The Stove & Its Flowering Anubias.

[zozo]

It's sintered glass and ceramic pipes from the LFS.. 🙂 At the heating elements is the inlet.. Folowed by 3 stages of filter sponsh, rough, medium and fine, i guess thats the mechanical part.. Under there is the bio media, than a thik fine sponsh again with a bag of carbon on top since it is open top tank i like to use that. The compartment with the airstones will be filled with K1 beats as moving bed media withs is Bio too of course, so it has anaerobe ad aerobe media installed.. 🙂 This is only 40x25x25cm tank.. Actualy i could have made it a size smaller.. I'll try that next.. A nano sump..

 

[zozo]

Changed it again, this is about final i think.. tossed a few pieces of wood and added some rocks.. Alteady started some planting what i already had emersed growing.. 🙂
If i change things, it will only be minor things, but the overall layout is as good as finished.. Now is it matter of carefully placing the plants and watch that for some days before glewing them on.. 🙂 Every day placing an other and see.. where it ends up..

 

[zozo]

The stove is slowly warming up.. 🙂.. It's drystarting at the moment.. Not all is in there yet still waiting to receive some star moss and some more small java ferns sp.
The pogostemon stellatus is still in its pot in the LH corner where it will be.. But i'm still working on my overflow pipes which also will be in ths corner.

But this is fairly it, nothing much will change... The open spot next to the RH corner is kept open for the Eichornia azurea..

 

[zozo]

Finished the overflow system.. 🙂

Again fun to make and realy simple device running on the laws of gravity. I pimped it a bit to make it from transparent PVC tube and added a acrylic tob box to prevent cloging and actualy the real main purpose for this box is room for emersed plant growth..

🙁 i should have gone a bit easier on the glewing part, some ugly clumps in there, but being water thight is most important when it comes to overflowes. 🙂


First i thought of bending all in one piece, but actualy wasn't sure if this will sufficiently work.. The test run was OK but still have to see it work in this setup for a while.
I do not expect any problems with it, but still just made a prototype quicky. Still can pimp it in the future.

 

[zozo]

This is where i a'm so far.. 🙂 Tank is up and running, now let there be growth.. Have some melt kicking in on the crypts and blyxa.. But that probably will turn by itself, i hope.. 🙂

Plantlist, so far.. I do not think i'll be adding something soon (Except a few small Java Philipina on the base of the wood stump under the needle mini, not yet arrived))..
For th erest i'll sit back and see how it develops. Rather take some out later than add.. 🙂

From left to right:

Pogostemon Tenellus
Blyxa J.
Hygrofilia Pinnatifida
Hair grass ( very few little wisps betweem the driftwood rootstructure at the forground)
Anubias nana bonsai and nana petite. (Inconclusive if the are identical, should be according to some but depending on the supplier i see clear differnces in leaf shape)
2 unknown anubias sp. (forgot)
Anubias Golden
Utricularia G.
Anubias Ducky (On top emerse)
Java Needle (sp. Taiwan)
Java Needle Mini
Java Regular (On top emerse)
Hygrofilia Lancea (On top Emerse)
Myrophyllum Aquaticum (Hidden in the Hygrofilia L.)
Java Orange XL
Shoreweed
Cryptocoryne Indonesii
Gratiola viscidula
Cryptocoryne Wendtii
Cryptocoryne Albida Brown
Cryptocoryne Parva
Eichornia Azurea
Cryptocoryne Willissii
And Salvinia Natans

Mosses
Peackock
fissidens F.
Fontanillis a.
Flame





I'm not happy with the overflow performance, probably miscalculated its capicity.. It slurps louder than i do, so that has to change..
Still working on the light setup and only installed something temporarely.. also this is going to be something completely different, something i've never tried before. But something i think will work pretty well for a low tech setup like this. I'l come back to that later when it's up and running.

Cheers

 

[zozo]

Oh and how could i forget to mention.. 😳 Sorry guys.
The:
Peackock
Fontanillis a.
Flame
and Hygrofilia Pinnatifida

I got from Jordi..

