# 150 Gallon - My First Serious Try - New Photos (8 July)



## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

I was really inspired when I first saw a beautifully planted tank. I didn't know that something like that was possible. I attempted a 75 gallon planted tank, but because of the narrow dimension, it was frustrating to place plants. However, I learned some valuable lessons from all the mistakes I made. I expect to make many more mistakes, but I think this will be a rewarding project for me. 

I don't know why I feel the need to share this experience, but I think somehow this journal will add to my enjoyment of doing this project. Hopefully, it will also contribute to the collective knowledge on planted tanks (at least the lessons learned).

[Edit] High resolution photos hosted on imgur.com.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

*The Tank*

I bought a 150 gallon tank back in November 2011. I intended to set it up during Christmas time, but due to a death in the family, I didn't start the set up until March 2012. In the mean time, I built a wooden stand for the tank, which is functional, but not pretty - I envy those people who have the skill and patience to build such beautiful stands for their tanks.

The tank dimension is 6x2x2 (approximately).

This is my tank (with my DIY LED)


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

*Diy led*

It's amazing how many mini-projects must be completed to accomplish the final vision. My first task was to obtain suitable lighting for the tank. I was impressed with LED lighting for their shimmer and efficiency. I decided to make my own lights since it was less expensive and I would be entertained by building it. I detailed the DIY LED build here.

Here is a photo of the finished LED build.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Looks like it's going to be a superb-looking tank - keep the pics coming as you progress.
What are your thoughts on stocking it ?


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

I hope this build will be satisfactory. My experience so far with planted tanks is marginal, but I have my hopes. I already have some plants ready to go, but most are all in little tubs waiting for their new home. I have mosses (xmas, peacock, taiwan, fissidens), ferns (java, bolbitis), anubias, crypts, and some bulb plants. I tend to have collectoritis (??), so the challenge is to keep the tank looking less junky. We'll see how it goes. As for fish, I'm not committed with anything other than algae cleaning crew.


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

Tank that size needs pretty fish! Big school of angels or discus would look awesome

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

I love angel fish and tetras, so they are definite possibilities. However, I want to keep the tank at a lower temp (78 degrees), so I think discuses are out. Not sure if cardinal tetras will be ok at that temp. I have sent many fish to the next world, so I will take my time on populating this tank to make certain that I have the right conditions. This is a lesson from my other tank. (poor fish)


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

Just curious - why do you feel the need to keep the tank at lower temps than discus thrive in?
That would be an absolute superb tank for keeping a dozen or more adult discus, along with several schools of the tankmates that you like - such as Cardinals and a ground crew of Cories.
Many species of fish and plants can, and will, do well at temps of 82 or higher - won't you just think about it - I for one would be very pleased to help out.
It would make for an awesome showpiece !
Just to give you a little food for thought - here's my 75 gal low-tech planted discus tank - half the size of what you have - yours could easily put mine to shame:
http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/Sept2011


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

It looks as if your off to a good start, BTW I just lowered my temp to 75 and I like the result, some plants are much happier.

If Angel fish are your thing you should check out www.angelsplus.com they have a great selection of fish and breeding supplies, their site is a little different so take a good look.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

Wow, those discus fish are amazing. If I didn't know better, I would have thought those were saltwater fish. Thanks for sharing those pictures.

I have kept (past tense!) discus fish, but my experience level is not there yet. I do think they are so beautiful, but with my inexperience I am hesitant to try again until I have some more confidence. Believe me, I really do want to try again. 

As for 78 degrees, I was under the impression that plants grow better at lower temperatures, especially mosses, which I find very attractive (I think my electric bill will become more attractive as well). Ultimately, nothing is cast in stone, so I may change my mind (as I have so often done). I really appreciate your feedback.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

150EH said:


> It looks as if your off to a good start, BTW I just lowered my temp to 75 and I like the result, some plants are much happier.
> 
> If Angel fish are your thing you should check out www.angelsplus.com they have a great selection of fish and breeding supplies, their site is a little different so take a good look.


