# four stone modified fluval flex 57



## soggybongo (10 Aug 2018)

After letting my reef tank go a fair few years ago now i decided to give a planted tank a bash.

if anyone has any questions or helpfull advice please post away.

The Tank is a fluval flex 57ltr 

substrate base layer





soil layer




lid now chopped and new light fitted (chihiros Aquasky 301 led)








inlets modified with 20 mesh marine grade.








bog wood boiled for 3 hours then left to dry out for 2 weeks then soaked in ro water with a powerhead for a further week.





2x pots of 1-2 grow HC grown out in a tupperware dish with john inns no3 compost for three months then up rooted washed and re-planted in aquarium 




christmas moss on bogwood now growing and taking hold also hc starting to grow out and carpet.




its going to be another 4 weeks before i flood and a fair few plants to go in yet so one last task for tonight was to wire,test and calibrate my heating setup





oh and i think i might have gone overboard with the ro system for the size of my tank but i have a method in my madness.


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## soggybongo (10 Aug 2018)

i'll add more pics as the tank and equipment progress.


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## soggybongo (10 Aug 2018)

My lighting so far is the fluval led that comes with the tank 100% white 7500k  12hr on 12hr off
chihiros Aquasky 301 led fitted into lid is 50% 12hr on 12hr off (i'll up this to 75% once flooded and adjust if necessary)

i'm still undecided about filtration. do i use the stock or my fluval 206 external with lilly pipes?

i'll also be injecting co2


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## Aqua360 (10 Aug 2018)

Nice!


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## soggybongo (11 Aug 2018)

Few more bits purchased today

aquario neo diffuser X2





glass u bend X2





Vesicularia Ferriei 'Weeping' Moss





Myriophyllum mattogrossense (hope this is going to be ok in my dry start method)





Elos KH, GH and PH test kits.











buffers for my ro water





EI (enough to make up 500ml of each so should last me quite a while)


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## soggybongo (11 Aug 2018)

bottles for dosing


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## soggybongo (12 Aug 2018)

couple of tasks this morning cpmpleted.

ptfe regulator threads and test for leaks when attacked to fire ext





collected junction box for stc temp controller cut out and install. this will eventually be installed under cabinet.


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## soggybongo (18 Aug 2018)

3rd week update -

tank shot - hc taking hold now with roots embedded in substrate and starting to send off runners.









mosses growing like crazy 





3 in 1 plug timer sorted (2x plugs for lights and one for co2)





just thinking ahead for when the tank mates arrive (iv dripper)


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## soggybongo (18 Aug 2018)

few more plant ordered yesterday so should be with me either Monday or Tuesday

4 x ANUBIAS NANA BONSAI
2x Myriophyllum mattogrossense 
2 x Rotala Wallichii


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## soggybongo (22 Aug 2018)

plants as above post have arrived so i'll be busy tonight however the Rotala Wallichii has suffered a little during transit so will be cutting these back and hopefully they'll recover.
i'll post pics before and after planting.


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## soggybongo (22 Aug 2018)

plants as delivered 

Rotala Wallichii x2 (feeling sadand damaged) but the 
Myriophyllum mattogrossense far right looking healthy 









Rotala Wallichii now trimmed back and behind the stones but will grow and fill out the back of tank hopefully





fts


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## soggybongo (22 Aug 2018)

if the hc doesnt stretch/grow into the shaded spot under the anubias i'll fill that void with substrate to give it more light.


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## CTischler (22 Aug 2018)

Despite lid I always find this tank rather interesting - will follow along.
Of ease of use I would go with the internal filter system, probably upgrade the pump for additional flow that is sufficient for EI dosing?


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## soggybongo (22 Aug 2018)

CTischler said:


> Despite lid I always find this tank rather interesting - will follow along.
> Of ease of use I would go with the internal filter system, probably upgrade the pump for additional flow that is sufficient for EI dosing?


Just a learning curve for me to find my feet in the planted tank world with this little tank. I'm going to get the water in and see how the flow is as most people find the flow too much rather than not enough but an easy swap for a better pump if needed. Or an additional pump with a spraybar along the back.


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## soggybongo (27 Aug 2018)

hc carpet filling in with a few spots to go. its getting really thick in places 2-3cm high so will need a trim after flooding but will let it settle first.


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## soggybongo (27 Aug 2018)

i received a free bottle of tnc complete plant nutrient with my last batch of plants so decided to try mixing a very small ammount 1ml - 1ltr 50/50 ro/tap water this then goes into my 100ml spay/ mister. the tank gets a good mist on the tank glass and plants 2x per day first thing in the morning and last thing at night. the plants have definaltely turned a more vivid green colour and look alot healthier.


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## soggybongo (27 Aug 2018)

bit the bullet and to make my life easier but more so my wife during water changes i have bought one of these. i used a larger version in my reef and made life so much easier during water changes

reefloat awc53
http://www.reefloat.com/index.php/awc53.html
need a small trolly now to get it from garage/ ro system to tank/ living room

went with the awc53 as reefloat state it gives a 10% water change on a 510ltr tank so hopefully i will get a good 50% if not more on a 57ltr tank but i'll match the params of the tank and changer as far as temp, ph, gh, and kh goes so hopefully no water spills and no clips around the head from the wife and best of all i can sit back and watch with a beer.


