Immortal1 said:


> Wow, very nice on the canopy lift! Kinda looks like some of my creativity, LOL.
> Anyway, if you 5 gallon is any indication, your 40b should be pretty amazing.


Thanks! 

Nice job on the 75 build! How come you have 2 tanks side by side? That custom stand would look awesome with 1 large tank!



The Dude said:


> That is crazy cool... I wish I had a tenth of that ingenuity


TBH I have no real experience with DIY stands. I learned most of the stuff from online or youtube.


My Apex controller came yesterday and I spent a good 6+ hours setting up the side panel where the system is going to be mounted. I made sure everything is nice and clean but it is impossible to finish the plumbing and wiring until all of my equipment arrives which should be all here by next week. I also finished painting the interior of the stand which is a nice touch.

Here is a photo of the stand interior









Here is the picture of the side panel that houses the Apex Controller system. The enter panel is just screwed to the side and I can remove it for maintenance and such.









Here is the picture of the C02 regulator and tank placement. At this point I really don't want to use a 5lb tank. I like the size of the 24oz paintball.


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## The Big Buddha (Jul 30, 2012)

That is bada$$, I'd love to see a video of the canopy in action!


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

*New Updates*



The Big Buddha said:


> That is bada$$, I'd love to see a video of the canopy in action!


I'll post a video soon. It's funny that my wife keeps showing the automatic hood every time we have visitors at home. Most of the time I don't want to talk about the tank because it is empty.



*More Hardware installation!*
I got my Jebao DP-4 dosing pump mounted and ready to go! I will be doing the calibration today. I saw the video on how to calibrate this pump based on a 100ml dose which is a really nice feature. One thing different that I'll be doing when calibrating this pump is making sure the entire tube line is setup including the total tubing length and the check valves to guarantee proper calibration. 









I also installed the Netgear wireless adapater for the Apex Controller. The RED WIFI indicator seems off but the system is 100% connected. I also hooked up a magnetic switch and did my first script on my Apex controller. I had my interior stand lights turn ON and OFF based on the magnetic switch status. This is one of the perks of using the Apex system. Leak detection sensors are also hooked up and tested.










Did some more work on the back of the system. I used some wire looms to organize the cables. I had to move the Finnex LED power bricks to the back of the stand to give me enough cable slack so I can lift the hood properly. I also bought these nice tube clamps that guide the cables to prevent them from getting snagged with other equipment and hide them right behind the alum tubing.









Mounted the Apex Display at the front of the hood. Looking nice and sleek!









The tube clamps did their job and it is hard to see the cables for the finnex lights and the Apex display module.









Secured the Finnex lights with some DIY hooks using thick wires (stainless I think?!) and added some cable tie mounts to organize the cables and prevent them from getting snagged just in case I will work on the hood.


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

*07/20/2015 - Updates!*
The tank has been flooded. I also dropped my driftwood that has been soaking in another bin for 1+ week. I am ready for some plants!

The Safe T Sorb is causing a bit of an issue with the PH and I am currently running at 7 KH to get the PH to stay close to 6.9. I did overdose the GH and I am running at 9 GH because I forgot to check my tap's GH which was 2-3 GH already. I will be doing one 50% water change to alter the GH but I might stay at around 7 KH. 














The Eheim 2217 filter, Auto top off, C02 reactor (and bubble counter), and liquid fert containers are all in place. After troubleshooting the ISTA Mix reactor, I am 100% up and running for the plumbing! I have been checking for leaks in the morning and before I go to sleep just in case any of the tubing is slipping but so far so good!

The lose wire in front of the regulator is going to be connected to a float switch which is installed at the cap of my top off reservoir. I want my Apex controller to tell me when my top off water is low. 

The lose tubing is also for my top off reservoir. I decided to look for the biggest water container that I could find and I found a Reliance 7 gallon plastic container from REI when I went to pick up the Nalgene water bottles for my liquid ferts. I wanted the 48oz containers since I decided I will be doing 20 ml liquid doses at max 1280 ml per bottle. 












I did some work on the hood and reinforced it. I also spent some time waterproofing the inner parts of the hood and painted it with the same blue I've been using for the tank background and stand interior. 

Also did a DIY probe holder and tubing holder for dosing pump. I was too cheap to pay for the $40 Apex probe holder and it worked out since I needed something to screw in the auto top off float switch.










The HOB is an HOB with UV sterilizer. I decided to experiment with a UV sterilizer and this is the first time I'll be using it. 









Below is a picture of the tubing holder that I made. I also sprayed both probe and tubing holders with Thompson's water seal to make sure they don't get moldy or get any water damage.


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

*The tank is [email protected]#@!#! planted!*

I got my plant order from Bartohog and even bought some plants-in-a-bag from Petsmart. I was not going to do partial planting of the tank since I want to get my C02 / ferts dialed in for at least 50-75% bioload so I decided to get as many plants as I can get. 

The plants from Bartohog









Plants-in-a-bag from PetSmart.









It took me 3 hours to carefully sort out the plants and plant them in the tank. The plan was simple! Get the plants planted for now and get them growing in the next 2 weeks. I'll start scaping as soon as all the plants have started to show good growth which should be 2-3 weeks from now. 

