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33Gal Cube - Cubic Dutch

25K views 153 replies 20 participants last post by  APynckel 
#1 · (Edited)
Current full tank shot (6/10/17):






Just wanted my own thread to discuss my progress with this setup. I'm taking my time, not rushing anything. Wanting to do things right from the get go. So here she is.

Started off with a gift from a friend of a 33 gallon "cube" (18.25"x20.25"x20"). I plasti-dipped the rear glass panel in black.

Long term I want to get back into salt, so I asked a local guy to make me a stand for a 60 gallon cube (24x24x25). I spent a good week and a half sanding and varnishing to protect the wood and make her purdy. The stand doors are magnetically held. No hinges. Really makes getting into the stand easy.

I started rounding up my equipment. Firstly, I picked up 2 Current LED Plus Pro's from an LFS. Found a local guy with a used eheim 2217 for $80 with all equip and substrates, and nabbed a 5lb CO2 Al tank for $60. Finally got some magnetic "suction cups" for the eheim in-tank parts, and picked up an inline heater (300w).

I've changed my mind once on my substrate. Had picked up some dark pebbles from an LFS, but decided to go black diamond after some research.

Here are some progress pics.














At this point, I am just cycling some water, adding some ambiance to my residence, and trying to make up my mind on the scape.

I'm torn between doing a basic plain jane planted tank, and doing a hardscape.

If I did a simple planted, I love how this one looks...



I still have some time to think about it while I get the CO2 things situated. Still have to get a regulator, diffuser, and some kind of feedback device.

Anyways, I welcome feedback. Let me know what you think. It's pretty simple right now, and I guess all I can get are hardware critiques, but whatever.
 
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#2 ·
Hmm...I'm curious about this - but how much did it cost to have the stand made for you locally vs. making it yourself? I have considered this in the past - but never pulled the trigger because I just end up looking for professional carpenters - which I know are going to be expense. How did you find them?
 
#14 ·
Thank you! I'm trying to take my time and get everything done right from the get go. Slowly amassing the hardware.

Should I get a drop checker for CO2 feedback? How should I control the CO2? Set the bubble count and time it for overnight?

Very soon it will be time to order plants. Just need my shaping utensils and to make up my mind if I want any kind of hard scape objects in the tank, like a piece of drift wood. I'm just worried that I don't have enough room for it. It would help aid in separation of the plant species.

Here's my list of what I want thus far...

Foreground
Microanthenum Monte Carlo (offset front/left)

Midground
Alternanthera Reineckii Mini
Downoi
Rotala indica

Background
Ludwigia Super Red
Pogostemon Erectus
Heteranthera zosterifolia
Proserpinaca palustris (Mermaid Weed)

As for fauna, I've been recommended a pair of discus, but I also kind of want some shrimp (dream blue velvet), cories, german blue rams, and a small school of tetras.

Too many options running through my head.

Looking for feedback / suggestions / critiques to my selection as well.
 
#15 ·
I don't know if Discus are best for a dutch setup, since they will take away quite a lot of focus from the plants. Also they probably won't play nice with the shrimp. Not to mention it will take a little bit of dedication to make sure they grow out well etc.
Probably a large school of some sort (Neons, Harlequins, Rummynose etc.) plus the GBRs, and maybe some Cories would be a decent stock list.
Drop checkers with 4DKH water are a good reference point for CO2. Try to get the solution inside to lime green, then see how the critters and plants respond. Fine tune it based on how your livestock feels, and how your plants are growing. I would just get a solenoid regulator for CO2 and time it to match your light period, except put it on an hour before lights come on and turn it off an hour before lights come off.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#17 ·
That's what I was thinking about the Discus. Too large and attention grabbing.

Any particular drop checkers you recommend? I'm going to be buying some scape maintenance tools from amazon, so might as well be from amazon too.

a TALL tank like this is just asking for a large branchy driftwood centerpiece
If anything, I'd probably want a short piece of wood to run front and center and help divide up the foreground / midground plants, and maybe using the trunk to support some moss or something. The idea of using wood has kind of taken a back burner for now, maybe to delve into in the future. I think I'm just going to do a pure planted dutch.

If anyone would please comment on my plant selection and give me some pointers as to difficulty of raising the species with what I've outlined here in the thread, that would be fantastic. Just a reminder, this is going to be an osmocote + in the substrate and CO2 tank. Trying to keep dosing any chemicals at a minimum.

