This was my old one that I kept at my in-laws' house.
I had to move it out because of new wood flooring going in. I did not want to set another in their house because I am hardly there to look after it. So I put the plants in a pond at work (just let them float around) for 2 months while I made my own new tank for my own house.
First I did the plumbing, power and lighting:
Water supply inside the house:
Water supply outside the house, just click on the hose for draining and filling:
Lighting cables were hidden in conduit:
The tank was stuck together with Black Silicon:
It gives it nice lines that won't discolour and lasts longer (personal experience):
The tank is to be plumbed from underneath:
This allows me to pass up cables and airlines etc through the pipe work without anything dangling outside the tank, this is the CO2 Probe and Hose from inside the cabinet, other cables can be sent down the pipe later if I need it.
The Cabinet slots into place first and with the aid of a scissor lift, the tank is pushed onto the cabinet from the front. (Easier and less muscle required):
Plumbing and Cabling under the tank:
Tap water connection:
I decided to only use non-stemmed plants, that is grass like (monocots) so this included 8 sp of Aponogeton, 4 sp of Cryptocoryne, 2 sp of Echinodorus, 3 Lotus varieties, 4 Java Fern Varieties and 2 Java Moss varieties and a Lilaeopsis. The only Stem plant I have is a Blyxa japonica.
Week 1, when the poor plants that were floating for 2 months finally got back into a tank:
Week 12, settled in nicely:
I hope that that was not too much....
The gravel is a 3-5mm grade river pebble (imported) with the lower 1/3 mixed with a local Laterite (yes this is still 'old school Dupla' style, not ADA) The lighting is 3x 150w metal halide 6500K Osram lamps. CO2 is pH controlled to 6.8 and the fertilizer (Leaf Zone) is automatically dosed with an Eheim Liquidoser twice daily and tested weekly and topped up manually with the addition of Potassium Nitrate and Calcium. The lighting does have actinic flouros, but this is only for night time viewing if I am late home from work, and I use it to change the photo-period to encourage the flowering of the Aponogetons.
It is not finished yet, there is still some sorting to be done as new varieties take hold and the Crypts still have some old leaves to shed off before they look like they are at home. Also I am relying on a few snail varieties to do what it is they do, just like earth worms, they 'poo' in the gravel and turn it over. As this nutrient enters the gravel, it becomes a food source for the plants (most varieties that I keep utilize nutrients via the roots, not so much the leaves). There are plenty of old leaves for the snails to eat, and I have added some loaches to keep their numbers in reasonable proportions. They do not harm healthy plants or the seedlings.
I have only water changed it twice and cleaned the filter twice in the 12 weeks. This is an easy tank to maintain, the last thing I want to do after coming home from work, is to do more work on another tank.
Cheers,
Oliver
