Lumpyfunks 90 gal Journal (56k Warning)

[lumpyfunk]

Well, I have been a into planted tanks a little over a year, and I always liked seeing progressions of peoples tanks. So when my wife wanted new furniture that just happened to go where I had my 90 Gallon All Glass tank I figured I would doccument the new setup.

What the tank used to look like, I didnt take any recent pics so here are a few older ones. You got to love the Sillscape entry from 05

[lumpyfunk]

I told myself that if I ever moved the tank I would paint the background so I did. First to give it some texture I sprayed it with a very light stone flecking, then 4 coats of blue spray paint with a final black topcoat to keep the blue true.
I decided to try and emulate Wasserpests substrait from his petsmart corner tank so I laid down about a half inch of peat with some jobes fern & palm spikes, then topped it with 3 inches of Pros Choice Soilmaster Select from Lesco.

More pics to come.

[lumpyfunk]

I think the look of the Pro's Coice is very similar to Eco complete. I had very little cloudiness when I used it in my sisters tank. However when I filled mine there was a cloud, not as bad as fluorite but if I use it again, I will defiantly wash it. It also traps a lot of air when filled, and re clouded the water when I planted. first pic is about 3 hours after filling, second is about 3 days later.

I am running 2 canister filters on this, both Jebo/ Odsyee brand, and I am very happy with them for the price. I am planning to have both intakes behind the slate on the left and have one spray bar (CO2 enriched) at a downward Angle on the left side blowing across the tank and the other vertically with flow going along the back wall.

The aquascape is in a transitional phase, I think I need to move the tiger lotus to one of the back corners. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[BSS]

Alright! Let's see how this one shapes up....

Brian.

[aquaphish]

Are you going to use the buddas in this one??? The driftwood is something to ponder over. A quick look and I thought you had someone buried in there and one leg was sticking out!!! LOL But still an interesting piece??

The background is very original. Looks good. Wonder if you can use something close to a stone looking fleck paint and make a stone background. I need to give credit to all that paint the background. It takes time and the ones I have seen look really nice.

Interested in seeing this develop.

[lumpyfunk]

Originally Posted by aquaphish

Are you going to use the buddas in this one??? The driftwood is something to ponder over. A quick look and I thought you had someone buried in there and one leg was sticking out!!! LOL But still an interesting piece??

I am not planning on the buddhas, at least at this point I think the thing I liked the most in the silly-scape tank was the banzai tree, now some Ricca and a hairnet might make it pearl. . .something to think on. The wood is a piece of ironwood that I came across, it was really heavy and didn't take long to sink, a definite plus!

[/quote]The background is very original. Looks good. Wonder if you can use something close to a stone looking fleck paint and make a stone background. I need to give credit to all that paint the background. It takes time and the ones I have seen look really nice.

Interested in seeing this develop.[/quote]

Thank you I like how it turned out as well, I bought a couple of tanks that had the granite spray paint used them and got the idea. I decided to use black as the final coat because I noticed a lot of people saying that theirs is lighter than they thought it would be. I figured that it was because they were painted on a transparent surface instead of an opaque.

I ran across a link on making stone looking backgrounds on a cichlid forum, they really look impressive, I will see if I can turn up that link, a very interesting read.

Edit: Ok I found it. . .http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...ackground3.php

[eds]

Really like the background.
I really regret that I did not paint the back of my tank before setting it up.

Could you post some closer shots of portions of the tank, so I can get a better feel of what weeds you have in there?

[lumpyfunk]

Originally Posted by eds

Really like the background.
I really regret that I did not paint the back of my tank before setting it up.

Could you post some closer shots of portions of the tank, so I can get a better feel of what weeds you have in there?

Maybe you will have to move your tank for furniture, I thought the same thing. . .Go new couches!

Here are some shots of my weeds, looks like I am getting some hair algae

[lumpyfunk]

Well, I just moved this tank 2 weeks ago, and am liking the growth and layout< I was all excited and then. . . . .Last Sunday I had a drain backup and there is some serious remodeling that needs to be done in the basement, where both my tanks are. I am going to have to move the whole frigging thing again!!!! ARRGH. So with that in mind I am open for suggestions as I will be starting from scratch again very soon.

[Prettyhead]

It doesn't quite seme balanced. Or maybe it is too balanced. It seems like the heavy elements are on either side of the tank... I wonder how it would look if you moved the driftwood closer to the slate of the left, maybe turned it so it angled down towards the right. And then you could have the right side be lower growing plants, or a speciment plant. (maybe that lotus?)