I ended up seeding the tank with 15 PPM nitrates, 2 PPM, phosphate, 20 PPM potassium and at 3 KH and 6 GH. I did a single dose of micros and will start dosing a little bit of iron tomorrow. 

I'm going to dial in the C02 in the next few days. Some of the plants started pearling before the lights turned off which was neat!










The driftwood will need some love. Hopefully I can find some dwarf baby tears and I will anchor it to some lava rocks and simply place them to the semi flat spots on the driftwood. I want to save some spots for some buces later one but I want some sort of carpeting action on the drift wood.


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## vilenarios (Jan 28, 2015)

Hey there

Your setup is awesome and an inspiriation for my future high-tech setup (Although probably not as high tech as yours).

Im definitely stealing your idea with the Nalgene bottles. They can store a lot of liquid, and would be real easy to clean plus are about 12 bucks a pop. Just a couple questions - 

"I'll be doing Nitrates, Phosphates + Potassium, Micros and Iron on 4 individual pump heads."

Why not combine all of the Macros together? Also, did you just drill small holes at the top of the nalgene bottle for the tubes? Finally, what size tubing is used for these pumps?

Thanks, and I cant wait to see everything grown in.


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

vilenarios said:


> Hey there
> 
> Your setup is awesome and an inspiriation for my future high-tech setup (Although probably not as high tech as yours).
> 
> ...


I don't combine my nitrates and phosphates because usually I end up overdosing the nitrates. The phosphates I'm not worried even if I ran close to 5+ PPM. Overdosing the nitrates will force me to do a water change which I try to avoid.

At this point I will monitor my dose and check water parameters. Why? So I can dose enough to keep the parameters at a certain level and tweak them if necessary. Ex. If I want to experiment and increase my phosphates/nitrate ratio then I simply tweak the dosing pump settings. 

If I have the nitrates and phosphates combined and I want to tweak the formula then I end up redoing it for both instead of just doing one bottle at a time. I usually end up wasting my phosphates since most of the time it is the nitrates that I am messing with.

I remember on my last tank that my dosing was so accurate that nitrate and phosphate levels were a constant every week so I usually just mess with the C02. The hard part actually is the micros dosing. Very easy to overdose and very hard to troubleshoot. 

For the naglene bottle, I used the vinyl 1/4 tubing from Homedepot. I put two holes on each cap. One for the tubing hole and a tiny 1-2 mm hole to let air in and to prevent back pressure from the bottles. I also bought a separate cap (for $2.99) so I can seal the bottles when mixing a new formula.

All I can say is the nalgene bottles are the best liquid fert containers that I have seen. The big wide mouth which makes it easier to put dry ferts in and the level indicator is something you can't get with the soda bottles. Plus the bottles are BPA free =)


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

I'm not sold on the controller placement. How comfortable with drilling a small hole behind it to pass the wire through are you? The wire catches me eye so much haha. It may be nit picking, but it is about the only 'negative' thing I can find to give a suggestion on. Everything else is super neat and cool as all get out! A very cool set up. If I went high tech, I know I'd go _ultra_ high tech like this!


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

Freemananana said:


> I'm not sold on the controller placement. How comfortable with drilling a small hole behind it to pass the wire through are you? The wire catches me eye so much haha. It may be nit picking, but it is about the only 'negative' thing I can find to give a suggestion on. Everything else is super neat and cool as all get out! A very cool set up. If I went high tech, I know I'd go _ultra_ high tech like this!


I stared at that setup once all the equipment was plugged in and I was not too happy either. I have a plan to change it but I need to find some nice cable grommets. I'll take it down after a month. I wanted a very clean look but IMHO the size of the board is too small plus I need space for the apex conductivity module and maybe the wireless module for the wave pump


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## strangewaters (May 13, 2015)

this thing is sweeeeeeeeeet!!!!! take my money and build it for me lol


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## ChemGuyEthan (Apr 13, 2014)

Wow, fantastic build! Looking forward to seeing everything filled in!


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

ChemGuyEthan said:


> Wow, fantastic build! Looking forward to seeing everything filled in!


Me too but I would not want to rush it. I want to take my time carefully scaping it. 



strangewaters said:


> this thing is sweeeeeeeeeet!!!!! take my money and build it for me lol


Building it was half the fun! I love building things and it was also my first time working with a miter saw so that was a blast. I actually wanted more power tools after building the stand.


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## strangewaters (May 13, 2015)

PortalMasteryRy said:


> Me too but I would not want to rush it. I want to take my time carefully scaping it.
> 
> 
> 
> Building it was half the fun! I love building things and it was also my first time working with a miter saw so that was a blast. I actually wanted more power tools after building the stand.


Well its a great job 

Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk


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## whitepapagold (Aug 19, 2010)

That canopy is just KILLER!


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

Great project, your planning and building skills are shining. 

I have one concern / cement regarding your sts substrate and you co2. Sts (I had this same stuff in my 75 for a year) is known to lower the ph substantially. In my case I also had some huge driftwood in there too, but the ph drop was over 1.1 points! When dialing in your co2 you want to make sure you take this into account. Your ph reading will be all over the place (a lot lower than actual) so it my seem like you have a lot of co2 based on you kh value but you dont. 

