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20L High-Tech Journal

9K views 90 replies 18 participants last post by  CAM6467 
#1 · (Edited)
Well I finally decided to get back in the game again. It's been a little over a year since I took apart my 10 gallon. It's now home to a bearded dragon in my classroom. My students get a real kick if the little guy!

I've decided that my new tank is going to be a 20 long, and I'm going high tech with it. All I have is my co2 tank, but I've ordered a few things to get started. Here's my lineup.....

1. 20 long aquarium (petsmart)
2. Pressurized co2 (w/ Milwaukee reg/solenoid/needle valve/bubble cntr)
3. Hydor in-line 200 watt heater (marinedepot.com)
4. Rena xp1 canister (marinedepot.com)
5. Eco-complete??? I used this on the 10g, but I'm open to suggestions.
6. Lighting??? I don't have anything purchased. HELP!!! T5HO is what I like.

I'm wanting to have a nice carpeting foreground plant like HC or something similar. Moss wall in the background (big maybe here). Stone hardscape with a descent slope back to front with whatever substrate I decide on. I'm going to cut some plexiglas and curve it using a butane torch. I'll then use these pieces to make small partitions at the bottom of the tank so I can use a growing substrate and some light sand for color contrast. I like that look, but we'll see how things go!

I'll try to mix in some rotala stems in the sides for that convex style that you see all over the place. I also want some nice driftwood, but I'd have to find some on the SnS. Hit me up if you have any for sale...

Also, I like reading opinions and/or suggestions. Please let me know if you know what t5ho lights and substrate would be best for this setup. I'm at a loss here...

Thanks,

Charlie

ps. Pics to come
 
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#4 ·
I went to Petsmart and Petco with no luck in my search for fluorite black. I want to buy the substrate locally, but I guess that I'll end up having to order the stuff via the net. Any suggestions for a good site to get substrate?

On another note, I received email confirmation that several items are on their way to my door. It looks like I'll have my xp1 filter, Hydor in-line heater, and the new co2 equipment by the end of the week. It'll be like an early Christmas.......that I paid probably too much for. Oh well, it's going to be fun!

I also decided on a light fixture and bulbs. I picked up an Aqualight HO t5 fixture from bigalsonline.com. The fixture comes with a 10k daylight and a 460nm (?) actinic that is being replaced with a 6,700 bulb. The fixture itself is something like 30.25" long and supports a 30" bulb. The tank will have 62 watts shining down on it. I'm excited about the light. I just hope that I can keep algae at bay!!

What I'm planning to do is build some plexiglas dividers that I'll "glue" along the bottom with silicone. The purpose here is to maintain a division between sand and darker substrate (If that is what I end up going with). Also, I had the idea of building differing tier heights from front to back in an attempt to create a slope look without actually sloping the substrate. If this is what I do, then I'll use stones to hide the appearance of any visible plexiglas. I know that it's hard to envision this idea, but I'm planning on getting some pictures up just as soon as I get things underway.

What I need now are some plant suggestions for the tank. I'll be having high light, EI dosing of macro and micros, neutral pH, hopefully pretty high flow rating, and pressurized co2 if it helps. I really think that blyxa would look nice, but I'm worried that my 20 long is too short to use this plant as a foreground. I'm thinking about having it in the rear corners and along the back. I'm open to your suggestions, and I love reading your posts!

Regards,

Charlie
 
#5 ·
#6 ·
I wouldn't use blyxxa as your foreground maybe some HC or glosso would look nice. Also with the light you are goign to have to raise it some for high light. If you just keep it on the tank it will be too much unless you are planning to block some of it somehow. I just went through the same dilemma with my 20g. And i finally settled on a good height for medium light.
 
#8 ·
kharma, thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking about hanging the fixture, but it helps to know that hanging it is more of a must than a choice!

I LOVE the look of blyxa in every tank I see it in. I like the look of it as a foreground plant in larger tanks, but I'm a little concerned that it'll be a little too tall for my specific application without constant "haircuts".

Here's a list of plants that I've either worked with in the past and/or want to try this time around:

Lobelia cardinalis
Blyxa japonica
Downoi
Fissidens fontanus
Pennywort?[censored]
Ludwigia repens
Creeping Jenny
Rotala willichii
Staurogyne repens

I want to have some sort of Dutch look with this tank. What I need to get ahold of now is some manzanite driftwood. I'll post on the SnS, but please don't hesitate to hit me up with a deal if your in the market!

Regards,

Charlie
 
#9 ·
I got my first two shipments in today.

My new regulator setup:


Here it is on my bottle. It hooked up easily and works like a champ. I've got the needle valve adjusted to 2 bps. I love it already!


I'll be using a Rena xp1 for filtration. I'm running one on my 29g and it works very well. I should get great flow...let's just hope it's not too strong!


