Japes' 2010 Eartheater Work/Photolog
- Thread starter japes
- Start date
Wow, just wrote up and lost a huge reply.. to start again.
Some of you may have read in the POTM Winner thread (thanks for the votes guys) that I'll be selling off my Rio Tapajos biotope including all fish. Unfortunately over the last six months which included winter, the power bill for my displays proved to be unacceptably high, so I plan to scale it down a little, but most importantly, "start from scratch".
You may not realise due to my photographs cleaning up pretty well, but both of my tanks are quite cheaply set up from the get-go. Other than filtration, which I've never skimped on, the tanks were all set up on a very tight budget as they were started when I was a student. All of the tanks and lighting were brought brand new but very budget gear, and although I've made many changes to my tanks I've never undertaken the upgrades I've needed to keep the system at a standard which I feel happy with now that I've got a bit of money.
For starts, my Essequibo biotope has a horrible drainage system to the undersized sump which is prone to issues with speed regulation and noise, especially from the pump (mind you this wasn't a cheapy). Plumbing was impossible due to the tank being positioned in an indent in the wall, so it's all set up quite poorly making noise dampening a mission, and maintenance is a huge issue. The background is starting to show some wear and tear as well, which needs to be redone.
The Tapajos biotope, which is in my living room in a reasonably high traffic area, has a few fantastic scratches, the background is poorly applied, the lighting is.. well, missing a globe due to a ballast exploding, the stands an inch too long on both sides, and the dimensions leave a lot to be desired for an eartheater tank; 15" wide is pretty pathetic.
The plans for both tanks I had documented were mentioned in the original post of this thread. Cliffs were that I was going to flip, drill, plumb and insulate the Essequibo biotope, and to upgrade the Tapajos biotope to a 5x2 footprint for a bit more width, which would of course require a new stand. Both of these would have taken much effort over the course of about a week, as they're pretty substantial changes for little to no actual gain. For example, the 5' would have purely been for an extra 9" of width and would have set me back around AU$500. The Essequibo changes would have been around $300 worth of changes just to make it a little more efficient, which would still leave me with the issue of having a sump about 2m from where I sleep, and the situation of having potentially 10" fish crammed into a 4' tank, something I'm not pleased with. It was especially worrying knowing that I needed to sell some soon due to the inhabitants being a little crowded (9+ 5" fish in a 4x2 is cosy), and considering the possible issues which could arise from selling 5 to keep 2 pairs, and having social structure and aggression issues after I'd spent 18 months growing out 9 specifically to avoid it.
So, the plans (sorry, this thread is going to be pretty massive, I applaud you if you read it all):
Where the Tapajos biotope is I'll be setting up the following:
Custom Glass + Drilled 6x2x2 w/ 3x15x18" sump - 215G system. Eheim Compact+ 5000 to a Fluval FX5 return nozzle + 300W Eheim Jager in the sump. Lit by two 2x39W Hagen 3' T5HO setups.
Won't be cheaping out on anything, sump will be insulated etc. Will be housing the current residents of my Essequibo biotope, had an inkling to pickup some A. heckelii but I won't. Perhaps some Biotodoma cupido if they ever get cheaper here.
Should be complete by mid-February.
In other news, I picked up my 20" cube today and should have that running by the end of the week minus the main occupants who will be going in on the 27th of January.
- 20x20x20" Rimless/Braceless 10mm Glass Cube
- ADA Style Stand
- 70W 10000K Halide
- Hydor 200W Inline heater
- Eheim Classic 2215 with glass lily pipes.
Painting the back of the tank tomorrow and building a mounting bracket for the halide. I had originally planned to use UP Aquasoil that came with the setup, but I personally think it's a little coarse and I'd prefer a lighter substrate, so might pickk up some ADA sand or see what I can get. Densely planted was the original thinking but a couple of Chain Swords, perhaps an Anubias nana, Java moss, and some floating plants will do me. Mainly driftwood and sunken leaves.
Anyway, photos:
Current stocking plans are:
2x/3x Apistogramma sp. (Possibly A. baenschi, but I'm not setting anything in stone - Pair/Trio obviously)
8-12x Nannostomus marginatus "Dwarf Pencilfish"
5x Otocinclus sp.
Busy month ahead of me.
Some of you may have read in the POTM Winner thread (thanks for the votes guys) that I'll be selling off my Rio Tapajos biotope including all fish. Unfortunately over the last six months which included winter, the power bill for my displays proved to be unacceptably high, so I plan to scale it down a little, but most importantly, "start from scratch".
You may not realise due to my photographs cleaning up pretty well, but both of my tanks are quite cheaply set up from the get-go. Other than filtration, which I've never skimped on, the tanks were all set up on a very tight budget as they were started when I was a student. All of the tanks and lighting were brought brand new but very budget gear, and although I've made many changes to my tanks I've never undertaken the upgrades I've needed to keep the system at a standard which I feel happy with now that I've got a bit of money.