And the 4 bigger sp. of anubias, the Hygrofilia Lancea and the regular Java are emersed grown forms i got from greenfinger2 grown in his former W-K's As well as the shoreweed and gratiola..

So these plants are probably old acquaintances to you and probably seen before somewhere on this forum.

Thanks a million guys.. i'm mighty happy with them and hope they will make my scape shine..

 

[Greenfinger2]

Oh and how could i forget to mention.. 😳 Sorry guys.
The:
Peackock
Fontanillis a.
Flame
and Hygrofilia Pinnatifida

I got from Jordi..

And the 4 bigger sp. of anubias, the Hygrofilia Lancea and the regular Java are emersed grown forms i got from greenfinger2 grown in his former W-K's As well as the shoreweed and gratiola..

So these plants are probably old acquaintances to you and probably seen before somewhere on this forum.

Thanks a million guys.. i'm mighty happy with them and hope they will make my scape shine..

Hi Marcel, Your welcome my friend.And the plants you sent me are growing well 🙂 Thank you for them They will be in my upcoming Scapes 😉

Your Scape is really coming along 😎 Cannot wait to see the plants grow in 🙂

Congratulations on the tank build and all the DIY you have done to make this all happen

 

[zozo]

You're welcom Roy, the plessure is all mine.. 🙂 I hope to see them soon those upcoming scapes..

Thansk for the congrats.. It's fun to build.. 🙂

😎 Builder Bob..

Up next, opti white cube..

 

[Sarpijk]

Looks nice Zozo. Hopefully your goldfish will not rampage the place. Are you confident that your fish are not jumpers?​

 

[zozo]

Thanks Sarpijk, i'm yet not sure if i realy put them in to this. This scape carried me away a bit and got out of hand. Initially i wasn't planning it like this and it all went on autopolit, liking the hardware so much. I'm rather thinking about a large plastic 200 liter tub in the seller for the goldfish to house them the winter months. If this scape was grown in all the way, i would be confident they could go in there. But as is now the first months, i'm not, nothing is yet rooted enough.

Anyway they are not jumpers, they are in a bath tub in the garden for years,, never jumped.. Oh? Once a pregnant female jumped by accident during the mating periode. After that i secured the shallow spawning area with a net. But for the rest never jump. 🙂 Thanks for your consern..

Also not sure what fauna will go in. I can't get Dwarf puffers out of my mind, realy like to have them again.. 🙂 But dunno yet..

 

[Sarpijk]

I suggest you consider Peacock gobies as well!

 

[zozo]

Nice fish Sarpijk.. 🙂 I might.. Never had them before..

 

[zozo]

Little update on my sump.. 🙂 It's about ready now and slowly maturing, already darn slimey in there..

Still waiting on the floater switches to prevent flood and drain.. 🙂 Added a light, think i'm goint to grow some plants in there as well..

Fixed my overflows, took 'm apart and moved one left one right.. The slurping was over capicity and i thought 2 x 16 mm would never be enough.. Had to reduce the suction and all is running fine now. No more syphon brakes.. Also did toss the checkvalves, unnecessary with small diameters.. That's the advantage of clear tube, you see what's happening in there..




Cheers.. 🙂

 

[Greenfinger2]

Hi Marcel, Your the man

 

[zozo]

Slowly my slow burner project is comming to completion.. It's flooded now for over 14 days and tank and sump are running great. No sign of algea yet, not even diatoms.

A little update on the lights, this is also set up now and running. Technicaly not totaly finished yet, but this are changes pictures won't show anyway. Like the automatic dimmer unit, to create a slow uping and downing when lights ar switched on/off.

The light fixture i made out off spotlights containing GU10 dimmable led spotlights. I came to this idea because i wanted to try something different. Usualy aquarium lights are aimed to devide all light in equal intensity all over the tank. Because i have mostly low light demanding plants like anubias, crypts and Java, i also have a few in the mid range which could also do with a bit more. Now these spots have a rather narrow beam angle and i can aim towards the plants which love the most light and what scatters off is for the lower light lovers.

