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125/50 - update Jan 2018, rebuild planning commences

113K views 483 replies 32 participants last post by  crazymittens 
#1 · (Edited)
Update: Latest tank shot. Bunch of pics in latest post. Also just posted some brief YouTube videos.





Found a Kijiji deal I couldn't pass up...125G tank, stand, canister filters, the works. Yay birthday money. Yay people moving. Also, since I only need the tank and stand, I'm selling off the filtration (Rena XP2 & XP3) and bits to recoup some cost.





:icon_mrgr

The bullet-point-plan:
  • 125G tank
  • 50G sump
  • 30G shrimparium
  • MTS/gravel
  • T5-HO lighting

Things I want to do differently...
  • Change the overflow location from along the back to the side.
  • Do something more even/less turbulent for the return flow.
  • Returns will be over the top, not through glass.
  • Change plumbing, only on the ends (no longer blocking the view)
  • Change the sump configuration based on experience with this design.
  • Incorporate a refugium/shrimparium that uses the same water.
  • Adjustable height lighting so access inside is much easier.
  • Do the MTS/clay step correctly.
  • Less gravel depth, bigger driftwood/rock formations.

I'm excited about the 50G sump...the holes will be patched with glass/silicone, the dividers will be scrap glass. Now that I've seen many different ways of designing sumps (and some in action), I'll probably do something better for this one.

The old 30G sump will be dismantled and bits re-used where possible. Still not certain how it'll work for plumbing to/from the sump...a fun problem to solve.


My biggest issue with this whole project is that in order to do this...the existing system must be completely torn down, and I only have a 20G tank spare. This means some fish will have to be sent to other homes. I'll try and keep the cardinals/platies/phantoms...the angel and black skirts I'll have to donate. Still, that's ~20 fish in that little tank. Hm. Anyways...just the planning phase right now...

More to come.
 
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#241 ·
We're there!
Your thoughts on the use of gravel...my wife really wanted the corner slope thingy.




What follows is how we got there...

Wood collected


Cleaned pieces


Rejected pieces


Variations on a theme








Okay, this'll work




Securing the hooge driftwood


Feesh cave
Nananananananananana feesh cave!



Dirty dirt dirt
Dolomite, potash, and clay. Will the little clay chunkies help? probably not a ton, but better than nothing.




Grrravel
My wife decided to take some pictures of the work in progress.



 
#244 ·
Thanks to the support of my wonderful wife, we are fully online!!

Fillin', fillin' fillin'




What is this!?


What is that!?


Random action shots





View from the peninsula end


View from my chair



A few glaring items...
  1. Lighting is awful...one T5HO's bulbs are fully gone
  2. Need to make the upturned 90 for the primary siphon, does the whole noise-silent-noise cycle right now
  3. Need to seal the sump so the inside of the stand doesn't turn into a jungle


Aside from that...feels so nice to have an aquarium running again, and the view from my desk is 150% worth all this effort. CANNOT WAIT FOR FEESH.

In other news, the fish were non-plussed to have me removing their anubias/driftwood chunkies. Feesh.
 
#245 ·
Oh. Hell. Yes. Congrats my friend! I'm seriously looking forward to watching the fruits of your labors blossom.

Regarding the primary siphon; rather than put an elbow on it, can you rig up a valve to regulate flow so that only water is going down that drain? It sounds to me like all your water is going down that line and it's causing air draw issues. The whole concept behind a beananimal is to have one main drain that only moves water and the 2ndary to handle the excess and allow air into the line as needed. An elbow on the primary won't really do much to address the air issue without putting a line down into it and then you've got a Durso....
 
#246 ·
Tx! The primary siphon is the only one with a ball valve on the drain. My one issue is that since the drains are so huge, closing the ball valve 'just' right means it's 99% closed. In retrospect, would have been nice to splurge on the gate valve, but they were just too much money ($60 vs. $12).

But you're absolutely right, I should have some water going down the secondary, and I do not. Will play with it tonight.

The lighting situation is probably going to hurt the growth of these plants...they are used to having a CFL ~4" above water, with them reaching the surface. They now have ~14" of water plus dim lights. Hopefully these contracts come through soon...