For starts, my Essequibo biotope has a horrible drainage system to the undersized sump which is prone to issues with speed regulation and noise, especially from the pump (mind you this wasn't a cheapy). Plumbing was impossible due to the tank being positioned in an indent in the wall, so it's all set up quite poorly making noise dampening a mission, and maintenance is a huge issue. The background is starting to show some wear and tear as well, which needs to be redone.
The Tapajos biotope, which is in my living room in a reasonably high traffic area, has a few fantastic scratches, the background is poorly applied, the lighting is.. well, missing a globe due to a ballast exploding, the stands an inch too long on both sides, and the dimensions leave a lot to be desired for an eartheater tank; 15" wide is pretty pathetic.
The plans for both tanks I had documented were mentioned in the original post of this thread. Cliffs were that I was going to flip, drill, plumb and insulate the Essequibo biotope, and to upgrade the Tapajos biotope to a 5x2 footprint for a bit more width, which would of course require a new stand. Both of these would have taken much effort over the course of about a week, as they're pretty substantial changes for little to no actual gain. For example, the 5' would have purely been for an extra 9" of width and would have set me back around AU$500. The Essequibo changes would have been around $300 worth of changes just to make it a little more efficient, which would still leave me with the issue of having a sump about 2m from where I sleep, and the situation of having potentially 10" fish crammed into a 4' tank, something I'm not pleased with. It was especially worrying knowing that I needed to sell some soon due to the inhabitants being a little crowded (9+ 5" fish in a 4x2 is cosy), and considering the possible issues which could arise from selling 5 to keep 2 pairs, and having social structure and aggression issues after I'd spent 18 months growing out 9 specifically to avoid it.
So, the plans (sorry, this thread is going to be pretty massive, I applaud you if you read it all):
Where the Tapajos biotope is I'll be setting up the following:
Custom Glass + Drilled 6x2x2 w/ 3x15x18" sump - 215G system. Eheim Compact+ 5000 to a Fluval FX5 return nozzle + 300W Eheim Jager in the sump. Lit by two 2x39W Hagen 3' T5HO setups.
Won't be cheaping out on anything, sump will be insulated etc. Will be housing the current residents of my Essequibo biotope, had an inkling to pickup some A. heckelii but I won't. Perhaps some Biotodoma cupido if they ever get cheaper here.
Should be complete by mid-February.
In other news, I picked up my 20" cube today and should have that running by the end of the week minus the main occupants who will be going in on the 27th of January.
- 20x20x20" Rimless/Braceless 10mm Glass Cube
- ADA Style Stand
- 70W 10000K Halide
- Hydor 200W Inline heater
- Eheim Classic 2215 with glass lily pipes.
Painting the back of the tank tomorrow and building a mounting bracket for the halide. I had originally planned to use UP Aquasoil that came with the setup, but I personally think it's a little coarse and I'd prefer a lighter substrate, so might pickk up some ADA sand or see what I can get. Densely planted was the original thinking but a couple of Chain Swords, perhaps an Anubias nana, Java moss, and some floating plants will do me. Mainly driftwood and sunken leaves.
Anyway, photos:
Current stocking plans are:
2x/3x Apistogramma sp. (Possibly A. baenschi, but I'm not setting anything in stone - Pair/Trio obviously)
8-12x Nannostomus marginatus "Dwarf Pencilfish"
5x Otocinclus sp.
Busy month ahead of me.
Hi there... Sounds like you will have a busy time ahead of you.. Sorry you won't be keeping the tapajos biotope and eartheaters... as you know they are one of my favs.. but I know what you mean about the heating etc.. I just had to trade my 120 for a 55 now that we moved to Ct and the cold winters.. but it will be fun for me to set up and for you, the new cube sounds exciting... Can't wait to see what you will do with it.. and can';t wait for more of your awesome pics.. Good luck with everything.. Sue
Sounds like some fun to be had in the coming weeks ahead. You should enjoy the 180g. I think they have a great footprint to work with yet an easy enough size tank to lug around.
The cube looks a very clean display being rimless.
The cube looks a very clean display being rimless.
Won't go into detailed stocking plans, but I bought it with the intention of Apistos. Will probably end up being a pair/trio of a species that takes my fancy (at this stage, a Nijsseni complex/baenschi variant) but it all depends on Jodi's shipment :soppy: Also looking at possibly 8 or so Nannostomus marginatus.
- Pair/Trio Apistogramma sp.
- 8x Nannostomus marginatus "Dwarf Pencilfish"
- 5x Otocinclus sp.
