=======UPDATED PICTURE INDEX=======
- Post #48, 10/1/08
- Post #120-121, 10/21/08 No more green water!
- Post #173, 10/23/08 New Fish!!
- Post #183, 10/24/08 More Fish!!
- Post #201, 11/1/08 Underwater pics!
- Post #234, 11/12/08 Plants are growin'
- Post #257, 12/29/08 Major re-scape
- Post #278, 01/01/09 More pics of new layout
- Post #305, 01/21/09 Welcome to the Jungle!
==============================
FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After months of waiting, this thing finally has water! Sorry for the bad pics, they're from my cell phone. I'll update with some better pics soon. The tank has been full of water for almost a week now. I think so far everything is going good, I've seen just a little bit of the HC melt, not sure if it will get worse. I've been dosing with Excel everyday as an additional carbon supplement.
As you can see, the water is still a little cloudy. I'm sure it will clear up after a few more days. Now its just time to wait and see what happens. Hopefully this stuff survives and doesn't melt off completely cause I'm not sure I wanna start all over! And hopefully I can keep the algae in check when it starts to bloom.
So, this will be my ongoing thread from now on. Feel free to post any comments/questions you may have. I've tried to included all the details and specs on my tank below. Enjoy!!
Tank:
- 55 gallon, Sea Clear acrylic tank
- 48x15x18
Lighting:
- Catalina Aquarium Solar fixture
- 48”, 4x 10,000k T5HO bulbs
- 54 watts each, 216 total watts
CO2 System:
- Regulator: Cornelius body, Clippard solenoid, Fabco needle valve, JBJ bubble counter
- CO2 tank: 5lb bottle
- Reactor: DIY, based off Rex Grigg design with modifications
- Check valve: Clippard, brass
- Tubing: Clippard green co2 tubing
- Drop Checker: ADA-style glass drop checker, filled w/ 4dkh solution and bromethyl blue
Filtration:
- Cascade 1500 canister filter
- 350gph, rated for 200 gallon aquariums
Water Movement:
- 2x Hydor Koralia 1 power heads
- 400gph each
Heating:
- 250w Visi Therm Stealth heater
- Coralife digital thermometer
Substrate:
- Flourite Black Sand, 4x 7kg bags
- Flourite Black, 1x 7kg bag
- Black Beauty gravel, approximately 30lbs
Plants:
- Hemianthus callitrichoides ' Cuba ' (HC)
- Hemianthus micranthemoides
- Blyxa japonica
Fish, etc.:
- Rasbora Espei, approximately 30x - to be added
- Red Cherry Shrimp - to be added
Nutrients/Dosing:
- Estimative Index (EI) dry-dosing method using bulk fertilizers
- Nitrates: Potassium Nitrate (KNO3), ½ tsp 3x week
- Phosphates: Mono Potassium Phosphate (KH2PO4), ⅛ tsp 3x week
- Potassium: Potassium Sulfate (K2SO4), ⅛ tsp 3x week
- Trace supplements: Plantex CSM+B, ⅛ tsp 3x week
- 50% water change every week
Lighting Schedule:
- 6:30am – 8:30am, 2hrs, 2 bulbs
- 11:00am – 2:00pm, 3hrs, 4 bulbs
- 5:00pm – 10:00pm, 5hrs, 2 bulbs
- Total: 10hrs of lighting
- Post #48, 10/1/08
- Post #120-121, 10/21/08 No more green water!
- Post #173, 10/23/08 New Fish!!
- Post #183, 10/24/08 More Fish!!
- Post #201, 11/1/08 Underwater pics!
- Post #234, 11/12/08 Plants are growin'
- Post #257, 12/29/08 Major re-scape
- Post #278, 01/01/09 More pics of new layout
- Post #305, 01/21/09 Welcome to the Jungle!
==============================
FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After months of waiting, this thing finally has water! Sorry for the bad pics, they're from my cell phone. I'll update with some better pics soon. The tank has been full of water for almost a week now. I think so far everything is going good, I've seen just a little bit of the HC melt, not sure if it will get worse. I've been dosing with Excel everyday as an additional carbon supplement.
As you can see, the water is still a little cloudy. I'm sure it will clear up after a few more days. Now its just time to wait and see what happens. Hopefully this stuff survives and doesn't melt off completely cause I'm not sure I wanna start all over! And hopefully I can keep the algae in check when it starts to bloom.
So, this will be my ongoing thread from now on. Feel free to post any comments/questions you may have. I've tried to included all the details and specs on my tank below. Enjoy!!
Tank:
- 55 gallon, Sea Clear acrylic tank
- 48x15x18
Lighting:
- Catalina Aquarium Solar fixture
- 48”, 4x 10,000k T5HO bulbs
- 54 watts each, 216 total watts
CO2 System:
- Regulator: Cornelius body, Clippard solenoid, Fabco needle valve, JBJ bubble counter
- CO2 tank: 5lb bottle
- Reactor: DIY, based off Rex Grigg design with modifications
- Check valve: Clippard, brass
- Tubing: Clippard green co2 tubing
- Drop Checker: ADA-style glass drop checker, filled w/ 4dkh solution and bromethyl blue
Filtration:
- Cascade 1500 canister filter
- 350gph, rated for 200 gallon aquariums
Water Movement:
- 2x Hydor Koralia 1 power heads
- 400gph each
Heating:
- 250w Visi Therm Stealth heater
- Coralife digital thermometer
Substrate:
- Flourite Black Sand, 4x 7kg bags
- Flourite Black, 1x 7kg bag
- Black Beauty gravel, approximately 30lbs
Plants:
- Hemianthus callitrichoides ' Cuba ' (HC)
- Hemianthus micranthemoides
- Blyxa japonica
Fish, etc.:
- Rasbora Espei, approximately 30x - to be added
- Red Cherry Shrimp - to be added
Nutrients/Dosing:
- Estimative Index (EI) dry-dosing method using bulk fertilizers
- Nitrates: Potassium Nitrate (KNO3), ½ tsp 3x week
- Phosphates: Mono Potassium Phosphate (KH2PO4), ⅛ tsp 3x week
- Potassium: Potassium Sulfate (K2SO4), ⅛ tsp 3x week
- Trace supplements: Plantex CSM+B, ⅛ tsp 3x week
- 50% water change every week
Lighting Schedule:
- 6:30am – 8:30am, 2hrs, 2 bulbs
- 11:00am – 2:00pm, 3hrs, 4 bulbs
- 5:00pm – 10:00pm, 5hrs, 2 bulbs
- Total: 10hrs of lighting
