60-P amazon scape

[aquacoen]

After three months of reading, waiting and reading my aquarium is finally getting shape. 12 years ago I had my first aquarium and I'm very glad I can pick up the wonderful aquarium hobby again!

My plan is to make an amazon scape with lots of plants and one couple of dwarf cichlids.

This week I installed the Twinstar 600SP. I still have to get used to the LED-lighting. It's much brighter than I expected and does not have a very warm feeling to it. Currently I'm running it at 70% with the TC421. Once the aquarium is scaped it will feel less bright I think 😉 The Twinstar is now hanging 14cm above the aquarium because I want some space to have emersed growth. Thinking about lowering it to 10cm so I have less 'floodlight'.

The cabinet is custom made because I really wanted a height of 80cm so when I sit at my table I have the perfect viewing point.

In the next weeks I will install my filter and CO2 installation and finally start scaping.
I'm very glad I joined this forum, lot's of useful information!

Some pictures of my fresh start:






Because of the 80cm height of the cabinet I had to attach it to my wall so it doesn't fall forward when opening the cabinet's door...

 

[Tim Harrison]

Very sleek. Which suspension kit did you use?

 

[aquacoen]

I attached the Twinstar to my ceiling with two screw hooks and 'wing toggle plugs'. Luckily the light itself is not very heavy 😉

 

[Edvet]

Because of the 80cm height of the cabinet I had to attach it to my wall so it doesn't fall forward when opening the cabinet's door...

If and when filling the tank i would loosen those bolts to not get stress through them, and re-attach after.

 

[aquacoen]

Thanks for your input Edvet. Once it's filled it will put more weight on the cabinet and floor so loosing and re-attaching the bolts is a good idea!

 

[Jakes]

Would it be possible to have a closer look at you cabinet design/build?


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[Bolota]

Very nice!
is that a 90 or 60p?

 

[aquacoen]

Would it be possible to have a closer look at you cabinet design/build?


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[Tim Harrison]

Nice to see you're taking your time to get everything spot on 😉

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Very nice cabinet., Can I ask what the Aroid (house plant) is? Is it an Alocasia?

cheers Darrel

 

[aquacoen]

Very nice!
is that a 90 or 60p?

It's a 60-P

Nice to see you're taking your time to get everything spot on 😉

Yes I'm taking my time. Friends think I'm keeping walking sticks 😀

Hi all,Very nice cabinet., Can I ask what the Aroid (house plant) is? Is it an Alocasia?
cheers Darrel

Thanks, yes it's indeed an Alocasia. It's an Alocasia Cucullata. It like's a warm spot. Since we moved it close to our radiator it's very happy 😉



This week I started with the hard scape. In the back I use 'ADA Power Sand Special-S' with 'Amazonia aqua soil' on top.
To finish the front I will use colorado sand with some guava leaves and seed pods on top.
It's not my goal to start a biotope aquarium but I try to only use plants, leaves and pods that can be found in Brazil.

In the future I hope to keep a couple (or harem?) Apistogramma Trifasciata. Any information on keeping these beautiful cichlids is welcome!

I'm working on a list with plants that can be found in Brazil and are suitable to use in my aquarium.
So far I came up with this: (bold=definitely going to use)

Small:
Echinodorus tenellus
(Staurogyne repens)
Eleocharis Acicularis
Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis

Middle:
Heteranthera Zosterifolia
Potamogeton Gayi
Sagittaria Teres
Staurogyne sp. Porto Velho
Staurogyne sp. Repens

Big:
Echinodorus Argentinensis (will hopefully grow out of the water)
Echinodorus Radicans
Echinodorus palaefolius
Hydrocotyle Leucocephala

Floating:
Limnobium laevigatum

If you know other suitable aquarium plants from this region please let me know!

 

[SKYE.__.HIGH]

ADA sticker in the back????? ): LOL


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[zozo]

Nice setup.. 🙂

But this looks kinda waiting to fail over time. Is it only for the reason of the door weight pulling when opened?

Because of the 80cm height of the cabinet I had to attach it to my wall so it doesn't fall forward when opening the cabinet's door...

Does the whole setup stand sollid for the rest on its own? I'm asking because had such an issue with a wooden plank floor on underlayment.. I did install it first and test filled it without any hardscape in it just water. I noticed when i walked by the tank that it slightly rocked back and fort, because its weight, total about 180kg presses down on the planks and underlayment. It kinda lifted the planks slightly at the right side of the tank and there is a doorway to the bathroom. So there is a lot of walking by the tank every day. Standing on the planks next to the tank pressed again on the planks with my 80kg lifting the tank up for e few milimeters. And saw the water moving.. I was lucky i did a test fill for other reasons for a few days. Without water in it it was barely noticable.

I was also lucky there is a room behind the wall the tank stands.. Because of the tank moving a little with walking by and its total weight i did not trust screws and plugs in an old brick wall. These could loosen over time under the constant stress. So as permanent solution i decided to go all the way through the wall with M10 threadrods, big washers and nuts. Bolted a steel profile again at the other side of the wall between the threadrods in the other room to devide the weight over 2 point and the total lenght between them. That way a 4 point connection like that to the cabinet and 2 steel profiles in the other room, 2 close to the floor and 2 close to the top of the cabinet.

Long story.. 🙂 But if that is an underlayment floor you got there. I would definitively test it before completely scape and fill. Take away or loosen the bolds and check for movement while dancing around the tank.. If it does you see the water in the tank rock back and fort. If that is true makes sure the plugs and the wall are up to the constant stress. Would be a shame to see that it doesn't a half a year after seting all up and its running.