Wow, thanks for the link for angelfish. I didn't know about them, but I'm very interested. A school of angles would look pretty awesome.

hmmmm ... angelfish? discus?


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I like the Halfbacks, you rarely see them in a tank.

Mosses do respond well to cooler temps and it makes it a little harder to grow algae, but not much!


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

In a 150 gal tank - why not both, Angels and Discus ? - would make an amazing display !
Can be successfully done without problems. 
And if you're concerned about your experience level, don't fret - discus, especially larger-sized, more mature ones, are hardy and quite easy to keep.
Think about it !
I'd be glad to walk you through it, if you're so inclined.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

Those halfback angelfish stood out to me right away. I think the wild-cross angels look nice as well. So many choices ...

Unfortunately, I grow algae really well, so anything to reduce them would be much appreciated (even if only a little). This is information that I have not come across yet, so thank you for the tip.


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

discuspaul said:


> In a 150 gal tank - why not both, Angels and Discus ? - would make an amazing display !
> Can be successfully done without problems.
> And if you're concerned about your experience level, don't fret - discus, especially larger-sized, more mature ones, are hardy and quite easy to keep.
> Think about it !
> I'd be glad to walk you through it, if you're so inclined.


haha this guy look out for him 

Heck yea angels and discus would look great, buying adult discus would definitely take out the learning curve they just cost a little more. there is also someone on the board whose name escapes me that has been keeping his tank at 79 with discus

Personally my 125 has discus, cardinals, corys, Dario loach and serpae tetras all of which seem to have no issue with 82 degrees 

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

I think I read a thread about keeping discus fish at lower temperatures without harm to the fish. But I think the discussion was controversial. I'll probably start with a school of angels and then see how it goes. My real concern is the inevitable fight with algae.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

*Driftwood*

I posted in another thread about my plan to point the driftwood down, like roots. I have committed to this and this is how it looked in the tank before the gravel went it.









I'll cut the zip ties once I get the placement exactly right.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

You'll be fine just don't get over excited and take your time to make sure the tank has enough bio-filter to handle any stocking load. If you mail order fish they all come at once so it will be important to be completely ready and have a good fish load prior to your show fish. If you add a good amount of plants and have a good substrate your fight with algae will be easy, short photo periods, and good filtration and flow.

I've alway thought Discus needed higher temps to, like 82-84 degrees is rattling around in my head for some reason.

The layout looks nice so far, flip it around and live with it for a couple of days each time.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

Those are great tips about the fish. At the rate I am going, I won't be ready for fish for a while yet. I am definitely taking my time this go around.

I have positioned the driftwood in many ways and I determined that I really like how they look now after several weeks of just looking at them. :icon_eek: Since the pictures up to now are already at least a month old, you'll see in my next few posts where I am with the build now.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

*Substrate*

I opted for Eco-complete for substrate. This is what I have in my 75 gallon tank and I have been very pleased with its performance. I bought 14 bags from Petco, which I had been storing for several weeks while I finished working on the stand. When I finally poured the bags into the tank, I ended up with about 3.5 inches of substrate.

Making the stand was a bit of a hassle, but it's done now (my carpentry skills are sorely lacking). I made the stand with 2x4 and 2x6 with plywood skin. I used 3/4" neoprene foam to line the bottom of the tank to ensure even support all the way around. I also added leveling feet (5000 pound capacity each) to level the stand. The only thing is that the stand is merely functional, but not pretty. :icon_neut Still, it will hold the tank which I calculated to be less than 2000 pounds once filled with water.


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## kwheeler91 (May 26, 2009)

You could do just about any fish with a tank that size. A lot of little fish in a bigger tank is always better than a few bigger fish IMO. But thats just me


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

*Memorial Day Weekend*

I had some time to put more work into the tank this past weekend. So with the completion of the stand and pouring of the substrate, I opted for a dry start method. I wish I took a photo of the tank before the plants were placed into the substrate. Oh well. Here is a shot of the tank as it was yesterday.

