# "Green Shallows".. 80g/300L Rimless Frag/Shallow



## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

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*Equipment*:
_Last Updated 4/16_

*Tank* : Deep Blue 80 gal. Rimless Frag Aquarium (48" x 24" x 16" tall)

*Stand* : See my build below 

-

*Lighting* : 

[STRIKE]2 Beamswork 6500 LED + 1 Ecoexotic LED - 36" width[/STRIKE]
Vitaplant Hydroponic 4-bulb 4' T5
(2) 6500k and (1) Trulumen Flora 

*Filter* : 
[STRIKE]AquaClear AC70 HOB[/STRIKE] 
Eheim Pro4+ 350 Canister 
Uniclif W25 powerhead

*CO2* : 
GLA Regulator
[STRIKE]Glass ceramic diffuser[/STRIKE]
Rex Griggs style DIY reactor - 2" diameter PVC, 30" length

*Substrate* : 
Black Diamond Blasting Grit (~150 lbs)

*Fertilizer* : 
Thrive+ by NilocG
Seachem root tabs 
Occasional tsp of Equilibrium


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*Fauna*

20 _Black Neon Tetras_

12 _Pygmy Corydoras cats_

5 _Otocinclus cats_

30+ _Red Cherry Shrimp_

A few _Albino Bristle Nose Plecos_ and _Japonica Shrimp_.


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*Plant Species*

Anubias Nana 'Petite'
Blyxa Japonica
Bucephalandra 'Brownie Blue'
Bucephalandra 'Brownie Grande Red'
Cryptocoryne beckettii
Cryptocoryne hudoroi
Cryptocoryne lutens
Cryptocoryne mioya
Cryptocoryne sri lanka
Cryptocoryne undulata
Cryptocoryne wendtii ‘bronze'
Cryptocoryne wendtii ‘green'
Cryptocoryne wendtii ‘brown’
Hygrophila pinnatifida
Microsorum pteropus 'Narrow'
Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis
Lobelia Cardinals 'Small Form’

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Here are some progress pics of the stand :grin2:

Basic framing began - all squared up





Extra supports and flooring build from 1x3s (nice rounded edges)





Red Mahogany Minwax stain... hand/cloth rubbed 





Stand is constructed of 2x4 douglas fir lumber... sanded down to 220 all over. I stained with Red Mahogany from minwax, and am sealing with water based poly as of right now... 

A few more coats to go!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

This beauty came today... Delivered on a pallet via semi trailer lol


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## KrypleBerry (May 23, 2017)

Very nice. This will be an awesome tank.


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Great start! Looking forward to seeing where this goes. Keep the updates coming.


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## Jjonesls1 (Apr 26, 2017)

Great footprint, that's a killer looking tank. 

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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

That stand looks amazing!! The whole set up is going to look killer.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Thanks guys. I will be getting the tank into position today...

Because I'm super paranoid, I reinforced my floor joists underneath. I realize it may be overkill for a 80 gal... but I'll sleep better at night (and when my two large dogs are playing rough near the stand). With my previous you could see vibrations easily translating to the waterline. 

I will add some pics later of the reinforcement!


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## PEdwards (Oct 31, 2016)

Heya Williak,

I've got the same tank, they're great, aren't they? If you haven't already planned your lighting, I'd strongly recommend getting two LED strips rather than pendants if you go the LED route. If you do the T5 thing, a 4x54w fixture is plenty. Speaking from "personal experience" there, if you know what I mean. 

Regards,
Phil


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

PEdwards said:


> Heya Williak,
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Thanks very much for that Phil. I'm familiar with your tank and your thread. I was happy to hear your updates and that you're doing better...

I am still milling over LEDs and T5s. I've had experience with both... I have a 2 bulb and 4 bulb 3 foot and 4 foot fixture laying around. But I'd love that LED shimmer and variety in dimming and all. 

Since I'm going low-med light with pressurized CO2, I'm debating which LED fixtures would be a good choice. Cheap is good obviously. But so is quality...

Recommendations?


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Williak said:


> (and when my two large dogs are playing rough near the stand).


What kind of dogs? Can we get pics of them too? Most of the time dogs>fish, and that's saying a lot.

Edit: I'm super stoked for this build, I love these tanks.


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## PEdwards (Oct 31, 2016)

Williak said:


> Since I'm going low-med light with pressurized CO2, I'm debating which LED fixtures would be a good choice. Cheap is good obviously. But so is quality...
> 
> Recommendations?


The only LEDs I've used are Radeons so I can't make any recommendations on the cheap side from personal experience. If you've got the T5 fixtures already I'd go with them and do some serious research into LEDs. I love my Radeons, but they're not great on a 24" wide tank over the long term. They'd be fine now with the medium light you're planning, but what about when you want to change things up? Companies are coming out with new fixtures all the time, so waiting a little while might net you just the light you want.


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## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Nice stand, well done!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

johnson18 said:


> What kind of dogs? Can we get pics of them too? Most of the time dogs>fish, and that's saying a lot.
> 
> Edit: I'm super stoked for this build, I love these tanks.


LOL Yes ofcourse you can get pics of them too...

We have a Boxer and a Siberian Husky. The Boxer is the larger... around 100 lbs, flashy brindle. He's becoming my old man at 6 years old - we have been roommates for many years, in many cities. The Husky is the trouble maker... just now about to turn 2 years old. I got him as a puppy as a gift to my girlfriend. He's just been a real blessing :| .... :wink2:

The large stoic dogger and compact siberian digger - both with bad attitudes for the pictures





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PEdwards said:


> The only LEDs I've used are Radeons so I can't make any recommendations on the cheap side from personal experience. If you've got the T5 fixtures already I'd go with them and do some serious research into LEDs. I love my Radeons, but they're not great on a 24" wide tank over the long term. They'd be fine now with the medium light you're planning, but what about when you want to change things up? Companies are coming out with new fixtures all the time, so waiting a little while might net you just the light you want.


I hear you Phil. I considered pendant lighting just because I have never had them before. I have had Satellite LEDs and Ecoexotic LEDs on other aquariums. I like them both... I have also had alot of T5 experience and have a nice selection of bulbs laying around.... 

But I hear about these *Beamswork* and *Chihiro* LEDs... Does anyone have experience with those? I'd love to go with a cheaper option just for costs sake and grab a couple, although I can get which ever light I feel will be best. This is my only aquarium at this time so I'm not afraid to spend some cash.

My one main concern is that I want to mount the light atleast 12 inches off the top of the tank... I would actually prefer 18" above the tank to give the riparium planters in the back to have ample room to grow upward toward the light. I don't want to cramp them and the viewing plane suffer. So considering this, I am wondering how difficult it will be to get some decent PAR values if I have the light 18" off the substrate... 

Opinions on this would be great


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

So some progress is about to be made in the next couple of days, I am hoping..

I did some reinforcement as I mentioned before, to my floor joists. My house was constructed in 2000, so not old at all... However, I like to sleep better at night and not worry about cracking a floor joist and flooding my floors. So its overkill but I added a couple of jacks underneath the tank in my crawl space. I previously had a 50 gallon with 20 gallon sump here, so the weight difference from then to now, will be negligible. 

I used Akron brand floor jacks from Lowes... Both can support a total of around 28,000 lbs lol 

They each cost around $45



4x4 header spanning across the two supporting joists- right in the middle of the aquarium. The aquarium runs parallel with my floor joists.

I would have done supports on both sides of the aquarium, but due to heat ducts and gas line placement... I couldn't line up those areas properly so I went right in the middle. The floor has notably less "bounce" in this area now, feels almost like a concrete foundation underneath. I attached the jack plate to the 4x4 header with 3/8" x 2" lag bolts.



They are sitting on solid concrete footer blocks, on top of a 3/4" section of plywood just to help disperse the pressure across my vapor barrier (You can see in the picture what I mean by the less than ideal heating duct placement)



---

I finished the stand after 2 coats of stain and 3 coats of water based polyurethane. Moved to position against the wall, and added my underlayment mat. The stand is perfectly level but I always (again) like to be cautious and add some firm padding underneath that could equal out a minor minor discrepancy. This padding is at Lowes in the carpet section. 4 square feet of it for $20 I believe. 





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Next thing completed this morning was to add my hanging wires for whatever lights I decide on.

I have never hung lights before from ceiling so this was interesting to figure out. I just made sure they were even distances from the wall, and appropriate width for lighting. 

_I am planning to go with a 36" light above the tank. I always like the appearance of having some darker edges on the aquarium with a low tech. I am planning for swords, crypt, buces, etc so getting a full 100% width spread isn't worrying me too much. I like to see the fish more relaxed with some darker areas in the tank._

I assumed I would be hanging the light from ceiling drywall, so I had purchased some good 1/4" toggle bolts to assemble with. But when I drilled in on both mounts, I hit ceiling joists. Unexpected, and required another trip to Lowes but I will feel good knowing I have eye hooks straight into the ceiling joists.

Hung with 1/16" braided SS cables, using ferrules. Again never have done this before and I yanked on them really hard, after crimping the ferrules. Makes me a little nervous but for how light weight the LED strips are, I can't understand how it would rip out...





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So going forward its time to test fill the tank and then move it into place on the stand. Can't wait to see it all come together :grin2:


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Moved the aquarium into place last night.... I have to admit I was a little intimidated lol

I just slapped on an _ecoexotic strip and AC 70 HOB filter_, that I had laying around.

I really want to strive for simplicity with this tank. I have sumps, canisters, HOBs available for use at this time, but I believe I want to just stick with a simple HOB and powerheads for simplicity. That is the goal with this tank coming down from a high tech, CO2, sump etc....


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I will be adding substrate today, and going for a manhunt at every LFS/petco/petsmart for any and all crypts, and a maybe a few small rosette type swords. I'd like to find a tiger lotus too... 

Anything I can't find, and for more specific crypts and species, I'll order from here... Bartohog has been my go to guy for years now.

_I debated standard pool sand, versus black diamond blasting sand_.... I have several hundred pounds of each laying around from previous tanks LOL 

What do you guys think?... I will also be adding a black background. 

I had done soil capped tanks for years in the past, but kind of gave it up after getting tired of the nasty smelling mess it leaves when you have to empty the tank. I will just be adding osmocote or flourish tabs around all the root feeders once planted


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## PEdwards (Oct 31, 2016)

You're a man after my own heart- the same tank and a nice classical guitar next to each other. I have a low-end spanish made model from back in my music major days but haven't played it in who knows how long. It's been sitting in storage at my brother's place since 2012. 

As for lighting; if you can find a pair of nice strip lights they would likely do well for you. I've seen some smoking tanks with fixtures from Chihiros etc. I know a couple companies in the industry that are talking about putting out lights so I'm going to wait to see if I can get samples of those "for testing" before doing anything else with my lighting. The 6x T5 is more than enough for me. These days I alternate between 2x in the center and 2x each in the front and back for either 2x or 4x illumination as the whim hits me. 

I'd go with the Black Diamond grit. Pool filter sand is too fine for my personal tastes and comfort in a planted tank.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Thanks for that Phil. Yes I played guitar for years and years. A friend gifted that classical guitar to me... lots of fun to play some Spanish chords on. 

Well I pulled the trigger on LED strips. I got two Beamswork LED strips. A DA 6500k only and a DA FSPEC, both 36" models. Free returns to amazon so hopefully not much to lose lol they will be here and mounted on Thursday if all goes as planned. 

I went shopping yesterday looking for plants and was disappointed by everything I found. I managed to snag a couple of green wendtii crypts and a couple of potted Anubis. The search continues... 

Anyone know of people with a nice selection of crypts for purchase on here?...




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## PEdwards (Oct 31, 2016)

The Denver club hosted the AGA last year so there are for sure at least a couple plant heads in the group.  If they don't have what you want, I'm sure they'll know how to hook you into the pipeline.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Well time for another update. 

I just received my lights... I was certain I had selected the rights one off Amazon... but it appears I bought a 10k + full spectrum... I didn't even notice there was a 6500k + full spectrum as an option lol

Atleast the 6500k + actinic (moonlight) is correct. We will see how the 10k renders over the tank. 