Most importantly, which you already know, is watch your fish.


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

whitepapagold said:


> That canopy is just KILLER!


Thank you. I love the canopy. I get full unrestricted access to the tank when it is raised up. 



philipraposo1982 said:


> Great project, your planning and building skills are shining.
> 
> I have one concern / cement regarding your sts substrate and you co2. Sts (I had this same stuff in my 75 for a year) is known to lower the ph substantially. In my case I also had some huge driftwood in there too, but the ph drop was over 1.1 points! When dialing in your co2 you want to make sure you take this into account. Your ph reading will be all over the place (a lot lower than actual) so it my seem like you have a lot of co2 based on you kh value but you dont.
> 
> Most importantly, which you already know, is watch your fish.


Thanks. I wanted to make sure I get it right this time and avoiding messing with the equipment and have more time enjoying the tank. 

Regarding the KH issue, I sort of solved it by adding a bag of Aragonite (CaC03) inside a purigen bag. I noticed this as an issue too at the beginning and the KH was dropping 1 degree per day in the first few days. I was worried about adding too much baking soda and the amount of sodium that was being left behind so I decided to try the Aragonite bag. I placed the bag close at the left side of the tank between the eheim 2217 intake and the HOB intake. I am monitoring the PH level 24/7 with my Apex controller and right now the PH is at a steady 6.74 before the C02 injection starts.I am also monitoring the KH which is now steady at 3 dKH. 

For my C02, I let it drop to 5.92 (using an Apex lab grade and calibrated PH probe) before the C02 injection turns off and it keeps it level by letting the C02 go on/off every 15 mins. I've been dialing the C02 for the past week and I went from 4 BPS to I think 9 or 10 BPS. My plants start pearling 1 hour after the lights go on and plants are growing insanely fast. I had my L. Rubin grow more than 3 inches in a week. 

I've got 20+ Blue coral hi-fin Platys in the tank right now and some otos and I have not seen any issues with the fish. Even the nerite snails seem to be chugging along really well.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Great tank  Sorry if I over looked this, but what are you using for the background?


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

Thanks! 

Baby blue acrylic paint from Michael's. I would not use it again though. It cracks when it gets wet.


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## The Big Buddha (Jul 30, 2012)

PortalMasteryRy said:


> I'll post a video soon. It's funny that my wife keeps showing the automatic hood every time we have visitors at home. Most of the time I don't want to talk about the tank because it is empty.


Define "soon"

We need to see a video of this in action!


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

any update?


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## aja31 (May 25, 2013)

This is an awesome setup. I'm hoping to do something similar to this with my tank, though I doubt it will look nearly as clean and precise as this one lol.


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

Couesfanatic said:


> any update?


Here's an update:



















This is the current picture of the tank. Some plants are out of place and waiting to be moved to my 29G grow tank.

30+ different plants and colony of Blue coral hi fin platy (4 generations).


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## akwi (Aug 4, 2014)

Wow....:surprise:

Outstanding.


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## anfield (Dec 1, 2013)

Wow there's high tech and then there's this.


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## The Big Buddha (Jul 30, 2012)

Looks awesome..... Still waiting to see a video of that canopy in action.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

looks great, how is that controller working out for you?


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

The Big Buddha said:


> Looks awesome..... Still waiting to see a video of that canopy in action.


ahaha yes. Let me see if I can do a video today. I had made one a long time ago but I did not get a chance to post it.



monkeyruler90 said:


> looks great, how is that controller working out for you?


The Apex controller is the best thing I ever bought for this hobby. I've even added the module to control my Vortech MP-10 and it just made a whole lot easier to manage the flow pump. I now run almost 2% flow at night and pulse the flow when the lights are on to ensure good water circulation and C02 distribution. 

I'm actually in the market for a BML light that I too will connect to the controller to get a sunrise and sunset effect.


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## bsantucci (Sep 30, 2013)

How low can you tone the MP10 down? I was always curious of these since I have an Apex also. I run a Koralia 425 now, but the MP10 would be nice to use with the Apex like you do. I don't want to blast my fish or plants away though. I have a 50g tank. Think it would work?


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

bsantucci said:


> How low can you tone the MP10 down? I was always curious of these since I have an Apex also. I run a Koralia 425 now, but the MP10 would be nice to use with the Apex like you do. I don't want to blast my fish or plants away though. I have a 50g tank. Think it would work?


You can run it at 2% which I do at night. Too bad the fish like going inside the propeller housing or I would completely turn it off at night. 

The MP10 is more than enough for a 50 gallon. The key is finding the right setting to push the water enought to get good circulation. I found that long pulses are better since they allow a break for the fish plus they keep the plants swaying.


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## bsantucci (Sep 30, 2013)

PortalMasteryRy said:


> You can run it at 2% which I do at night. Too bad the fish like going inside the propeller housing or I would completely turn it off at night.
> 
> The MP10 is more than enough for a 50 gallon. The key is finding the right setting to push the water enought to get good circulation. I found that long pulses are better since they allow a break for the fish plus they keep the plants swaying.


Cool thanks for the info. I don't know if I can justify the price tag over the Koralia for something I'm not sure will definitely work for me. 