Plants include HC, crypts, downoi, and couple unknown plants (which are not doing too well).

Oh, another project is to hang the lights from the ceiling so that I don't have to use those upside down planter boxes (very tacky :icon_redf). I still need to cut the zip ties.









I think this brings me up to date on where I am with this tank.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Great start so far! Scape has some great potential :thumbsup:


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

CL said:


> Great start so far! Scape has some great potential :thumbsup:


Thanks for the encouragement. I posted all my progress in one day, but it has taken me almost six months to get to this point. Hopefully, I can live up to the potential. I am a little afraid of the coming pitfalls.



kwheeler91 said:


> You could do just about any fish with a tank that size. A lot of little fish in a bigger tank is always better than a few bigger fish IMO. But thats just me


When I look at the driftwood with all the fine little branches, I do imagine only small fish will look to the scale and that larger fish may break the illusion of a large tree root. It is something to consider while I wait for the plants to start growing.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

*One Bad LED*

I was about to hang the LED lights today when I noticed that one of the Cree XML LEDs was much dimmer than the others. I popped off the lens (fortunately it came off without too much trouble) and examined the LED. Looking at it, there was certainly something wrong with it, as there was a black spot in the LED dome. I don't know how this happened, but fortunately I had spares. It took me 15 minutes to solder in a new one. Even though this took little time to fix, I never did get to work on the hanger tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

Here is the bad LED. The solder pads on the left and right are where I had the wires. The pads at the top are where I originally had the wires before I realized that the XML lens requires the solder joints to be on opposite ends. The solder pads at the bottom have some of the adhesive from the lens sticking on them.


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## izabella87 (Apr 21, 2012)

Wawawiwa, those branches.. I like !


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

*Let There Be Light*

I finally made the hanger for my LED lights. I have to say I am very satisfied with the results. I used 3/4" electrical pipes and elbows to make a suspension rack (don't know what else to call it). I used pipe holders to secure the pipes to the frame of the stand. Here are some photos.
















What was so lucky was that the heads of the screws on the pipe couplers slid right through the aluminum track that I'm using to hold the LED rails together. I was going to use steel cables to hang the LEDs before I saw that the screw heads would slide right into the track. Here are some photos of the coupler and how the couplers fit into the aluminum track.
















I hid the LED wires by fishing it through the hollow pipe.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

*Saturday AM*

I read about starting mosses emersed and that it was relatively simple. So I decided to try with some Fissidens and mini-Xmas moss. Here is a photo of the mosses placed on the branches of the driftwood. I may regret this because these wood pieces have not been aged, so there will definitely be some of that wood fungus. I don't know if the fungus will interfere with the mosses, but this will be a good little experiment. I saved most of the mosses in case this does not work out too well for me. I covered the forward branches with Fissidens and the mini-Xmas moss towards the rear. I did not cover all the branches since I want some exposed wood to give contrast.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I think the mosses will survive with no problem but the wood will want to float for a while.

I like the LED's they are sleek and transparent, do they appear to cast enought light?


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

Thank you for the reassurance. I should have soaked the wood, but I was impatient. I figured that the wood will float, so I have some rocks ready. 

I think the lights are sufficiently bright, but if I really have to, I think I can squeeze our a little more light from the LED with a higher current LED drivers ($$$). I should know better in a week or so when the HC grows in (or not). I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Here is a picture of the front right corner for comparison later. It's been only a few days since I put in the HC, but they appear to be doing OK.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Where did you buy your lights and what did they cost you, if you don't mind. The plants look good and I'm sure they will fill in quickly with a good substrate.

