# 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Day 59



## daniel19831123 (4 Jan 2012)

I've just relocated to Singapore and my hand was itching to get back into the planted tank business already. This transition has been hectic and so far nothing but trying to settle down into my previous routine seemed to be met with challenges, one after another. anyway, cut the story short, I managed to pay off the bill, get a place to stay and now afford a nice little fish tank for my living room. 

After a long wait, my tank finally arrived. The first impression of the seller was good. Jolly looking guy around my age who is keen to share his passion for planted tank with me. The tank was setup in it's rightful place in my living room and everything was checked to make it's in good working order. 

The item purchase so far was as follow
1. ADA mimic tank 90x45x45.
2. ADA mimic stand 
3. Overtank luminaire 2ft with 150W MH + 2x 24W T5 Solite Type 3 + hanging kit.
4. Stainless Steel pipe bent to mimic ADA style again.
5. Aqua Concept Soil 3 x 9L bag
6. 3L Co2 alloy bottle with Co2 tubing
7. 1/4 HP Hailea Chiller

Firstly the ADA mimic tank stand. Quite a decent quality but could be better. But judging at the price I pay, I really cannot ask for more. Comes with what I called a "anti door slamming device" as I like to call it and also a stainless steel hinge.




Then the tank came and sat right on top of it. considering that they were both made by 2 different company, I was very worried that it wouldn't sit right on top of each other with some excess lying around the edge. But this hasn't happened. So everything so good so far. 



The tank is sitting on an ANS mat but to my dismay, it is not cut to fit the tank stand properly. Luckily it was only the excess that i need to trim off.







After the seller guy left, i take a good chance to inspect the tank. To my dismay, there are other stuff that really has not been done to the standard I was expecting. I went for the tank dimension above at a higher price thinking that it was custom made, the quality should be good but the tank that was made abroad in china was much more delicately done and the finishing touch was immaculate. Unfortunately, they didn't have the dimension that I was looking for...




Leftover silicone



Glasses not aligned correctly.



The full view of the panel that is slanted.

Anyway, no time for disappointment and upset. so I sent the pic to the seller and inform him about this and all he does was reassure me that it will hold the water in it... Well too late to change anything now. I did save quite a bit by not getting a full ADA setup. I guessed I've only got myself to blame.

Anyway, so I went out to collect my ADA Stainless Steel (SS) light stand customised to my requirement. The pipe vendor was very affirmative in his email saying that this will be an easy job so I had my hope high that it will be made perfect to my instruction. 




My original thought of what the stand will look like. I even label the measurement for him thinking that having a 3 dimension picture should save me the talking and drawing and the detail information about how the stand should look like. And this is what I got.




The end cap at the top



The bend at the top



The lower end welded 




Well, I will need more stuff but I will update this post as soon as things progress.


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## GHNelson (4 Jan 2012)

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Hi Daniel
Glad you settled in okay cant wait for the next installment.
Keep up the good work.
Ive still got those 4 pots of HC i bought from you on the window sill under T5s  
Go well  
hoggie


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## mlgt (4 Jan 2012)

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Mighty jealous you are in singapore. I was there in April earlier checking out Aquarama. Met with some locals on another forum and they showed me around. Made some good connections and a few friends too.

Where abouts in SG are you based? I can tell you some good places


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## daniel19831123 (4 Jan 2012)

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I ventured to most of the LFS in my first week here and trust me when I said I did a lot of walking. My friend was shock when he wanted to bring me around in his car and I said I've been to all those places on foot!


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## Ian Holdich (4 Jan 2012)

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Hey Daniel, i'd be a little weary of filling the tank due to the differing pressures you're gonna get in the tank. There going to be more pressure at the bottom than the top and that for me would be quite scary.


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## darren636 (4 Jan 2012)

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and  if  you  turn  the  tank  upside  down  all  the water  will  fall  out


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## daniel19831123 (4 Jan 2012)

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I mentioned that to the seller too. He said it should be ok as they have build curved tank before and it hasn't been a problem. The tank also comes with a 5 year warranty. I'll only fill the water to about 40cm level where the misalignment is at it's worse. The bottom appear to be acceptable.This should be ok I hope. I've contacted the seller and he has offer me an ADA substrate bundle at a discount as a gesture of apology. I've already purchase a 3 bag set of aqua concept soil 9L each but my friend here was very against people using it claiming there is lots of long term problem like soil breaking down and also tanning of the water. I did some search on it and yes there is some anecdotal evidence for it but it appears to be a hit and miss. Quite tempted to go ahead with since I've already got it. Anyway he offered me the below

ADA Power Sand M (2L) x 2

ADA Aquasoil New Amazonia (9L) x 3

Bacter 100 (100g) x 1

Tourmaline BC (100g) x 1

Clear Super (50g) x 1

Penac W (200g) x 1

Penac P (200g) x 1

All for £150. RRP is £190. I''m still trying to fight the urge to get it just because it's ADA. I've never had much faith in any other stuff besides the ADA amazonia and powersand. Any ideas guys?


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## daniel19831123 (5 Jan 2012)

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I'm also thinking of asking the seller to strip the side panel and reposition it if possible rather than just accepting a discount on more goods. Does anybody has any idea about the strength of the tank following replacing of a panel after the tank has been cured? Will the whole tank need to be reassemble in order to maintain it's strength and it's physical appearance?


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## darren636 (5 Jan 2012)

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i think that tank is unfit for use. I mean, who would be happy with that?  what you going to do?


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## clonitza (5 Jan 2012)

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Let him redo the side, you might not have any issues with it fully filled with water but it looks ugly like that.
And he should do you also a discount for wasting your time. 

Mike


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## Gary Nelson (5 Jan 2012)

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I would get it changed myself, that is something that when its all planted and finished it would kinda bug me a little...


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## GHNelson (5 Jan 2012)

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Hi Daniel
Tell him if he is not going to reposition the panel you want a replacement.
If he stalls tell him you want a 50% refund to accept the aquarium...... as its not fit for the purpose it was purchased for.
hoggie


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## daniel19831123 (5 Jan 2012)

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I've spoken to the seller and he has agreed to redo a new tank as a replacement. I don't think I can asked for much more as he has given me a discount and offered it to deliver to mine for free. The tank was only £150 to start off anyway. Anyway. Will be selling the current stainless steel light stand and get a new one as this current one doesn't fit my specification. Will get a real ADA mimic this time (well finger crossed.)


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## Radik (5 Jan 2012)

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Just strip that side glass and tell him to fix it I mean this is joke tank seriously and I feel sorry for you but you have been too soft on seller...


