# Project 178



## Jason Baliban (23 Nov 2009)

Hello everyone,

This is my first post on the board

Usually I do not show my layouts until they are complete.  This time, I am doing something a little different and creating a journal of the process.

Here is what i have so far.

Please feel free to ask questions or comment on the progress.  I will update the thread as progress is made.

I just picked up the Oceanic 178gallon to replace my much loved ADA 120H that spawned this layout....
http://www.projectaquarium.com/plantedA ... ander.aspx
...this new tank is an effort move away from 3 tanks to just 1 large tank....that is the plan anyway

*Tank* - Cherry 178 Oceanic Ultimate - 60x24x29" - with matching stand.

Here are two shots of the stand that was easily put in place...









Here is the tank that spent the night in the truck, because i really cant figure out how to get it out!! This thing is going to require 3-4 people to help me lift it out!!









Out of the truck....required 3 people.









Before i could put the tank on the stand i needed to create a hole for the filter tubes.

Before the cuts




First hole. On the ground, you can see the grommet i am going to use to fill the hole.




Two holes....now to saw out the middle part...




Finished...





I plan to use two 150W pendents to light this tank. The pendents need to be hung. I plan to make a light stand similar to the one that is on this tank....
http://www.projectaquarium.com/aquarium ... _stand.jpg

The challenge with doing this with the oceanic tank is that there is a lip at the top of the stand where the tank sits. I needed to fabricate something to mount the light stand on, setting it off the sides of the tank by 3/4" to clear the lip.

I went to the store and picked up two pieces of oak...




I sanded the corners a bit to create a smooth edge...




Stained...




Drilled 3 holes in the stand to mount the wood...




Finished!! This will give the light stand something to attach to.





With the help of a very strong neighbor, who is built like Shane Victorino, we got the tank on the stand.

Here are a few shots.

Zoe is about 14" tall....




Tina is about 5', 3" tall....




Side view...




Cool shot...





*Determining pendent height*

I am hanging two 150W pendents over this tank. The general rule is that 1 MH can spread about 24", but unfortunately I am right in the middle with the length of this tank. 2 lights might not be enough, but 3 will certainly be too much.

Before I build the light stand, I need to determine how high off the top of the tank I need to hang the lights. To do this, I held the pendent at different heights to see what kind of light spread I am going to get. You can see by these two pics that even 2 inches in height difference doesn't make that much of a difference lengthwise. Unfortunately, it does make a larger difference depthwise

Here are two pics of the experiment. The red dot marks the center and the blue dots are in 4" increments from the center.

10" height - about 12" of solid spread




12" height - about 15" of solid spread




I have determined I am going to start the lights at about 10" from the top of the tank and make the light stand a full 84" tall. I may lose full spread at the total top of the tank, but due to the depth of the tank I will sacrifice a little spread at the top for penetration to the bottom.


*Building the light stand*

I picked up some 1/2" EMT from the Home Depot and was time to make the light stand.

Here is the tool we use to bend EMT...




Positioning for bending...




After the bend...

























*Hardscape*

I am still in search of some hardscape materials that are large enough for this tank.

Here is what I currently have. While they are all nice and interesting, they might not be large enough. The cardboard is about 4 foot, to give you an idea of scale...




Here is the hardscape.....it has changed a bit since the photo, but it is 90% the same...




It was inspired by this shot from Hawaii...





jB


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## andyh (23 Nov 2009)

Wow!

Welcome to UKAPS!

Looks great, looking at your pictures i suspect that your not from the UK, maybe the USA (big truck  )

Keep up the journal, its great when people do such detailed journals.

That is one deep tank, i hope you have long arms!


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## JamesM (23 Nov 2009)

Excellent start, Jason, and welcome to the forum here too, your work in fantastic 

Must say, I love the tank... there's something warm and cosy about this look which I much prefer over the cold ADA look. Initial hardscape looks great to, can't wait to see updates... Do you have a plant list in mind yet?


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## Stu Worrall (23 Nov 2009)

very nice tank and layout and welcome to ukaps jason.  As jamesm said I think the cab/tank combo fit really well into the room. You must have long arms though, Id have no chance getting large rocks into that setup!


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## George Farmer (23 Nov 2009)

Welcome to UKAPS, Jason!

Stunning tank and journal - thanks for sharing.  This is going to be one to watch...