Tank specs:
50cm (20") Cube, 10mm glass, Rimless/Braceless
Grey ADA Style Cabinet
Eheim 2215 w/ Glass Lily Pipes
70W 10000K Fixed Halide
Anyway, photos in chronological order to the best of my knowledge - I've removed the ones linked earlier:
Day 1: January 17, 2010.
Check up a few posts ^
Day 2: January 18, 2010.
Ballast + Powerboard mounting.
Rear of the tank painted black.
Light mounted. Also took the light apart, which was a standard white colour, and fixed it up with some black and silver paint as well as rewiring it and fitting some coverage to still provide good cooling, but make it more presentable.
Day 3: January 19, 2010.
Sand in, and my awesome Aqua One 3in1 Tool with the rake/shovel attachment. Fantastic for sand!
The Lily pipes I got off Danny had the intake cut to remove the standard strainer to allow for more flow. I actually cracked it while doing this, but fixed it up with a diamond blade to be square and fitting it properly. Instead of attaching a sponge or something similiar, I prepped and painted an Eheim 17mm Strainer with Black Krylon Fusion to hide it at the back of the tank.
Moved some Coarse Sprite from the Tapajos tank over. To mix up the play sand a little I've got small sections of coarser gravel, which is a little more red in colouration than I would have liked, but has actually become a little more pale today, especially with the Tannins. Indian Almond leaves and wood arranged as well. Picked up a single Amazon Sword to begin with as well.
Eheim 2215 hooked up with the lily pipes and running too.
Otocinclus sp. from the Tapajos tank to keep the filter going a bit, have Zuccini in the tank to provide them with food (since there's no algae) and to keep the bioload reasonable.
Day 4: January 20, 2010
Things have cleared up and the tannins are beginning to creep in.
Things to do:
- Fish.
- Another piece of driftwood that spans to and possibly out of the water level to provide some shade and upper region cover.
Will probably post more updates as I'll hopefully be picking up some N. marginatus and driftwood tomorrow.
Edit: Removed all plants and don't plan to purchase any due to some lovely biotope advice from local keepers.
- Pair/Trio Apistogramma sp.
- 8x Nannostomus marginatus "Dwarf Pencilfish"
- 5x Otocinclus sp.
Tank specs:
50cm (20") Cube, 10mm glass, Rimless/Braceless
Grey ADA Style Cabinet
Eheim 2215 w/ Glass Lily Pipes
70W 10000K Fixed Halide
Anyway, photos in chronological order to the best of my knowledge - I've removed the ones linked earlier:
Day 1: January 17, 2010.
Check up a few posts ^
Day 2: January 18, 2010.
Ballast + Powerboard mounting.
Rear of the tank painted black.
Light mounted. Also took the light apart, which was a standard white colour, and fixed it up with some black and silver paint as well as rewiring it and fitting some coverage to still provide good cooling, but make it more presentable.
Day 3: January 19, 2010.
Sand in, and my awesome Aqua One 3in1 Tool with the rake/shovel attachment. Fantastic for sand!
The Lily pipes I got off Danny had the intake cut to remove the standard strainer to allow for more flow. I actually cracked it while doing this, but fixed it up with a diamond blade to be square and fitting it properly. Instead of attaching a sponge or something similiar, I prepped and painted an Eheim 17mm Strainer with Black Krylon Fusion to hide it at the back of the tank.
Moved some Coarse Sprite from the Tapajos tank over. To mix up the play sand a little I've got small sections of coarser gravel, which is a little more red in colouration than I would have liked, but has actually become a little more pale today, especially with the Tannins. Indian Almond leaves and wood arranged as well. Picked up a single Amazon Sword to begin with as well.
Eheim 2215 hooked up with the lily pipes and running too.
Otocinclus sp. from the Tapajos tank to keep the filter going a bit, have Zuccini in the tank to provide them with food (since there's no algae) and to keep the bioload reasonable.
Day 4: January 20, 2010
Things have cleared up and the tannins are beginning to creep in.
Things to do:
- Fish.
- Another piece of driftwood that spans to and possibly out of the water level to provide some shade and upper region cover.
Will probably post more updates as I'll hopefully be picking up some N. marginatus and driftwood tomorrow.
Edit: Removed all plants and don't plan to purchase any due to some lovely biotope advice from local keepers.
Wow, that is a really nice display you've got going there, can't wait to see it with the Nannos and Apistos in.
I like the look with the rocks in there, gives the sand less of a beach look. I'm thinking I might try that, though I'm worried it will just sink into the sand with the endless sand-moving that goes on in my tank.
I like the look with the rocks in there, gives the sand less of a beach look. I'm thinking I might try that, though I'm worried it will just sink into the sand with the endless sand-moving that goes on in my tank.