Decisions, decisions.


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## myswtsins (Nov 1, 2008)

WOW...Everything looks so perfect! Great build, certainly ultra high tech! Have you added up the price tag on this build?? :surprise:

I think a video of the tank is in order now, in addition to the canopy video. :wink2:


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Nice tank...

What safe t sorb specifically? There are different #s on the bag but I'm not sure exactly what they mean... The one most recommended is the #7439, but yours looks more red/tan coloured and that's what I want...


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

myswtsins said:


> WOW...Everything looks so perfect! Great build, certainly ultra high tech! Have you added up the price tag on this build?? :surprise:
> 
> I think a video of the tank is in order now, in addition to the canopy video. :wink2:


The cost of the Apex controller + modules and the Vortech MP10 alone was close to $1500 but it is nothing compared to having a well run or managed tank. The controller is never a requirement but having a centralized system to control ATO, lights, C02, heater, circulation and other aspects of the tank is just awesome. 



hitmanx said:


> Nice tank...
> 
> What safe t sorb specifically? There are different #s on the bag but I'm not sure exactly what they mean... The one most recommended is the #7439, but yours looks more red/tan coloured and that's what I want...


I am using using STS #7941. The number of the sts was very common when I was researching the STS as a substrate.


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## myswtsins (Nov 1, 2008)

Whew, that's a nice chunk of change but it is obviously working for you.  You must have a great camera too cuz your pictures are stunning!


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## chillwill007 (Dec 28, 2015)

Wow amazing tank I love a 40 breeder just wished they hays 50 breeders as part of the $1/gallon sale. But still a 40 breeder had great dimensions


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

myswtsins said:


> Whew, that's a nice chunk of change but it is obviously working for you.  You must have a great camera too cuz your pictures are stunning!


True but every time I look at my tank I simply forget the cost.

I use my Note 3 camera. The trick is to reduce the exposure to -2.0 and use a tripod. Our lights are too strong and usually gives a whiteout effects which makes the photo look bad. 



chillwill007 said:


> Wow amazing tank I love a 40 breeder just wished they hays 50 breeders as part of the $1/gallon sale. But still a 40 breeder had great dimensions


Thanks. Yes a 50 is way better then a 40. That additional 3" is going to give your tall stem plants more headroom. 

Side note:

1 of my ottos always seem to have eggs. Too bad I have too many predators in the tank. I would love to see baby ottos.


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## The Big Buddha (Jul 30, 2012)

Every time I see an update I get excited, hoping to see a video of that canopy in motion. 
And then there isn't.... Wow a fat Otto! Lol
Been waiting six months, I've seen babies come quicker.

.


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

I am simply inspired! The amount of tech in this build humbles me. Big fan of your cabinet organization. I guess that just snither reason to buy an apex. So, you apex tells you when your ATO is low? That's awesome. Does it tell you through an apex app, wifi? I'm starting to really think I should get one of these for the fun of it all!


Also, I'm very interested in your mixtures of each fert, how much you dose, and how often. I'm curious because I recently bought the same auto doser. Trying to figure out how to get pumps to go on alternate days.


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## BoxxerBoyDrew (Oct 16, 2005)

WOW!!!!!

Your 40B 1$/Gallon sale tank has MORE high tech equipment as most reefs do!!! BUT you can tell by the look of your plants they LOVE IT!!! You have an AMAZING Tank!!! I would so LOVE to have that setup, but 1.5 months of House payments come first! At least the wife thinks so! Heck the rest of the country can get away with out paying their bills why not us??? LOL My PLANTS NEED THIS!!!  

Anyway You have built a BEAUTIFUL STAND, Canopy, Tank Life Support System, and grown a AWESOME collection of Plants! Congrats!!!

Subscribed!!! I Too would love to see a video of the whole tank system up and running! I used to install Car Audio and Electronics, and have installed L.Actuators before, but not on a aquarium canopy! Awesome use!!!

Keep up the GREAT WORK!!!
Drew


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## heel4you (Mar 8, 2015)

*Beautiful tank*

I concur with with everyone here. You have a beautiful tank. I would also like to see a video with the system in action :smile2:


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

*Automatic Tank hood lift video!*

@The Big BuddhaOk so I finally did it. 

I finally got around to doing the video. I don't do anything simple so I had to re-learn Adobe After FX because I wanted to show some images of the build and include some info about the build since I did not want to do a full tour of the system.

Also you will hear my little daughter trying to stretch her vocal cords at one point in the video LOL!

*Video of my automatic hood lift for my aquarium*





tylergvolk said:


> I am simply inspired! The amount of tech in this build humbles me. Big fan of your cabinet organization. I guess that just snither reason to buy an apex. So, you apex tells you when your ATO is low? That's awesome. Does it tell you through an apex app, wifi? I'm starting to really think I should get one of these for the fun of it all!
> 
> 
> Also, I'm very interested in your mixtures of each fert, how much you dose, and how often. I'm curious because I recently bought the same auto doser. Trying to figure out how to get pumps to go on alternate days.


My ATO fires everyday when the float switch in the tank is OFF. I also have wiring setup to detect if my ATO resevoir is low but I never finished hooking it up. The problem was looking for the right container. 

