Crazydaz's Square 200G RIPARIUM Strikes Back! NEW PICS 4/19-4/21!!!

[pirayaman]

crazydaz u are my new god. i must have missed the new pics last time i was looking threw this epic thread. my brain cant even funtion when i look at the new tank design. so much going on. planted tank overload for sure.

[Wolf19]

Good sir, I have just started reading this tread and looking through the photos. I am simply amazed and inspired. I will be starting my own planted tank in the next month or so, and can only hope to achieve 1/10th of this success.

[crazydaz]

lol! Thanks Pirayaman!! That's a bit high of a pedestal I think! I'm happy that you like it that much, though! It's nice when your efforts are appreciated, always! Thank you!

Wolf19--Thank you! I hope that you will surpass me and everyone else here! Once you get the hang of things, this hobby becomes increasingly more fun to do. Just be patient and enjoy yourself!

[pirayaman]

crazydaz ive seen alot of tank and planted and award tanks and that first on the composition could crush them. so people use rocks and drift wood. to make a tank great that first tank to me was just plants in their glory. im a landscape biz owner and you have brought me a new inspiration. for my company. honestly if i had all the money in the world id be bored and would do what i do for free. you should enter these tanks in a contest or something. do it for the love of it then send a pic. your vision should be seen by everyone. theres not a price on art work like that. its alive

[NWA-Planted]

We may need to slow down... We are going to bloat his ego to epic proportions

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[keithy]

Originally Posted by pirayaman

you should enter these tanks in a contest or something. do it for the love of it then send a pic. your vision should be seen by everyone. theres not a price on art work like that. its alive

Don, I think I have to agree with what he said ....... for the love of it bro.

[crazydaz]

Pirayaman--It's interesting that you mention landscaping. I used to work at a nursery myself for a few years. Took care of plants, did a lot of landscaping, and dug holes. A lot of holes. But, I think what I learned on that job has come in pretty handy when it comes to tank set up. How to plan to use plants, what they will look like as they mature, how look for and use different leaf textures, how to create natural focal points, and so forth. I owe a lot of my basic design technique to landscaping. It's nice to be able to utilize plants (or "Nature" in general) to form something nice to look at!

Gary--No ego! I know that there is always someone out there that is better than I am in just about everything. I appreciate the compliments and kind words, but it wouldn't do me any good to let any of that go to my head. It's "just" a fish tank, after all. It's fun, educational, and relaxing. That's why I do it. There's always someone better. Probably many "someone's," in fact.

Keith---Yeah, I'm not the type to enter these things into contests. I won Tank of the Month for my local club about half a year ago. That was neat. I just don't like feeling that everything that I do for my hobby is subjected to criticism by a few people who decide these types of things based on their opinions. Besides, this really isn't a technical "aquascape." It's an amalgamation, and I wouldn't have a clue as to how to enter it into a contest.

[Wolf19]

Simple question. How many hours do you run your lights for, and do you use a pH controller for the CO2 injection or just 1 hour on before lights and 30mins off before lights off?

[crazydaz]

Hi Wolf!

The lights turn on and off in sets of three to "simulate" dawn and dusk. The first set of three come on at 7:00am, and all lights are running by 9:00am. All lights run until 5:00pm, then the first set turns off at that time, and all lights are off by 6:00pm. This is kind of temporary....I will be gradually increasing that over the coming months to have the lights come on a bit later in the morning, perhaps 8:00am or 8:30am, and run until about 9:30pm.

I do not use a pH controller, nor do I perform any direct testing of the water parameters either. Observation of any problems or issues is enough info for me to act upon.

The CO2 comes on at about 8:15am right now, and turns off at about 5:15pm. I've found nothing to indicate that turning the CO2 off or leaving it on has any additional benefit OR deleterious effect after the lights turn off. I don't believe that turning it on prior to the lighting has any additional benefit either. I've tried, but I just don't see how it does anything except waste CO2.

[keithy]

you are very humble my friend. Many people, including myself see your tank as an inspiration. Thanks for sharing it.

[Wolf19]

Thanks again for answering my questions. Trying to soak up as much information as I can while preparing for my planted tank (Journal to come as soon as the tank stand building begins).

I had a few conversations with people that suggested a pH controller is important to prevent fluctuations...my personal thought was that in nature the pH is likely to naturally swing. (Maybe more important with plenty of fish in the tank, not sure tho)

I appreciate you taking the time to answer questions.

[crazydaz]

Thank you Keithy! There are so many good tanks and systems on here; it would be foolish of me to be anything but humble.

Wolf--you're quite welcome! I'm always happy to help, or offer my advice/opinion. I don't find the need for a pH meter in a planted tank. I suppose that it might be a good safeguard, just like a UV sterilizer is, but I don't believe that you "need" one. pH fluctuations are normal, even drastic pH swings are normal for these fish out in The Wild. I don't think that going from pH 6.8 to pH 6.0 or 6.1 overnight is that big a deal. If you are worried, simply add an airstone and have a pump pushing O2 through the airstone at night after the CO2 goes off. If you're having massive pH swings, something is terribly, terribly wrong with your system. I don't think that most people will ever experience such issues with their tanks, though, under normal conditions with even regular, minimal maintenance.

[Jiinx]

Wise choice for a teacher I've learned immensely from him!! GREAT guy Don is!

[DogFish]

Don - i really like the mist effect. Just subscribed on youtube.

[NWA-Planted]

Makes me want to duplicate this setup so bad that misting effect is just sweet!!

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