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giant tank for killis

I think the black tank, with the white cabinet and hood is going to look stunning against your planting. I agree, I like the substrate hidden, I think it frames the 'picture' of the aquascape really nicely. Lovely wood you've chosen, too. But I think almost my favourite picture was the one of all the washed substrate! :lol:

Can't wait to see this planted up!
 
This journal has great detail.

I really like your Redmoor root pieces.

I have the same problem with trying to look through the front glass while doing tank maintanence up a step ladder. Having a Juwel Vision 450l and being a short blahblahblahblah is hard work

Andy
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Thanks Andy. I am going to need someone at front to help coordinate what I am doing from the top lol

by sarahtermite » Sat May 05, 2012 8:55 am

I think the black tank, with the white cabinet and hood is going to look stunning against your planting. I agree, I like the substrate hidden, I think it frames the 'picture' of the aquascape really nicely. Lovely wood you've chosen, too. But I think almost my favourite picture was the one of all the washed substrate!

Can't wait to see this planted up!


by BigTom » Sat May 05, 2012 11:48 am

Great depth already, I suspect this is going to be a belter once done.
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Thank you Sarah and Tom. I hope to put together a plant list over the weekend and will be sharing this with you shortly. I hope this tank will live up to its expectation 😳
 
Bought CO2 equipment and fertilisers from a ukaps member a few weeks ago.
co2ebay002.jpg

I am new to CO2 but have seen a few references on this forum about 2kg cannisters not lasting very long on a 5ft tank. I really would not know but decided to source a larger bottle anyway. A 5kg fire extinguisher would not fit in my cabinet. I was fortunate that 'Mr Fizz' in Uxbridge could sort me out with an unusual sized cannister; 6kg - 61cm tall - diameter 18cm. £20 a refill and £50 deposit.
CO2005.jpg

To make it fit, a hole was cut in the base of the cabinet and it fits neatly behind the post taking up little space.
CO2003.jpg

This evening I will be attempting to set up the CO2 and power filters.
 
Thank you Foxfish. I spent six hours Saturday night setting up the filters and CO2 system.

I was not the CO2 that gave me any trouble, as I thought it might. I had a couple of mishaps with the power filters I inherited with the original tank I bought. I first tried to get the Eheim Pro II up and running but I snapped off one of the inlets for the filter tube :evil: .
brokenEheimpart005.jpg

Then I set up a Hailea filter which leaked water all over the place. A few hours later and third time lucky, the Aqua Pro4 was working fine. I have since ordered a replacement part for the Eheim and will leave the Aqua Pro running with the lights switched off until the plants arrive.

I have put together a plant list and rough layout for the design.
plantmockup-2.jpg

Behind the wood on either sides I was planning a curtain of C. balansae. At the front and in the lower parts of the substrate towards the back, a carpet of E. parvula, with some E. tenellus mixed in at the edges. This carpet would end at the back with E. acicularis as a focal point, with some A. crispus red at either side.

The pieces of wood I wanted to plant up with Microsorium narrow, M. needle/ trident if I can get hold of any, Bolbitus heudelotii, and few anubias petite.

If anyone has any criticisms or suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Thanks,

Andre
 
Hi there. Here is where I got my CO2 from;

Mr Fizz (part of a company called Oak Farm Leisure)
High Street
Cowley
Uxbridge UB8 2EQ
01895 811116
 
Last weekend, I fitted the second filter and the water has cleared up considerably. I also added more substrate -a whopping 120l in total- and made final adjustments to wood and gravel. I like the way the top bits of both pieces of wood seem to flow from left to right. I am a bit worried that the cat litter is piled up a little too steep in places and might level out easily. Hopefully the plants will help keep it all in place.
woodfinalandsandsculpted011.jpg

Close to the front window I buried a cocus shell to hopefully observe the breeding behaviour of Pelvichromis taeniatus, the only non killis I will have in the tank. All the fish will come from the Cameron/ Nigeria region.
cocoscloseup.jpg

Plants have been ordered and should all be arriving later this week;

Anubias nana 'petite'
Aponogeton crispus 'red'
Bolbitus heudelotti
Crinium calamistratum
Cryptocoryne balansae
Cryptocoryne lucens
Cryptocoryne nevilli
Cryptocoryne parva
Echinodorus tenullus
Eleocharis acicularis
Eleocharis parvula
Eleocharis Xingua
Eleocharis vivipara
Microsorium p. 'needle'
Microsorium p. 'trident'

Can't wait to get it planted up!
 