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## a1Matt (5 Jan 2012)

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my 2 cents... Send the tank back and get it re done. 

£150 for ada stuff is not a saving of 40 if you were not already Going to buy It at the full price. You have proven you can grow plants, and do that well, without needing ada. But maybe you are very curious to try it, if so go for it


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## Mark Evans (5 Jan 2012)

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				daniel19831123 said:
			
		

> The tank was only £150 to start off anyway



So what ?...that doesn't mean he can make shoddy goods. If that's the case, give me £100 and i'll just give you 5 sheets of glass, after all it only cost you £100....

I'm not having a dig mate, but you see my point.   

I feel for you.


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## sussex_cichlids (5 Jan 2012)

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that was built by a professional tank builder think he missed placed his glasses 

the silicon is very messy looks like a child sealed it also what was he think sending a tank with a messed up side all i can see is a mess id never pay for anything like that you could done better job yourself with no experance in tank building

Id send it back and go else were looking at your photos the bloke has no pride in his work or had his child build your tank 

My thoughts on the subject


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## Rabb.D (6 Jan 2012)

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hey Daniel, i'm in the neighborhood in Malaysia, and i swear they sell those exact same cabinet and tanks here in KL, the cabinets they have available here in the LFS are exactly the same, so im pretty sure they're from the same manufacturer.. 

 i'm also doing the exact same tank dimensions in my journal, but surprisingly the quality of your tank is horrible!! i'm not sure which manufacturer made these tanks here but mine look near identical to the ADA, just take a ADA sticker and   i have a clone... for the exact same price at RM 730 on this side of the causeway... i'm pretty sure you got cheated, so its a good thing you're getting a replacement


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## daniel19831123 (6 Jan 2012)

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Well I kinda accepted the fact that things in singapore would be more expensive than Malaysia. Sometimes I wished that I had a lorry and can go just across the river to bring things in. The tank stand was ok quality but I can't seemed to find the perfect tank nor stand unless I got for the ADA one. I think considering the heart ache and problem I go through to source the tank maker etc, I'm just going to go with the ADA one next time. There is other very good quality ADA lookalike tank out there that  is cheaper but it doesn't come in the dimension I wanted as they are all premake in the factory in china and was shipped here in bulk i.e. the same way the ADA tank is make. I was told by a wholeseller here that apparently the lookalike tank is made by the same factory as those that make ADA just without the ADA label on it.


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## GHNelson (6 Jan 2012)

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Well done Danny boy  
Least you got there in the end.
hoggie


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## daniel19831123 (6 Jan 2012)

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Well better not count the chick before it hatches. I'm still waiting for the replacement tank. For all I know it could be just as bad. My Stainless steel light stand has been done though. Waiting to be collected in a few days time. Hopefully this time they got it right. Will update the journal as I go along. Might need to spend some day travelling to the east to buy the woods and rock needed for aquascaping. Or maybe just buy random stuff and get them delivered here and see where my creativity landed me.


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## daniel19831123 (12 Jan 2012)

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Tank, light stand, ADA substrate, ANS I-Flo lily pipe for 17mm tube arrived last night. 

The substrate includes 
ADA Power Sand M (2L) x 2
ADA Aquasoil New Amazonia (9L) x 3
Bacter 100 (100g) x 1
Tourmaline BC (100g) x 1
Clear Super (50g) x 1
Penac W (200g) x 1
Penac P (200g) x 1

For the price of 150 quid for ADA substrate, I think I'm fairly happy with the overall. The light stand is still not exactly what I wanted but I think this will do for now. Will be getting the rocks and wood to start the hardscape soon. Might either get dragon rock, Kurokinryu to go with BorneoWild Driftwood. Will post the picture of all the equipment tonight. By the way, does anyone know how to cut cable wires and seal the cut end? I've had multiple injury last night trying to cut them up... and yet I still fail to do it nicely.


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## daniel19831123 (13 Jan 2012)

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My final fish tank







ADA substrate



My little babe



Customised stainless steel stand



Side view


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## darren636 (13 Jan 2012)

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looks delicious  play time


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## Rabb.D (13 Jan 2012)

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woohoo... exactly what it should look like..  . although i think you should have made a taller light stand.. in case you want to use halides..

Edit: oh wait i think those are halides  i feel stooopid


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## daniel19831123 (13 Jan 2012)

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The halide lamp  First time ever using halide lamp. Can anybody recommend what distance should I suspend the light over the tank? It's only a 150W + 2 x 24W T5HO. Currently it's at 30cm height. I can move the light stand higher if I want to but I'll need to drill holes onto the pipe. 



My feeble attempt to try to organise my cabinet. a 3 feet cabinet is not enough to fit everything I need in it! Half my gadget are still in the store room! And the chiller had to sit on the side due to the heat it will produce... Sigh now I'm starting to miss the weather in the UK. At least a heater is not as bulky as a chiller.


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## Rabb.D (14 Jan 2012)

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i asked this exact same question on barrreport and Tom Barr said he hung it 20 inches high heres the thread http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.ph ... -over-90cm

i also had the same question answered in my journal heres the link.... its near the bottom http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f= ... 4&start=20

i think in these cases its only the metal halide without the t5ho's its usually 50cm or more

Edit: my chiller is in my cabinet though... my cabinet has two big holes at the back for ventilation, also i see you're using those timers .. i dont know if they are the same one they sell here. but mine requires constant readjusting... so i opted to use the electronic timers instead which cost a lot more but are definitely more accurate although not 100% accurate


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## daniel19831123 (14 Jan 2012)

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I got those time when I was in the UK and brought them with me just for the sake of it and thank god for that. I got them for 2 quid each and here they were asking for 7 quid for a crappy china made one! I've used them previously without any problem. what kinda of readjusting that you had to do for yours? 

I was going to put the chiller in the cabinet initially but I wasn't sure if the heat will possed an issue. The cabinet has been design so that the door doesn't seal shut and instead it left a gap of 2 inches between the door and the lower board. I will post a picture tonight to illustrate what I meant. I was told by another vendor that even this gap would not be enough for the heat so I've ended up putting it outside the tank.


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## Rabb.D (14 Jan 2012)

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i think the guy at the vendor was right, i have big holes for ventilation at back and even then it still gets pretty hot  or rather warm inside... here a pic





and this is the space from behind... theres definitely quite decent ventilation but like i said still warm





with just two inches of space and no ventilation at the back i personally wouldn't dare putting the chiller in the cabinet... unless you make your own holes... its an option, just hope you haven't filled your tank

also the mechanical timers move a little to fast.. in two days it goes by an extra 30 minutes... which is really irritating


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## daniel19831123 (16 Jan 2012)

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Finally got all the tubing ready and all the parts connected to start cycling the tank. In the mean time, I have staurogyne and crypt wenditii brown and crypt parva growing in full sun emersed on the window sill awaiting harvest in a few weeks time (hopefully!)

