# 84 Gallon Fluval Osaka - (56K warning, ton of pics)



## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

I just scored a huge deal on a brand new Fluval 84 gallon Osaka 320 Bent Glass Aquarium. It came with everything including a 404 and 4 bags of flourite (dont worry I have more). 

Here is a pic of her in my garage right now. She's perfect for planted with wide open top, shoulder high and a narrow center brace. 








I need to figure out the best way to transition my 40 gallon planted tank into this one. My biggest decision is lighting. Right now I have a 144w PC on my 40 gallon and an extra 54W T5 just hanging around the house. The Osaka came with 108 W of T5HO in a reflector that matches the tank, but thats pretty weak for planted, so I can either just add the 54W as a kicker, (162W total), or even use the 144wPC with the T5 kicker for 198W....hmmm decisions. Astheticlly I think the 162W with the T5 might be the best bet. Is that going to be too low, just under 3wpg?


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

that's a sweet tank. i think you will be fine with the 2x54 fixture + the 1x54 for the noon burst. you won't need the pc's. 

can't wait to see it planted!


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## RamsRme (Mar 20, 2009)

Awesome! I agree with the 2 x 54 + the 1 x 54.


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## cwinson85 (May 22, 2009)

yeah, wow man, kick a** tank!! good luck!!!


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## mexiaztec (Dec 20, 2008)

ni9ce tank, where u got the deal? if u dont mind


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

i got it at ocean blue on katella in orange, right off the 55 freeway.


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

I've always wanted one of those!! GAHHHHHHHHHHH. >_>


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

Nice setup!! How much was it?


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

retail is $1199, the store had it for months and it went through markdowns of $999 an was listed at $799. I got him to sell it to me for $550! Including 4 bags of flourite at $23 and tax, I was out the door at $700. 

I cant deal with 84,75,40 and 20 gallon tanks so I have to take down the 40. That leaves all the equiptment for the 75 gallon tank. I can replace my 7 year old eclipse filters with the old 404 and the 144w PC. That tank had java moss, java lace fern and Amazon swords to go along with the prehistoric fish theme so I think I will add a bunch of annubis also and make that tank completely planted. 

Next question...to black or not to black out the background.....Im thinking Black!!! I also need to hit the LFS and start prepping some driftwood. 

Its so hard not to just throw the tank together already, but I really want to plan this one out, show a little patience and make it SICK!


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

guess i better change my "needs bigger tank" sig comment too.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

So I blacked out the back yesterday 
prepared to paint
















Krylon Fusion Black

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content









Wet Finish










I wanted to test out the paint job so i broke out the light fixture and bulbs to see what light would shine through. Well considering the bulbs and fixture dont work at all, absolutly no light came through! Damnit, back to the shop today. Why didnt I think to test the light before i walked out the store with it? Too excited to bring it home I guess. Oh well. Post more later tonight.


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Looks like you're on the right track. This is going to be a spectacular tank!

I hope you get the light issue fixed. :fish:


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

Turns out both light bulbs were bad. Got them both replaced and picked up the 300W heater that was supposed to be included with the set for no charge. Here is a pic of the blacked out back with the lights running. Looks like a decent job.









I also cleaned up the stand and moved it to the staging area. I am planning on replacing the smaller tank and stand in the picture below with the Osaka. (my wife cant stand I have the tank on a piece of Ethan Allen furniture :icon_roll) I will need to use the big tank to soak the driftwood (which I have yet to obtain) so it will be a while before I get substrate in there and start the official switch. Still have to plan out exactally how that will work.









I will probablly get the tank on the stand this weekend. Stay tuned.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Nice tank. I'm looking forward to the updates  I didn't know that they made osakas that big.


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## chonhzilla (Apr 22, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Nice tank. I'm looking forward to the updates  I didn't know that they made osakas that big.


Me too, I never knew they made them that big either.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

My wife has our camera in London so no pics today. I got the tank on the stand. Got the lights all hung and working. Painted all the hoses and intakes/putflows and clamps. Those t5H0 put out a ton of light.
I also just ordered some manzanita driftwood from badcopnofishtank. i attached pics of them. Next step is driftwood prep.