(scratching head)



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Also had my Butterfly Goodeids put out some fry. 15 of them!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

So alright guys

I managed to collect about 9 pots of crypt species, and 2 anubias locally... and I have a couple of large rhizomes of narrow leaf java fern laying around from previous tanks. I think I have enough to be able to do a little planting formation in the tank. I'll continue to purchase new crypts and anubias steadily and add them in. 

I decided on Black Diamond blasting sand. Already have a couple hundred pounds on hand so I will add that in this evening. Going to do a decently deep substrate given all I'm really using is heavy rooters. 

I also concluded I'm just going to build a very minimal streamline canopy to mount my beamswork LEDs in. I will document that build also here. Likely start on that tomorrow. 

More updates this evening and tomorrow!


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## dru (Mar 9, 2013)

Can't wait for the planted pics!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Not a whole lot of time for a text update at the moment, but I will post the canopy progress pictures as of today :grin2:

Canopy cuts




Assembly - pocket screws and wood glue








My solution for fitting all the various LED strips.... 2 Beamswork and 1 left over Ecoexotic LED (so I can still get my light fade on/off with sunset features)



LOOOOADDDEEDDD lol




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I am going to put in the eye hooks for hanging, and stain it tomorrow. More pics to come 

Oh and btw, I swear I am actually putting in substrate and plants... promise :smile2:


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Love it. Pocket screws and wood glue. 

I built my whole stand the same way. All dimensional lumber. 

Very nice. Are you going to trim it? Easy to make it a really nice finished look.


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## The Bungulo (Aug 28, 2017)

this is gonna be great! cant wait to see when its done. is there a "follow" button? im new to this site.


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## ILikeRice (Jul 9, 2017)

Keep us updated :] Cant wait to see it planted and the full build!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Greggz said:


> Love it. Pocket screws and wood glue.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Thanks as always greggz... same for my stand! All lumber sanded down and finished. Surprising how nice it can come out in the end. I love doing woodwork and builds. I've built all of the furniture (aside from my couch and armchair lol) in my entire house. 

I'm pretty keen on keeping it really minimal. I'd like it to be as subtle as possible since it's going to be suspended 12-18" above the tank. I'll likely stain it and leave it as is without any additional trim work. 

My main goal for this was to eliminate the light bleed out into your eyes when sitting across the room on the couch, and an easy way to house multiple LED strips. 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

The Bungulo said:


> this is gonna be great! cant wait to see when its done. is there a "follow" button? im new to this site.




There is man... you can subscribe somehow. I do it via Tapatalk on my phone. Not even sure how to on the site lol

Thanks for checking it out [emoji4]


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

ILikeRice said:


> Keep us updated :] Cant wait to see it planted and the full build!




Thanks man!! You'll see a lot of updates in the following weeks for sure


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## Coralbandit (Feb 25, 2013)

Nice build..I have the DB 80 and [email protected] as one of my breeding racks..
They are packed full of EBR/GBR and EBA..
I like the Beamsworks DA FSPEC myself..I have a $5 Ebay dimmer that offers outstanding control...


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Coralbandit said:


> Nice build..I have the DB 80 and [email protected] as one of my breeding racks..
> 
> They are packed full of EBR/GBR and EBA..
> 
> I like the Beamsworks DA FSPEC myself..I have a $5 Ebay dimmer that offers outstanding control...




Please link me or PM me that man. 

I think with how off the tank the will be, hopefully I won't have to worry. But I'd love to know one off hand to order if I need to. 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Couple of journal updates just to keep things moving here... :wink2:

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Got the canopy with the first coat of stain - again using Red Mahogany from Minwax, to match the stand. I will likely just do two coats total, then seal with two coats of water based poly. Same as the stand.

I will be painting the inside of the canopy white. I think it will look a bit more clean, and maybe help with reflecting light.

I built the backside of the canopy with a thinner width board, 1x4, allowing more light to escape from the backside of the canopy to illuminate the wall, and (hopefully) all of the emersed growth that will be in the back of the tank via planters.



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I am also using ferrules/stops with 1/8" stainless steel braided cable this time for hanging the canopy. I have always used standard chain, so I'm a bit weary about crimping these ferrules and hoping they'll hold and not slide. I used a big set of crimping/lineman type pliers I have to crimp them. I have yanked on them really hard and they aren't sliding lol.... I feel like I want a bit more reassurance.

Anyone have experience with using ferrule/stops for hanging lights/canopies? Or anything else for that matter



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Here is the tank as it sets today while working on the canopy. I have a total of about 12 pots now, some crypt melt starting to set in already :crying:

I have come upon the realization that with such a large foot print (or the largest I have ever owned), I am going to need a crap load of plants to fill this thing out. Even with 12 pots of crypts and some left over others, I think it will barely make any impression lol

_I also am not intending to use any hardscape in this tank_. I am wanting to go solely for the heavily planted marsh look.... just groves of crypts with little valleys leading in between them. I, admittedly and obviously, have taken alot of inspiration from some older journals like _Toms Bucket O Mud_, and _Chocolate Puddle_.

I need to get the substrate in and get them planted asap. I also bleached my old glass diffuser and will add in the CO2 as soon as the plants are planted. Not going to bother with any sort of reactor on this one since I only plan to just "supplement" CO2, not pushing for 30ppm necessarily.


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## mbkemp (Dec 15, 2016)

Where did you source this tank? I love the dimensions 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

mbkemp said:


> Where did you source this tank? I love the dimensions
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




Hey mbkemp,

Thank you... I love it too. I've wanted this dimension for years. 

Where are you located? If you're on the east coast, you're in luck. 


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## geektom (Dec 17, 2012)

Really interesting journal- thanks for doing such a great job documenting everything!

Sounds like you will be creating perfect conditions for your crypts- don’t feel like you have to fill every inch from day 1. You will get plenty of growth over the first few months and you can continue to split and replant. As it is, my prediction is that a year from now you will be the main source for a big crypt distribution chain, lol.

A nice low-medium light plant for that tank would be dwarf Sagittarius. Would give you some lighter green for contrast.

I know you said no hardscape- but a single specimen of wood pushing up towards the surface would give the tank some depth and also give you a place for mosses and a buce or two.

Again- awesome job so far!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

geektom said:


> Really interesting journal- thanks for doing such a great job documenting everything!
> 
> Sounds like you will be creating perfect conditions for your crypts- don’t feel like you have to fill every inch from day 1. You will get plenty of growth over the first few months and you can continue to split and replant. As it is, my prediction is that a year from now you will be the main source for a big crypt distribution chain, lol.
> 
> ...




Thanks so much geektom. I'm happy you appreciate the detail... I've tried to leave no process untouched in the journal. I personally never enjoy journals when not documented in detail. 

That is my goal... I want this to just be a jungle of different crypt species with some random ferns, maybe an accent sword, and a few other odds and ends. And yes lol I hope for this... I'd love to be able to split them all up and replant and do some big RAOKs in a year or so. 

I do have many pieces of driftwood left over from older builds. I have two pieces in mind. I will likely plant with no hardscape at first.. let the crypts multiple, and then reconsider adding in some driftwood during a rescape when I have more plant mass to play with. 

I'll def consider some dwarf sag to let it run wild in the foreground. I haven't even considered what foreground plant I'll do yet. That or maybe some clover species. 


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## mbkemp (Dec 15, 2016)

Williak said:


> Hey mbkemp,
> 
> Thank you... I love it too. I've wanted this dimension for years.
> 
> ...




Oklahoma, so not much luck for me


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

mbkemp said:


> Oklahoma, so not much luck for me
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




Ah well you can still get one. I'm in Colorado. 

I had to order through an online source, fishtanksdirect. The price is pretty steep for one through there.

The reason I asked is because they only distribute to stores on the east coast, and prices can be cheaper if you live there. I couldn't find any local LFS who sold them here 


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

I've used wire rigging to hang my lights for years, although much, much smaller wire & hardware. Having done the wire rigging for multiple boats over the years, yours should be just fine for holding the canopy. 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

johnson18 said:


> I've used wire rigging to hang my lights for years, although much, much smaller wire & hardware. Having done the wire rigging for multiple boats over the years, yours should be just fine for holding the canopy.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




Thanks for the reply man. Makes me feel better..

I think I could probably hang a porch swing above the tank with the cable I used lol supposedly supports around 700lbs with two of those braided cables. 


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Williak said:


> Thanks for the reply man. Makes me feel better..
> 
> I think I could probably hang a porch swing above the tank with the cable I used lol supposedly supports around 700lbs with two of those braided cables.
> 
> ...




If I remember correctly I'm using 1/32" SS cable with a working weight of 100+lb on each side. I initially purchased it for small shark rigs when I lived in the Low Country of SC. I've got heavier wire but didn't think it was needed. I chose this as it is also coated so unless it gets submersed in saltwater I'm not worried about rust. 


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## mbkemp (Dec 15, 2016)

They have really nice stuff. Thank you for the link. Now, need a winning lottery ticket


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

mbkemp said:


> They have really nice stuff. Thank you for the link. Now, need a winning lottery ticket
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




loool I know it's pretty pricey on there. I've had so many tanks over the years, and never spent as much as I did on this one. 

After well over 5 years of wanting a 24" front to back... and wanting a 48" width shallow style... this one was the perfect fit. I decided to splurge and get it. It is my only tank now (with exception to a small butterfly goodeid fry tank and a 20 gallon random)

If you can source one from a LFS, they seem to be considerably cheaper. Wouldn't hurt to call around!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

When I was in SC this tank was much cheaper. Probably should've picked it up then but oh well. I would definitely see if you could find a LFS, even a special order might be cheaper. 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

*ITS HAPPENING *

_(frantic crying, wiping nose, and repeating statements of former inadequacy and new found happiness)_

:grin2:

After a couple of days of Murphys law playing out... (Accidental dog bite to my hand... some antibiotics, new tetanus shot, day off work, and not being able to use my primary hand. I'm back at work on this.) 

-----


Lugged in about 125 lbs of *Black Diamond Blasting Grit*. 
Dumped it in last night and let it settle overnight.


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Fixture is hung.... both Beamswork in place. 

I need to do some counter balancing work on the canopy, due to the 1x8 front panel and 1x4 rear panel. I'm going to try some fishing weights, or something of that sort, hidden in the canopy. I have it suspended about 24" above the substrate at this time. 

It will likely come up more in the future once I work in some emersed growth.

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Starting the planting now... will try to update with a pic later on!


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Now you are getting somewhere. Nice work.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Hope everyone is doing well... figured it was time I do a photo update of what's been going on over the last few days since I initially hung the canopy and put in substrate. 


_It's not quite ready for the first FTS at this time_... had some water cloudiness and other standard new tank issues... however I did want to post some over the top shots just to show the planting arrangements and all :red_mouth


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The 12 pots of crypt species and anubias spread out pretty well over the footprint, so I was way more pleased with it than I thought I would be initially. It's planted densely and once some roots develop, and new leaves start to sprout, it's going to get junglish real quick >


Before planting, I also stopped by another LFS (Neptunes) down south of Denver, and grabbed a couple of extra plant species to add for variety. 

I picked up some plump unidentified _Bolbitis_ species.. a _Red Tiger Lotus_ bulb (which lost all 5 leaves as soon as I got home lol), and about 10 bits of _Contortion Vallisneria_

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The initial planting list was as follows:


Anubias (not sure of species yet, need to look up some pics)

Bolbitis (species unknown) 

Cryptocoryne
-- Lutea
-- Spiralis
-- Tropica
-- Undulata
-- Wendtii Green
-- Wendtii Red
-- a couple of unknown assorted ones

Java Fern Narrow Leaf

 Vallisneria Contortion










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As of today.... cleared a good bit, doing a ~80% water change at the moment. 

I also added the black background (black chalkboard cut to fit, from HomeDepot)



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I will get some good FTS posted soon without glare lol Thanks for checking it out guys!!


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Looks good! I'm excited to see how it all settles in & grows! 

