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My daughter's adventure into planted tanks

Franks

Member
Joined
26 Aug 2015
Messages
310
I've been into planted tanks and scaping for ages and my girls have grown up with it.

So scouring eBay, Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace and her hard earned pocket money has been spent - several times over might I add! 😂

I managed to snag an Aquascaper 600 tank locally with extremely minor silicone work imperfections for £40 and I've decided to design and build the cabinet myself out of 18mm hardwood plyboard based on the exact dimensions of the official cabinet but with a central and rear section support. Pocket holes and Gorilla glue mandatory apart from the top.

Get chatting to your local B&Q cutting guy on a Friday night and they'll generally do all your awkward cuts and for free. Great service this and saves me loads of time...

I plan to add push style doors with no handles and finish it in a dark or mid dark grey.

Carcass built up today...
 

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Been a little busy of late with work and other things but managed to spend the odd hour each evening after work on this. Now ready for painting. I used Birch hardwood plyboard. The structure of it puts my Fluvial Osaka cabinet to shame. I'm considering making a better cabinet for that perhaps in the future.

It's got soft close hinges for the doors, loads of space for a large filter and 5Kg FE if needed to go that big! I want to keep the doors without handles and created a space at the bottom for your fingers to allow easy opening. I might add push to release door magnets though if not satisfied.

I'm going to get a few coats of primer on today and then go with multiple coats of a mid-grey bathroom paint which will offer some protection against water splashes and also give it nice sheen that isn't too glossy but easy enough to wipe down when required.
 

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Cabinet done and sited.
2 coats of primer and 3 coats of paint later...

Im considering installing a pull out floor shelf for the filter to make pre filter cleaning simple.

Regarding the light, is there a generic kit for cable mounting from a ceiling available?

Thanks
 

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This weekend I reorganised the office where this tank is situated and ordered quite a few bits in a Qanvee inline Atomiser, Radion ceiling suspension kit, chrome inlet/outlet pipes and some clear tubing.

I'm a Radion Ecotech light owner (50W Gen3) and really like this type of LED light so I was on the hunt for another and found there was a local seller who had listed 2 x Ecotech Gen4Pro Freshwater lights (95W) with RMS mounts, RMS extension bar to fit multiple Radions and clamps for £100. I thought this was too good to be true as these retail for over £400 each plus the costs of mounts which are several hundred quid more so I arranged to buy them as it was only a 20-minute drive away. When I arrived I met the nicest family you could meet and the guy selling the kit wasn't interested in asking much for the lights and just wanted rid of them to a good home. They are only 6 months old with minimal use and in perfect boxed condition. I couldn't believe my luck! He then mentioned he had loads more bits to get rid of and was shown to a full JBL Co2 pH controller kit with solenoid, M2000 cylinder and Eheim Pro4 600 filter - all things that would have been on my dream list. I couldn't just take them for free so we agreed on a price and I was no the owner of a boot full of top-notch near brand-new kit. My daughter was mega happy!

It's been decided that this will be a lean-dosed, Co2-injected Dutch-style garden tank with the prospect to propagate/store the plants from our main tank.

More updates to come when I have more free time.

Cheers
 

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I've been testing the dubious JBL pH and temp sensor probes on my tank. After 48 hours of soak testing followed by calibration and then 4 days of running in the tank, I retested the probes again and found the pH probe is absolutely fine with near perfect 7 and 4pH readings when left in buffer solution for a few mins.

I need to test for kH and input this setting into the computer when the new tank is set up but for now, I'm running it on my tank to read results with no control over the solenoid valve when a target is met.
 

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Looks like a great start. Look forward to this journal!

Whats the plan for stocking the tank?
 
Thanks.
The current plan has shifted slightly. I'm going to Scape it with some spare redmoor root and either Cornwall's finest natural beach stone which I've had for a few years or Dragon stone which I have laying around.

I'll do a mock up this week with the stone and towel but the Redmoor looks good and will have some branches breaking the water surface once substrate and rocks are in. (See pic)

I got the light installed too. Cost me £5 for an LED light suspension kit from eBay which I then modified to fit the EcoTech light. It's approx 9inch above the rim and gives great, even coverage at substrate level.

My current EcoTech on the 60cm deep tank is at 45% max power which is around 77cm from the substrate and has loads of water to penetrate. This looks really powerful on the Aquascaper 600 at only 25% power so I'll start here and work my way up.

Stocking wise it'll just be red cherry shrimp and the following plant list.

Buce Kegagang
Trident fern
Anubis mini
Monte Carlo
S Repens
Rotala Hra
Rotala Indica
Ludwigia White
Ludwigia Repens Diamond
Pogostemom Stellata
Bacopa
 

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