Well the connection and testing the tank was more of a nightmare than fun. Leakage everywhere! The prefilter chamber was leaking as if there was no seal so it's got to be removed until I apply some silicone around the leaking joint. 

The 16/22 clear hose is too loose to have a firm grip on the lily pipes and as a result, lots of tiny bubbles get sucks into the system and churned out of the other end as gush of bubbles to no end!



The bubbles that seeps through the tube and the pipe



Leaky outflow pipe. Does anyone know what I can do to secure the leak? I was thinking of using jubilee clip intially but I'm concern that the clip might crack the lily pipe! Was thinking of using a ring of silicone on the hose end and let it set. Then push the lily pipe through it. Anyone has an easier suggestion?



The whole system is connected through a tetratec 1200 and the flowrate was further augmented using a hailea external pump rated at 1700L/hour. I know it's a bit overkill but the chiller need to work with at least 1000lph.



Picture of the chiller.... The ambient water temperature was 30 degree! This is going to cost a bomb to chill to 24 degree. Decided to keep it at 26 degree instead...



The 2 inches cut from the cabinet floor as I previously mentioned.


 
lit by 2x 24W at 1 feet above the tank.



Lit by 2x24W with 150W MH. Hmm not very much difference besides the shimmering effect... 



The rock that I was going to use for aquascape. Is this dragon stone? The seller haven't a clue...


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## Rabb.D (16 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*

You think the 2x24 watt will be sufficient? and woops i just realized i hijacked your thread sorry you should delete those photos... also wat do you think of da heilea chillers i get restless whenever i think about it scared they might fail... im saving extra cash on hand in case they need to be sent for maintainence and i need to purchase another one.

Sent from my LG-P990 using Tapatalk


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## Antipofish (16 Jan 2012)

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Hi mate I am pretty sure that is NOT dragon stone.  Take a look at it here to see what it looks like...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110761636298? ... 1114wt_920

(no thats NOT my listing, lol)


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## JohnC (16 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*



			
				Antipofish said:
			
		

> Hi mate I am pretty sure that is NOT dragon stone.  Take a look at it here to see what it looks like...
> 
> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110761636298? ... 1114wt_920
> 
> (no thats NOT my listing, lol)



It could be dragon stone, it comes in different colours. 

I've had grey bits, brown bits and reddish bits all from Aqua Essentials. Once all in the same order.


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## Antipofish (16 Jan 2012)

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				JohnC said:
			
		

> Antipofish said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Im not convinced.  I was going more on structure rather than colour.


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## Stu Worrall (16 Jan 2012)

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looks like dragon to me, just its a small piece with not much structure


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## Ian Holdich (16 Jan 2012)

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looks like Dragon stone to me as well.


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## Antipofish (16 Jan 2012)

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I was going by the fact the OP's bit didnt have any of the little bits that look like they've been scooped out by an apple corer (for want of a better description).  I thought that was a feature of dragon stone ?  So you can get it without that structural make up too ?


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## Stu Worrall (16 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*

if you look at the bottom there are two of the holes and the indent in the top was probably half a hole when it was joined to some rock. some bits have less structure, some more, it just depends on the piece.


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## Antipofish (16 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*



			
				stuworrall said:
			
		

> if you look at the bottom there are two of the holes and the indent in the top was probably half a hole when it was joined to some rock. some bits have less structure, some more, it just depends on the piece.



Kewl   If I was to get dragon stone I would want it to have plenty of the "crater" features as in the pic I linked to.  That, to me, is the whole allure of that particular rock.  But at the end of the day, whatever each individual likes and wants in his tank, it doesnt really matter what it is or what its called.  (Although its nice to know).  I recently bought a bit of wood for my tank.  I thought it might be redmoor, and it transpired that it _probably_ is redmoor, but I would have bought it anyway because I liked it


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## daniel19831123 (16 Jan 2012)

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hmmm I think looking at the other picture, it is a dragon stone. This piece is only tiny and the rest of the stone that came with this one was actually a lot bigger with similar structure to the one that was posted on the ebay link. Think it's time for me to work out and carry those stone back here with me.


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## Antipofish (16 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*



			
				daniel19831123 said:
			
		

> hmmm I think looking at the other picture, it is a dragon stone. This piece is only tiny and the rest of the stone that came with this one was actually a lot bigger with similar structure to the one that was posted on the ebay link. Think it's time for me to work out and carry those stone back here with me.



Lol.  Either way is nice stone


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## daniel19831123 (20 Jan 2012)

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ok so I went out and carry a 15kg worth of what I thought is Dragon stone back with me on a 30 minutes journey on the bus! 

Chucked the whole thing into the tank and will test the water tomorrow to see if it affects the water chemistry. So far these are the stone that I've picked and they've been placed in the aquarium with no particular arrangement. Pardon the mess in the tank as it's still going through fishless cycling at the moment




A closer shot


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## Stu Worrall (20 Jan 2012)

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looks like dragon to me.  some very nice pieces there


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## hotweldfire (20 Jan 2012)

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Dragon stone definitely will impact the parameters. Did a test a few months ago with a small piece in a cup of RO. About 50% increase in TDS over 12 hours then seemed to settle down. Another 10% increase over the next 6 at which point I decided it wasn't going in my shrimp nano. But it's a big tank and it'll depend what you put in there. Not those PRLs I assume


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## daniel19831123 (20 Jan 2012)

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took me an hour to hand pick those out of a pile of rubble. tested the water after the stone has been in there for 8 hours as I was curious and the result :
pH 7.0
kH 0
gH 3

I couldn't believe my own eyes..... guessed i'll need to bedosing calcium here...


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## foxfish (20 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*



			
				daniel19831123 said:
			
		

> The halide lamp  First time ever using halide lamp. Can anybody recommend what distance should I suspend the light over the tank? It's only a 150W + 2 x 24W T5HO. Currently it's at 30cm height. I can move the light stand higher if I want to but I'll need to drill holes onto the pipe. ]


Crikey how high is your ceiling!!
I would just use the T5s to start with & perhaps consider a one hour MH blast after a few months...maybe.


