75 Gallon

[lucius]

So as if my fish keeping life wasn't busy enough, I had to get another big tank.    I will be dismantling my two 20 gallon tanks and merging them into one.  For now, it will probably be just low light plants and a large school of small tetras.

First thing I did was put in a dedicated line for my fish tanks.  The electrician was kind enough to label the circuit accordingly.  



I also decided to build my own stand using the DIY plans found on the internet.  Initially I was going to assemble it in the garage and bring it downstairs.  I'm glad I didn't.  



Fast forward two weeks and after two fill ups, just in time for the arrival of the latest KensFish Group Order.



Day 1 - With contents of one of the 20 gallon tanks with extra gravel and rocks and driftwood.  I will add the contents of the other tank once it's cycled.



Day 1.5 to 2 - Fun with fungus



Day 3 - Five glowlight tetras added to aid in the cycling.  BTW, I also transferred six sponges from my other canister filter.



Intense Moon Setting on LED Fixture

[bettabreeder]

Awesome job man! look forward to following your progress!

[exv152]

Nice start. I built myself a 125g & 75g stand using similar plans. Any plans to finish the stand with finer wood finish, cabinet doors and maybe stain?

[Mike L]

 Very nice. I was wondering what all the item's you had where for when I picked up my order. The stand looks like the first piece of a fish tank wall. Lol. How are you liking the new light.
Mike

[lucius]

Nice start. I built myself a 125g & 75g stand using similar plans. Any plans to finish the stand with finer wood finish, cabinet doors and maybe stain?

I don't think so.  The unfinished stand goes with the décor of the unfinished basement. 

[lucius]

Very nice. I was wondering what all the item's you had where for when I picked up my order. The stand looks like the first piece of a fish tank wall. Lol. How are you liking the new light.
Mike

So far so good.  There are a lot of light options and I can't picture myself flipping through the options all the time.  The thunder and light option doesn't seem very random but I only tried it once.  I know the intensity of the light works for java fern because on my 20 gallon, the java ferns produced plantlets in a just a few months.  The fixture itself is very low profile.

Two things that are an issue, maybe.  Current recommends placing a glass cover between the tank and light fixture so I'm guessing the casing is water resistant and not water proof.  On my 20 gallon, I didn't do this but for the larger light fixture, I am leaving the glass there.  The other issue, on one side there are two wires coming out.  One is for the power and it can be detached from the power cube.  The other wire is for the IR sensor and it can't be detached.  When I first placed the light fixture, I used double side tape and placed it on the 2x4 above the tank.  Then I went to remove the light fixture to do some work  and had to take the sensor down.  It would have been more convenient if you can detach the sensor as well.

[lucius]

With the exception of a bit of ich, the 75 is coming along.  The white fungus on the driftwood is almost all gone and I've added an AC110 filter and CO2.

[lucius]

I thought I update the thread a bit.  I ditched the Current LED fixture and bought an Aquatic Life Dual Lamp T5-HO light fixture.  The java fern and anubias were doing fine but not the other plants.



I also tried many new things.

First sword plant, I think it's a Red Flame Sword.



Also tried my luck with some amano and cherry shrimp.

This amano shrimp was trying to get at this assassin snail.  





My first type of snail.  They are breeding in my other tank.









Hey this mirror doesn't seem to work properly.



The next thing I will do is put in some other type of colour plants so the tank is not so greenish.

[charlie]

Good work Brian, plants look healthy.
Keep up the good work & thanks for sharing.
Errol

[exv152]

Tank looks nice and you got some nice crypt growth. What kind of substrate are you using?

[lucius]

I'm just using gravel with flourish tabs.

[daworldisblack]

Wow Brian, glad you decided to join in on the Green Side of things This looks amazing! Did you have a Satellite or a Satellite plus?

[lucius]

It was the Plus version on there.

[lucius]

Bit of an update.  Lots of changes recently and a very expensive couple of months.    Started off by getting a second CO2 regulator and separating my two tanks so that they each have their own CO2 system.