I'm not 100% on how much I dose on the Phosphates and Nitrates but I dose to keep my P04 at 3 ppm and my N03 at 23 ppm. Right now I'm calibrating the amount dosed since I changed my dosing formula but I'll post my parameters and dosing soon. 




BoxxerBoyDrew said:


> WOW!!!!!
> 
> Your 40B 1$/Gallon sale tank has MORE high tech equipment as most reefs do!!! BUT you can tell by the look of your plants they LOVE IT!!! You have an AMAZING Tank!!! I would so LOVE to have that setup, but 1.5 months of House payments come first! At least the wife thinks so! Heck the rest of the country can get away with out paying their bills why not us??? LOL My PLANTS NEED THIS!!!
> 
> ...


Thanks. I ended up using the linear actuators by chance. I was shopping to build my own since I never knew they existed or what they were called until I saw it pop up on my search for a motor. 



heel4you said:


> I concur with with everyone here. You have a beautiful tank. I would also like to see a video with the system in action :smile2:


I'm rendering a video of the tank so you guys can see the fish in there. I'll probably do a video tour next.


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## myswtsins (Nov 1, 2008)

Yay, video! I see why it took so long for a simple video...you don't do simple! lol That's sweet, so smooth! Do you raise the canopy to feed the fish or do you have a trap door for that? I noticed they got excited when it started going up.


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

Thanks and yes no point doing a video without some info on it. I'm pretty sure people would want to get more info on the build. 

I have an eheim automatic feeder with NLS Thera-A mini pellets. You can see close to the right of the tank. I try to automate things as much as I can so I can just watch the fish and trim the plants. Hehe. 

I have been feeding them 2 frozen bloodworm cubes every other day or twice a week so that is why they probably got excited.


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## The Big Buddha (Jul 30, 2012)

Thank you. 
Very nice.

.


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## BoxxerBoyDrew (Oct 16, 2005)

Very Nice Video!!! 

I finally got to see your fish too!!! I was thinking there for a minute you were deleting them from your pics or you trained them to hide from your camera, as I never saw them in the pics! But you can see them in the video and they look very nice with the plants you have chosen!

I don't remember reading it, and if I did sorry for asking, but what kind of water parameters are you keeping with those fish? PH, Gh, Kh, etc...

Anyway Keep up the AWESOME WORK!!!
Drew


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

Thanks.

I remember when I took the latest tank shot that I turned off my HOB. What happened was the C02 concentration got really high that the fish were basically at the top. They were not yet drunk. I have my C02 start injection 3 hours before the lights turn on. I'm actually reducing the BPS while increasing the start of the C02 injection time for the past couple of days. My goal is to start c02 injection 4-5 hours to ensure good C02 distribution in the tank but running with a lesser C02 concentration. 

I don't know my exact parameters but I have some water that I need to test today and I will post a screenshot of the results.


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## bereninga (Mar 18, 2006)

TLDR, but I gotta say: AWESOME HOOD!


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

*Video of tank*

So I finished making a video of the tank and you guys can it out by clicking on the preview image below.

**

In 1-2 weeks I will be changing the tank and I will *try* to aquascape it and post the updates to my journal. I always said that the first priority is growing the plants then comes the aquascaping. 

My 20G and 30G grow tanks are also 100% operational so it will be interesting to see how the tank will look like. 

Anyways enjoy and I'll be posting my water parameters soon before I do a tweak it for next week.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Any chance you can change the background while you re-aquascape?

IMHO the baby blue clashes with the natural tones of the plants, especially the reds and browns... Black or frosted would give a better illusion of depth. This is my only criticism of this spectacular tank!


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

hitmanx said:


> Any chance you can change the background while you re-aquascape?
> 
> IMHO the baby blue clashes with the natural tones of the plants, especially the reds and browns... Black or frosted would give a better illusion of depth. This is my only criticism of this spectacular tank!


I was thinking about that. The problem is the actuator and the aluminum bars does block parts of the tank. So my only option is placing some kind of painted or back board which sucks. I don't think scraping the old background will be an issue. Applying or painting a new background will be be very hard with all the hardware at the back. :frown2: 

I would love to have a black bg. I have it on my grow tanks and it is wonderful to look at.


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## myswtsins (Nov 1, 2008)

Video is great! Gives life to this almost unreal tank. Thanks for putting it together for us!

I use the black poster board stuff from the dollar store (like giant thick construction paper not the colored cardboard stuff) and it looks great!, Very dark, even and solid look plus supper easy to change it you want to down the line.

Looking forward to your new scape, although this looks fantastic as it is!


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

*02/10/16 Water parameters*

So I did my weekly water test for this tank and I was hoping to get the N03/P04 levels down to 10 ppm and 1 ppm and it seems that my nitrate was set a little high. I know my P04 was higher because I adjusted it to run at 3.5-4 ppm. 










My calcium is showing up 100 ppm which is weird. I think the bag of aragonite is starting to finally leech calcium carbonate.

I'm going to do a water change tonight to get the calcium levels down and get rid of the bag of crushed coral. It took a long time for that bag to work and I don't think I need it anymore. I added it as a way to help keep the carbonates in the water because of my of STS substrate.