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## Tony Swinney (23 Nov 2009)

Welcome Jason    Thats a great start to a journal - I love the work on the light stand.  The hardscape is looking great too.  You've certainly set yourself a very high standard with your "Meander" scape, so I look forward to seeing this one progress   

Tony


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## viktorlantos (23 Nov 2009)

Hi Jason, i loved your previous work. Well done mate. 

The current setup looks promising and i liked the way you handcrafted the missing pieces. I am sure this is going to be another great layout. Nice work


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## AdAndrews (23 Nov 2009)

Welcome, Jason  looking to forward to see what you do, very much so, beautiful tank btw and a lovely bit of handy work too.  
Adam


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## Steve Smith (23 Nov 2009)

Fantastic to see it literally from the start   Some of us don't get the opportunity to do some of the DIY aspects and it's always great to see them!

Welcome to UKAPS too


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## aaronnorth (23 Nov 2009)

welcome to UKAPS, looking forward to this (and more of your work  )

Thanks, Aaron


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## James Marshall (23 Nov 2009)

welcome to UKaps Jason.
The tank and DIY equipment is looking great, I'm really looking forward to seeing this one as it develops.

Cheers,
James


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## myboyshay (24 Nov 2009)

Hi Jason,

Awesome journal so far. I'll definately be following this one  

Strange I was just watching the AGA 2008 dvd last night and saw you in action on the "iron scape" competition (Mr Amano as one of the judges, there wasn't much pressure there then  )

regards

Mark


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## Marco Aukes (24 Nov 2009)

Wow, amazing first post!


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## Maurits (24 Nov 2009)

wow, no further comments.

Ps welcome and I will tell the same to you as they told me, welcome to the crazy world


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## Wraithio (25 Nov 2009)

I can see this ones going to be a good watch  

Keep up the good work! 

Love seeing tanks and cabinets made from nothing to fully working! Gives me some good ideas


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## John Starkey (30 Nov 2009)

Hi jason,
firstly welcome to ukaps,secondly its nice to see our home grown forum is now going world wide,
love your setup so far and your diy skills,if you pull off what you have in mind then its going to look awesome,
regards john.


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## Jason Baliban (15 Dec 2009)

First let me say thank you for the very warm welcome.  I appologize for not updating this as often as i would like but i got caught up in a few other projects over the last few weeks.  I will post the next update in a few minutes after this post.

To answer some questions....

AndyH - Yeah, it was a big truck. Luckily my friend was kind enough to lend it to me  And no, my arms are really not long enough as I found out trying to plant the thing!!  HAHA

JamesM - I intend (and did) to use all low light plants.  There is going to be no nutrient rich substrate in this tank, just sand, so stems are out.  ....mostly ferns and anubias.

myboyshay - Yeah, there was some pressure there with amano judging.  Unfortunately i did not win that one


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## Jason Baliban (15 Dec 2009)

It is finally planted and filled!!

Special thanks to our local clubs DVAGA and GWAPA for coming out and enjoying the day with me.  It really was a blast to hang out with everyone, eat pizza, and watch Jeff dig through a sewer drain in search of rocks!!  

Here are some pics of the even and the finished product!!

Getting ready for the company....notice the bins of plants.




Planted and beginning to fill..








Half way there..








Complete...








jB


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## aquaticmaniac (15 Dec 2009)

I love it. Looks like you had fun


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## JamesM (15 Dec 2009)

Loving that bud, very nice indeed


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## CeeJay (15 Dec 2009)

Hi Jason

This is going to be one to watch. What a great start.
I'm loving this tank   .

Chris


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## Mark Webb (15 Dec 2009)

Great scape - i love it  What is the plant list Jason?


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## Tony Swinney (15 Dec 2009)

It looks great, and what a great way to scape your tank, with like mind folks to enjoy it with.  I'm usually in a room on my own for several hours   

Tony


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## Dan Crawford (15 Dec 2009)

The tank looks wonderful Jason, lovely work.

It's great to see other enthusiasts getting involved, thats what it's all about for me, plenty of plant love!


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## viktorlantos (15 Dec 2009)

lovely layout Jason. congrat to the scape.   
i also love your previous works hanging on the wall. show me the old folk, who really in this hobby   

cheers


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## peti44 (15 Dec 2009)

I love this scape, Jason.   Beautiful! I would like to see the plant list, if it is possible.