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## JohnC (20 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*



			
				hotweldfire said:
			
		

> Dragon stone definitely will impact the parameters. Did a test a few months ago with a small piece in a cup of RO. About 50% increase in TDS over 12 hours then seemed to settle down. Another 10% increase over the next 6 at which point I decided it wasn't going in my shrimp nano. But it's a big tank and it'll depend what you put in there. Not those PRLs I assume




TDS = total dissolved solids correct? 

Did you have it settle out in the end? I'm wondering what it will do to my very soft water.


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## daniel19831123 (20 Jan 2012)

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				foxfish said:
			
		

> daniel19831123 said:
> 
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My ceiling is rougly 10-11 feet height.  Not too tall. Just enough for a typical asian guy to walk through the door lol.


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## hotweldfire (21 Jan 2012)

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				JohnC said:
			
		

> hotweldfire said:
> 
> 
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Correct.

I didn't actually let it settle out in the end. Just stopped testing and didn't add it to the tank. 

To be fair though it was in a glass that was 70% rock and 30% water. There was also bound to be some dust on the dragon rock despite scrubbing and rinsing. So a TDS rise was inevitable. But my test was to check whether or not it was totally inert or not. It's not. But that doesn't mean it's unsafe. Have a fair bit of it in my main tank and don't worry about it. Just didn't want to put it in a small body of water is all. Others have without problems though.


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## daniel19831123 (21 Jan 2012)

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But dragon stone is suppose to be inert isn't it?

From aquaessentials website quoted "A soft rock with incredible grooves and crevases created by mother nature. Often longer than they are wide they can be placed easily within a substrate.
•Colours vary with shades of brown
•Minimal effect on pH
•Easy to place
•Gives immediate impact to any aquarium
"


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## darren636 (21 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*

dragon stone will affect the ph, that is why i did not buy any. my water hardness and ph are high enough.


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## Rabb.D (21 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*



			
				daniel19831123 said:
			
		

> My ceiling is rougly 10-11 feet height.  Not too tall. Just enough for a typical asian guy to walk through the door lol.



hahaha, your right were slowly catching up(height wise) just a few more centuries... also i think those rocks will just disintegrate if you scrub the debris off...


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## daniel19831123 (22 Jan 2012)

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So tested the water again today and the result remained unchanged.
Ph 7.0
Kh 0-1
Gh 3 ish
I also tested the tap water and the ph was 7.6! The rest of the parameter was the same Considering there is no active Ingredient In my tank to lower the ph, can anyone shed some light as to why the ph is lower in my tank? I thought normally the tap water ph is always on the lower side? Now all I need is a Tds meter to complete my test.


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## JohnC (23 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*



			
				daniel19831123 said:
			
		

> So tested the water again today and the result remained unchanged.
> Ph 7.0
> Kh 0-1
> Gh 3 ish
> I also tested the tap water and the ph was 7.6! The rest of the parameter was the same Considering there is no active Ingredient In my tank to lower the ph, can anyone shed some light as to why the ph is lower in my tank? I thought normally the tap water ph is always on the lower side? Now all I need is a Tds meter to complete my test.




I've had a few discussions with peeps on here recently about Edinburgh Tap water and Ph. I had thought that our tap water was around PH 7.2 from historic testing but Tom had recent readings of over 8. The discussion went that there were Sodium based compounds being added to the water by the water boards to control lead release from old pipes in town. This would inflate the ph of the water without making it noticeably harder. Then once added to a tank the Ph would rapidly drop to a more "natural" level as there was no buffering hardening agent.

It could be something like that, especially since you also have very soft water. Or possibly something to do with other stuff in the tap water effecting the ph test (i don't trust any test kits anymore tbh and own none).

Best Regards,
John


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## daniel19831123 (23 Jan 2012)

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kH from my understanding only includes the calculation of bicarbonates aka the buffer and not the calcium, is it not? i.e. you can calcium chloride to supplement your micro but it will not affect your kH. If that's the case, do I need to still supplement bicarbonate and calcium to my water? Maybe just a few crushed coral to the roots area prior to putting the substrate?


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## JohnC (23 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*

My gh/kh were about 1 or 2 last time i checked (a long time ago). I don't think it has caused me any issues over the years.

I have, however, started adding magnesium sulphates to my dosing schedule as my original trace mix has a low ratio of it and I got in the habit. I think this makes up for the low GH of my water.

Here is a snipped from Tom Barr (quoted from the aqua essentials site)



> Some interesting notes by Tom Barr regarding Mg: Magnesium was shown to be an essential nutrient for plant growth in 1839 by Carl Sprengel. Chlorophyll is essential for photosynthesis, the process by which green leaves synthesize carbohydrate, fats, proteins, etc. in the presence of sunlight. Iron is to hemoglobin as is magnesium to chlorophyll, the "blood" pigment of plants.
> 
> Magnesium plays an important role in the formation of carbohydrates, fats and vitamins, activates the formation of the polypeptide chain from amino acids and also aids in a number of physiological and biochemical functions including phosphate transport. Magnesium is also known to be essential for many energy reactions constantly taking place in plant cells and as an activator of several enzymes.
> 
> Magnesium is far more important to in terms of plant health and growth than many aquarist may realize, but plants do not need large amounts to grow well. Often with imbalances in the GH, generally the GH is all calcium, we will see evidence of magnesium deficiencies. Ca, K and Mg are often blamed for many unknown plant related problems, but CO2 and NO3 should be addressed with some absolution prior to dosing more Mg or Ca etc.



My logic runs that if my water has low GH/KH and thereby buffering to ph drops from say adding CO2. I'm better adding in the magnesium to my fert routine not just for the plants but also to steady up the GH/KH. 

I can't say it has directly worked, but I've been very happy with my plant growth in the last year of adding 7ppm once a week on the water change.

Best Regards,
John


----------



## daniel19831123 (29 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*

Ok first of all sorry for the late reply and the lack of progress. I've been busy with family matters and the celebration of chinese new year here in Singapore. Went back to Malaysia for a few days and the whole project came to a halt. 

The tank is now up and running using fishless cycling method but surprisingly my nitrite measured 0 after 2 weeks! I still haven't got a kit to measure ammonia so I'll continue with the cycling for another 2 weeks before adding any live stock to the tank. 

So here it goes. After purchasing the stone and sand previously, I went out and got 2 strips of 2 inches wide acrylic sheet. However, due to the ever excitement of the event, I forgot to lay it out in the process of laying the substrate and the result was somewhat unsatisfactory (I went ahead with all the ADA substrate and after pouring the power sand that I realised the acrylic sheet was missing from action!).
Penac W and P on the base






Then the tourmaline



Then power sand



Then the last minute salvaging process trying to separate the sand from the substrate!



