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something bigger, now even bigger

DeadFish

DeadFish

Member
Joined
9 Dec 2022
Messages
117
Location
Pennsylvania
So, after running my 60P for over and year and working on a 45P to hold me off for a few months, I've finally found another suitable, larger option to scape. Picking up a used Elos 75P this weekend and figured I'd start a journal to catalog some thoughts and ideas. Likely will not be set up until December, so I fully expect this to get buried until then. Just got engaged as well, so funds are tight and so is time. I've begun collecting equipment and have just about all that I need - other than time.
Elos 75P (80 x 45 x 40) (~140 liters) - Now Waterbox 3620 (90x50x45)
Elos Stand - WB Stand, Aluminum reinforced
Stainless Steel Super Jet Clone (adjustable, up to 2500 l/hr.) with Netlea pre-filter
GLA Reg. w/ 2.2kg tank, inline atomizer
Chihiros Dosing System (Macro, Micro, Gluteraldehyde)
Weekaqua Pandora P600 - Weekaqua Pandora P900 + Shades
Netlea / ADA AS (have 9L of Netlea and 9L of ADA on hand)
Spider Wood, Lava Rock, likely some sand - Malaysian (?) and Black Lava - likely going with a straight forward triangle scape or valley.

Picking up the tank for a great price, comes with stand, Oase Bio 350, and an older ADA light. Considering running two filters (again) on this one, but not sure which filter to run in conjunction with the super jet clone. Super jet clone should be plenty powerful, but in the interest of limiting dead spots, I'll run two. It also will have a rather large pre-filter. I'm not certain which two, however. I have an Oase Thermo 100 on hand and flow is pretty light, I'd say just about perfect for a 45P. Considering dialing back the super jet to 50% and running the 100, but now I have a nice biomaster 350 on hand as well. I think even at 50% on the super jet, adding the biomaster will be far too much flow. Open to suggestions on this. Pics to follow, but this will be a slow one for awhile. I will be soaking the AS prior to set up as I need to be able to transfer fish immediately. I've had no ammonia issues in the past if the soil is soaked for a couple weeks and there is an established filter in place.

Last setup was far too stem heavy and too much to deal with on a weekly basis. Planning on only have 3-4 fast growing stems, a bunch of epiphytes and some crypts. More nature style and less garden style. Love it, but can't keep it up.
 
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DeadFish said:
I will be soaking the AS prior to set up
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Pardon a stranger, do I correctly gather that you put the aquasoil in the tank and then add water only to make it water-saturated but not submerged? For how long? And what follows after filling the tank full?
 
_Maq_ said:
Pardon a stranger, do I correctly gather that you put the aquasoil in the tank and then add water only to make it water-saturated but not submerged? For how long? And what follows after filling the tank full?
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Hey Maq, I just meant soaking the AS in a bucket or container to mineralize and prevent ammonia leeching. I did it before when I had to transfer fish immediately - leave the soil to soak for a few weeks in a bucket of water, periodically dumping some water and refilling, basically mirroring a dark start method without having the system running and generally avoiding the uglies of fresh soil. Last time I did it I didn't check immediately for ammonia, but the morning after, ammonia was 0 and never appeared in subsequent testing.

Could also do it in the tank, but that's a pain when needing to add hardscape after. I do believe that the soil only needs to be saturated, not necessarily completed submerged. It can also be baked in the oven for a few hours as per this post.
 
Sharing for anyone interested - great price, but not sure if it would be worth it once it ships to U.K. Also unsure of where else they can be found.
aquarockscolorado.com

Stainless Steel Canister Filter Package

Stainless Steel Canister Filter Package Package includes: Stainless Steel Canister DC Pump 18W or 25W (Adjustable Flow Rate and Feed Mode) 10 Ft of Clear Hose or Green Hose Bio Balls Pack Pumice Stone Media Pack Stainless Steel Inlet and outlet with Skimmer 2 Years Warranty on Pump 10 Years...
aquarockscolorado.com aquarockscolorado.com
 
Took my Saturday morning and drove about 4 hours roundtrip to pick up this set up. Paid $450, but I think it was a hell of a deal. Came with:
  • Elos 80P (80x45x40)
  • Elos Stand
  • Oase Biomaster Thermo 350
  • SS Lily Pipes
  • Mess of scaping tools - even some Tropica spring scissors
  • Entire container of Matrix
  • Early ADA LED
  • Finnex Heater Controller
  • Mess of dry goods, equillibrium, salty shrimp gh+, APT 0, etc.
Not bad. Probably will end up selling the ADA LED, SS pipes, and Oase 350. Which brings me to my next question - The SS canister I have on hand apparently runs up to 2500l/hr. I have a rather large pre-filter to add in line as well as a heater and atomizer. Does anyone think that this will not be enough turnover? Filter can be dialed between 100% and 50%. I have an Oase Filtosmart 100 on hand as well and kind of planned to add that for extra flow wherever dead spots might be observed. It also would eliminate the need for the in-line heater, albeit at the chagrin of my maintenance routine. Or, I guess I could go 350 + SS canister, but I can't imagine that it wouldn't be too much flow.

