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New corner tank

B4M

Member
Joined
24 Sep 2008
Messages
61
Hi all,

My tank has been set-up for about 3 months and considering it's my first tank I'm pretty happy. Here's a summary of the story to date.

Starting with equipment

The tank- a 250L custom corner unit with oak cabinet and hood from Wharf aquatics

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This front opening hood was a special request and allows great access

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Lights 2 x 24W T5 linear and 2 x 55W power compact T5 with reflectors

p7060030ya5.jpg


One of the 24W installed in lid

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Filter: Eheim 2128 prof II Thermo
DIY CO2 system

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And inside the tank...

Substrate is eco complete 1" at front to 3" at rear. Front then has 1" of black moon sand on top.

Decor is bog wood

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And the after planting

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If you're wondering about the white thing, it's the foot from my wife's tights filled with sand to weight down the wood.

Sorry about the quality I'd better read up on photography tips. Like take at a slight angle!



More to follow..
 
That looks great so far, I like it, not a fan of the backing paper though, plain black would look much better IMO
As far as photo tips, taking at an angle isn't neccessary. Try and have it so the only light in the room is the tank lights themselves (eg at night with the room light off) and don't use the flash. Using a tripod (or propping the camera up on some books or something) to keep the camera steady will also help
 
OK plants...

I purchased the plants from Greenline and was sorry to hear they closed shortly after.

I went for a selection of 80 mixed plants, 15 mixed crypts, 25 bunches of dwarf hair grass, 25 lengths of Glosso and a bag of 8 mixed mosses.
Planting scheme below.

plantingdiagramscalednj0.jpg


1. Green Cabomba
2. Elodea Densa
3. Staight Vallis
4. Hygrophila Polysperma
5. Green Ludwiga
6. Twisted Vallis
7. Cryptocoryne Wendtii
8. Mixed Crypts
9. Bronze Bacopa
10. Myacca Fluviatilis
11. Bacopa Baby tears
12. Creeping Jenny
13. Dwarf Chain sword
14. Dwarf Sagittario
15. Micro Sagittario
16. Dwarf Hair grass
17. Glossostigma Elatinoides

I read that to combat algae you should plant heavily. So I did!

B4M
 
Two weeks later and the plants are starting to establish.

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Unfortunately signs of brown hairy algae have also started to show.

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And one week later it's taking over.

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This was a low point as after weeks of planning I had hoped to avoid major algae issues.
When searching the web for options I came across James' algae guide http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm and saw he mentioned overdosing with Flourish Excel. I promptly ordered some and started dosing at double the recommended quantity. Within a few days the algae had reduced dramatically and a week later it was all gone. -Thank-you James!
I should add that my Cabomba, Elodeo Densa and Vallis did all die but that was fore warned and a small price to pay.

B4M
 
I ordered some alternative plants to replace those lost. My Glosso was doing quite well with the amount of light so by way of experiment I included some red leaved plants.

5 x Alternanthera Rosaefolia
5 x Red Ludwigia
5 x Microsorium Pteropus Java Fern
1 bunch: Echinodorus Amazonicus
5 x Red Ivy
5 x Vallisneria Spiralis
5 x Vallisneria Torta

I also rearranged some of the plants as some were growing too much or to little for the original placement.

These photos were taken a few weeks ago so bring me almost up to date.

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Compared to other journal tanks it's an untidy mess but the plants are growing which was my first objective. All except the red ones that is; they've just turned green!

B4M
 
Hi,

I don't think it's a mess at all but very attractive set up! I'm very familiar with the problems with red plants... They need massive amounts of light and I have only had reasonable success with lotuses and ludwigia since I don't have a hi tech set up yet.
 
Now that's a very nice tank! GG with the algae fight.
I agree with Fred and Joecoral, the backing paper really needs to go and be replaced with something black... ;)
 
Very nice, and usefull for us newbies by included the scheme for planting with the list of plants so we can see what's what ;)

I'm in the process of setting up a 350l corner tank, and still collecting/ordering equipment. Can't wait to order some plants!

Looking forward to seeing updates as it matures.
 
Thanks for the comments. Point taken on the backing paper. I'll try to sort some black paper then try and figure how to swap as the original was attached before it was filled.

B4M
 
Great looking tank there & looks like it will continue to get better.
You left me ROTFLMAO though 'cos my first thought on THAT pic was "what the f*** is that?"
I then reworked the brain and saw what it was before reading the comment !! :lol:

B4M said:
If you're wondering about the white thing, it's the foot from my wife's tights filled with sand to weight down the wood.

My thought was "Oh it's a sandbag"
 
Last night I remove the ill fated Power compacts http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=3110 and installed a metal halide light.

Wow what a difference.

I purchased the Metal Halide from Fastlight lighting after finding the units on e-bay. The e-bay units came with 10000k bulbs and I wanted 6500k. These were available separately on e-bay and the shop were happy to provide the 6500k. I also took the recommended contactor for switching with a timer.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=260266673868
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=250274217936
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/13a-2-Way-Lig...hZ016QQcategoryZ46314QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

This was the hood with the old T5 reflectors; note the scorching from the failed lamp holder. It also highlights the challenge of fitting enough tubes in a corner tank.

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This photo shows the new reflector installed. I kept the T5 linear as these didn't give any problems. I may change bulbs to blue light and use for moon light effect in evening.

img0235bj4.jpg


Note the two cooling fans installed to dissipate the heat. These are 12v PC case fans and these plus power adapter were from e-bay.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Akasa-92mm-Co...39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Switch-Mode-D...39:1|66:2|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

The fan comes set-up to plug into a PC mother board so requires some DIY to use with the adapter. I was going to use the thermistor (temperature sensor) to control the speed dependent on temperature. However I figured this was making things more complicated than needed. A PC generates varying levels of heat depending on what it is doing. A light is either on or off. I therefore went for a potentiometer (variable resistor) to allow me to manually adjust the speed. This is a benefit as the noise increases from 19 to 31 dBA as the speed increases from 1450 to 2450 RPM.

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The photo below is the tank today with the new lights.

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It's hard to see the difference from the photo but the steams of oxygen bubbles coming off the plants is impressive. My ricca never pearled like this before.

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B4M
 
I might have missed this, but what fert dosing regime are you using?
With the 250w halide, it gives you approx. 4wpg, which is a lot of light, and if you aren't adding high fert levels, such as EI or even double EI, you might find you start to get algae problems?
I'm sure clive will cast a more expert light on the situation
 
Hi Joecoral,

I've been dosing 7 ml Tropica PN+ and 7ml flourish excel daily. From what you say I'd better buy some dry ferts and start EI.

Thanks,

B4M
 
don't take my word for it, if you've been dosing 7ml tpn+ a day then you'll probably be ok
im sure clive ( or any of the other experts) will tell us one way or another once they read this
EI will work out a lot cheaper in the long run though compared to TPN+
 
Yeah, wow, I'm with Joe on this one. Las Vegas lighting supported by only DIY CO2 and a wimpy 7ml liquids on this size tank? That's like praying at the algae shrine for every species known to mankind to visit you. :wideyed: Golly, I hope the OFF switch works on those halides because I there is way to much energy being input to the tank. Light creates demand for CO2 and nutrients. If the demands are not met the plants will begin to fail and algae will attack.

Cheers,
 
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