New member here and a total noob to the hobby, hence the name of the scape. I have been lurking in the shadows of the forum for the past three months soaking up as much knowledge as I can (information overload) whilst slowly getting all the bits and bobs together.
I wanted to wait until I actually had a bit to post before opening a Journal to give you guys a bit to read and hopefully gain a few threadstalkers contributors – cause I need as much help as I can get! So far it’s been quite a journey and it has taught me to be patient. Very patient. Which is a good thing I guess – measure twice, cut once like my old man always used to say!
But before I dive into the first part of the walkabout – my custom cabinet build – below are some deets on my setup:
Setup: High Tech
Tank: Dymax Crystal Clear 90 x 45 x 60
Tank Cover: Lid Hooks with Glass Cover (still need to get it)
Cabinet: Afrormosia African Hardwood 90 x 45 x 70
Lights: Current Satellite Plus Pro 48”
Filter: JBL Crystal Profi e1501 GreenLine ( 1400l/hr)
Media:
Hardscape: Rock from LFS
Plants: Will decide after hardscape is finalized
Ferts:
Flora:
So yeah there are still a few things missing which is where the forum's valuable input comes in. I have a vague idea of what I am doing when it comes to plants and fish and am not sure if I am ready to take on EI dosing. Anyway - will post about those topics later.
Okay, so on to my custom cabinet build. . . . .All the aquarium stands at my LFS are butt ugly and I sure as hell not forking out a fortune for an ADA Stand. So time to channel my inner Chinaman and build a rip-off! I have done a fair amount of woodworking in my younger days and thus know my way around things but still, this turned out to be quite a challenge. My aim was to try and build my own cabinet for cheaper than I would buy something similar in the shops.
Living in Dubai, it is rather difficult finding exotic wood but eventually I found a lumber yard that was willing to sell a small amount of wood to me. Below you can see the huge trees in the lumber yard – I have never bought wood direct form source but screw it, let’s do it . . .
I had a look at a couple of species they had and settled on Afrormosia, an African hardwood as it was nicely figured. Here is a rough cut piece straight form the band saw.
When I first collected the wood I noticed that it was still a bit wet – I knew this was risky to take on but didn’t really have much of a choice as I couldn’t find decent wood anywhere else. Below is a photo of my base I had planed at a local carpentry shop (more money!) – here it became quite apparent how wet the wood still was . . . .🙁
Here are the two chaps that planed and shaped the wood for me. Unfortunately the planer couldn’t do pieces wider than 50cm and I had to cut my backside into two pieces 🙁 - this was also the reason I changed from 120 to a 90 tank.
So with the wood being wet I couldn’t jump straight into it and first had to stack the pieces to allow it to dry . . . and I thought watching paint dry was excruciating! The drying took about two weeks (more like my patience ran out after two weeks) after which I noticed some pieces starting to crack at the ends and some were slightly warped and it shrunk about 5mm across the grain of the wood.
There goes my plans for a 'flush look' . . .
Long story short – I had to chop and changes pieces around. I had to take my internal divider and re-purpose it for one of my back panels as that had completely cracked up. Fat mission. I did all of this on my balcony and with it taking way longer than initially thought – I started getting the evil eye from the wife.
I used a router (more money!) and dowels and did a mock assembly
Once I saw everything lined up it was time to glue. Ho. Lee. Sheet. It got messier than a stag do in vegas – white stuff coming out of every imaginable gap. 😀 Had to work super quick to get it wiped off otherwise the finish would be ruined. (Below the doors have been temporarily put in place just to see how it will look when finished)
Here you can see the Frankenstein backside. Didn’t have the correct tools at the time (still trying to do it on a budget here) to perfectly flatten joining edges so it ended up with quite a big gap. This was later filled in with glue and sawdust mix. After gluing up it became apparent that the base and top had bowed slightly making everything wobbly.
I bought a hand plane (more money!) and eventually flattened it out after tearing out enough wood to build a cabin with.
Afrormosia is very similar in appearance to Burmese Teak. Since my TV stand and Coffee Table are Burmese Teak I wanted to have the cabinet look a bit different. I decided to go with Danish Oil over Polyurethane as it was easier to apply (with a cloth). I am still regretting this. The VOC laden smell hangs in the air like the smell of a fresh dog turd on a misty morning.
And the freshly finished fruits of my labour. Pretty chuffed with myself at this point. I since moved it into my apartment and it is stinking the place up. Don’t know which is worse, the smell or my wife not letting me hear the end of it!