Love the scape. That wood is definitely impressive Tom Barr would be proud!!

Watching this for sure
 
So far looking good, and I admire your meticulous preparation.

It has actually set me to thinking though...

...after reading this and countless other journals, that a lot of us are actually perfectionists? Which is actually no bad thing since it takes all sorts to make the world go round. But is it a prerequisite of our particular brand of the hobby?

Or is it the case that you don't have to be mad but it helps...so to speak?
 
Thank you Eboeagles and Troi. Perfectionist or just a bit obsessed with an object taking less space than two square metres? Keeps us off the streets lol.

Prior to placing the wood in the tank, I have spent countless hours playing around with different combination of the woods, in all sorts of different positions (ahem...). To make matters far more complicated I actually bought a fourth piece of wood so there were endless possibilities. This piece of wood was originally my favourite as it had three main legs and could be placed at all sorts of different angles. Might take it back to the shop or keep it for a future project...
sparewood.jpg
 
Prior to placing the wood in the tank, I have spent countless hours playing around with different combination of the woods, in all sorts of different positions (ahem...).
Click to expand...

Was that a "Carry On" moment? :lol:

Trust me if it's that good keep it. Good wood seems to be increasingly difficult to come by these days.
 
Eboeagles said:
Love the scape. That wood is definitely impressive Tom Barr would be proud!!

Watching this for sure
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I though once I realized that this person is too far from Mr. Barr for those to be from his stockpile. Who knows maybe he sells to ADC....

I too love Killi's my first introduction was a Golden Wonder I got on accident as a Juvi with a bunch of feeder guppies. He grew quite large and before he finally lept out the tank to his demise I was hand feeding him Mosquito hawks, and any other large insect I could toss in there. Right now I have one solo Lampeye Killi in one tank and a pair of Aphyosemion australe in my planted 25L. They are gorgeous and I cant wait to pick up a few more species. My next killi's plant to be Clown Killi's as I have access to them from AFA here is San Francisco and they seem to keep them stocked pretty regularly.

Here is a shot of my Aphyosemion australe pair that I received via a RAOK from one of my local sfbaaps.org club members.

Aphyosemion australe
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Good luck I look forward to seeing this one unfold, I will be following from across the Pond as they say!
 
Thanks WabiKasuH20Fall. I think there is much more potential for people to show off killifish in their planted tanks. Killis are stunning fish, quite rare and unusual, great companions in my opinion for the beautiful and unique display tanks seen on this forum. Its a shame we don't see more of them on this forum, just like its a shame most killifish keepers dont bother with planted tanks.

Fish jumping out of tank can be big problem - no open top tanks with kills. I am planning to keep lampeyes also, a big shoal of them. Will probably be the first fish I introduce to the tank as they are often quite small when you buy them and I will give them a chance to grow a little before releasing some larger killis in there.
 
Had a busy weekend planting up the tank. Will be spending the next few weeks getting to grips with CO2 regulation and fertilisation.

Started EI dosing and 2x T5 lighting on for six hours with generous CO2 levels which I will start bringing down slowly in the weeks prior to fish arriving.

In the end, I ditched a few species from my plant list. Final list;

Anubias nana 'petite'
Aponogeton crispus 'red'
Bolbitus heudelotti
Cryptocoryne balansae
Cryptocoryne nevilli
Eleocharis acicularis
Eleocharis parvula
Eleocharis Retroflexa
Microsorium p. 'needle'
Microsorium p. 'trident'

First pics
tankday1004.jpg

tankday1007.jpg

tankday1008.jpg

tankday1015.jpg
 
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