Secondly, I switched out some mechanical timers for digital ones so now all the lights turn on and off within a minute of each other instead of 10 to 15 minutes apart.  The two solenoids are on digital timers as well.

Third, I decided to try the inline diffusors so I ordered two from Green Leaf Aquariums.

I ended up cutting too much of the tubing off but luckily I had enough slack to begin with.


Test without CO2, still lots of flow.


The back of the tank.  I have to reposition the inline diffusor so that the air tubing is facing outwards but other than that, it seems to be holding up.  


I rescaped the 75 gallon and put the crypt at the back since it's so big.  I installed the diffusor on the outtake of the canister filter so I still get a bit of the 7-Up effect but the bubbles aren't as big compared to the Fluval disk diffusor. (CO2 is not on in this pic)  I positioned the powerhead so that it pushes the CO2 across the tank when it comes out of the outtake.


While cleaning out my canister filter, I discovered a butt load of cherry shrimp.  

[androo303]

Amazing!! I can see you have mad skills!

[daworldisblack]

Amazing!! I can see you have mad skills!

Skillzzzz.. Brian's the man!

[exv152]

Nice job on the tank. I've found quite a few RCS in my canister filters, for some reason they like to hang out there and eat the gunk off the filter pads, go figure. Another option for your co2 would've been to split the feed right after the solenoid, with two needle valves and two bubble counters. Another tip, if you're ever looking for another up aqua inline diffuser you can get them on ebay for $19-$25 all-in with free shipping. Same unit GLA sells for double that.

[charlie]

Real nice work Brian, the progress in your updates reflect your dedication to research.
Looking forward to the next update.

Another option for your co2 would've been to split the feed right after the solenoid, with two needle valves and two bubble counters

I think that`s the way he had it prior to having dedicated co2 rigs.

[lucius]

Yeah, I had two needle valves and two bubble counters after the solenoid at one point.  I wanted more flexibility in case I ever decided to move some stuff around in my fish corner.  Also, if there was an issue with the CO2 hardware, it would only affect one tank.

Believe it or not, I only just signed up for a paypal account earlier this week.  So ebay wasn't an option for me when I bought the two inline diffusors.  After all the shipping and brokerage fees, each diffusor cost me roughly $61   so I will definitely check ebay next time first.

[lucius]

Just posting an update.  

I have had a explosion in my population of assassin snails.



My crazy bamboo shrimp.  It won't move unless I'm right on top of it.



My windelov fern is finally growing.  It remained small for quite some time.



My monthly splurge.  I bought this plantlet of trident fern of ebay.  



Current tank shot.

[lucius]

It's been a year so I thought I'd post an update.  

The tank is a low maintenance tank now with no more pressurized CO2.  I just dose with Seachem Fluorish, Iron and Excel along with root tabs.  The inhabitants have pretty much remained the same.  The plants are mainly anubias and crypts with a few others that don't grow very fast and/or require very little trimming.

Past Pics

One of my baby panda cory's nibbling on some zucchini.



Cherry Shrimp gorging themselves on zucchini.



Sometimes, the Amano shrimp get first nibble.



More Recent Pics

My little plantlet of Trident Java Fern it a nice size now.



I'm really liking the look of the Red Tiger Lotus and how it has spread across the back.



It looks really nice from top.



Full Tank Shot



I probably should have taken the fork out first.  It's how I weigh down my zucchini slices now.

[sas]

Beautiful tank, love how the plants are growing.
Your fork reminds me I have a kabob skewer I still need to remove
from one of my tanks.
Really like the trident Java,

[Rumble Fish]

Really like this! Looks fantastic especially the red tiger lotus!

[missavgp]

Love the way the tank looks. 

[lucius]

As discussed at the last Plantaholics Meeting, show me yours and I will show you mine.  