The spost are actualy walI mounted spots i found at a sale, with a 30% off and took the wall mounting plates off. They are in stainles steel with a industrial design. I used a stainles steel cabinet door grip 700mm x 12mm as mounting rod. The little braces (clamps) where the spots are mounted to which again can slide over the rod, i made out of oak wood. Looks nice compliments the wooden top everything is screwed to. But still this isn't contstruction whise of the strenght i would like it to have. I'm going to change that and also will be made out of stainles steel (or nickle), but for now it works.


On the oppisite corners i installed Full Spectrum grow lights. One aimed to the Pogestemon and the other to the Eichornia..This is something i just would like to test and see what it'll do to the plants i aim them to. It gives a somewhat red glare around them, but in the tank this is not realy seen. The other 3 are 2 x Cool withe and a Warm white spotlight and they push the red color away. Because of the emersed growth on the wood i did put a 40 watt halogene spot in the middle, this because they are pretty warm and hangs somewhat above the emersed growth evaporating water. I hope this will create more evaporation in benefit for the emersed growth. Main point of thought in this setup is i can decide and play with the light intensity in certain areas of the tank i can change it as i whish or as what plants tell me.. 🙂

In the tank it gives a rather nice effect, it creates a kind of light play which throws shaddows around. Natural effects which are out of reach with any regular lighfixture with tube and led lights illuminating in a static and fixed angle.

For now i have no idea how this realy will work out.. This is something i think will do fine and i'm about to find out. And now it's time to close the stand and make that look as a cabinet.

 

[Greenfinger2]

Hi Marcel, Fantastic system and a self build tank Scape looks great healthy plants to

 

[zozo]

🙂 Tanks james and Roy.. Btw, Roy your Ducky seems to like it up there.. It's already bussy growing a second leaf. I realy hope it establishes strong enough to keep it up there. The first leaf started still submersed a month ago and bit in trouble. The second one is showing since 2 weeks emersed i hope that one takes it a bit better. Anubias are difficult, but who knows what time will tell. 🙂

 

[Greenfinger2]

Hi Marcel, I am sure Ducky will do well mate😉

 

[zozo]

After 2 agonizing months of a dreadful motherload of diatoms, nasty hairalgae and plant melt it's finaly retreating. To wood is about to stop leaching it's tanins, plants are slowly recovering and looking vibrant again. I thought it would never stop and this tank would becomme an utter failure. It looked awfull for months... That mopani wood is a horrible wood when used in this large amounts (4,5 kg) it leaches and leaches like crazy, never seen such dark water before in my life. I bought purigen enough for 500 liter and 6 months before cleaning says the decription.. I already cleaned it 2 x in 2 months it was coffee brown each time. Beware of Mopani..

Probably the extra 15 amano shrimps i added out of frustration, was a good jumpstart to the right direction.. Now i have them as well as a huge number of sherries too, but they are all still babies and the majority is under that big piece of wood i see more and more surfacing. I guess when they grow up, the little algae left will be gone soon..


I took out the eichornia azuria 🙂 this plant didn't work for this tank unfortunately.. But since it's in majority an asian tank i replaced it with a Nelumbo Nucifera. Grown from a seed, you see it's long stems RH side reaching the surface already, not yet opened the floating leaves but it's steadily growing. Also not a real common plant to find in aquariums, since it tends to grow much to big. But this one should be a small bowl cultivar, so i just give it a try. 🙂 It doesn't grow submersed leaves, only few floaters and leaves emersing and hopefully the purple fire flower it prommises. Depends on the light it gets.

Now let it grow, finaly.. 🙄 pfew..

 

[parotet]

Hi Marcel

It will look wonderful once grown... It looks like you're building a strong foundation for this tank. I'll stay tuned to see the evolution!

Jordi