Still Need:
  • 18L of Amazonia (Have 9L of Netlea on hand for total of 27L)
  • Sand - any suggestions? Planning on just grabbing some from the local shop.
  • 20g Brute Can (RO Storage) or 2 more 5g containers
  • WC Pump
  • 17mm Glass Pipes
  • Polyfill
  • Magnetic Tool Bar
  • Mesh Bags for pumice
  • Plants - Ordering from local shop, should be able to have them in around 12/9 or so. Updated list to come.
For now, here's a couple crap photos of the 80cm (and the cat) and my current 45 that was thrown together pretty hastily when I broke down my 60cm in prep for this build. Only been up for about 5 weeks or so, not very satisfied with the scape, but for 15 min, can't complain.
 

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DeadFish said:
Does anyone think that this will not be enough turnover?
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Your tank is 80x45x40, which happens to be the exact same volume as my 90x40x40 tank, 144 litres. 2500/144 gives you around x17 times turnover. Many here would recommend around x10 if you're injecting CO2 to help with distribution, your mileage may vary. If you are not injecting CO2 then you can go for a lot less than that. So you certainly have enough flow and may very well need to dial it down, fish dependant.

Looks good so far though, nice deal!
 
FrozenShivers said:
Your tank is 80x45x40, which happens to be the exact same volume as my 90x40x40 tank, 144 litres. 2500/144 gives you around x17 times turnover. Many here would recommend around x10 if you're injecting CO2 to help with distribution, your mileage may vary. If you are not injecting CO2 then you can go for a lot less than that. So you certainly have enough flow and may very well need to dial it down, fish dependant.

Looks good so far though, nice deal!
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That's a nice size - haven't seen those over here. Thanks for the input. My only concern with flow is CO2 distribution. Guess I just need to see how much the pre-filter and heater knock it down.
 
Started to play with some hard scape today. I have a ton of lava rock on hand and some spider wood pieces and well as roots/branches. I'm thinking that a triangle layout will be easiest to maintain in the long run and doesn't incur any major issues with flow or shading. Not terrible for 15 minutes, but some critiques of my own are:

1. The rock that sticks out furthest to the right could be a little slimmer. I think it disrupts the transition from L -> R.
2. I feel that it could use some height in the left corner, but stems could eventually provide that.
3. Less of a critique and more of a short coming without soil is that it needs a little more height F -> B to give the rocks a little more space to be set apart and create more depth.
4. I think some of the stones, in general, could be a little smaller to offer more scale. I think they're all a little too big and too similar in size at the moment. I'll have to break out the hammer.

But please, I am open to critique!

I've gathered a plant list for what I need to order. Already have a few things on hand including MC, Bolbitis Difformis, R. Wallichi, R. Rotundifolia Red, H. Tripartita, E. Parvula, L. Arcuata, S. Repens, a couple anubias, and a couple buces. Going to use it all for plant mass in the beginning and then thin some things out. Planning to order:

  • Buces (a bunch)
  • Weeping Moss
  • Trident Fern
  • L. Super Red
  • R. Ceylon / Rotundifolia
  • R. Blood Red
  • Ranunculus Inundatus
  • R. Rotundifolia green
  • Anubias (a bunch)
  • H. Pinnatifida
  • Crypt Parva
  • Crypt Wendtii Bronze
  • Crypt Becketii

Should be able to have this rolling by mid December. Too much going on before then.
80.jpg
80 scape.jpg
 
Playing around with some more hardscape - thinking I'm going to go this route instead of the spider wood. Just some quick ideas thrown together. From top to bottom, thinking 2 & 3 are my favorites. Likely will add some roots and definitely more detail stone.
hw4.jpg
hornwood.jpg
hw2.jpg
hw3.jpg
 

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For those of you that have tried both SS & glass pipes:

I have a pair of SS pipes on hand and would need to order a glass set since my current ones at 13mm. I love the aesthetic of glass and honestly don't mind cleaning them THAT much. However, I love not needing to be worried about slicing my hands or breaking the SS.

My only concern in the flow from the SS jet pipe / lack of broader flow. Any insight/prefernce on which is best from a flow perspective?
 
