My Planted Tank Journal

[cuprajake]

hey guy's

ive had a thread running, basically to just get info together for my new planted tank.

the tank:

42.5" x 20.5" x 14"

giving roughly 51 us gallons.

the filters:

penn-plax cascade 1000 external filter
fluval 2+ internal filter

heres the tank

the filter and bits and bobs

note, i got the tank and all bits second hand for £50 so not to bad,

the fluval is from my current setup.

here is where the tank is going to be placed

as for lighting, i've decided upon

2 x growlux t8 30wtt tubes 30" long
2 x t5 highlight 39wtt tubes 36" long

giving me a total of 138 wtts = 2.76 wpg

these are my home made lighting bars/reflectors

im going for a bog wood and highly planted look, to achieve this i have a tetraplant sustrate, but im still out as to wether to use sand gravel or a mix. im also using a co2 presurised setup which should arrive soon, its a 10litre co2 bottle so should last ages.

plant wise im looking at green lines for a good bunch of hardy quick growing plants, but wont count out the lfs.

any tips or question please fire away,

im particularly looking forward to the aquascaping bit,


jake

 

[jakeroberts]

well hi jake my name is jake to anyuway ur tank should look great when it is finished

 

[mlawson]

Should be good.

You could have a layer of some fine quartz on top of the Tetra substrate and maybe some sand at the front. it's nice to see a larger planted tank journal, recently it's all been nanos.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[cuprajake]

the substrate is what concerns me, im not sure to get sand(silica) or fine quartz im not sure, i know i'll need alot

i mite grade it, use up the gravels i have left from previous tansk then use a nice new one, wheres the best place to get the sands from onn the cheap, this tanks starting to cost an arm&leg hahahaha


my next mission is to track down some fine looking fast growing plants,


jake

 

[cuprajake]

arrived this morning

 

[cuprajake]

well cut the tank into the wall this aft, took about 2hrs to do so not to bad, always helps when you have a willing dad who knows his stuff.

heres a few pics of the process:

the rear of the wall

the peice removed

the whole

the support bench

done bar trim

all thats left now is to do a little bit of polyfilling or i put a picture frame style trim around the tank.

 

[khenghock]

A tank in the wall!! I've always wanted to do that!

Can't wait to see how the tank turns out...

 

[cuprajake]

cheers should look really good, once everything is in there

 

[mlawson]

Good so far, the tank should look excelent in the wall.
I see you also bought some dry ferts, the same as I have, they're pretty good.

i mite grade it, use up the gravels i have left from previous tansk then use a nice new one, wheres the best place to get the sands from onn the cheap, this tanks starting to cost an arm&leg hahahaha

Silica sand can be purchased very cheaply at any garden store, a large bag may cost around £3.00. You can also use play sand which is normally less bright.

 

[cuprajake]

im in two minds, ha ha

i dont want dead fine sand and i dont want huge gravel, im after some sort of crushed stone chippings, i'll keep looking, my only concern is poluting the water with a non-aquarium stone.

 

[cuprajake]

had a little mess when i got home, put the tetraplant substrate in, then i put in some of the gravels i had left over from previous, aswell as the gravel that came with the tank, (it was new in a bag)

here are some more piccies

 

[DevUK]

Thats looking great! Now all you have to do is keep the cupboard under the stairs tidy at all times

How did you make the home made hood/lighting if you don't mind me asking. Is it a lighting fixture that you've managed to modify?

 

[cuprajake]

it white guttering, and end caps lol

the guy in the fish shop does it and suggested it to me, tbh i will have to do a little cutting so i can fit the filter pipes in, but houldn't be a problem,

the inly problem im having is decifering which chemical is which

what is the names for?

kn03= mono potassium phosphat

and

kp04=potassium nitrate


jake

 

[cuprajake]

here's my beast of a c02 tank,

and here is my silica sand

i hope to get the tank filled tonight but you never know, i may wait and do it all together with the planting,


jake

 

[ihasanzongi]

oh man i'v always wanted to do that to one of my tanks but my mom would freak out on me i think i might have to try it