rolexbene
Member
Ok so after seeing a lot of great tanks on this and other forums I have decided to build my own.
I have kept fish before but never a planted tank so I sure it will be a learning curve, but I have done a lot of research and think I am prepared. I am going for an Iwagumi style tank with a strrp bank towards the back.
I live in London, but whilst visiting my home town in Devon I went to the river and picked up some interesting looking rocks, I also went to the beach and collected a small amount of course sand. I guessing these rock may not be as interesting as some of the usaul Iwagumi style rock with all there nooks and crannies, but I think it will bring a good sense of satisfaction to know that the rocks and sand I have come from home, Also the added bonus of saving money. On this note I will mention that I am a student and have NO money, the way I see it is I will try and sell some assets and this way pay for some of the expensive things I am buying. I was going to try and grow with miracle gro organic, I even bought some and started leaching it but my gut instinct told me it was going to cause me problems. Right so, so far this is what I have...
60L 60x30x40cm Tank from recycling center £10
ADA Aquasoil £35
Hydor 300w inline heater £25
Overhead 36w fluorescent light £25 - (Might retrofit another 36w lightbulb in to this if I need it)
Eheim 2222 Filter £26
10mm Glass Lily & Inflow pipes £20
Plants - Greenmachine £40
Total spend £180
I managed to aquire a large bit of 20mm Ply the other day for free so might have a go at making an ADA style tank at some point in the near futre, I also plan to get a pressurised Co2 system soon but might if need be make a DIY yeast one for the time being. I am growing via the Dry start method so Co2 will not be necessary for a few months till I fill with water (or will it?).
Ok so this is roughly what my initial setup looks like.
tank1 by Bene Tanser, on Flickr
I have kept fish before but never a planted tank so I sure it will be a learning curve, but I have done a lot of research and think I am prepared. I am going for an Iwagumi style tank with a strrp bank towards the back.
I live in London, but whilst visiting my home town in Devon I went to the river and picked up some interesting looking rocks, I also went to the beach and collected a small amount of course sand. I guessing these rock may not be as interesting as some of the usaul Iwagumi style rock with all there nooks and crannies, but I think it will bring a good sense of satisfaction to know that the rocks and sand I have come from home, Also the added bonus of saving money. On this note I will mention that I am a student and have NO money, the way I see it is I will try and sell some assets and this way pay for some of the expensive things I am buying. I was going to try and grow with miracle gro organic, I even bought some and started leaching it but my gut instinct told me it was going to cause me problems. Right so, so far this is what I have...
60L 60x30x40cm Tank from recycling center £10
ADA Aquasoil £35
Hydor 300w inline heater £25
Overhead 36w fluorescent light £25 - (Might retrofit another 36w lightbulb in to this if I need it)
Eheim 2222 Filter £26
10mm Glass Lily & Inflow pipes £20
Plants - Greenmachine £40
Total spend £180
I managed to aquire a large bit of 20mm Ply the other day for free so might have a go at making an ADA style tank at some point in the near futre, I also plan to get a pressurised Co2 system soon but might if need be make a DIY yeast one for the time being. I am growing via the Dry start method so Co2 will not be necessary for a few months till I fill with water (or will it?).
Ok so this is roughly what my initial setup looks like.
tank1 by Bene Tanser, on Flickr