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## zig (15 Dec 2009)

Lovely scape Jason, fantastic size tank as well, stunning in reality I'm sure. Great way to share the hobby among friends.


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## George Farmer (15 Dec 2009)

Nice one mate!  

'Scape looks awesome already and what a great way to spend time; planting it up in good company.


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## Maurits (16 Dec 2009)

Am I the first one who says what a lovely tank ?.   

small comment why have you divided your tank exactly in 2 half's ?


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## flygja (17 Dec 2009)

Great to see a true master at work, what with that AGA award on the wall  8) This gives me great inspiration for the next scape that I had in mind. Only now do I realise that I need waaaaaaay bigger rocks that what I originally planned!


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## plantbrain (17 Dec 2009)

I chose this type of light rail since I can adjust the lights front to back as well:





I'd consider the U shape over the tank and attached at the sides, but opted for the rear mounting. 
The U shape makes for better photography I think in the background if you take the traditional front shot.  

I had some of the HQI's, but found them too intense and spotty in the light distribution. I tried a few different brands and configurations. I just use the PC's and T5's these days. The light will be good for your layout and the center needs no light so the scape works around the issue. 

This aquarium was redone pretty much on similar lines as yours:





Plain dolomite sand. I had the same type of rocks in this tank as you do, but chose to remove them.
I have long wanted to add stingrays to a planted tank, this tank has 2 of them. 
I use 2 Aquapro Coralife lights, sort of wish I'd chosen 8x 54W 4ft hoods instead these days, then run 1/2 of the lights on those to get the nice wide spread and nice color. I still use 3 of the 4 HQI's, but needed to raise the light up 18".........

It's a very easy nice looking tank that complements the fish. Something I think many plant folks initially had as a goal, before getting bitten by the plant bug. I like the slope in the tank and obviously, the plant slelections  

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## plantbrain (17 Dec 2009)

Just a thought:
If you ever redo the tank, you might remove the rocks more and leave open dark "shadowy caves" leading back into the wood beneath the ferns on top, it gives a nice effect and fish really take to it, plus, you can actually still see them, also enhances water flow and makes the CO2 come up through the plants from below.

I wrestled with the stones I have, and I have plenty.....about whether to add them back in the dark spots, but you know? I asked and got more input and we all agreed to not use them. It feels a bit naked,  but I can see every fish and the flow is excellent. 

Nice tank.

What type of fish do you plan on?
Silver fish do not go too well with white sand BTW.

Cards, etc and discus even, look pretty good.
Depends if you want a smaller look or a larger look for the fish. 
I often go big in the more cryptic fish, sort of the monster coming out from the lair, then have a batch of neat schooling fish. Cards and discus actually look pretty good against the plant selection and the color of the sediment.

Brass tetras, the real ones that only get about 1" are intense and interesting to watch, tough as nails too, neat schooling fish. I have a pleco fetish and catfish in general, so I have lots of them in all my home aquariums. They go well with the schooling fish. A good interesting fish selection for the plant or biotope themes:
Congo tetras/Syno cats. There's a number of very nice African species.
The Dwarf loach and some nice Rasboras also make an excellent choice.
Pack of Roselines also. Cherry shrimp would also be a good idea, breed like flies.

You can handle some rougher fish also since the plants are all pretty tough and the there's no foreground species or wimpy stems that get uprooted often etc.

You can also add as much current as you want.
I added 2x MP40 EcoTech wave drivers on the 350 above. I have 1 on my 180 Gallon.
Love those things, but they are not cheap. Fish love them, get lots of low pressure wave like current throughout the tank, and most of these plants all come from rivers, and the fact of the matter, the picture listed at the start is a fast flowing river, why not add that same current?

Fish get more exercise, eat better, more O2, more ripples, cleaner etc.
Check on RC forums for a good deal for an slightly used Ecotech MP20- MP40.


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Jason Baliban (17 Dec 2009)

It really was a lot of fun to get together with everyone, and it was especially nice to have members from other clubs come up....its always nice to connect with those guys.

Tonser - I have always done it that way also....  To be fair, i did spend a lot of time setting the hardscape up before i had visitors.  It really isnt that fun watching somebody move a rock back and forth for 5 hours!  HAHA

viktorlantos - am glad you appreciated the pics on the wall.  its really hard to believe i did all those layouts in such a short amount of time.  I slowed down over the last two years, but this layout really has me excited again!