Phil, I still have a huge pile of those green crypts...I didn't want to overstuff the tank/block light...should I be stuffing the aquarium full, or let things grow in?
 
#248 ·
Ok, quick update.
  1. My PVC gluing failed slightly on, of course, the primary siphon where it attaches to the bulkhead. I blame hasty glue-up and re-using 1.5" PVC. Lesson learned.
  2. Spent half the evening fixing that - Depot plumber-guy took one look at me, told me to get "Stretch & Seal" silicone sealing tape.
  3. That 100% didn't work (maybe pebkac), so Krazy Glue gel did the trick. A lot of it. Some is on my hands.
  4. Still can't get perfection out of the drains after playing around, but at least no leaks now.
  5. Oh, except for the teeeeeeny leak from the primary siphon gasket. Honest to goodness.
  6. I think the latter is a bit of gravel or something fixable.
  7. Adjusted the lower powerhead to point upwards
  8. Started fishless cycle with 30ml of ammonia.

30ml seemed like a ton...but then the calculator said that was at 9.5% solution. Bottle was not labeled, so just went with it. Indicator appears to say something between 4-8ppm, so probably ok.

I check again tomorrow evening.
 
#250 ·
Ain't plumbing a bear? Those little leaks always niggle at me because I know it was lack of attention. That gets me more than anything.

After some hasty calculations, 30mL of 9.5% solution in a 160 gallons (605.6L) (accounting for substrate and all that) is only 0.005 mL/L NH3. What sort of indicator are you using?
 
#251 ·
Yeah, I should know better, but these things happen. Thankfully the Krazy Glue worked well.

The standard ammonia test kit, two bottles, 8 drops each for 5mL water. Turned a mid-green colour - so 5ppm was an approximation (colours jump from 4 to 8ppm on the chart). My understanding of the fishless cycle is you want ~5ppm to disappear within 24ish hours...incorrect?
 
#252 ·
I've never done a fishless cycle on a FW tank, can't help you there. Sorry! If your soil is fresh chances are good that it's a sufficient source of NH3/NH4 to get things cycled. THAT I have done. :) I just thought of something...you've already got plants in there so they're going to skew any attempts at cycling the tank by taking up some, or most, of that NH3. You're probably better off getting a bacterial supplement, like FlorinBacter, to kick start your filtration. Chances are good that it's going to take a while for sufficient bacteria to grow with plants already in the tank.

I'd be very careful adding NH3 to a new tank that's already planted and lit. It could cause big issues with algae and/or kill your plants.
 
#253 ·
Hm, interesting point about killing the plants. The only other time I've done this was on the 50/30 setup, but exactly the same configuration (albeit less water volume) and methodology. No issues with that tank. Took about a week, IIRC.

Haha, and the budget does not support further expenses...I think the next ammonia dose will be less, maybe half that. Will take longer, but less risky.
 
#255 ·
I just bought 'Fish Focus Blue 13000K' on Build My LED, LLC

:icon_eek:

72" fixture in black, 13000k, 90-degree beam, tank stands, and dimmer. Yikes.

I spent a lot of time looking at the kelvin comparisons, decided that I just didn't like how yellow the greens looked under 10000k, and since 13000k was an option designed to make fishies stand out...why not?

Nick said lead time was ~5 business days. Sure hope the plants can wait that long...
 
#257 ·
ETA for shipment date is October 26. Cool!! Pretty good customer service so far...even if most of has been automated. You can never communicate too much with a new customer (ok, well...spam aside).

  • Email direct from Nick after inquiring about shipping.
  • Replies indicating lead time from Nick.
  • Automated 'here's your invoice' email.
  • Automated 'here's your new account information'.
  • Automated order confirmation email.
  • Automated email confirming build in progress, and a nice write-up on the manufacturing process along with shipping ETA.

They live up to my expectations so far, cool beans.
 
#259 ·
Lights are great. I have the same, really makes my cardinals pop.

My planted setup… No dirt just sand, I am starting fert this week and no CO2. Plants are growing just fine!
Swords grow 1 new leaf a week; stems grow about 1' a week.

I will have to post some pics.
 
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