 

[aquacoen]

Nice setup.. 🙂

But this looks kinda waiting to fail over time. Is it only for the reason of the door weight pulling when opened?


Does the whole setup stand sollid for the rest on its own? I'm asking because had such an issue with a wooden plank floor on underlayment.. I did install it first and test filled it without any hardscape in it just water. I noticed when i walked by the tank that it slightly rocked back and fort, because its weight, total about 180kg presses down on the planks and underlayment. It kinda lifted the planks slightly at the right side of the tank and there is a doorway to the bathroom. So there is a lot of walking by the tank every day. Standing on the planks next to the tank pressed again on the planks with my 80kg lifting the tank up for e few milimeters. And saw the water moving.. I was lucky i did a test fill for other reasons for a few days. Without water in it it was barely noticable.

I was also lucky there is a room behind the wall the tank stands.. Because of the tank moving a little with walking by and its total weight i did not trust screws and plugs in an old brick wall. These could loosen over time under the constant stress. So as permanent solution i decided to go all the way through the wall with M10 threadrods, big washers and nuts. Bolted a steel profile again at the other side of the wall between the threadrods in the other room to devide the weight over 2 point and the total lenght between them. That way a 4 point connection like that to the cabinet and 2 steel profiles in the other room, 2 close to the floor and 2 close to the top of the cabinet.

Long story.. 🙂 But if that is an underlayment floor you got there. I would definitively test it before completely scape and fill. Take away or loosen the bolds and check for movement while dancing around the tank.. If it does you see the water in the tank rock back and fort. If that is true makes sure the plugs and the wall are up to the constant stress. Would be a shame to see that it doesn't a half a year after seting all up and its running.

Thanks a lot for your thoughts zozo. The whole setup is standing solid on it's own as long as the door is closed. When the door is opened, the setup leans forward when I put some downwards pressure on the door. Luckily the tank is not in a place where there is a lot of walking.. It is indeed an underlayment floor so testing the setup with water in it is a good idea. I have loosened the bolts already as Edvet mentioned (I will tighten them when the tank is filled). Now with loosened bolts and an empty tank there is little movement when I change my bodyweight on different places of the floor... So yes there is movement.

Thread rods all the way through the wall is not an option for me.. The screws I used have the recommanded length and diameter for the 'fischer duopower wall plugs', so I was hoping this would do the trick. Feels very solid!

Next week I have to do some tests with my filter and CO2 installation with a filled tank. When all the hardware is working I'm definitely going to do a little dancing around the tank. Not only because of joy.... Thanks again!

 

[aquacoen]

Finally I got my tank planted! The whole setup is now steady as a rock and levelled.

I really enjoyed the scaping!

Plantlist: (not strictly amazon biotope but all plants can be found in Brazil)

Echinodorus Radicans (too big for my tank, but I want it to grow with some leaves sticking out of the tank)
Helanthium bolivianum ´Angustifolius´
Hydrocleys Nymphoides

Invitro:
Helanthium tenellum 'Green'
Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis
Sagittaria subulata
Vesicularia dubyana 'Christmas'
Heteranthera Zosterifolia
Staurogyne Repens
Salvinia Auriculata
Limnobium Laevigatum

Waiting to be planted...


The invitro cups. I was really surprised by the quality!


Work in progress.. I used Dupla Plantfix to glue some pieces of wood to rocks, works very well.


The final composition. I found it difficult to combine the rocks and the wood in a natural way..


First breeze of water on the ADA power sand.

Amazonia soil on top.


Adding the sand. Washed it multiple times. Tank still got a bit clouded..


Attaching the moss


Everything is planted!

Had to put some rocks on the wood, hope they will sink soon!
To start I will run the Twinstar on 70% for 5 hours a day.
Co2 starts one hour before the light turns on and stops one hour before the light turns off with two bubbles per second.
This week I will do daily water changes with tap water.
After one week I will do water changes every other day.
After one month I will hopefully doing one water change each week, depending on the water quality..

Filter is running with ceramic pipes and bio rio.

I will post some more pictures after the first week.

Feel free to critique my scape!
If you have tips for cycling my tank please let me know! Thanks in advance.

 

[aquacoen]

sorry.. double post

 

[alto]

Really like the scape though not sure how suited it is to dwarf cichlids - suspect you'll need to choose your species carefully

Are there local breeders or will you be getting fish through the local shops?

 

[alto]

If you have tips for cycling my tank please let me know! Thanks in advance.

Patience is usually best 🙂

With ADA soil, ammonia levels can be quite variable - the changeover from daily water changes to every other day & then weekly etc, should be guided by the ammonia levels, plant health

While there's no livestock, it's easy to increase CO2 for plants

OTOH there's no harm in adding a product such as Seachem Stability (there are a few branded bacteria products that can be effective, but also other products which seem to have little effect on "cycling")
Though if ammonia & nitrite levels are too high (re ADA soil) this can inhibit the bacteria you're trying to establish

If you can obtain biomedia from a friend's tank, this is usually the best source of "cycle assist"

For more adventuresome reading, Darrel dw1305 has some good links

 

[alto]

For dwarf cichlid information, I recommend inputting your species of interest into the Search Engine over at

Apistogramma.com

Reading all the entries, then posting your queries 😀

The Krib also has loads of interesting posts

 

[aquacoen]

Really like the scape though not sure how suited it is to dwarf cichlids - suspect you'll need to choose your species carefully

Are there local breeders or will you be getting fish through the local shops?

Yes I have to do some more research. Luckily there are quit a lot of breeders here in The Netherlands. I even became a member of the Dutch Cichlid Association: https://www.nvcweb.nl/

Great source of information.
I think Apistogramma Trifasciata could be an option.. any thoughts?