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4ft tank 1st in 5 yrs

Chris Tinker

Member
Joined
25 Jun 2019
Messages
231
Location
leeds
hello all, wanted to show my tank and have an open place for discussion and suggestions.

hoping for short term low stocking, as in 6 months or less will need to move the tank for decorating purposes.

I will post some pictures and explain were i am at please provide suggestions and constructive thoughts
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ok so its a second hand tank which came with a second hand filter...

on going work to make it water tight, new seal, new clip
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a bit wet when you press the primer... other than that it works and seems quiet
 
its taken me 2 weeks to get this far...

filter is not fixed but parts arrived.
lights work
tank so far seems water tight (not filled to 50% yet) BECAUSE the pump i bought didnt have enough power to even move it half way through the hose pipe

subtrate on order, suggestion on akadama from this site, 25kg ordered.

also new pipes and tubing for in and out pipes as the ones provided were inadequate...

so this is where i am up to as of 07/07/2019 11:56pm

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a bit wet when you press the primer
I suggest avoiding this, as it may be leaking inside the filter head as well (there’s some reports of this with certain Eheim’s, sorry can’t recall which - there’s a Fix video online, even one with Thomas :D ) - they are very easy to get going without using that Mystery Button ;)

Filter canister should be empty
Get flow going in the inlet pipe/hose - when you close the lever this water will remain
Connect to filter, open flow lever (and filter will fill; for less air, position return spray bar etc slightly above water, so there’s no backpressure in that filter return line)
 
short term low stocking, as in 6 months or less will need to move the tank for decorating purposes.
As long as you maintain large frequent water changes (tank and tap water parameters remain very similar), draining tank enough to move (depending on cabinet style, use some sort of “furniture glide) and then refilling shouldn’t significantly impact livestock

Though it’s also rather nice to have an active shrimp colony - depending on environment and shrimp type, you could have a rapidly growing colony within a few months
 
If you already know it needs to be moved, maybe it''s wise to hold of on fish and maybe just put in some snails and shrimp.

im literally thinking of 2 bolivian rams. the tank can be moved and instantly set up again. so would be a 100% water change thats all. and 3 days or 5 another 100% water change. thinking this wont cause any problems, any further thoughts?
 
depending on environment and shrimp type, you could have a rapidly growing colony within a few months

could be a big shout.... shrimps wonder what conditions id need for them to breeeeeed. plenty of room lol
 
I suggest avoiding this, as it may be leaking inside the filter head as well (there’s some reports of this with certain Eheim’s, sorry can’t recall which - there’s a Fix video online, even one with Thomas :D ) - they are very easy to get going without using that Mystery Button ;)

Filter canister should be empty
Get flow going in the inlet pipe/hose - when you close the lever this water will remain
Connect to filter, open flow lever (and filter will fill; for less air, position return spray bar etc slightly above water, so there’s no backpressure in that filter return line)

i got it working with out the primer button so no need for it... just when testing... i like to test all
 
so couple of updates,

i still do not have a filter, i have a pump which is slightly circulating water over alfagrog, but the filter still leaks a smidge and is coming out of the top, parts purchased.

i also... bought 12/16 instead of 16/22 outlet.... doh!!! which is fine however... i was testing the filter, and may have let it slip out of the tank causing the floor to be cleaned.

i dried it best i could, however wife noticed the floor was wet this morning.. hands held high, que surrendering and admitting i may have dropped it making a mess... sorry better half.

also, i have gained a little monster,
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my friends tank was closing down and this was the last monster surving so i took it in, tank is full, no ammonia on readings so why not lol. its got a 4ft tank to its self
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i tried sticking the screen (black) on the back of the tank with water... it peeled right off! so im thinking of buying some black acrylic paint. I always disliked screen because if it slightly bubbles it looks horrible but meh, tried and failed.

just need the filter to work and some substrate to land, the one i purchased seems to be a poor choice of seller, and since purchasing a flood of 'item not received' has landed.. so not holding my breath... and might source some play sand, as i love the alfagrog and sand might complement it well

let me know your thoughts
 
update... spray bar arrived... planned full length as many say for plants you dont want a massive flow rate.

i will also use the tubes later when i add a second filter.
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turned filter on to see the spray
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seems to be working well...

also bought all the spare seals since filter was leaking... so turned it on to test outpipe... no leaks! haha sods law... always good to have a spare...

TIME TO START THE CYCLING!!!

Feeling happy

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quick update... as i wait.. tank is being refilled....

but my filter is leaking again.. seemed to be ok... but its leaking from the head... so about to try and replace all the seals with enough time to test to keep the cycle going...
 
last night tested my resilience...

realised why it leaked quite quickly. putting the primer in the wrong way, caused the seal to flex.

then i sorted it out, not sure if it water tight yet as the propeller was not working but it was 1am and i cleaned up.

i did spend 3 hrs aqua scaping and im relatively happy with the outcome..

ready to receive some plants now and work on that part.

let me know what you think so far.. i think the tank is coming along nice, just the filter is causing issues and slowing everything down!

opted for play sand as many reccomended it, looking at bolivian rams they love sand and its better for them, got some wood and plants in 1 1/2 for shelter so should provide adequate space, with a nice open element for viewing, i think this will work...
20190714_154842_compress7.jpg


helping me clean the sand, to be honest this just let her join in and i used a seperate un opened bag
20190714_224453_compress90.jpg

put two bags of this on 50% of the tank under sand... OMG dirty!

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thank god for this pump, massive help emptying and filling the tank!
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sand used...
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as you can see right side will be plants as its a walk way wanted shelter wood is to the right as i wanted a swimming area to the left as i will view from the sofa, alfagrog is the pebbles you can see, just to break it up a bit.

let me know your thoughts, swimming area too big? move the wood?
 
Hi,

Its a nice root, and I like the position. If anything, maybe a little more left, to get the 'crown' off center? Just my though tho.

Is the heater still at the bottom, and is that safe?
 
heater is there... temporarily as if i can get the ehim 2 pro 2128 working its got an inbuilt heater... its currently top left now.

Hi,

Its a nice root, and I like the position. If anything, maybe a little more left, to get the 'crown' off center? Just my though tho.

Is the heater still at the bottom, and is that safe?
 
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