subterranean
New Member
- Joined
- 24 Mar 2012
- Messages
- 24
Hi all,
I’m pleased to start my first journal, which will chart the course of a new custom 86 litre tank.
Specs:
I was upgrading from a Rekord 60, and wanted this custom size to make better use of the space. As a custom order, I had plenty of time to create a stand, using this excellent thread (adapting the measurements and adding a middle shelf to suit my dimensions).
This is my first braceless tank and I was concerned about jumpers, so I went down to a local plastic sheet supplier, who custom cut me a 5mm piece of polycarbonate for a fiver. I strongly recommend trying this before paying over the odds online! I then cut holes for the filter using a spade drill bit, and cut into the holes from the edge using a hacksaw. The clips for the cover were found cheaply on Ebay. I got a piece of tank matting (5mm closed cell foam cut to size) from eFoam.
Setting up
My previous Juwel tank was low tech, and sat in the space where the new tank stands, so to setup the new tank, I part-emptied the Juwel, siphoning off as much substrate as possible. I then carefully slid the tank away with fish still inside, before setting up and levelling the new tank and stand. Next I added the new Tropica substrate, a retainer (plastic sheet from Ebay) then finally capped with old play sand from the previous tank. Here's a pic before the substrate was added:
I then set up the new filter (using media from the previous, smaller filter), added as much old tank water as I could to the new setup, planted, and then finally added the fish.
I was new to CO2 so waited until Day 2 before setting this up, to avoid any mistakes at 2am in the morning!
After initial setup, my stocking (from the previous tank) was:
From the original tank:
That was almost four months ago, and my next post will explain what’s happened since! Thanks for looking.
I’m pleased to start my first journal, which will chart the course of a new custom 86 litre tank.
Specs:
- Tank: 80x30x36cm custom braceless tank from forum sponsors Biotopia UK (thanks!)
- Stand: DIY Ada-style
- Filter: TetraEX600 plus, added purigen
- Lighting: Chihiros A-Series plus
- CO2: 2kg FE CO2 with UP inline atomizer
- Substrate: Tropica Plant Growth Substrate and play sand
- Ferts: EI
I was upgrading from a Rekord 60, and wanted this custom size to make better use of the space. As a custom order, I had plenty of time to create a stand, using this excellent thread (adapting the measurements and adding a middle shelf to suit my dimensions).
This is my first braceless tank and I was concerned about jumpers, so I went down to a local plastic sheet supplier, who custom cut me a 5mm piece of polycarbonate for a fiver. I strongly recommend trying this before paying over the odds online! I then cut holes for the filter using a spade drill bit, and cut into the holes from the edge using a hacksaw. The clips for the cover were found cheaply on Ebay. I got a piece of tank matting (5mm closed cell foam cut to size) from eFoam.
Setting up
My previous Juwel tank was low tech, and sat in the space where the new tank stands, so to setup the new tank, I part-emptied the Juwel, siphoning off as much substrate as possible. I then carefully slid the tank away with fish still inside, before setting up and levelling the new tank and stand. Next I added the new Tropica substrate, a retainer (plastic sheet from Ebay) then finally capped with old play sand from the previous tank. Here's a pic before the substrate was added:
I then set up the new filter (using media from the previous, smaller filter), added as much old tank water as I could to the new setup, planted, and then finally added the fish.
I was new to CO2 so waited until Day 2 before setting this up, to avoid any mistakes at 2am in the morning!
After initial setup, my stocking (from the previous tank) was:
- 2x Harlequin Rasboras
- 12x Green Neon Rasboras
- 1x Amber Tetra
- 6x Amano Shrimp
From the original tank:
- Willow Moss
- Cryptocoryne Wendtii
- Another Cryptocoryne, which I'll give a pic of later for an ID
- Anubias Nana
- Narrow leaved Java Fern
- Staurogyne Repens
- Fissidens Fonatanus
- HM
That was almost four months ago, and my next post will explain what’s happened since! Thanks for looking.
