# Max's Machu Picchu Tank



## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

I figure is it probably a good time to start my journal. 

I got interested in planted tanks about a year ago, and I gave it a shot on a turtle tank, which as you can imagine turned into a mess because my dumb turtle just pulls everything up for no good reason. I got frustrated and let the tank do its own thing and it looks crappy now, but at least the turtle seems to enjoy it.










So a few months ago, I got the uncontrollable urge to spend too much money and started browsing craigslist for tanks. There were a ton of 55 gal tanks and I was tempted, but I really wanted something with depth. I found an Oceanic 58 gallon tank, with a Red Sea Max 250 stand for $200. I picked it up that day. I went to a local landscaping supply yard and picked out some interesting rocks. I also carefully cut out the humongous "Reef Ready" overflow box that was in the tank. I also found an Odyssea 4-T5 light on CL for $50 and scooped it up. We'll see how well it works. 










I was inspired by some of the tanks on the AGA aquascaping contest, and I wanted to create something that looked dramatic, like a landscape, but not as barren as a normal Iwagumi tank. This is what I had in mind:










In my mind, I have an over grown Machu Picchu with schools of fish swimming by.










I ordered some parts, and got to work a week or so later. The tank was pre drilled so I drilled two holes in the stand for the plumbing, and installed the filter outlet, and drain. I used true unions and ball valves to ensure that I will be able to service the tank without making a mess. I also installed an outlet behind the tank so the wires are well hidden. 


























I want CO2 in this tank and I just happened to have a large assortment of regulators, fittings, solenoids, and other gismos from projects I have had in the past that turned out to be too ambitious. I was able to peice together this rig for no cost.










So that's where it sits for now. I am debating whether to mineralize my soil and I'll probably buy plants this week. I cant wait to get this thing filled up!


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## dprais1 (Sep 12, 2012)

I've been thinking of doing a similar theme. 

My thought was to buy natural clay tiles and use a tile saw to cut a gazillion little bricks, use a file to add some distress and smooth all the edges, then create little buildings


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

dprais1 said:


> I've been thinking of doing a similar theme.
> 
> My thought was to buy natural clay tiles and use a tile saw to cut a gazillion little bricks, use a file to add some distress and smooth all the edges, then create little buildings


Now that would be awesome.


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## Conrad283 (Dec 10, 2012)

Should be a pretty stellar build


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

A couple more to show off the stand. Put some water in today to test for leaks.


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## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

off to a great start!


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

Well I kind of went full retard while shopping for plants and strayed from my original plan to have only short small leafed plants to give a sense of scale. It seemed like I could not find a place that had all of the plants I was lookig for at the same time, namely, dwarf hair grass, glosso, blyxa japonica, and staurogyne repens (nobody has this stuff. Argh!). 

So I ended up just picking out a bunch of stuff I thought looked cool. The final layout will be determined by what survives since this will be a learning experience, and I am fairly certain not everything will grow as planned. The fine leaved plants could maybe look like a grove of trees or something. Regardless, it should make for nice hiding spots for the fish. 

Here's the list:

4 | Eleocharis parvula, Dwarf Hair grass, 

1 | HYGROPHILA CORYMBOSA STRICTA, 

1 | CABOMBA PALAEFORMIS, purple Cabomba,

1 | Foxtail 'Green' (Myriophyllum Pinnatum) 

1 | MAYACA FLUVIATILIS, 

1 | Anacharis narrow Leaf, Egeria Nanas, 

1 | Dwarf Lily Plant (Nymphaea stellata) 

3 | GLOSSOSTIGMA ELATINOIDES, 

1 | Cryptocoryne undulata, 


The only ones I am not really certain about keeping are the hygrophila cambosa and dwarf lily because I am worried about them being too big and leafy for my tastes, and the Cryptocorne undulata because it kind of looks like it's dead in most of the pictures I see on the web. 

They should be here in a couple of days so I got started on a weak attempt to mineralize some soil. I put a bag of scotts topsoil, miracle grow organic, and some good ol' Georgia red clay from the back yard in a garbage can outside and filled it with water. I did my best to remove all of the bark and chips that floated up but it seems like that is all that was in the bags. Going to dump it out on the tarp tonight and let it dry. I dont think I'll have time to go through the whole process but maybe I'll have half mineralized soil? Not too concerned about it as I see lots of people having success with soil straight out of the bag. More to come...


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

I remember that awesome piece of driftwood in the turtle tank from an older post! 

Sorry the planted turtle tank thing didn't workout. My situation was similar, got frustrated with my turtle ripping up everything and started a 30g planted tank.


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

Yea, everyone said it wouldn't work, but me being the stubborn SOB that I am just wouldn't listen.


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## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

I like this plan...sounds like this is going to be a good one


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## Neatfish (Jun 22, 2012)

Dig it. Hey if you can't go see Mach Picchu why not bring it to you.


