Tank set-ups

[dan2x38]

Hi-Tech 38 Gallon Planted Tank:

Fluval 305 Canister Filter - Pre-Filter Ceramic Rings, Bio-Max, Sponge, & Pot Scrubbers with no carbon
Aqua Clear 50 Filter- Bio-Max & Sponges with no carbon, set to low flow
Glass Top
Single Fixture 30w 6700k Bulb
Twin Fixture 2 x 30w 10,000k & 6700k Bulbs
Milwaukee Regulator with Solenoid
3 Way Bubble Counter Manifold
10 lb. Bottle
DIY PVC Bio-Ball CO2 Diffuser
Substrate 50% River Pea Gravel & 50% Red Fluorite
200 Viso Heater set at 78*
Manzanita & Malaysian Wood
Shale collected from outdoors

Fish:
5 Mikrogeophagus ramirezi 'German Blue Rams'
8 Hemigrammus rhodostomus 'Rummynose Tetras'
5 Otocinclus affinis 'Otto Cat'
5 Corydoras paleatus 'Peppered Cories'
3 Botia almorhae 'YoYo Loaches'
1 Ancistrus temminckii 'Bushynose Pleco'

Plants:
Echinodorus bleheri v. 'narrrow leaf'
Alternanthera reineckii 'roseafolia'
Blyxa japonica
Microsorum pteropus v. 'narrow leaf'
Ranalisma rostrata
Cryptocoryne Balansae
Crinum calamistratum
Ludwigia glandulosa
Echinodorus x. 'Ozelot'  green
Fissidens sp. Phoenix Moss
Vesicularia ferriei 'Weeping Moss'
Taxiphyllum sp. Flame Moss
Vesicularia montagnei 'Christmas Moss' - starting small moss wall
Crinum natans
Rotala indica
Lobelia cardinalis
Hemianthus micranthemoides

Lights on one 2 timers. First timer comes on with single fixture & turns on CO2. One hour later 2nd timer turns on double fixture. After 11 hours single fixture and CO2 shuts-off. One hour later twin fixture shuts off. Lights on total of 12 hours.

The bubble counter is set at 3 to 4 bubbles/sec. Pressure is at 25 psi. I designed the diffuser so the water goes in the top from the canister. The CO2 also goes in the top. The water flows out the bottom then up to the spraybar. There are no bubbles remaining when it enters the tank. The spraybar sits under the water about 2.5". On the 3 way one is capped off the other feeds my Amazon tank.

I fertilize using the Tom Barr EI dosing method. I do not like adding the dry ferts so I use these links for pre-mixing and calculating my ferts: Dosing Calculator, Estimative Index Explained & Tom Barr's EI light: for those less techy folks. Once mixed they last 3 months or more. I just measure and pour. Also I add Flourish Root Tabs but cut them in half then sick into the substrate especially near the heavy rooted plants like swords & crypts.

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[pminister]

Tanks look awesome Dan. I was wondering why do u have two filters for your low tech 32 gallon tank ?

[NetCop]

Tanks look awesome Dan. I was wondering why do u have two filters for your low tech 32 gallon tank ?

Look at his signature...
Poor guy is suffering from MTS and needs some way to get a break from the amount of water changes he would have to do if he didn't use the extra filtration!

[fischkopp]

Yeah, that is a good idea. It reminds me a little bit to this topic:http://ovas.ca/index.php?topic=29860.msg194855#msg194855 - I still think having a separate forum section for this kind of presentations is more suitable than a sticky. Also, would find the presentation of one tank per thread a little more clear.

Nice tanks anyway, Dan.

[charlie]

Here goes one of my set ups.
Perfecto 20 Gln long.
Lighting - 3 x 15 watt screw in compact flourescent in a 30 inch strip light (modified )
Heater - Eheim Jager 100 watt        Filter - Eheim eco comfort 2236     
Substrtae - eco - complete mixed with regular black gravel           CO2 - Red Sea pro system
Fetrliser - NPK & Traces once a week      Live Stock - Blue rams & Cherry shrimp

Plants -Anubias barteri v. 'nana',Blyxa japonica,Cyperus helferi,Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia,Cryptocoryne wendtii,Cryptocoryne willisii,Echinodorus parviflorus 'Tropica',Microsorum pteropus 'Windeløv',Riccia fluitans,Triangle moss ??


http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=tbTtekqDeAI&NR=1

Edit: Tank is now driven by a 24 inch double T5 hagen glo fixture







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[charlie]

Would be so nice to see some of the natural set ups ( Walstad) ,low light set ups ect, i know of some nice ones out there.

