Experimental 6 footer

[XnSdVd]

No it isn't, but as soon as the water gets high enough I'll attach the 1300l/hr pump Wackytpt gave me. I've been using buckets and since it's only 5mm of water per bucket I'll have to make 130(59 to go!) trips between the kitchen and my room. And since the distilled water thing only produces 2 buckets every 10 mins... yeah. Sad situation, but I think I'm getting alot of exercise climbing up and down with buckets every morning and evening...

And if you're wondering NO I OBVIOUSLY don't have a 10 meter hose... or I'd be using it by now...

[benetay]

It's going to be a long and tiring process! I've had a 6ft once, if i'll have used a pail everytime i change water, it'll have killed me. I think it's still best if you get a long hose .

Think you can get those garden hose so you can keep it neatly everytime you finish your water change or topping up. Normally i don't top up the water i just do a water change.

[vinz]

Egad! A 6 ft tank with no hose? You're a glutton for punishment, aren't you?

Anyway, what distilled water system are you using? Or are you talking about tap water filters?

I'm using a drinking fountain filter fitted with a 0.5 micron carbon filter. The recommendation is to run it at 1 gallon per minute. That's about 40 minutes to top up a quarter of a 6'x2'x2' tank.

[XnSdVd]

I use a tap water filter. "Diamond Energy Water" if I'm not wrong. Filters the metals, chlorine and sulfur(or so they claim) Anyway, after all the work i had to go through getting the tank into the house(11th floor!) and onto the shelf, the little "water runs" are pretty simple. I just pour a bucket in whenever I feel like it
All I'm doing now is waiting to see if the hairgrass and crypts(just bought from azmi) will grow... And I'll probably head down to NA sometime to get singapore moss from them.

So all that's left to do is:
52 more bucket fills
6 banded barbs
pygmy rasboras
singapore moss
Banded coolie loaches
ask choy for a male malayan forest shrimp
Get a few more pugnaxes
Blacktape the bottom of the tank
Post some pics of the thing
Get flamed for the ugly scape

[Edited for the purpose of... well... you know]

[Wackytpt]

I am the jesus of fish tanks... And I use a tap water filter. "Diamond Energy Water" if I'm not wrong. Filters the metals, chlorine and sulfur(or so they claim) Anyway, after all the work i had to go through getting the tank into the house(11th floor!) and onto the shelf, the little "water runs" are pretty simple. I just pour a bucket in whenever I feel like it
All I'm doing now is waiting to see if the hairgrass and crypts(just bought from azmi) will grow... And I'll probably head down to NA sometime to get singapore moss from them.

So all that's left to do is:
52 more bucket fills
6 banded barbs
pygmy rasboras
singapore moss
Banded coolie loaches
ask choy for a male malayan forest shrimp
Get a few more pugnaxes
Blacktape the bottom of the tank
Post some pics of the thing
Get flamed for the ugly scape

I think you can a bit sensitive here of your choice of word. Kindly not used "Jesus" name in vain. I believe there are a few christians here. No offence.

[benetay]

Moreover i too don't get what you mean by you're the "Jesus" of fish tanks. I agree with wackytpt regarding this issue on the word "Jesus" it's too sensitive. I think we should not offend people's religion with the misuse of wordings.

Just be a tad careful next time.

[vinz]

Ok... the point has been twice about the using Jesus' name in vain. I am going to be kaisu, and nip this right it the bud. I do not want some hothead to come in escalate this into a flame war about religion. AQ is not the place for it.

XnSdVd, kindly edit your post with a more appropriate word and refrain from such posts in future.

Any other posts after mine about this will be deleted.

Many thanks for your co-operation.

[XnSdVd]

Right, sorry guys. I'm christian myself you know? Anyway edited it. But seriously, didn't anyone watch that spoof film? "The Greatest Action Story Ever Told" Google or yahoo that phrase, it's pretty damn funny

Okie... BTT, Finally filled up the tank and turned on the pump(thanks wackytpt). Problem is the daphnia I've been using, all got sucked in and killed. And now the water's turned green. Solved that by restocking but what I want to know is, does anyone know how to move the water around without killing the daphnia/shrimplets/fry?
Second question, will a crypt live is all it's leaves have been broken off? Just curious cos one of mine got quite mangled on the way home.

