Solar Powered Plant Tank Build

[jdhuyvetter]

Well, after 12 years, I am officially back into discus. The tank raised arrived this afternoon and my Friday night will be spent on a water change and acclimation.

Also stopped by John's on the way home and picked up some corys. The 300 now has the fish I originally moved, some Apisto. cacautoides, lemon tetras, green laser and orange laser corys and a couple emperor tetras. Not added all at once, spread out over the past couple of weeks. Over the next month or so, I will add some gold tetras, rummy nose, cardinals and some kind of pleco. Still up in the air on the pleco species. Currently leaning towards L183 - white seam.

[jdhuyvetter]

So, one trip to Home Depot, two trips to ACE Hardware and redid all the plumbing, cleaned and moved the sump. Around 8 pm last night plugged in the pump and the corners of the tank were leaking even worse. Earlier in the day, I sealed the bulkheads and they were dry. Water was coming from under the tank somewhere.

Pics after I plugged in the pump. Outside and inside the stand at the same corner.



This morning pulled the bulkheads and found water between the glass. Bottom of the tank is double glass. So, sealed the inside of the holes, added a bead of silicone to the bulkhead for extra measure and put the back. Pics are the water and gunk between the glass. Third pic shows silicone I was able to force about 1/8 inch between the glass. Hopefully this does the trick.

[rickztahone]

So, one trip to Home Depot, two trips to ACE Hardware and redid all the plumbing, cleaned and moved the sump. Around 8 pm last night plugged in the pump and the corners of the tank were leaking even worse. Earlier in the day, I sealed the bulkheads and they were dry. Water was coming from under the tank somewhere.

Pics after I plugged in the pump. Outside and inside the stand at the same corner.



This morning pulled the bulkheads and found water between the glass. Bottom of the tank is double glass. So, sealed the inside of the holes, added a bead of silicone to the bulkhead for extra measure and put the back. Pics are the water and gunk between the glass. Third pic shows silicone I was able to force about 1/8 inch between the glass. Hopefully this does the trick.

Hopefully that holds the leak. I have known a few people with leaks over at RC and they say that once is starts leaking at the bulkhead, it is difficult to get it to seal properly. Have you eliminated the bulkhead being the problem?

[jdhuyvetter]

Not, yet. Both bulkheads had water between the glass. Got them both sealed with silicone. I'll let it cure and then plug the pump back in. Crossed my fingers, knocked on wood and said a little prayer.

[rickztahone]

Not, yet. Both bulkheads had water between the glass. Got them both sealed with silicone. I'll let it cure and then plug the pump back in. Crossed my fingers, knocked on wood and said a little prayer.

well good luck my friend. You know this will only be a partial temporary fix. Sooner or later, that silicone will give way again, and it may happen when you least want it to.

[jdhuyvetter]

There was no silicone between the glass pieces where the glass was cut for the bulkheads to begin with. So, I put a bead at the joint between the glass and worked it into the joint with my finger. Then I put the bulkheads back in with the gasket. The second bead of silicone is on top around the gasket. So, the bulkhead gasket is the seal and the silicone is just overkill. Only leak I had was on the disconnect. The moron that put it in forgot to tighten it all the way down before he plugged in the pump! No leaks, happy camper.

[rickztahone]

There was no silicone between the glass pieces where the glass was cut for the bulkheads to begin with. So, I put a bead at the joint between the glass and worked it into the joint with my finger. Then I put the bulkheads back in with the gasket. The second bead of silicone is on top around the gasket. So, the bulkhead gasket is the seal and the silicone is just overkill. Only leak I had was on the disconnect. The moron that put it in forgot to tighten it all the way down before he plugged in the pump! No leaks, happy camper.

glad to hear.

