Jim's 60 Gallon High-tech Planted Journal

[jimboliana]

Cheers mate, will get there in the end, having a great time doing all this, done a bit more painting tonight but it has to be done

I am now also thinking about putting a small piece of wood around the top edge of the tank a couple of inch's thick to hide the top of the tank. I will have to see john again and see what he can do, his off on holiday next week for a week so it might be a couple of weeks b4 it gets done but it would be a nice finishing touch as i have just seen one like it, i dont think it would be too much either.

I prob wont post any pics for a couple of weeks either as i wont have use of the camera for a couple of weeks but i will see what i can do

 

[jimboliana]

Well not much to report at the moment, as you know i am wainting on the sump and pump which are the last thing to be added before i start all the plumbing etc

I dont want to start drilling holes etc until i have everything in place just because i can then move bits around as it is quite a tight space (i just hope it all fits!)

One thing i will do in the next couple of days is to get the rubber to place under the glass aquarium and the electrics for the light

I figure i will have a about five plugs, one for the heater, one for the pH monitor, one for the filter, one for the pump and one for the light. I am also thinking about using all the space in the cupboard even maybe even fixing the pH monitor and temp controller on the back of the doors, not sure yet

In case you think the unit does not look strong enough, it does have two streagthening bars (one at the front and one at the back). I can stand in the middle at the front and it does not bend and i weight 13 stone (about 82.5 kg) and as 1 liter = 1 kg yes you gussed it 82.5 liters. As the weight of about double that will be spread over the whole unit i think it will hold ok

Also for added safety there is another upright that can go ont the front behind the doors

So i think we are looking at about a couple of weeks before it is all up and running i hope!

 

[guppygirl]

Wow, good luck! I wish I had more money...

 

[One_Trick_Pony]

its looking great

 

[jimboliana]

Thanks guys and girls, your comments are always welcome, good or bad.

It may look good so far and i may have some good kit but at the end of the day its whats in the tank and the condition of the water that counts and i have not got there yet!

It can be quite annoying when you get so far then stop because you are waiting for something but then it also makes it more exciting when you get it and you can carry on

 

[jimboliana]

One other thing i have got to decide on is a background, i'm thinking of black on the back and on the right side of the tank as when i sit a my computer i can see through half of the left side (if that makes sense).

Looking at other peoples tanks etc i think the black looks cool as you see the colors of the fish a plants alot more

When i was younger i had one of these backgrounds with plants on it and noe i think they look a bit naff.

I spoke to John the other night about possibly putting a wooden rim round the top of the tank and he said yeah no problem if i wanted one, matching the wood i already have would be fine.

I have given the walls another coat of paint so it is looking better than the pic below, not been doing too much decorating as i had another 30th bash in London last night and feeling a bit hung over again today, cant see much happening today then maybe i'll eat some pies

 

[jimboliana]

Well after a long time of thinking about it i have finally bought myself an RO unit, i got it in the end from RO-Man off of ebay and it was quite cheap at £69.95 which had been bought down from £85.00 still the same price as the website

The model is a 2P-RO50-STAN and provides 50US Gallons of water per day and also comes with a DI unit

I also bought a handheld TDS meter from RO-Man as well for £17.75 which measures the Total Disolved Salts in the water

I will have to add some tap water to the RO water at a ratio of about 4:1

 

[jimboliana]

In my hungover state this afternoon i started looking at what plants i wanted to get for my tank and here are a few that will probably end up in my tank

Eusteralis stellata - A difficult plant to grow as it needs good soft water and CO2. A great red colour in the tank

Eleocharis acicularis - Hairgrass to you and me, great lawn plant that i love

Didiplis diandra - Another difficult plant but then thats what i have got the equipment for In good light it develops red shoot tips which form a beautiful contrast with other green plants

Echinodorus tenellus - Another great lawn plant which is small and grows well in good light

Microsorium pteropus - Nice leaf mid/back plant that grows on wood

 

[George Farmer]

Nice plant choices. You probably already know that you should avoid these as starting-out plants. Stick with fast/easy-growers from the outset - approx. 80% of substrate coverage, species as suggested in the Dennerle guide.

I would recommend buying a big plant collection from Greenline Aquatics i.e. 48" collection. http/aquaticplants.eu.com/acatalog/New_S...ollections.html

You should find a lot of good plants, some fast grwoers so quickly establishing a balance. Once the system's balanced you can gradually replace species you don't want with your "final product" species.

The planning stage is the most inportant and one of the most exciting parts IMO. Try this link for some more aquascaping ideas (this is the best planted tank I have seen, there's lots of others too if you search the site).
http/showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2004...ry=0&vol=3&id=8

 

[jimboliana]

Thanks for that i did actually forget about that!

I have just found the plants in the dennerle guide and will be choosing from them, thanks for the links BTW i have looked at them both before, there are some amazing tanks people have produced

I will get the plants that Dennerle suggest, the plant collections from http/aquaticplants.eu.com/acatalog/New_S...ollections.html are quite a wide range of plants which i dont really like (not the plants, just the large variety)

I'd really like four/five different plants so i will see what Dennerle suggest as i dont want to end up taking out all my plants to get what i want in the end

As i say i will be taking your advice on the plants that i use from the outset, thanks for that i might have ended up with a tank full of algae

 

[George Farmer]

thanks for that i might have ended up with a tank full of algae

No probs, glad to help.

If I had your set-up I would follow the Dennerle method of stocking, fertilising etc. to the letter. You have the best equipment for this and are as close as physically possible to having a "flawless" system, it seems only logical to follow their methods quite rigidly.

 

[jimboliana]

Just to let whoever reads this that i spoke to the people who are making my sump and it should be ready by next week -yeah my RO unit should be on it's way as i still have not recieved that yet

I managed to get a mate of mine who lost his job the other week to come round tomorrow to do some decorating for me dont you just hate rubbing down wood! and i also ordered off of http/www.newleafaquarium.com/index.html two new 18W 3000K Special Plant Fluros for my light.

The Arcadia ones will probably be fine but i need to make sure i dont get any algae and i have also bought from them some FB1 Immediate Substrate Activation stuff, though i may not use it, i'll see when i get it tomorrow and read the instructions

I also had an interesting email from Aqua Journal Magazine http/vectrapoint.com/ saying welcome and that the six issues i ordered will be here in 2-4 weeks

When i ordered them i didn't think it went through but luck has it it did

There looks like some great hits and tips so i am looking forward to receiving and reading them. As always all i have to do now is sit and wait

 

[jimboliana]

gf225

Been reading the Dennerle book inside and out lately, just so i dont make any mistakes, as you say i will be following there guide to the word so i hope nothing goes wrong.

Got the FB1 Immediate Substrate Activation, the lamps and the RO unit today, just got to plumb them in which should be quite easy. Im going to plumb the RO unit into a small cupboard where our boiler is as there is a hot/cold supply and a drain so i think that will be perfect (no i have not thrown out the washing machine ) I will then buy a container to put the water in and carry to the dinning room

One thing i must ask you is when you do your water changes do you heat the water first? or just gradually take it out/put it in?

As i say everything is comming next week so i'll finish off the decorating this weekend and maybe have a couple of beers

I wont order any plants untill everything is set-up and running as i dont want plants with no where to go

How are you getting on with the algae problem?

 

[Ethos]

ooooohhh
I was hoping by the time I finneshed reading the thread there'd be pic.s of the planted tank..........It'll be therer soon, I hope.

 

[jimboliana]

Sorry to disappoint you Ethos but i'm still in the middle of it all!

There will be more pics soon