Do you have a link to the black backer used? I cannot decide what to do on the 90p. At this point I'm leaning toward plastidip. I've got several other tanks to plant, so I'm getting a can of some stuff that seems to be common among the killifish people. Just not sure I want to put the latex based paint on the ADA tank! I want it easily removed from that tank!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

johnson18 said:


> Looks good! I'm excited to see how it all settles in & grows!
> 
> Do you have a link to the black backer used? I cannot decide what to do on the 90p. At this point I'm leaning toward plastidip. I've got several other tanks to plant, so I'm getting a can of some stuff that seems to be common among the killifish people. Just not sure I want to put the latex based paint on the ADA tank! I want it easily removed from that tank!
> 
> ...




I've painted the back with black latex paint in the past and other things, but I do prefer to just do some sort of board or cloth that can easily be removed. 

Here is the blackboard I use for tanks 4 feet and less in width. $10. Cuts easy with a table saw down to whatever size you want. 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Black-Ch...180-in-x-23-75-in-x-47-75-in-151267/203408981




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## PEdwards (Oct 31, 2016)

Looking good! It's coming along nicely.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

PEdwards said:


> Looking good! It's coming along nicely.




Phil if my memory serves me right, didn't you mention you had issues getting good FTS of this style aquarium?

I've been trying to take some good front shots but the dimension of the tank seems to fade away. Everything looks tiny 


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

Williak said:


> Phil if my memory serves me right, didn't you mention you had issues getting good FTS of this style aquarium?
> 
> I've been trying to take some good front shots but the dimension of the tank seems to fade away. Everything looks tiny
> 
> ...




I would think you would almost have to take it from some sort of semi-overhead angle to get the depth of the tank to show. The one exception to that might be if you had an elaborate hardscape that was specifically designed to highlight the depth front to back.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

johnson18 said:


> I would think you would almost have to take it from some sort of semi-overhead angle to get the depth of the tank to show. The one exception to that might be if you had an elaborate hardscape that was specifically designed to highlight the depth front to back.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




Something like that. I'm getting insane glare levels off these lights since they're hung so high. I need to do a lot more studying up on camera settings to get down the glare and get my pics looking more saturated. Right now they're just flushing out. 

I tried lowering my ISO setting manually through my iPhone but it didn't do much at all. 




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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Managed to get some updated pictures of the aquarium, with a bit less glare and reflection

- Added a heater that I had laying around for my old 75 gallon, barely fits due to the height restriction. I'm going to look around for a shorter, more compact heater. 

- CO2 running at around 4-5 bps through my glass ceramic diffuser, sat it under the filter so its getting pushed around and circulated pretty well. Again, just supplementing - not worrying about hitting 30 ppm. Don't even feel like beginning to worry about all of that again lol

- Added some *Seachem Flourish root tabs* I found laying around the other day. Stuck them in about 6" apart all through the heavily planted sections. Still supplementing with *Thrive+ by nilocg*. Following recommendation about _8 pumps once a week_ at this time. Once things begin to fill in more, I will up it to 8 pumps _twice_ a week.

Finally seeing some new leaves sprouting from the ground! :grin2:

-----


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

A few changes to update on...

-----


I added a little ~ $13 Odyssea skimmer I found on Amazon. I didn't have surface "scum" as much as I did just some suds and oil. I have used overflows/sumps for a while now and forgot how nice it is to have a crystal clear surface. This little skimmer works great (thus far, for 4 days) lol 

-

Since adding the heater, I'm maintaining around ~ 72F. Plants actually perked up and looking healthier- with no heater it was dipping down to almost 60F in the tank :icon_eek:

-

Still running CO2 @ 4-5 bps through diffuser. Lights on total for around 8 hours. 6 hours full blast.

-

I did a 60% WC today.. early morning sun piercing in, so I tried to adjust exposure (just exposure and brightness) on the photos. They were kind of like looking at the sun. Hoping soon to get some better pictures once the plants have rooted well and have some height to them.

Also I added a single _Spiderwood_ branch bundle I had from a previous tank. 

I think it is doing exactly what I want:
_A bit of separation... it helps to highlight the front-to-back depth more... and adds that texture difference, all without being too much and cutting the tank in half._ 

(Ignore the big white rock weighing it down - almost water logged now)

-----


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

New tank shot from Monday, October 30th.

Will be doing 60% WC again in a few days and update with another pic soon after. Trying to stick to weekly WCs at the moment :smile2:

-----

I added some cuttings from another aquarium - just stuck them in some random areas to see what can adjust and grow in the current lighting conditions. Hopefully a few will transition and accept my PAR values... 

Added:
Rotala green 
Rotala rotundafolia
Cabomba purple 
Lobelia cardinalis 'small form'
Ludwigia repens

-

-All the _crypts, ferns, and anubias_ species are doing great. New leaves sprouting from the dirt, all healthy looking new growth. _JF narrow leaf_ rhizome is putting out hella leaves. Took enough JF plantlets from leafs to start 3 new tiny rocks, scattered them around in the back. The _Bolbitis_ is just kind of acting as a debris sponge - having to dust it daily. Never had that plant before so I am not seeing any fresh new growth, I'll see what happens. _Contortion Val_ spreading around in the back a bit now too.

-Minimal algae at this moment, although I know how quick things can swing on a new tank. Keeping any eye on some typical diatom algae on the substrate and glass. 

-I am also getting some tannin staining from the spiderwood addition. 


-----


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

*Day 31 pictures*

Day 31

Well guys it's been 4 weeks total since planting. Today marks week 5. 

I wanted to update with some pictures. 

As you can see - not much has changed. Things are taking roots and growing well. 

Lights and CO2 continue on same routine. All LEDs on for 8 hours. One hour ramp up and ramp down with the Ecoexotic for sunrise/sunset lighting.

Ferts remain Thrive Plus. 8 pumps at WC. Also adding 4 pumps mid week at this time since plant mass has began to increase. Will eventually go to 8 pumps on WC day and mid week, I believe. 

60-70% WC every week.

-----

I also added a bit of stock to the tank from another existing aquarium of mine, and some new purchases

+ 20 Black Neons Tetras
+ 10 Pygmy Corys

From another tank of mine- came a larger peppered Cory, a single Tricolor Sword Platy, and some Amano shrimp. They've been around forever and just take them from tank to tank lol 

-----







-
JF Narrow Leaf and Crypt. Spiralis 




-
Red Wendtii




-
Lutea




-
Contortion Val, Lobelia Cardinal SmallForm, Crypt. Undulata, Bolbitis, Cabomba Purple, and Crypt. Tropica (in no order at all lol)



-----

Still working on improving photos of the aquarium. Thanks for checking out the update :smile2:


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Looks like you've figured out how to get some good full tank shots. It looks great. What was the reason for going with black Neons? Not that there is anything wrong with them.


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## MasterofCloak (Jun 27, 2017)

Love the black neons. You should definitely add more 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

The Dude1 said:


> Looks like you've figured out how to get some good full tank shots. It looks great. What was the reason for going with black Neons? Not that there is anything wrong with them.




Thanks alot man. 

I chose to go with Black Neons as I felt they had a bit more “natural” appearance. I know all fish are natural lol and I’ve always had brightly colored schooling fish. I wanted something that was less showy and not such a “typical aquarium” tetra I guess. If that makes sense. I like the blacks and browns with the mild blue stripe. 

I also liked that these Black Neons are a bit more beefy than any other tetra schools I have had before. I hadn’t planned on stocking these until I crossed them in a LFS a week or two ago. 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

MasterofCloak said:


> Love the black neons. You should definitely add more
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




Thanks 

Definitely another 20 in soon. 

Then another type of school I believe. 


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## Raith (Jun 27, 2014)

Aww, started on page 1, ended on page 4, and wanting more, it's like a good novel. You're a good carpenter.


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

Looking forward to seeing this progress. One of my LFS carries Deep Blue and I've always love the looks of their tanks. I don't have space or money for the 80g but I do want to see if the store has or can get the 20x20x16. There's also the 24x24x12 frag tank that would be cool but my perfect tank would be 24x24x18. I don't want a 24" cube but I think 12" is a little too shallow as well. I could probably build one if I can find someplace to cut glass locally but it would be a kinda pricey tank I think...from what I've seen looking at glass prices online, probably >$400. Not sure if anyone offers a tank that size, I haven't really started looking or planning for my next tank yet.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Raith said:


> Aww, started on page 1, ended on page 4, and wanting more, it's like a good novel. You're a good carpenter.




Thank you so kindly 

There will be more updates to follow!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Nubster said:


> Looking forward to seeing this progress. One of my LFS carries Deep Blue and I've always love the looks of their tanks. I don't have space or money for the 80g but I do want to see if the store has or can get the 20x20x16. There's also the 24x24x12 frag tank that would be cool but my perfect tank would be 24x24x18. I don't want a 24" cube but I think 12" is a little too shallow as well. I could probably build one if I can find someplace to cut glass locally but it would be a kinda pricey tank I think...from what I've seen looking at glass prices online, probably >$400. Not sure if anyone offers a tank that size, I haven't really started looking or planning for my next tank yet.




I built a glass aquarium that was 24x24x16 for around $200 for glass. It looked great and lasted a while. I used it outdoors as a “pond” on a table. 

AdvancedAcrylics has reasonable prices and shipping for many sizes of shallow frag tanks. I ordered a 24x24x13 with built in C2C overflow and sump years ago from them. It’s in storage now but it’s a wonderful little tank. Cost around 200-300 if I recall correctly. 


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## ChrisX (May 28, 2017)

Williak said:


> Well time for another update.
> 
> I just received my lights... I was certain I had selected the rights one off Amazon... but it appears I bought a 10k + full spectrum... I didn't even notice there was a 6500k + full spectrum as an option lol
> 
> Atleast the 6500k + actinic (moonlight) is correct. We will see how the 10k renders over the tank.


I bet the combination will be better than two of the same.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

ChrisX said:


> I bet the combination will be better than two of the same.




Thanks for the reply

I updated after that post saying I had sent back the 10k. It was way too blue. 

I’m now running two 6500k Beamswork LEDs and the Ecoexotic LED with full reds and a tiny bit of blue/green spectrum. 


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## ChrisX (May 28, 2017)

Williak said:


> Thanks for the reply man. Makes me feel better..
> 
> I think I could probably hang a porch swing above the tank with the cable I used lol supposedly supports around 700lbs with two of those braided cables.
> 
> ...


Is there a way to hang a canopy so that it doesnt swing back and forth?

For instance, if you include some crosses between opposite hangers, it might be very solid and damp sway. 

I think it would bother me to touch the canopy and have it moving for the next 15 minutes.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

ChrisX said:


> Is there a way to hang a canopy so that it doesnt swing back and forth?
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I’m sure that could work...

To be honest I hardly ever touch mine except to dust it off. If I do move it, it swings for maybe 60 seconds then is still. Never noticed it. 

Mine is hung high enough that I do not even have to move it for maintenance/trimming/WCs. 


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## shawnwaldon (Dec 5, 2013)

I have been thinking of doing something similar with a frag tank because it isn't nearly as common. I like the way you have laid everything out. There is a good sense of depth in the aquarium especially with those purple crypts. Everything looks very healthy so keep up the good work. One suggestion put a small amount of that purple crypt on the right side of the tank and another piece of driftwood like the one you have. I look forward to seeing the progression of this tank.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

shawnwaldon said:


> I have been thinking of doing something similar with a frag tank because it isn't nearly as common. I like the way you have laid everything out. There is a good sense of depth in the aquarium especially with those purple crypts. Everything looks very healthy so keep up the good work. One suggestion put a small amount of that purple crypt on the right side of the tank and another piece of driftwood like the one you have. I look forward to seeing the progression of this tank.




Thank you!

Yes I love the frag tank. Had many 2 and 3 foot variants before, but never the full 4x2. 

Good advice...I have a few darker crypts that are slowly growing out and will be moved to the right side to balance the color contrast as well. 

Get a frag tank man! You won’t regret it


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

*Day 39*

Day 39... bit over the Week 5 mark

-----

No big changes. 

Unintentionally went 2 weeks without a water change so I got in there and did a probably 80% WC this AM and took a few pictures.

-

I trimmed the _Java Fern Narrow Leaf_ pretty considerably the other day; trimming off most of its longest leaves. They had become somewhat tattered and put off many plantlets. 

_Crypt Spiralis_ is going all medusa in the back. Leaves swirling all over .

I have noticed most crypt species putting out, what I believe, are this parameter's leaves. Much of the old growth has died and been cut away, and the newer leaves are an entirely different look than what they came with from their old parameters.