I have Fissiden on my DW and I rarely trim it because it's hard to retrieve the bits, I have some other very slow growing mosses on what looks like a root that can be removed and trimmed, but the Christmas moss on you DW will look great but it may be a pain to trim. I watch a video on Amano's maintenance while waiting for a tank to mature, it was all Crypts and they used a small stiff hose kinda like the Lee's thin wall tubing and it was connected to a siphon, they would just circle every plant sucking up melted leaves ,etc. it was a nice way to clean a deep tank and something to keep in mind for both of us. There's nothing worse than relaxing watching you tank as moss tumbleweeds roll past and they attach to everything.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Beautiful start, love the root look to your wood, awesome job on the LED.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

150EH said:


> Where did you buy your lights and what did they cost you, if you don't mind.


Those are DIY lights using Cree XML LEDs. I put some details in this thread. I think by now, I may have spent about $600 on these lights (ouch, figuring that out hurts my wallet). As for the trimming, I hope the mosses grow enough so that I need to trim. I like the idea about using a siphon to clean. 



2in10 said:


> Beautiful start, love the root look to your wood, awesome job on the LED.


I appreciate your encouragement. I think this is probably the easy part. Not sure what to expect once the water goes in.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

Since I'm mostly waiting for the plants in the 150G to grow in, I decided to try this mini-project. Let's see what happens.


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## ps3steveo (Apr 22, 2011)

What wattage LED's did you use on this?


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

ps3steveo said:


> What wattage LED's did you use on this?


I am using Cree XML LEDs. They are rated nominally up to about 10 watts. I am currently running the LEDs at 2.5 amps, which results in 7.5 watts per LED.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

Here are some updated photos of my tank. I attached more plants to the driftwood. I also put some Fissidens on the substrate along the borders of the HC and planted Crypts in the middle. Other plants include Anubias, Bolbitis, and peacock moss. I had mini Bolbitis along one of the branches, but that was replaced with Anubias.

I uploaded several high resolution pictures here, which are updated with the latest photos.


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## styxx (Jul 2, 2003)

Subscribed. This is one that I'm going to have to follow. I love that driftwood, wow!


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

styxx said:


> Subscribed. This is one that I'm going to have to follow. I love that driftwood, wow!


I got those Manzanita branches from the flower market in downtown LA where I was able to choose from a very large selection. Each one cost about $25. If I had shopped around more, I might have found a better deal, but you know the saying, "time is money." Regardless, these looked acceptable at the time and now I have become accustomed to them (sounds like a relationship). 

I still need to cut the zip ties where the branches are tied together. I plan to attach NLJF in the cruxes of where the branches touch and put mosses on the ends to hide the cut ends on the wood. I might attach some Riccia at the very top where one of the branches will break the water surface. At least that is the plan now (how long before Fissidens start showing signs of life?).


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

Awesome tank! I'd do 150 boraras brigittae. Now that would be awesome. That and a pair of German blue rams. 

Keep us updated, I will be watching this one.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

Couesfanatic said:


> Awesome tank! I'd do 150 boraras brigittae. Now that would be awesome. That and a pair of German blue rams.
> 
> Keep us updated, I will be watching this one.


Thanks for the complement. I hope I can live up to the potential. I think fish are about two months (or more) away from now. In the mean time, I still have to set up the overflow, sump and filter. Also, I need to figure out how I will inject the CO2 into the water. If I procrastinate, I may be looking at a terrarium until Halloween.


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## Kwitzats (Apr 23, 2012)

I am so jealous! Wish I had the space for a large tank.


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## mrduna01 (Nov 27, 2011)

Love it so far keep us updated!


discuspaul said:


> Just curious - why do you feel the need to keep the tank at lower temps than discus thrive in?
> That would be an absolute superb tank for keeping a dozen or more adult discus, along with several schools of the tankmates that you like - such as Cardinals and a ground crew of Cories.
> Many species of fish and plants can, and will, do well at temps of 82 or higher - won't you just think about it - I for one would be very pleased to help out.
> It would make for an awesome showpiece !
> ...