The final result was ok but could have been better if the divider was there in the beginning. And it's hard to separate the substrate without showing too much of the divider! So I decided the overpour the boundary to create a more natural look.



Then I took hours to place the rock. This is when my partner decided to interfere with my process. mind you my partner is an artist and a fashion designer. The process of debating where the rock should be place went on for longer than I can recall. I was saying that it looks more natural this way but he was saying it's boring and wanted a flamboyant angle of rock placement.... Irrespective of the stability of the structure! Well in the end, I won the debate and was allow to place the rock as I see please. This is the final hardscape


----------



## daniel19831123 (29 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*

Plants arrived this evening from aquaspotworld and the quality was good in comparison to what the LFS was selling. I was more than happy to pay the premium for these plants. Still a distance to go before catching up with tropica and aquerfleur IMHO. Unfortunately out of the list of plants that i've ordered, they've ran out of Ludwigia inclinata var verticillata Pantanal. But i guessed that will have to do now as I'm having too many plants to plant!

The plant list is as follows
1. Utricularia Graminifolia
2. Staurogyne
3. Limnophila Hippuroides
4. HC
5. Crypt. Undulata Red
6. Crypt parva
7. Hydrocotyle verticillata
8. Blyxa Japonica

picture will be posted later.


----------



## daniel19831123 (29 Jan 2012)

*Re: New 3 feet ADA mimic tank setup. (Pic heavy)*

3 pots of HC split up



6 pot of pogostemon helferi in a plastic bag. Doesn't look a lot really



Open up the bag. Now it looks a bit better



When you split it up... Tada



3 pots of blyxa japonica



3 massive pot of crypt. undulata red



When you split one of the pot up, this is what you get



This isn't even the biggest pot. The smallest pot gave me 6 big plants and the biggest pot gave me 20 big plants with countless of plantlets!
One pot of limnophila hippuroides. 10 stems wrapped in rockwool.



Now this is aa headache... I wanted hydrocotyle verticillata and was under the impression that it's a small foreground plant.... this is what I got.


 
This monster measured about 6 inches tall!
3 packet of loose UG



3 pots of loose staurogyne




all plants were cleaned and trimmed and planted at random. No preplanning or what so ever. This is the final scape from the front.



From the top




After finishing with the planting, I started filling the water up and to my horror, my tank look like a swamp! Never happened to me before when I was using ADA amazonia.... Is it because of the other additive? Is it because I move the power sand after it was placed down to allow the divider to be placed? Is it a faulty product? Well it's too late to ponder on the thousands of possibility so I'll have to let it be...
















Well I've filled it up and see what happened overnight. will be running high CO2 for the next few weeks with the 150W MH at 30cm height. Hopefully things will be alright... I will also be changing the water every 2-3 days to avoid algae growth. Sounds like its going to be hard work for a few weeks...Sigh.


----------



## GHNelson (29 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

Hi Daniel
Great job with the planting  ....the smaller lighter coloured stone to the right is clashing with the others. I would remove it...... or place somewhere more inconspicuous.
That would give you more of a colour balance....just my thoughts no offence intended.
Regards
hoggie


----------



## Stu Worrall (29 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

as above great planting and looking really good with the rock placement.  Ive chop some of that hyrdo back and see if you get some new smaller growth.  The cloud you've got in your tank looks that same as mine did with using dragon stone.  No matter how much you clean it it always provides some dust so its probably that.  Can you get purigen over there to put in your filter as thats cleaned mine to crystal in a day?


----------



## Mark Evans (29 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

A quality layout.

It does look like you've filled way too quickly. I've used the full ADA system, and not once have i had water like that. 

It's always worth taking your time when filling. If there's a small bit of clouding, do a water change instantly.


----------



## JohnC (29 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

I'm using ADA Malaya in mine with Dragon stone and my water was nothing like that when I filled. Actually pretty clear. But I had spent A LOT of time cleaning the rocks, soaking, power hosing, taking them to the jet wash etc. Additionally I filled the entire tank with news paper before I added water. 

Seachem Purigen is amazing stuff for "polishing" the water, i'd deffo give that a shot if the water change doesn't help quick enough.


----------



## daniel19831123 (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

I did spent a lot of time cleaning the rock too. but the more I clean the rock the more it crumbles! I got afraid in in the end so I ended up using a soft brush to brush away all the mud. The tank this morning was crystal clear (thank god for that).  Why used purigen when there is a whole box full of filter wool waiting to be used? 

The current setup is shown below and I'm failing to reach 1000l/hour. Would appreciate if there is any other method of increasing the flowrate without disrupting too much of the connection.

Intake --> CO2 UP inline diffuser --> Prefilter chamber with filter wool --> Tetra tec 1200 with original filter material 

-->Chiller Hailea --> Hailea external pump rated at 1700lph -->Lily pipe outflow

The whole thing has a rated flow rate of nearly 3000lph and I'm not getting even 1000l. I think there would still be enough slow in the tank for nutrient distribution but I'm worried that my chiller will die out sooner. Having said that it's kicking in every 2 hours for about 15 minutes and then kicks out. That seemed to be the right amount of time from my own understanding. Would appreciate if someone could clarify this.


----------



## hinch (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

don't chain pumps surely 2 different rated pumps chained up will screw things up.


----------



## Antipofish (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

It is definitely not a good idea to link separate pumps of this kind in series like this.  Firstly that is not a rated flow of nearly 3000lph as you do not add the two amounts together.  The highest it could be would be 1700lph.  Having said that, the 1700lph would be a rating with minimal load.  Essentially you are asking your Hailea to suck water through resistance in the form of the preceeding equipment, so it is not surprising you are getting flow more akin to what you would expect from the Tetratec.  Add to that, this is likely to cause damage to the Tetratec and quite likely the Hailea too.


----------



## Rabb.D (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

i agree with Antipofish... i also tried doing the same thing sometime ago but with two filters... one eheim and another cheaper china made one... and the eheim being the more reliable one completely negated the output of the other filter... you could try removing the impeller of the eheim and just using the heilea pump alone that way the rating should be up to 1700... i considered this but never really tried... also i had asked questions regarding this issue many times...and the most reasonable answers seem to point to the idea that it will ruin the output of both pumps or filters... you might also want to consider whether the canister filter can handle a high rated output than what it was meant for... might even burst or leak...  also thats a really nice scape


----------



## Antipofish (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*



			
				Rabb.D said:
			
		

> i agree with Antipofish... i also tried doing the same thing sometime ago but with two filters... one eheim and another cheaper china made one... and the eheim being the more reliable one completely negated the output of the other filter... you could try removing the impeller of the eheim and just using the heilea pump alone that way the rating should be up to 1700... i considered this but never really tried... also i had asked questions regarding this issue many times...and the most reasonable answers seem to point to the idea that it will ruin the output of both pumps or filters... you might also want to consider whether the canister filter can handle a high rated output than what it was meant for... might even burst or leak...



