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Inspired by: Tom's Bucket O' Mud

kedar301

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5 Sep 2022
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Milton Keynes
Inspired by this thread: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - The End

hi all,
this is what i am planning as a staring point....

180cm Long x 75cm wide x 65cm tall tank (roughly 6ft L x 2.5ft W x 2ft T) with a Bean Animal overflow system. with a tank (not a sump) underneath being 160cm Long x 60cm wide x 65cm tall (roughly 5ft L x 2ft W x 2ft T).

Now the plan for the top tank is to be like the one BigTom had started. and the tank underneath is plant free tank with rocks setup. I have noticed that BigTom had pH issues where water got hard. I am planning to make use of this phenomenon and may do bottom tank as an African Tanganyika Biotope.

At this point in time this is only an information gathering thread.

What i would also like suggestions on is....What woods and plants you guys think i should be using? the Top of the tank will be open with suspended lights.
 
Inspired by this thread: Tom's Bucket O' Mud - The End

hi all,
this is what i am planning as a staring point....

180cm Long x 75cm wide x 65cm tall tank (roughly 6ft L x 2.5ft W x 2ft T) with a Bean Animal overflow system. with a tank (not a sump) underneath being 160cm Long x 60cm wide x 65cm tall (roughly 5ft L x 2ft W x 2ft T).

Now the plan for the top tank is to be like the one BigTom had started. and the tank underneath is plant free tank with rocks setup. I have noticed that BigTom had pH issues where water got hard. I am planning to make use of this phenomenon and may do bottom tank as an African Tanganyika Biotope.

At this point in time this is only an information gathering thread.

What i would also like suggestions on is....What woods and plants you guys think i should be using? the Top of the tank will be open with suspended lights.

Interesting concept.

If the lower tank is not to be used as a sump, how will you be providing filtration for both tanks? Lake Tanganyika style tanks typically have no plants in and fairly heavy fish loads, and so need good quality comprehensive filtration.

How will you be physically supporting the upper tank, as I assume you will need legs or vertical braces on any stand which will presumably impede viewing of the lower tank?

You also need to consider that the lower sump tank typically has the water level quite low during operation so that when the pump switches off, the sump can take the excess overflow water from the upper main tank. Generally to the base of the weir teeth, or the pump inlet, which ever is lower, as a minimum, however from a safety aspect this really also needs to be able to account for the lowest possible outlet point on the main tank, which can be the lower bulkheads the weir is attached to, rather than the bottom of the weir itself.

For example, say the lowest part of your weir bulkhead opening is 100mm from the top of the water surface, you have an overflow potential of around 135 litres into the sump. Given the size of your lower tank, you'd need to run the water level in that tank at least 150-200mm from the top of the tank.
 
hi Wookii,

1. The lake tanganyika doesn't have heavy fishload. That is the Malawi Tank. most Tanganyika cichlids are carnivore apart from few like Thropheus. Also the bottom tank wont have any plants but only the rocks, which i could use Lava rocks for additional filtration.

2. Good point about the support. The cabinet i was thinking of would be made from 4x4 wood to support top tank, but if it doesnt work then i am thinking of using a metal box section for a mid support which will impede some viewing but still not too bad.

3. I was thinking to use Bean Animal type of overflow system with an overflow sort of arrangement but inside the tank. So the max overflow in case of pump failure will only be that much of a water within the overflow box plus 1" may be? But yes i will need to carefully consider this.
 
Hi all,
Now the plan for the top tank is to be like the one BigTom had started. and the tank underneath is plant free tank with rocks setup. I have noticed that BigTom had pH issues where water got hard. I am planning to make use of this phenomenon and may do bottom tank as an African Tanganyika Biotope.
If the lower tank is not to be used as a sump, how will you be providing filtration for both tanks? Lake Tanganyika style tanks typically have no plants in
I've been thinking about this, and I'm pretty sure I would go the other way around and have the top tank as the Tanganyika tank and the bottom tank as the planted tank.
For example, say the lowest part of your weir bulkhead opening is 100mm from the top of the water surface, you have an overflow potential of around 135 litres into the sump. Given the size of your lower tank, you'd need to run the water level in that tank at least 150-200mm from the top of the tank.
That way you would have space for emergent and/or floating plants in the lower tank (because it wouldn't be brimful).
i would love to read that, do you have a link please?
<"A Chocolate Puddle -"> and <"Tom's Poco Pozo">.

