McG's high tech 29g

[MichaelMcG]

Tank - 29 gallon. DIY stand made from a kitchen cabinet.

Substrate - Mineralized top soil, capped with Flora Max Midnight (discontinued, got it at petsmart for cheap! high cec!)

Lighting - 2x36w AH Supply kits that I custom fit in a standard 29g light hood

CO2 - Aquatek regulator and 5lb tank. I used to use a DIY Cerges reactor that was connected to a fluval 306 but this time I am going to try a DIY in-tank reactor made from a 1.5 liter pop bottle. We will see how that goes! viewtainer. I found the idea on Tom Barr's forum.

Equipment - Fluval 405 and Fluval 306. The 306 will be used with the in-tank reactor.

Ferts - EI dosing and Osmocote Plus capsules

Plants - Limnophilia Aromatica, Marsilea minuta, and dwarf sag. Staurogyne repens, and Ludwigia red.

Fish - at the moment I have 2 black phantom tetras and 2 white tetras with blue stripes on their top. I will be getting a pair of german blue rams and a school of small fish.. maybe rasboras.

DIY 3D fake rock background

[MichaelMcG]

here is a pic of the background. it still needs to be colored. the left side will hide the filter intakes and the heater. the right side will hide the 1.5 liter pop bottle I will be using as a reactor. I am going to be coloring it dark grey. i made some caves for the rams.


this is my custom fit 2x36w AH Supply kits in a standard 29g light fixture



alot more pics to follow as I continue the set up

suggestions? comments?

[MichaelMcG]

update on the 3d background. I painted it with Drylok masonry waterproofer with some concrete dye mixed in.

[GMYukonon24s]

Nice background!

[MichaelMcG]

Originally Posted by GMYukonon24s

Nice background!

thanks!

background was glued in 2 days ago with aquarium safe silicone. filled with water early today (half old water and half new water) I waited like 5 hours and tested water is good so I added a couple fish


heres a pic of the internal reactor. ill have to get a video of it running. its made from a viewtainer. i seen a few people talking about it on tom barr's forum. i have the water flow from a 306 throttled back and it flows horizontally in the reactor creating a 'vortex' of co2 spiraling down.


plants should be arriving tomorrow or the next day!!

[Paragon]

Spiffy background. Are you thinking of making it look like the walls of a castle, maybe with creeping "vines" of some sort, then leaving a lot of it empty? That would look awesome.

[MichaelMcG]

Originally Posted by Paragon

Spiffy background. Are you thinking of making it look like the walls of a castle, maybe with creeping "vines" of some sort, then leaving a lot of it empty? That would look awesome.

ha thats a good idea! there is a little balcony in the middle that im going to put Marsilea minuta on. i was thinking of wedging some moss or HC into the corners and cracks. i tried to have moss once before but hair algae took it over so i got rid of it.

what else besides HC and moss can I wedge into some of the cracks?

[GMYukonon24s]

Originally Posted by MichaelMcG

ha thats a good idea! there is a little balcony in the middle that im going to put Marsilea minuta on. i was thinking of wedging some moss or HC into the corners and cracks. i tried to have moss once before but hair algae took it over so i got rid of it.

what else besides HC and moss can I wedge into some of the cracks?

I think that would look nice with moss on the walls.

[MichaelMcG]

Plants came in! Limnophilia Aromatica, Marsilea minuta, Staurogyne repens, and Ludwigia red

[jamntoast]

Originally Posted by Paragon

Spiffy background. Are you thinking of making it look like the walls of a castle, maybe with creeping "vines" of some sort, then leaving a lot of it empty? That would look awesome.

That would be cool, with some hydrocotyle or something going up the side. I don't know if that would be easy to do I've never had it but just a thought