New Starfire 79 gallon tank build

[charlie]

I was wondering the same. I decided to use a powerhead (it was lying around) instead and just covered the intake strainer with shower-loofah mesh. Definitely not as visually appealing as the Koralias!

Hey Errol, a while back I saw a Koralia (nano ??) in your tank, but not in the most recent pic.  How did it work for flow?  Was it a shrimp death trap?  I am thinking of getting one (the 240gph), but not 100% sold on it yet, as I might be able to get the flow I need with my filter alone.  What is/was your take on the Koralia in a planted tank?

Thanks

Yes i did remove them, it was more for aesthetics & nothing to do with performance.
The Koralia's do a good job on dispersed flow as opposed to the maxi jet type pumps.
In my planted tanks i try to shoot for 10 - 12 x turnover, this i have achieveded with the 2 Eheims proII- 2026 & 2028, Eheim compact 2000( driving my co2 in line reactor) & 2 mini jets that are out of sight.
Errol

[charlie]

7 year old aquarist Keith gives this tank two thumbs up.   

Wow that is very flattering  , thanks Kieth
I had the pleasure of meeting 7 year old Kieth today & i can say he is no ordinary young aquarist, in conversation with him i have detected that he has done his research which is more than some of us do, Santa did the right thing by granting him his wish.
Regards

[bulldozer911]

Amazing tank! I just saw this in person today and as nice as the pictures are, it's hard to capture what a beauty it really is. It's one of those tanks you want to sit back and stare at for hours like you would with a beautiful exotic car, or something like that =)

nice job!!

[charlie]

Thanks Chris, it was a pleasure seeing you again,i`m happy you enjoyd the tank.
I hope you can make it out to our gathering of plant minded folks, you will fit right in 
http://ovas.ca/forum/index.php?topic=52835.0
Errol

[charlie]

A view from where i normally sit 

[Cheebs]

Breathtaking!! That's all I've got to say!

[Peekay]

Love it.

[touchofsky]

A beautiful sight.  It must be a pleasure to watch. 

[bizfromqc]

Indeed, one of the nicest tanks I've had the pleasure to see.
As good as it looks on the picture, seeing the real thing is 20 X better 

[bettabreeder]

Indeed, one of the nicest tanks I've had the pleasure to see.
As good as it looks on the picture, seeing the real thing is 20 X better 

+1 I have so much work to do with my tanks to get them to this level

[Stussi613]

Build of the year on OVAS IMO.

[daworldisblack]

Build of the year on OVAS IMO.

Hear hear! Errol has a wet green thumb?    haha

[exv152]

Nice colours and very clean looking tank, excellent job Errol!

[Consigliere]

Looking absolutely stunning Errol.  The reddish tone to the blyxa is outstanding.

I've got to get an update posted for my 250G but I noticed you're cardinals are out in full view for lots of your photos.  I currently have ~110 cardinals in my 250G and if you ever looked at it you would probably guess I had 15.  They never come out, just chill in amongst the ferns.  Any tips for getting these guys out in the open in a school?  Low flow? Dense planting?

My ferns are not very dense yet so maybe when they fill in that will drive them out to the open but right now I have to have my face pressed against the glass to be able to see them.

[charlie]

Thanks to everyone for the positive feed back, it` always nice to hear what other hobbyist have to say, that said i learn from your input.
Thanks

[charlie]

Looking absolutely stunning Errol.  The reddish tone to the blyxa is outstanding.

I've got to get an update posted for my 250G but I noticed you're cardinals are out in full view for lots of your photos.  I currently have ~110 cardinals in my 250G and if you ever looked at it you would probably guess I had 15.  They never come out, just chill in amongst the ferns.  Any tips for getting these guys out in the open in a school?  Low flow? Dense planting?
My ferns are not very dense yet so maybe when they fill in that will drive them out to the open but right now I have to have my face pressed against the glass to be able to see them.

Hi Dave, i have no tricks to get them out, however i had that issue of them hiding in my old 75 gallon @ one time, coincidentally around the same time i was dosing Excel pretty heavy, after the excel dosing stopped they seemed fine, not sure if that is your case.
The bronze tone of the blyxa is due to the light intensity, on the extreme front left where the light is not as intense it`s green.
Errol

[charlie]

I wanted to share my weekly water change routine with you guys, so often we read of how sensitive Cardinals & shrimp including CRS are & the extremes folks go to when doing water changes these pictures will show how i do mine & is yet to have any negative effects from this routine, be it spring, summer , fall or winter, the tank houses some 80+ cardinals 30 of which just joined the family on Sunday night, red crystal shrimp. red cherry shrimp, bushynose including fry, cories, sae, otto cat , amano shrimp, kulhi loach , & assain snails.
The first few pics is of the water level i dropped the tank to today, they are times i would go even lower, the one with the PH pen shows the temp & PH of the water as it is refilling straight from the tap, keep in mind the PH before the water change was 6.4, check out what it is on refilling, i`m not encouraging anyone to mimic my routine, but it`s just to show we worry about the animals excessively at times, they are very adaptable.
Errol

[sas]

Thanks for documenting.
Do you do anything with your "waste" water?

[charlie]

Thanks for documenting.
Do you do anything with your "waste" water?

Unfortunatley most of it is not used, i do keep a few gallons for watering house plants.
Errol

[exv152]

Unfortunatley most of it is not used, i do keep a few gallons for watering house plants.Errol

Exactly what I do with my wc water, and we have some very healthy house plants.