And this is the heater:


I've got the aquarium in my truck along with a digital timer/power strip. The lights and substrate will be here on the 15th. All is well thus far! I'm looking forward to the next week or so...

Charlie
 
#10 ·
Made a Home Depot run and got the lumber to build a stand for the tank. I'm tossing a few ideas around for this stand build. I built a stand for my 29g cichlid tank a year or so ago. Here's a picture of it:


I like this style, but I'm won't be having any form of canopy over the new tank. I also doubt that I'll make raised panel doors this time around. I'll start the build tomorrow, so I'll post a few pics then...
 
#13 ·
Yeah, I like to do wood work when I can. I build coffee tables with tile mosaic mainly. It's how I got my bachelor's, master's, and half of my Ph.D.

My next post will have pics of the new stand in progress and a few tables so you can see what I mean by "tile mosaic coffee table".

Chicken, thanks a bunch for the advise. I'll try that technique out for sure once I get some water in the tank...... Of course that means that I need to get off my butt and away from this computer so I can go do some work!

Thanks for the comments!

Charlie.........PICS up next!!!
 
#14 ·
Tank stand build in progress!

These are in order chronologically so you can get a feel for what it takes to do this. It's really easy and a bunch of fun! Let's see who can find the most blatant mistake(s)!! Trust me, by doing this in one afternoon I made plenty of mistakes. Oh well, it's structurally sound and, as my wife puts it, pretty.

I'm putting together the frame for the stand here. I like to build two of these frames and use them to make a top and bottom frame. You'll see what I'm saying later....

Here's the top and bottom of the frame:


These two show how I built the vertical supports that go between the previously mentioned top and bottom frames:



I use this pocket-hole kit to make assembly much simpler:


Lots of clamping involved....


Frame assembled:


1/4" birch plywood as the skin...


1x4 used as trim:



A closer look at the routing profile:


And the lip to hide the tank's frame:


I worked at a friend's house while he "cleaned" the garage. Ha ha! He was having fun watching. I still need to sand it down to get rid of all the imperfections seen in the photos. Also, I obviously have not built the door. That will be a 30 minute job tomorrow. I can't wait to stain it and shellac it. This may wind up pretty nice if tomorrow goes as well as tonight did! Now I need to prepare for my wife's "loving" reaction to the new tank idea. I heard once that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. Well, I'll be putting that to the test very shortly! Wish me luck!!!

Well that's it for tonight. More tomorrow.

Charlie
 
#15 ·
I almost forgot. Here are some pics of tables that I've made recently.

This one was for my wife's sister as a wedding present. Western was their theme, so I made this. We put all their wedding presents on/around it. It was a blast making something like this as a gift!


A closer look at the tile work. You may not be able to tell, but I use an epoxy coating that pours over the sharp tile pieces to make a glass-like top. It's the poor lighting making it look yellowish. It's really a creme color with chocolate brown against it...


Here's the latest. It's a sofa table for our friends at church. They loved it! I had an absolute blast making this one! I used shellac over the stain and it turned out marvelous. This is what my new stand will look like, finish wise.




Again, my iPhone takes poor pics in poor lighting. The table looks so dark here, but it's actually much prettier in person. The previous pic of it in the sun is more life-like. I used the epoxy here as well, and this bad boy is HOT. I got paid a pretty penny for it, too! Don't you love it when hobbies lead to income?!?


Charlie
 
#16 ·
Oh wow, you are very talented. I am sure your family and friends love getting these as gifts as they are quite excellent. I really like the one you made for your church friends. It's elegant and simply tasteful. I am looking forward to seeing your tank stand even more now. :thumbsup:
 
#17 ·
Stand is finished. Sorry, no pics this time. I'm going out with My wife and some friends so I need to get cleaned up. I stained it dark and put a few coats of shellac on it. The color is similar to the sofa table that is shown towards the bottom of the first page on this thread.

I drilled two holes in the back of the stand for the xp1's in-flow and out-flow tubing. I'm using the co2 reactor I built for my ten gallon. The Hydor doesn't match up to my tubing the way that I like, so I'll be going to Lowe's or HD to put together some fittings so I get a perfect connection. It's coming along nicely thus far. I have to say, building the stand that I did in two "half days" is awesome!

Oh, I also got my substrate in today!!! Lights are scheduled to arrive tomorrow! This is exciting!!!

Stay tuned....

Charlie
 
#19 ·
Ok. More pics of the stand build. The pics of it finished out really don't look like it does in person. Sorry, I only have this iPhone to work with!

Door assembled and waiting for wood glue to dry:


Stand minus door stained and waiting for door and shellac:


Door attached:


Stand completed, shellac and all. Check out the glossy finish:


Here are a couple of VERY poor shots of it in it's final spot. Just in case you were wondering, my wife was very unhappy. I am in the dog house for this. Did I mention that we're expecting a girl next month?!? So excited!!!


