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The Deep 130 litre

bogwood

Member
Joined
1 Jan 2009
Messages
410
Location
Merseyside
Hello

After being a member on here for quite some time i have finally decided to bite the bullet and start a high tech planted tank complete with a journal. I have been a keen fishkeeper for many years and have kept Koi, Discus, Cichlids, catfish plus much more, so i am keen to start my first planted tank. I have been following the journals on here and influenced by the tanks at The Green Machine, (cheers Graeme & Jim )I regularly visit with my one of my sons fellow ukaps member Andyh. My other son is just about to venture into the planted tank game from the world of marines if he can take the challenge!

I have been growing some plants in a couple of my tanks ready for the scape, and spent time planning what kind of scape i wanted to create. The tank is is 2ft wide and 2ft tall so this created a challenge in its own right. I decided that an "Island" style scape was what i was after and after sourcing all the right bits and spending far to much money i gathered all the bits required. I know how much you guys like the specification side of things so here goes:


Equipment
AquaOne 620T tank and cupboard/stand;Tank size 62cmTall x 62cm Wide x 39cm deep, tank capacity approx. 130litres
Eheim 2075 (prof 3) 1250lph with upgraded installation kit (pics to follow as this is excellent) with mature media.
Lights currently 2 x 24w T5 (Hagen Glo) looking to upgrade due to tank depth.
CO2 - Pressurised system with 3kg bottle and glass/ceramic diffuser. (may upgrade to inline)
Hydor Korailla
Drop Checker
Fluval 100w Heater
Frosted tank backing (saw at Oliver Knott Day@TGM)

Hardscape
ADA Amazonia powder and soil mix
ADA Powersand special
Stone - Fossialized wood from TGM
Variety of wood, including a great piece of Manzi from James at Plantedtank.

Plants
Crypt Crispatula var Balansae (should look excellent in a tank this tall)
Crypt Wendtii
Staurogyne sp
Microsorum pteropus Narrow(Narrow Java Fern)
Hydrocotyle Verticilliata
Blyxa Japonica
Christmas Moss
Fissidens Fontanus

Livestock
Watch this space

Fert regime
ADA Brighty K Daily for the first 10 days.
CO2 high level at the moment as there is no livestock
Will then start on ADA Step One in 10 days


So all this was the plan and I started scaping with the help of my son (andyH) on Wed (31st March). So here are a few pictures:

The beginning
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Filling with ADA substrate (may need longer arms!)
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Playing with the stone, plant and wood placement.
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Nearly ready for filling, kept misting the plants to keep them in good condition
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10 mins after filling the tank, nice and clear!
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Close ups
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I will try to keep the journal up to date with things as they progress, i welcome comments but be kind as its my first ever journal! :D

Thanks

Alan
 
Congratulations your first journal! It's good to see all the details of your kit, Make sure you keep us uptodate!
 
Good Start Alan, I have one of these tanks and have been struggling for some inspiration on what to do with it :?

However with your great looking scape and the way you've used the height of the tank to your advantage with the tall wood layout is brill! :thumbup: and just what I need for a spark of inspiration, thanks! (I have been racking my brains what to do with the extra height!)
Keep it up and keep those pics coming, can't wait to see the scape maturing, mind having a son like andyh I'm guessing the plants will be growing in time!! :lol:

Cheers Ben
 
Wow! Alan, you certainly don't hang about, do you? I'd probably still be umming and ahhing about whether the tank was too far from the plug socket! :rolleyes:

I really like the planting and the way you've turned the height into an opportunity for more imaginative greenery.

Looking forward to watching this progress.
 
Hi Alan, good choice of plants and hardscape, tall tanks are difficult to scape and maintain but it really shows off the crypt balensae. Looking forward to seeing it grow in, Tom
 
That's looking great. I agree a setup like this is nice for showcasing a large erect plant like that C. balansae. You could also put an Echinodorus sword in there to nice effect.
 
