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"Temporary Insanity", 60 gallon build

Thanks Lindy. This is something of a dream set up for me. I've been planning something like this and gathering the hardware/hardscape for years but have been too nomadic to really do anything with it. Now that I'll be in one place for a while it's time to finally put it all together. Browsing UKAPS to get my "fix" while waiting is just making me more and more impatient though. 🙁

It's official now, Aqvainnova will be supplying all the plants, except for the Java Moss which is coming from Rachel O'Leary. Aqvainnova recently made a deal with Seachem to distribute their plants under the Aquavitro brand here in the US, which is really exciting news for we Yanks. 😉 I guess that makes this my first sponsored aquascape. Pretty cool now that I think about it.
 
Captain's Log, 10/25/16- Finally got the wood all mossed up and arranged. The plan is to run the tank barebottom on low-light mode until the plants arrive in two weeks or so, at which time I'll add the substrate and plants together. Oh yeah, I'll be adding the pair of Ecotech Radion XR15FW pendants at the same time. <3

Current specs:
Light- 2x 24w T5HO 12 hrs/day with an additional two on for 8 hrs/day. The fixture's hanging 18" above the surface and the bulbs are old so there's not a whole lot of PAR getting to the tank. Since it's just Java Fern that's ok with me.
CO2- 8 bubbles/sec with pH at approximately 6.7 and KH of 4 dKH.
Ferts- 12ppm NO3 and 1.5ppm PO4 1x/wk. This may get increased if needs dictate.

A little bit has changed since the original build in Alabama. I've shortened the return outlet so it's closer to the surface and removed most of the hard plumbing. The venturis worked well, but either drained the CO2 tank way too fast or reduced output flow too much for my liking. This time around I decided to go with straight up vinyl tubing for simplicity and to conserve CO2/flow as much as possible. I also changed the impeller running the CO2 from a standard to fractionating model to get better chopping of the CO2 prior to it being pumped to the reactor. It's working very well so far. One of the domestic online retailers had them on clearance for $5, which was a major bonus.

Now, on to the pictures! Please forgive the poor quality, I've got a crap phone

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Another gratuitous shot of the nano reef:
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Thanks for watching,
Phil
 
Thank you everyone, I appreciate the kind words. Since this is a mostly sponsored tank I'm feeling a lot of pressure to make it the best I've ever done. That's not an entirely bad thing though since it's really pushing me to up my game.

Alexander,
That's a Tom's Aqualifter brand peristaltic pump. It maintains prime and pulls air out of the weir section of the overflow. I had previously used a mazzei venturi attached to the return pump to accomplish the same thing. Since I wanted more simple plumbing this time I decided to use the pump that came with the overflow to see how it worked. So far it's doing a great job and is fairly quiet. The trickle sounds from the anti-siphon hole on the return are more noticeable than the pump vibration.
 
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Captain's Log, 10/29/16-

This past week has been one of great satisfaction and great frustration on the aquatic front. The pair of Radion XR15FW showed up on Thursday to replace the old(ish) T5 fixtures. This is something I've been wanting to do for some time now that LED technology has advanced as far as it has. I'd been on the fence about which brand to use, Kessil or Ecotech, and after using Radions at the old job and on the nano reef the choice was clear. Even though both brands are high quality, and are reputed to grow plants almost equally well, the programming and spectral customizability of the Radions pushed me over the edge. I'm not a brand-whore, but I do follow the philosophy of "Buy the best in the beginning and you won't need to buy again later.". I think I can safely say that I've got the best with what I can afford (sorry, ADA fans) and won't need to be replacing anything anytime soon.

For those who are curious, the lights are currently running on a 12 hr photoperiod at 7K CRI and a parabolic increase/decrease in intensity maxing out (currently) at 35% total output which the program estimates is about 53 watts for two fixtures at max intensity.

On the downside, when installing the lights, I knocked the whole left side over and jostled the right side wood group enough to necessitate a re-scape. I'd spent hours getting the arrangement just right and I don't think my wife has seen me as angry as I was that night. That being said, the disaster created an opportunity for renewal. As happy as I was with the old woodwork, I'm even more pleased with the new one. Plus, now that I can dim the lights as much as I want I was able to put the substrate in and not worry about algae problems while waiting for the plants to arrive. All of that combined has made for a very happy Phil.

The substrate is 20 bags of AquaVitro Aquasolum with a little substrate additive I whipped up during my time with Brightwell. I've been sitting on the jar for the past year and a half waiting to use it on this build. I'm debating doing a fine cover of 1mm substrate for the fine rooters, but Seachem was so kind in donating the substrate that I'm not sure I should do it. I've scrupulously followed the standard ADA set up method so far and I think if I didn't use the powder coat that it'll bug me every time I look at the tank from now on. We'll see what wins out in the end, appreciation or OCD. LOL!

On to the pictures!

Unboxing the lights-

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New basic hardscape, now with substrate-

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In honor of George-

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Thanks for watching,
Phil
 
EdwinK,

The wood arrangement is very close to what it was before, with only some minor changes to make the hardscape slightly more linear. I think I actually only moved the two smaller pieces which were in front on the right group. That made a noticeable difference, but what really changed the feel for me was adding the substrate. There was definitely a "two island" thing going on when it was just rocks and wood, and I'm with you; the tank feels much better now than it did before. Thank you for the kind words about the tank as it is now, they're appreciated.