This is what you see as you enter the front door:


Ok, stand is out of the way. Now I can focus on the tank itself. I got a visit from UPS today:


This stuff has some nice size and color to it. It's aquariumplants.com's own substrate (black diamond). I think that it's going to work fine. I called customer support and was told to rinse it only once. I was also told that using laterite first layer would be pointless here. What do you guys think? I need your expert advice, so do not be shy. Here's what the stuff looks like:


Let's hear your thoughts people. I need it, and perhaps somebody else could benefit. Is this stuff good enough to not need laterite? Do I really only need to rinse it once?

Thanks in advance,

Charlie
 
#21 ·
I appreciate it! I guess we'll see how the substrate turns out. Water will be in this glass box tomorrow evening.

I'll be using petrified wood for the hardscape. I have no driftwood and don't plan on buying anything at this point. I'm thinking Dutch style on a small scale. That ought to keep me busy!
 
#22 ·
Stand had to move. Wife's orders!!

Here's some pics of the mechanics of this thing. Not completed, obviously:




I Got a little prize from UPS today!!!


I got the stand moved, tank painted, tank placed, plumbing routed, plugs plugged, hose clamps clamped, substrate rinsed and put in the tank, and lights up and running. Filling with water later tonight. Bible study first!

More pics tonight!

Charlie

ps - Here's my helper (Sadie):
 
#24 ·
Water's in and the filter is running like a champ! I had a little leak just after my co2 reactor, but adjusting the hose clamp fixed that. There's a little air in the system (as you'll see in the pictures below). I'll bet that it works its way out overnight. I had to flip my Hydor around so that the water flow was correct. Everything seems to be coming along nicely.... Almost too easy!

You may not have noticed but I painted the filter pipes with black krylon fusion. I also painted the back glass on the tank flat black. I think that doing this makes a BIG difference!

I put filter media in along with activated carbon. I'll be taking time to harvest some nitrifying bacteria laden filter media from my established cichlid tank. I've got plants on the way this week, so I'm sure that I'll have the water chemistry handled by next weekend!

Here are some shot of the tank. Tell me what you think of the hardscape.
FTS


Left


Right


Left side view


Close up of substrate


Here's some inspiration for this project




That's it for tonight. Thanks for looking!

Charlie
 
#26 ·
3 Cheers! What a talent! Congrats on a great looking project. Well done.

My only comment is - if Rena tube where you have your inline heater is still looping down lower than the canister as it is in the pic, I suggest you rig something with those talented hands to hold it upright with no loops or shorten the whole thing so that it's not so bent. Speaking from experience, those lines will eventually fold over, kink, and pinch off the flow if they are looped like that.
 
#28 ·
Thanks Sara! I hope that I don't let anybody down here. My talent for construction is driven by the fact that my dad is the founder and CEO of an incorporated construction company. I've been around carpentry and general construction my whole life. Trim carpentry is something that I admire because you're given the chance to build a work of art each time you flip the switch on that router. Working with the two hands that God has given me is second to none. What a way to relax, IMO.

Granny, I will have to watch that line carefully. I hung the Hydor after flipping it around last night, so I'm confident that no weight issues will lead to pinched off tubing.

As you can tell from the previous pics, the water was a bit cloudy. The substrate from aquariumplants.com seems to be pretty good stuff. The water is much clearer this morning. I'm liking the rock layout so far. I'm trying to picture how I'm going to plant this tank. I've got several plants on the way. I can't remember all the plants I'm getting, but I do know that I'm getting blyxa, s. repens, HM, fissidens, elatine triandra, and some rotalas.

Obviously, I'll be using the e. triandra and s. repens in the foreground. I'm thinking that the blyxa will look nice on the left side. I'll really just have to wait for plants to arrive before I can make any decisions. Hurry up USPS!!

FTS....cleared up a bit:


FTS from my viewpoint:


Left side. I'm thinking that blyxa would look good taking up residence from the front corner and wrap around the backside behind the rock. Let me know what you think...


Right side. I see the HM in the front corner here. Foreground plants stretch across the front. I love the Dutch look, so I'm planning to have stems taking up most of the background. I need a transition plant to go between the foreground and the taller stems. Maybe the HM could serve this purpose. Surely somebody here knows of some good mid-ground plants that I could use here. Looking for something that stays around 2-4" tall.


Thanks for reading!

Charlie
 
#29 ·
My brother is a talented woodworker and I can appreciate how much work you've put in those pieces. I really want to hide the canopy I've been working on now that I've seen your handy work. I am looking forward to the dutch scape. Ranalisma rostrata might be a good mid ground. I can get some better pictures if you are interested.
 
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