The plan now is to probably bring the Ca levels to around 40 ppm. Then I will adjust the N03/P04 levels. 









My Persicaria Sao Paolo seems to be flowering. 2 of the 4 plants showed up with a weird yellowish stalk.


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## aja31 (May 25, 2013)

How do you monitor your parameters like that? Is it a continuous monitor or do you just use that to test once in awhile? Mostly curious if you can/do hook up your dosing to the monitor so it doses based on need.


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

I use a benchtop photometer for testing my water. It is basically a machine used for testing water parameters. Similar to your test kits except it has a machine for reading the water nutrient levels versus using a color card to determine the nutrient level. It does not test continuously though. 

HI83200 Multiparameter Benchtop Photometer - Hanna Instruments


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

tank is looking great! 
and i love the videos!


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

*03-04 Tank pics with water parameters!*

Latest updates:
I finally rescaped the tank. I have decided to move the plants around and completely got rid of the crypt undalata at the front right of the tank. The crypt had a root system that was bigger than my fist when I pulled it out. I kept 2 baby plants floating in my 20 G grow tank for now and I simply discarded the rest. I was not planning on pulling it out that night that I scaped but I would have ROAKed the mother plant. 

I also planted smaller plants at the right side of the tank to stop blocking the Vortech MP10 and the spray bar. I'm still not pretty sure what to do at the right side of the tank but I did plant the dwarf amazon that I got. 










Shot of the front. The AR is still a nice blood red but needs a trim. The Gratiola viscidula needs to be moved but it is nice to see that it is growing. 









This is a host of the plants at the back left corner. I planted the Ludiwgia Atlantis and Red side by side to provide contrast. In front of it was a buce that was showing some purple leaves. The other buce in the picture needs some love and did really terrible when I lowered my nitrate levels. 









This is the shot of the overgrown E. parkeri. About to harvest it and move some new plants to my new 10 gallon setup. The plants directly behind it is a combo of S. Repents, purple bacopa, creeping jenny (golden round leaves ) and the white ludwigia. Both those purple bacopa and jenny stem plants grow really really slow for me so I decided to put them sort of in the middle and will just maintain their height. 









*Tank Parameters vs. last week - tested today with the photometer*
NO3 - 28.6 ppm from 18.6 ppm last week
PO4 - 2.3 ppm from 2.9 ppm last week
K - 43 ppm from 34 ppm last week
Fe - 1.23 ppm from 0.86 ppm <-- not too happy I got careless with the the 10% DTPA Fe again. I'm going to bring it down to .6-.8 ppm on the next WC.


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

*10-10-16 Update - new scape*

So for the past couple of months I've been focusing on my scaping skills. I finally decided to stop using my display tank as a grow tank and completely dropped the jungle look. 

I had some key changes to the tank. The major one is the removal of the big bulky driftwood which just took up too much space. The tank felt much bigger after taking it out. I did drop another piece of driftwood but it is mostly used as a divider and something for my red bristlenose to munch on.

The other big change was getting rid of the baby blue background. It was not the best background and while I was able strip most of the blue, I still need to wipe the back and remove the remaining blotches of paint. A lush tank with a black background is just gorgeous to look at!

The main scape idea was very simple. I simple planted contrasting plants in a slighlty sloping horizontal line and planted them from left to right with a slight curve. The rows of P. Erectus, Creeping Jenny, Mini AR and S. Repends created a nice effect. I repeated the same approach with the Lobelia cardinals, AR Var, and the Bacopa Japan. 

The plant setup is not final. I have a bunch of stems still planted randomly since I am trying to tweak the left part of the tank. The right side will also need some work but I am growing some plants in this side of the tank versus growing them in my grow tanks to see how they grow.

The monte carlo in the middle front part was just planted a week ago so I don't expect to get that area covered for at least another month. 

The middle section will be reserved for some Erios . I just love when the Erios flower. It adds unique touch to the scape. I am also hoping to grow my Anubias Pinto in a bunch so it can be planted dead center in the scape.


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## Clinton Parsons (Apr 11, 2016)

I can not express how jealous I am of you for having your own spectrophotometer. My inner geek is squealing right now.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

those plants look healthy and sexy


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

Clinton Parsons said:


> I can not express how jealous I am of you for having your own spectrophotometer. My inner geek is squealing right now.


Hehehe. The chemist in me comes out in me every weekend when I turn a small part of my house into a water parameter/chemistry lab. The Hanna 83200 was a very expensive but I don't regret buying it. 



IntotheWRX said:


> those plants look healthy and sexy


Thanks! I spent a lot of time in trying to get all my plants to grow healthy. Once you get to that point then scaping becomes easy.


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## Tom Barr (Nov 16, 2012)

The scape might benefit from a similar shaped stump. It does take up that much real estate and follows the path of the general layout here. 
The branches coming out divide the plants into groups naturally. Offers some shade for lower light plants. 

I have a spare new Hanna photometer/reagents if anyone is dying for it.


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

Tom Barr said:


> The scape might benefit from a similar shaped stump. It does take up that much real estate and follows the path of the general layout here.
> The branches coming out divide the plants into groups naturally. Offers some shade for lower light plants.
> 
> I have a spare new Hanna photometer/reagents if anyone is dying for it.


