Son of Kahuna (56K warining!!!)

[scolley]

swinefka - Thanks Scott! That's very kind!

This is just too funny Steve!! yet they still came out better than most!

Very nice, this tank should be very impressive once it matures and fills in and of course I know when Steve has some free time he'll make some changes.
Steve I also thought the tank was glass. Many acrylic tank manufacturers recomend not using MH on acrylic tanks, because the temp will expand and contract the material making it brittle and fracturing overtime.
You may not have much trouble since your pendants appear to be high enough, but it may void the warranty on the tank. Just in case you ever have any trouble, check the warranty!

BTW, any chance the water level can be higher? not while your on vacation though!

Here's a pic of the top, when the manufacturor was water testing it.



There is nothing right under those lights, so I'm hoping it won't be a problem. Plus it's not under a canopy, so the heat is not trapped with the tank. And the plexiglass is all 3/4" thick. So I hope it'll be OK. But I appreciate the tip!

And that water DOES need to be higher. But with this tank JUST set up (no long term observation) and going away for three weeks in a few days, I'm being conservative. I'll set the water level to right at the top when I return. Good eye!

Steve: You have done a very nice tank it all balances together. I have afew questions.#1 your substrate is it all sand or do you have a substrate under it.I have done a 125 gal tank planted with swords it did not take to long before the root system just rotted so I did the tank back to a flourite and gravel substrate.#2 you have some great looking anubias plants did you buy them that large or did you grow the out if you did buy them where did you get them.#3 do you use any supplements for the plants lastly what type of filltration do you have again beauty of a tank. Mike from Blackwater Aquaria

Most of the details have been covered over at PlantedTank.net, so for more info you might try my thread there.

But in short... substrate is sand with the two vals in low plastic pots - pots with ADA Powersand on bottom, filled with ADA Aquasoil, and obviously covered with sand. They are very shallow pots.

Most of those plants have seen better days from my prior tank. But some are new. They all came from Aquariumplants.com - my absolute favorite plant source. I'm ashamed to say that if you click on the pics to get a real close up, you'll see those poor anubias are getting chewed up with GSA. Bummer.

And I daily dose about 10ML of ADA Green Brighty Step 1 for micros, and dose the tank with about 5 ppm Potassium each day with a K2SO4 solution. But PLEASE don't assume my fert regimine is working. The tank just started, and GDA and GSA is beginning with a vengance.

You REALLY need to look at that link I provided to understand the filtration, but in short, I have 3 bulkhead holes in the bottom going to two different filtration loops. One is just an Eheim Pro II. The other is a Poseidon T1 Pump going to an Ocean Clear 340 filter, to 3 Pentair heater modules, a Pentair UV module, then through a Mazzei venturi for CO2 injection, then past my fert injectors. And all that is tied into my auto water changing system that through muliple small changes each night, provides me the equivalent of a 50% water changes every three days.

[scolley]

nice tank. what size? and whats mh? i have plexi tanks. so curious..the lights?

Thanks! 180g - 2'x2'x6' . And the lights are Aquamedic 150w HQI, 10,000k. And I replaced the stock magnetic ballasts with the silent AM 150x2 electronic ballast.

MH are metal halide lights
plexiglas is a brand name, cast acrylic is the type we want for aquarium related projects, there are several types of plexi not all are suited for tanks, grow out and breeder tanks should be ok though

You guys got me on the plexi, acrylic, whatever. I'm a newbie, was I using the wrong word?

It was made by KritterProducts, so I guess it's acrylic. Sorry!

[April]

ok well mine are truvus. they last quite nicely. but good to know what kind of plexi its meant to be.
anyhow..your tank looks great.

[Darren's Discus]

Now that tank has EVERYTHING going for it.
From the tank to what is in it. Fantasic job!
I'd be very proud of it if I was you!

could not have said it better myself !


awesome

cheers

[brewmaster15]

Steve,
The tank looks great and the fish have grown nicely since I was there last!..nice addition of spotteds as well.

When you get back, let me know...I'd love to see it in person again!

safe trip,
al

[scolley]

could not have said it better myself ! Awesome

cheers

Thanks! But I want to tell you truly... these are premature accolades. This tank has been up for 3 weeks, and I'M SURE all H*LL's gonna break loose with algae once I step away for my 3 week vacation. Hopefully I'll be able to recover OK. But only time will tell.

On as side note... I go down under not too infrequently. Just spent 6 weeks or so in Sydney. It always MASSIVELY opens my eyes to all the things we DO, and DO NOT have in common. The Sydney Aquarium was AWESOME! Obviously the reef stuff was KILLER. But the planted FW environments were incredibly well done too. That was a very pleasant treat. I was thrilled to see Rainbow fish in their native habitat!

So in the States we have access to all sorts of killer equipment. In APAC you have access to all sorts of killer fish. Damn. Too bad it's so hard to make the two ends meet...

ok well mine are truvus. they last quite nicely. but good to know what kind of plexi its meant to be.
anyhow..your tank looks great.

April, sorry that my incorrect choice of brand name caused a fuss. I'm personally challenged with nouns. Really. I jokingly refer to it as "CRS", or "Can't Remember Sh*t". Being old's no picnic...

