New 120 gallon display - Williamsonaaron (Pic Heavy)

[williamsonaaron]

Hi All -

I've completed my build for the new 120 gallon planted community tank. this build took a fair bit longer than the previous 80 gallon with 3d background because I decided to try something different than the standard set up for 3D backgrounds. I went for more of a framed effect which I thought would be more interesting and also I wanted to preserve the amount of swimming space for my large rainbowfish(who are the reason for the move).

Flora and Fauna lists at the bottom of post.

Equipment
120 gallon tank

Filtration
2 X 2217 Eheim filters.

Lighting
double strip from perfecto
coming soon T5 HO 4X54Watt.

Underwater Lighting
Hydor LED Submersibles.

Heater
Hydor 300W inline heater.

Substrate
Aquariumplants.com - Black diamond

Background & Hardscape
Malawi rock Cut into 45* degree portions.
Cut out rock pieces for bottom from the Malawi background.
couple small pieces of malasian driftwood
Local piece of driftwood screwed onto a piece of slate.


Now for the Pictures.

The Tank


Rock cut out to hide an underwater light.


Another rock cut out - this will go right against the back on the left hand side to add some depth and won't hold an under water light.


Right hand side cut out


Left Hand side cut out


Underwater light and on the right is my venting to allow water behind the right hand background for the filter return.


I black out the white of the styrofoam at the joints using black silicon this does wonders for appearance and having seamless joints.


The next three are the basic build up of adding the pieces one by one.




Underwater lighting.. I will update with a better pic -I just took this quickly.


Siliconing pieces in


With substrate after silicone dries.


First pictures with plants and fish. Sorry about the reflections I will work up some better pics of the tank and of the inhabitants tonight/tomorrow.



Plants
4X Crypt Parva
2X Crypt undulata
2X Crypt lutea
1X hydrophilia sp.
4X Rotala magenta
3X java fern.
3X Java fern sp.(has crinkle top)
2X baby tears
3X Red swords
want to add.

Fish

13 Cardinal tetras -gonna add atleast another 15 or 20.
8 assorted rainbowfish.
12 emerald green corries
pair of Rams
12 cherry shrimp.

[fishboy199413]

That tank is amazing. I love your DIY rock walls, I think it will look even more amazing when the plants fill in. Keep up the good work.

[williamsonaaron]

Originally Posted by fishboy199413

That tank is amazing. I love your DIY rock walls, I think it will look even more amazing when the plants fill in. Keep up the good work.

I know right - Queue Tom Petty's "The Waiting is the Hardest Part"

Thanks for the props, I wasn't totally sold on this build until it got planted.

The rock walls are not totally DIY I buy them pre-moulded from www.gilsnfins.ca

[bighollywood]

Very nice work. I would nover have thought of not putting the background on the entire background. But the way you have it really breaks up the tank and makes it look so real.

[williamsonaaron]

Thanks Hollywood - makes me feel good to get positive feed back. If you have a tank journal on here you should put a link to it in your signature so people can check it out easily and leave feedback in return.

Wilco.

[williamsonaaron]

Just adding some pics of the current inhabitants. I took these today using an off camera flash(SB 600) mounted on a tripod above the tank thanks to a tip I got here on the boards(sorry I forget who.).. I've been having an amazing time with that tip as it makes for fantastic photos. I particularly love the capture of the Emerald Cory cat.

Emerald Green Corydoras


Cardinal tetras


Bosemani rainbow


Rams

[sidefunk]

Awesome pics. Been meaning to get a flash for my camera as well, just haven't been able to pull the trigger yet. How are you diffusing your flash?

[williamsonaaron]

Originally Posted by sidefunk

Awesome pics. Been meaning to get a flash for my camera as well, just haven't been able to pull the trigger yet. How are you diffusing your flash?

Thanks, In these I'm not diffusing actually, I do have a diffuser from Garry Fong which I just got on sale for 49$ that works well and I will be using that for the full tank shots that I want to take today or later this week.

[FreshtoSalt]

Looks great! I am definitely impressed with the hardscape.
Nice rams too.
can you see the silicone from the side glass? did you paint them black on the outside?

[williamsonaaron]

Originally Posted by FreshtoSalt

Looks great! I am definitely impressed with the hardscape.
Nice rams too.
can you see the silicone from the side glass? did you paint them black on the outside?

I've done a pretty good job on this tank of hiding the silicone(using black helps a lot) on my other 80 gallon tank the joints were the bane of the tank to me(though no one who saw the tank in person ever once took notice of them). Prior to getting the plants and other pieces into the tank with these types of projects sometimes the silicone joints will make you want to quit because that's all there is to draw your eye but once the tank is going you won't even notice them especially with a little care taken.

The background is painted black on the outside.

On the sides I left it open so I can see back there, the joints are not 100% water tight on purpose I wanted to try to get a shrimp colony going and they spend a lot of time behind the backgrounds when not out eating. So I like to be able to look back there..

[FreshtoSalt]

Well, it looks awesome.
Yeah, as the plants grow, it will keep looking better.

[smiller]

Very original and well thought out.

[lbacha]

Nice setup any issues with the foam rocks floating and did you just silicone them in place?

Len

[ChadRamsey]

super nice. i love the faux rocks. great work.

[tfmcder]

Very nice looking! Kudos on the fake rocks.
Do you find the Rams dig up a lot or is just a pair manageable? I had 6 bolivians and they were a nightmare, especially when they all paired off. I love Rams but ever since that experience I stay away from them.