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## binders (Mar 22, 2009)

Cool pieces of driftwood. They should look great in the Osaka. That's such a beautiful set-up.


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

I have yet to see what of these style tanks fully scaped and planted. I am curious to see how you resolve the depth. Seems to be such a tall tank.

Good luck with it.


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

nice tank, awesome deal, and love the driftwoods


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

wow, this tank is gonna look good. i love the dimensions! and the driftwood looks awesome


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

*updated pics.*

The driftwood should be here today. :thumbsup: I might post more pics later tonight of them in the tank, but here is where we are for now. 


The Osaka is currently sitting next to the sliding glass door. This isnt the permanent spot because I dont want to deal with the direct sunlight on the tank. I will have to determine the final spot for it later, but for now when I am just prepping the wood, it should be fine. I'm thinking centered on the wall where the 40 gal is currently. Looks like a half decent fish room forming... 










Here is a shot of the Osaka on the stand with blacked out back and hoses. Painting the hoses was another great idea I can thank TPT for.

















I hung the lights on small black chains. The single 54w T5 is completly hidden from front view, but here is a pic of them from the side. I plan on running the double front T5HO lights from 12pm-8:30 pm with the single as a kicker for a noontime burst. thumbsup:good suggestion from TPT members, thanks again:thumbsup









I tried to hide the power cords for both lights by running them back along the top of the fixtures and up the hanging chains. Then I used black electrical tape to hide the cords behind the metal light stand. So far so good.



























Now if the dang UPS guy would just show up with my driftwood.....:icon_roll


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## Axelrodi202 (Jul 29, 2008)

Postal thieves! Anyway, I think that the best light to have for a tank like that is T5HO. It really emits a lot of light, and is cheaper than metal halide. The Glo light is really good for this. And of course, having a cover that isn't absolutely covered with mineral deposits helps too. I simply removed the five year old glass cover from my 46 gallon tank, and the tank was two to three times brighter.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Even a brand new glass cover will get covered in grime very quickly.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

*driftwood has arrived!*

slightly damaged in shipping, however still going to look good. not the final positioning but here it is in the tank. To prep the wood I weighted it down with 4oz fishing sinkers and have it in the aquarium with the fluval running nothing but carbon and foam. I also got a korilla (sp) for additional water movement. it will most likely be while before any more updates. this might take a while to leach tannins and sink. cant really boil pieces this big.


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

Im so jealous..

It's going to be beautiful!


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Thats real nice. Keep it coming.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

oh man.....as if i was not motivated enough to get this done, the wife just ok'd a new 46 inch LCD flat screen as soon as i free up the stand the 40 gallon tank is currently sitting on. life is good!


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

Man that thing looks sweet! Love that retro feel, and the DW looks great too. 

I would however be highly suspicious of a wife who approved a $700 fish tank and a new flat screen. She may be buttering you up for something....... perhaps something very girly she wants to do to your home.

While a 46" LCD is too tempting not to fall for her trap, at least be on the watch for the move she will likely pull on you. Every married man knows... women are much more clever than we are. 

Oh who knows.... maybe she just loves you and wants you to be happy. That's a darn good woman! 

Looking forward to updates!


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

fastfreddie said:


> Man that thing looks sweet! Love that retro feel, and the DW looks great too.
> 
> I would however be highly suspicious of a wife who approved a $700 fish tank and a new flat screen. She may be buttering you up for something....... perhaps something very girly she wants to do to your home.
> 
> ...


:hihi: excellent point!!! hilarious and disturbing at the same time.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Things are lookin' great! It's gonna be a winner for sure


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

Ok, been waiting for ther driftwood to sink and we are finally there. I also hooked up 80 lbs of black eco complete substrate. I am thinking the tank changover will go down this Saturday. 
The only problem I have run into is the driftwood had grown a white filmy moldy looking grossness. I had it prepping in the tank with a Korillia and a Fluval 404 running with carbon and foam only (no bio yet). I was changing the water 100% every 3-4 days. I plan on taking the wood out and scrubbing it before I put it back in with the substrate, but was wondering if I should do anything else to it before it goes in the tank? Should I even be worried about the white stuff messing up the new tank?