Actually discuspaul convinced me NOT to give discus a try. His posts convinced me that if I can only afford small juveniles that the work and water changes it required would make it more of a chore than a relaxing hobby which would only be hightened in a planted setup. They are beautiful though! 

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

Kwitzats said:


> I am so jealous! Wish I had the space for a large tank.


Believe me. I don't have the space either, but I'm squeezing it in. I finally gave in to the need ... :icon_eek:



mrduna01 said:


> Love it so far keep us updated!
> Actually discuspaul convinced me NOT to give discus a try. His posts convinced me that if I can only afford small juveniles that the work and water changes it required would make it more of a chore than a relaxing hobby which would only be hightened in a planted setup. They are beautiful though!


Thanks for the encouragement. I would love to have discus fish, but they are too hard. And I think I like growing plants more than keeping fish, so I want to try lower temperatures to see how that works out. I can always go back.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

Tank looks amazing and can't wait till you have the logistics figured out and this thing filled with water. Good luck man, I'm sure you can't disappoint!!!


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

Time for an update ...

As I looked at the tank, I decided that the substrate needed some hardscape. I went to my local building supply store and picked up some stones for $5 and arranged them with the driftwood. Of course, in the process, I managed to set back some of the HC and mosses on the driftwood. I had to also cut the zip ties holding the driftwood and replace them with wires temporarily. I will get some really long zip ties to secure the driftwood before I flood the tank. 

I posted 4 new hi-res photos here.

This is what my tank looks like now.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

It's looking good, are you going to use a background or is it viewable all around?


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

150EH said:


> It's looking good, are you going to use a background or is it viewable all around?


The tank is coming along, but I still have so much to do. I wake up every day thinking about how I will do the underside with the sump, CO2, heaters, etc.

This tank is in a weird location since my house is so small. Since it is not filled yet, I suppose there is opportunity to relocate it, but this is really the most convenient place, which is in front of an opening to another room area.

I considered a background, but for now I'm leaving it alone until I get the other things completed.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

*UPS and post man brought some presents*

The stainless steel mesh arrived today. I bought 6 square feet for $41. I don't know if I will ever use all of it, but I think I might have used up close to one square foot today. Also the plants from Aqua Forest Aquarium arrived.

I worked most of this afternoon and evening laying out Fissidens and flame moss on the SS mesh. Also, I attached the Taiwanese aquatic fern (Crepidomanes auriculatun) on one of the driftwood. Here are some photos (hi-res photots here)

Fissidens are on various shaped pieces of SS mesh. I thought the typical rectangular shape was not as easily usable in scaping.








Flame moss was placed on diamond shaped SS mesh, which I though might work out better in my arrangement process. I wish I had done that with the Fissidens.








Taiwanese aquatic moss looks like it was grown submersed. I hope it will survive being emersed while this tank sets up.


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## green_valley (Sep 14, 2011)

I can't wait until they grow and fill in.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

green_valley said:


> I can't wait until they grow and fill in.


You think you can't wait? :hihi: I look in the tank every 10 minutes wondering if anything grew. Then I spray some water on the plants feeling frustrated.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

fizzout said:


> You think you can't wait? :hihi: I look in the tank every 10 minutes wondering if anything grew. Then I spray some water on the plants feeling frustrated.


lol, i did the same thing when i started my tank


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

It's been about four weeks since I started my dry start, and I have few things to report.