VarunA said:
I like this one

View attachment 212185
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That's what I'm leaning toward - I have a vision in my head in which each side is pushed back into the corners and banked up nicely with some soil. Maybe a small sand area in between the two islands.

Also have thought about inverting it and having the branches converge into the center. Either way, the more I look at it, I want black lava instead of red. Local guy is trading me some for some spider wood, but I'll need some more. Luckily the only aquascaping shop in Pennsylvania, USA is now the sole distributor of wio products in the US, so I can pick up some nice Wio Darwin black lava and sand.
 
Not sure if anyone saw my thread “Should I trust the silicone?” In gen. discussion - when I picked up the tank I was a little hasty in checking it out and didn’t notice a million scratches that occurred when the owner “cleaned” it out. Then, I noticed some pitting in the silicone, bubbles, some areas that looked like somehow got a little too excited w/ a scraper.
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Those are just some examples of potential issues I found. So, after almost not sleeping last night thinking about not sleeping for the duration of its set up, I decided that too much doubt had crept in (too anxious by disposition) and I wouldn’t be able to live with explaining to my in-laws (who my fiancé and I rent from) how 130L of water ruined the hardwood floor and beams underneath. The consensus was that it should probably be fine. I searched over and over the internet looking for similar examples and found none where the silicone looked cut like that. Just couldn’t stomach it. If anyone who helped is reading here, I appreciate it!

I started looking for other options like the Scaperline 90, but it was a bit more than I wanted to spend @ $1400. Then, I (kind of) serendipitously got an email from Waterbox USA about blue Friday. So, instead of 80cm and 130L, a 186L 90x50x45 will be on its way from WB. Stand also has leveling feet all along the bottom and is aluminum. WB says all blue Friday orders ship by 11/30, so don’t know where I’ll fall in that range, but here’s to money lost, more planting space, more trimming, and making more RO water.
 
Did you contact ELOS and ask them? I thought ELOS is supposed to be up there in terms of quality....perhaps it might be ok?

At the end of the day, I think you made the right call. I don't even want to know how much damage 40ish gallons of water can do to your floor/foundations if ever there was a leak. Might as well do it right when you are going bigger.
 
VarunA said:
Did you contact ELOS and ask them? I thought ELOS is supposed to be up there in terms of quality....perhaps it might be ok?

At the end of the day, I think you made the right call. I don't even want to know how much damage 40ish gallons of water can do to your floor/foundations if ever there was a leak. Might as well do it right when you are going bigger.
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I thought about that, but it’s second hand and 4 years old. Elos doesn’t make the tank anymore either. I’ve always wanted a 90cm tank anyway, so I guess it worked out. Ha.
 
FedEx came by and I just made it home in time for the delivery. Overall, stunning work from Waterbox. Excellent silicone work, glass is beautiful, and the stand is nice as well. A bit maddening to assemble, but a nice stand w/ a great design. Thinking about drilling the sides to run pipes instead of running them from out from the back, but we'll see. Don't want to mess w/ the structural integrity, but the stand has an internal aluminum frame so I doubt it's of any concern. I had the entire stand assembled and was screwing in the leveling feet when I found that only ONE of the holes for the leveling feet was not tapped. I reached out to Waterbox to see if it would void the warranty if I tapped it myself, and they said no and are sending me a t-shirt for the trouble. Just need to figure out which size tap to use. I've accumulated a good bit of kit for this so I need to get it rolling - taking up too much space. Hoping I can get a plant order in for pickup on December 9th. Going to start soaking the AS in a few days, but probably will need another bag since I've gone to a slightly bigger tank. So, only things left to purchase are another 9L of AS and plants. Hoping to have this running by the 10 of December. Decided to pick up the Chihiros Dosing system as it was on sale and I'll need it for travel this summer as well. Nice unit, but we'll see how it performs. Excuse the mess.

And I must be honest - while I spent more than I originally wanted to, I am glad I did so. Never have had such a large aquarium and being that it is a centerpiece in my house, I'm glad it's clean and scratch free. So is my partner. ha.

List of things yet to accomplish:
  • Tap last leveling foot hole
  • Tinker w/ cabinet door adjustment
  • Mount Conduit Light Hanger
  • Mount pH controller, Chihiros Dosing System, Power Strip, & Magnetic Tool Bar
  • Soak AS
  • Crush a ton of lava rock for substrate height
  • Decide on scape
90P.jpg
gear.jpg
 
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seedoubleyou said:
Tbf. Waterbox really do have a good customer service. They’re quick to respond and rectify any issues.
My return pump from them isnt working quite right, they sent a new one without question.
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I read that they’re deleting Facebook posts about tanks leaking 😬

That said, wish they’d restock their uk supply
 
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