_Crypt Lutea_ is getting some significant brown striping to the leaves, and over all darker. 

_Red wendtii_ has really turned a deep rich purple at this time - was just green when I got it. 

_Contortion Val_ is really putting out alot of runners and I see new leaves reaching for the surface daily.

The _Undulata_ and some unidentified crypt species are looking excellent as well. Healthy new algae free leaves. 

One of the crypts, which was sold to me as _Tropica_, does not seem like _Tropica_ at all now. The leaves are developing a dark purple hue with a very hammered look. 

-

Some plants coming and going - 

I removed the Anubias species from in front of the drift wood, wasn't feeling it anymore. 

I have a little plant order in including some stems, buce, moss, a good few clumps of DHG, and another crypt. I'll be adding some pictures once those are planted and looking perky. Maybe another week or so :grin2:


-----


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

*Day 45 - New plants added and some equipment changes*

Day 45...

So a few updates to add in here..

Performed a 60% WC this AM - reuped on the fertilizer (8 pumps of Thrive+), and added in some Equilibrium (4 tbsp). I used to dose Equilibrium every other WC or so... stopped doing it a while back. I will see if it has any effect.

Only reason I thought about supplementing any extra Ca was because of suggestions about growing new crypt species I have added, more on that below 

-

1. The $13 Odyssea skimmer. 

I can review that it works pretty damn well and I had no issues with it _OTHER THAN having to replace the little 2x2" filter pad every other day_. The tiny skimmer, even in a large foot print aquarium like this, skimmed and cleaned the surface very well. Almost too well I guess considering that after about 48 hours (even with a seemingly crystal clear surface) the filter pad completely clogs and turns brown, thus breaking the suction and causing the skimmer not working effectively. 

Replace the skimmer filter pad and it bounces - buoyant with the water surface, and skims trimmings, fish food, oil, etc.

I grew tired of replacing the pad every day basically, and also I had one other occurrence worth mentioning...

Twice, I came home to find 1-2 of my Black Neons somehow trapped inside the skimmer. The first time was not lucky and that tetra was lost. I hadn't looked at the skimmer in a couple of days, and figured it had to have been some freak accident, so I tried it in the tank again. The second time, I was checking diligently, and found 2 tetras swimming within the skimmer. 

This kind of did it for me so I decided to remove it. If my surface begins to appear oily/bubbly again, I'll consider another brand (or attempt to wrap some SS mesh around the intakes, although I think it would affect the buoyancy of the skimmer too much.)

-

2. Some plant changes 

Added some more Crypt Species ...

_+ Cryptocoryne Hudoroi
+ Cryptocoryne Mioya
+ Cryptocoryne Sri Lanka
+ Cryptocoryne Striolata
+ Cryptocoryne Wendtii Bronze
_

I also added a _Buce Brownie Grande Red_, and a _Buce Brownie Blue_. I really have no clue what I'm doing with these so I just attached them to a lower section of the driftwood. 

Wrapped some _Cameron Moss_ around some upper driftwood limbs.

Some random stems of _Limno Aromatica, Rotala Bangladesh, Hygro Pinnafida_... I will see how these do in the aquarium. The Bangladesh has already perked up very well - nice new green tops. Waiting to see the Lim Aromatica and Pinnafida move or not. 

I removed the Anubias as previously mentioned, and also the Bolbitis. 

Oh, and I planted DHG all across the front. This could just be a place filler carpet. Once the aquarium has evolved a bit and grown in more, especially with new additions, I may decide to go with glosso, UG, or even microsword instead.

-

3. Planning to add some new stock soon.

I do want to add in some more _Black Neon Tetras_ to bulk up the school a bit. Total of 40 maybe.

However, I also want to have a large _Red Cherry Shrimp_ population in the aquarium. I am planning to place an order soon to get in some high quality RCS, and maybe even some _Fire Reds_ to add into the mix.

I don't know much about shrimp keeping, however I have had RCS happily in previous aquariums.


-----

Here are some recent pics... The quality on these is bit lacking, I feel, compared to previous weeks. Christmas Tree up now so I'm dealing with even more glare   

Once these new plant species have rooted and perked up, I am going to take some good update FTS, etc. Thanks for looking


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

I saw this tank at my LFS last week and it really put yours into perspective. I'm sure it's even more gorgeous in person


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## Riceman (Nov 17, 2014)

Great looking tank!
If you change the current in your tank so the val is bending the same direction that 
the drift wood is,the tank would look as if it is traveling really fast...lol


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

The Dude1 said:


> I saw this tank at my LFS last week and it really put yours into perspective. I'm sure it's even more gorgeous in person




Thanks a lot! I love the tank for sure. Proudest aquarium purchase I’ve ever made. 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Riceman said:


> Great looking tank!
> 
> If you change the current in your tank so the val is bending the same direction that
> 
> the drift wood is,the tank would look as if it is traveling really fast...lol




That actually made me laugh out loud lol

I’ll have to strongly consider this idea


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Update...

Just some pictures I never posted from back around Day 48 or so 

I'll be doing Day 60 update in a few days and will cover any recent changes, and do some plant updates.... also new coming stock changes...

Thanks for looking :nerd:


---


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

It's really looking fantastic. Have you added any new fauna? You mentioned adding another group in addition to adding to the black Neons. I saw Blue tetras today for the first time. Very similar beefy shape like the black Neons, but really crazy blue color. I'd love to add a school, but I think it would end up looking like a mish mash between Cardinals / Neons, Rummynose, and Celebes. I've got regular emperor tetras in the top 75 with the bigger rainbows and they are pretty unique looking too... like miniature purple Congo tetras. They schoal pretty well al9t of the time too... they may look pretty similar to the black Neons though...


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

The Dude1 said:


> It's really looking fantastic. Have you added any new fauna? You mentioned adding another group in addition to adding to the black Neons. I saw Blue tetras today for the first time. Very similar beefy shape like the black Neons, but really crazy blue color. I'd love to add a school, but I think it would end up looking like a mish mash between Cardinals / Neons, Rummynose, and Celebes. I've got regular emperor tetras in the top 75 with the bigger rainbows and they are pretty unique looking too... like miniature purple Congo tetras. They schoal pretty well al9t of the time too... they may look pretty similar to the black Neons though...




Yes I do love the blue Neons too. I agree very intense blue. 

I love the Black Neons. I had standard Neons, cardinals, and rummynose in last tanks and loved them as well, but something about getting some Tetras that aren’t AS common as Neons/cardinals..


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## Carson Albright (Apr 1, 2010)

Great looking tank, you've done a fantastic job with it.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Carson Albright said:


> Great looking tank, you've done a fantastic job with it.




Thank you very much!!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

This will be more lengthy documentation post for my own tracking.. 

-

*I made a series of unfortunate changes lately and it has resulted in some BBA showing up on the wood and older leaves all across the aquarium. 

I have done some significant trimming of older affected leaves in the past few days, and did a larger 75% waterchange with significant siphoning of all detrius at plant bases and through the thicker areas of planting. *

-

So to cover the recent mistakes..

I was browsing through some old aquarium equipment in my garage (already a bad idea), and came across a powerhead that I had modified for CO2 use. 

_Decided to remove my glass/ceramic diffuser and hook up the power head diffuser. Bad idea._

Two days later, BBA appearing all over the wood and older leaves of plants. So, I switched back to the ceramic/glass diffuser, which probably made it worse. Even more CO2 swings in those few days, but I wanted to just go back to what was working and let it resettle. 

_Also, I have temporarily lowered lighting_- unplugged one of the 3 LED units. Just running 1 Beamswork 6500k 0.5 LED (100%) and 1 Ecoexotic (100% red, 50% white) for 6 hours a day. 

Going to go strict on feeding the next couple of weeks, as too much detritus has been accumulating. 

-

_This all does make me question whether just running the AC70 HOB is going to be adequate enough_. I started this aquarium with a specific idea of keeping it low maintenance and with simplistic parameters, so I'm hesitant to start changing too much right now.

I do have canister filters and sumps standing by to replace the HOB if I feel it reaches that point. I am going to give it a couple more weeks to evaluate. I have been feeding heavily lately, and missed a water change so I am hoping that's the sole reason for the BBA outbreak (along with the CO2 fluctuation from switching diffusion methods)

---

_I also added some new stock recently..._

30 - Red Cherry Shrimp - standard grade I guess lol
3 - Albino Bristlenose Plecos

---

To update on some plant species,

All _Crypt_ species are doing great except the _Striolata_. It's just kind of chillin. Not looking bad but not growing. _Crypt Sri Lanka, Hudoroi, and Mioya_ are looking great, just starting to send out some new leaves after being in the aquarium for a couple of weeks. 

The _Rotala Bangladesh, Cabomba Purple, and Hygro Pinnafida_ have proven to do well in this aquarium. They are growing quickly and putting out nice tops. 

The Limno Aromatica, Lobelia Cardinalis, Ludwigia Lacustris and Repens are not doing a whole lot. They look good but aren't growing too well. I'll let them sit in here for a couple of more weeks before I trade them out and try some other lower light requirement stem species. 

The DHG carpet is starting to spread - alot of runners everywhere The older DHG was hit hard by the BBA but with all the new runners, I'm hopeful it will pull through..

-

Recently got a tripod and have been wanting to experiment with making some timelapse videos lol so I uploaded this one as the first. Quality came out terrible for some reason once uploaded to Youtube, although it appears very clear streamed to my TV. I just need to add some ambient music 0

I'll try to figure out the quality issue for the next video. Probably better this one is blurry lol






-


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

*(Late) Day 60 Update*

Day 60

Well Day 60 came and passed... bit late to post this update lol

(Currently at around Day 68 as of Dec 23)

-

Some minor equipment changes. Swapped out multiple smaller powerheads for a single larger powerhead (that turned out to be way way overpowered)

Post BBA flare up, I increased lighting back to full intensity at 6 hours a day. 

Still considering if I am going to take off the AC70, and add on a canister. I'd love to do some glass lily pipes for the hell of it.

-

I have since removed the DHG carpet. Sat for several weeks and didn't move - and it got hit hard by the algae outbreak. I am thinking microsword as the replacement. I need something low-medium light, and have always had successful carpets of microsword in the past. 

Although I have been eyeing my T5 fixture again, after considering adding a canister lol why not spice up the levels a bit. I am going to try hard to wait atleast to Day 90 or 120 before I switch it up and probably do a decent rearrangement of some species. 

And yes I finally fixed the wire situation from the canopy. Now I just need to paint the strip to match the wall >

---







-

These little guys have had PLENTY to snack on after the algae outbreak lol foraging on the driftwood for hours every day


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## Lingwendil (Nov 16, 2012)

Nice build. These tanks look so natural when built up as planted setups, the depth make them look super fancy, like a slice of the habitat everything in them came from.


Great choice on the black neons, very underrated fish, in my opinion. Them and green neons are some of my favorites (even though I'm not really a schooling/tetra sort of guy) and are great understated fish.

Any plans on additional fish yet? A dozen or so dwarf cory cats would be nice in here. Maybe a few pygmy gouramies.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Lingwendil said:


> Nice build. These tanks look so natural when built up as planted setups, the depth make them look super fancy, like a slice of the habitat everything in them came from.
> 
> 
> Great choice on the black neons, very underrated fish, in my opinion. Them and green neons are some of my favorites (even though I'm not really a schooling/tetra sort of guy) and are great understated fish.
> ...


I completely agree. Shallow/square(ish) aquariums have always been my favorite, as I felt it was a mini excavation of nature. 

Thanks about the Black Neons. I am still happy with the choice to stock these. There are 20 now; I am planning to add 20 more... maybe in a month or two. I'm trying to let my RCS population grow out a bit lol

I actually do have some pygmy cory cats in there at the moment - around 12. They just disappeared into the plants, and I see them out in the front nosing around every once in a while.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

*Equipment changes coming...*

-

*Well as I have mentioned in a few prior posts, I have began to doubt the original goal of keeping filtration as simple as a HOB and powerheads.
*

I believe a recent surge of growth is most likely leading to the demise of the HOB goal. Plant mass is becoming too thick to be penetrated by the very mild flow from a HOB. Even running powerheads throughout the day, I am consistently finding large patches of detritus all within the plant beds (and I have substantially reduced feedings in the last month since the BBA). I have been doing weekly 75% waterchanges, and there is no way I could push it further- the aquarium water becoming notable hazy the last couple days prior to a waterchange. 