1) *LED* died on one string. I thought it was the Meanwell ELN-60-27P, but I determined that it was one of the LEDs, which I replaced. I was able to figure this out because I bought another power supply which didn't fix the original problem.
2) *Taiwanese aquatic fern* is not doing well. Different from what I expected, the stems are rotting even though the leaves look OK. I don't know if the rhizome will survive, but I hope so.
3) *Driftwood* was glued together with BJ Water Weld epoxy. Unfortunately, the epoxy dries white so I put some mosses on the epoxy to hide the joints.
4) *Trident java fern* was placed on one of the driftwood to hide the cut end. 
5) *Mini pellia* was placed on some of the rocks. I also put some other mosses on the other rocks.
6) *Cryptocoryne parva* was planted in a crevice among some of rocks.
7) *Fissidens fontanus* on stainless steel mesh pieces was added. Also, the mini Fissidens on the driftwood are finally taking off. I can see small tufts growing.
8) *Fertilizer* is needed because some of the plants on the driftwood are turning yellow.
9) *Mini Christmas moss* appears to be exactly the same as the *Christmas moss*. Of course I don't know which is which. I took macro photos of both and they look identical. In any case, they have started sending out pods, which I assume are spores. I have fine mosses growing all over the substrate surface. In any case, this moss is really doing well in the emersed condition.
10) *Peacock moss* appears to be acclimating well too.
11) *Flame moss* on stainless steel mesh are doing very well. They are already about 3/8 of an inch tall now.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

*Mini Project*

Here is a photo of the little jar that I started. It contains mini Bolbitis, Anubias "Petite", Christmas moss, and Fissidens fontanus.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

You bought an led power supply for only $30?? That's pretty good!!! Where from?


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

monkeyruler90 said:


> You bought an led power supply for only $30?? That's pretty good!!! Where from?


I bought it on [Ebay Link Removed]. It's an LED driver from China. It was cheap so I am going to give it a try. I saw jcardona1 use something similar for his LED setup (24V 6.5A).


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

That really sucks the driver is dead, did you have to adjust the SVR2 or were your LEDs the exception, actually your driver is a different model so it may not apply to you.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

150EH said:


> That really sucks the driver is dead, did you have to adjust the SVR2 or were your LEDs the exception, actually your driver is a different model so it may not apply to you.


When I first set up the LEDs, I did fiddle with the SVR2 (I think), but I have not tried again since it failed. I should probably open up the case and fiddle with it again to see if that will revive the driver. Still, I probably will change over to the new power supply (once it arrives) to see if my lights get brighter with the increase in current. Hmmm ... how will I measure that?


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I used a Ebay 3w LED rated at 750mA but I used more lights than normal to decrease the amps so my LED's are running at 480mA wide open and will dim to off, I'm going to use them around half throttle so it will be around 240 mA or so. I did have a problem with the dimmer/potentiometer shorting out on the all alumimnum hood but I got around that by insulating.

I know these drivers are really strange the way they strore a little power, I wire my potentionmeter backwards by accident but when I plugged in the light nothing happened, so I unplugged the light and they would start to glow slowly all they way to full power then fade out, strange.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

150EH said:


> I know these drivers are really strange the way they strore a little power, I wire my potentionmeter backwards by accident but when I plugged in the light nothing happened, so I unplugged the light and they would start to glow slowly all they way to full power then fade out, strange.


I know what you mean. When I turn off my lights at night (still not on a timer), the LEDs flash once. It doesn't bother me, but it is odd. I guess it may not do that with a dimmer.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

I added some more high resolution photos on fizzout.imgur.com.

Here are some low res photos.

Christmas moss growing emersed (is this mini Christmas moss?)








Peacock moss growing emersed








Fissidens fontanus growing emersed








Fissidens grandifrons super glued to a rock. 
If anyone has recommendations on how to grow this, I would appreciate the information.








Mini Pellia growing on rocks


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

Here is a wide shot of the tank. I didn't bother wiping down the condensation, but I sort of like the misty look. In case anyone asks, the red oxalis is on a table next to the tank. It's been doing well receiving mostly the spilled light from the LEDs. I guess I can move around some of the house plants to frame the tank. I still haven't received the new power supply, so the first LED string is not working properly.

High resolution photo is posted on fizzout.imgur.com.