Maurtis - I hope you arent an architect!! >  I can see what you are saying, though.  after the plants grow in the mass of each side should be quite different.

flygja - ispiration is the most important thing in my life, so when i inspire others, it really is the ultimate compliment.  And yes, rocks always seem to shrink when you add plants and water 

Tom - I always choose to mount the lights from the side to prevent the mounts showing from the back.  Its sort of a moot point in this tank (it has a background), but if i ever choose to go with the "white" background in the photo shoot, they would be in the way there too.  I think T5's are super, and probly grow plants better then HQI's but you cant argue with the shimmer effect of the HQI.  Good point on the intensity, i hope these work out, i only have about 4 more inches left on the top for raising them   ....so i hope it works out.  thanks for the great advice on the current, that is certainly something i am considering, as ferns do love some current  Thanks for your comments  

jB


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## Jason Baliban (17 Dec 2009)

*Plant List*
Narrow-Leaf Java Fern
Trident Java Fern
Bolbitis
Anubias Coffeefolia
Anubias Petite
Taiwan Moss - Added last night - No pics yet

jB


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## Jason Baliban (17 Dec 2009)

*Fish List*

7 - Peruvian Angels
50 - Lemon Tetra
25 - Panda Cory
10 - Chain Loach
20 - Ocats
75 - Amano Shrimp

jB


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## Jason Baliban (17 Dec 2009)

Oh, and here is a nice writeup with some really nice pics by Kris from GWAPA....

http://www.guitarfish.org/2009/12/15/sc ... 180g-scape

jB


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## plantbrain (17 Dec 2009)

Jason Baliban said:
			
		

> Tom - I always choose to mount the lights from the side to prevent the mounts showing from the back.  Its sort of a moot point in this tank (it has a background), but if i ever choose to go with the "white" background in the photo shoot, they would be in the way there too.  I think T5's are super, and probly grow plants better then HQI's but you cant argue with the shimmer effect of the HQI.  Good point on the intensity, i hope these work out, i only have about 4 more inches left on the top for raising them   ....so i hope it works out.  thanks for the great advice on the current, that is certainly something i am considering, as ferns do love some current  Thanks for your comments
> 
> jB



Yea, I wrestled with some of those same issues, but heck, the damn bars only cost what? 1-2$ each and a little labor and I can swap them.

So I suppose it's not a big deal. I guess the double bend and off set on the side corner would be another option, but it requires a good bend and thicker pole, and I cannot move the pesky light front to back. Works well on smaller tanks, but not the 4-6ft long tanks. 

Yes, I really love that shimmer color effect of the HQI, feels 10X more natural, which is an aesthetic I greatly prefer.
I can use them for the home tanks if I chose with the hoods I have, but they suck a lot of energy and heat, and power.........7 x 150W adds up for me.

I'd look into those EcoTech's, they really can make the look and the fish happier, and are really nice and adjustable, with minimal impact in the look and placement.

Damn, I wish you lived here, I could have given you all that rock I did not use, and all the cory pandas(about 25 that have bred 3x now) and a couple of basketball heads of Java fern.
Lemon tetras will be a nice fish for the tank. They do not jump much either.

Looking great. Like the white sand, slope and large rock use.

Regards, 
Tom barr


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## John Starkey (18 Dec 2009)

Hi Jason,wonderfull low maintenace scape,love it   ,
regards john.


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## Jason Baliban (26 Dec 2009)

I installed some lights under the tank.




Pro III




I wanted to use a pH controller as a monitor.  I removed the controlling portion...




6.9 before the lights/CO2 comes on.




And for the slickness, i added a bubble counter from GLA.




jB


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## Cyworld (27 Dec 2009)

Awesome tank.
Nice guitars also  
Btw how do those ph controllers work?


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## Garuf (27 Dec 2009)

They simply monitor the ph level and then by injecting co2 keep it at that level, the only issue with them is that there can't be any outside additional effects Ie leaking tannins, otherwise they are very unstable and can increase the chance of algae.
The idea of having injection rates that increase with the plant growth are highly desirable but unfortunately it's just a pipe dream, thought I think I know how it could be done...


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## Jason Baliban (11 Jan 2010)

Its been a couple of weeks since the start up and things are progressing nicely. Some nice green algae is settling on the rocks and making it look "homey" in there

Things are growing a bit too symmetrical, so i will be stunting the right side and allowing the left side to grow stronger.

