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140L Livingroom Tank

Joined
28 Jan 2018
Messages
36
Location
West Yorkshire
I will try and take as much pics as I can here.

Before I load up some picture just gonna mention a few things. So i have actually had this tank for nearly 2 years and doing those 2 years it has gone through some changes and at one point it was actually self sufficient which i was proud of, but life gets in the way. So natural priorities come first.

Since starting the hobby i've always wanted a nice lush planted and well "scaped" tank...I mean....who doesn't! Now I finally think I have a chance to do it properly this time. Regardless i'm still on a budget, but I'm hoping to plant as much as I can and use trimmings to re-plant and fill in any gaps. I've finally gone from an Internal filter to an external canister filter Fluvial u4 to an Fluvial 107. I also planning to pick up a CO2 system so this is where the bulk of my money is going. Anyways i'll put some pictures up from start of the tank to where it is now.

Day 1 I decided to start this 1am in the morning due to excitement big mistake xD The filter here is actually an Aqua 200 i think or something like that. Looking back I for sure didn't have enough substrate.
Screenshot_2019-10-01-22-58-17.png


At this point I added dragon stone and Java Moss
Screenshot_2019-10-01-22-58-26.png


So a few plants have died off and replaced with Hydro and also added some Java Fern (I love this plant). Also bought the Fluval U4 to replace the other filter.
Screenshot_2019-10-01-22-58-39.png



In this photo the java fern went into a different tank for fry since it was the easiest thing to pull out and allowed them to be in cover.
Screenshot_2019-10-01-22-57-12.png

This was the beginning of 2019.
Screenshot_2019-10-01-22-59-27.png

This photo was recently taken. With addition of the Fluvial 107
IMG_20190930_231613.jpg




So the tank has gone through some few changes but I never felt like the scape was good enough (even though my friends love it), which is my fault since I'm kind of an impatient person. I rushed to set it up and to me is shows. Along the lines I did add another layer of substrate which is Sachem Fluorite Black Sand btw. In my re-scape I'm going to drastically change the hardscape and the plants as well. The only plant that has survived the life of this tank somewhat from the beginning is the Java Fern and most of it has gone into my game room tank which has recently been completely redone.

So for this "kinda" re-scape and I say kinda because I'm not taking out the substrate has that will be way too much hassle and waste of BB. I will be pulling everything out hardscape and plants.

So heres a to do list/tobuy

-Break up some of the dragon rock
-Purchase and water log some wood pieces✓
-Purchase and install a CO2 system
-Purchase plants
-Alternanthera rosanervig✓
-Hygrophila siamesi 53B✓
-Micranthemum (Monte Carlo)
-Vallisnera spiralis
-Microsorum pteropus✓

So thats it for now. Soon as I start making more progress you'll see it posted up here.;)
 
So I've come across something awesome today. The wife and I were heading to whitby for a day out and we came across signs for a aquctic tunnel at a garden centre and we decided on a whim to park up and head in. I'm glad we did because I came across an really good piece of decor/wood. Plant selection will change and I probably won't use as much tropix or rosewood as I bought for this tank but this is cool and I couldn't pass it up
IMG-20191005-WA0020.jpeg




I have ordered a Co2 kit due to arrive Monday. ☺ Just need to source a supplier of co2. BOC is next to my work but pretty expensive. There is a Maidenhead aquatics as well nearby but the co2 bottle's seem kinda small but might be my only option.
 
Have you not considered attaching it to a Co2 fire extinguisher?. Can pick them up for between £20- £30.
 
Have you not considered attaching it to a Co2 fire extinguisher?. Can pick them up for between £20- £30.

Is the quality of co2 inside a FE ok for a tank? If so then I probably would, but I still would need a place to refill. I found a place in Doncaster, but thats nearly an hour away (live in leeds) I also don't know how often I'd need to travel there to get a refill.
 
Yes mate. I had one hooked up to a Co2 art regulator when I had a larger tank and on a previous tank before that, worked perfectly fine for me. I still have it but hasnt been used in years. I brought a tropica Co2 nano system for my latest tank but haven't got round to hooking it up as of yet, looking for a decent solenoid but good ones with a uk plug are around £30 so half tempted to sale the tropica system and go back to using the fire extinguisher and regulator. Only opted for the tropica because of space and neatness as it could sit on the shelf with the tank.
 
Yes mate. I had one hooked up to a Co2 art regulator when I had a larger tank and on a previous tank before that, worked perfectly fine for me. I still have it but hasnt been used in years. I brought a tropica Co2 nano system for my latest tank but haven't got round to hooking it up as of yet, looking for a decent solenoid but good ones with a uk plug are around £30 so half tempted to sale the tropica system and go back to using the fire extinguisher and regulator. Only opted for the tropica because of space and neatness as it could sit on the shelf with the tank.

