DIY new set up - 60x30x38 - 70L - Lower Light

Hi,

In my continuing mission to break down my long running corner tank I've been left with the "where do i put those fish" issue. So I decided to start a new smaller rectangle tank from bits I had kicking about in the basement.

I wanted to try and go "fakeADA" and DIY a cabinet but also tidied up an old cheap 70L tank to go with it. Additionally I wanted to try and do some experiments with lower light LED growth but without limiting my nutrients and CO2 (more on how that goes over the next few months). In turn the planting will initially be lower intensity plants but i'll throw in some odd balls later to see how they fare.

So specs -

Tank:
An old 60x30x38 with naff plastic trim and rubbish black silicon removed/tidied up. New glass lid bought with ADA hooks for support.

Lighting:
1 x LED Aquabeam strip.

Substrate:
Will be Tropica Plant Substrate covered in Flora Base normal and fine with an area of Unipac Sand at the front for the corys to snuffle in.

Hardscape:
Locally collected stones from an extinct volcano.

Heater:
External Hydor 300w.

Filter:
Fluval 205.

Flora:
Will be initially a lot of Crypts and Anubias species with some special small ferns I have collected and mosses but will experiment with a wider range later on.

Fauna:
Leftovers from my corner tank, a mix of pencil fish, mini corys, a couple of cherry barbs and some amanos.

Dosing:
CO2 with nutrients.

Currently have basically finalised the layout but am waiting until Monday before finalizing it and planting up either that day or Tuesday (am working all weekend).

Photos -









Will get a bit more exciting when its all planted up but these journals have to start somewhere. 😀

Comments and questions welcomed,

Best Regards,
John

faizal said:

Those are from the bits you had lying around the basement ??/

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🙂

The only bits i've had to buy in so far have been the lily pipes from ebay (£20) and a half the substrate (£30) plus the ada hooks for the lid (£10). The local glazer made the lid for me for £5. There has been a lot of tidying silicon and learning cabinet making (the bits for this probably cost about £40 including the chrome curtain pole to mount the LED. Everything else was just spare from old setups.

Hi,

Still collecting a few odds and sods from places to get this up and running. I think i need to apply some vasaline to the rubber seals on the 205 too as it was a little bit leaky when I did a test run the other day.

I'll see how it goes later the week.

I've done the substrate now and bedded in the rock work in anticipation for planting.



This is showing where the crypts will be going. Imagine a large amount of the sand work against the rocks will be Anubias of varying sizes. With additional moss rocks and ferns mixing it up a little.

I'll reply to other previous posts in a second. I'll just doing some measurements.

Best Regards,
John

Morgan Freeman said:

Loving the rockwork!

Looking forward to see what's coming next...

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Thanks,
I'm really surprised by how nice the rocks came out. Can't wait to see them under water.

Aqua sobriquet said:

Nice start! Look forward to seeing how you get on.

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Me too. I've been getting more and more excited about this the longer i've had it sitting in the study waiting to go. Especially since it's been so hands on with the DIY.

sanj said:

Hi,

I use my old aqua ray strips over my breeding tanks, they are 76x30x38 clearseal tanks.

I was just wondering what is the distance of the beam to the substrate? If you want I can measure a similar distance with my PAR meter. I am guessing you will probably get about the 30 PAR which should be fine for the plants you intend to grow.

The scape is looking good.

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I've actually got an PAR meter which gives me readings of around between 10 to 25 PAR dependant on where you are in the tank. Very good guess. Additionally I know the quantum response of my meter under estimates the LED light at the 675 to 750 nm end of the wavelength so it will probably be even closer to your estimate in reality.

sarahtermite said:

The rocks look great - you're so lucky to be able to collect those locally! And you've put the everything together beautifully. The whole set up has a really clean look about it.

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Thanks! Edinburgh is a city of 7 hills all of which are extinct volcanoes. I'd never been one for collecting stuff locally but two Tom's have inspired me to get off my butt and give it a shot. (Tom Barr and BigTom from Edinburgh).

If I did this again i'd probably alter the light holder. The curtain rail is too chunky and I made some wooden blocks with holes in them for holding it upright and adjusting it's height if I wanted. I know a friend whom welds and I think in the future for this kinda setup i'd just right out copy the ADA rectangular/square welded steel frame as it is a lot more minimal. Or i'd go with the wall mounted brackets or brackets coming up the back and hanging over.

Best Regards,
John

ian_m said:

JohnC said:

Still collecting a few odds and sods from places to get this up and running. I think i need to apply some vasaline to the rubber seals on the 205 too as it was a little bit leaky when I did a test run the other day.

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Vaseline and rubber is a big no no...do you not remember the lesson at school where they demonstrated why you shouldn't use vaseline with a condom. Teacher blew up condom, smear vaseline on it and it burst as it attacked and softened the rubber.

You should really use silicone based oil/grease on the seal (and probably condoms as well). I suspect KY jelly, whilst being ok for condoms, might not be suitable for filter seals.

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😀

i'll see what else i have in the house. I have silicone grease also.

There is a wider debate about use of petroleum based lubes vs non natural o-rings and if the fluval is a rubber or synthetic rubber product.. But i'm not going to go there just now.

Best Regards,
John

I think i've managed to sort it by a good cleaning. It's sitting in the bath just now filled and not leaking, hopefully it will hold up to working pressures as well.

Good tips on alternatives to vasaline thou. Thanks.

Re: DIY new set up - 60x30x38 - 70L - Lower Light - Planted!

Hi,

No time for a real update as I'm meant to be getting the girlfriend just now.

But here are a couple of cheeky photos of it all planted up. Some moss still to go in me thinks.





Best Regards,
John

awtong said:

What a view that is 8)

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Why thank you. 😀

Westyggx said:

Looking Good john!

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And you too. 😀


-------

I'm not going to do that many regular update on this as the growth rates are pretty slow currently.

I've added a reflector to the light, more to baffle any light spill from the LED's then to add to the light directed onto the tank.

CO2 is up and running. Actually running 3bps to keep a solid green drop checker, which surprised me a bit. I've also added some mystery "mini" java fern to the rocks that I was given by a friendly shop keeper but is allegedly a special import from the far east a long while ago. I'm not sure if it will stay mini under my fert regimes but I'm eager to see.

I'm getting some diatoms now and a but of fungus but soon it will be time to introduce some fauna from my corner tank and bring the tank really to life.

A photo for the road.



Best Regards,
John

Antipofish said:

Is that a single TMC aquaray or twin ? Can you do a close up of the reflectors on it ?

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From the other thread 🙂

A single, the reflector as i've mentioned is more aesthetic then functional. It's mounted to shade the rest of the room from seeing the 4 LED light points on the beam. A rough example can be seen on the first page. I just took a normal reflector and drilled it out so it fitted between the aquabeam and it's standard mounting points.

Best Regards,
John

Hi,

I've still not done a journal for the shrimp tank shown in this thread (frankly nothing much happens in it to log). But I took these photos a little while back which practising and i quite like them.







As for the 70L it's actually come on a fair amount with more moss and different crypts in. There was also a die back on some mini java fern that I have added to the rocks. So i'd been waiting for it to come back before taking a full tank shot again.

It was taking eons to grow, even with the addition of daily TPN+ dosing until I stocked the tank with the old fish from my corner tank while I redid that layout and all of a sudden the mini java fern has come back to life.

Goes to show the benefits of a little fish poop in the water column to plant growth. 🙂

I'll make an effort to photograph this utterly low maintenance tank in the next couple of weeks.

Best Regards,
John