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Tonys 'Peacocks Crypt' - The End

Tony Swinney

Member
Joined
14 Dec 2008
Messages
1,185
Location
Cobham, Surrey
[EDIT] You can miss out all of the pre-scape ramblings by jumping to half way down page5 when the fun starts :D :D :D [EDIT]

Hi all

This is more of a pre-journal at this stage really !

I’ve just bought an Osaka 260 set up to build my first proper planted tank, but having decided that I dont like the aluminium rim, or the bracing I’ve sold the tank, and am just ordering a new tank for the stand :oops: .

I really want a very tidy looking, minimalist open-topped tank, so it will be braceless and rimless and 100cm x 45cm x 55cm high 8) . I dont think the budget will stretch to full Opti-white, but I may have an Opti-white front panel put in.

There’ll be 2 filters running, one Eheim 2028, and a TetraTec 1200, there’ll also be an FE (thanks Dan :) ) fed inline CO2 reactor ( thanks Ed :) ) and an inline hydor heater. I’m going to have 2 outlets drilled in the base - one for each filter, but the returns will be via a pair of glass lily pipes - which will be the only equipment visible.

I’ve spent along time debating whether to drill the tank, or have glass outlets over the top ! I really want a clean look and cleaning glass outlets is a right pain (and they easily break !) so I’m sure drilling is the way forward - I’m going to have 2 bulkheads put in for 20mm pipe, with only a 25mm length of pipe fixed to each. My thinking is that I’ll then add pipe and elbows as neccessary to reposition the outlet at a suitable place behind the hardscape - any pipework will be hidden in the substrate, and the strainers behind hardscape / plants. The pipework within the tank shouldnt need to be glued so would be movable for rescapes. Can anyone forsee issues with this (apart form the leaking bulkhead scenario) ? I know i could go with larger pipe, but it will be trickier to conceal in the tank, and if I used normal over-the-top outlets, they would only be 16mm anyway.

Lighting will be a pair of the Osaka units, so 4 x 39w lamps, 2 ‘Life-Glo’ and 2 ‘Power-Glo’ T5HO’s, suspended from the ceiling. Probably will only run one of them until the tank is established, giving just about 1.2 wpg.

As for whats going into the tank, well thats a bit of an unknown at the mo ! I’ve been scanning the pages of UKaps for the past few weeks gathering inspiration, and making a collection of tanks / plants that I really like, along with info as to what might work best. My general tendancy is clean minimalism which might have taken me on a Iwugami route, but I do like redmoor roots in tanks so that may take me more towards the Nature look !

Below are some of the tanks which inspire me. I know it’ll take a long time and many ‘scapes to get anywhere near these beauties, but I figure if I get the hardware right in the first place, then rescaping and replanting is the enjoyable bit !

The livestock will include a cleaning crew of cory sterbia, botia striata, ottos and japonica shrimp, which are all over-populating the discus tank at the mo, and then a shoal of some sort. Possible rummy's (though theres already a shoal with the discus so might go for something different) or I might go for a shoal of Angels :?:

I’ll keep you posted and seek your views and advice as my ideas develop - I’ve got about 4 weeks before the tank will be delivered !

Any thoughts and advice about the setup would be greatly appreciated !

Thanks for reading,

Tony :D

Inspiration:

ContactSheet.jpg


And my present Discus tank too (it has some planting going on !). Might change the background on this though - black ? :

DiscusTank.jpg


Cheers :D
 
Re: Osaka 260 - rimless and braceless too !

i think black would do the tank some favours :D show off the colours of the fish :D although im pretty sure the botia's will kill the amanos promptly so you may want to revise that idea :) ive also been informed that loaches can dammage plants through boredom etc so maybe best to leave them out? and get a few assasin snails :)
 
Re: Osaka 260 - rimless and braceless too !

Hi mr.luke

Yeah I think black would be good too. The botias and the amanos get on fine, but the amanos are quite big at about 2" so they're a good match for the Botias ! I did try Cherry shrimp a while ago, but the discus saw them off pretty quickly :(

I guess waiting until the plants are established before introducing a couple of botias would be an idea incase they feast on the foliage.

Tony
 
Re: Osaka 260 - rimless and braceless too !

I know George used Botia striata in almost all of his tanks till a couple of months ago and i don't think he had any problems?

All your plans look good pal although drilled is not my cup of tea because in time it will restrict you choice of aquascape, iwagumi for instance. Nice glasswear is just perfect IMO.