Fish should be coming this week.

Hope you enjoy.






jB


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## R9naldo (11 Jan 2010)

good work ! I cant wait to see it whit fish


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## jym (11 Jan 2010)

Really nice    Ditto seeing it with fish.


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## LondonDragon (11 Jan 2010)

Nice journal and awesome tank  congrats and keep us posted


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## Steve Smith (11 Jan 2010)

Looking fantastic Jason.  Really loving the right smaller side   The rock face on the left is pretty dominating at the moment but obviously that'll sort itself out with time as things mature.  Must be even nicer to look at in the flesh!


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## viktorlantos (11 Jan 2010)

very nice Jason. Looking forward to the future updates.    
Cheers


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## flygja (12 Jan 2010)

Very clean setup! I like it. My only comment is that the sand path is a bit straight and maintains its width through the centre. If it was a bit more curvy and narrowed towards the rear, it would enhance the depth perception.


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## Jason Baliban (12 Jan 2010)

Thanks for the comments

Steve - This one is going to be LONG term, so it will change slightly as things progress.  I plan to prune the right side aggressively....that should show some of the rock and wood work even more.

flygja - Yes, I agree.  Not to make excuses, but in a tank this size, its really hard to just have a rock there that makes things perfect, you really have to deal with what you have that is large enough to fit in the tank!!  HAHA 

Thanks,

jB


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## Piece-of-fish (12 Jan 2010)

Owesome, i wish i could have a nice tank this big at home... Ehh One day maybe.
The sand looks a bit empty though due to the stones being to round at the bottom, especially on the left side IMO. Maybe some smaller stones or graded gravel would give it some more detail? Its a long way for me to get to that level anyway


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## George Farmer (1 Oct 2010)

Enough said!  The legend of Jason Baliban.


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## andyh (1 Oct 2010)

I know swearing isn't really the done thing but *!*! me! that's one hell of a scape, just so much to take in! Truly worldclass


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## Gfish (1 Oct 2010)

This is a very inspiring journal and the scape looks great at both stages shown, the initial planting and the now shot. Almost two totally different tanks but both equally as impressive.

Is it hard to introduce moss to the stones once a tank is full and running? 

The moss on the wood looks great too, and overall I love the plant choices.

50 lemon tetras! A great choice    So are the angels in there now too????

Cheers

Gavin


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## viktorlantos (1 Oct 2010)

Looking at a tank like this remind me why i love aquascaping  
World class work, photographed trully professionally. Probably the only thing what i would remove is the anubias on the left  

By the way not so much aquarium is out there where the Microsorum Needle looks so balanced and works well with the overall picture.

FYI: Jason will do a photography presentation at the AGA convention this year. Looks exciting especially as how he used 5 lamps for these kind of shots.


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## Gill (1 Oct 2010)

Simply Stunning Tank.


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## Mark Evans (1 Oct 2010)

I can only but imagine what this must look like in real life. The tank is huge.

Quality lighting on the image taking side of things. just confirms my thoughts about the extra 3 strobes for larger tanks.


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## GreenNeedle (1 Oct 2010)

One of the best journals around the forums this one.  There isn't another that has such a feel.

Not only the setup of the tank and equipment, the DIY aspect, the group sharing the actual setup experience.

Not many even get the viewing experience let alone sit and watch a great name putting a real tank together (I mean real as in not a demonstration setup)  I love those pictures of everyone sat around, enjoying each other's company and the 'togetherness' aspect of the photos.  Brings a real sense of enjoyment and community into a hobby which can sometimes seem a little anti social (by that I mean most of us do it on our own, show it through pictures and none else ever sees it)

I guess thats one reason why I enjoy people coming round.  so I can share what I enjoy in the real (or ethereal once I start barbling   )

And to boot a stunning end result.

All credits to one of the hobbys real 'top blokes'  Nice one Jason.

AC


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## viktorlantos (1 Oct 2010)

That's the photo releated stuff:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank- ... -shot.html


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## Tom (1 Oct 2010)

viktorlantos said:
			
		

> That's the photo releated stuff:
> 
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank- ... -shot.html



I was hoping for an actual article!! Looks good though. Interesting to see how far from the wall it is


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## a1Matt (4 Oct 2010)

Thanks for the Update Jason   
We have a thread on UKAPS called 'from this to this' 
Would be great if you could add this tank to it.

The thread is here.


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