Tank: 50g Truvu Cube, Acrylic, 24"x24"x20" Stand: Custom DIY Filter: Eheim Classic 600 Lighting: x2 23" Archaea Slim-Pro LED, 7000k-8000k Substrate: ADA Amazonia & ADA Power Sand Special M Plants: TBD CO2: Pressurized CO2 Stock: x15 Sidthimunki Botia, x5 Checker Barb, x2 L144, x2 Red Whiptail Catfish, x2 African Butterfy, x2 Red Gold Gourami, possible remaining stock TBD
Stand still needs paint, detailing, skinning and finishing and pressurized CO2 needs to be purchased. Tank, substrate, lights, filter are all purchased and ready to go.
Thanks to the both of you. No bulkheads, just gonna go with the Eheim canister. As for the stand, it's 42" at it's highest point, base dimensions are 36"x24"x30" while the top is 24"x24"12. I want the tank to be more eye-level than a standard set up and originally wanted it to be somewhat pillar shaped but figured with the tank only being 2' wide it would be very prone to tipping over so I made the modifications and decided to go with a more pedestal shape adding 6" to both sides making is 3' wide and believe me this stand is solid, it's not tipping anytime soon. I'll also have a lip going around the base of the tank for extra security and as for the height.. I'll be relying on a little step stool and elongated tools to help out.
Posting an update, the stand has progressed, skinning the most of the surface area today and the staining and doors will hopefully be completed by the end of Sunday afternoon. I've also added the substrate and intend to add ADA sand to the bare area in the front left portion of the tank, the rocks are only to keep the area clear for the time being and are not planned to be in the final aquascape. More for the "bones" should be added by the end of next week. Here are two photos.
Update, the stand has come together well and all that remains is painting and adding the door, adding the trim and some fine tune painting in crevices then it's time to add the decorative sand and fill up.
Update, I haven't made any progress on the stand but today I purchased and added the sand and rocks. As of right now I think the hardscape is complete though that could obviously change at any moment.
Update, we have water. I'll be adding the filter today and the next goal will obviously be to complete the cycle. Then come the plants, then the fish. I'm using a betta and checker barbs to start the cycle rather than danios. I don't want to have the hassle of catching danios at the end of the cycle.
Update, we have water. I'll be adding the filter today and the next goal will obviously be to complete the cycle. Then come the plants, then the fish. I'm using a betta and checker barbs to start the cycle rather than danios. I don't want to have the hassle of catching danios at the end of the cycle.
Update, the filter is set up and operational with no issues aside from the left piece of driftwood. There seems to be a clear algae/fungus like growth on the wood. It was previously in a well established planted aquarium to water log it and I don't recall seeing any of this growth on it. I figure I'll wait until the tank is fully cycled and see if it reseeds by then though any input or advice is welcomed. I will post a photo momentarily.
Funny you should bring that up because after posting last night I started to wonder if I could just add the plants now. I'll look into it and may just add plants in the next day or so. Thanks.
Another question for anyone who may know, I tested parameters last night and to my surprise I already had a large amount of nitrate and ammonia after less than a week. There was also a slight amount of nitrite as well. I was very skeptical about these results so I tested my 5g Spec which is heavily planted and the results showed zero ammonia and nitrite and about 10ppm nitrate, this was almost immediately after testing the 50g cube using the same syringe to extract water in both tanks. Does ADA Amazonia bring on these results in a newly set up tank? I should also mention that all fish in the tank, four checker barbs and one betta all see to be completely unaffected and are very active and in the two times I fed seemed to eat normally.
no idea. I just know that I've seen it on most of the new pieces of wood I put in new tanks and it ends up disappearing or I put the end of the python on it during a water change.
I also just googled "clearish white fuzzy stuff on wood aquarium" and read that it was a fungus and not an algae growth.
Yeah it's happened on all of my driftwood it goes away. Good water movement helps it go away a little quicker for me. The ammonia leaches from Ada soil for a while so your readings probably mean your cycle is starting. Planting is fine in the aqua soil just try to keep ammonia down to around 4 ppm or else some plants don't like it and it slows down your cycling process
2-5-13:
Update, so I've added a few plants to see just how well my lighting would hold up (I'm trying to keep the overall set up wattage as low as possible so I'm testing the waters with LEDs.) I'll likely add more plants in the somewhat near future but this is the biggest planted set up I've done to date and with all the planning/building of the stand and ordering the tank, time spent waiting and piecing together this set up, I just want to take a mental rest during the cycle and go at a slower pace for the time being.
Only one light is on in the photo, I find it more aesthetically pleasing when the tank isn't putting in it's hours of work each day.
Thanks for the complement and advice, I was considering getting some shrimp once the cycle is complete. I see you're in Livermore, do you ever go to Aquarium Concepts? I worked there for about a year and a half not too long ago.
Update, so I purchased and set up the pressurized CO2 and look forward to seeing the results. I also got an LED light for the cabinet space in the stand for maintenance. Here are some photos.
Interesting dimentions, love the layout..cant wait to see it grow out..=] I love tanks with paths in them..
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