I like that a lot, really nice job.
I did think when I scrolled down and saw the first couple of photos I thought "That guy needs some more substrate than that!!" :lol: :lol:
 
Re:

andyh said:
Congratulations your first journal! It's good to see all the details of your kit, Make sure you keep us uptodate!
Thanks Andy, I will keep you posted.
tomsteer said:
Great journal and a great looking tank! Keep us updated

Thanks,

Tom
Cheers Tom.
B7fec said:
Good Start Alan, I have one of these tanks and have been struggling for some inspiration on what to do with it :?

However with your great looking scape and the way you've used the height of the tank to your advantage with the tall wood layout is brill! :thumbup: and just what I need for a spark of inspiration, thanks! (I have been racking my brains what to do with the extra height!)
Keep it up and keep those pics coming, can't wait to see the scape maturing, mind having a son like andyh I'm guessing the plants will be growing in time!! :lol:

Cheers Ben
Thanks Ben. I was initally going for the 620, however saw a 620T set up in One of the LFS, and took the plunge.
A little worried at first but once the tall piece of wood went in, it was very encouraging.
Mawgan said:
Wow! Alan, you certainly don't hang about, do you? I'd probably still be umming and ahhing about whether the tank was too far from the plug socket! :rolleyes:

I really like the planting and the way you've turned the height into an opportunity for more imaginative greenery.

Looking forward to watching this progress.
If im honest , i would probably have hesitated a bit longer, however with my two sons nagging me along, i took the plunge.
TBRO said:
Hi Alan, good choice of plants and hardscape, tall tanks are difficult to scape and maintain but it really shows off the crypt balensae. Looking forward to seeing it grow in, Tom
Thanks Tom, I have seen the Crypt a couple of times and was keen to give it a go. Just hoping the crypt melt does not happen, so far so good.
hydrophyte said:
That's looking great. I agree a setup like this is nice for showcasing a large erect plant like that C. balansae. You could also put an Echinodorus sword in there to nice effect.
Thanks. Good suggestion, see how this develops, and may well consider a sword, as you rightly point out, i certainly have the height.
Themuleous said:
Really nice, especially like how you've used the height of the tank, not an easy thing to do.

Sam
Cheers sam, for those encouraging comments. :thumbup:
Colinlp said:
I like that a lot, really nice job.
I did think when I scrolled down and saw the first couple of photos I thought "That guy needs some more substrate than that!!" :lol: :lol:
If the truth be known, had i more funds at the time i would have got a extra bag, maybe on my next visit to TGM. :twisted: :clap: :clap: :clap:
 
zig said:
Hi Alan, thats a difficult tank to aquascape, a challange indeed but looking good so far. Sounds like you are surrounded by good experienced advice as well :D it all helps!! best of luck with it. oh yes definitely check out the inline diffuser these ones are fab really the best I have used http://cgi.ebay.ie/UP-CO2-Atomizer-...QQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Fish?hash=item3a50c8ab4a
Thanks for the encouragement Peter.
This in line diffuser seems very popular, just had a look at the site, and guess what. Im £ 19 poorer.
Cheers.
 
You wont regret it, as you know i have them fitted on both my tanks and the results speak for themselves :thumbup:
 
Looking good with plenty of potential. I hope you manage to keep the journal running!

My plants are ordered so roll on the weekend :D :D
 
MarineHart said:
Looking good with plenty of potential. I hope you manage to keep the journal running!

My plants are ordered so roll on the weekend :D :D
. Hope your going to record your first venture into the planted tank world, with your 5ft tank, Some challange.
Good luck with the planting when your plants arrive. :thumbup:
 
bogwood said:
FishBeast said:
yours is a cute little scape. I like it.
Thanks for those kind words. :D
I notice my tank is made by Aqua one,If my memory serves me right, is that not a company from your neck of the woods.
Im well pleased with it, nicely made product.

Yes.. I have alot of aqua one stuff although I was unhappy with my canister filter as the manual didnt explain to me that I needed to (or how to) release the pressure from it in order to take the lid off it... which ended up in me breaking one of the plastic clips for it the first time I did a filter clean... annoying...
 
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