Not much of an update on my 75 gallon.  Just did some minor scaping here and there.  This is the tank in which I currently have breeding populations of panda cory's, assassin snails and cherry shrimp.

Assassin Snails Convention


Cherry Shrimp on Zucchini Slices


Hey, get your own leaf!


My bamboo shrimp, Bam Bam IV.  Sometimes I think it's dead because I don't see it for weeks and then I find him hanging out on the trident java fern or Christmas Moss feeding on the outtakes of the filters but only after hours.


My clown pleco, Fat Krusty.  Another inhabitant that I don't see for weeks at a time.  Fat Krusty also only comes out after 2:00 am or so.


My little experiment.  I glued suction cups to a piece of driftwood and I'm growing Christmas Moss on it.  Seems to be growing well sourced from a Tropica tub.  The far end is where I see Bam Bam sometimes.


My Aponogeton Crispus flowering.  Unfortunately as it flowers, it becomes to heavy to remain emersed.


And the obligatory full tank shot today.

[exv152]

Nice tank Brian. I especially like the obese pleco. 

[charlie]

Beautiful work Brian!!!!!!!!

[lucius]

It's been awhile since I posted an update for my 75 gallon.  No major changes except for that all the regular java fern has been replaced with windelov java fern and I got rid of some of the taller background plants.  I pretty much don't touch anything and let it grow out.  There is a bit of an issue with BBA so I will be re-introducing pressurized CO2 in the next month or two to see if it will help get rid of it.

During a water change, I discovered that assassin snails do not like hydrogen peroxide.



I found a red rilli shrimp.  I recall putting them in there in there at one point and it seems as though at least one has survived.



A dwarf sag plant flowering.  Unfortunately the flower only blooms for a few days.  



My school of panda cory's and agassizi cory (I think).  They like hanging out under the canopy and they rarely travel solo.  I often find a couple that are smaller than the others so I'm assuming they are still breeding for me.  





I think these are called Crypt Pontederifolia.  Christmas Moss in the background.



Various Anubias plants that I've pretty much had from the start of this tank.



My dwarf sag that looks more like a mid-ground plant right now.



My windelov and trident java fern.



Needleleaf JF, a red crypt, Crypt Becketti 'Petchii' and some Anubias Nana 'Petite'.



Fat Krusty out and about.  He's just fat!



And the full shot.  

[Jody]

Hey Brian,

The tank looks fantastic!

Thanks for the update.

Jody

[lucius]

Thanks Jody.  The majority of what you see was purchased at this place on Innes Rd., the name of the place escapes me at the moment.  With exception of the plants.

[sidarnold]

Morning Brian. I really like your idea of adding suction cups to a piece of wood and growing plants on it while attached to the wall of the aquarium - I am going to give this a try. Thanks.

Sid

[exv152]

I love the corydora pics. I'm a huge fan of cories. How many would you say you've got in there?

[lucius]

I would say about 12 to 15.

[tanksalot360]

So much growth!...and without co2?! The plants look so well established and everything is really well done with this tank. Looks great Brian!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lucius]

So another year has gone by and my 75 gallon is still blossoming.  Nothing has really changed species plant wise except for some buce plants.  With the additon of pressurized CO2, there is even more and faster growth. 

One thing I really had to change was the intake skimmer I was using on the AC500.  Every couple of days, the loss of water from evaporation would create this horrible gurgling sound so I decided to get rid of the intake completely by using a DIY filter guard.

Before



After



For my buce plants, I've made use of these flower cups and they fit the potted plants perfectly.







This is kind of neat, a green crypt has managed to grow by rooting itself to my windelov java fern. 



Since adding pressurized CO2, my trident java fern has grown into a football.  It got so big that it started floating with driftwood attached. 



This is an anubias (I think gignatea?) plant flowering.  Unfortunately I melted it spot treating for BBA with excel. 



Shot of the tank today.  Unfortunately all the fish are a little camera shy and with so much hiding spots, they can disappear quite easily.