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The Grey - aquascaper 600 - Its Here - Pix

Gill

Member
Joined
17 Mar 2008
Messages
3,898
Location
Coventry
So I move house on Monday next week. And was a little miffed at having only my pico tanks to setup.
So after a little fenagling, decided to bite the bullet and get one of the tanks george has designed.
Going to go for a 300 with cabinet complete.
Ordering from Rockpool as they will be less than a 5min walk from the new house. My wallet is not going to like that one bit.:lol:
Will be filtered with a jeboa external as i like them, and have been using them for a good few years without any probs.
Glassware will be a poppy outlet. Just need to find it in the garage.
Substrates will be from the Dennerle lovely range.
Hardscape will be a mixture of all my best peices sumatra, manzanita, redmoor that i have been saving.
Planting will be only a few types and of course mosses galore.want to try buces as never have so far.

Of Course there will be a load of bee shrimp in this(golden strains), as well as alot of microcrabs, prob around 20 or so. As just love them, and they are so interesting to watch.
Fish wise, have already decided on clown killies as the top dwellers.
Chilli rasboras, rosy loaches, scarlet badis, nerites.


Cannot wait to set this up, prob get it started the week i move if can get everything.
 
After speaking with rockpool i am going to order the 600 now. And maybe one of the new range of Kessil Light Units that look like the star trek enterprise TNG. The Kesil come with a goose neck, and dont know if i like that
Though I do really like the Chihiros Light units that you can get from Hinterfeld uk. And they are alot Cheaper than Kessil. And visually they look alot nicer than the Kesil. But then again i Like lupyled aswell.
So Have to Decide before i put the order in, decisions decisions.
 
Also fish wise, going to have clown killies and halfbeaks and if i can find pipefish again, def have them depending on which ones are on the lists. would really like the shortnosed or banded corals.
but will see
 
substrate i am going to use is this one, really nice mix of gradients of pebble and nice rich color tones 5-10mm. i am not banking the slopes and concentrating on the wood placement to contrast the sparse planting.
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I have Kessil & ADA Aquasky - like the acrylic & silver materials "look" as it's less (esthetically) invasive than Kessil black but I really dislike the light spill from the Aquasky design ... going to try the A80 on my 45P (which I've yet to set up re that light spill as it's overwhelming in the location I'd chosen for the tank)

(suspect knock off designs have the same issue)

You can also suspend the Kessil but the cord must go somewhere o_O
 
I have Kessil & ADA Aquasky - like the acrylic & silver materials "look" as it's less (esthetically) invasive than Kessil black but I really dislike the light spill from the Aquasky design ... going to try the A80 on my 45P (which I've yet to set up re that light spill as it's overwhelming in the location I'd chosen for the tank)

(suspect knock off designs have the same issue)

You can also suspend the Kessil but the cord must go somewhere o_O

Thanks,
the tank is going in an alcove so not too bothered about light spill.
that is the thing about the kessil, i just dont like the matt black and the shape of the new rage. yes the geek in me would love them, but style wise the chihiros wins.
dont really have a budget but hoping to come in under 1k for all the bits and peices for this tank including the plants and fish. dont really want to spend more than that. as the tank and stand is 400 quid. and that is alot for me considering my 400g tank and box steel frame stand and all the gravel and external filters came in under 400 quid back in 2008.
I have never done a proper high tech tank before, always bought tanks from gumtree and ebay etc. so this is going to be an interesting departure for me.
 
So i paid for it today before work, and should be here sometime next week. Rockpool will keep it for me till i am ready to get started on it. And as they are that close to me. They will drop it round with all the substrates etc that i will need.
Just got to do the definitive plant list so they can order them within fridays order list for next week.
Decided to go for 2 boxes of yukon 5mm and 1 box of yukon 10mm. just so that i can add a gradient of size from around the main piece of wood into the foreground.

Decided on the stand finish, went for the Super Matte Anthracite, should look really nice against the gun metal grey carpets and eggshell pale grey walls.

