12 Gallon Wicked Long!

[bigd603]

Originally Posted by tryank

Love it. And I love how you took a picture every time you changed up the scape. I should do that next time instead of fumbling around, backing up and looking at it, then fumbling some more. Good choice on rock shapes, too - not just placement. It's gonna be a sexy tank for sure.

Thanks! Taking the pictures along the way was fun and really helpful. Sometimes I would like something, make a change, then forget how I had it before. So being able to go back to the pictures helped a lot. Plus its fun to see how it progressed. I have an anubis nana in there right now, still in the pot, but I'm not quite sold on it. It's a good looking plant, but I'm just no sure if it fits with the rest of the tank.

[bigd603]

A question for you all, as this is my first time using the dry start method. I am using Eco-Complete from an established tank, will I need to add root tabs to the substrate?

[junglefowl]

Originally Posted by bigd603

A question for you all, as this is my first time using the dry start method. I am using Eco-Complete from an established tank, will I need to add root tabs to the substrate?

I have to add flourish tabs to my eco-complete to make the plant grow faster. So I think you might need to.

[inthepacific]

i love this thank set up. i'd rather have a tank long than wide/ deep they just look so much more elegant. what are the dimensions? is this a custom? if so did you make it yourself? what did you use to attach the panels?

[bigd603]

Originally Posted by inthepacific

i love this thank set up. i'd rather have a tank long than wide/ deep they just look so much more elegant. what are the dimensions? is this a custom? if so did you make it yourself? what did you use to attach the panels?

Thanks. Its actually a 12 gallon long by Mr. Aqua. It is about 36" long, 9" high, and 8" deep. A good local fish store will often sell them, but they can be hard to find. There's a whole thread dedicated to these tanks. Check out the 12 Gallon Long Club in my signature.

[inthepacific]

haha thanks i actually did and found this out. im definitely going to save for one of these they're awesomely amazing lol

[bigd603]

I planted some more HC yesterday, and filled in most of the right side. The HC on the plateau area, and especially the slope has been drying out, so I moved much of it, and I am now concentrating on growing the HC on the lower portion. I am not sure how to get enough water to the higher part :-/ I might put a different kind of plant up there, something with longer roots, or just wait until the lower HC has rooted and spread out significantly and raise the water level to the height of the plateau.

Question, should I be misting, or just let the natural humidity take care of everything? I keep the top covered with saran wrap.



I also got this little anubis I don't know what to do with...Does he fit? Where Should I place him? I think its a very handsome little plant, but I'm really just not sure what to do with the little fella. I tried placing it in a few different locations.

[somewhatshocked]

Definitely mist.

You'll be able to tell when the plants need moisture. I sometimes mist 2-3 times per day when starting dry.

[kwheeler91]

Nice looking tank! I wouldnt keep the anubias in there, throws off the perspective IMO.

[bigd603]

Originally Posted by somewhatshocked

Definitely mist.

You'll be able to tell when the plants need moisture. I sometimes mist 2-3 times per day when starting dry.

This might be a dumb question, but...Can I use non de-chlorinated tap water? Will the chemicals in the tap water stay in the substrate and harm the fish when they are finally added?

[beedee]

Looking good. Welcome to the 12gL club.

[Chyrol]

Looks great! I like the cluster of rock on the left side. I don't think that the anubias really fits. To me, it looks best in the second picture but still doesn't really seem right. Everyone will have different opinions though.

Update?

[fusiongt]

So what have you changed aside from the layout? I'll assume the lighting is the same. What do you plan to do about algae? From the looks of things, that light is going to cause it with that few plants. The light is so close to the tank you'd need a lot more plants to combat it... lifting it higher, if that's an option, may help. I wouldn't want you to make the same mistake because I know battling algae is draining and no fun. Changing the layout but keeping all the same other factors will not stop algae so some more strides have to be done.

Being emersed right now you won't get that problem, but once you fill it up, I feel like that is too much lighting too close. Looking at the tank you referenced on your first message, you can see that their lighting (granted it's different) is way higher: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...=177261&page=7 I think you'd benefit from lifting at least a few inches, if it 5+ inches.

[bigd603]

Yeah, I know the light will be too much if I leave it on the tank. I plan on lifting it once I fill the tank. I havent decided what kind of plants I want on the left. I am thinking maybe some tall DHG in the back left, but I think it will probably just over take the tank eventually. Anyone have any ideas?

[bigd603]

Here's the latest on the tank. I added a bunch of baby tears the other day, and a few anubias on the left behind the group of rocks. I think these will look real nice once they grow up





I upgraded the regulator as well. I bought a clippard ET-3M-24 mouse solenoid and I got a good deal on a Swagelok B-SS4 needle valve, but MAN are the swagelok connectors expensive! Who knew? That was a bit of an ordeal. The guys at swagelok had a real hard time trying to figure out how to connect everything to the Clippard's manifold port. Here's a look at it all assembled:





I'm also working on putting together an Arduino based DIY aquarium controller like Mike_in_MD's seen here: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=192436

I don't have any experience with this kind of thing, but it seems like a really fun project. It will allow me to monitor the temp, pH, control the lighting, my co2, and all sorts of fun stuff. They sky is the limit.