[charlie]

My Hagen 59 gln.
Lights -3 x 54 Watts T5 HO ( Hagen Glo fixtures) - 2 x 54 watts for 9 hrs & 1 x 54 watts for a 1 hr burst
Filter -2X Eheim Pro 11 2026       Heater - Stealth Pro 150 watt
Substrate - eco - complete      CO2 - Pressurized   system   Fertilizers - as per EI method
  Live Stock- harlequin rasbora , sterbai cories,  Cherry Shrimp,Amano shrimp, Kulhi Loaches, Otto Cats, BN pleco
Plants -Proserpinaca palustris "Cuba",Dwarf Lobelia cardinalis,Hemianthus callitrichoides " cuba",Anubias barteri v. 'nana',Bacopa monnieri,Cryptocoryne wendtii,Didiplis diandra,Echinodorus parviflorus 'Tropica',Ludwigia inclinata, Rotala macrandra,Rotala Vietnam, Baby Tears, Lysimachia nummularia -/ Creeping Jenny,P. Helferi.
Edit to update



http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=AA0hAId8UGg&NR=1








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[dan2x38]

Low Light 32 Gallon Bow Front:

Emperor 280 Bio-Wheel- Bio-Max, Pot Scrubbers, no carbon
Aqua Clear 70- - Bio-Max, Sponges, no carbon
Single Light Fixture 25w 6700k
150 Rena Heater set at 77*
Mixed Gravel Substrate

Decorations/Livestock/Plants:

Bubblebar
Malaysian Wood & Driftwood on Slate
Lg. Artificial Decaying Log
12 Puntius tetrazona 'Tiger Barbs'
3 Puntius pentazona 'Five Banded Barbs'
3 Corydoras deckeri 'Decker Cories'
1 Loricaria simillima 'Marbled Whiptail Pleco'
5 Neritina sp. zebra snails
1 Lg. Atyopsis moluccensis 'Singapore Shrimp'
Microsorum pteropus
Hygrophila difformis
Sagittaria subulata
Taxiphyllum sp. Flame Moss
Bolbitis heudelotii
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Tropica'
Cryptocoryne crispatula v. tonkinensis

The lights are on a timer for 12 hours. I fertilize weekly with SeaChem Flourish & SeaChem Excel once or twice a week depending on how the plants look. I do a weekly 20% water change and vacuum gravel. This tank takes care of it's self hardly ever needs to be pruned it grows so slow. Even though it grows slow it is algae free the plants have very nice colour and are healthy.

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[dan2x38]

2.2 Gallon Nano Planted Tank:

Red Sea Deco Art Nano Filter
Hydor Mini 7.5 Watt Aquarium Heater
DIY 9w T5 Light Strip
Substrate- Black Eco-Complete top layer Flora-base

Small Pieces of Mopani Driftwood
Rainbow Rock
Lava Rock
Betta splendens 'Siamese fighting fish'
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green'
Pogostemon helferi 'Daonoi' (little star)
Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov'
Cladophora aegagropila 'Japanese Moss Ball'
Alternanthera reineckii 'Red Temple'

Light is on a 12 hour timer. To maintain balance water changes are done every 3 days. After each water change I fertilize with Seachem Flourish & Excel. The Betta Fish was named, 'Rainbow' by my son & OVAS member Latios.


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[barefoot_golfer]

u]Hi-Tech 220G Planted Community Aquarium[/u]
Here's the setup on my 220G All Glass Aquarium;

Lighting:
Custom built PFO 72"x 12" fixture pendant hung with 4 x 96 watt 2-8000k & 2-10000k CF, 3 x 250 watt 6500k iw mogul bulbs on a timers. It's a 12 hour cycle rising in east and setting in the west.
Start-up schedule is 2 x 96 east side on for 4 hr, 2hr into start +1 x 250 east side for +4 hr, 2hr later +1 x 250 for 4 hr & 2 x 96 west side on for 4 hr, 2hr after second 250 turns on +1 x 250 for 4hr   

Heater: 
Hydor substrate heater cable is densely coiled through a 2" sand bed under 4" substrate, set @ 78F.     Water circ is good as a mid level tank thermostat reads 78F continously.