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## sc91006 (Nov 8, 2011)

Are you planning to upgrade to a 5 or 10lb CO2 tank. For a tank that size a paintball canister wouldn't cut it. Anyways, keep updating the post.


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

sc91006 said:


> Are you planning to upgrade to a 5 or 10lb CO2 tank. For a tank that size a paintball canister wouldn't cut it. Anyways, keep updating the post.


I probably will in the future, but at the moment I am using what I have lying around. I just happened to have about 10 of these from a paintball Gatling gun I tried to build a while back. Once I replenish my cash reserves, i'll probably spring for a bigger one. 

I do have a couple old oxy acetylene tanks in my back yard. You think someone would be willing to fill them with co2?


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## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

maximusprime said:


>


Wanting to ask your thoughts on why the shut off valves are under the unions?

After seeing the post you made in the frat thread excited to see how this turns out.:smile:


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## Brich999 (Mar 17, 2013)

Nice start, I am picking up a tank with the same dimensions tomorrow, and went back on forth on reef ready or not, with intentions of removing overflow. The only reason I went with undrilled is to run lily pipes and remove surface scum, any worries on that here? I wish I could plumb through the bottom and hide everything.

Great start, I'll definitely be interested to see is come together


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

wkndracer said:


> Wanting to ask your thoughts on why the shut off valves are under the unions?
> 
> After seeing the post you made in the frat thread excited to see how this turns out.:smile:


This was taken mid way through the plumbing. I am using 2 unions for each pipe.











And in other news....


PLANTS!


















DIRT!











I'll be planting tomorrow. Can't wait! I put the plants in some water from my other tank until they cna go into their new home. I have to say, I am very happy with Planted Tank Central. They shipped very quickly, and the were packed very well. The quality looks top notch.


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

Brich999 said:


> Nice start, I am picking up a tank with the same dimensions tomorrow, and went back on forth on reef ready or not, with intentions of removing overflow. The only reason I went with undrilled is to run lily pipes and remove surface scum, any worries on that here? I wish I could plumb through the bottom and hide everything.
> 
> Great start, I'll definitely be interested to see is come together


Honestly, if I had the choice (or the money), I would have gone with the non-reef ready tank and had it drilled. I really like the fact that everything will be hidden, and I am hoping the surface movement will help keep the scum to a minimum. The reef ready box was absurdly huge and I have a lot of concerns about the seals as I had to damage them slightly to get it out. I patched them with aquarium silicone and I have tested it for 3 days with no leaks so I think it will be ok. 

Glad to see another 58 gallon! I think it is a great size.


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## binbin9 (Jan 31, 2012)

interesting, about a week ago I thought how cool it would be to see a scape that mimicked machu picchu and then...

here you go. I'll be very interested in seeing how this turns out.


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

Planted today!









And filled her up.










And here she is. A little cloudy but looking good so far.




























Does't quite look like Machu Picchu but I'm pleased with it. Got the filter set up too. The flow is not as strong as I would like so I'll probably put this one back on the turtle tank. I ordered a new 570gph Sun Sun to go on this one. SHould be here next week some time.


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

Serpae ho down.


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

Time for an update boys and girls.

The tank has been planted for 7 days and it is EXPLODING! I have to give a shout out to Planted Aquariums Central for some awesome plants, packed very well, shipped quickly, and super healthy!

So without further ado, here are the latest crappy cellphone shots:


























As you can imagine, I have spent many hours in these chairs


















And a few close ups


























My favorite little guy, the dwarf puffer. I was worried that he would be a serial killer but so far, so good. No casualties.


















I am having some hair algae, and the water is a little cloudy today, but all in all, it is going very smoothly. Also, the filter I bought is overkill. It took a while to position the outlets so that it wasn't blowing all of the fish around. Pretty good now I think. CO2 is cranking away. I should probably get a better diffuser. Once I get some 4kh solution I'll have the drop checker up and running which should help me get everything right. I got impatient and put fish in it mid cycle. Some of them looked pretty sad for a while bt they have all adjusted and look happy again. The guppies had an orgy as soon as they got in the tank and all of the females are gravid already.

The purple Cambomba is out of control! It has doubled in size in 7 days. I am going to cut it and replant so it gets thick and dense. The red lilly is growing well too. Hairgrass sending runners, anachris doing it's thing. The Glosso looks ok, but might do well with more light. I am going to replace the Odyssea bulbs with some good ones over time. My favorite is the Mayaca. I really think it looks great in the midground.

Fish: 4 Angels, 1 golden ram, 3 spotted corys, 14 neon tetras, 10 Serpae tetras, one dwarf spotted puffer, 5 guppies.


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## Pyrojodge (Feb 4, 2011)

I'm sorry to tell you that's a green spotted puffer and its brackish. Please don't leave him in fresh water he is not meant for it... nice tank though.