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## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

That white goop will go away after some time. If you keep SAE/pleco, they'll clean up too. 


I am going to get some rocks today for my tank. Looking at your dw, I am greedy (chuckle) now to get some dw as well.


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## Digsy (Mar 4, 2006)

Nice looking driftwood. I'm looking forward to seeing the tank filled!


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

*Big Update - Set up and Planted!*

So yesterday was the big day and I spent over 12 hours getting this set up. This will be a long entry with lots of pics.

I had to drain the 85, 40 and 20 gallons so I could move them all. I figured I could do a water change on the 40 and move that to the wall by the door while the water was out for the change. Worked pretty well. Here is a pic of before and after the physical move. I grew out all the plants in the 40 getting ready for this move. Check out my pennywort forest. looks cool when the water is down.
before move








pennywort forrest








after move
I set up the 40 to keep livestock alive while the 80 cycles. Then its comming down completly and I will start another journal when I upgrade my 75g bichir tank with the light/filter from the 40. That will be a sweet project too.









I managed to get the lights all worked out on timers. I have all three tanks on the same light schedule (12pm-9pm), and the 80 gallon gets a 54w t5 kicker from 2-5pm. The lighting worked out easier than I thought.

all lit up. small t5 on the 20g and 2x54w T5HO with 1x54W T5 noontime burst on the 80. (its technically 84 gallons but 80 is easier)








here is the 40g running as well.









next step was add the substrate. 8 bags eco complete black. 









I piled all the substrate in the back and sloped it down to the front. The local tapwater is about 7.0, so i mixed in 30 gallons of RO water. The PH is around 6.8. Once the water was in I moved the co2 over to the 80g, currently around 4bps. I put the diffuser under the korillia and the stream of bubbles gets blown everywhere and the ones thet miss get spread by the fluval return. Here it is filled up with the driftwood before the water cleared up.

































It took the eco complete, with the fluval 404 and a small korillia about 3 hours to clear the water. Next step was to start picking plants. Luckily I have a good farm system. Here is the source. 








Sad to see this tank go. It taught me well. We went to battle quite a few times together. From the fluval hose spraying all over the room, to the great BGA breakout of 08...it has been an adventure but the results are now showing I think.

Here is the 40 after the tall plants got raided.










I pulled some fissidens moss out and used fishing line to tie it to the end of some driftwood branches. 

















Ok ready to see the start of the scaping? I know your anxious so here you go. Left side I am going with anubis, crypts, pennywort and amazon sword.








right side has ludwidgia repens, camboba, and some sunset hygro behind the amazon sword.









here is the fissidens branch. its going to be sticking up out of the hairgrass field. 









The next few track the progress as I add more plants to the mix. Starting to,take great shape I think. I added java lace fern in the midground between the grass field and the tall stem plants on the back right.

































Its getting pretty late and at the point of this next pic I had been at this nearly 14 hours. time to shut it down. My feet and back were killing me, but its so worth it to be able to see this before bed. Too bad the 40 is comming down. What a cool wall.









So this morning I finished up planting the grass, breaking up my crypt and making sure the light cycles are all good. There is nothing left I want to take from the 40 so I think I am done with this for now. The water tested well this AM with trace amounts of amonia and no nitrites. I added a bunch of ramshorns to get started on the nitrates, but the ph and temp look good.

Here are some pics of the finished scape...for now. What do you think? I will do a better job of hiding the heater later, but the cord doesnt reach for now. 

























































Whole tank. Official start date 7/25/09


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

Wow! You did an awesome job. I can't believe you had enough plants packed in that 40 to make such a great start on the 80. It already looks great! I love the selection of plants too..... especially the Java Fern Lace in the front (did you purchase all of the plants in the Swap n Shop?) 

I'll definitely be following this one!! Your wife might not end up mad after all, as I speculated after your purchase, because it looks great! Is the flat screen mounted yet?