In the end it was worth it. It is extremely rewarding taking a step back to admire one’s creation, much like I expect looking at my first aquascape will be like. Lots of lessons learnt. Am already planning more carpentry projects . . . .
So the setup begins . . .I got lucky with the film for the tank backside. My mate’s wife owns a wall sticker business and gave me a freebie. Damn I love freebies. Whoop whoop! 🙂
I moved the cabinet inside only to find the tiles it is standing on is not level. FFS. I fixed that by placing a 5mm foamed rubber pad under the base. The tank has been placed on a 15mm foamed rubber pad. Not easy to find but luckily cheap as chips!
My mate came to the rescue again when he picked up a discarded Powertank 6kg CO2 cylinder worth like $400 or something ridiculous like that. Still need to have that checked out to make sure all is ok. This freebie was a big win as I had already overspent a bit on the cabinet and other bits and bobs. Only prob here is that it’s a CGA320 thread and my CO2Art regulator is a BS341 Thread. Need to find that adapter . . .
So this is what my cabinet currently looks like under the bonnet. Still a bit messy but will have it looking proper OCD once I have everything set up. If you are wondering about all the whisky’s on the bottom left – I had to strike a deal with the wife in order to get the aquarium (married guys will understand) – her condition was that all the booze had to be removed from the top of our fridge (now I am praying this friggin cabinet doesn’t collapse under 300kg of force). Maybe I should build a liquor cabinet, mmmm……
Time for the hardscape. My LFS didn’t exactly have the stones I was looking for so everything I planned out on paper before when up in smoke. No really. I threw it in the BBQ. Should’ve seen it coming but was pretty bleak as I spent quite a few evenings planning layouts. Noob error I guess. . .
I also tried getting stones from the Wadi’s in UAE/Oman but they ended up altering the pH / GH of the water. No go. Anyway, when limits are imposed it forces creativity - here are my choices:
I cut a foamed rubber pad to the size of my tank to play with some layouts. As you can see with the lines – I am trying to stick with some rules here but my largest stone – more or less pyramid shaped one – which should be my main stone is difficult to work with and to find the right placement. I like the idea of a towering setup and arranged like this, the main stone is simply too small/short. Anyway, to hell with rules. . . . The two smaller stones together makes for a taller combined structure.
I played around a bit but in the end the only thing that gave me the real feels was doing mock ups in the tank. Had a few heart stopping moments when I dinged the glass a few times – so far no scratches – touch wood (*admires cabinet . . . heavy breathing. . . .)
Still not sure which part of the stone to use for the overhang (I don’t like the flat face to face the front) and which way the overhang should point – this creates two total different feels to the layout.
Pointing towards the left side it creates a V-Shape to the middle of the aquarium as well as creating a separate little nook on the left side – a scape within a scape – Scapeception if you will. I also like this because this side will get a lot of facetime facing the kitchen, apartment entrance, bedroom entrance . . . you catch my drift . . .
Facing inwards. Positioned so that it complements the angle of my main formation on the right is the other option. Can make for an epic overhang but it does take away that V-shape I kinda liked. Also the little nook I had is no longer but does make for something else – maybe I can build it higher at the back. (Foam is to protect glass if there are some rockfalls!)
So I am fairly happy with the right hand side of the scape - maybe swop the two smaller stones around - your thoughts?
Here are a few other flavours I tried out - I numbered the pics for easy referral in feedback . . .
1.
2.
3.
Using the volcanic rock substrate just as support to try a few things - this will obviously be higher once the AS is added. The black 'river' down the middle is indicative of where my white river will be in the final scape.
Not sure what to do next. Going on a business trip today so will leave it a couple of days and give it another look when I am back, in the meanwhile please fire away with comments!