This just shows me I am walking a thin line - things are going well now, but with some CO2 fluctuations or any significant parameter deviation, I am going down that slippery slope. I figure make the change over to a canister now, hopefully before things get out of hand and I am dealing with another algae outbreak.

-

I love sumps and would prefer to switch to a sump/overflow set up, but due to the aquarium's location in the house, and how low the stand was built to be... I can't really fit in a sump, and I don't want to add on another several hundred pounds right in the middle of my floor joists' spans. If I ever relocate the aquarium, I may try to squeeze in a 40B as a sump, or even a rigid rubbermaid. 

So.. back to canisters I suppose. I went out to the garage and found some of my older Aquatop style canisters. But I couldn't find any of the hose attachment "quick disconnects".. and without that piece the filter is pretty useless. Therefore I had a perfectly good reason to go ahead and purchase a new canister 0

Picking up an _*Eheim Pro4+ 350*_ today. I will likely do a large 75% waterchange, and swap out the HOB for the canister. 

Now I really have to build some sort of a skin to cover my CO2 and canister... and match the stand/canopy. And I am debating whether I want to do glass or SS lilys to go with the new canister :grin2:

-

I will be posting some updated pics soon... Things have finally began to hit that critical mass point where its starting to develop shape on its own (geez, knock on wood). The crypts have tripled atleast in size since they were planted... All of the groups are getting very thick and crowded with plant mass. The _Contortion Val_ is about to need a serious trim, along with the _Crypt Spiralis_. They are both laying across the surface at this point. I added in some _Microsword_ as well - this time hoping to get a nice foreground going. 

Def not the best pic below, but I wanted to document the growth (along with the haziness lol)



Thanks for reading 

-


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

I am curious to see how the flow is with just the canister. The most powerful canister I have is a couple XP3's and within a week the flow is pretty poor. Both of my 75's use an AC110 and a largish canister. Eheim 2217 on the top tank and the large Sunsun on the bottom.


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Word to the wise from personal experience. Don't do a massive water change and replace the HOB at the same time. You're best off getting that canister matured before causing any major disturbances. Also, if possible, try to get one of the other smaller powerheads running where it will kick up the detritus...if possible. Consider running the HOB with Purigen in it for a while too to help take care of DOC while you get a handle on the detritus and the canister matures.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

I could be way off, but I don't feel that at least the canisters I have used clean the water as well as the AC filters. Perhaps because the AC's are so easy to clean... on a tank that size I would run both without question. That's alot of water. 
And swapping out filters is such a tumultuous experience... the chances of a small cycle are so good... if a filter seems to be running out of time I will add a 3rd and wait for the other to cease functioning.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

The Dude1 said:


> I am curious to see how the flow is with just the canister. The most powerful canister I have is a couple XP3's and within a week the flow is pretty poor. Both of my 75's use an AC110 and a largish canister. Eheim 2217 on the top tank and the large Sunsun on the bottom.



Yes I have had Eheims and Sunsuns in the past. I always liked both. I generally run my canisters very lean to try and maintain a bit of flow.



Phil Edwards said:


> Word to the wise from personal experience. Don't do a massive water change and replace the HOB at the same time. You're best off getting that canister matured before causing any major disturbances. Also, if possible, try to get one of the other smaller powerheads running where it will kick up the detritus...if possible. Consider running the HOB with Purigen in it for a while too to help take care of DOC while you get a handle on the detritus and the canister matures.



Good tip Phil. I actually did just this. I added on the canister the day I picked it up, and only did about a 20% WC. It's been running in combination with all the media and pads from the HOB for now. I plan to do a large 80% water change tomorrow, and remove the HOB. Purigen already in play! 



The Dude1 said:


> I could be way off, but I don't feel that at least the canisters I have used clean the water as well as the AC filters. Perhaps because the AC's are so easy to clean... on a tank that size I would run both without question. That's alot of water.
> And swapping out filters is such a tumultuous experience... the chances of a small cycle are so good... if a filter seems to be running out of time I will add a 3rd and wait for the other to cease functioning.


To be honest, I have almost always ran canisters or sumps. I have had minimal experience with HOBs. My canisters tend to maintain their flow- again just because I run my lean. Often times just running some purigen packs, and one basket of coarse/filter pad topped with fine filter floss. Perhaps I will need to temporarily run heavy on media and throw in some bioballs for the bottom tray to clear up this haziness.

-

To update..

I even hooked up my UV sterilizer and have ran it for 3 days, and the cloudiness has not decreased at all. Canister has been going for several days and no improvement to water clarity.

Large water change tomorrow will hopefully reset the parameters, and let the canister start to work.


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Garden pumice from a home improvement store makes great media for canisters and is cheap. It also has great flow and doesn't get clogged easily. It may be worth giving a try.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

*Day 80...* [1-2-2018]

Well guys we're back on the gravy train.

I added the _Eheim Pro4+350_ and topped the canister with some fine filter floss. 

So total I was running from bottom to top... 

Basket 1 - Boatload of those bio-tube things (like bioballs)
Basket 2 - Green/white filter pad, purigen packs
Basket 3 - Fine filter floss - a nice thick pillow of it lol 
Basket 4 - Factory supplied really coarse sponge filter which isn't doing much (has something to do with the "bypass extender"' feature on this canister, which I don't use so I'm just ignoring it)

After running this and completing a 75% waterchange a few days ago, the water has remained very clear. So fingers crossed this success continues. It doesn't appear any of the plants developed any new algae, and the substrate is as clear of detritus as I've ever seen it. 

-

The _Red Cherry Skrimps_ are out grazing on every surface now, they've become very comfortable in the aquarium and - from what I have witnessed - none of the other fish are bothering them.

-

The stem game is not holding out too strong in this tank as the moment..

The _Cabomba Purple, Rotala Bangladesh, and Hygro Pinnafida_ are all booming. Hitting the surface every 2-3 days and constant topping. 

_Limno Aromatica, Ludwigia Lacustris, and Lobelia Cardinalis Small Form_ are all starting to perk a tiny bit, but these have shown massive swings in growth and health. One week looking tattered, then the next week sending out new growth and looking perky with nice tops. 

I have began to think maybe its time to increase to full dosing on the _Thrive+_. 

From now on, due to increased plant mass, I am going to up to the *full dosing twice a week. *

---

For the moment, I am standing and watching. Things seem to have rebalanced so I do not want to stir the pot needlessly. 

I am striving to be more tedious about my waterchange frequency, and also my fertilizer dosing regime (I've selected Tuesdays and Saturdays, regardless of when I fit in waterchanges). I am hoping extra attention to maintaining 7 days WC frequency + the increased filtration, I will be heading toward crystal clear water.

---

Here are some updated pictures from January 2, 2018

*Happy New Year everyone!!* :wink2:

-

All LEDs on.. The "high light" phase of my lighting period, lasting about 6 hours









-

With only the sunrise/sunset phase of my lighting period - one ecoexotic LED strip with 50%W, 70%R and 20%G. This lasts about 1.5 hours before and after full blast.


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Man, that's some great color on those plants!


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

Just went through the entire journal... love your tank, scape and love the dimensions of the tank itself, wish I had half of your carpentry skills! will keep following


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Phil Edwards said:


> Man, that's some great color on those plants!




Thanks so much Phil!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

finfan said:


> Just went through the entire journal... love your tank, scape and love the dimensions of the tank itself, wish I had half of your carpentry skills! will keep following




Thank you for reading the entire journal. So happy others do that too lol

Thank you very much. That’s quite the compliment [emoji4]


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

I know it hasn't been very long, but have you seen any changes since you added the canister?


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Phil Edwards said:


> I know it hasn't been very long, but have you seen any changes since you added the canister?




Phil I tried to cover the improvement in the last update- It has made a tremendous difference. 

Since adding in the fine filter floss and a few extra trays if filtration, it’s remained crystal clear. 

I think it was a little stag horn... BBA and Diatom. The whole shebang after missing a couple water changes and slacking in vacuuming


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## Boostr (Dec 8, 2016)

Awesome build.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Boostr said:


> Awesome build.




Thank you [emoji4]


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Glad to hear the canister's pulling its weight!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

*Day 95 since initial planting*

Day 95 and change is coming...


Today marks Day 95 since planting. Things have filled in nicely. The initial planting's goal was to get everything growing larger and see how particular species (specifically some of the crypts) grew in this aquarium. 

Now I have found some growing too tall that were planted in the front... some more flat "pancake like" low lying growth crypts were planted too far back- so some rearrangement is in order. 

Crypts which began as 3 leaves and about 3" across.... are now full on bushes. Runners everywhere. I have much more to work with this time around for a replanting. 

-

The attempt I always make to start introducing various stems species, has again not worked quite as I wanted (surprise surprise). I am starting to get the coast to coast "wall" look which I don't want.. considering the front to back depth of this tank is really the reason I wanted this footprint so much.. and I'm doing trimmings all the time. This aquarium being 16" tall with about 4" substrate - I am already trimming way more than I like, as the stem groups are crowding the water surface within 3-4 days.

Therefore this coming weekend, I will be re-scaping the plant layout. I don't intend to move the spider wood around. I'm still content with the placement of that. I will likely leave a few plant species where they are, but 80% will be uprooted and moved around and some new added in. Sticking to the minimal trim-slow growth idea behind this aquarium build. 

I placed an order from Buceplant again - their crypts have come in excellent shape for me. This will be my second order from them. Got some anubias nana, more microsword, stauro repens, crypt walkeri and more huduroi. 

-

Likely the last picture I'll post of this rendition


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## sdwindansea (Oct 28, 2016)

Tank looks phenomenal and I've really enjoyed this journal. It is definitely an inspiration for my next attempt. Glad to see the RCS are thriving. I've had trace amounts of BBA in my tank for almost a year. I've never been able to completely eradicate it but it is also only noticeable to me on a few select leaves (primarily buces). Water flow doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

I also have the Odyssea skimmer. I only run it right after water changes and when doing canister cleaning to help remove any surface "scum". It is a great skimmer for the price and my usage. I look forward to more updates.


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## griffin_pak (Jul 21, 2008)

Just absolutely perfect in everyway! well done sir/ma'am


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

sdwindansea said:


> Tank looks phenomenal and I've really enjoyed this journal. It is definitely an inspiration for my next attempt. Glad to see the RCS are thriving. I've had trace amounts of BBA in my tank for almost a year. I've never been able to completely eradicate it but it is also only noticeable to me on a few select leaves (primarily buces). Water flow doesn't seem to make much of a difference.
> 
> I also have the Odyssea skimmer. I only run it right after water changes and when doing canister cleaning to help remove any surface "scum". It is a great skimmer for the price and my usage. I look forward to more updates.


Gosh, almost a month late on replying. My apologies. I never got the notification for your post!

Thanks so much for the compliments. Yes BBA is still around, its primarily all over the driftwood at this point. I'll keep up on the maintenance and WCs, hope for the best.




griffin_pak said:


> Just absolutely perfect in everyway! well done sir/ma'am


Thank you so much!!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

*Update!*

*Hope everyone is doing well this year thus far!*

Haven't updated the journal in around a month at this point.

A few exciting things happening lately outside of the aquarium world. Went on vacation for a couple of weeks and visited family back in the southeast. Took a second leg of the trip up through some national forests and into the mountains of western North Carolina...

Planned a short hike with a nice view of the mountains and a waterfall...asked my girl of 3 years to be my wife. Came back from vacation as an engaged man. 

Couldn't be happier this past month :grin2:

---

So to update progress on the aquarium- not much is happening. I came back from vacation to nothing new, which is just the way I like it lol 

Right before vacation, I did about a 50% rescape of the aquarium. Mainly removing all the stems, and just concentrating on crypts, buces, ferns, etc

Parameters still remain the same _with the exception of switching out one of my Beamswork LED strips for a 2 bulb T5_. 