Thanks!
 
#44 ·
Just making sure, putting the inline diffuser on the return side of the eheim is going to be okay, right?
Yeah, man. If it is NOT fine, you'll know it quickly from the sound the impeller makes from having too much gas in it. Hook it up, turn it on, get your BPS where you want it, and listen to the canister for a while. No noise = you're fine.
 
#25 ·
Added the Osmocote+ into the substrate this past Friday, 8/5/2016

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/29-substrate/1068577-how-long-before-planting-add-osmocote.html

Water tests are showing higher ammonia on day 2. Did a water change and settled things back down. Ordering the rest of the things I need for plants, and the plants this week!

What's left:
Drop Checker ( https://www.amazon.com/Rhinox-Glass-Drop-Checker-sufficient/dp/B005C74ZCA/ )
dkH solution ( http://nilocg.com/4dkh-fluid-4oz/ )
scaping tools ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017IR6WPY )
Ferts (NA Thrive Thrive All In One Liquid Fertilizer | 500ml Bottle - NilocG Aquatics and Gh booster)

AND.... PLANTS!
 
#30 ·
Hey! I'm new in the forum and I create my account looking for ideas and help because I'm starting a planted cube soon. For my surprise my first thread visited was this one!! wohooooo. I really like your idea, my tank is very similar, it's a Marineland 27 gallons (20''x18''x20'') I already have the tank, stand, substrate, heater and light.

Greetings from Dallas!
 
#33 · (Edited)
Everything is staying green for the most part. No major burning or deaths. Getting some leaves falling off and floating around, but I don't see anything big happening, which means things should be ok. Already had one of my Amano shrimp molt, and they're all kicking around back there in the tall plants. The Oto cats are GOING TO TOWN. I haven't had to touch any algae on the glass since they've been in there. Worth every red cent.

Danio's are just being themselves, chasing each other around and being scared of me as I put my hand into the tank. They really can't put 2 and 2 together and figure out where the food is coming from.

I THINK? I am already seeing new leaves on the ludwigia sp red?

 
#36 ·
Tank has been very cloudy the past few days. I've stopped dosing NilocG Thrive, because I thought I was seeing the leaves on my Luwigia sp red curling, and I didn't want to overdose PO4 like what Burr has been seeing. Ran some tests. Everything is zero except nitrates, which are a little high at 20ppm, especially considering I did a 10 gallon water change yesterday. I took off the eheim 2217 and rinsed things out (not the media, just the filters) and put it all back together, and things have been cloudy since then. I am getting good pearling, the drop checker is showing a nice green with 4 dkH, and the plants look relatively healthy, at least nothing is burning or going translucent. Some leaves being shed, but seeing new growth keeping up, so it's nothing worrisome. What the heck?

What are people using for their tap water dechlorinator?

 
#41 ·
Dont think you need to worry about too much P with Thrive, pretty sure it doesnt have a whole lot to begin with.

Of course with brand new O+ you could be seeing a spike. From what Ive seen using O+ and sand, there seems to be an initial surge for 2-3 weeks (depending how much is used), where it adds nutrients to the water column. Then it stops, or at least drastically reduces. I do believe it lasts in the substrate a lot longer than most people think, a good 5-6 months I'd say.

But that is purely anecdotal and based on a best guess from personal experience using it. So tifwiw. Point is I would not stop the Thrive. The last thing you want is to stall the plants by limiting nutrients at this point..or any point really.

What's all that brown stuff, diatoms? It's common in new set-ups, should run it's course in a month or three. Or you can get a few Otos. They love the stuff and will be a good long term clean-up crew for certain types of algae, mainly gda.

Cloudy water is sometimes the result of an immature, or inadequate population of beneficial bacteria, aka the biological filter. Do bigger water changes for a while, 70-80%, it should eventually clear up as the tank balances out.

The good news is all the plants look nice and seem to be growing well. A few hiccups early on are to be expected. Just do good maintenance and keep things really clean, the substrate surface, the filter (careful not to kill the bio parts), religiously prune and remove any leaves that are in bad shape, etc.

I wouldnt worry too much about the L red curling. It's a fussy little plant that can pout one day and look fine the next, at least it does for me.
 
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