my little eden

[bluestems]

Originally Posted by gnod

^wow.. nice. i really want to try their stuff. what mishap happened with the last one? sorry i must have missed it.
love your tank tho and would love to pick up one of those tanks also. google search shows it's not readily available..

thanks I'm liking the tank more as time goes by. It really suits the space on the corner of my desk nicely, is not too deep but is wide with a good height. The tank was sitting, filled with dust at a lfs. I don't think they are made anymore unfortunately.


The solenoid on the Aquatek regulator stopped working, and prior to that it was fluctuating the co2 levels. Unfortunately I didn't discover this until I came home to a light yellow indicator and some lost fauna. It may also explain the bba and string algae outbreaks.

Amazon is being gracious and accepting the return of the Aquatek for a refund.

Now that I've seen them side by side, there is a noticeable difference in the quality of materials between the two. And after installing it tonight, I noticed the pressure guage on the GLA shows a jump between off and on (both still within the green), which the Aquatek never did. I'm hopeful it will function much more reliably over the long term.

Really, really happy now that I went ahead with the purchase instead of trying another less expensive model.

[zzrguy]

Originally Posted by bluestems

Do they help with the string algae? I'm hoping the new regulator will maintain a more constant level and hopefully the algae won't be as big as issue.

I really can not say but they are funny fish and do clean the tank somewhat.

[Green_Flash]

Originally Posted by bluestems

thanks I'm liking the tank more as time goes by. It really suits the space on the corner of my desk nicely, is not too deep but is wide with a good height. The tank was sitting, filled with dust at a lfs. I don't think they are made anymore unfortunately.


The solenoid on the Aquatek regulator stopped working, and prior to that it was fluctuating the co2 levels. Unfortunately I didn't discover this until I came home to a light yellow indicator and some lost fauna. It may also explain the bba and string algae outbreaks.

Amazon is being gracious and accepting the return of the Aquatek for a refund.

Now that I've seen them side by side, there is a noticeable difference in the quality of materials between the two. And after installing it tonight, I noticed the pressure guage on the GLA shows a jump between off and on (both still within the green), which the Aquatek never did. I'm hopeful it will function much more reliably over the long term.

Really, really happy now that I went ahead with the purchase instead of trying another less expensive model.

My experience with the aquatek mini was similar as well, it came riddled with problems. My solenoid never worked, the gauge never moved between on and off and levels went from high to low and to high again without me touching it. I ended up returning it as well. I will stay away from all their products from now on.

[bluestems]

Originally Posted by zzrguy

I really can not say but they are funny fish and do clean the tank somewhat.

I may try out a couple after seeing how things go with the new regulator. Also hoping to add in some cherries soon which may make a difference.

Originally Posted by Green_Flash

My experience with the aquatek mini was similar as well, it came riddled with problems. My solenoid never worked, the gauge never moved between on and off and levels went from high to low and to high again without me touching it. I ended up returning it as well. I will stay away from all their products from now on.

Can't say that I'll be purchasing anything from them again either. It did work perfectly for several months, but I think the pressure ended up being too much for the parts and led to the fluctuations. The solenoid just stopped working entirely one day. In the end, the GLA was 2x the cost, but 10x better quality.

What regulator did you end up going with?

[Green_Flash]

I ended up just going low maintenance and tech for the foreseeable future.

If I decide to try CO2 again it will probably be a 20# tank and full reg.

[bluestems]

Originally Posted by Green_Flash

I ended up just going low maintenance and tech for the foreseeable future.

I was >>>this<<< close to doing the same, but now that my hc has grown in, I really like it and didn't want to loose it.

This is the last attempt though. If I can't bring the tank into balance over the next few months - 6 mos. then I think I'll start a low-tech tank for my shrimp, danios and rassys, and keep the high tech setup for just plants and maybe some pygmy cories.

At least with the new regulator, I'm hopeful there won't be any more drastic fluctuations.

[bluestems]

added a new etched backing today

[mistahoo]

That is badarse! What was the damage?

Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.

[bluestems]

Originally Posted by mistahoo

That is badarse! What was the damage?

Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.

Thanks! It wasn't too expensive, as I was able to find a smaller roll. I do have enough left over for at least two or three more nano tanks.

[callisto9]

Looks great! What's the circular thing on the top of the tank in the wateR?

[bluestems]

Thanks, and that's a piece of airline tubing holding my red rooted floaters together.


The backing has some translucency, so I'm looking at light strip options to illuminate the back from the base. Wondering if a white light would fade out towards the top.

[mistahoo]

If you don't mind me asking, where'd you get the etched backing? I found frosted window privacy sheets that you stick onto glass but it isn't translucent.

Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.

[bluestems]

Originally Posted by mistahoo

If you don't mind me asking, where'd you get the etched backing? I found frosted window privacy sheets that you stick onto glass but it isn't translucent.

Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.

From a local hardware store. It's semi-translucent, so it does allow some filtered light and objects behind are somewhat visible the closer they are to the tank. I really like the effect!

[CryptKeeper54]

I'm digging the background. Something I want to try on my tank.

[JerSaint]

Love the tank and the backing!