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

fastfreddie said:


> Wow! You did an awesome job. I can't believe you had enough plants packed in that 40 to make such a great start on the 80. It already looks great! I love the selection of plants too..... especially the Java Fern Lace in the front (did you purchase all of the plants in the Swap n Shop?)
> 
> I'll definitely be following this one!! Your wife might not end up mad after all, as I speculated after your purchase, because it looks great! Is the flat screen mounted yet?


Thanks man. Much Appreciated. no flat screen yet, lol. I still need to keep the 40 up and running for livestock untill the 80 is cycled. once the 40g comes down, the 46in comes home. :icon_smil I was thinking of switching fluvals for a day and getting a kickstart. I just dont want the old filter to vomit all over the new tank (stirs up crap when moving it)so I think I will just let it go natural.

The only plants I got on s&s were the fissidens and sunset hygro. The rest came from LFS and friends tanks. I had tons of the lace fern left over so I have some for sale right now in S&S if you want any. 

I was pretty happy with the amount of plants I had in the 40 too. The hairgrass especially. It was packed really thick. Thats what took the longest to plant. What a pain. I think I need some color (ludwidgia glandulousa maybe?) between the camboba and the hairgrass. I just had trouble keeping it alive before.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

Bonus! I found cherry barb fry in the 40g after taking most of the plants out. Cool. I had no idea!


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

wow, the tank looks great!! if i were you id just keep the 40g running and hang the 46incher on top of it :hihi:

once that lawn fills in it'll look great. and x2 on that java. ive never seen it, looks very similar to windelov but finner.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

monkeyruler90 said:


> wow, the tank looks great!! if i were you id just keep the 40g running and hang the 46incher on top of it :hihi:
> 
> once that lawn fills in it'll look great. and x2 on that java. ive never seen it, looks very similar to windelov but finner.


thanks for the compliment! Its hard to take that 40 down for sure, I kind of want to make it a shrimp tank but I have a 75, 85 and a 20 going without it. I dont want 4 tanks worth of maintenance...and the new 46 inch TV needs to go in the living room. The man cave is getting the old TV where the 40g is sitting now. 

The java lace fern is a really cool plant. It actually propagates in 2 ways. I started out with 2 rhizomes with 4 leaves on each about 3 inches long. Leaves grow on the rhizome just like an annubis, but once the leaves get older, they start to get a little black stripe down the middle and the leaves split. Then they grow little brown hairs from the leaves at the point of the split. At first I thought it was some type of algae, but turns out its new roots for new rhizomes that start on the leaves themselves. Its hard to describe unless you see it happen, but when it bloomed that way I got tons of plantletts. I might be able to find a piece later that is starting to drop the hairs and will post a pic of that too.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

added some fish yesterday. everybody looks good this morning so I am thinking today will be move the livestock day. 

I have run into a problem with surface movement. The co2 bubbles are not breaking the surface. Its like there is a thin layer of something trapping them in. You can literally see hundreds of little bubbles moving along just under the surface. I turned on the airstone and it cleared up in a few minutes. I dont want to run the airstone 24/7 tho so I may have to adjust the fluval return hose to disturb the surface some more.

I also noticed some hair algae starting....Dosed big with excell and adding SAE's today. LFS near me just got a ton of Ottos and SAE's. I am going to pick up like 10 more ottos and 2 more SAE's today.


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## skratikans (May 23, 2008)

what is the plant in the middle of the third pic called?
Beautiful tanks. btw!


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

skratikans said:


> what is the plant in the middle of the third pic called?
> Beautiful tanks. btw!


 
Thank you! Is this the one?










It is a ridiculiously thick bush of java lace fern.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

*update 8.11.09*

Here is an update on the tank. 
Livestock
16 neon tetras
2 SAE's
4 male and 5 female fancy guppies
3 cherry barb fry
3 Ottos
9 Amano Srimp
4 Adult RCS - 20 baby RCS
Red Ramshorn Snails

I moved the heater out of sight and replaced all the clear tubing inside the tank with black. This is how its grown in so far. (slight trim today)
Full view








right side tall view








right center








left side









this is a shot of the tank from the left side long view.









with the 40g taken down, the old tv went in its place.








and the new TV went on the dresser the 40g was sitting on.









