Rivers Edge

[chrisfraser05]

Up to Date image 07/10/2020

Kit List

Tank - Clearseal 30" x 15" x 12"
Lighting - Fluval planted 3.0
Filter - Eheim Professional 5e 600T
Dosing Pump - Kamoer 3 Channel
Water Change Pump - D-D P1
Feeding - Ehiem Auto Feeder



Routine

Kamoer Dosing Channel 1 - Liquid Carbon 2ml daily (20ml 9:1 dilute)
Kamoer Dosing Channel 2 - TNC Complete Ferts 1ml daily (10ml 9:1 dilute)
Kamoer Dosing Channel 3 - dark water extract (alder cones in chamber) 20ml daily

D-D P1 - Addition of 1lt per day fresh water (water level maintained by overflow drain to 25lt drum).
Optional extra water changes as required via D-D Bluetooth control of Doser.
Fresh water is Tap (30tds) treated with prime and rebuffered up to 7GH/6KH in a 25lt container.

As i work offshore, 1lt a day water change will be daily for 21 days, with higher level of daily, or continued daily with a weekly larger change during 3 weeks at home.
Automated with the D-D P1 pump, 25lt Drums and Overflow pipework.

Filteration Setup of Ehiem 5e

Prefilter Course Sponge

Tray 1 - 3 times graded pond sponges course/med/fine
Tray 2 - Ceramic Media
Tray 3 - Plastic Bio Balls
Tray 4 - Retained for running Carbon/Renew as required



Chemicals/Ferts etc

Water - Tap. 30-40tds, GH 2/KH 1-2
Dechlor - Prime
Buffer - JBL. Buffer to GH 7/KH6
Ferts - TNC Complete (Plan on changing to EI once first bottle runs out)
CO2 - Easy-life, Easy Carbo



Subsatrate

Lowest layer - Garden Compost
Mid Layer - Tropica Aquasoil powder
Cap (lower section only) - Seachem Flourite black sand



Testing

Gh/Kh - Api
Ammonia - Api
TDS - Test pen



Plants

Rockwork/Wood - Java moss
Floating - Phyllanthus fluitans

Upper Section
Rear Sides - Eleocharis montevidensis
Rear Center - Cryptocoryne beckettii 'Petchii'
Grassbed - Eleocharis Parvula

Rock work

Microsorum pteropus
Anubias barteri var. angustifolia
Anubias barteri var. nana
Bolbitis heudelotii
Hygrophila pinnatifida
Microsorum pteropus 'Windeløv

Lower section
Rear - Vallisneria nana
Rear/mid - Hygrophila costata & Hygrophila polysperma
Mid - Helanthium 'Quadricostatus'
Front - Cryptocoryne parva


Livestock

RCS
Nerite Snails
Khuli Loaches
Black Fire Enders
Pygmy Corydoras



Hardscape/Decor

Red Gravel Slope
Red Stone rock face
Redmoor wood
Alder cones
Indian Almond Leaf litter



Flow

Spray bar installed on left end of tank, almost full width and hidden in rockwork.
Return lower on right hand side through shrimp safe mesh intake.

Ehiem 5e pulse mode - 1000lt/hr with pulse to 1500 lt/hr every 30s for 2-3 sec (provisional).

 

[chrisfraser05]

So after about 9 years after i shut down the tank from my last journal - Forrest Bridge - I have finally decided to get back into my planted tanks properly.

I've never not had a few tanks on the go, I went down the full on SPS reef route but always missed my FW tanks and especially the fish.

Having moved house last month and set my little 30lt fluval eby up in the new house, with its 3 amano shrimp and 2 snails, I decided that I'm going to go a little daft.

I've built a stand in the corner of the new hobby room from Scaffold boards, and decided that a 30" x 15" x 12" tank will fit nicely.

I work away 3 weeks at a time, so my tank will have an auto feeder (light fish stocking) and will have an auto water change setup so while I am away it will be doing approximately 10% change per week.

I've got an Auto Dosing unit (Kamoer) which i will use for dosing liquid Carbo and Ferts.

So the spec proposal is below;


Tank - Clearseal 30" x 15" x 12"
Drilled with inlet (Spray bar), Stainless intake strainers on both filter inlet and height setting overflow.
16mm Hard pipework to 16mm flexible hose in cabinet.
Estimate 65-70lt after displacement, + 14lt canister capacity.


Fluval Planted 3.0 light

Eheim 5E 600T Filter (Maximum flow 1850lt/hr).
Spray bar running almost full 12" back to front at left end, with return fairly low on right side of tank.
Planning to use Pulse function of filter, guessing 600/800lt with a 1200+ pulse

Dosing Easy Carbo and innitially TNC Complete, with a move back to EI powders later once the first lot runs out,


Scape will be 3 heights, right hand side low, with a cliff face/overhang up to a higher section which will be a grass bed (possibly half the tank height raised), this will end with a gravel slope (1-2cm sizes) which will slope up breaking the water at the left edge. The Spray bar will be concealed inside this gravel slope, so water will flow fast over the shallower grass bed first, then slow as it goes over the drop into the deeper section.

The inlet being low in the deep section should ensure water flows into the bottom of the deep section, also any floating plant should all collect above the deeper part meaning lower light plants will grow well here while the grass bed (or possibly HC) gets plenty light and flow.

There will be some Small Redmoor pieces scattered in the deeper part, placed such to look like they simply fell out of higher river flow rather than looking placed carefully.

Lastly, I'm going transfer the current garden soil substrate from my Eby, this will cover about 1cm, ontop of this I will use something like Eco Complete or Tetra Active then capped with my old favourite, Seachems Flourite Black Sand.