That is actually a good idea Tom. The hard part is finding a good piece of driftwood that won't be too bulky and have the right curve to it.

Which photometer do you have?


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## Tom Barr (Nov 16, 2012)

PortalMasteryRy said:


> That is actually a good idea Tom. The hard part is finding a good piece of driftwood that won't be too bulky and have the right curve to it.
> 
> Which photometer do you have?


Same Hannna model
The one that does all the different parameters. 
The reagents add up also in cost though unless you have a chemical supply and look up the Standard Methods. Then pretty reasonable cost for reagents. 

The tank is a standard 40B right? I have a few different pieces in that range. 

I tend to take a single decent stump and trim the bottom off some to lower it to right height, then add some extra similar sized branches to act like the roots.


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

*10-18-16 Update*



Tom Barr said:


> The tank is a standard 40B right? I have a few different pieces in that range.
> 
> I tend to take a single decent stump and trim the bottom off some to lower it to right height, then add some extra similar sized branches to act like the roots.


I would love to get a nice branch to go from the back to the front in a diagonal manner. Maybe something in between the Syn. Belem and the right row of plants. I'm going to PM you and get you a size and maybe you can help find me the right piece.

Tank Updates:
I moved the Stargrass behind the now short bacopa. Once the stargrass grows, it will create a nice backdrop for the bacopa in front of it. I also moved the Ludwigia senegalensis where the blood stargrass was planted and moved the blood stargrass behind the Syn. Belem. The contrasting leaves of the Bloodstargrass appearing on top of the Syn. Belem should make a nice effect. 

All the little Erio. Cinereum has doubled in size. Looking forward to get 2-3 big ones at the front of the tank. 

I'm down to a couple random stems on the right side of the tank. Just need to give the Bacopa Monnieri 1 more week and I'll be moving Erio Mato Grosso a bit to the back of the tank.

Left side of the tank.









Right side of the tank









Also had something interesting happen with the water parameters. Will take a shot of the photometer results. I think I might have figured out why the growth has been very slow with some plants.


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## jacklilley (Oct 20, 2016)

What a beautiful tank, makes me realize how far behind I am! just buying ferts and mounting an extension cable to my 350 litre is as technical as I get

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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

*Some new photos!*



jacklilley said:


> What a beautiful tank, makes me realize how far behind I am! just buying ferts and mounting an extension cable to my 350 litre is as technical as I get
> 
> Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk


Thanks! The build setup is one of the my favorite steps in owning a planted aquarium. Always take your time with the setup and make sure everything is up to spec to your requirements.

Some new photos!


Larger full tank shot









Left side shot of the tank 









The riccia that I attached to some lava rocks are growing really well. My Erio. Cinereum are on track! I should have 2 inch plants by next month.









A front shot of the left side of the tank. The Creeping Jenny is finally growing a little bit faster after the micro dose adjustment. The Blood stargrass behind the Syn. Belems and the Ludwigia S. are also providing the type of contrast I was aiming for. I'm hopinh the tips would turn to the orange color that I've seen in pictures. 









Top shot of the Ludwigia Simpsonii, AR Var, Lobelia and the Ranunculus on the right side of the tank.


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## jacklilley (Oct 20, 2016)

How much time (per day) do you spend with this? Oh and what's your cost on plants (so far lol?)
Just out of curiosity as it really is a well planted and designed tank!
I'm having real issues wrapping my head round the future of my corner tank layout, albeit I'm happy with the hardscape, and I'm only a week into post cycling, but I can't find any real nice images for inspiration of anyone who's put on a standout planted corner aquarium. 
How would you organise a tank like that?








Just to show what I'm dealing with... 

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## abrooks12376 (Nov 5, 2015)

Tank looks great! May want to cut those erio flowers. They'll eventually kill the plant.

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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

jacklilley said:


> How much time (per day) do you spend with this? Oh and what's your cost on plants (so far lol?)


I usually do stuff with my tanks on the weekends and I just admire it throughout the week. It is fully automated minus the water change and water testing. The fertilization is done using a dosing pump so I technically don't do anything. 

I've spent a lot of money on plants but a lot of the plants you see have been propagated in my tanks. I usually buy a few stems then if everything is OK I end up with multiple stems. The Syngonanthus belem which is at the center of my tank is about more than a dozen stems. I bought less than a dozen stems to start with and I have maybe 4 dozen stems growing in all my tanks (I have 2 grow tanks). The stargrass at the back left came from 3 stems I got from the LFS. I probably grew more than 4 dozen stems of those plants. When I trimmed that plant I think I threw away a dozen young stems. 




jacklilley said:


> Just out of curiosity as it really is a well planted and designed tank!
> I'm having real issues wrapping my head round the future of my corner tank layout, albeit I'm happy with the hardscape, and I'm only a week into post cycling, but I can't find any real nice images for inspiration of anyone who's put on a standout planted corner aquarium.
> How would you organise a tank like that?
> 
> ...


I've only done dutch style tanks and I usually utilize the appearance of the plants to define the scape. This is the reason you probably don't see any hardscape on my tank.

