# 120 Gallon/450 liter rimless starfire ADA "like"



## plantbrain (23 Feb 2011)

I love the aesthetics of ADA's rimless tank, they are also quite practical for the gardener. I liked the look of the stand as well. I bought a smaller 60p and really liked the over all display, I am not overly fond of the lily pipes and am surprised I have not broken them yet(2 so far).

For the 120 Gal, I wanted a shallower tank than the 24" depth. I chose 18"/45cm as a nice middle ground. The front to back depth was increased to 30"/75cm. the seam and rimless bevel was done by a guy in LA, this one is the nicest.
The stand I got through fellow poster "janz", he's in the SCAPE club and his brother makes really well made stands. Really well made.

The wood, well, you likely know me well enough to know I collect and hunt for wood as I have for many years. 






I plan on doing hair grass belem mostly, or all C parva or a mix. The "Tree" will be exactly that. I will use Anubias much like a bonsai. This tree is well suited for this goal. the slope will have the tree on a hill of grass, with nice smaller Anubias petite as leaves. the tree will be partially out of the water with the leaves extending above the water line.
The tree will actually be on the other side and the over flow pre filter will hang on the side of the tank, not the rear.This makes access easier and the flow better IME.

There will be a Vortech pump on the same side of the pre filter as well. A sealed sump below.

I am thinking and leaning towards a West African theme fish wise.
Something that does not jump out. I'd wanted a pleco "heaven", the tank would be good for that, but the wood hath spoken. 
The other 60 cube will now be modified and converted for that goal.
that's another step towards the next phase, redoing the 180 Gal will be the last step. So 3 tanks to go till I have pretty much all my tanks like this and the 60p.

The next 60 cubes will be a different size: 36Lx24DX18"H, 67 Gal, but  alot nicer dimension to work with.

Cubes are fun, but the 24"x24"(60x60cm) dimension is getting old, time for something different and time to get rid of the Glasscages tanks and stands. Selling them pays for an ADA like stand etc. 

Nice thing is, jnaz and Charlie both live close by, so I can get all the stuff on one trip.
I'd like to make a Cree LED lighting system with angled lighting and variable colors, with a dimmer....but I can wait a bit. I have the wide spread 4x 54 W in the Tek hood.


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## nayr88 (24 Feb 2011)

Hey Tom

It all sounds really great, and the tank and stand look brilliant. The wood...the wood is just on another level! You could mount it on a  plinth(spelling?) and call it a  piece of art, I can't quite find the word to best describe it but it really pleases my brain  haha


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## ghostsword (24 Feb 2011)

It is a  really nice tank, and the layout proposed will make that amazing piece of wood the centre stage.

For fish I would use rainbows, I know you said that you wanted to have a African Biotope, but a setup such as that would look amazing with a shoaling fish.


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## Alastair (26 Feb 2011)

Looking forward to seeing this set up and running :0)


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## Tom (26 Feb 2011)

Lovely piece of wood


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## plantbrain (28 Feb 2011)

Redid the hood, all nice a pretty white. The bars as well.
They blend in well and do not distract from the scene.

Jason B had mentioned he chose the U shape and the side mounts for his to not distract from the photographs. Good idea, but the side mount would not look good for my taste here. I can place a white backboard if need be in the rear, but in general, they will not stand out that much.

A ceiling suspension is best obviously:icon_idea

I like the all white clean look.


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## FishBeast (28 Feb 2011)

Did you make a plasta base for your wood? Love it.


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## plantbrain (28 Feb 2011)

FishBeast said:
			
		

> Did you make a plasta base for your wood? Love it.


??

No, that is how the wood grows, it's all natural, I sawed the base flat so it is easy place etc, but the wood is how it comes from nature.


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## Marco Aukes (28 Feb 2011)

stunning piece of wood!


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## foxfish (28 Feb 2011)

Your piece of wood looks like a 200 year old dead bonsai tree trunk (that means it looks great to my eyes).


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## plantbrain (8 Apr 2011)

You can see the duct tape around the lip of the sump.
A simple CO2 system, Victor reg, Clippard in line check valve, burket solenoid, and Nupro valve with vernier micrometer handle. Feed into the intake of the needle wheel and into the return. Lots of sponge and bioballs. Clear PVC return.

I'll be getting a lot petite Anubias in a few days and will tie them to the wood.


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## mdhardy01 (8 Apr 2011)

*120 Gallon/450 liter rimless starfire ADA "like"*

I love the look
The scape will be amazing 
Like the look of the wood next to the tank as well????
Matt


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## foxfish (8 Apr 2011)

Nice basic set up then, not even a bubble counter!
I have tried every type of reactor & diffuser available but have now reverted back to feeding straight into my sump pump.
I am looking forward to reading the next instalment.


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## bigmatt (11 Apr 2011)

That wood is freakin' sweet  !  Why don;t we get that in the UK   
Did you say you're using a pre-filter for your intake - could you explain that in a bit more info as it's a new thing for me but sound a good way to avoid shrimp-mashing!
Cheers,
Matt


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## sanj (12 Apr 2011)

Tom's got a great wood...   

There is no doubt about it, the ADA style is great.


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## ghostsword (13 Apr 2011)

*120 Gallon/450 liter rimless starfire ADA "like"*

Tom does ship boxes of wood to the UK, I got three boxes from him already.


.


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## sanj (13 Apr 2011)

Hey Luis,

did you order a big crate then? Or smaller boxes.


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## ghostsword (13 Apr 2011)

sanj said:
			
		

> Hey Luis,
> 
> did you order a big crate then? Or smaller boxes.



I got three boxes of 100cm by 40cm by 30cm, full with wood. Sold most of it, but still got some good pieces on the garden now, my private stock.


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## plantbrain (14 Apr 2011)

bigmatt said:
			
		

> That wood is freakin' sweet  !  Why don;t we get that in the UK
> Did you say you're using a pre-filter for your intake - could you explain that in a bit more info as it's a new thing for me but sound a good way to avoid shrimp-mashing!
> Cheers,
> Matt




The prefilter is this item:

http://www.cpraquatic.com/pdf/CS100.pdf

Bad because you need the small Tom's pump running to keep the siphon from breaking, but then you have a much more discrete box in the tank. Trade off. I could feed an air tube into the return for the pump and the positive suction would be high enough I think.

Have not tried it yet.


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## foxfish (16 May 2011)

I am very interested in your needle wheel set up, have you successfully used this system before?
I was concerned that the NW pump might not offer enough head to get from the sump up to the tank?


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## Zerocon (17 May 2011)

So envious of your Wood.
(and no, not _that_ kind of wood!)


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## sanj (17 May 2011)

Zerocon said:
			
		

> So envious of your Wood.
> (and no, not _that_ kind of wood!)



Now, lets not start splitting hairs...


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## Zerocon (17 May 2011)

I wonder if you got all the budding planted aquarists out there to start bidding on that piece of wood, it would probably go for a fortune!


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## Zerocon (17 May 2011)

I wonder if you got all the budding planted aquarists out there to start bidding on that piece of wood, it would probably go for a fortune!


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