Did my very first "serious" scape including soil for the nightstand tank:
Looks good but I think you should use bigger stones and odd numbers of them.
The tank(glass) itself looks fantastic.
-
You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up
Cliff & Plateau
- Thread starter McCarthy
- Start date
Looks good but I think you should use bigger stones and odd numbers of them.
The tank(glass) itself looks fantastic.
I bought 2 of those IKEA cabinets for tank No 3 and 4. They will hold the weight, I sat on one, being 200 lb.
Moved this tank from the nightstand over to the new IKEA cabinet. Will be able to look at it from my bed at any time and my alarm clock got its nightstand back lol
The 60F will be a perfect match, size wise.
PS: did I mention that I might turn tank no 4 (ADA 60F) into a reef?
Moved this tank from the nightstand over to the new IKEA cabinet. Will be able to look at it from my bed at any time and my alarm clock got its nightstand back lol
The 60F will be a perfect match, size wise.
PS: did I mention that I might turn tank no 4 (ADA 60F) into a reef?
Last edited:
AverageWhiteBloke
Member
How dare you mention reef tanks in here, you should be ashamed! MODS can you close the thread please, reported 
doylecolmdoyle
Member
I want to try do a "Reef Iwagumi" in my bookshelf tank one day
Last edited:
Is there any appropriate lifestock for a tank of that size in reef systems?
A friend of mine is really interested in those kind of things
A shrimp and 2 small Nemos shouldn't be an issue. A large sump in the cabinet will help with the water quality. Say hello to your friend.
Last edited:
I've been working on testing the water temperature and the impact of the light on the refugium tank in the kitchen. As I may have mentioned, I'm living in Florida. I have the AC running 10 out of 12 month, always set at 75 F, which is about 24 C. In those 2 "winter" month it is usually cool enough outside to keep the AC off. In those 2 months its anywhere between 66 and 75 F inside (19 - 24C).
Now, the planned Rummynose Rasbora fish prefers the water temp to be not too hot. If I manage to keep the water temp at 76F or below I should be fine but the question was, if the EcoTech light will heat up the water enough to cause issues for this fish species. The EcoTech light is extremely powerful in the 100% setting. Based on what I have read, this small tank should be run at no more than 30%. So I tested the water temp with the light off, and the light being on for 8 hours.
I'm probably the only guy around who uses a calibrated and certified FLUKE meter for this kinda job, but I don't trust these $20 thermometers mads in China.
Water temp with the lights being off over night: 76.1 F:
Light set to 30% on all color channels. Really love the iPhone app.
Water temp with the lights being on for 8 hours: 76.3 F:
With other words: the heat impact from the EcoTech LED light is minimal. I guess that huge Eheim filter and high flow rate disperse a big chunk of that energy. Good outcome, I won't need a chiller. I'd say this tank setup is ready to go, no leaks either.
Now, the planned Rummynose Rasbora fish prefers the water temp to be not too hot. If I manage to keep the water temp at 76F or below I should be fine but the question was, if the EcoTech light will heat up the water enough to cause issues for this fish species. The EcoTech light is extremely powerful in the 100% setting. Based on what I have read, this small tank should be run at no more than 30%. So I tested the water temp with the light off, and the light being on for 8 hours.
I'm probably the only guy around who uses a calibrated and certified FLUKE meter for this kinda job, but I don't trust these $20 thermometers mads in China.
Water temp with the lights being off over night: 76.1 F:
Light set to 30% on all color channels. Really love the iPhone app.
Water temp with the lights being on for 8 hours: 76.3 F:
With other words: the heat impact from the EcoTech LED light is minimal. I guess that huge Eheim filter and high flow rate disperse a big chunk of that energy. Good outcome, I won't need a chiller. I'd say this tank setup is ready to go, no leaks either.
Testing the AZOO Mignon for tank no 3 now. I use the filter fleece and bags with media from JBL, perfect fit size wise.
This will be my filter setup until we have a basket that corrects the false flow of water.
The water flow is fine in the lowest setting:
But on a higher flow setting it will overflow and bypass the media:
This will be my filter setup until we have a basket that corrects the false flow of water.
The water flow is fine in the lowest setting:
But on a higher flow setting it will overflow and bypass the media:
Last edited:
I think this is left to do:
1.) Cut holes for hose grommets in cabinet for main tank.
2.) Do all plumbing for the main tank.
3.) Test a couple day for leaks and proper CO2 insertion.
4.) Program the Milwaukee pH controller, the Giesemann light system and the filter.
5.) Maybe find a CO2 solution for tank no 3, because that HC will grow slowly without.
6.) Do final scaping in tank no 1 and 2.
7.) Find the best online shops for the plants and order.
Tank no 4 might very well turn into an ADA 120F, still waiting for an answer from AquaForest. The guys who wanted to ship the 60F from San Diego are dragging their feet. They keep telling me that they have to find a large shipping box. I told them to take the tank to the next FedEx center, let them wrap and pack it, and I'll pay for everything. Last time they said they would send somebody over to ask. Why ask? Just get it wrapped and shipped...
HenrySheehan
Member
Lol. Sounds like they're telling you porkies.
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
Yeah, they don't get crap done. And to make it worse, TheGreenMachine just sent me this: "The 120-f is now a discontinued product from ada they no longer produce it so it would have to be custom made."
Why the heck would ADA stop making this awesome, shallow and long tank?! TGM just made a new scape and video, now nobody will be able to replicate that anymore.