I agree that leaks are another possibility, but I disagree that removing the impeller of the Tetratec would increase the potential flow back up to the maximum of the Hailea.  It still has to pull all that water through the restrictions and resistance of all the preceeding equipment.  Separating the two parts (Hailea/chiller  and filter/etc) is the best option IMVHO.  OR you could go all reefy and have hardpiped returns etc too....


----------



## JohnC (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

Another point on that set up. I thought it was generally best practice to put the inline CO2 after the filter rather then before to avoid gas buildup and the CO2 corroding any rubber seals.

I had the same issue with lack of flow with my inline CO2 reactor and heater on my corner tank with a fluval 405. In my new setup i've opted for two tetratec 1200 with one bit of kit on each. I may have too much flow now on a Rio 180.


----------



## daniel19831123 (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

Thanks for all the input guys. I initially got this idea from a youtube video I saw where a guy had an external canister filter which was underperforming and then he attached a submersible water pump at the outlet and the system output increase tremendously. I'm just a little shocked when my system doesn't turn out as it was suppose to be. Apparently the pump at the outlet generate a negative pressure to allow the primary filter to pump easily and thus increasing it's efficacy. I'm pretty sure even if I removed the hailea pump, my water rate would plummet making it using with the chiller a definite no no. This is such a headache. I really wanted minimal pipe connection on this setup and it's proven very difficult. The back pressure on the system is so high that priming the tetratec during water changes is impossible. I have to feet water directly into the tube to allow the whole system to be prime...

Anyway this is the tank after 24 hours of running the tank through filterwool polish.


----------



## daniel19831123 (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

This is the video that I was referring to


----------



## Antipofish (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*



			
				daniel19831123 said:
			
		

> Thanks for all the input guys. I initially got this idea from a youtube video I saw where a guy had an external canister filter which was underperforming and then he attached a submersible water pump at the outlet and the system output increase tremendously. I'm just a little shocked when my system doesn't turn out as it was suppose to be. Apparently the pump at the outlet generate a negative pressure to allow the primary filter to pump easily and thus increasing it's efficacy. I'm pretty sure even if I removed the hailea pump, my water rate would plummet making it using with the chiller a definite no no. This is such a headache. I really wanted minimal pipe connection on this setup and it's proven very difficult. The back pressure on the system is so high that priming the tetratec during water changes is impossible. I have to feet water directly into the tube to allow the whole system to be prime...



Hi Daniel.  The problem with wanting minimal pipework is that you have multiple equipment, which I appreciate is a pain.  Can you elaborate why priming the Tetratec is such a problem ?  Do you mean if it is stand alone, or if it is as per your current setup ?  I am wondering if part of that is that you have your CO2 diffuser inline prior to the TT inlet ?


----------



## daniel19831123 (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

The whole system includes 3 meter of 16/22 hose that interconnect the prefilter, tetratec filter, chiller and the hailea pump. I tried removed the hailea pump but the air that was trapped in the system caused the tetratec to leak from the priming button when I tried to prime it. This was already a problem when I was in the UK and the filter back then was on the same level as the fish tank! Maybe I just had a very lousy tetratec... This was made worse when the hailea pump was included as there is another 50cm of piping involved.


----------



## Antipofish (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*



			
				daniel19831123 said:
			
		

> This is the video that I was referring to
> 
> ...



It definitely increases the flow, although his system is nothing like yours really.  It does not have anywhere near the resistance that yours would create, although your Hailea is a better pump than the MJ obviously.  However, even though he seems to be having some success, the question still remains, "What damage is he causing to the canister filter" ?  Email Tetratec, and ask what they have to say on the topic !  I can imagine their reply.  

I would suggest posting a separate thread on a reef forum though, because those guys REALLY know what they are talking about when it comes to flow... Far more than me, in any case


----------



## Antipofish (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*



			
				daniel19831123 said:
			
		

> The whole system includes 3 meter of 16/22 hose that interconnect the prefilter, tetratec filter, chiller and the hailea pump. I tried removed the hailea pump but the air that was trapped in the system caused the tetratec to leak from the priming button when I tried to prime it. This was already a problem when I was in the UK and the filter back then was on the same level as the fish tank! Maybe I just had a very lousy tetratec... This was made worse when the hailea pump was included as there is another 50cm of piping involved.



Yeah, the problem, I believe is that you are trying to draw water into the TT, the action of which, under normal circumstances, pushes air in the outflow pipework back through to the tank.  However, you have your outflow connected on to more equipment that holds water ?  The chiller right?   Therefore the weight of the water entering the TT (which is gravity fed) is only that which is in the inlet pipe.  And this is insufficient to push the air between the TT and the next piece of equipment AND the water in that, back up through. Or am I misunderstanding this ?


----------



## hinch (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

the answer is fairly simple tbh you have too much stuff inline on the one filter. every item you plug inline reduces the flow rate if the pump is also having to either push or pull through a chiller then you're really hindering your flow rate.  your best option is to have a different pump driving the chiller and the other one driving the header + atomiser
this is supported by you saying you have too much backpressure from the outlet end for you to be able to easily prime the filter. you should in most cases get enough siphon pressure from the intlet that after one or 2 pumps the filter basically primes its self.

remove all the stuff from your outlet and you'll find your flow rate increases (you can also remove some excessive filter material too which will help eg: you only really need one wool floss pad in your filter not 3)


----------



## daniel19831123 (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

Sigh... This will mean that there will be 2 more intake and outflow pipe from the chiller system itself. I was hoping that I wouldn't need to resort to this. Maybe I'll just an over flow box and a sump to make it easier and scrap the external canister filter in the near future.


----------



## hinch (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

a sump would be the way forward if you're running a chiller yeah you can take advantage of a pond pump in a sump system so maintain a high flow rate


----------



## JohnC (30 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

perhaps you could just get a much bigger external then the ex1200. 

I remember when I tested my friends Seb's 1200 with his reactor and heater in-line. Using a 1L jug we measured it at less then 250l/h down from 1200. Rubbish really. That is why I went for the two I have now. But you could just go massively oversized, knowing that your kit will reduce it down again. Tetratec Ex 2400 possibly?