I can't help but sometimes feel a bit of extra PAR would help things take off quicker, and maybe even eradicate some nuisance algae that hangs around. I don't have a PAR meter so its just a guess. I know the LEDs suspended close to 30" above the substrate can't be that high of PAR. The stems grew well... but the microsword carpet never really went crazy. Hoping to change that now.

-

*Lighting will now be:*

1 Ecoexotic LED strip set to 50% W, 20% R, and <10% G&B for sunrise and sunset.
1 Beamswork LED 0.5 W 6500k
1 Odyssea 2 bulb T5 with Giesemann Aquaflora and Midday bulbs

Total of 8 hours of lighting - 1 hour sunrise, 6 hours full light, 1 hour sunset

-

The name of the game for this aquarium has been _simplicity_, but if I feel the need, I have no issues with ordering a 36" 4 bulb T5 fixture. I don't want to start the battle of constantly trying to manage a high PAR aquarium again at this time, but I strongly believe I've got some wiggle room to up the game with some T5s (and my current filtration, CO2, etc be sufficient)

No update pics at this time. I want to let it bush out for another week or two under the T5s before I present the new rescape.

Thanks for checking it out


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

Looking pretty great.

I've been eyeing this aquarium recently. I don't think DW would understand changing from a standard rimmed 75G, but occasionally I can make a good argument.  I love the looks of the shallow rimless with wood coming out of the water, and my corydoras would love the expanded footprint.

I'm not sure if its new, but there is a distributor of these tanks in Colorado Springs.

Do you have the version with the Opti-white glass? I'd be torn on that. Its more expensive but if this is my main display tank, it might be worth it.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

vanish said:


> Looking pretty great.
> 
> I've been eyeing this aquarium recently. I don't think DW would understand changing from a standard rimmed 75G, but occasionally I can make a good argument.  I love the looks of the shallow rimless with wood coming out of the water, and my corydoras would love the expanded footprint.
> 
> ...




lol yes since it was the main display tank in my home I went with the rimless. Never saw an option for Optiwhite glass through Deep Blue. It’s worth going rimless for your main tank. This one was expensive IMO but worth it. 

And wow that must be very new as I contacted Deep Blue last year and they did not distribute anywhere to LFS on the “west coast”. Only along the east coast. 

Fish do seem so love this foot print. I get more natural schooling activity from fish than I’ve ever seen before. 


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## SocalAquatics (Jan 15, 2018)

Absolutely love shallow tanks. You did a fantastic job on yours, really liking it's progress.


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## underH20garden (Dec 19, 2017)

yes great job pretty much read the whole build thread from start to finish. its always nice to see the progress tanks go through.
I do fancy the deep blue tanks but like you found out they are expensive to get in the Rockies...

anyway keep up the good work and pics coming! 
cheers


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

Aha, I figured it out. Its because the Colorado Springs company distributes them under the name "Aquarium Masters". 99% sure its the same tanks.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

SocalAquatics said:


> Absolutely love shallow tanks. You did a fantastic job on yours, really liking it's progress.




Thanks so much!!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

underH20garden said:


> yes great job pretty much read the whole build thread from start to finish. its always nice to see the progress tanks go through.
> 
> I do fancy the deep blue tanks but like you found out they are expensive to get in the Rockies...
> 
> ...




Thank you very much. I always hope people read from beginning to end [emoji4]


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

vanish said:


> Aha, I figured it out. Its because the Colorado Springs company distributes them under the name "Aquarium Masters". 99% sure its the same tanks.




So interesting. I wish I’d knew that!


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Is your hygro pinnatifida planted in the substrate? I have tried numerous times with that plant and have always done something at some point to kill it. The color and depth it adds to your tank is gorgeous. I'm thinking about trying again


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

The Dude1 said:


> Is your hygro pinnatifida planted in the substrate? I have tried numerous times with that plant and have always done something at some point to kill it. The color and depth it adds to your tank is gorgeous. I'm thinking about trying again




Hey dude 

Yes it is in the substrate. It’s always been a really slow grower for me man. I know root tabs and good CO2 make all the difference for me. Even under medium LED light, it grew well and would grow back after topping. 

Thank you very much, although it’s funny you ask... after the rescape, I kind of hacked it down really low and replanted it all. It has not grown back the way I’d like yet and I’ve been missing the nice purple hues from it. I was cutting back some of the tiger lotus pads yesterday in the hopes it will get some more direct light and begin to thrive again. That’s the one stem species I kept because I love the leaf shape and texture so much. 


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Do you get pinholes in your pinnatifida too? If so, how do you combat them?

Congrats on the engagement!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Phil Edwards said:


> Do you get pinholes in your pinnatifida too? If so, how do you combat them?
> 
> Congrats on the engagement!


Hey Phil thanks alot!

I haven't ever had pinholes in my pinnatifida... as I said to Dude before, I am just hoping mine just springs back after the major trimming and replanting at last rescape! :surprise:


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## MaroMan (Jan 6, 2010)

Great looking tank! Loved the build thread, carpentry is a lot of fun.

If I may offer some suggestions for equipment that I have included on my tank which made it more about the inhabitants and less about the equipment. I changed my setup over to an inline heater about 6 years ago and haven't looked back since! It was extremely easy and the Hydor inline heater I have has been great, keeps my 75 gallon tank in the upper 70's with no problem. Additionally, I would suggest an inline co2 reactor on the return from your canister filter. The reactor would give you better dissolution of the co2 and it will be be circulated around your tank by the outflow of your canister filter and your circulation pump. These are just suggestions and in no way are they the best way to go, just aesthetic items that I never knew until looking through the forums and wondering how people keep the pristine open top nano aquariums without any equipment in them. 

I share your frustration with BBA, it is a pain but I have found that a shot of hydrogen peroxide in the vicinity with all pumps off for a little will kill it off, however it will come back if your parameters aren't correct. good luck with the fight! Keep posting the updates love seeing the progression of the tank!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

MaroMan said:


> Great looking tank! Loved the build thread, carpentry is a lot of fun.
> 
> If I may offer some suggestions for equipment that I have included on my tank which made it more about the inhabitants and less about the equipment. I changed my setup over to an inline heater about 6 years ago and haven't looked back since! It was extremely easy and the Hydor inline heater I have has been great, keeps my 75 gallon tank in the upper 70's with no problem. Additionally, I would suggest an inline co2 reactor on the return from your canister filter. The reactor would give you better dissolution of the co2 and it will be be circulated around your tank by the outflow of your canister filter and your circulation pump. These are just suggestions and in no way are they the best way to go, just aesthetic items that I never knew until looking through the forums and wondering how people keep the pristine open top nano aquariums without any equipment in them.
> 
> I share your frustration with BBA, it is a pain but I have found that a shot of hydrogen peroxide in the vicinity with all pumps off for a little will kill it off, however it will come back if your parameters aren't correct. good luck with the fight! Keep posting the updates love seeing the progression of the tank!


Thanks for checking out the journal!

Thank you for the suggestions. I've heard of inline heaters for years but never tried one. I'll have to consider it at some point - maybe when this Eheim heater craps out. I do get tired of seeing it in the aquarium.

Also inline diffusers- I used one for about a year and then switched to a RexGriggs reactor. When setting up this aquarium, I was considering an inline and just stuck with my glass diffuser. I am still tossing the idea around - especially with going up to T5s recently. If I begin to see any algae popping up, that the glass diffuser can't handle, I'll have to consider switching over to an inline.

Yes some H202 has always helped tame it back, speaking of BBA. I think I'm near the point of draining the tank down low and just dousing the wood with peroxide. Thanks again!


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## TheMakani (May 31, 2017)

tank looks great, can't wait until its all grown in and a solid forest of plants! i want more pictures!

a while back you mentioned you removed the the odyssea skimmer because it clogged up too fast. not sure if you've gotten a new skimmer yet, but I've been using the azoo skim 250 for a little under a year and really like it. i bought it used with some other equipment so i don't really know how long its been in use, but I'm happy with how its working for me so far. i unplug it when i feed my fish (i use flakes so they'll get sucked into it if i don't) and can see the shimmer of film build up by the next feeding when i forget to plug it back in.
my tank is only 22gal so it doesnt have the same load as yours but i only clean the skimmer once a month or so. the flow rate does get lower if i leave it super long without cleaning the foam but I've never had it completely stop. haven't tried the odyssea version (although I'm ordering one for my 5gal after reading your post since its only $10 on amazon) but from looking at the photos the odyssea appears to have a much finer foam than the azoo version, which may be why it clogs so fast.
or, what about swapping out the foam in the odyssea with a more porous version so it doesn't clog as fast? 
i have ember tetras in my tank and none of them have gotten sucked into my skimmer. my shrimp do go into the skimmer quite frequently (i guess its a buffet in there) but they climb in and out whenever they want.

not sure if you had already addressed this issue because i was mostly was looking at photos and skimming the text since i was looking through the whole thread just now, but wanted to share my experience/thoughts in case you hadn't


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

TheMakani said:


> tank looks great, can't wait until its all grown in and a solid forest of plants! i want more pictures!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Thanks so much for the suggestion!

I haven’t been using the skimmer recently and luckily the surface has remained nice and clear. If I ever find the need for a new skimmer I’ll keep in mind the suggestion. 

And do try out the odyssea one like mine for a small aquarium, it works great. Just seemed to overload so quickly with my size aquarium. The more porous, more coarse foam would sound like a solution too. 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

*Well all of the original planning for LEDs... slow growth... HOB filter... it all seems to be going to the birds at this point lol*

-

I recently switched to a T5/LED combination set up. Replacing one of my Beamswork LEDs with an Odyssea 2-bulb 36" T5 fixture.

So many plants have perked up in literally a week's time... and the color is just phenomenal compared to my LEDs. I actually miss thinking of bulb combos and ordering an excessive amount of T5 bulbs lol

Lobelia had stayed the same size for months, and now is looking so healthy. Growing taller everyday.

All of the java fern and crypts species are pearling daily. Even the microsword carpet is pearling daily.

I added a patch of some Stauro Repens recently and it looked pretty tattered after coming back form vacation, which it had spent under the LEDs. Since adding the T5s, they've all got new tops and will soon be ready to top & replant.

-

_Seeing all of this, I realize I was possibly teetering on the edge of having sufficient healthy amounts of light, compared to "barely enough"_

Therefore today, as required in this hobby, I'm going to take it overboard >

-

Bringing back out the 4-bulb 4' T5 fixture. This also means building a new light canopy for the 4' light today.

This 4-bulb T5 will replace all the Beamswork LEDs I had on the aquarium, _with the exception of keeping my Ecoexotic LED which I only use for Sunrise/Sunset function_

Bulb combination will likely be 

(2) 6500K Midday Bulbs, (1) Truelumen Flora, and (1) Vivosun 3000k bulb. 

or

(2) 6500K Midday Bulbs and (2) Truelumen Flora

-

I learned long ago to hoard all of my equipment. In this hobby, I change out equipment and constantly tweak parameters, so I just hold on to everything I have. I will set aside the 3' canopy I had built for the LEDs... in the event I become tired of fast growth from T5s and want to switch back to LEDs again. I'd be able to just detach the 4' canopy and replace it with the 3'. 

-

I will document this 4' build of the canopy as well. I had many people ask questions on here and Reddit about how I built the suspended canopy to hold several types of LEDs/T5s. So this time around, I'll try to take many more pictures to show the process.


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## Zarniwoop (Jun 3, 2015)

Loving the journal so far, looking forward to new photos with the updated lights.

With respect to the BBA, I had this problem in my tank, a group of 3 Siamese algae eaters cleaned out all the BBA within a week. Now they keep the tank pristine always picking away for new algae then joining in during feeding time with everyone else. 

These guys can be mislabeled often, so just make sure you are getting a proper SAE and not a flying fox. 

I have also heard of hobbyists "loaning" a small group of SAE out to friends to clean up an outbreak. This approach would mean you need to make sure the algae won't come back after you give the fish back.

Good luck on the journey, can't wait to see more updates.


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## 0stress (Jan 20, 2018)

Subbing to this, great design work.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Zarniwoop said:


> Loving the journal so far, looking forward to new photos with the updated lights.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Thank you!

