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Tsing's 125 -> 180

94K views 417 replies 51 participants last post by  SingAlongWithTsing 
#1 · (Edited)
180 Gallon WIP

Safe-t-sorb and Vermiculite Set Up
Tsing's 125 Hybrid - IAPLC 2020 - Rank 840

Soil Set Up
Tsing's 125 Hybrid - IAPLC 2020 - Rank 840

IAPLC 2020

Details

IAPLC 2019


IAPLC 2018






//Fauna
Sahyadria denisonii
Paracheirodon innesi

//Substrate
Black Diamond Blasting Sand

//Tank Dimensions
72.5" x 18.5" x 24.5"

//Filter
CPR CS102 Overflow Box
Jebao DCP-8000
55 Gallon Vision Sump
200 Micron Filter Sock
Plastic Pot Scrubbers

//Light
3x SBReef Freshwater LED, 8 hrs per day.

//CO2
100 cc/min, 8hrs per day.

//Flora:
1. Bacopa Caroliniana
2. Bucephalandra Theia Blue
3. Hygrophila Serpyllum
4. Proserpinaca Palustris
5. Ludwigia Glandulosa
6. Penthorum Sedoides
7. Limnophila Aromatica Hippuroides
8. Limnophila Aromatica
9. Limnophila Rugosa
10. Limnophila Aromatica Mini
11. Bucephalandra Arrogant Blue
12. Ludwigia Repens
13. Staurogyne Repens
14. Anubias MIcro?
15. Windelov Java Fern
16. Java Fern
17. Anubias Golden
18. Alternanthera Reineckii Varigated
19. Lobelia Cardinalis Dwarf
20. Alternanthera Reineckii Mini
21. Hydrocotyle Tripartita Japan
22. Vallisneria Spiralis Leopard
Tsing's 125 Hybrid - IAPLC 2020 - Rank 840

Pre-2018
(Click for bigger images)
April 6th, 2017 - Tsing's 125 Hybrid - IAPLC 2020 - Rank 840

February 10th, 2017


January 19th, 2017





Hardware
Tank: Aqueon 135 Gallon 72.5" L x 18.5" W x 24.5" H
Stand: DIY 75.5" L x 20.75" W x 32.75" H
Filter: CPR 102 Overflow, Tom's Aqua Lifter, Using Visio 55 Gallon as a sump, Jebao/Jecod DCP 8000 (set at 46%)
Filter Media: 15 LBs of Pumice Stone
Lights: 3x SBReefLights Fresh Water Basic (Reds 40%, Blues 10%)
Co2: DIY Regulator, 20# Tank, Ista Check Valve, 4.5" x 20" Cerges Reactor, Powered by Jebao/Jecod DCT 6000, set @ lv 3
Misc: Jecod/Jebao RW-8 for extra flow in the main tank

Current Dosing Regime
KNO3: 0. Tank is constantly at 35-40 ppm (same as my tap)
K2PO4: 0-1 ppm PO4 3x a week, been only dosing when it's near unreadable on my test kit. had an issue int he past where PO4 built up to over 50+
K2SO4: 6 ppm 3x week
Plantex CSMB: 0.116 fe ppm, [STRIKE]0.058 ppm starting Feb 11th[/STRIKE], [STRIKE]FE 0.0145 ppm[/STRIKE]
FE DTPA 11%: 0.18 ppm starting Feb 11th, [STRIKE]0.02 ppm[/STRIKE]
MgSO4: 2.5 ppm 1x week, right after water change

Whats in the tank
Substrate: 150 LBs of 20-40 Grit Black Diamond Blasting Sand

Plants:
Dutch Style Portion (January 19th, 2017):
Ludwigia Repens Rubin, Bacopa Caroliana, Ludwigia Sp Red, Lobelia Cardinalis ‘small form’, Staurogyne Purple, Alternanthera Reineckii Mini, Micranthemum Monte Carlo.

got everything above except the Bacopa and Monte Carlo from @burr740

On the driftwood:
Weeping moss
May add Buces or Anubias nana Petite later on

Random Pile:
Anubias Barteri coffeefolia?, Anubias Congensis?, Anubias Barteri Nana, Anubias Barteri Nana Petite, Windelov Java Fern, Bucephalandra (various), unknown Cryptocoryne*, Argentine Sword*.

* might end up removing these in the future, leaves are too big.

Honestly unsure if I wanna go all Dutch or aim for some middle ground between Dutch and Nature Styles.