I can't believe you put my tank in with all those ADA bad boys! Made my day pal :D
 
Re: Osaka 260 - rimless and braceless too !

Hi Dan

Your tank well deserves its place in there - one of the best IMO. Despite my minimalist nature, a path through two 'trees' makes a cracking aquascape - might try to do it in a minimalist way :? :D

Know what you mean about the drilling, but the pipework will be under the substrate, and if i go iwagumi I'll reroute the pipes from the bulkhead to be behind the rocks. I just dont want to have 2 outlets and 2 inlets on top of the tank. I could do a single 40mm outlet and then split that in the cabinet to each filter - that would only leave one outlet in the base which would be at the back on the left. That corner of the tank is in the corner of the room so will always be the higher level of substrate / hardscape or plants.

I've ordered the tank, but I'm sure I have a bit of time, before finalising the drilling, so I can ponder it some more !

Tony
 
Re: Osaka 260 - rimless and braceless too !

Good descision on the drilling IMO :D Would have been a brave move, lily pipes would look much nicer, and still go with you're minimalist look. Looking forward to seeing you're progress Tony, bet you can't wait for that new tank to arrive ;)
 
Re: Osaka 260 - rimless and braceless too !

Well the postie bought a rather large box this morning - full of Manzanita driftwood. I bought it from a guy in Arizona who trades on APC as 'FishandTurtleJunkie' (thread is "Manzanita Driftwood").

He sells packages based on branch size, so I bought a 'nano' package and a 'large' package. There's also alot more pieces in the box than was in his pics of the packages, which he said he does for international orders. There are some lovely pieces in there, with stripey colouring, the packaging was excellent and delivery only took 7 days. The cost was about £55 all in, which is not bad considering how much a piece of Redmoor costs !

Here's some pics. The remote is there for scale, and the tape has 5ft showing.

Got some choices to think about now !

Tony

Manzanita1.jpg


Manzanita2.jpg


Manzanita3.jpg
 
Re: Osaka 260 - rimless and braceless too !

Your a bit eager I'm afraid Mark ;) A little bizarre though as I just checked the diary half an hour ago to see how long it had been !!! Ordered on the 21st Jan, with a "4 - 5 week " delivery time so hopefully next week. The manzanita wood has been soaking in a dustbin outside since it arrived - mostly under 10 inches of snow which would be a shock to Arizona timber I would think :lol:

I'm feeling the pressure a bit now it seems your waiting to view it - I'd better get some scaping practise in :lol:

There'll be pics here the day it arrives (of it empty) :D

Tony
 
Re: Osaka 260 - rimless and braceless too !

Funny how you said you didn't like the Osaka tank. I've been thinking the same. I've got room for a 45 inch tank in an alcove, not quite 4' and thought about the Osaka's but I'd just prefer the cabinet. How are the cabinets put together? Are they decent quality?
 
Re: Osaka 260 - rimless and braceless too !

Hi Beeky,

I have an OSAKA cabinet and I challenge you to find a better quality one out there. Its good and sturdy and if the weight of it was anything to go by its built to last as well as looking the dogs !

Cheers

John
 
Re: Osaka 260 - rimless and braceless too !

Hi Beeky

Yep, I'd agree with John. The top, base, sides and internal dividing walls are all 18mm board, and the doors / drawer front are 15mm. The fixings are all Ikea style, so pretty strong too. I havent put a tank on top of it yet, but I have absolutely no concerns about it !

The cabinet is 45.25" long though, so it might be tight in your alcove.

The cabinet, lights and tank have to be ordered separately from the supplier, so any Fluval dealer can order the bits you want - paraquatics.co.uk list the bits on their site:

http://www.paraquatics.co.uk/paraquatics online.html

Though Swell have the complete 260 kit for £399 at the minute which is a pretty good price.


Tony
 
Re: Osaka 260 - rimless and braceless too !

So 6 weeks after ordering, the tank has arrived :D :) :D

But its damaged, so is going back :( :mad: :arghh:

There's a chip out of the bottom corner of the base sheet (you can just about see it in the bottom left corner of the pic).

To say I'm gutted is an understatement. All the AS arrived with the tank, the wood has soaked for 5 weeks, and is ready. I even had my wife going away for this weekend to leave to play at 'scaping :lol: :arghh: !

The supplier has been brilliant, and are making a new tank asap for me, no problem there, but realistically its gonna be a 2 or 3 week wait :(

Looking for a bright side, I'm really happy with the dimensions, and the quality of the build, and the clarity of the optiwhite is amazing. :D

Tony
Optiwhite_1.jpg
 
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