Luckily as of now the BBA is only on the driftwood and on older leaves. Nothing on new growth. I’m about to douse the wood in hydrogen peroxide for a few days in a row, and maybe do a low concentration whole tank treatment for 5 days or so. 

SAE would be great but I can never find any locally. Always the CAEs. Wish I could!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

0stress said:


> Subbing to this, great design work.




Thank you!!


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

If you have any moss, Riccia, Subwassertang, or anything like that I would pass on the H202. I did some spot dosing in one of my tanks right onto some hair algae... 3 days later all of the subwassertang on the other side of the tank turned brown and died... the flame moss also slowly died off except for a few strands. If you have anything like that in there I would take it out and keep it out for a few days and at least 1 50% water change. Hydrogen peroxide should break down in water quickly, but man it wiped out alot of stuff that I really liked. 
We definately need a recent FTS. I'm sure there has been tremendous growth since the last.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

The Dude1 said:


> If you have any moss, Riccia, Subwassertang, or anything like that I would pass on the H202. I did some spot dosing in one of my tanks right onto some hair algae... 3 days later all of the subwassertang on the other side of the tank turned brown and died... the flame moss also slowly died off except for a few strands. If you have anything like that in there I would take it out and keep it out for a few days and at least 1 50% water change. Hydrogen peroxide should break down in water quickly, but man it wiped out alot of stuff that I really liked.
> We definately need a recent FTS. I'm sure there has been tremendous growth since the last.




Thanks for the tip man. Luckily, right now I don’t have any mosses in the tank. I did spot treat the wood last night with 8mL of hydrogen peroxide. A lot of fizzing going on. Hoping it’s turning purple and pink today when the lights come on. 

-

As far as a FTS, I’m itching to post one as well. 

I made some serious changes during the last rescape. Thinned out everything and even got rid of several species. 

Almost all stems were removed with exception to Lobelia cardinalis, hygro pinna and some stauro repens. 

About to remove the Tiger Lotuses for good as they’re putting off lily pads that stretch two feet across the tank. Kind of shading out everything. 

Crypts went through some melt following the rescape and are just now getting a good foothold and starting to thicken up again. 

Just waiting for things to take shape a bit more before I post an updated FTS with progress pics over the last few weeks!




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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

Williak said:


> About to remove the Tiger Lotuses for good as they’re putting off lily pads that stretch two feet across the tank. Kind of shading out everything.


The tiger lotus is probably my favorite plant in my tank. I found that if you remove the surface leaves before they make it, over time the plant puts out more submerged leaves, almost "giving up" on putting out lily pads.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

vanish said:


> The tiger lotus is probably my favorite plant in my tank. I found that if you remove the surface leaves before they make it, over time the plant puts out more submerged leaves, almost "giving up" on putting out lily pads.


I will have to give that a go. This is always the course I run with any Lily types. It's already been removed from the aquarium and moved to a future Betta aquarium. It's going to be pretty much the only plant in that 5 gallon tall column style Betta tank. So I will be trimming the hell out of it then, and also just add some crypts or dwarf sag to the bottom. Foot print is only about 10x10" 

I just saw you're in Longmont, Vanish. Cool! Haven't linked up with many other planted tank enthusiasts here, even though I've lived in Denver for 5+ years now.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

*A few hiccups since last post...*

I had planned to slap on the 4 bulb T5 fixture and keep going, but my fiance and I decided to re-arrange our living room. 

I was nervous to move this aquarium across the room and really did not want to empty the entire thing considering I am *still struggling to overcome a recent Green Hair Algae and BBA outbreak after rescaping*. It's like the black diamond blasting sand will just not get clean. I vacuum it everytime and it still looks dirty after. I am not sure what's happening here :help:

However, those appliance/furniture sliders saved the day (and my and my fiance's backs lol). I drained it down to about 20 gallons left in the aquarium + 100lb stand + 200lb aquarium + 150lb of sand. We were able to deadlift one end at a time.. just enough to slide under the sliders. Then it glided across the floor to its new home on the other side of the room. It actually looks great where it is now.

----- 

On to the next note- as of recent, I am planning to put our house on the market for sale this summer..

So none of this is too permanent and this aquarium will likely only be set up for another 3-6 months

:redface: :redface: :redface:

We have plans of relocating across the country in the next couple of years, so if I'm renting following this, I am not sure I'll be setting up an 80 gallon in a rented house/townhome. But whatever the situation is, there will be another shallow planted aquarium in my future lol Couldn't live without it.

-----

So on to actual updates...

Considering all of this - _I don't want to hang lights out of the ceiling again_. It will just be more patch work I need to do in a few months. I'm working on doing a conduit style hanging system today, and I will be suspending the 4 bulb T5 from that. 

I am also working on building a style of canopy I've never built. Kind of a faux canopy... if that makes any sense. The lights will be hung from the metal light housing... but with a very light-weight wooden canopy to slide over the light housing. It won't be structural at all, more so just aesthetic.

I'll be documenting that build though here, just in case that anyone likes the idea of it.

I am also going to upgrade from _a glass diffuser to a Rex Griggs reactor again_. Just a 30" length 2" PVC style. I'll post some pics of it too. Union at the top so I can add in bioballs, and access it to clean. 

Pictures coming soon... forreal.... I promise... seriously :grin2:

-


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## vanish (Apr 21, 2014)

Sad to hear about moving. I think you're crazy for leaving this area, but to each his own. If you ever need to rehome that aquarium ... 

I'll be watching your light build, as its a style I am interested in pursuing.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

vanish said:


> Sad to hear about moving. I think you're crazy for leaving this area, but to each his own. If you ever need to rehome that aquarium ...
> 
> 
> 
> I'll be watching your light build, as its a style I am interested in pursuing.




LOL yes, not that I don’t love the area... I think I’d just be crazy to not leave when I consider my mortgage payment and the steadily increasing cost of living around here. 

I’ve only been here since 2013 and it gets worse every year. I’m definitely not complaining about the real estate rises though. The profit/equity alone I’ll make off of my house will be a 50% down payment on my next house anywhere else in the US, aside the PNW and Cali. 

-

Completed the conduit light hanger today. Sprayed the conduit a “Black Stainless Steel”.... looks so damn good I’m just considering spraying the metal light housing black stainless to match it now 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Alright guys, things are settling down in the aquarium and I will for sure get a new FTS up in the next week. 

Did a water change and some maintenance yesterday and wanted to share a little timelapse video from my iPhone. Quality leaves so much to be desired, but it gives a glimpse of what the rescape has done.

-


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Tank is looking great! 

And I like the time lapse movie. Very cool.


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## Zarniwoop (Jun 3, 2015)

Tank is looking beautiful!! Too bad it may be taken down soon. Enjoy it while it lasts!


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## Storylover (Aug 8, 2009)

This journal is great. Your set up with the light hanging from the ceiling is inspiring. I hope that you end up getting something just as cool set up in your new location.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Thanks everyone!

It is in the tentative plan to take the aquarium down in the next few months... but things could always change. It’s just a plan as of now.

New FTS coming very soon. I wanted to have a few decent FTS over the last weeks to document progress since the rescape. 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Time for an update I suppose :grin2:

-

I re-scaped the aquarium around the beginning of February. Removing probably 40% of the plant mass and trying to free up some breathing room in the aquarium. I wasn't enjoying how densely I had initially planted, basically creating a "coast to coast wall" across the back half of the aquarium. 

I tossed most all stem plants, a couple of crypt species, the tiger lotus...

-

(In previous posts I had talked about switching up lights.)

In summary, I removed all of my LEDs and switched to a 4 bulb 48" T5 fixture. I initially ran 2 bulbs - 1 6500k and 1 Truelumen Flora for a few weeks and everything adjusted well. Seeing pearling and just increased plant health all over. Greener and brighter. The lingering nuisance algae seemed to reside even more.

The itch just got worse and worse, so I added in 2 more bulbs (total of 4) and swapped out my in-tank glass diffuser for a 30" tall x 2" Diameter RexGriggs Reactor.

2 6500k and 2 Truelumen Flora were on for a week or two, and I started to see minor amounts of BBA and string algae popping up even more across the plants (this time even affecting new leaves). 

Being too busy to stare at the aquarium for any length- within one week, things got pretty wicked. BBA all over. Black tufts, and long black and green strings of algae everywhere. It looked terrible. I was considering doing a full clean out and taking it as an opportunity to blow an excessive amount of money on all new plants and another rescape lol >

Knowing I have better spent priorities, I started to check off the list.

-

I had tested CO2 levels after setting up the Rex Griggs. I did again at this time - _1.3 drop in pH_. Seeing pearling across the entire aquarium 6+ hours a day. 

Knowing I have not been greatly over- or underdosing fertilizers, I didn't want to wait much longer to do fertilizer trial and error testing. 

Given the recent major increase in lights, I concluded even with good CO2 and substantial fertilizer levels, I was just pushing too much PAR into the aquarium (considering all slower growing plants too), _so I reduced back down to 3 bulbs_. 2 6500k and 1 Truelumen Flora combination. 

-

I decided to do a peroxide/excel treatment to "hit the reset button" after making the lighting change back down to 3 bulbs. In my experience, even after correcting the issue, crypts and ferns will hold onto that old algae for months before its entirely cleared up.

Dosed 240 mL of 3% H20 (followed 3mL per 1 gal dose) + wavemakers to full blast for 30 min
Performed 90% waterchange + Full dose of Excel. 

Within a day, all the BBA and string algae was red and withering away. Things have perked up since then and we are looking on the up and up. There is still a tiny bit hanging around following the treatment. I will continue to spot dose with H202 and excel.

I'll post a true and recent FTS soon. Waiting to get a good shot at night time with no glare  

---

Post rescape around early February... 




Following around 6 weeks of growth... (photo from mid March)


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Looking good! Is that the Helianthum tenellus 'Red'? That used to be super sought after as a foreground then suddenly disappeared.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Phil Edwards said:


> Looking good! Is that the Helianthum tenellus 'Red'? That used to be super sought after as a foreground then suddenly disappeared.




Thanks Phil! Just microsword actually!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

*Day 70*

-

Alright guys

Not alot of updating to do really. No changes to any parameters.. Everything is just cruising after all the commotion recently. 

Finally got some decent FTS (aside the glare of the damn tripod leg on the glass :icon_roll )

I guess this would be around Day 70 since rescape

-

Edit 5/22/18 - Wow bummer, looks like something happened and Flickr lost these pics  
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## dbl_dbl17 (Feb 4, 2012)

Really gorgeous. Well done bud.


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Looking great! Are you still running only two bulbs? If so, are they right next to each other in the middle of the tank? I've considered turning the middle two on over my tank when I get home, but it seems to me we've hit on a good combo for our respective, similar, tanks.


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

I gotta say, I love this tank.

Very, very nicely done!!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

dbl_dbl17 said:


> Really gorgeous. Well done bud.


Thanks so much 

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Phil Edwards said:


> Looking great! Are you still running only two bulbs? If so, are they right next to each other in the middle of the tank? I've considered turning the middle two on over my tank when I get home, but it seems to me we've hit on a good combo for our respective, similar, tanks.


Hey Phil right now I am running 3 bulbs. 2 6500k and 1 Truelumen Flora. 

Front to back... 6500k, Truelumen Flora, empty, 6500k. If that makes sense lol

2 bulbs was actually going great for this aquarium. I got greedy and wanted to fully load it up. It only took about a week or so, of relentless blasting with all 4 bulbs in, before it started show alot more algae growth. I checked and CO2 ph drop was good... I believe my fertilizer levels are adequate, so I just didn't want to wrestle with it.

3 bulbs seems to be the sweet spot here. I notice increased pearling at 3, compared to 2 bulbs. Plant growth is perhaps better, but all I have in here are slow growers. 

Coloration on all my new crypt leaves is dramatically different than what I was getting with LEDs. I wish I had known and taken direct comparison pictures to show. 

Before, all species had meshed together visually. I couldn't tell many of them apart. Luckily, I just knew I had kept them grouped and had it written down. Now, after a few weeks under T5s, each crypt species is looking much more unique. 

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Greggz said:


> I gotta say, I love this tank.
> 
> Very, very nicely done!!



Thanks alot man!