cheers Darrel
 
hi Darrel,
I thought about the idea of putting planted tank at the bottom but i would like to keep some plants that can grow outside the water and gives an effect of a natural pond.

thanks for the links :)
 
I thought about the idea of putting planted tank at the bottom but i would like to keep some plants that can grow outside the water and gives an effect of a natural pond.

You could do that with a tang tank. Build a wall with some nice rockwork to hide the roots/pots. It could look like the margins of the lake.

I used to have to look after lots of similar setups to this and the key to stopping water back syphoning are strategically placed anti syphon holes (and crossing your fingers nothing blocks them).
 
that is thought provoking Mort. Tang setup with plants.

I really liked the look of BigTom's setup and was thinking to have marine tank kind of approach. I thought about the tanganyika setup is because there was a byproduct of hardwater. Originally i thought about a sump tank with all sort of natural filtration.
 
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Hi all,
that is thought provoking Mort. Tang setup with plants.
There are actually plants <"that occur in Lake Tanganyika">. People usually have a rocky or shelly tank because they keep Neolamprologus, Goby Cichlids or Tropheus etc from those biotopes or open water Cyprichromis etc, but there are <"other areas where plants grow">.

101220182136031-jpg.jpg

cheers Darrel
 
that looks really beautiful. I had tanganyika setup long back but as you have mentioned that was rocks and sand only. The issue with tanganyika set up with plants is...most of these cichlids love to dig and they just get the plants out before they can establish the roots.



Thats probably the most enjoyable setup as far as fish behaviour concerns. But in terms of amount of life, i really like planted tanks with shrimps, snails crabs and many more things.
 
i have had shellies before in another smaller thank they are lovely to watch as well. I never had round cobbles in there.

But this time i really want to create something that BigTom has done at a little larger scale if i could achieve. And i would let the plants grow till the ceiling. Someone mentioned that to do nitrogen fixing a sugarcane plant can be used. And i really want to try that out.

Is there a type of wood i can use from the local parks, instead of extremely expensive large aquarium bogwoods?



I would like to achieve an aquascape like this video above but with the approach taken by BigTom.
 
Don't know about sugar cane but I'm sure I remember cyperus alternifolius and cyperus papyrus are found in Lake Tanganyika and they can get massive emergent.
 
Beech, Birch, Oak , Hawthorn. many fruit trees are suitable but doing it right way get permission from park staff, rangers and they usually supportive and help.
 
Beech, Birch, Oak , Hawthorn. many fruit trees are suitable but doing it right way get permission from park staff, rangers and they usually supportive and help.
Do we need to dry them out before using in the tank? Or just remove the top bark/skin, wash and use is fine?

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk
 
Don't know about sugar cane but I'm sure I remember cyperus alternifolius and cyperus papyrus are found in Lake Tanganyika and they can get massive emergent.
hi Mort, i wasnt talking in relation to Tan setup but that was a comment on BigTom's Journal. But i am sure they would be growing Sugar Cane in those area
 
I have noticed that BigTom had pH issues where water got hard.
I might be wrong but if I recall correctly I think Tom (unwittingly) used a substrate that had some lime in it which leached into the water making it harder than intended. However I might be confusing this with another project. I mention this because otherwise there's no reason to assume that this broad approach should result in harder water - to the contrary, having massive amounts of emergent plants growing like mad because they're not CO2 limited will tend to convert any nutrients in the water into biomass above the surface, with the net result of lowering the TDS.
What's the water like in Milton Keynes?
 
I haven't checked the water parameters of my tap water. But I think what you are saying is that mixing Tanganyikan with a planted tank isn't probably a good idea.

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk
 
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