Cheers,
Phil
 
Thanks Tim! I'm looking forward to seeing it planted too. Every new day brings delivery closer and makes me less and less patient. 😡
 
I'm with EdwinK - really like the new arrangement on the wood

I've been meaning to comment here but then got distracted by RL jinx (nothing substantive, more a comedy of errors but rather frustrating & energy consuming all the same)

So pleased to see you back here posting ... and congratulations on your marriage & overcoming personal challenges.
I'm a great Seachem fan so really looking forward to this journal - none of the local shops that carry Seachem have any plans to bring in their substrate (perhaps shipping cost related, exchange rates ...) so would appreciate some closeups/impressions 🙂


Phil Edwards said:
As happy as I was with the old woodwork, I'm even more pleased with the new one.
Click to expand...
😀
 
Thanks alto, it's good to be back here and participating more in the hobby again. I'm with you and Edwin, the small changes made to the wood arrangement have made a huge difference to the overall flow and feel of the hardscape. The planting plan really hasn't changed, but I hope the new hardscape will enhance what is already planned.

Having worked for a company that does a (relative) lot of business in the UK I can say for sure that shipping and VAT add a lot to the end-use cost. When there are so many similar products in Europe already it's often in a company's best interest to do a limited selection of goods. That being said, Seachem has been very good to me on a personal and professional/hobby level that I'm more than happy to give them any support I can.

Initial impressions of Aquasolum:
1. The small bags hold a deceptively large amount of material. They sent me 20 bags of the stuff and it was more than enough to do a solid 3" substrate, flat, in a 48x24 inch tank.

2. The packaging makes it really easy to pour into tight spaces and fill in gaps in the hardscape. Being used to working with 25lb bags (think Amazonia only larger) this maneuverability made a big difference and minimized the need to use other pouring vessels that may dislodge/displace the wood.

3. At first I thought the gain size would be a little too small, but the 2mm-ish diameter is the same size and my preferred type of silica sand so it should allow for strong root penetration while also aiding the finer-rooted species to establish. We'll have to wait and see what the long term benefits/drawbacks will be. I prefer a deep substrate and anticipate fairly strong anaerobic processes going on in the lower portions over time. That's actually a good thing as it will mobilize some of the elements, such as Iron and Manganese, that are bound in oxic environments.

This is one area where I've added something of my own devising so we'll need to keep in mind that there are additional non-Seachem minerals and bacteria added to the lower substrate. One thing I noticed when using Amazonia and Power Sand Special was a strong rust layer about an inch or two from the substrate surface after about 4 months. This was a good demarcation between oxic and hypoxic/anoxic strata that I hope to see with this material as well.

4. Planting- I anticipate rooted plants like Crypts and the stem species will stay in place better during initial planting as the smaller grains should be more cohesive and hold them better. I also anticipate less displacement of the slope. Again, we'll see if I'm right when the planting actually happens. Since most of the stems and fine-rooted species I'm getting are all tissue culture I plan on treating them as if they were wabi-kusa for planting purposes. It'll be interesting to compare root development between the "wabi-kusa" and individually planted specimens.

Look for updates on these topics in the future alto.

Cheers,
Phil
 
Frustrated impatience is knowing that your plants are in the US, but not knowing exactly when you'll get them. It's pushing my ability to delay gratification to its limits. Even so, much love for Aqvainnova!
 
Heya folks,

Quick update. I did a 24 hour PAR log run at 7K CRI, averaging readings taken every 30 seconds each hour. The sensor was in the front left corner of the tank where it's farthest from the light, both horizontally and vertically. With the pendant on 100% intensity, the average min was 24 and average max was 65. I haven't run log readings in more illuminated areas since it's the front corners that are what I would call the limiting factor. However, in the more illuminated areas, at the substrate, individual samples read close to 100, which I'm happy with. With these readings in mind, I've set the lights to max out at 75% intensity. Being able to change intensity, light cycles, and CRI as needed was the big selling point for these lights and I couldn't be happier with them!

Now that AE is over the plants should be coming in soon. It's a good thing too, my patience is running out. HAHAHA

Cheers,
Phil
 
Phil Edwards said:
I've set the lights to max out at 75% intensity. Being able to change intensity, light cycles, and CRI as needed was the big selling point for these lights and I couldn't be happier with them!
Click to expand...
Yeah that's where Ecotech shines 😀

Phil Edwards said:
the lights are currently running on a 12 hr photoperiod at 7K CRI and a parabolic increase/decrease in intensity maxing out (currently) at 35% total output which the program estimates is about 53 watts for two fixtures at max intensity.
Click to expand...

For me, this is the one failing of Ecotech's Radion XR15FW, they chose to go with drivers that allow spectral change as Light Intensity changes - not a deal breaker for the plants, but given the price point of these lights, it is something the manufacturer should be more open about 🙄

(I've been hoping for a revamp on this light after they updated the reef series, but haven't heard anything)
 
alto, could you explain what you're saying about spectral change with intensity change a bit more please? I've noticed that the intensity slider does increase or decrease as I've moved the CRI slider around. I'm no electrical engineer or programmer, but it seems to me they're using the word intensity as a proxy for PAR as it's something the general public will understand better. Also, I saw an Ecotech rep say that intensity and brightness are the same thing according to the wording on Ecosmartlive. To my mind that tends to support the PAR Proxy Problem in my mind, but it also makes me think the opposite as well. By changing CRI/spectral output to areas our eyes don't see as well (far right, far blue, etc) "brightness/intensity" is visibly reduced, but PAR may stay the same as far as corals and plants are concerned.

Perhaps I'm just talking out of my rear. LOL

Plants aren't here yet and my finger nails are all gone. I'll be drawing blood soon. 😉

Cheers,
Phil
 
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