I also moved the fluval and the light from the 40g to my 75g bichir tank, along with a ton of java lace fern and the driftwood.










































Major work is done and now i am enjoying the fruits of the labor very much..will be even more when football season rolls around.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Wow! That bicher tank is freakin' sweet! Those fish are sooo cool. The windelov looks incredible in there on the lace rock. What kinda cat is that peeking out from the cave, bottom left, 8th & 9th pic.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

clwatkins10 said:


> Wow! That bicher tank is freakin' sweet! Those fish are sooo cool. The windelov looks incredible in there on the lace rock. What kinda cat is that peeking out from the cave, bottom left, 8th & 9th pic.


Thanks! The poly's are some of my favorite fish. They remind me of water dragons. I am looking at adding a big endlicheri (sp?) to the collection soon. They have great personalities and they way they move around the tank is so much more relaxing than jerky ciclids. Plus they are awesome hunters. I threw 20 large goldfish in there last night and all gone this AM.
I went with the windolev, lava moss and annubis because this is low tech, no CO2 and I dont dose anything but excell on this one. I may start EI if I start to see problems, but I dont want to have excess ferts with no CO2, especially right by the window.
I dont even remember the type of cat he is anymore, but ill try to post a better pic of him later. I have had him for nearly 6 years now. Hes actually the only original inhabitant of that tank. The evolution included mixed ciclids, convict breeder tank, then green terror breeder, and slowly became a poly tank. There is also a 8-9 inch Marble Goby in that tank, another really cool fish.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

Endlis get about 18-20"+...a bit big for a 75, I think.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Cool. Someday I will have a tank with bichirs. You made a nice habitat for them.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!! Came home at lunch to find a massive green dust algae breakout in the osaka. Oh well, new tank set up. was bound for a problem here or there. BUT I DONT HAVE TO BE HAPPY ABOUT IT!
50% WC, excel dose and co2 increase on the way. already dosing EI so should be no deficiencies. wonder if it is the heat maybe? tank has been warm for a few days.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

*9.26 update.*

I did a big trim and cleanup today so thought I would post some pics of how this has grown in. 

































I thought I would try my hand at some detail photos too.

2 flowers on my annubis









sunset hygro

























Camboba flowering?









red ludwidgia tucked in the corner









tall camboba and some scattered bacopia









cherry in the crypts









pennywort 









Tank is thriving with a recent crop of baby red cherry shrimp. Hope you like.
thanks for looking.


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

Wow that looks great! 

GREEEEEN!!!!


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Awesome. That windelov looks like riccia


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

WOW I really like it, and the bichir tank too. Java lace fern is cool! I never really thought much of hygro/ludwiga or whatever is in the right corner, but it looks cool in this tank!





clwatkins10 said:


> Awesome. That windelov looks like riccia


That's actually what I thought it was at first glance, but I knew riccia couldn't be that big...


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

*Update and Rescape 1/10 - Featuring Flowers!*


























Right now I have both camboba and anubis flowering. Pics below.









































Here are some detail shots.


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## aquasox (Sep 3, 2005)

Tank looks Awesome! How the heck to you get Windelov Fern like that? I've never seen it like that! It almost looks like a moss.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

aquasox said:


> Tank looks Awesome! How the heck to you get Windelov Fern like that? I've never seen it like that! It almost looks like a moss.


 
Just lucky I guess! I started with 2 small rhizomes of windolev with a total of 6 leaves. It has just exploded in my tanks. I dose EI with fertz from greenleaf aquariums.

Baby shrimp and endler fry love the windolev to hide in.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

Hey everyone,

I got an exciting offer today. I showed my LFS guy(the one who sold me this tank) pics of this tank and he was so stoked he asked me to build him a display tank in the store. He told me I could have free reign of the store to build and maintain an 80g planted tank display. Its not a paid gig, but I imaginew plenty of perks. How fun to have free reign and have a signature tank in a store! I have to work out the details but I think I am going to do it. If so I will definatly build a journal for it.


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## non_compliance (Dec 1, 2009)

Congrats... that IS a cool thing you can do... just make sure you understand what kind of buzz and sales that can generate for the owner.. he may make a bundle off your hard work... it may be fun to set up, but to maintain and whatnot could get old fast... especially if you're not getting any free merch or anything.