Fauna:
6x Denisonii Barb
4x Zebra Danio
6x Amano Shrimp
?x Ram's Horn Snails
1x Julli? Cory Cat (nabbing more when I get a chance but she's been going solo for a year so far)
1x Guppy (snuck in with the shrimp)
 
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14
#2 ·
February 10th Update

Swapped out the old Maxi-Jet for a Jecod/Jebao RW-8






Experimenting with a terracing? type look. Staurogyne Repens -> Bucephalanadra Raven -> Windelov Javafern


Couldn't get a good shot here, the Staurogyne repens is a light shade of green not white


To do list:
Try to get my ph to drop faster, currently it drops from 8 to 7 ph in 1hr 30 mins. Would like to get it down to 1hr. Hopefully I just have to do some adjustments with my needle valve and now have to build a new reactor.
Up my DTPA 11% or CSMB. Ludwigia Rubins is showing an iron deficiency.
 
#5 ·


Added more S.Repens thanks to @Sean W.




Some of my Ludwigia and AR Mini are looking a bit rough due to my co2 running low for like a week. hopefully everything recovers soon. the area behind the driftwood fills kinda empty, dunno if i want to fill it with more stems or try a moss wall

retired my old 2" x 19" rex grigg reactor and upgraded to a 2" x 45" one. the new reactor is on a separate loop and exits near the main pump
 
#20 ·
Not a big deal, because I do the same thing, but choosing a return pump based solely on GPH is inaccurate. You have to take into account the maximum head height. I was watching something on elbows affecting flow and they had similar pumps GPH wise, but different max head heights, and they flow with elbows and return pipe sizing was quite different. Head height plays into the pressure the pump can put out, yada yada, something complicated. But it is something to keep in mind.

Back to the CO2 talk. I'll be reading it and saving the information for later. I found out the company that does our fire extinguishers at work will refill CO2 tanks.
 
#21 ·
Took off the 2" x 45" reactor, ph didn't drop more than 0.5 even with the back pressure from the ball valve at the outlet. Using the mazzei venturi again but this time it's in between the main pump and the return line, it should produce a co2 mist when my solenoid turns on tomorrow morning. I guess my other options are to look for one of those filter housing things and build a Cerges reactor or try building a 3-4" x 24-36" rex reactor.
 
#23 · (Edited)
after testing it for a day i swapped it out, i stood about 3-4 feet away from my tank and i could still see the co2 bubbles. the venturi might have been inconsistent too cuz every few seconds i see a burst of co2 bubbles too. didnt build a manifold for it, just main pump to mazzei venturi to the return line. @50 cc/min i was able to drop my ph by 1 point after 3hrs 45 mins?

March 8th, 2017
today i went back to the tall rex reactor but this chopped of part of the top and replaced it with a new one which has a co2 tube pulled through a 3/16 hole, basically something to vent the extra co2 microbubbles. the vent tube goes back to the reactor's pump.



reactor's output pointed at the main pump. the amount of micro bubbles in the sump has been greatly reduced, only some of it gets into the main tank. still took over 3hrs to get the ph to drop 1 point though, it drops by 0.5 in the first hour easily though.

the wet//dry filter outgases a lot more co2 than i thought


i might get rid of the tower and use one of these

i would just attach it to the main pump and stack the media on top of the box and swap to filter socks for mechanical filtration
 
#26 ·
off the shelf. got it from their website: https://sbreeflights.com/sbox-fw-plant-lights/21-basic-fresh-water-plant-led-light.html
shipping can take awhile though depending if the lights are coming from hong kong or florida warehouse.

yeah there's a light spill. my light is only about 6" off the top of the tank though, fine for the 120 degree lenses but not the 90s

March 14th, 2017
Ordered a 4.5" x 20" water filter housing, gonna build a cerges reactor. hell of a lot more volume than my current reactor. more volume = better dissolution right?

4.5" x 20" reactor = ~318.09 cu in
2" x 42" reactor = ~131.95 cu in
 
#27 · (Edited)
March 22nd,2017

Got the new reactor in, had to rearrange the whole sump to fit it since it couldn't fit behind my stand.

Ball valve 100%, 50 cc/min


Gonna try Ball valve 50%, 50 cc/min tomorrow
if that doesnt work i need to look for a smaller pump or get rid of my wet/dry tower. those are the only 2 variables left that i can think of.

Got a bit of hair algae on my mosses unfortunately



Still dunno what's wrong with my AR mini

 
#29 ·
the ones i got from you are doing good, had a lil melting. the ones that melted hard are from another user.


strange thing is that I'm losing leaves at the bottom on most of the S. Repens. dunno if it's a lighting thing or too much mulm.

solved the microbubble problem with my reactor, dont even need the ball valve to create back pressure. i just had to switch the pump back to actual inlet side lol. this is it running at 100 cc/min or 100 ml/min. my 20# should last about 3 months at this rate.