----------



## daniel19831123 (31 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

Thought about it but I think it will still be the same when I connect the chiller and the lily pipe. A pump rated 2000 litre would probably turn out to be running at 500lph under these pressure. Maybe I'll just invest in a big external pump like a 4000lph pump and connect it to the tetratec. Would probably leave the tetratex pump idle and just turn on the external pump


----------



## hinch (31 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

that in its self would cause quite alot of flow restriction.

you could be better buying something like a 1500-2000lph pond pump and having it chained just on the chiller and have the tetratec handling the heater + atomizer it'll mean 2 inputs and outputs in the tank but if you use glass and clear pipe it'll hardly be noticable


----------



## daniel19831123 (31 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

I thought that the external water pump was designed to cope with potential backpressure? Isn't that the reason why they quote how many metre of head it can provide? If the waterpump can handle this backpressure, I would rather leave the system as it is at the moment. Is this not possible?


----------



## Antipofish (31 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*



			
				daniel19831123 said:
			
		

> I thought that the external water pump was designed to cope with potential backpressure? Isn't that the reason why they quote how many metre of head it can provide? If the waterpump can handle this backpressure, I would rather leave the system as it is at the moment. Is this not possible?



You already know that leaving the system as it is is not possible.  You are not happy with the flow, so why would you leave it as it is, just for the sake of putting in an extra pair of tubes that could be made barely visible ?


----------



## hinch (31 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

head kinda doesn't impact flow rate restriction. the problem you have is that every inline element on your piping will slightly reduce the internal diameter of any pipework. so if you cut a 16mm pipe and plug in say an inline heater that inline heater fits inside your pipe work. reducing your internal diameter to say 12mm.  a reduction from 16 to 12mm internal is about a 50% reduction in flow rate (I say about as I haven't ran the maths but the formulas are on here somewhere).  Now an inline heater will cause some but not massive amounts of flow reduction you'll have a high pressure on the input end and lower on the output end.

Now if you chain another inline element say a diffuser after the heater that diffuser is now taking a lower pressure input than your heater did as its taking water at the pressure of the output of the heater. so again you'll get a cross section reduction going to the diffuser which will increase pressure slightly and cause a false sense of flow increase within the diffuser. on the output of the diffuser though as the pipe goes wide again the pressure will drop and flowrate will decrease. etc etc etc

Your chiller causes even more flow reduction because its not a straight line water in / water out like the heater and diffuser its basically a mini fridge. so the water goes in and wiggles around the heat exchangers every bend in the internal plumbing reduces flow and so what comes out of the chiller is quite low pressure/flow.

Why is why I say its probably better to run the chiller on its own dedicated pump and have heater + diffuser on the TT

some basic maths on flow rate through a tube. it doesn't take into account pipe diameter changes through system but it gives you an idea of loss of flow rate over distance which bearing in mind that your chiller while compact will add a fair old distance to the pipe length AND it'll have tight bends inside it not shallow bends.

http://www.efunda.com/formulae/fluids/c ... iction.cfm


----------



## daniel19831123 (31 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

Sigh. I missed the day when all I need to do is hide the heater behind the rocks and job done. First time using a chiller and it's possing as more of a problem than help. I think I'll either separate the system or purchase a sump tank with an overflow box


----------



## Antipofish (31 Jan 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*



			
				daniel19831123 said:
			
		

> Sigh. I missed the day when all I need to do is hide the heater behind the rocks and job done. First time using a chiller and it's possing as more of a problem than help. I think I'll either separate the system or purchase a sump tank with an overflow box



Daniel I think you are over complicating this.  Whats the big issue about two lots of lily pipes that will a) look great b) be unobtrusive and c) give you good flow and keep the surface skimmed ?  An overflow box will look incredibly ugly


----------



## daniel19831123 (2 Feb 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*



			
				Antipofish said:
			
		

> daniel19831123 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I think I have to agree with you on this one. After a long time of pondering on the topic, I've decided to go with a separate system for the chiller and the CO2 diffuser with the prefilter. The whole system linked together was causing too much back pressure and everything was leaking from every joint at the slightest movement. 

I've temporarily split the system into 2 using the 12mm inlet and outlet from the eheim pipe while waiting to save up to buy a new lily pipe. Due to the slow flow, high light, many of the demanding plants were showing sign of deterioration. 
Pogostemon helferi melting











another example of how unreliable CO2 indicator can be. Had 3 indicator at the top front, botom back and top back all showing lime green - yellow and yet plants failed to grow. 




My temporary attachment through modification with rubberseal




Tank overview DAY 4 (sigh... not much growth... just melting)


----------



## hinch (2 Feb 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

lower the lighting or photo period for a while increase co2 and swamp with ferts if you don't have livestock in there yet


----------



## daniel19831123 (2 Feb 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

Done that. Running at 3bps now and dosing 25mls of TPN+ and lighting at 7hours a day at 150W besides that it will be 48W of T5HO. Just done it this morning and my HC started pearling! First time pearling with HC and this is without water changes  

The nitrite is starting to build up now so no stock for the next 2 weeks. Will wait till the nitrite to clear up before I add yamato shrimp.


----------



## hinch (2 Feb 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

remember you'll have to lower the ferts dosing as the tank stabalises too you'll have to have a play around to find whats ideal for your tank.

If i remember TPN+ lacks N+P? so you may have to substitute those in with an additional fert to compensate though I'm not sure someone on here should chime up that knows a little better though


----------



## daniel19831123 (2 Feb 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

TPN lacks N and P. TPN+ has all the nutrients.  I was dosing 10mls for 90 litres tank so this tank would be roughly 15-20mls I would assume. Considering there is literally no kH in my water and low gH, I think I'm going to start doing EI dosing with dry salt. I've only got about 2L of TPN+ left and it will be finished in no time if I keep dosing 20++ mls a day!


----------



## hinch (2 Feb 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

ei would certainly work out cheaper in the long run. personally I'm lazy and buy premixed ei dry so all I have to do is add water and dump into the tanks. which is kinda cool since you can't really OD on it


----------



## JohnC (2 Feb 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

I was dosing 13ml of TPN+ daily on my 180L when I started it a couple of weeks ago. This should add about 4.5ppm NO3 to the tank. 

I'm not overly used to using TPN+ in an EI way so can't give much advice on that front except this....



> To reach your target of 4.5 ppm NO3 you will need to add 13 mL Tropica Plant Nutrition + to your 180.0 L aquarium to yield
> Element	ppm/degree
> B	0.0031
> Cu	0.0046
> ...



