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My First Tank...and What's Looking To Be a Very Long Obsession

10K views 76 replies 20 participants last post by  MikeyMizz 
#1 ·
All of this is my girlfriends fault.

I became intrigued by her little betta named Jupe Jupe. It found great joy in squeezing underneath the tiny gap of an overturned piece of decor. I thought it was both amazing and sad, so I went to Petco and bought him a new double wide crib. It turns out that the coral stuck out of his bowl a few inches, so my girlfriend bought him a bigger bowl to house it. But while I was at that pet store, I happened to catch a glimpse of some fishes, and their low prices...and so this saga begins.

[to be continued]
 
#3 ·
Yes, I've spent more hours browsing the LFS than I care to admit...but I digress.

As I returned home from Petco, I began researching the necessary components of fishkeeping. Little did I know that hours would turn to days, would turn to weeks...

How did such a thing happen? The planted tank.

Now, it is true that many people might see examples of the planted tank and move on, but when I first gazed upon such a living work of art, I fell in love. You see, I've had affairs with others of a similar nature. The asian arts, like bonsai and Chinese brush painting, captured my attention many years ago. In these, I have dabbled, but these passions take many years to mature. In the planted tank, I saw the possibility of both long-term perfection and short-term enjoyment.

So, to the drawing board I went.
 
#6 ·
After deciding to attempt the planted tank, I began shopping for the basic building blocks. The Petsmart starter kits quickly came and went as I considered dimensions and lighting needs. Upon discovering the 40 gallon breeder at a local high end dealer, I fell in love. The tank is manageable in length, not too tall, and has a mysterious depth that lends interests overall.

Tank: CHECK!

Of course, one can't buy a tank without considering a stand... Lucky for me, the 40B has an array of cheap but beautiful options.

...Ok, I kid. I kid. There is nothing of the sort. So, after looking into DIY stands on the internet, I ventured into my first aquarium stand build for the 40 gallon breeder.

Off to Home Depot...
 
#9 ·
Time to move the story along and get it caught up to the present...

The DIY stand is taking some time to build. I used this guys plan for the frame but to my own dimensions:



The stand will be a little more fancy, and a little more expensive, though. I used birch paneling and pine trim. I also made a door. Hopefully, the stand will be stained soon. I’m having trouble finding the right stuff for the job. I planned on using Polyshades Expresso, but it just wasn’t giving me a nice finished texture on a scrap piece of wood. I took it back for some water based stain and got a separate can of spar varnish. The water based stain didn’t give me the color I’m looking for, so I’m going to take that back and try something else. As soon as I finish the stain, I’ll post picture of the final piece.

The light that came with my 40B was traded in to my local used equipment store for a used Eheim eXtreme 250 canister filter and some sweet rocks. I believe the rocks are slate...? I would like to keep the rocks as the focal point. I’ve considered adding some wood, but I’m having trouble visualizing the rock/wood combo. I think if I’m not careful, the wood could take too much away from the rock. After looking at countless pictures of tanks, I'm still not convinced that I can pull off rock and wood, while keeping the rock as the focus. If you have any ideas, I'm all ears...eyes. Once the stand is done, experimentation will begin with the aquascape.

Four, 9 liter bags of ADA Aquasoil Amazonia was ordered and arrived. After doing a lot of research, I decided that I wanted to start with high quality substrate...hopefully I didn’t get pick-pocketed by clever marketing.
 

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#10 ·
And now, for the last leg to get caught up to the present...

Craigslist has been helpful to find some odds and ends. I grabbed a couple box’o’randoms from two people. 

The first had a few nets, an algae magnet, a tiny hex tank, a hang-on-the-back filter, some test kits, some feeds and some water additives. The best part of that box was an undergravel heater with a stat. I was debating whether or not to use one and decided not to bother since they don’t seem very popular, but now that I have one for cheap, I might as well use it, no?

The second box contained a 150W Acura heater. I think I’m going to have to get an additional heater though. I was thinking about an inline to minimize the tank clutter. Also, there was a tub, a bucket, a siphon, some more additives, aquarium silicone, test kits, and a piece of driftwood. The driftwood keeps leeching off some brown residue. I think it maybe varnish, so I may end up scrapping it.

Do test kits or water additives (e.g. detoxifier, ph adjustments, etc.) ever go bad? Some of these things look rather old...

Home Depot provided a sheet of polystyrene for a few bucks and replacement hoses for the Eheim canister filter.

Lastly, my Finnex Fugeray came in the mail a couple days ago. It’s a sleek little light that should be perfect for my low-tech set-up.

Now, if I could just get this cabinet stained, I’d be in business...I tried a handful of stains and been disappointed with the results, though there may be hope in the last test piece...
 

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#11 ·
The brown coloration coming from the driftwood are tannins. You can boil the wood and do it a few times to remove more tannins. But only time and water changes besides the boiling is all you can do. I boiled driftwood and it worked for me it no longer leeches anything into the water.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
 
#14 ·
Well...I guess that means that it's amazing and couldn't be better. Next step: COMPETITION!

No really, lay it on me. What's the scape need?

I'm thinking a white or beige "river" through the little canyon in the midst of the ADA Aquasoil Amazonia. Yeah?

Also, this dry start method intrigues me. And Tom Barr seems pretty confident that HC grows fine in a low-tech set-up. With a Fugeray LED light and no CO2, what plants would you throw in the background, mid ground, and foreground?
 
#17 ·
I'm so conflicted over plants...right now I'm leaning towards a dry start with marisela. Any suggestions for foreground? Maybe some moss? If I did moss, what's a good thread to learn start up?

In other news, the stand is nearly done. I'm debating whether to lay one final coat of spar urethane. I'll post pics as soon as I have the door on.
 
#41 ·
I'm so conflicted over plants...right now I'm leaning towards a dry start with marisela. Any suggestions for foreground? Maybe some moss? If I did moss, what's a good thread to learn start up?
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=167472 sums up dry start with moss very well


It's really coming together. You've been fully infected; this planted tank disease is a lot of fun. Do yourself a favor and test those rocks with some vinegar to double check they don't fizz.
 
#22 ·
The stand has donned her door. The tank has tested her retention. Equipment has proven themselves...well, mostly. There was a Hydorkable that I bought on craigslist that doesn't work. The hydrostat seems to work fine. I guess that's not too big of a deal since undergravel heaters aren't very common, probably due to their questionable benefit.

Anyone need a hydor hydrostat?
 
#26 ·
First setup is way better. I don't like the second setup part where the 3 rocks on the left are all at the same angle right after each other. Also might think about more depth in the scape. For exampe, in the first set up take 2 of the rocks that are on the left and have them lay down shorter in the front.
 
#30 ·
Very nice potential on both setups. In my opinion (which doesn't mean a thing lol)

The first setup - you can build the back left corner up with a hill effect and have a nice hairgrass or sword mound to grow to the same hieght level as the rocks on the right side. If you refer to picture one you had a /\/\/\ effect with the stones. You could put some nice midground red stem plants in each slot in between the rocks. And HC in front for the foreground. The right side has many options with that scape. I'll leave that for your imagination.

The second design which I prefer based on the strength of the left stones angled. Reminds me of a particular aquascape that I'll PM you a photo of. I would put jungle vals in the back to cover intake and heater. Then other plants in front as mentioned above. For red plants, my favorite is Ludwigia Atlantis. To me it complements the green plants without sticking out like a sore thumb. It does turn more red high tech tank. But should be fine in the setup your constructing.

Best of luck and let me know if you need anything.

Thanks, Matt
 
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