Hi guys,
Finally I got my 90G back up and planted. This is kinda my ode to msjinzd and plantbrain. Why you may ask, well it's simple, msjinxzd sold me one piece of driftwood but sent me like seven (7) based on the fact that I live so far away, and to plantbrain because i really like his use of driftwood to create different sections of plants in his tank. On to the goodies.
Tank specs:
Size - 48L*18W*24D
Volume - 90G
Substrate - Aquarium gravel and sand (inert)
Filtration - Aquaclear 110 and a Sun sun wave maker for good circulation
CO2 - DIY
Lighting - 48" T8 fixture w/ Floramax bulb, 2 8" Dome lights with 33W spiral CFLs
So some background. I've had this tank for around four years and it has had many iterations over the years. Always semi-planted but the plants never really grew and I was always overwhelmed by algae. So the last time I changed it I only hard scaped it and didn't add any plants and it worked for a while until I came downstairs one morning and my glorious lovely wife says to me, "Babes, what's all this water on the floor?" That really got my morning off to a brisk start. A quick check around the tank showed me that the tank was leaking about 6" from the top, so given the urgency of the situation, I siphoned out the water to just below the leak and it worked.
This issue caused us to decide that i would change the look and go with an Amazonian biotope, plus I always liked Discus and Angels so I had to pick one to work with as my centrepiece fish. Therefore, I got rid of all my fish that didn't fit the new plan (don't worry, I didn't flush them or throw them away, I swapped them for store credit at my local plant guy, ended up with BDS $185 in credit). Next step was to fix the aquarium, and since I personally have no experience building aquariums I sought out an expert who would come and make the repairs at my home given that my 90G weighs a ton even when it's empty (3/8 glass). Good thing one of the local experts is a friend.
Wanted to be up and running by christmas but set back after setback would not allow it to happen. First the scheduling was difficult, then I got the wrong silicon, then we ran out of silicon. Every one of these setbacks costed days due to the fact that the schedules were so tight. Eventually it got done and i think the tank will never leak again.
Setup time (yaaaay!!) Was going to use MTS, then I changed my mind and found a nice locally produced potting mix but then i realized that it had an anti-fungal agent and due to my silicon setback (silicon with anti-fungal additives aren't fish safe) this might be an issue. So i called up the manufacturer and after a long discussion I didn't feel any better about the product so I left it out, and somewhere along the line i continued to debate whether or not i wanted to use "dirt" anyway. So I did some more reading and decided against it, might be moving to a new house were gonna start building this year so tank tear down is imminent plus i really wanna achieve a nice look and i'll more than likely be moving things around till i feel it's ok, and all that replanting with a dirted tank will be a PITA.
Picked up my plants this morning and some extra Osmocote and got to the business of setup.
Flora:
Cabomba caroliniana
Alternanthera reineckii
Echinodorus ozelot
Echinodorus osiris
Vallisneria americana var. biwaensis (twisted Val)
Ludwigia repens
Crypt (Unidentified)
One other (can't remember the named)
Someone here will identify them for me.
On to the goodies >>>>> pikchures :biggrin:
Way before the Leak
Picture 003 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Just before the Leak
IMG_9032 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
De-cluttered
IMG_9251 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Repair in progress
IMG_9252 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Thick Beads
IMG_9254 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Base layer of gravel and sand plus crushed clay bits and Osmocote
IMG_9308 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
IMG_9310 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Hardscape
IMG_9315 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Planted and filling
IMG_9316 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Cloudy Water
IMG_9319 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Left Side Close-up
IMG_9321 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Middle CU
IMG_9322 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Right Side CU
IMG_9323 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Will update this as time goes on. For some reason my lights seem dull to me, will be looking to upgrade to 20w Led Flood lights, keeping this tank low tech for the time being.
As per usual, please comment and leave suggestions.
Finally I got my 90G back up and planted. This is kinda my ode to msjinzd and plantbrain. Why you may ask, well it's simple, msjinxzd sold me one piece of driftwood but sent me like seven (7) based on the fact that I live so far away, and to plantbrain because i really like his use of driftwood to create different sections of plants in his tank. On to the goodies.
Tank specs:
Size - 48L*18W*24D
Volume - 90G
Substrate - Aquarium gravel and sand (inert)
Filtration - Aquaclear 110 and a Sun sun wave maker for good circulation
CO2 - DIY
Lighting - 48" T8 fixture w/ Floramax bulb, 2 8" Dome lights with 33W spiral CFLs
So some background. I've had this tank for around four years and it has had many iterations over the years. Always semi-planted but the plants never really grew and I was always overwhelmed by algae. So the last time I changed it I only hard scaped it and didn't add any plants and it worked for a while until I came downstairs one morning and my glorious lovely wife says to me, "Babes, what's all this water on the floor?" That really got my morning off to a brisk start. A quick check around the tank showed me that the tank was leaking about 6" from the top, so given the urgency of the situation, I siphoned out the water to just below the leak and it worked.
This issue caused us to decide that i would change the look and go with an Amazonian biotope, plus I always liked Discus and Angels so I had to pick one to work with as my centrepiece fish. Therefore, I got rid of all my fish that didn't fit the new plan (don't worry, I didn't flush them or throw them away, I swapped them for store credit at my local plant guy, ended up with BDS $185 in credit). Next step was to fix the aquarium, and since I personally have no experience building aquariums I sought out an expert who would come and make the repairs at my home given that my 90G weighs a ton even when it's empty (3/8 glass). Good thing one of the local experts is a friend.
Wanted to be up and running by christmas but set back after setback would not allow it to happen. First the scheduling was difficult, then I got the wrong silicon, then we ran out of silicon. Every one of these setbacks costed days due to the fact that the schedules were so tight. Eventually it got done and i think the tank will never leak again.
Setup time (yaaaay!!) Was going to use MTS, then I changed my mind and found a nice locally produced potting mix but then i realized that it had an anti-fungal agent and due to my silicon setback (silicon with anti-fungal additives aren't fish safe) this might be an issue. So i called up the manufacturer and after a long discussion I didn't feel any better about the product so I left it out, and somewhere along the line i continued to debate whether or not i wanted to use "dirt" anyway. So I did some more reading and decided against it, might be moving to a new house were gonna start building this year so tank tear down is imminent plus i really wanna achieve a nice look and i'll more than likely be moving things around till i feel it's ok, and all that replanting with a dirted tank will be a PITA.
Picked up my plants this morning and some extra Osmocote and got to the business of setup.
Flora:
Cabomba caroliniana
Alternanthera reineckii
Echinodorus ozelot
Echinodorus osiris
Vallisneria americana var. biwaensis (twisted Val)
Ludwigia repens
Crypt (Unidentified)
One other (can't remember the named)
Someone here will identify them for me.
On to the goodies >>>>> pikchures :biggrin:
Way before the Leak
Picture 003 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Just before the Leak
IMG_9032 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
De-cluttered
IMG_9251 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Repair in progress
IMG_9252 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Thick Beads
IMG_9254 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Base layer of gravel and sand plus crushed clay bits and Osmocote
IMG_9308 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
IMG_9310 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Hardscape
IMG_9315 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Planted and filling
IMG_9316 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Cloudy Water
IMG_9319 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Left Side Close-up
IMG_9321 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Middle CU
IMG_9322 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Right Side CU
IMG_9323 by Gt Turbo 1883, on Flickr
Will update this as time goes on. For some reason my lights seem dull to me, will be looking to upgrade to 20w Led Flood lights, keeping this tank low tech for the time being.
As per usual, please comment and leave suggestions.