Not sure, but right now the eye seems to go back and forth rather than an even flow.

Just my two cents, which I'm sure you know you can take or leave.

[lumpyfunk]

Ok I am looking for some advice, I probably will not have to move my 90 gallon for a few weeks, that is until we get new carpet for my office. I am battling hair algae. I am cranking up my co2 during the day, and have a 10 hour light period. I have been a little too busy since the outbreak started to fertilize. But the root tabs I put in are cranking!! I have seen bubbles, big ones coming up from some of the plants! I am trying to figure out how I should battle this, do I wage the war now only to have to move the tank and possibly do it again, or do I try to hold it in check until it is back in a permanent home? I may post some pics of my basement later. let me tell you that if you do not have drain coverage on your homeowners, GET IT. I had maybe 40 gallons tops, probably closer to 20 and the initial estimate came in at over $13k

[lumpyfunk]

First off if you don't have drain coverage on your homeowners policy, GET IT!!! The bill for this will probably top $15,000

I planed on documenting all the progression of my tank, including the ugly stuff, while this doesnt directly effect the tank, it sure has an impact on things. So I am going to include it.

I had close to 20 gallons of drain water. . . come up onto my floor due to a blocked drain and I am essentially having to gut my basement. The first pic shows the area where both my 90 and 40 breeder were located at the beginning of January, breeder was on the left and the 90 was on the right of the saw horses. Big screen was in the center of the far wall with stereo etc. I will have to / have removed all the drywall to the left corner, about 25 linear feet 2 feet up. plus closets and storage area to the bathroom, where the nastiness came from. I chose to remove the tile and replace but the rest of the stuff had to be removed. Mold started really really fast

The Office I had just gotten set up prior to this, I sacrificed it in August to host my 2 goddaughters and their mother who were relocated due to Katrina, so I was really excited to get my office back, I work from home 90% of the time. I just got it the way I wanted, and whammo the only thing in it that is still in the original location is the fish tank. I work in this disaster

Well that is my rant, and I will post pics of my battle with the evil BBA that has set in due to my neglect. I have ordered Excel and will post weekly pics of the treatment progress, so stay tuned!

And sorry for the bathroom and office pic not being rotated, I had them done and I was unable to upload them. . .

[Phil Edwards]

Lumpyfunk,

I'd bet really good money that your hair algae is being caused by all of the Jobe's Spikes in the substrate. Being Urea based (NH4/NH3) they're adding a ton of ammonia(ium) into the water which is what I feel is the main factor in algae propagation.

When you move your tank use organic top soil rather than peat and crush up the jobes spikes into small bits and sprinkle them sparingly on the glass before putting any substrate down at all.

Once you cover up the Jobe's you're not going to want to disturb the substrate for a good 3-6 months to ensure that all of the ammonia is gone. Even better, since you're using CO2, use the Soilmaster only and just put small bits of Jobe's around plants like your lily and strong root builders like Crypts and Echinodorus.

If you are set on using Jobes in the substrate like that you'll need to ensure proper PO4 and NO3 levels to guarantee your plants will have the energy they require to convert that NH4/NH3 into non-toxic NO3. Yes, NH4/NH3 -are- toxic to plants, they just happen to have a method of storing and converting it that animals don't have.

Regards,
Phil

[lumpyfunk]

Phil, Thanks for the input! However, I am not confident that the jobes sticks have caused the BBA outbreak, I set up another tank very close to the same time and that has had the same issues with no jobes sticks. Just the same I will probably back off on them the next time I setup a new tank.

I have decided to treat the BBA with Excel as outlined here http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/al...periences.html

I used the prescribed loading dose on the bottle, of 5 ml per 10 gallons and following that I dosed approx 2.5 times the recommended upkeep dose of 5 ml for every 50 gall which is about 25 ml a day. I used an oral syringe to dose and sprayed it on the heavily effected areas.

here are some before trim and treatment pics and at the end of day one. As you can see I got hit by spot algae and algae on the back glass as well. I will be scrubbing that every couple of days throughout the treatment.

[lumpyfunk]

More day one shots,

I am really surprised with how effective the direct application was with the syringe, I included a (terrible) shot of a crypt that was badly effected, I pushed the excel over this leaf and a few others on the initial application.