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## Nubias (27 Aug 2018)

Looking forward to seeing this flooded


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## soggybongo (27 Aug 2018)

CTischler said:


> Despite lid I always find this tank rather interesting - will follow along.
> Of ease of use I would go with the internal filter system, probably upgrade the pump for additional flow that is sufficient for EI dosing?



not flooded yet however most people find the pump to much for the size of tank but if needed i have a few spare pumps (eheim 1048) that will fit nice if need be and twice the flow.


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## soggybongo (27 Aug 2018)

Nubias said:


> Looking forward to seeing this flooded



me to Nubias mate


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## ian_m (28 Aug 2018)

soggybongo said:


> just thinking ahead for when the tank mates arrive (iv dripper)


Check the earth continuity of these death adapters, that are in fact illegal (to sell) in UK as there is no shuttering on the live & neutral. There are many of these adapters/timers, cheapies from China, doing the rounds that don't have the earth pin connected and are best placed in the waste recycling and getting a proper UK safety rated timer/controller. Also supposedly rated @ 13A but start burning much before that.


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## soggybongo (28 Aug 2018)

all done and works fine. had this for about 8 years now and never had a problem with it. thanks for the info though


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## soggybongo (30 Aug 2018)

water for the initial flood preperation , temp will be 23c, gh 4, kh 1  and ph 7 after buffers. TDS on the high side 240ppm though


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## soggybongo (30 Aug 2018)

just need a small qt now but i'll set this up once main tank and filter is cycled then fill qt with water from main tank. so on the look out for a 10 - 20ltr cube any suggestions welcome?


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## soggybongo (31 Aug 2018)

tank is now flooded but lights are off so I'll get some pics up tomorrow after its first 50% water change which i'll be doing daily for the next three days then every three days for 2 week to flush out the substrate then hopefully once per week after that. this weekend will be dialling in the co2, resetting lights for 6hr photo period  3-9pm to start with and start ei dosing

shopping list for tomorrow will be:-
spare heater for water prep tank
if i can twist the wifes arm a vortech mp10 qd for better all round flow
small qt tank 20-30ltr
aquarium scissors and pinsettes


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## soggybongo (7 Sep 2018)

taken straight after the flood

[








dont you just love arriving home after a week away at work. its like Christmas

ei kit




ro water remineral kit, just waiting on one more bag of potassium carbonate













might add a smidge of iron to the mix as i do want a few red plants



couple of tools to help me out now the tank has exploded with growth


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## soggybongo (7 Sep 2018)

next on the list is some clear co2 tube as i ordered black but dont like it tbh


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## soggybongo (8 Sep 2018)

This is a massive learning curve for me, i know my scape aint great but for me its all about looking after the water and getting the water at a stable level to what i want to achieve. at the moment i have no live stock and an abundance of growth especially my culture of hemianthus callitricdoides (hc) matured in sand and john innes no3 tupperware tub then split and regrown in current tank (dsm) and doing great, infact i'll be trimming it back today as its growing like a weed. my next plan is slowly adjustg my water quality/ chemistry to accomodate my end game.
no livestock will be place into it until i am 100% happy i can achieve a stable enviroment in this small aquarium. any help and advice is more than welcome and greatly received guys.
if you see any faults please feel free to jump in and give me a nudge.


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## soggybongo (10 Sep 2018)

i have been using seachem equilibrium, seachem acid buffer and seachem alk buffer to get to my target of gh 5, kh 1 and ph7 but my tds is 247 starting off with zero tds ro water. first of all i thought it could be either the pump or the spare aquarium i am using to make up my water change in maybe the cause so made a fresh batch or ro water up dumped this in the change tank switched on the pump and left it for 24 hour. tested the tds and its zero so decided to try a different route and after reading http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/RO.htm james planted tank i went ahead and ordered all the minerals needed at a total cost of £18 (this is going to last me a very very long time) compaired to the £35 for seachem which would have lasted me 6 month. 
the new batch or remineralised water using james method i get the same gh kh reading but only 130 tds. the only other gadget i had to buy was a small set of scales £3.50 off the bay.


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## soggybongo (15 Sep 2018)

my new crs and cbs babies, teens and adults getting acclimatised drip by drip.


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## soggybongo (21 Sep 2018)

new reg and clear co2 tube/ pipe instead of the black that i didn't like.


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## soggybongo (28 Sep 2018)

didnt realise at the time but no transformer was supplied at the time when i received the reg but with a quick phone call to aquarium gardens and within 48hr one was sent out and received so will be setting this up tomorrow and tweeking over the weekend.


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## soggybongo (14 Oct 2018)

quick update, pics taken straight after trim and water change so sorry for bubbles on glass.
sinse my last update i have added 4x otocinclus, 12x lamp eye.


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## soggybongo (22 Oct 2018)

*one of my oto's posing*

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*replaced the drop checker with a ADA as last one was too big.









doctor doing its job





lamp eye



*


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## soggybongo (26 Oct 2018)

pics taken with my samsung s9

new skimmer set to run for 1hr twice per day. took the sponges out and place filter wool thats changed every few days.

couple of my crystals playing

and my lampeye hanging out together.


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