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## dannylc (Jul 9, 2012)

Very nice!


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Wow, i'm really suprised you haven't flooded this tank yet but it's looking good.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

dannylc said:


> Very nice!


Thanks. So far, I am satisfied with the progress except for the thought of what has to happen eventually ...



150EH said:


> Wow, i'm really suprised you haven't flooded this tank yet but it's looking good.


:icon_redf I know. I'm a bit afraid to flood it. I still have to finish my work on the overflow plumbing, sump, CO2 reactor, and dozens of other smaller tasks. As long as I can postpone the flood, I have more time to accomplish some of these tasks. But I feel the pressure.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Hurry up!


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

jcgd said:


> Hurry up!


Yikes ...


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Haha, I want to see this lovely tank flooded. You are aware that the moss will look very different submerged, right? And it grows faster too. Just sayin', in case you didn't already know.

It's a nice setup. I'm digging the LED fixture. It's industrial looking, but clean too.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

jcgd said:


> Haha, I want to see this lovely tank flooded. You are aware that the moss will look very different submerged, right? And it grows faster too. Just sayin', in case you didn't already know.
> 
> It's a nice setup. I'm digging the LED fixture. It's industrial looking, but clean too.


Thanks for the kind words.  Actually, I'm anxious to flood it too so that I can see how the plants and mosses grow in water. It will be a whole new challenge. 

I've been researching how to build a filter/sump. I have a CPR overflow box ready to go, but I still need to get hose attachments for it. Once I have these done, I think I can flood. In the mean time, that should allow the rose moss to take hold, which I just put in this past weekend. tick tick tick


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Sometime when you have all the parts piled up it seems like a huge task but after you dive in and start to get it done it's not that bad. It is good to wait and think, you would not believe how many time I go over problems in my sleep and wake up with the answer, by the time I actually start it goes super smooth.


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## mommabear1007 (Nov 8, 2011)

wow, what a tank! i want to subscribe to this if you don't mind.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

mommabear1007 said:


> wow, what a tank! i want to subscribe to this if you don't mind.


Thanks for your complement. This certainly is a long running project. And thanks for subscribing to this thread. I too enjoy following a lot of the fantastic tank journals.


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

150EH said:


> Sometime when you have all the parts piled up it seems like a huge task but after you dive in and start to get it done it's not that bad. It is good to wait and think, you would not believe how many time I go over problems in my sleep and wake up with the answer, by the time I actually start it goes super smooth.


I know what you mean. In the last day, I remembered that I have an extra canister filter I can use until the overflow box and the sump are worked out. And making the sump probably won't be so hard as it seems in my mind. ... but still ...


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## fizzout (Jun 7, 2011)

*Fissidens nobilis and geppi*

I just received two new Fissidens, Fissidens nobilis and Fissidens geppi. I am pretty excited about these liverworts, but I'm not too sure where in the tank I am going to put them. This may postpone my flooding the tank some more, unless I figure out another way to incorporate these into the tank. Here is a photo of the two Fissidens.

If anyone has tips on how to grow these, I would really appreciate the information. I wasn't too sure if I would like F. nobilis, but it looks pretty cool. It looks a little like Fontinalis. I really like the geppi. It is really beautiful.

I put a high resolution photo on fizzout.imgur.com.

Fissidens nobilis on the left and Fissidens geppi on the right.


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## bluediscus (Jul 31, 2009)

Nice thread fizzout. Any updates on your progress? I have the same dimension tank and have been struggling with lighting it properly. I'm seriously considering doing the same LED build as yours. Would you say you have enough lights to grow your current plant selection (crpts, mosses, ferns, anubias)? Any changes you would consider for your lights (different colors, royal blues, reds, more or less leds)?


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## EngineChauffer (Apr 3, 2013)

I know this journal is kinda old but I would love to see an update as well. Super impressed with those DIY LED's. The amount and clarity of the light is staggering. Looks fantastic!


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