Livestock plans, nothing too adventurous, and light load... RCS,a handfull of Enders and a couple of Kuhli Loaches.

i'm pretty sure this covers it.

Sat and tallied up the money spent this week, and what remains to be be spent (Filter and lights) I'm touching over 1k for a little clearseal and kit.
I'd better make it worth it

Looking forward to sharing the updates and getting any feedback from you all.

Chris

 

[chrisfraser05]

Current system with Ehiem Eco and hydor external filter.

 

[Littlegem91]

Looks amazing.. so knowledgeable, can’t wait to read more of your posts!

 

[chrisfraser05]

Looks amazing.. so knowledgeable, can’t wait to read more of your posts!

Such a sook!!!

Glad you have joined xxxxx

 

[chrisfraser05]

most of the kit has now arrived.

I get home from offshore tomorrow and am going to shop for rock and more wood Friday.

It's getting exciting!

 

[not called Bob]

Rig or something else?

I'm offshore or I would be if I did not keep getting offered silly money for jobs, people in the nice safe office, playing golf seem to always want to take away from the lowest rung on the ladder.

 

[chrisfraser05]

Rig or something else?

I'm offshore or I would be if I did not keep getting offered silly money for jobs, people in the nice safe office, playing golf seem to always want to take away from the lowest rung on the ladder.

Yea on a rig.

I've just swapped rigs and taken a demotion as covid parked 75% of our fleet (drilling) but it's looking promising to get my own role back at the end of the year.

The whole industry isn't what it was though.

 

[not called Bob]

I'm environmental contractor so offshore and foreshore, the pay cut after pay cut is very demotivating
Maybe time to get into a static lab again

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

the pay cut after pay cut is very demotivating

It is an absolute crisis, and the most incredible waste of talent. It is very much a buyers market and it has massively depressed wages.

We can recruit ridiculously over-qualified technical staff. The last 28 people they've interviewed for scientific technical posts have all had Ph.Ds (in chemistry, biology, biochemistry and pharmacology) and 24 of them have gone home empty handed.

These are people with higher degrees from Russel Group Universities, Bristol, Bath, Oxford, Lancaster, Leeds, Durham and often post-doc experience as well.

cheers Darrel

 

[not called Bob]

Hi all, It is an absolute crisis, and the most incredible waste of talent. It is very much a buyers market and it has massively depressed wages.

We can recruit ridiculously over-qualified technical staff. The last 28 people they've interviewed for scientific technical posts have all had Ph.Ds (in chemistry, biology, biochemistry and pharmacology) and 24 of them have gone home empty handed.

These are people with higher degrees from Russel Group Universities, Bristol, Bath, Oxford, Lancaster, Leeds, Durham and often post-doc experience as well.

cheers Darrel

Wow is this wessex water?

There was something on radio about lidl and aldi being swapped by applications, as they pay way above the min wage and so many people with more expensive lifestyles need work, the shop floor will have far more than start and end of career folks as is normally the case in that part of retail

 

[Luketendo]

Hi all, It is an absolute crisis, and the most incredible waste of talent. It is very much a buyers market and it has massively depressed wages.

We can recruit ridiculously over-qualified technical staff. The last 28 people they've interviewed for scientific technical posts have all had Ph.Ds (in chemistry, biology, biochemistry and pharmacology) and 24 of them have gone home empty handed.

These are people with higher degrees from Russel Group Universities, Bristol, Bath, Oxford, Lancaster, Leeds, Durham and often post-doc experience as well.

cheers Darrel

What's the pay rate for these jobs?

 

[chrisfraser05]

So woke up at midnight and decided to get a few parcels unpacked etc

Just waiting on the tank and filter now

 

[chrisfraser05]

As I'm going to spend my next 3 wks getting things ready slowly, then fill it in 6 weeks when I'm home from my next trip I decided to take some of the grass from my existing little tank and use the DSM to propagate more.

Using the fluval light on my desk to grow them

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[dw1305]

Hi all,

What's the pay rate for these jobs?

Starts at £24K and potentially rises to £30K, but no career progression from there.

Wow is this wessex water?

Bath's other University.

cheers Darrel

 

[Luketendo]

Hi all, Starts at £24K and potentially rises to £30K, but no career progression from there.Bath's other University.

cheers Darrel

Not great but a stepping stone I guess.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[chrisfraser05]

Bit of progress last night and got £120 plant order from Aqua essentials plus my new filter coming from charterhouse as we speak

 

[chrisfraser05]

Automating done today with D-D P1 setup for auto adding fresh water.

Water overflows to drum (rented property so cannot feed to drain)

Dosing of Easy carbo and TNC (diluted 10:1 for easier dosing).

And auto feeder

 

[chrisfraser05]

And some plants arrived today with the main delivery due tomorrow.

 

[maj74]

Using a dosing pump to do water changes? - That's an interesting idea.

Presumably the level is governed simply by an overflow?

What percentage of your new water ends up going 'straight' out the overflow in a given 24 hour period I wonder.

I am putting an overflow bulkhead in the back corner of my new tank, the idea being that I just pump new water in and let old water overflow out through the bulkhead - but was moving away from that idea as was thinking that too much 'new' water would end up going straight out the overflow.

Was thinking about putting a 'T' junction and stop taps on the lily pipe inlet:

• Switch off filter,
• reverse taps, pump new water in through lily pipe,
• then switch taps back and restart filter.

Automating done today with D-D P1 setup for auto adding fresh water.

View attachment 154850
View attachment 154851

Water overflows to drum (rented property so cannot feed to drain)
View attachment 154852
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Dosing of Easy carbo and TNC (diluted 10:1 for easier dosing).
View attachment 154854

And auto feeder
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