That looks to me that i'd be short of potassium if I added that amount in each day if i'd kept using it.

I found the plants were not growing as well as I thought they should and switched to my normal EI. Things rocketing along now. But it might also just have been the "bedding" in period of the plants adjusting to the new water.

I also started adding MgSO4 as my tap water is exceedingly soft.

Best Regards,
John


----------



## Antipofish (3 Feb 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*



			
				hinch said:
			
		

> remember you'll have to lower the ferts dosing as the tank stabalises too you'll have to have a play around to find whats ideal for your tank.
> 
> If i remember TPN+ lacks N+P? so you may have to substitute those in with an additional fert to compensate though I'm not sure someone on here should chime up that knows a little better though



Hi Hinch, no its TPN that has no N+P, TPN+ has them in, hence the "+"


----------



## hinch (3 Feb 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

I always assumed the + just meant they could charge £5 extra for it


----------



## daniel19831123 (19 Feb 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

Well just a quick update after a little over 2 weeks since the tank has been setup. The plants so far is doing ok. Some thriving and some melting.... But I suppose this is expected due to all the things that had happened over the last 2 weeks! Let me see where I start...

In the first week, the plants were melting really fast despite me cranking up the CO2 rate. Used 2 different drop checker and OMG one was bright yellow and one was blue. The moment I realised this, I went out and bought enough tubing to split the system. Now my chiller is powered by the 1700LPH pump where as my tetratec 1200 is running as usual. Needless to say the whole tank is now like a whirlpool. Still waiting for my second Lily pipe to come today to make the flow more gentle but I'll update the picture once the pipe arrive tonight.

Then within the same week, the MH light keep tripping the fuse box for unknown reason. However, once the lights are turn on it will be fine. It's the bit when it was trying to power up that seemed to tripped the fuse. Anyway, I just manually turn the lights on everyday. This was probably my biggest mistake ever... Went back to malaysia for 2 days and left the light to be turn on via timer. Came back on day to find that the light wasn't switched on and my neighbour said they smelt something burning from my living room the day I left! Looking at the bulb, I don't think it is damaged. I've got a strong suspicion that it's the ballast. Anyway, the seller is coming to pick it up tonight to have a look at it. Well you can imagine 3 days without light in a high tech tank... Most of my staurogyne melted or stunted. With the only exception being the limnophila hippuroides. It's grown through ups and down and I've now more than 20 stems in less than 2 weeks! The blyxa is bouncing back really strong too. My P. Helferi and UG took a hard hit and I'm barely left with nothing at the moment.
Limnophila hippuroides top view



Side view



Front view




Staurogyne being eaten by what looks like a water caterpillar!




Crypt undulata red regrowing new leaves




Poor pogostemon helferi trying to sprout new shoots



HC getting hit hard 



blyxa growing out new leaves with red hue



Current tank view


----------



## daniel19831123 (19 Feb 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

I've also bought some fauna to go in the tank and currently still undergoing acclimatising before releasing them into the tank. The list is as follows

1. 10 x taiwan fire red shrimp
2. 100 x golden harlequin rasbora
3. 5 x pgymy puffer
4. 26 x otocinclus
5. 4 x small SAE

Will post more picture once the fish are released into the tank!


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## toadass (4 Mar 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

Hi Daniel,
What's the latest on the tank mate, starting to settle in really nice on the last pic!

Where did you get the dividers from to seperate the substrate?

Thanks


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## Antipofish (4 Mar 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*



			
				daniel19831123 said:
			
		

> I've also bought some fauna to go in the tank and currently still undergoing acclimatising before releasing them into the tank. The list is as follows
> 
> 1. 10 x taiwan fire red shrimp
> 2. 100 x golden harlequin rasbora
> ...



You are adding all those fish in one go ? Without reading the whole thread, I should ask, is your filter capable of this  ?


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## Rabb.D (4 Mar 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

wow!   100 harlequins is a lot...you might have to add another 150 gallons of water space along with that stocking...   also i'm not sure how you're house is but if you have windows open or some sort of healthy ventilation, you could just use a fan... i'm using a fan on this side of the strait... presumably it's the same on your side..


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## daniel19831123 (26 Mar 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

Filter seemed to be coping well with these level of stocking. The fish death so far seemed to be due to bullying or jumping out of tank! So far I've lost about 20 tetras and 1 SAE. The otos and shrimp were dying one after another till I find out that it was the dwarf puffer viscious attack that was killing them! Since I've separated the puffer fish, I haven't had any casualty of otos and shrimp since. the 5 puffer anihilated my 7 otos, 20 fire red and 10 amano.... Viscious little bugger they are. Sorry for the lack of posting recently. Been traveling and working a lot and have someone lost my camera and still waiting for my pay check this month to buy a new camera. The tank is quite different at the moment but I will update as soon as possible. I'm trying to grow a HC carpet as foreground as I found that it is quite hard to maintain the separation between the soil and the sand and it's turning ugly. The staurogyne was still struggling with the HC failing to grab foot on the stones.... Well I've up the CO2 to 2bps for one week and things appeared to be improving. I will post some picture once I get some decent foreground coverage. lol.


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## hinch (26 Mar 2012)

*Re: 3 feet tank now planted and scaped! Update!*

little bit of reading up on the puffer before you put it in the tank would have told you that its natural diet is inverts ie: shrimp! 
it must have been having a field day with all those shrimp in there with it.


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## daniel19831123 (28 Mar 2012)

Just my wishful thinking and hoping that the dense plantation would have aided the shrimp in their survival. Well I'm so wrong. Even amano succumb to their little beaks!

Anyway this is a long due update since the tank was setup. Sorry for the picture as it was uploaded on my iphone.
Day 59





Sorry for all the floating cup and hanging breeder box. That's where the puffers are at the moment annihilating my feeder ghost shrimp.


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## Antipofish (28 Mar 2012)

I love the balanced look of this   And that large shoal of harlequins is awesome !


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## creg (28 Mar 2012)

woah the difference between this latest photo and the one before is staggering, looks amazing


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## greenink (31 Mar 2012)

My dwarf puffer (just the one) is in a community tank and sticks to the frozen bloodworms/etc; think is just a matter of luck. He even leaves baby cherry shrimp alone.


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## taggerz28 (19 Apr 2012)

Wow, tank looks amazing now, well done Daniel! Seems upping the CO2 sorted your issues out. How many bps now?


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## greenink (5 Jan 2013)

Any more on this? Would love to see how it ended up!


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