Hi All,
It's taken a while, but I'm almost ready to start planting - the adventure begins!
NB This is my 1st forum / post, for any subject, so please forgive me if I mess up.
I've been planning for a planted tank for about 10 years, even building a dedicated room to house all the equipment etc. My tanks to date have relied on plastic plants, following earlier failed experiements with the real thing.
At the end of last year I decided to bite the bullet and with the ok from my better half I started to research and plan my installation. I read anything I could get my hands on, spoke to several shops / suppliers and trawled through the internet. I eventually chose to go down the High Tech Route and will probably try EI dosing. I received my tank and sump about 2 weeks ago and have now got it up and running, to the point where I can now order the plants ready for planting next week end.
I know I will need some support with the initial stages and decided to join a Forum, this one seemed to be the best and has proved most useful to date.
The tank (custom built by Aquarium Manufacturing Ltd) is really well made considering my design was a bit complicated - I didn't want any equipment visible in the tank at all, open top, minimal bracing for easy access and and a few other personal preferences. It can only be viewed from the front, from the adjacent room and has a water depth of 750mm. The volume without the sump is getting on for 500L. Overflow weirs siphon into the sump filter via an adapted drain design that I found on the internet. I supplemented the new filter media with some from an existing tank and added a load of old tank water. Water turnover is just over 3500L / Hr, silent and with barely a ripple. At the moment it's running without lighting or CO2, as instructed by James at "The Green Machine" (really, really helpful). The substrate is a mixture of Tropica substrate with a layer of Zambezi sand (some from an established tank), capped with various gravels and deep pockets of ADA aquasoil (Malaya), a couple of big pieces of Bogwood (soaked for months) and rocks from a local stone merchant.
Wish me luck.
Regards,
Mat
Here are a couple of photos of the Hardscaping (Coke can is there to give idea of size) and 1 of the "Tank room"
It's taken a while, but I'm almost ready to start planting - the adventure begins!
NB This is my 1st forum / post, for any subject, so please forgive me if I mess up.
I've been planning for a planted tank for about 10 years, even building a dedicated room to house all the equipment etc. My tanks to date have relied on plastic plants, following earlier failed experiements with the real thing.
At the end of last year I decided to bite the bullet and with the ok from my better half I started to research and plan my installation. I read anything I could get my hands on, spoke to several shops / suppliers and trawled through the internet. I eventually chose to go down the High Tech Route and will probably try EI dosing. I received my tank and sump about 2 weeks ago and have now got it up and running, to the point where I can now order the plants ready for planting next week end.
I know I will need some support with the initial stages and decided to join a Forum, this one seemed to be the best and has proved most useful to date.
The tank (custom built by Aquarium Manufacturing Ltd) is really well made considering my design was a bit complicated - I didn't want any equipment visible in the tank at all, open top, minimal bracing for easy access and and a few other personal preferences. It can only be viewed from the front, from the adjacent room and has a water depth of 750mm. The volume without the sump is getting on for 500L. Overflow weirs siphon into the sump filter via an adapted drain design that I found on the internet. I supplemented the new filter media with some from an existing tank and added a load of old tank water. Water turnover is just over 3500L / Hr, silent and with barely a ripple. At the moment it's running without lighting or CO2, as instructed by James at "The Green Machine" (really, really helpful). The substrate is a mixture of Tropica substrate with a layer of Zambezi sand (some from an established tank), capped with various gravels and deep pockets of ADA aquasoil (Malaya), a couple of big pieces of Bogwood (soaked for months) and rocks from a local stone merchant.
Wish me luck.
Regards,
Mat
Here are a couple of photos of the Hardscaping (Coke can is there to give idea of size) and 1 of the "Tank room"