If I had your tank then I would do something like in the diagram below. The carpet area does not need to be that thick. Probably 2-3 inches only from front to back. The key to the scape is showing different contrast of red,greens and orange plants and using the different leaf styles and leave sizes to provide contrast. Also managing the height of the different areas will create a nice effect slope effect.


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## jacklilley (Oct 20, 2016)

A Dutch style tank I think is currently just out of reach for me, in both creativity and time required - however im gonna keep referring back to your post for inspiration. 
I do have a few questions that a novice planted tank guy would ask lol 
1. Is TOO much filtration bad for plant growth? 
2. How much does water flow affect plants? As in do they prefer a strong flow or a gentle "breezy" flow?
3. As I'm using a mixture of LED's and T8, (DIY KING idea for the LED's, I've got 15m of full spectrum wrapped around pipes at the top and 2x 3ft fluorescent bulbs in the Centre,) is this sufficient lighting for low - medium light required plants?
4. I've had rotala indica and hornwart before which grew at the speed of light, but I'm looking at growing a long grassy type to hide what's going on behind the glass... Suggestions? 
5. Your tank looks the tits. 
Fin. 

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## jacklilley (Oct 20, 2016)

Huh, my last post didn't, er, post.
Cba to write all again, your tank looks the tits, and a few questions. 
Does a high flow rate of water affect plants badly?
I've got 15m of full spectrum LED lighting and 2x 3ft T8 tubes, is this enough lighting? 
Is too much filtration bad?
What's a good suggestion for a tall grassy quick growing, er, grass?
I will keep referring to your post in the future for inspiration. 


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## LRJ (Jul 31, 2014)

This is looking fantastic! Really like the Ranunculus. Interesting leaf shape and haven't seen it used much.


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## jacklilley (Oct 20, 2016)

Huh, neither of my 2 replies posted, I think I may have permitted myself a slightly non PC word... 
(So for the 3rd attempt)
Dutch is the way to go I think, not for me yet, but if definitely the way to go.
Few noob questions as your clearly doing a lot of things right.
1. High flow rate or low flow better for plants?
2. 15m full spectrum LED's and 2x 3ft fluorescent T8 enough light? (LED's are Joeys from YouTube idea)
3. Is TOO much filtration bad for the plants?
Cheers 🍻 

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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

LRJ said:


> This is looking fantastic! Really like the Ranunculus. Interesting leaf shape and haven't seen it used much.


Thanks. Ranunculus is on of my favorite plants. The only issue is it gets really weedy so you have to maintain it or it might choke itself. 



jacklilley said:


> Huh, neither of my 2 replies posted, I think I may have permitted myself a slightly non PC word...
> (So for the 3rd attempt)
> Dutch is the way to go I think, not for me yet, but if definitely the way to go.
> Few noob questions as your clearly doing a lot of things right.
> ...


Dutch is not for everyone. I am actually preparing to setup another tank for a non-dutch aquascape by early next year. I want to join the aquascaping competition next year =)

1. Low flow rate is always better. What we all want is a small amount of water movement to allow CO2 to be distributed properly in the tank.
2. I don't know the lights but usually when you have low light, certain plants appear leggy or with longer internodes.
3. Too much filtration is always welcome. The more filtration the better.


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## jacklilley (Oct 20, 2016)

Well, I'm all planted, now I'm waiting for everything to melt itself to death, and then spend more time trawling through the Internet how to carpet effectively :| 









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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

jacklilley said:


> Well, I'm all planted, now I'm waiting for everything to melt itself to death, and then spend more time trawling through the Internet how to carpet effectively :|
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Carpeting is just growing a specific type of plant like monte carlo or dwarf baby tears. Once you ensure that you have everything the plants need to grow then carpeting will be very easy to do. 

Once light and CO2 is setup then usually the water chemistry is the last component to mess with. If you want to ensure optimal growth in your tank then you have to provide non-limiting amount of nutrients by fertilization. 

A lot of people make the mistake of waiting for bad things to happen. By making sure you have the right water chemistry early on, you allow your plants to grow properly and prevent algae from taking hold. If you don't work on this from the beginning you might end up spending weeks or months trying to get your plants to grow. Unfortunately as long as the plants are growing the you'll never get your aquascape right.


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## jacklilley (Oct 20, 2016)

Thankyou for the response  I'm really happy with my filtration, (60lt sump with a K1 Micro bed, Ceramic noodles, Filter floss and about 15kg of lava rock, pumped through with a 3500lph pump. The Intake on the filter is packed with sponges, and the return pipe has weekly changed filter floss end to, "Give an added polish." 
The lighting I'm, in complete honesty, about 70% happy with, the LED'S run for 12 hours, and the T8 runs for 8 - set on timers. 
Co2 - I'm reliying on the fish at the minute :| 
Ferts - every 2 days dosed with JBL Ferropol. No I'd never heard of it before either.
Water chemistry is bang on.  

I'm looking into a more efficient lighting rig, (CREE LED's OR more fluorescent tubing,) and CO2 will have to wait a month or 2. 
The tank itself is 350l, minus the sump.

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## agimlin (Sep 25, 2010)

That's crazy that you went with an apex system. I keep reef tanks as well and as far as aquarium controllers go apex is the holy grail. Super sweet set up

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