[Justikanz]

I have daphnia/water fleas in my shrimp tank living happily with my hang-on-tank filter... I placed Java moss at the inlet... Sort of protects the shrimplets as well... You can place a filter sponge at the pump inlet... Slows the flow a bit but can save your fleas...

[Phillipians]

IMO, yes, it will still continue to grow provided given the right conditions. You might have to be especially care for it first in order for it to grow another leaf inorder to photosynthesize. But also, how bad are the condition of the leaves? Snapped? Bent? Twisted? Or simply off the main plant already? Yup that is the question

Also, when is this tank gonna be "commissioned" as a biotope? Really interested to see it going. And just being honest, it is bizarre to see someone use buckets to fill a 6 ft tank

But well if it works for you, it works for you

[XnSdVd]

@justikanz: Thanks for the advice, I switched to my old 250L/hr filter from my 2 footer. I'd imagine some of you are shaking your heads already... haha. Well the thing is, the wire's too damn short to reach my powerpoint. Any DIY websites?

@philipians: It's all stems and one leaf that's hanging by a shread of... erm.. stuff... I'm going to assume that plant won't make it unless I grow it emmersed? since my water's too cloudy for it to get enough light? I can't even tell what kind of crypt it is...(yes, very stupid of me) And when does one comission his tank? Mine's already full of native plants and fish. Except for the 3, "4 banded barbs" my grandma gave me.

Anyway, an update on the experiment:
Plants WERE growing up till the pump accident and subsiquent bacteria/algae bloom. Restocked the tank with more daphnias, switched to a slow filter and stopped feeding.

I've learned something about tubifex, I suspect the ends we see poking above the substrate are their butts/anuses. I noticed very fine silt appearing in the areas where the tubifex colonies were. I'm guessing since they're related to earthworms they swallow soil from their mouths(burried in the substrate) and pass it out the end sticking up out of the sand. Also noticed that trumpet snails somehow move fine particles to the bottom and larger ones to the surface. Countering the worms in a way. Shall see how this works out.

Probably useless info to most of you, but it was an interesting observation. Advice to anyone else using tubifex, make you the substrate is free of fine inorganic particles.

[Phillipians]

heh, by commissioning, i meant declaring that the tank is fully functional and up and running, but without water reaching to the top and also the necessary stuff not in place, hmmm i wonder if you consider it up and running.

Anyway i m really interested to see this mini-ecosystem, should prove many wrong if you pull it off, as noone has done SUNLIGHT tank for such a such tank

[XnSdVd]

Actually the water is full. But i don't consider it complete cos I can't leave everything to itself yet. But who would I be proving wrong about what? I just assumed it's never been done for a tank this big...

Water to the top: Yes
Working ecosystem: Yes
Clear water: no. danmit.

I also have to rewire my room... drill holes for shelves... blah blah.

[XnSdVd]

Update: the horrific results of wiping out the bottom of the food chain... Daphnia died, that happened. And now, |Squee| will want to kill me for "screwing it up"

[PeterGwee]

Can't see much really. A 6footer is a big investment, you sure don't want a major screwup. Readup, do it right the first time!

Regards
Peter Gwee

[joestoys]

GOOD LUCK! hope everything turns up well.

Like Peter has mention it is "big investment" beside $$$ money the trouble the bring the monster back, washing it, fill the the substrate, gravel, WATER (pail by pail).... IF really screw up, everything have to by take down and redo- THAT's will be a your worse nightmare- empty and wash the whole tank again....

[XnSdVd]

Haha, true... Thank god I didn't spend too much money on it this time around. And that I'll have lots of time next month. Anyway, I've found that if you're going to put basefert and tubifex in the same tank, you'll need a filter. If not, then you'll probably be alright. The worms sucked most of the fert out of the bottom excreted it ONTO the substrate(and hairgrass/crypt shoots)

Lesson here? Worms and fertiliser do NOT go together. Neither do daphnia and powerful filters. So I'm looking for a compromise. Justikanz convinced me to get a filter so tomorrow I'll try to get something in the 500l/hr to 900l/hr range. hopefully it'll be powerful enough to filter the water without killing all the daphs. Shall update whenever.

[joestoys]

daphnia need O2 so you might need air pump. i think

but again i think daphnia dun work in a 6 footer.

YES, you must get a filter and the bio cycle to start first. else what ever you put it will die.

[StanChung]

Looks like a very interesting project...
raw now and interesting to see it develop. water should clear up once you got flow/DO into it or cycled.
best of luck and keep posting...