20 lb co2 tank = 4620 liters
100 ml/min = 6000 ml/hr = 6 l/hr = 48 l/day @ 8hrs
co2 will run out in 96.25 days = 13.75 weeks = ~3.44 months

0.8 or 1 ph point drop in 1hr now, tested with the API master kit. need to order some new powder for the ph pen.

 
#31 · (Edited)
Added a check valve


Converted the wet/dry sump to a fully submerged sump. Black foam = 30 ppi, Blue foam 45 ppi. think i threw in 15 lbs of pumice stone in there.


The plastic pot scrubbies are gonna be removed



Full Tank shot:

planning to add Ammania Gracilis next to the Bacopa. The Ludwigia sp Red died awhile ago, dunno if it was due to overcrowding or some co2 related problem

AR Mini recovering


added a melon sword to where the old Ludwigia sp red was. it's been there for a week and doing good already. (it's in between the anubias and and amazon sword)


still have some hair algae in my moss and bba on the wood, just gonna spot dose h2o2 tomorrow (water change day). probably need to shorten the photo period from 8hrs to 7hrs.

weeping moss has been growing ridiculously the past 4 months, one of the boxes is completely full.
the inside dimensions of the breeder boxes are about 7" x 3.8" x 3" to give you an idea of how much is packed in there.


dunno what to do with the moss yet, maybe a carpet or wall? kinda hesitant though because of easily it catches detritus
 
#32 ·
April 22nd, 2017

Hardware update:
built a light rack for the LEDs, I don't really trust the steel legs lol. the rack might end up becoming a canopy someday.


Plant Update:
removed the Ludwigia Rubin and replaced with Ludwigia Peruensis



Added Nesaea pedicellata 'Golden'


Added Micranthemum Tweedie sp. Monte carlo


Added Ammania Gracilis? (ebay Dealer says its Gracilis but it doesn't look like any kind I've seen before)


That Argentine? Sword might e a problem in the future


FTS:


Still need to figure out whats causing the BBA on driftwood and the hair algae on the mosses. one cause could be the light coming in from the window
 
#34 · (Edited)
remember how i was trying to find the leak a couple of weeks back and couldn't find anything then? i found it now lol. what's dumb is that it only leaks if the tube gets bumped at a certain angle. replacing the push to connect with some compression fittings when they get here.



light rack / future canopy is up



the LEDS are about 10" above the water surface; it only needed to be 9" above but whatever, more space to work with. 30" between the substrate and LEDs, about 172ish PAR at center and 55ish at the corners i think.

something wonky going on with the Nesaea pedicellata 'Golden'


Peruensis dropping its lower leaves, dunno if due to overcrowding causing not enough light to get to the bottom or if it's just my return blasting them off


did the drastic thing and ripped off most of my moss due to hair algae


dunno how i feel about this new piece of wood yet, its kinda chunkier than the rest


1-2-punching the weeping moss
 
#36 · (Edited)
ive been considering going back to the wet dry cuz of that but i would lose out on being able to use the filter sock. the filter sock seems to be doing a better job at picking up particulates than the polyfil. filter sock set up is a lot quieter too, no sounds from water hitting a drip plate

edit: foam pad before the pumps i usually just leave alone for additional bio, but yeah i need to figure out a better way to stack the pumice

i cant take my sump out and glue baffles in without taking the middle leg out of the stand, and my stand's only made of 2x4's. i should of went with 2x6 for the top frame and this wouldnt have been a problem.

i can still try out they idea with the tetra pond filter box (attach return and co2 pump to the box and just stack the 15lb of pumice stone on top of the box)


edit 2: rolled up the pumice stone like sushi rolls, there's 5 "rolls" in there. the cororplast was extra insurance to make sure the rolls stay equal in length to the inner width of the sump. the container is just some moss i had left over, the sump light is just a yescom 20", it's on for about 4hrs a day.
 
#39 ·
Branches re-mossed after a massive hair algae outbreak (probably caused by plants from my outdoor pond or decaying food that got stuck). took out the chunk Malaysian driftwood that was at the right. Spent like 4hrs tying the back branches (couldnt removed the wood from the tank, would lose the scape), front branches i tied the the nite before.




Pretty sure I killed off the BBA on the front 2 wood pieces, the process:
Sprayed H2O2 on the pieces, letting the H2O2 do its work for about 5 to 8 mins. This was done outside the tank.
Next i hit it with Glutaraldehyde, letting it do it's work for 5 to 8 mins also. This was done outside the tank.
Took the driftwood to the bath tub, ran hot water on it while I scrubbed off the dead/dying BBA.
Finally soaked the wood in a bucket of hot water for a few mins.

Friday updates:
Need to prune the AR Mini some more:



Ammania Gracilis


Need to fill up some spaces between the Ludwigia Peruensis and nesaea pedicellata gold
 
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