I wanted to wait until I actually had a bit to post before opening a Journal to give you guys a bit to read and hopefully gain a few thread
But before I dive into the first part of the walkabout – my custom cabinet build – below are some deets on my setup:
Setup: High Tech
Tank: Dymax Crystal Clear 90 x 45 x 60
Tank Cover: Lid Hooks with Glass Cover (still need to get it)
Cabinet: Afrormosia African Hardwood 90 x 45 x 70
Lights: Current Satellite Plus Pro 48”
Filter: JBL Crystal Profi e1501 GreenLine ( 1400l/hr)
Media:
JBL Volcano Mineral
ADA Aquasoil Amazonia
ADA Amazonia Powder
JBL White Riversand
CO2 System:ADA Aquasoil Amazonia
ADA Amazonia Powder
JBL White Riversand
2kg Brushed Aluminum Cylinder
CO2 Dual Stage Regulator and Solenoid Magnetic Valve with precision SMC Valve
Oiginal UP New Inline CO2 Atomizer Diffuser System 16/22mm
Aluminium Aquarium CO2 Bubble Counter (built in NRV)
CO 2 Drop Checker + 4kdH Solution
Glass: CO2Art Aquarium Lily Pipes Set Ø17 - 16/22CO2 Dual Stage Regulator and Solenoid Magnetic Valve with precision SMC Valve
Oiginal UP New Inline CO2 Atomizer Diffuser System 16/22mm
Aluminium Aquarium CO2 Bubble Counter (built in NRV)
CO 2 Drop Checker + 4kdH Solution
Hardscape: Rock from LFS
Plants: Will decide after hardscape is finalized
Ferts:
Seachem Flourish
Seachem Excel Flourish
Seachem Iron
Any recommendations from the forum?
Other: Seachem StabilitySeachem Excel Flourish
Seachem Iron
Any recommendations from the forum?
Flora:
Micranthemum sp. - Montecarlo
Eleocharis sp. - Minima
Anubias sp. - Nangi
Pogostemon Helferi
Ludwiga Glandulosa - Red
Hygrophila Corymbosa
Java Ferns
Rotala Macranda
Alternanthera Reineckii mini
FaunaEleocharis sp. - Minima
Anubias sp. - Nangi
Pogostemon Helferi
Ludwiga Glandulosa - Red
Hygrophila Corymbosa
Java Ferns
Rotala Macranda
Alternanthera Reineckii mini
Ember Tetras (13)
Neon Tetras (12)
Neon Tetras (12)
So yeah there are still a few things missing which is where the forum's valuable input comes in. I have a vague idea of what I am doing when it comes to plants and fish and am not sure if I am ready to take on EI dosing. Anyway - will post about those topics later.
Okay, so on to my custom cabinet build. . . . .All the aquarium stands at my LFS are butt ugly and I sure as hell not forking out a fortune for an ADA Stand. So time to channel my inner Chinaman and build a rip-off! I have done a fair amount of woodworking in my younger days and thus know my way around things but still, this turned out to be quite a challenge. My aim was to try and build my own cabinet for cheaper than I would buy something similar in the shops.
Living in Dubai, it is rather difficult finding exotic wood but eventually I found a lumber yard that was willing to sell a small amount of wood to me. Below you can see the huge trees in the lumber yard – I have never bought wood direct form source but screw it, let’s do it . . .
I had a look at a couple of species they had and settled on Afrormosia, an African hardwood as it was nicely figured. Here is a rough cut piece straight form the band saw.
When I first collected the wood I noticed that it was still a bit wet – I knew this was risky to take on but didn’t really have much of a choice as I couldn’t find decent wood anywhere else. Below is a photo of my base I had planed at a local carpentry shop (more money!) – here it became quite apparent how wet the wood still was . . . .🙁
Here are the two chaps that planed and shaped the wood for me. Unfortunately the planer couldn’t do pieces wider than 50cm and I had to cut my backside into two pieces 🙁 - this was also the reason I changed from 120 to a 90 tank.
So with the wood being wet I couldn’t jump straight into it and first had to stack the pieces to allow it to dry . . . and I thought watching paint dry was excruciating! The drying took about two weeks (more like my patience ran out after two weeks) after which I noticed some pieces starting to crack at the ends and some were slightly warped and it shrunk about 5mm across the grain of the wood.
There goes my plans for a 'flush look' . . . Long story short – I had to chop and changes pieces around. I had to take my internal divider and re-purpose it for one of my back panels as that had completely cracked up. Fat mission. I did all of this on my balcony and with it taking way longer than initially thought – I started getting the evil eye from the wife.
I used a router (more money!) and dowels and did a mock assembly
Once I saw everything lined up it was time to glue. Ho. Lee. Sheet. It got messier than a stag do in vegas – white stuff coming out of every imaginable gap. 😀 Had to work super quick to get it wiped off otherwise the finish would be ruined. (Below the doors have been temporarily put in place just to see how it will look when finished)
Here you can see the Frankenstein backside. Didn’t have the correct tools at the time (still trying to do it on a budget here) to perfectly flatten joining edges so it ended up with quite a big gap. This was later filled in with glue and sawdust mix. After gluing up it became apparent that the base and top had bowed slightly making everything wobbly.
