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Jake's DBP 10gal For Cories & Shrimp

42K views 188 replies 38 participants last post by  somewhatshocked 
#1 · (Edited)
What? I suffer from a serious case of Multiple Tank Syndrome? Surely not!

Figured it was time to start a new tank.

The goods:

  • 10gal Deep Blue Professional tank
  • Eheim 2213 w/ DIY spraybar
  • 10w LED Flood Light (not yet installed)
  • Bits and pieces of manzanita from Tom Barr that I glued together and added some Christmas Moss to
  • Pool Filter Sand
  • A bunch of Crypts - most to be added later
  • Maybe some Anubias nana

Not going for beauty so much as I am viewing space for critters. Simple root feeders is all the tank will likely hold.

A shot I teased yesterday:



Here's a messy shot about a minute after flooding:



That's several clumps of rough-looking Petsmart C. wendtii in the back (hopefully it fills out and grows up) and two little sprigs of C. parva in the front. Have a bunch of C. beckettii, C. petchii and C. parva coming from Gordon roughly mid-week. Still have a bunch of moss to add.

I'm hopeful the C. wendtii will survive and provide some nice shrimp hidey holes. Added a few clay fert balls beneath their area so they'll hopefully snap back soon.

The plan is to house about 15 Corydoras habrosus because they're active bottom dwellers and maybe some C. pygmaeus for the action with various snails and some shrimp. Depending upon the number of critters, I may consider some Boraras brigittae later on down the road.

Haven't decided if the tank will be 100% tap, 100% RO or a mixture of the two. Guess I'll make the decision a few weeks from now when the initial 'cycle' is complete.

Can't wait to see how this new tank evolves. Once I take a break from making more Om Nom Nom shrimp food for you folks, I'll be starting yet another tank journal… for something a little different. Stay tuned for that.

Thanks for reading!

Jake
 
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#11 · (Edited)
Need to go to the hardware store tomorrow to get a new power supply to get it rigged up.
I just used a 3 prong cord from a PC for mine. Splced it in , soilder the indivicual wires together and then put wire tape around it. You skip the soilering part and use wire tape. The trick is in wiring it together.

This is the wiring that worked for me for my flood light (LED Wholesaler's 10W) -
Yellow/green to green
Brown to black
Blue to white

Also to need to cover it someone the light will flood the room.
 
#16 · (Edited)
The good news: I love the fixture and it provides perfect light. I have two of them and couldn't be more excited.

The bad news: My other half demands that I get rid of both of them because, in their words, the fixtures are ugly. I wholly disagree!

Some photos (water is filled with tannins):





My apologies for the strange resizing. Seems new ownership altered photo width.

So that bit earlier where I was desirous of a Finnex fixture? Guess that's what I'll be going with in order to appease the ruler of the house and selling both of these cool LEDs. Dangit.

More crypts supposed to be here tomorrow. Excited.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Some new crypts came in today, a few looking a bit rough. Since they're crypts, though, they'll soon bounce back. beckettii, petchii, parva.

A peek:






Excited for them to grow in because they're going to look terrific. The parva will flatten out and adjust pretty quickly. Usually only takes a couple weeks in my other tanks. Can't wait to see how the beckettii grows in. One my favorites.

Left space in the front center and front right for other goodies a bit further down the road.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Tried to appease the other half with different lighting. Look how much spread there is with a 15w CFL:



That's with the work light dome about six inches above the top of the tank with a glass cover. Honestly think it should be raised 4-5 more inches. Or some fiberglass window screen needs to be put over the top of the tank.

Guess I can't complain about getting a Finnex fixture but it'll still be too much light for this tank and will have to be wrapped in window screen.

At least the tank will look really cool with a sleek LED fixture.
 
#27 ·
Tank update: Nearing the end of the Nitrite spike and think it will be ready for livestock within a couple weeks, as planned.

May end up waiting even longer to add critters so I can let Crypts regenerate and grow in a bunch.

pH is holding at around 7. It's not exactly where I'd like it for Cories but I think they'll do well. Depending upon hardness of my tap water, I may end up filtering it with peat or mixing with RO.
 
#28 · (Edited)
20" FugeRay arrived today.

First thoughts: unbelievably inconvenient and silly short power cord. Sure, it's a minor peeve. But three feet!? There is no practical way to use the fixture unless you run an extension.

Cheaply made but pretty bright. It's probably not exactly worth its current price (this is solely my opinion and not an attack on any company or even the product) on Amazon for what you get. It will be in maybe six months or a year? Maybe that's just me having spent hundreds on LED fixtures the past few years, though, and expecting different quality. This isn't a complaint. Just a peeve.

Would be worth finding the originator and ordering several in bulk if you have a ton of tanks, though. When you factor in the warranty, that does make the price easier to swallow. I guess. Will be interesting to see how long these things last with everyday use.

In fairness, I think Marineland fixtures are bogus when it comes to price. They're sturdier but really can't be compared to this kind of output.

Have to say: I really like this fixture. Bright. Really white, no yellowing in that 7000k realm. Perfect for a 10gal low tech tank. Would be a bigger hit - beyond this forum - if it weren't over priced.

Some pictures...

Without blue using legs:



With blue using legs:



Resting on glass without blue:



Resting on glass with blue:



Using an iPhone to adjust for brightness:



While I probably won't be able to use this fixture on the tank, it could be perfect if you've got an outlet within a couple feet of your tank.

Verdict: buy it if you've got money burning a hole in your pocket. You'll really enjoy it if you're a reefer at heart because it is crisp and white.

Just have to figure out what to use it for if I can't make it work.

Can't wait to start buying and using these in my actual reef refugiums.

UPDATE - Victory! Woah! My better half has agreed to having an electrician install an outlet by the new tank about half way up the wall. Guess we'll get to use fixture after all!
 
#30 · (Edited)
It's so bright that I don't feel comfortable using it without a layer of window screen.

Just a tiny bit darker:



May actually add another layer of screen.

Discovered a young Ramshorn that I did not add:



Looks like the pre-filter needs a good rinse - dang.

Added 20 or so Malaysian Trumpet Snails last night:



They're making quick work of the algae on the crypts I got from the janky LFS. Guess I need to get in there to clean some of those leaves off myself.

You can kinda see remnants of it but the majority of this area was covered in diatoms yesterday:



Mostly gone today, as you can see.
 
#32 ·
Seems the Pond Snails and MTS I added are making quick work of the bits of algae in the tank. Will likely have to spot treat one of the crypts with Peroxide or Excel tomorrow.

Some of the crypts appear to have introduced BGA and I've removed it with a pipette a couple times. Not a lot of it but enough for me to keep on it.

Tank eats 1.5ml of 10% ammonia per day now. So it's definitely ready for livestock. Just gonna push it out a couple more weeks, I think, so it can be well-established.
 
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