Filter:    
2 x Eheim 2080 Pro 3, running std media + (1) additional fine filter.               
Setup has altered return depths and flow rates staggered daily.
1 x 13W JeBO UV Sterilizer /w in-tank pump (future mod to be on supply side of second filter)

Substrate:
4 x 5G pails of Aquariumplants.com substrate with initial start-up fertilization using aquariumplants total pellets injected into a 3" x 3" grid for root stimulation.

CO2: 
CO2 Pressurized System, 6 bubbles per sec. @ 6 psi   
20LB CO2 bottle with dual gauge regulator, Burkert solenoid, 1/2 LB CRP check valve, 80 thread pin needle valve /w bubble counter site gauge.   First feed leads into a 1000 reactor linked to the supply side of (1) Eheim filter with the spray bar distributing mixture on a downward 40 degree angle, the second feed leads to a RedSea pump at the back bottom of the substrate.     Timer on 1 hr after lights start and 1 hr before lights off.

Aeration: 
2 x Rena Air 400 each having quad valves controlling 12 stones and 1 48" wand at the bottom back of the aquarium.   Timer staggered that fish cave stones on 30 minutes before light off (circulation) and remainder on 30 minutes after lights off. 

Fertilizer: 
KENT Pro 8 drops per week, Flourish Excel 1 cap per week and I do supplement the substrate via injectable pellets every 4 months or second pruning.

Live Stock:
Clean up Crew - 30 Amano Shrimp, 6 Otto Cats, 2 Chinese AE, 3 Siamese AE, 1 Pleco, 3 local crayfish.
Community - 40 Harlequin Rasbora, 6 Glass Catfish,  6 Blue Diamond Discus

Plants:   
Amazon Swords   
Java & Christmas Moss on selected locations of driftwood and slate background
Java Fern on driftwood
Could use some help with ID of the rest?

Maintenance:
Feed 2-3 times a daily.
Use Mag Float every other day to keep glass free of algae.
20% water change & bottom vac every week.
Use 3% USP Hydrogen Peroxyde to get rid any of hair algae.
Enjoy looking @ all sides of this tank every day.
I'm planning to finish drywall & trim on this in-wall aq


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[charlie]

Beautiful set up Ron, really like your aquascape, thanks for sharing.

[kennyman]

This is a low energy system very similar to the Natural Planted Tank popularised by Diana Walstad

55 gallon 48"x12" footprint

Two bulb Shoplight fixture with standard white reflectors (80W total)

Rena XP1 canister filter for water circulation.

250W heater

Substrate consists of 1.5" of bagged "Black Earth" amended with 25% playsand. Capped with a crushed granite/fluorite mixture.

Plant list:

Cyptocryne wendtii
Ludwigia repens
Echinodorus 'Ozelot Green'
Anubias barteri
Java moss
Java fern
Nymphaea lotus

Unknown: The large deep red plant to the right appeared on its own out of nowhere. I do not know how it got there but it is doing rather well.

Fish list

School Harlequin Rasbora
School Cherry Barbs
One adult Angel
1m/1fm bristlenose pleco
1 skunk loach
2 leopard corries
1 otto
3 marbled hatchets
2 emerald eyed rasbora


Maintenance:

This tank is supper easy to maintain. 8 gal water change once a week / 1 capfull Flourish Comprehensive, 1 capfull Excel 2x week / check filter and prune plants once every month or two / Feed alterantes between generic flake and frozen bloodworm's 2x per day



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[charlie]

My Oceanic 75 Gallon
Lighting : 5 X 54 watt T5 HO ( 2 x Hagen glo & 3 x T5 HO from hydroponic store in vinyl gutter for reflector)
Filters: 1 - Eheim pro 11 2026 & 1 - Eheim classic 2215      Heater: Eheim Jager 250 watt
Substrate : all Flourite red          CO2 : Pressurized injected with Sumo regulator set up
Fertilization : NPK & Traces as per EI method ,     UV Sterilizer by Coralife only ran 1x week

Livestock:cardinals ,rummy nose tetras ,  BN plecos,otocinclis,amano Shrimp
Plants:   
Alternanthera reineckii ,
Bacopa caroliniana,
Eriocaulon Setaceum
Flame Moss - Taxiphyllum sp.
Hemianthus micranthemoides
Heteranthera zosterifolia
Limnophila aromatica
Lobelia cardinalis
Lysimachia nummularia -/ Creeping Jenny
Micranthemum umbrosum/Baby tears
Pogostemon stellata (Eusteralis)
Pogostemon helferi
Rotala macrandra
Rotala rotundifolia
Tiger Lotus (Nymphaea lotus 'Zenkeri')


http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=aoPUMMBnK24&feature=related

Edit: lighting update - no longer using 5 X 54 watts it was way way too much light, now using 3 X 54 watts T5 for 9 hrs & 1 x 54 watt for a 1 hour burst.
                                   