Looks like I'm buying a FE. I've seen a thread on here I thnk removing the funnel on it to connect the regulater. I have the tools and if your saying the CO2 is good for tanks I might as well do it. Thanks man hopefully I can fit one in my cabinet big enough to last a while.
 
Yes remove the funnel and the regulator connects straight to it. Everything grew very well for me using it. I used a 2kg fire extinguisher. When I had it hooked up In the cabinet i put a bracket either side of it and used a cable tie between both so it had no chance of moving/falling over. I also had my bubble counter installed in the cabinet next to it. Remember when setting it up to make sure the regulator valve is off and when it's all connected and setup up, still while the valve is off, squeeze the fire extinguisher handles together and put a cable tie around it. I put two round. Then slowly turn the valve to the required bubbles per second you need.
 
Yes remove the funnel and the regulator connects straight to it. Everything grew very well for me using it. I used a 2kg fire extinguisher. When I had it hooked up In the cabinet i put a bracket either side of it and used a cable tie between both so it had no chance of moving/falling over. I also had my bubble counter installed in the cabinet next to it. Remember when setting it up to make sure the regulator valve is off and when it's all connected and setup up, still while the valve is off, squeeze the fire extinguisher handles together and put a cable tie around it. I put two round. Then slowly turn the valve to the required bubbles per second you need.

If you don't mind me asking how long did your bottle last you and how big is your tank?
 
It was an old tank it was hooked up to. It was 180 litres. Cant remember what bubbles per minute it was, wasnt as much as some of the peoples on here. I think it lasted me about 3 - 4 months per extinguisher until I had to get a new one. Like I say it was years ago so memory is not the best.
 
It was an old tank it was hooked up to. It was 180 litres. Cant remember what bubbles per minute it was, wasnt as much as some of the peoples on here. I think it lasted me about 3 - 4 months per extinguisher until I had to get a new one. Like I say it was years ago so memory is not the best.

Mine will probably be 130L taking the substrate and hardscape into consideration. This helps a lot tho thanks. I have a small tank as well in my gameroom I just redid this one as well.
IMG_20190926_183800_487.jpg
 
I have a 140ltr tank with bubble rate at about 3bps bit to fast to count exactly and it last 2 months with a 2kg FE hope this helps if you look at FE in places you got to you can see who looks after them and ring to see if they have any out of date ones you can pick them up for about a tenner i have a place here in DERBYSHIRE that drops me off 4 at a time and takes away my empties for £40 a time
Ps
That wood looks beautiful
Cheers
Jay
 
I have a 140ltr tank with bubble rate at about 3bps bit to fast to count exactly and it last 2 months with a 2kg FE hope this helps if you look at FE in places you got to you can see who looks after them and ring to see if they have any out of date ones you can pick them up for about a tenner i have a place here in DERBYSHIRE that drops me off 4 at a time and takes away my empties for £40 a time
Ps
That wood looks beautiful
Cheers
Jay

Thanks Jay, definatly gives me a good idea of what to expect timeline wise of a co2 bottle. I think only a 2kg bottle will for in my cabinet anyway. Seems FE is defo the way to go. The wood I got from tunnel aquatics was from a set of 3. I grabbed the largest one. :thumbup:


Ive just seen the quality of thses photos on a computer dang they look awful. I am dealing with a phone over 5years old though. So i came across my first situation with the 107 but the intake for the water has quite big cutouts and i caught an Amano shrimp struggling to get his tail out. I grabbed some filter floss and wrapped up the intake a little bit so hopefully nothing like that happens to any shrimp or fish whew.
20191006_181849.jpg

Also because I bought 3 decent sized peices of wood before finding the wood/decor at tunnel aquatics (idk what to call it) I can only use one and i thinkn i got a good layout with it. Also the wood from tunnel aquatic is too big to stand upright. This is what ive got so far. Ignore SNL on tv lol :)

20191006_012025.jpg

I'll get better photos with a better camera soon. CO2 kit comes tomorrow along with more plants.
Also decided to get some weeping moss for the wood from Tunnel Aquatics, brazilian pennywort, more Monte Carlo, and more -Hygrophila siamesi 53B.
I have found a FE place near my work so i'll pop in tomorrow and see what they are saying.
 
Everything connected up. I read after turning on the solenoid to wait 30 mins before adjusting flow. So just waiting now. In terms of BPS I might start at 1BPS and take it slow see how things go. I used the wife's phone for photos hopefully they are alot better then the previous ones I've taken on my phone. ;)

IMG_20191007_194005.jpg IMG_20191007_194015.jpg
 
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