[jdhuyvetter]

Couple pics of the discus. Had them one week as of today. Put them in the old tank. All that is left is one piece of artificial driftwood and the original sand. Sand was all black so I mixed in some white play sand to lighten it up. Discus stayed hidden under the driftwood all week. They would come out and feed whenever I was not in the room. Two days ago I put the brick in to make a shelter on the left side of the tank (driftwood is on the right. They have been out the last two nights. Think they are finally getting used to me. In the morning I feed them frozen bloodworms and Mysis shrimp. As soon as I get home from work I feed them live blackworms. Then I eat, wait and hour or so and then do a 75-80% water change. After the water change, I feed them another portion of blackworms. I fed them on the left side of the tank tonight to get them to bunch up for a pic. Normally I spread the blackworms out across the front of the tank. It's fun watching them. The cichlid definitely comes out and they are establishing a pecking order. I plan on growing them out in this tank with daily water changes and no other fish, plants, etc until I get them to at least double in size. Maybe a little more depending on if I can keep the water quality with this many fish in the tank. Definitely don't plan on going to two water changes a day. Then, they get moved into the big tank and I get rid of this little tank.

Tank lights are some 10k LED's from the earlier set up. Hence the bluish tint in the pic. Does make the colors on the fish "pop".

I promise before I tank any more pics of them, I will clean the glass! Didn't realize how dirty it was until I looked at the pic.

[Filip]

Wish you all the best raising them Jeff . They look nice here but definitely this light distort their real colours, please add some neon bulb on your next photo session.
How many you got and how big is this tank?
Whats their current size? They look allready good grown semi adults to me.

[jdhuyvetter]

Tank is a 120 XH. But the center brace broke and I tried to turn it into an orchid terrarium. I drilled the back about 12 inches above the water. So it only holds 12 inches of water. There is a sump under the tank that holds another 5-8 gallons of water (when running, about 20 gallon capacity). Smallest fish are around 2.5 inches. There are 18 fish.

[jdhuyvetter]

Permanent home for the fish. Still have a few things to tweak. Permanent placement of heaters and powerheads, finish soaking driftwood (so I can remove the bricks), algae balls need to go to the sump (once I get the light for the sump), filter trays for the sump.

Also having some minor cycling issues. Started with aged driftwood and only 6 fish. Up to about 40 fish now. Lost a couple fish and plants due to a small ammonia spike. I jumped the gun a little on the fish. Ammonia peaked at 1.0 ppm. Water changes, bacteria dosing and water change eliminated that issue in two days. As of last night, Nitrites are at 2.0 (before a 30% WC). I still have 3 more groups of tetras to add. But, I will be stretching this out over the next month to six weeks. Again, pending water quality.

Current fish load is:
1 - Golden Killie (from old system)
1 - King pleco (from old system, had him 18 years, did not have an L-number back then)
8 - Green Laser cory
8 - Orange Laser cory (one from the old system)
2 - Emperor tetra (lost a couple with the ammonia spike)
6 - Apisto cacautoides (had 12 lost a few. 6 is an estimate, still juvies)
6 - Lemon tetra (these guys are mean and beating the hell out of each other, lost 2 with shredded fins)
7 - HY 511 tetras

The plants I lost are:
Crinum calastrium (lost 2 of the 3 bulbs, 1 almost immediately after delivery)
Bulb. fern (lost both, 1 immediately and 1 after 2 weeks)
Pogo. hellfire (lost 1 of 2, it was bad coming out of the tissue culture bag, 2nd is growing)

Most of the other plants are showing new growth, either leaves, roots or both. Exception being the Rotala macranda and the remaining Crinum.

Pic as of 930 this morning.

[Eddie]

Nice tank!

[rickztahone]

What spectrum is that fixture?

[jdhuyvetter]

It's a variable output, variable spectrum fixture. Came preprogrammed from the manufacturer. All four fixtures automatically synced. No wires, no remotes, no timers. Costs more than a comparable LED fixture but cheaper to run. Although, sometimes for no reason, in the afternoon it will dim for 30-60 minutes. Usually happens in the summertime.

I added a tannin filter to boost the yellow look.

[rickztahone]

It's a variable output, variable spectrum fixture. Came preprogrammed from the manufacturer. All four fixtures automatically synced. No wires, no remotes, no timers. Costs more than a comparable LED fixture but cheaper to run. Although, sometimes for no reason, in the afternoon it will dim for 30-60 minutes. Usually happens in the summertime.

I added a tannin filter to boost the yellow look.

Have you contacted the manufacturer about the issue? May I have their number? Lol