Although I have said i will be starting this tank using Colony, as I have no scapes running to Clone.
I think I will grab a mature sponge filter from one of the rockpool tanks just to give the tank a running start, on top of using the Colony.
 
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I am going to cover the three internal panes of glass in Christmas Moss, as I really enjoy the process of creating it, and watching it grow. Have not decided whether to do it as a wall or just suction cup it in intervals to allow it to spread naturally.
I will also be doing the shredding method and letting all the tiny peices scatter all over the scape to create natural moss explosion. Though not going to let it dominate the substrate as want that to remain mainly open without any planting.
Got to Soak All the Wood at the weekend to get it ready for use. did almost buy 2 new peices, but have to resist the urge as have enough to use. Going to break alot apart to create some more interesting reaching twigs coming into the foreground. And scour for some nice twigs aswell.
Sadly I still don't have a decent camera, so will have to make do with crappy phone pix.
 
In preparation donated all my tanks dotted around the 2 garages and in the gardens to a local reefer. he took so much that i found alot of supplies that had been forgotten about so let him take it all. did keep a few bits. Did find my dremmel multi that i had been looking for. so this will come in handy for cutting up wood.
Soaking all the wood over at the new house this morning. need to but some garden house to help with filling the tank, as dont want to mess up the new carpets. And dont think mum will like water spilling about in the kitchen and lounge.

Now As I am going to be keeping alot of shrimp in this. And want them to feed from a specific area. I have taken the plunge and purchased one of those shrimp feeder station in glass. And Also one of those teardrop glass live food feeders. as if i find pipefish again i want them to be able to feed from something the will associate with live of frozen.
Of course i will be starting up me live food buckets in the garden. just use some poundland buckets with old tank water and dump a few bags of each live food into them and feed them all spirulina powder.

This is the shrimp feeder station and was under a tenner so happy with the price. Made sure I got the one for the size of the 600.
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And this is the live/frozen feeder
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Also found in amongst supplies that I still have the Prototype UKAPS Acrylic Tool Holder. So that will Def come in Handy, though could not find the actual tool kit. do vagely remember buying it, but where it is have no idea. Might buy a new set, but not sure, As i have been using dentistry kits for now and find it works just aswell..
 
I've got those shrimp feeding stations. Great wee things.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
going to pop into rockpool today, so will have a look thru the wood. as i will always end up buying more, I always do.
Have decided to Move house today, as not wanting to wait till monday. and it means I have more time to get settled.
Still need to buy a TV stand and a TV so virgin can be installed on wednesday -so No Internet after this afternoon until wednesday. Unless that is there is an open network somewhere in the street.
Thinking of doing a timelapse for the setup but not sure if i can on the samsung tablet. as still no camera to use. and my crappy little Lg phone takes terrible pix now as is old.
 
I have rejoined the world of the living with Internet.
Tank has arrived @ rockpool and it is simply stunning. And the height of the Cabinet is perfect for me. No More back ache when scaping or frozen spine from bending over.
 
Tank has been delivered this evening while i was at work.
I have setup the tank in Situ. Decided to put it in the Kitchen as then it is out of the way. And made more sense as the cabinet matches the Tiles in the Kitchen Diner.
Just means I have had to change the size of the sofa that is going in the kitchen - oh well.
Have plumbed in the Canister Filter and what not.

The Chihiros Light Unit, is amazing and kicks out so much light. And it loos very sleek and so easy to put together.
Have added a small layer of river sand for now. and then will add all the yukon substrate and start scaping over the next few days.
All the wood I am going to be using in this tank is currently soaking in the Garden to make it a bit easier to stay put.

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Just Realised my tank, does not have the Aquascaper Sticker on it - must have been missed when building. :(
 
Also changed the shrimp to cherries, as could not get any golden bee at the moment. And all the sellers i use don't have any for sale at the moment. So will be adding 100 red cherries once the arrive next week.
Will still be using Colony, but cloning a tank from rockpool. By adding a mature sponge filter (also will be the Pre Filter)and cutting up alot of mature filter sponge and adding to the canister.
 
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