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GLA 120H v2.0

3K views 18 replies 6 participants last post by  Jeff5614 
#1 · (Edited)
So after five years I decided it was time for a rescape or at least some new plants :). Let's get the specifics over first.

Tank: GLA 120H
CO2: Victor 250 regulator. Inline Qanvee atomizer ( best inline atomizer I've had )
Filtration: Eheim 2075 X 2, lily pipes
Lights: Kessil A160WE Tuna Suns with spectral controller
Misc equipment: Aqua UV 15 watt sterilizer and Twinstar Nano+
Substrate: ADA Colorado sand
Hardscape: Manzanita and seiryu stone

It's an all epiphyte set up - narrow leaf java fern, java fern Phillipine mini, java fern trident, Bolbitis difformis, Bolbitis mini, four or five different varieties of buce, anubius nana petite, hygro pinnatifida.

First up just a scape only pic


And a planted mid-water change pic. I added 44 pots of plants and it still looks really bare. I guess I'll be picking up a few more pots. I still have a basketball size trident fern from my last set up in the holding tank with the fish so I think I'll add a bit more of it. Although I'd like to stay away from having so much of it as I've had for the last ten years.

I'm trying for some emersed growth from the bolbitis and hygro pinn on the left side.

 
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#4 · (Edited)
Another water change pic. I seem to like those for some reason. I've in added another piece of wood on the left side toward the center. There was a gap that needed to be filled. The plants are filling in a bit and I have a few more on the way for the additional wood that I added.



And a photo of one of my three assistants who has managed to remove three layers of paint over time.

 
#7 · (Edited)
The green Eheim tubing is a lot more noticeable than with the last scape so it has to go. I picked up some clear tubing at HD which had some really funky chemical smell and said that it wasn't safe for beverage use so I decided it might not be safe for fish either. They had another brand on their website that is made of nontoxic material and beverage safe so I ordered some of it. Same price other than $6 for shipping.




Thanks. It's a lot cheaper than filling a tank with AS, lol, since I just used two 8 kg bags vs four 9l bags of AS. Colorado sand is advertised as having a red tint which concerned me, but I wanted something darker than PFS. It's basically just a dark tan and works well with the stone and wood. It might have a redder appearance under warmer lights though.

I like the glass inlet on one side and the surface skimmer in the back, great choice!

what kind of fish are you thinking about keeping?
are the kessils at 100% or turned down until things grow in?
There is actually an outlet and inlet in both of the corners. Great thing about glass lily pipes, they can be hard to see at times.

There are around 25 black skirt tetras in the tank and some RCS. They're just hanging out behind the wood and rocks during the water change. Other than that they're pretty outgoing. The fish have turned into a fairly self sustaining population and do breed and reproduce occasionally but cannibalism keeps most of them from making it anywhere past the fry stage.

The Kessils are at 5% in the photo. It was before the usual lights on time. I have them set to ramp up over the course of an hour and a half to 50% where they remain for five hours and then ramp down to lights out over the next five hours. They're sitting around 34 inches over the substrate. I like the lower light vibe, especially in the evening, with the epiphytes and wood. You get a lot of shadows and ripples with the kessils and it has a darker, woodsy feel that I like and find relaxing.
 
#8 ·
Starting to fill in a bit more. The pic is a bit dark but it's early on in the ramp up. I replaced the green Eheim tubing with some clear stuff. I should have done that long ago. The H. pinnatafida needs to be topped to get some bushiness and branching going and the buces keep sending out flowers and have also filled in a bit more than I had expected at this point. I also trimmed all of the emergent leaves from the bolbitis to promote new submersed growth. There is new growth but it's slow.

It's hard to tell from this angle, but I added more stone to the right side. Probably another twenty pounds or so.



And some pinnatafida growth above the waterline.
 
#15 ·
I have a nice circular flow, but as the fern at the back left corner is growing it's starting to be blown about a bit. So I'm considering moving both inlets and outlets to the front right at some point in the future which I've noticed is how ADA seems to do it on larger tanks with two filters. Another thought is an Oase Biomaster Thermo 850. It's their newest and largest canister.
 
#16 ·
Do you mean both pipe sets in the same corner or just the same side of the tank but in opposite corners.

I have a Biomaster 250 and a 600. The 800 looks good but is not sold in the US yet, at least as I could see.

I was going to let the 600 push the CO2 reactor and the 250 mainly do biomedia and polishing. Both doing circulation.
 
#19 ·
The view from the couch.


Following up my last post, I decided to go with one filter. Fewer pipes in the tank does make for a neater appearance even if the pipes are glass. I replaced the two Eheim 2075's with an Oase Biomaster Thermo 850. I liked the idea of a built in heater and a prefilter that can be removed for cleaning without opening the canister. It's rated at 50 gph more than the 2075's and holds about 50% more media. Then my lfs put them on sale for 20% off and I decided to give one a try. So far so good although it's a tight fit in my cabinet and it's like tilting a five gallon bucket 45 degrees to get in and out.

As for the tank in general, nothing new. Plants are doing well growing nice and slowly. I'm thinking some Salvinia natans might look good floating on the top so I may order a bit of it.
 
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