Experimental 6 footer

[XnSdVd]

Whew, finally got the monster home and cleaned(kinda clean anyway). It's just sitting on the floor now cos I haven't gotten a stand for it. And I have to get a job before I can afford to have a stand made. ANYHOO... here's what it looks like.


Think it's mess now? You shoulda seen it 2 days ago... Essentially, everything you see in that picture will be gotten rid of once I can afford or be bothered to get new furniture. That's my entire room BTW. And no, the tank's on there until I can get a stand and move it closer to the door(right behind the boxing bag) Beautiful isn't it? muaahaha!


And the reason why it's experimental is because it is! Allow me to explain, I plan to:
-Go as low tech as possible. Like FILTERLESS low.
-Use sunlight
-Use woodshrimp and daphnias to handle the algae
-Have a completely self-sufficient tank
-Have fish breed naturally in a community tank
-If all else fails, provide a bad example for the next idiot to try something this stupid.
-Sell the fry/larvae

That and I'd like to take the opportunity to say it was nice to meet everyone at gratiola yesterday It's nice to finally put a face to the name/nick. Especially justikanz, I was seriously expecting some chubby secondary school kid... I'd also like to thank the Gratiola guys for their advice(and free thermometer!) and to wish them all the best in whatever it is they plan to undertake. I'm sorry to see that shop go, seriously thought it was a nice place(especially because my gf lives across the road) Oh, today's my B-day Shall post more as it developes.

[XnSdVd]

Did I mention I'm only using flora and fauna native to singapore? I'm in that "down with the foreign devils!" mood. Anyway, here's a rough idea for the tank:


I have no idea what plants to use at the moment except hairgrass for the "lawn" effect. I'll need some species of native moss(1) for the right side where the drift wood is, some mid height, smallish plants(2) for the area around the "roots". Further left past the rock I plan to have a small clump of some kinda broad leafed crypt, local of course(3) and finally in the far left I'll need some kind of tall "sword-ish" plant(4) so I don't scare the crap out of the fish everytime I walk by that area. It leads to my bed you see, tank's in the middle of the room.

I realise the drawing looks really shitty but try to imagine it in 3 dimensions, more colours and with stuff actually swimming around inside...

[Justikanz]

Didn't you say you have an interview at 10am?? Wow... Still posting at 4.20am and then edit at 8.28am?? Youngsters dun need to sleep eh...

Btw, can't see your pics... You need to edit the posts again?...

Oh, for those who might be confused... I am NOT a chubby teenager! Haha...

[Wackytpt]

Didn't you say you have an interview at 10am?? Wow... Still posting at 4.20am and then edit at 8.28am?? Youngsters dun need to sleep eh...

Btw, can't see your pics... You need to edit the posts again?...

Oh, for those who might be confused... I am NOT a chubby teenager! Haha...

Cubby Boy Thomas... haha. You should think of it as a compliment.

XnSdVd,

I believe there is a link problem for your pictures

[Justikanz]

But I dun want to be chubby! ... Dun kind the teenager though...

[wong1979]

I can see a great scape coming up With a 6 footer, you can actually use some native species we have here. For your left side partition, I would strongly recommend Blyxa aubertii, as it can grow up to 1m in length. As for lawn, you could actually use our very own long hairgrass, which might not look so long in a six footer. I'm sure you will know where to get these

Moss, we have our very own Singapore moss. As for crypt, certainly there are some suitable varieties, though I don not know the names.

Lastly, our very own, Limnophila vilosa, a stemmed plant, as recently identified by green baron. Plenty around

[Justikanz]

You can see the pics?... I still can't see it...

[XnSdVd]

@justikanz:
Don't you fall under the "youngster" category as well? I thought you were in your 20s or something... Oh, the job interview went ok-ish... photography thing at the zoo. The interviewer gave me this weird look when I mentioned I did modeling portfolios...

Anyway, if the link's broken try this:
http://www.deviantart.com/view/22888744/
and
http://www.deviantart.com/view/22891046/

And thanks wong1979 That was alot more info than I expected... Any idea where I can get the things you mentioned? Anyway, so far I managed to get hold of some daphnias and I've started a culture(green water + daphnias) Going to pick up a few books later to educate myself. and see where I can get a good price on a custom shelf for the tank. Any to recommend?

[Justikanz]

How I wish... Keke... Thanks for the compliment!

Glad you managed to get that monster safely home! It sure was an experience seeing the move firsthand!

Suggest you still get some light (maybe to place along the tank width away from the window) as otherwise the plants will grow towards the window... And your scaping might look wierd.

You can post in the forum later to ask if anyone is selling those plants. Good luck with the daphnia culture... With excess, you definitely can sell them...

[XnSdVd]

Are they seriously that hard to find? did I just get lucky stumbling across a bag labled "watercockroach" for 50c? My culture involves lots of little containers full of algae in the sun. Anyone who wants some, feel free to sms me 98627310

That and, the move was hardly safe, the workers droped it on me once, smashed another guys' finger, cracked a corner(thank god it's just a tiny chip) right outside the shop. and almost stepped on my cat... haha, fun though. hope you guys enjoyed the show.