Good luck!!! Tank looks great!


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## JennaH (Sep 28, 2009)

tank looks gorgeous! yea, that does sound like fun but i agree with non_compliance, there's gotta be some perks...


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

Nice tanks! No doubt you will do that LFS proud!


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

*Major Overhaul 2.25.10*

I havent posted any updates for a while but I did a major rescape this week. I got really tired of some of my fast growers that dominate the tank. So I yanked all the susnet hygro and pennywort. I also got some alternanthera from a certain mod(can u guess who?) and I replaced what I removed with that. 

Here is the mess i started with

















with the pennywort growing all the way down to my qt tank. gotta admit, this is cool..










I took out all the hygro and pennywort, along with a big annubis. I moved the crypts back in tight around the driftwood and amazon sword. I filled the right corner(missing pennywort) in with bacopia which should grow in nicely.
The big space I cleared was to make room for the alternanthea. I cut the camboba super short because it grows ridiculiously fast. I think it will look good in contract to the red once they both grow in a little.

Here is the finished product.



































Here are some inhabitants. This shrimp shot is the best tank shot I have ever got.

















Some Threadfin Rainbows Flaring next to a few neon's.










Two endlers caught in the act. FOR SHAME!!









More rainbows by the limno..










Thats all for now. Hope you like the changes. I will post progress as it grows in...


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Nice, looks well done.


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## crossbow (Nov 29, 2009)

I love love love this tank.


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## narhay (Feb 28, 2007)

I like the overgrown jungle look. Everything just looks so healthy.


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

Looks awesome! I know you are enjoying the heck out of this tank. Hope the flat screen is holding up also. 

I'm going to take a stab and guess the alternanthera came from Glenn. :red_mouth He holds the secret to growing that stuff. Isn't it crazy to see all that red after looking at green for so long? I bet it will grow in quickly. 

I'm sad the pennywort chain from tank to tank is gone though. That was cool!


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## 89Rome (Feb 26, 2010)

I just read through the whole thread and loved it. Your tank is really nice. Haha I'm glad you got that tv too.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

Thanks everyone for the comments!




fastfreddie said:


> Looks awesome! I know you are enjoying the heck out of this tank. Hope the flat screen is holding up also.
> 
> I'm going to take a stab and guess the alternanthera came from Glenn. :red_mouth He holds the secret to growing that stuff. Isn't it crazy to see all that red after looking at green for so long? I bet it will grow in quickly.
> 
> I'm sad the pennywort chain from tank to tank is gone though. That was cool!


roud:_I'm going to take a stab and guess the alternanthera came from Glennroud:_

I am pretty stoked on the red plants. I actually had some decent color before, the pics just really dont show the pink in the hygro or the red in the ludwidgia. The new stuff definately stands out tho. 


Only problem with the pennywort chain was that there were no leaves left inside the tank, just stringy stems. Thats kind of the weak light corner of my tank and nothing does too well there. I do still have both the hygro and pennywort in my QT tank, so there is always a chance it could go back in someday. I wouldnt mind using it in my bichir tank, but I have to get rid of the common plego thats ravaging my anubis. He would take down the pennywort in minutes.

Ill try to post a grow in pic tonight. The damn camboba is already at the top of the tank. (10+ inches in a week...no wonder its on the noxious invasive weed list.) I also got a good shot of a super prego RCS.


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## TRENT (Nov 25, 2009)

Sweet tank, love the landscape too. I want one! :drool:


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

*1 week later!*

Grown in well after 1 week with the alternanthea (these pics are from last week and Im finally posting them). Look at that ridiculious camboba, grows so fast i think you can see it actually growing in the picture!


































Preggers!


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## fastfreddie (Sep 10, 2008)

Man that looks sweet!


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## shane3fan (Nov 2, 2009)

Hey, I dont mean to alarm you, but I think I see a snail in your tank. LOL.

Cool tank, looks nice.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

this is a dutch tank right?


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

shane3fan said:


> Hey, I dont mean to alarm you, but I think I see a snail in your tank. LOL.
> 
> Cool tank, looks nice.