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[fischkopp]

Description
Experimental setup of a low-maintenance high-tech aquarium

Technical Info

• Aquarium: Standart 15 gallon 24x12x12
• Filtration: Aquaclear 150
• Light: 4x 24W T5HO (1x6500K AquaGlo and 3x18000K PowerGlo); 2x bulbs 2pm - 12am, 2x bulbs 4pm-10pm
• Heating: 50W Jäger set to 25°C
• CO2 Supply: pressurized via ceramic diffuser; approx. 3-5 bubbles per sec; running 11am - 10:30pm
• Circulation: Maxijet 400 with sponge filter

Decoration/Makeup

• Substrate: Eco Complete, 2 bags, bottom layered with peat moos
• Onyx? rocks

Flora

• Cryptocoryne willisii
• Cryptocoryne wendtii green and brown
• Cryptocoryne pontideriifolia
• Cryptocoryne crispulata var. balansae
• Marsilea hirsuta
• Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
• Fissidens fontanus
• Riccia fluitans

Fauna

• 1/5 Apistogramma agassizi
• 6 Aphyocharax rathbuni

Experiences
While growing crypts usually doesn't require much, they do thrive vividly in a bright environment. The well known crypt-meltdown was the biggest challenge I was faced. Most troubles came down to insufficient CO2 levels and low flow. Also, relying on the eco substrate was a bit too naive; intensive root fertilization is required to keep the crypts growing. The low hardness of Ottawa's tap water is the next problem and has to be increased a bit (eco hardens the water initially, but after a few months you will have to take over).

I am very pleased with Marsilea hirsuta; it grows at very slow compared to Glossostigma, but gives an even nicer carpet. It mixing a bit with the Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, which I only added to save it from dying in an other tank. Both plants seem to complement each other quite well in growth and shape.

Maintenance
Very low for an high-tec tank: weekly 50% water change, monthly sponge cleaning, daily fertilization via tailored EI, with NO PRUNING - what takes most of the time keeping a tank like this running

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[charlie]

Can`t wait to see the rest of fischkopps set ups  ( there is lot`s more)

Folks take a look @ Kennyman`s set up, prime example of what can be done without co2 injection & high lights ( which i`m addicted to  ), thanks for sharing Kennyman.

[Jesse]

Very nice tanks everyone!

That 15g Fischkopp is one of my favorite all time tanks - so far atleast! Crypts are one of my favorite plants, and you used them very nicely IMO.

[fischkopp]

Thanks guys. Stay tuned ...

[groupie02]

since you asked for it... this is now a sticky thread!

Enjoy

[fischkopp]

since you asked for it... this is now a sticky thread!

Enjoy

Thanks!

Now that this has been done quickly there might be time to look in to this : http://ovas.ca/index.php?topic=29860.0

[Jeff1192]

I figured it was about time that I contributed to this thread

My 90 gallon:

Lighting : 5 X 54 watt T5 HO
Filters: 1 - Eheim pro 11 2026 & 1 - Eheim classic 2215      Heaters: Eheim Jager 150 watt x2
Substrate : black flourite          CO2 : Pressurized injected with Sumo regulator set up
Fertilization : NPK & Traces as per EI method

Livestock:blue rams, badis, celestial pearl danios, marble hatchets, farlowella, cardinals, rummy nose tetras, otocinclis, cories, saes, amano shrimp, singapore shrimp, cherry shrimp

Plants:   

Bacopa caroliniana,
Heteranthera zosterifolia
Limnophila aromatica
Pogostemon helferi
Rotala rotundifolia
Tiger Lotus (Nymphaea lotus 'Zenkeri')
Aponogeton Crispus
Aponogeton boiviniaunus
Echinodorus bleheri
Echinodorus rubin
Blyxa japonica
Eleocharis parvula
Ludwigia inclinata



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