Steve,
The tank looks great and the fish have grown nicely since I was there last!..nice addition of spotteds as well.

When you get back, let me know...I'd love to see it in person again!

safe trip,
al

Al, with all due respect, you are no longer welcome in my home. That is unless you are staying for dinner. And even then, I might insist you bring your wife... just to bring up the level of charm to the occasion.

Thanks my friend. I'll PM when I return. You can, of course, report honestly on the horror show of algae you see when I return!

[Ed13]

April, sorry that my incorrect choice of brand name caused a fuss. I'm personally challenged with nouns. Really. I jokingly refer to it as "CRS", or "Can't Remember Sh*t". Being old's no picnic...

No fuss here steve, I just thought that everyone planning to buy or make aquariums should only use cast acrylic( manufacturing process) extruded acrylic should be avoided at all cost for pressure applications regardless of the brand name Acrylite, Lucite etc
Anyway it got me an extra pic of that really nice tank, which even empty looks nice!

I can't wait until you tweak this setup!

[brewmaster15]

Al, with all due respect, you are no longer welcome in my home. That is unless you are staying for dinner. And even then, I might insist you bring your wife... just to bring up the level of charm to the occasion.

LOL!!

[pcsb23]

Nice Steve, very, very nice.

[scolley]

I can't wait until you tweak this setup!

Thank Ed. It should look better after I have a chance to really aquascape, after I return from vacation. I hope!

LOL!!

Al - You knew I was kidding? Right?

I'd be honored to have you review my setup and fish ANY time, under ANY circumstances. Though it would go well with food...

Nice Steve, very, very nice.

Thanks Paul!

[jannima]

Nice tank! very inspiring!

[scolley]

ALGAE!

I got back from my 3 week vacation a couple of days ago, and came home to an algae mess. I had minor trouble with both my CO2 regulator, and my water level sensor (both my fault really), that conspired to keep my tank WAY low on CO2 while I was away. And I was getting a green dust algae (GDA) problem as I was leaving, but when I came back it had bloomed. Big time. The walls of the tank were opaque - solid green.

I think the CO2 goof up aggravated a problem that was happening anyway.

But the fish are doing GREAT! I've got at least 3 pairs laying eggs. When I got back one clutch was sprayed on the tank wall on one side of the tank, and another clutch was working on the opposite side. I cleaned those off when I cleaned the algae, and the next day another pair layed a nice sized clutch on an anubias leaf. So I'm taking this as a sign the fish are happy! The fish are clearly eating the eggs, or the tetras. But I'm happy they are happy anyway.

And they look good too! My son - who fed the fish in my absence - shifted their diet of FBW and TCB a bit while I was gone. Since the glass was all green, he was worried about the possibility of feeding too much FBW, since he could not see if they were all getting eaten. So he switched the evening meal to TCB alone, and the fish's colors seem to show it. Especially the reds in the leopards.

When I left the tank was 3 weeks old. Now it's twice that, and the fish seem MUCH more comfortable. Very little hiding. Out and in my face almost all the time now. And they just ACT more comfortable. All swimming is lazy movement, no darting or dashing.

I think it is due to the fact that I've got a number of plants that have grown in, and are floating on the surface, providing shade from the HM lights - a little overhead cover.

Now that I've got the CO2 fixed, and the tank cleaned, I've got to leave again - only for a week. But it means no pics for now. Sorry.

But once I get past this GDA, and have a bit of time, I'll take some new pics. Maybe even have some pics of some wigglers! That would be cool.


PS - Thanks jannima! Thats says a lot coming from you!

[Ed13]

Steve welcome back!
Please let me know how you handle the GDA when you come back.

Last time I battled with it, it almost won really persistent algae

[scolley]

Thanks Ed! I can't claim any miracles yet...

But, as many of you may know, Tom Barr has a lot to say about thick GDA being a "life-cycle" issue. Meaning that often the solution is to let it just run it's natural course (get NASTY thick), and that it will just die away naturally. At the same time, there seems to be little irrefutable proof of this. But the anecdotal evidence abounds...

This whole idea requires letting the GDA fully blossom, and live THICKLY on your tank walls for many weeks, until the life-cycle is complete, and it begins to fall off on it's own. In principle, then it is over.

In my case the crap got wicked thick while I was away and I had no ability to interfere. When I arrived home a full - tank wall encompassing - bloom fully in effect. Not being a patient man (we all have our faults!) I stripped it off as soon as I could.

One day later, I had to leave on the business trip I'm on now. So I can't report on how the GDA is doing. But it is encouraging to note that my wife (not a reliable measure) notes that it does not look any different than the day I left. Now I know this to be incorrect, if for no other reason than the afternoon after the evening I did a major tank wall cleaning, I could see a minor green haze on the tank walls. But that does necessarily mean that what ever is causing this GDA problem is less aggressive now than it was in the past.

Maybe it is because I fixed my CO2 problems that I mentioned in my prior post. Maybe it is because it is a life-cycle issue and I left it grow out enough to not breed too quickly in the future.

Or maybe it is because my wife is not a good reporter of tank conditions, and I will come home soon to algae soup.

Only time will tell.

[Spices]

STUNNING .... just absolutely stunning! Love this tank of yours, Steve. I can't get enough of your photos of it.
Angie