Maybe to few people were interested in those kinds of tanks. The smaller shallow tanks are great, as they offer a nice shape for a decent price. I guess 600 $ for a 72 litre tank is to much for a lot of people I think. Here in Germany, it's even more expensive than the popular ADA 90P.
I know it lowers the varity of available tanks, which is crappy. Did you try to get it custom-build? My current tank was made for about 90 €, which is about 100 $. I think the company (little local one) would have made a 120 f (with clear glass) for about 300 to 400 $.
I know it lowers the varity of available tanks, which is crappy. Did you try to get it custom-build? My current tank was made for about 90 €, which is about 100 $. I think the company (little local one) would have made a 120 f (with clear glass) for about 300 to 400 $.
I looked up custom tank builders when I was thinking about a reef. One builder is affordable but the quality isn't good. Another builder has top notch quality but a long wait time and a tank is quickly at $2000 - $4000.
I think I'll start scaping the first 3 tanks. If everything goes well, I'll either order a 60F when they are back in stock at AquaForest, or I'll wait for a year and see how much I like this hobby. If I'm still that committed after a year, I'll build my dream tank, a longer and deeper version of the TGM 120F tanks. Something along the lines of 250cm long x 30cm high x 100cm deep. Super shallow, super long, and super deep, like a super wide panorama landscape.
Holy crap, custom build tanks are pretty expensive in your area. That's nearly insane.
Personally I would recommend the second approach. You seem to have a good couple of bucks in your wallet, but there are other things to it: Trimming, waterchanges, feeding, fine-tuning the proper balance and even more
For starters, I usually recommend a 60p-sized tank (usually a cheap one) to get a feel for it. Get your experience and if you stick with it, build your dream. Thats what I did, and today I got my dream tank (according to my finances as I am a student ).
Of course this is completely up to you.
Personally I would recommend the second approach. You seem to have a good couple of bucks in your wallet, but there are other things to it: Trimming, waterchanges, feeding, fine-tuning the proper balance and even more
For starters, I usually recommend a 60p-sized tank (usually a cheap one) to get a feel for it. Get your experience and if you stick with it, build your dream. Thats what I did, and today I got my dream tank (according to my finances as I am a student
).Of course this is completely up to you.
Holy crap, custom build tanks are pretty expensive in your area. That's nearly insane.
Personally I would recommend the second approach. You seem to have a good couple of bucks in your wallet, but there are other things to it: Trimming, waterchanges, feeding, fine-tuning the proper balance and even more
For starters, I usually recommend a 60p-sized tank (usually a cheap one) to get a feel for it. Get your experience and if you stick with it, build your dream. Thats what I did, and today I got my dream tank (according to my finances as I am a student
Of course this is completely up to you.
With my current 3 tanks I'm already at $8500, so cutting corners now would be completely upside down.
This is the expensive tank builder, they usually build and maintain very complex systems for people with unlimited funds:
http://www.reefsavvy.com/services
I better get off before I'm going to do something really 'stupid'. lol
I got some work done and I'm getting close to ordering plants and final scaping.
I managed to make that IKEA cabinet a bit more stable by adding long screws through the bottom board into the sides and L-brackets for the top penal.
That being said, the quality of IKEA products is down the drain. All boards are now hallow to save material which obviously compromises stability. Other parts are not fitting well and one plastic part broke before I could screw it tight.
This was the last time that I bought anything from IKEA. They used to be "OK" for being made in China. Now its just cardboard and glue.
I also finally cut the holes for the hose-grommets in the cabinet for main tank and glued them into place. That was a big deal for me. It is one thing to screw up holes in a cheap IKEA cabinet worth $100, or a custom made cabinet worth $750 that came with a 1 month waiting period and many hours of planning.
Next I installed the background LED light strip on the cabinet for the main tank. Instead of ordering the Fluval EcoBright LED I went with the Phillips Hue System, which allows me to adjust everything through an iPhone App or my Home Automation System. I can also adjust a bunch of other lights in my entire house with the same App. Really love it.
Super even light distribution, in countless color and brightness combinations. The App also comes with a timer and many other options.
I managed to make that IKEA cabinet a bit more stable by adding long screws through the bottom board into the sides and L-brackets for the top penal.
That being said, the quality of IKEA products is down the drain. All boards are now hallow to save material which obviously compromises stability. Other parts are not fitting well and one plastic part broke before I could screw it tight.
This was the last time that I bought anything from IKEA. They used to be "OK" for being made in China. Now its just cardboard and glue.
I also finally cut the holes for the hose-grommets in the cabinet for main tank and glued them into place. That was a big deal for me. It is one thing to screw up holes in a cheap IKEA cabinet worth $100, or a custom made cabinet worth $750 that came with a 1 month waiting period and many hours of planning.
Next I installed the background LED light strip on the cabinet for the main tank. Instead of ordering the Fluval EcoBright LED I went with the Phillips Hue System, which allows me to adjust everything through an iPhone App or my Home Automation System. I can also adjust a bunch of other lights in my entire house with the same App. Really love it.
Super even light distribution, in countless color and brightness combinations. The App also comes with a timer and many other options.
Last edited:
doylecolmdoyle
Member
You can hold a disco now! I find I dont use my coloured LED back light that much, looks nicer el-natural
I can also adjust it to all white and chances are that it will be on white most of the time. Maybe with a hint of red to make that green carpet pop.
