120planted+120reef in progress Beginning build pics 03/30/10

[jargonchipmunk]

In the process of building a dual in wall setup.

120g reef
2x250w Mogul base Mh w/ t5ho supplementation
sumps, blah blah blah

120g planted tank
4x54w T5HO lighting
sump (naughty word?)
20lb Co2 tank (deciding between inline reactor and misting into the tank)
EI ferts
most likely going to be MTS w/ river sand/gravel top and petrified wood scape (definitely not final)
plants I know I'll have: B. Japonica, Downoi, some low lying grass-type ground cover, Limno Aromatica, at least one rotala (indica?), always wanted to include a blood red tiger lotus in a scape, but we'll see if it fits

Both tanks will be controlled with an APEX controller. (getting an extra Ph/temp module for the planted tank)


Drilling tanks.... (don't have beer around most of the time so protocol will have to be Dr. Pepper in this build)




aaaand the destruction of a wall...

and the stands done (one painted) and in place.

What has two thumbs and likes having his stands done?

THIS GUY!

Breaking the Dr. Pepper protocol for this snapshot.

This is sitting waiting to show me its awesome power!


I have lots more pictures, but they're on the laptop that's on the fritz at the moment, so they'll have to wait.

[lauraleellbp]

I'm so subscribed.

[jargonchipmunk]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

I'm so subscribed.

good thing too! I'll be stealing plants from you for this lol. You have a few goodies in your tanks I might have to purchase when the time comes if you have any snippin's.

[PROX]

2 tanks at once? wow!

[lauraleellbp]

Originally Posted by jargonchipmunk

good thing too! I'll be stealing plants from you for this lol. You have a few goodies in your tanks I might have to purchase when the time comes if you have any snippin's.

Oh yeah? Well I'll be happy to share... might be a long wait though, since all my tanks are low tech so pretty slow growing.

[jargonchipmunk]

it'll be a long wait regardless. I still have to paint the second stand, build up the wall, get the sumps cut (more on this later) plumb everything up, run wiring, drywall, get/make a batch of MTS, deal with finding a hardscape, etc, etc, etc lol

This'll be a journey before it even sees water lol

[jargonchipmunk]

Originally Posted by PROX

2 tanks at once? wow!

that's almost exactly what Jamie said, only the last word was a three word phrase... at least it started with a "w".

[lauraleellbp]

Hey- you neglected to mention what FISH are going in the tank?

[jargonchipmunk]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Hey- you neglected to mention what FISH are going in the tank?

secondary

I'm not sure yet. There are lots of options, obviously, but I like my tiny little inverts too much to have fish that'll outright eat the adults. I'm ok with a few crystal red babies being picked off here and there, but I can't have anything large enough to mutilate my amano shrimp. Hence, it'll most likely be a rather large school of something rather small. I've always been a fan of rummynose.

The purpose of the scape in the planted side will be forced perspective. (google that because I'm not a design or art major and cannot explain it) Hence, I'll need very small fauna regardless. I've seen very few aquascapes that take advantage of a forced perspective style setup, and even fewer that actually pulled it off well. (I have no delusions of being one of those lucky few, but I'm gonna try lol)

Everything from the hardscape to the fish/inverts to the different species of plants in regards to leaf size and texture will be chosen specifically for their purpose in regards to forced perspective. (basically, it'll be completely backwards from what we normally do with plants; I.E. larger leaves in front, and tiny plants way in the back)

[lauraleellbp]

Can't wait to see it! I love big schools of small fish...

A huge school of Embers might be a good choice, too.

I've recently fallen in love with Ruby tetras (Axelrodia riesei) and they're gorgeous.

I'm always all about the fish...

[Big Dog]

Sweet looking set up so far. Keep going.

[jargonchipmunk]

Went to the store last night and picked up more goodies.

Panworld 150px return pump for the reef
Panworld 100px return pump for the planted tank
2 300w unbreakable stealth heaters
1 BIG OL' SKIMMER (Octopus 200X cone skimmer)
Preordered 2 boxes of salt for the reef as well.

[2wheelsx2]

Interested to see how this turns out. I want to sump my 125 gallon which is running pressurized CO2 and want to see how you deal with it. I'm currently running 3 big canister filters in it.

[jargonchipmunk]

Still working at it. Projects elsewhere in the house, an upcoming vacation, and the dentist (ugh) have gotten in the way of my progress here a little. I've made some headway on the canopy portion above the tanks. Hopefully I can get it installed and tied into the studs soon so I can look at drywall and what I'm going to do for a canopy door.

[VadimShevchuk]

this is getting crazy. A reef and a planted tank at the same time? Good luck because im subscribed!~ =D