 
SNAIL???? SNEAKY DEVIL! WHERE? Just kidding. Only ramshorns, and I figure "If you cant beat em, breed em!" I am working on a bright orange strain. They really dont bother me and they keep the old leaves on the annubis algae free(kinda).




problemman said:


> this is a dutch tank right?


Dutch Aquarium Systems? Not that I know of. I think Hagen makes Fluval Tanks. Here is a link to the tank description from an online vendor. 
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Fluval-Osaka-320-Bent-Glass-Aquarium-Set#


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

tank looks awsome!


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

"Dutch Aquarium Systems? Not that I know of. I think Hagen makes Fluval Tanks. Here is a link to the tank description from an online vendor. 
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Fluval-...
I think he may mean Dutch style aquascaping.


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## SlukBunWalla (Sep 9, 2006)

Your tank shots made me like cabomba again!


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

SlukBunWalla said:


> Your tank shots made me like cabomba again!


 
LOL thats because your not trimming and replanting it weekly! Damn weed grows like a menace but I love the delicate leaf structure.

So my newest dilemma is how to move this tank to the other side of the room. The Osaka stand does not slide easily and I have a spanish tile floor thats very textured and does not help the sliding either. I really wish I had planned the room layout better than I did. I dont want to take the tank off the stand to move it. Does anyone know if those furniture sliders can handle several hundred lbs? (Obviously I will take almost all the H2O out first, I just dont want to have to catch all the fish and shrimp and remove all the substrate.)


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## benon (Feb 18, 2010)

The osaka tank is amazing.

And the scape inside it has some nice plant bunches and layers. Definitely something I'd want in my living room.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

Major overhaul yesterday. My tank had an invasive species type disaster (endlers and large SAE). The rogue SAE decided to destroy my whole tank. He killed all my shrimp, and ripped up my whole hairgrass field. He was very net savy and I couldnt catch him. I tried nets, traps and everything short of a tiny hook. 
I also put endler/guppies in the tank and that was a HUGE mistake. They nipped and picked away at my plants and stressed out my threadfin rainbows to the point of near extinction. I was so disenchanted I let the tank go for months and it was an overgrown mess. Bad enough that pictures would prob get me booted from the forum so I didnt take before pics. 
I decided to get motivated yesterday and tried again to catch the SAE. Determination set in and I ended up with every single piece of plant mass and driftwood out of the tank..and still had a hard time catching him. Ultimately the little cancer was removed, along with most of the Endlers (just a few fry left). The endlers are in my 20g QT tank to set up feeder population for my bichirs. So now I have a blank scape to start all over again.
I rescaped everything, including new drfitwood positions. I removed the giant sword, the annubis and put them in my 110g bichir tank along with some really long ludwidgia stems. I took out the alternanthea completly. The amount of ferts required to keep it nice loooking makes everything else in my tank grow way to fast. I am going for a less maintenance approach this time.
So now I am down to red ludwidgia, windolev, limno, bacopia caronilia, crypt and hairgrass. I have so little hairgrass left its really sad. I want a huge bed of it now and its gonna take forever to regrow.
I took the LFS a ton of leftover plants and got about $45 credit. I got 12 threadfins and got a discount on a new light for the 20g QT.
I like the new scape, I think the wood is much more prominent. I expect it to look better as it grows in and my limno recovers from neglect. I want a huge grass field so that will be a work in progress.

Prepare yourself for the shock...there is a lot less plant mass in the tank right now. Just remember...it will grow back.


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## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

new pics added above.


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## Sharkbait-ooHAHA (Sep 15, 2010)

I have a fluval osaka as well. It's a very nice tank...although it's starting to develop scratches from goodness knows what. I don't think I'm scrubbing off the green spot algae that hard 

I wanted to ask about a top for this tank. Do you recommend it? I've had several fish decide to jump ship and have had a hard time finding a solution to this. I like the open top. I don't really want to put a glass top on because I think it will lessen the amount of light going in.


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## kaiphil201 (Apr 25, 2011)

what kind of CO2 system you have on that setup - just curious.


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