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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Hmmm, I may try one of my Truelumen Flora, or whatever they're called and see how things go and grow. Right now my 6500K bulbs are set up exactly like yours, but with nothing in-between. I'm not a big fan of the pink tones the Floras give, so I may go back to two bulbs or add another 6500K depending on how things look once I get my eyes on them again in person. 

Cheerios,
Phil


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Phil Edwards said:


> Hmmm, I may try one of my Truelumen Flora, or whatever they're called and see how things go and grow. Right now my 6500K bulbs are set up exactly like yours, but with nothing in-between. I'm not a big fan of the pink tones the Floras give, so I may go back to two bulbs or add another 6500K depending on how things look once I get my eyes on them again in person.
> 
> Cheerios,
> Phil


Oh wow lol.. Yea those are actually the bulbs I have. I can never keep all the "-Flora" bulb names correct. Now I need to go back and correct all the places I have posted _Floramax_ to _Truelumen Flora_.   

I'm not a huge fan of the pinkish tones, but I do think it brings out some great hues on my crypts. And at a 2:1 combo with the 6500k, it is very watered down.. 

I do have some ~3000k T5 bulbs - I always like the warm glow of "incandescent light" into aquariums, but I haven't tried that tone over this aquarium yet.

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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Everyone,

Just a few quick snap shots of the aquarium from today

Did a 75% waterchange... some siphoning of all detritus. Cleaned out the canister and replaced the green/white filter pad and all fine filter floss. Purigen looked fine so I left it for next time. 

I also pulled up that unidentified crypt in the aquarium, split it up and replanted a little area nestled front-left of the java fern. I originally planted 4 of these crypts. 2 grew large, and 2 stunted and have just sat there. Hopefully replanting will trigger some of these dormant ones to take off. 

Also did a major trim on the Lobelia recently. Replanted that whole area. 







-

I do have to say that Stauro Repens is sucking really bad in my aquarium. It's center tank... plenty of light right on it. I'm not sure why it has just cowered like this..



-

Then some full tank snaps... It's all filled in pretty well. Waiting on the carpet to catch up :laugh2:







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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

How's the flow to the Stauro? Our systems are nearly identical and mine's growing gangbusters. The only difference is mine's getting direct flow from the filter outlet. Since I switched from the very middle two to the next most "middle", the equivalent of your outer two, it's done even better.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

I love the rescape!! That micro sword looks so similar to my crypt parva, but appears to grow at 10 times the rate.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Phil Edwards said:


> How's the flow to the Stauro? Our systems are nearly identical and mine's growing gangbusters. The only difference is mine's getting direct flow from the filter outlet. Since I switched from the very middle two to the next most "middle", the equivalent of your outer two, it's done even better.




Funny you comment Phil. I was reading your journal and saw you mention yours were doing well. That sparked the idea for me to document that mine are lagging like hell. 

You may be on to something though... because my stauro repens and all buces (all of which are just very stagnant) are in the lowest flow area of the aquarium. Kind of nestled in the middle around the driftwood. 

90% of the time, the only flow in my aquarium is from the canister- which is very minor after reactor and all. I turn on my extremely overpowered wavemaker/powerhead for about 30 minutes every evening and it converts the aquarium into a whirlpool. Stirs up all detritus for the filter intake to catch. 

Perhaps it’s time to add another continuous flow powerhead on the other end of the aquarium, with the idea of helping the “return” flow from the opposite side of my canister input/output. 

Going to rummage through my old powerheads or maybe just order a nice new sparkly one to throw in there  thanks for the idea buddy!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

The Dude1 said:


> I love the rescape!! That micro sword looks so similar to my crypt parva, but appears to grow at 10 times the rate.




Thanks so much dude!

Interesting to hear you say. Microsword always grows like a weed for me after the initial shock. DHG... couldn’t grow it to save my life. 


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

You're quite welcome, sir! Hope you find something that works for you.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Guys its been about a month since my last update here. 

The aquarium is largely overgrown again at this point- the narrow leaf java fern is just creating umbrellas across portions of the tank. Microsword got a complete mowing down to about an inch a couple of weeks ago, and it is slowly creeping back. All the crypts are pushing 5-6" now. It's getting pretty crowded. 

I must admit I've grown stale on the aquarium design right now. I find myself only glancing at the aquarium once a day, not really giving it any more attention than that. I know when I stop taking pictures of my aquarium... I'm getting burnt out on the scape. So.... time for a real rescape, not just a replanting.

-

Planning to make some major changes to switch up the feel in the next few weeks.

Switching from _Black Diamond blasting sand_ over to perhaps _pool filter sand_. 

I am wanting to _remove all driftwood_, and _add in some rocks_. Maybe alot of rocks. I intend to just use some creek bed/river style rock. Wanting another very natural look.

Most of the plants from the current aquarium will be moved over, _however I am wanting to "change the scale" of the aquarium appearance_. I seem to always scape on the same "scale" if I am making sense here. 

Example. Def having collectoritis...Historically and currently always having 20+ plant species in my aquariums... small groups of various colors all throughout. I would like to aim for an even more simplistic planting list in this aquarium with larger groups.. 5-7 species total? Something along those lines. Larger bushes of just a single species. Thinking narrow leaf java fern, maybe 3 crypt species, and some anubias/buce/moss.

_Another change is going to be in the fauna department._ I love having the large group of Black Neons and RCS population, but again I feel like I've had large small-fish schools and shrimp aquariums for some time now. I would like to again, working on a larger scale, lose the large school of small fish and move over to some larger fish species. This may require me to add a top to the aquarium. We will see when we're there.

I will post up a final set of pics of the current scape within this week, while get started collecting rocks for the new scape 

-


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

I wish you'd posted this a month ago. I could have sent you a buttload of a couple species.  A rescape sounds good though. Sometimes it's just time to redo it all and get something fresh, new, and motivating again.


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## underH20garden (Dec 19, 2017)

love the Deep blue tanks! its some what hard to get them out west if I may ask where did you order yours from?
nice build sir. 
keep us posted!


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Phil Edwards said:


> I wish you'd posted this a month ago. I could have sent you a buttload of a couple species.  A rescape sounds good though. Sometimes it's just time to redo it all and get something fresh, new, and motivating again.




Well damn!... I’m looking forward to a new view for sure. I always know it’s time when I stop staring at the aquarium and making changes. It’s just been in grow out mode since last rescape. 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

underH20garden said:


> love the Deep blue tanks! its some what hard to get them out west if I may ask where did you order yours from?
> 
> nice build sir.
> 
> keep us posted!




Sure, thank you!

I ordered mine from fishtanksdirect online. Pricey but worth it. 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

May 30th 2018

-

Everyone...

Still in the planning stages of the next aquascape.. I will start searching around at some landscaping supply yards and collecting scaping materials soon. 

Next unnecessary delay and sidetrack : _I believe I'm going to build a new stand for this aquarium._ 

I built this one low low- just over 24" height- with the original intention of putting hanging planters across the back and doing a large emersed growth area. I quickly lost interest in that once I got the driftwood in and it was planted. Now I'm just stuck with this super low stand. I even built a bench in my living room to also use for viewing the aquarium, but its still just uncomfortably low. 

Even though rimless, the front pane of glass seems to break my view entering the aquarium, always forcing me to squat down or step way back to see into the depth. The contrast of a 2' stand to my 6'6 height doesn't mesh well.

Woodworking being my other main hobby, I am going to step up the game and attempt to do a more advanced stand this time. I'll be documenting that process here.

Finally here are some last pictures of the current scape. I mowed the microsword down to about 1/2" height, and its growing back slowly. During a water change, I had doused the wood with peroxide to kill off more BBA that has grown back. Plants are completely clear but this driftwood seems to be deeply rooted with BBA. So anyway, forgive the red wood > lol

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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

First of all the tank looks great! Beautiful presentation.

And that is one of the great benefits of building your own stand, you can make it any size you want.

I built mine at 35". Plenty of room for 10lb CO2 tank inside the stand, and much easier to view the tank both standing and sitting. 

Only draw back is the top of my tank is over 5 feet, so I have to use a small step stool to do most maintenance. 

If you are into woodworking, consider building the stand out of dimensional lumber (no 2x4's). A bit more involved, but you end with a furniture quality piece. 

Good luck with the new build, and I look forward to following along.


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

Stunning scape and tank... thanks for sharing.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Greggz said:


> First of all the tank looks great! Beautiful presentation.
> 
> And that is one of the great benefits of building your own stand, you can make it any size you want.
> 
> ...


Thanks alot Greggz. The aquarium healed itself so to speak, after a few weeks of neglect.

Yes I will likely aim for around that height. It would be nice to conceal everything under the stand again. My fiance would def appreciate it too lol 

I don't plan to use douglas fir for this stand, so no 2x4 lumber. Most likely red oak or soft maple, with loose tenon joinery. We will see once I get out to the lumber yard and scout some prices lol

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finfan said:


> Stunning scape and tank... thanks for sharing.


Thank you very much


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## Greggz (May 19, 2008)

Williak said:


> I don't plan to use douglas fir for this stand, so no 2x4 lumber. Most likely red oak or soft maple, with loose tenon joinery. We will see once I get out to the lumber yard and scout some prices lol


I made mine out of solid oak. I used a Kreg pocket hole jig and plenty of glue. 

If you are interested, there is a short video on the first page of my journal showing how it went together. Very basic face frame construction, then plenty of trim to pretty it up. 

I also built the canopy, which in your case you probably don't want or need. The canopy was very involved, and took a lot of time. Just building the stand itself you can easily do in a weekend. 

And it's still not cheap, but to build it in that fashion would cost a bundle to have someone do it for you.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

I can understand the appeal of a new scape, but this one really is fantastic. So lush and still beautifully scaped.


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## MasterofCloak (Jun 27, 2017)

My god your tank is amazing. The java fern looks great as does the micro-sword. I honestly hope my tank will end up looking like that. 


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## The Bungulo (Aug 28, 2017)

Looks like a genuine Amano style.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

The Dude1 said:


> I can understand the appeal of a new scape, but this one really is fantastic. So lush and still beautifully scaped.


Thanks man. I can def appreciate it more since its really began to fully fill in... however, I just find myself wanting some different textures. I'd like to try rocks and sand... get away from the dark substrate and wood. Also more interactive fish... I've done the small fish/large school thing for a while and am now craving some more personable fish. I've had convict cichlids before in planted tanks without issues... or some kribensis maybe.

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MasterofCloak said:


> My god your tank is amazing. The java fern looks great as does the micro-sword. I honestly hope my tank will end up looking like that.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thank you so much, I'm sure yours will 

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The Bungulo said:


> Looks like a genuine Amano style.


What a great comment, thank you very much 

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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

*Pic updates, awaiting big rescape*

June 14, 2018


Everyone..just some updated pictures from a few days ago..

Still in planning for next stand build and full on rescape. Cleaning up my shop before starting in on the new stand- I anticipate I'll be rolling on it in around a month's time. 

Until then, I'll keep posting up some updated pics as it goes from overgrown to straight jungle status... I will likely be trying to sell off a huge majority of this narrow leaf java fern for the next rescape, as I am wanting way more hardscape materials vs all plants. 

Also, I'm currently relaxing at 2 bulbs. Growth is immense and the aquarium honestly needs a plant thinning and rescaping, before I'll even be ready to redo hardscape and all entirely. But at the moment I just don't have it in me to remove and thin out the java fern so I reduced down to 2 bulbs and am dosing fertilizer just twice a week. Trying to coast until its all ready to redo 


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Well I never did a final post for this aquarium, and unfortunately don't even have many pictures to document its final overgrown state. I recently sold all of the java fern in the aquarium to another hobbyist in the area, to begin his new 125g. I hope I'll see a journal for it on here one day 

I loved this aquarium and had mixed emotions about tearing it down. The footprint and planting was something I could love and appreciate, but my consistent lack of motivation for maintenance began to lead it downhill. 

I wanted to change gears in this hobby- something much more small and manageable (to fit in along with other hobbies). I have started a new journal for my UNS 60S 10 gallon. Just another shallow rimless nature style aquarium. Anyone who is interested can check it out at the link below or in my signature. 

"Small Shallows" - UNS 60S nature style aquarium

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Thanks to everyone who commented, followed, or just looked at the pictures <3

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