I bought a hand plane (more money!) and eventually flattened it out after tearing out enough wood to build a cabin with. Afrormosia is very similar in appearance to Burmese Teak. Since my TV stand and Coffee Table are Burmese Teak I wanted to have the cabinet look a bit different. I decided to go with Danish Oil over Polyurethane as it was easier to apply (with a cloth). I am still regretting this. The VOC laden smell hangs in the air like the smell of a fresh dog turd on a misty morning.
And the freshly finished fruits of my labour. Pretty chuffed with myself at this point. I since moved it into my apartment and it is stinking the place up. Don’t know which is worse, the smell or my wife not letting me hear the end of it!
In the end it was worth it. It is extremely rewarding taking a step back to admire one’s creation, much like I expect looking at my first aquascape will be like. Lots of lessons learnt. Am already planning more carpentry projects . . . .
So the setup begins . . .I got lucky with the film for the tank backside. My mate’s wife owns a wall sticker business and gave me a freebie. Damn I love freebies. Whoop whoop! 🙂
I moved the cabinet inside only to find the tiles it is standing on is not level. FFS. I fixed that by placing a 5mm foamed rubber pad under the base. The tank has been placed on a 15mm foamed rubber pad. Not easy to find but luckily cheap as chips!
My mate came to the rescue again when he picked up a discarded Powertank 6kg CO2 cylinder worth like $400 or something ridiculous like that. Still need to have that checked out to make sure all is ok. This freebie was a big win as I had already overspent a bit on the cabinet and other bits and bobs. Only prob here is that it’s a CGA320 thread and my CO2Art regulator is a BS341 Thread. Need to find that adapter . . .
So this is what my cabinet currently looks like under the bonnet. Still a bit messy but will have it looking proper OCD once I have everything set up. If you are wondering about all the whisky’s on the bottom left – I had to strike a deal with the wife in order to get the aquarium (married guys will understand) – her condition was that all the booze had to be removed from the top of our fridge (now I am praying this friggin cabinet doesn’t collapse under 300kg of force). Maybe I should build a liquor cabinet, mmmm……
Time for the hardscape. My LFS didn’t exactly have the stones I was looking for so everything I planned out on paper before when up in smoke. No really. I threw it in the BBQ. Should’ve seen it coming but was pretty bleak as I spent quite a few evenings planning layouts. Noob error I guess. . .
I also tried getting stones from the Wadi’s in UAE/Oman but they ended up altering the pH / GH of the water. No go. Anyway, when limits are imposed it forces creativity - here are my choices:
I cut a foamed rubber pad to the size of my tank to play with some layouts. As you can see with the lines – I am trying to stick with some rules here but my largest stone – more or less pyramid shaped one – which should be my main stone is difficult to work with and to find the right placement. I like the idea of a towering setup and arranged like this, the main stone is simply too small/short. Anyway, to hell with rules. . . . The two smaller stones together makes for a taller combined structure.
I played around a bit but in the end the only thing that gave me the real feels was doing mock ups in the tank. Had a few heart stopping moments when I dinged the glass a few times – so far no scratches – touch wood (*admires cabinet . . . heavy breathing. . . .)
Still not sure which part of the stone to use for the overhang (I don’t like the flat face to face the front) and which way the overhang should point – this creates two total different feels to the layout.
Pointing towards the left side it creates a V-Shape to the middle of the aquarium as well as creating a separate little nook on the left side – a scape within a scape – Scapeception if you will. I also like this because this side will get a lot of facetime facing the kitchen, apartment entrance, bedroom entrance . . . you catch my drift . . .
Facing inwards. Positioned so that it complements the angle of my main formation on the right is the other option. Can make for an epic overhang but it does take away that V-shape I kinda liked. Also the little nook I had is no longer but does make for something else – maybe I can build it higher at the back. (Foam is to protect glass if there are some rockfalls!)
So I am fairly happy with the right hand side of the scape - maybe swop the two smaller stones around - your thoughts?
Here are a few other flavours I tried out - I numbered the pics for easy referral in feedback . . .
1.
2.
3.
Using the volcanic rock substrate just as support to try a few things - this will obviously be higher once the AS is added. The black 'river' down the middle is indicative of where my white river will be in the final scape.
Not sure what to do next. Going on a business trip today so will leave it a couple of days and give it another look when I am back, in the meanwhile please fire away with comments!
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. Unfortunately I am very limited for choice in Dubai when it comes to low iron rimless tanks. My second tank will now doubt be a shallow one. 