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

Pyrojodge said:


> I'm sorry to tell you that's a green spotted puffer and its brackish. Please don't leave him in fresh water he is not meant for it... nice tank though.


A lot of conflicting info about that one. I read quite a lot before I got him, and it seems the consensus is that they do well in fresh water.


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## Pyrojodge (Feb 4, 2011)

I have kept puffers for the last 12 years, if he has dark coloring he is not happy without salt in his water.


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

Pyrojodge said:


> I have kept puffers for the last 12 years, if he has dark coloring he is not happy without salt in his water.


Hmmm, well I'm no expert so I will trust your experience. Aside from setting up another tank, what would you suggest? Would a small amount of aquarium salt help him out without hurting the other fish?

The fish store had him in fresh water, I doubt he would be any better off if I took him back.


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

Holy crap, I just googled some more. I thought I was getting a Pea Puffer that wouldn't get bigger than an inch and a half. Im going to have to rethink this one.


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## Pyrojodge (Feb 4, 2011)

Heres a pic of one of my dwarf puffers...


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## seuadr (Feb 20, 2013)

nice looking tank! 

ya, that is definitely a green spotted. the info you have about pea puffers is correct, though, they stay real small and like fresh water. I've also read that they are little terrors, but thus far the only thing that mine has attacked is snails, which was the plan from the beginning! :bounce:

in a tank that big, you could get away with a bunch of them, they need around 5 gallons each (less, if you have a good ratio of females to makes and/or have a lot going on to break up the tank, which i think you do)

i probably missed it, but that is that bright green stem between the two groups of rocks? i really like it!


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

seuadr said:


> nice looking tank!
> 
> ya, that is definitely a green spotted. the info you have about pea puffers is correct, though, they stay real small and like fresh water. I've also read that they are little terrors, but thus far the only thing that mine has attacked is snails, which was the plan from the beginning! :bounce:
> 
> ...


Yea, I think the little guy will be going back to the store tomorrow unless someone on the atlanta aquarium forums responds and wants to take him. I'll have to keep my eye out for a true pea puffer in the meantime. 

The one you are talking about is Mayaca Fluvalitis. My favorite as well. I knew nothing about it when I added it to the cart, and I am surprised more people dont have it.


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

Quick update: Tank is doing well but I am fighting an all out algae war. I have counted 4 different types. Water changes are helping, and as soon as I get these lights on timers I think I'll get the upper hand. 

Lost an angelfish mysteriously. She just disappeared. Not in the filter or on the floor so I think she must have died and been eaten. 

I trimmed the Cabomba and replanted the trimmings. Looks funny still but it grows about 2" every day. 

The dwarf lily is growing rapidly as well.


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

Weekly Update:

Been fighting algae, but some h2o2 spot treatment worked really well. 
I donated the puffer to the atlanta aquarium association auction, and hopefully he found a good home. 

Lost a few fish to the filter inlet and had to put a sponge over it. 

Picked up two dwarf gouramis, and a german blue ram.


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

Update time!

Since my last post I have been in an all out war against the evil Tyrant Staghorn and his friends the BBA. I left town for a week and had a neighbor stop by every day to keep everyone fed. Well, my blue ram died and was reincarnated as a humongous algae bloom that had dug in pretty good by the time I got home. I have been doing water changes and H2O2 spot treatments and slowly wearing it down. I think I have what's left outgunned and it is turning red and dying off after the One Two punch (sans punch two as I cant seem to find Excel anywhere)

Here is the one two punch in case you were wondering. Thank you Dark Cobra!
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=203684

I made a Cerges style reactor which seems to be working great and cleaned up the look of the tank even more. No more airline tubing in the tank.









But it is getting a bit tight under the stand









Here we are a couple days before trim day

















Mid trim, carefully removing affected leaves and branches. Cutting and replanting Cabomba and Anachris (this stuff is great looking but what a pain in the butt!).









Some nice false pearling on the Mayaca Fluvalitus



































And in other news, one of my guppies popped. I have 3 more who look like they swallowed a marble. Gonna have a lot of guppies soon!


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## Bserve (Nov 4, 2012)

Update time?


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

I suppose it is!

I removed the dwarf lily and in the process stirred up the dirt. After the filter picked it up, I decided to change filter media, which was a bad idea as it caused an ammonia spike and killed two fish. The tank is a little cloudy as a result. 

In other news, I traded locally for som A. Reinekii, and found soms Staurogyne Repens at Petsmart of all places, which I then replced most of my glosso with. I didn't like the glosso as much as I thought I would, and actually, I think it looks better grown tall than as a carpet.




























Here's the A Reinekii behind my neon showing off.









And a bit of a teaser for my next scape. Got a Mr. Aqua Cube coming in the mail


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

Also, Frog.


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