[Phillipians]

is the chip serious? cos if it is... then u gotta be careful... with water inside.... u could find urself in a swimming pool when u wake up in the morning but well glad to know everything is safe....

And honestly, i do hope u ll get lights and filter, cos without co2 already quite low tech liao, dont need to change water also. But well you could be the first guy to pull this off, you ll never know but it will be an ardous road ahead... ALl the Best man !

[FoxTHEguppy]

Best of luck I hope you pull through. Please post some update pics on your journey.

[Johnc]

And the reason why it's experimental is because it is! Allow me to explain, I plan to:
-Go as low tech as possible. Like FILTERLESS low.
-Use sunlight
-Use woodshrimp and daphnias to handle the algae
-Have a completely self-sufficient tank
-Have fish breed naturally in a community tank
-If all else fails, provide a bad example for the next idiot to try something this stupid.
-Sell the fry/larvae

Hey, i'm doing something similar with my 2 footer... except that the fish comprise now of a brood of White Super Delta Betta babies (parents compliment of Benny. You can have them [the parents] if you want, as Justikanz can't take them now). Very little maintainance after the break in period. Don't even feed the betta fries as they are eating the cyclops and growing well. Hoping to add daphnia to the brew if i can find them.

Only problem is hydras.

Plants are local mosses (2 or 3 species), water sprite (certopteris thalictroides), local Limniphila sp., Hair grass that sprang out of no where (maybe from my soil substrate or from the used lapis that i bought from someone). I also have elodea (not strictly local).

One advice. Unless you don't mind your tank looking weird with plants heading away from you to the window, don't use stemmed plants. Water sprite looks splendid and grow like weed. If you want, i can spare you some.

/John

[XnSdVd]

Actually I've already succeeded with my 2 footer, but I found it was too small to handle more than 4 fish without weekly feeding. Breeding was almost impossible because of the limited space. And the daphnias had nowhere to hide so they didn't exist in large enough numbers to sustain the fish.

By the way, I've got a daphnia culture running now. I wouldn't mind giving you some if you came down to pasir ris to collect them. sms 98626310. No thanks on the bettas though. I've got my pugnax-es already and they need 1sqft per fish or they start fighting...

Sadly there's nothing to update because I can't get started until I have a cabinet. And I'm still desperately searching for a job. Could ask my parents but I feel bad mooching off them

[Justikanz]

You can treat it as a loan... Return them ONCE you have work... Dun leave the tank and especially the gravel without water for too long... Else, you will have problems with stains on the tank and dirty and smelly (anaerobic) gravel!...

[flyinmysoup]

Fwah! Experimental 6 footer!?!? You are the man!

Hehe.... It'll be a treat to seea 6 footer filled with local flora and fauna. I tried that once in a 2 footer, didn't get the effect. Maybe you could do a palaudarium type of scape. That'll be having a damn cool, mysterious tank in your room dude!

Good luck!

[XnSdVd]

Finally got the fugging pictures to show up(i hope)

[|squee|]

1) If you're planning to go filterless, better get more plants Also, I believe you still need a pump to circulate water around that huge tank.

2) I believe that algae can be minimised in a new setup and in times ahead if you plant very densely in the begginning. No need daphnia, I'm guessing the fish will eat them up anyway?

3) Sunlight can be used, but are you sure you're never going to close that window? (Rain for example) Also, Diana Walstad supplements hers with FL lighting. Also, how about temperature control? It'll be great if you buy a chiller hooked up to that pump. Temperature will help alot in your tank imho.

4) I hope you've read the Tom Barr's Non-Co2 method at the Beginner's corner (stickied). It helped alot for my non-CO2 tank.

5) Your pictures are up , but I think you can do so much better! It's a 6ft tank for goodness sake.

Good luck. I'll can only dream of having a 6ft tank.

[XnSdVd]

Muahahaha!
Finally managed to scrape enough money together to buy a tank stand! My own design too! though it's stupifyingly simple, a retarded monkey could do something more elaborate. But hey, simple's what I want And it only cost me $480!

Dimensions: 183 x 80 x 100
4cm thick blockboard(think fat plywood)
Laminated finish

Anyway, It'll be here on the 8th so you guys should be able to see the basics(or my corpse as justikanz mentioned) on the 9th Anyway, here's the carpenters' site: www.jskitchendesign.com. Despite the name they also make tanks. Comes with a 3 year warranty too!

[XnSdVd]

As for squee's advice:

1) Yup, I'm using a pump. The reason being a filter powerful enough for that tank traps the daphnias and whatever small creatures in the filter medium.

2) I'm using daphnias to filter the water and feed the fish =)

3) Alas I am too poor to afford lights for the tank on my $800 a month salary Besides, windows are made of glass aren't they? But fortunately I'm a lazy bastard with an aircon that turned on almost 24/7. My 2 footers' temp is usually around 28 in the day and can get low enough at night to cause condensation in the morning

4) *Reads the stickied post*

5) I'm a poor excuse for a graphic designer... Like I said any ideas would be welcome

Thanks, and hey, dreams come true, or shops close down and you can get tanks at low prices Not that I was happy about gratiola closing down. I seriously liked that place