Another tank setup – another long 2ft story

[Wackytpt]

Hi Rupert,

Nice meeting yesterday evening. I am impress with your tanks. If you need any help in getting plants from Teos, let me know.

[Rupert]

Hi Rupert,

Nice meeting yesterday evening. I am impress with your tanks. If you need any help in getting plants from Teos, let me know.

Thanks Nicholas, Likewise it was good to meet you the other evening and thanks for the offer of getting plants... so much temptation when going to a plant farm... a very hard offer to resist!

[Rupert]

It has been a 1 week since tank set-up and still have to plant the Vallis Nana. Some Guppy’s were added on the second day with no problems, this is probably due to using existing materials such as placing mature filter media into the Eden 501.

The guppy’s are merely temporary and will be replaced with the smallest schooling fish I can find, or possibly no fish at all?

The other tank inhabitants of choice will most likely be CRS. I have been tempted by CRS for such a long time that for certain I am going to get some. The main concern about CRS is that they are supposedly more sensitive to water conditions, so cycling before adding them is important and CRS prefer a low tank temp of about 24-26 degrees C. The problem is that 26- 28C temperature can be achieve by a fan which is what I have now, but now considering looking for a mico chiller, then the Eden 501 wouldn’t have the ability to power it…. A vicious circle of spending more money! Plus another vicious cycle of looking for a micro chiller!

I didn’t find any suitable CNY willow branches that had the right structure to attempt growing them above the tank. It was probably lucky that I didn’t as I can imagine the root growth invading ever corner of the tank. The original desire was to have a weeping willow above the tank, a crazy bonsai theme. Instead have used B Japonica in an attempt to get some bushy growth above the waterline on the largest rock without inhibiting the light below and a small hardy tree like plant/weed called a mimosa as tree structure. The B Japonica might go if it disturbs the solitary/barren feel of the mimosa, but at the moment the two B Japonica plants on the rock are too small to be seen.

The mimosa is sometimes called the shy plant as its leaves fold up when touched. I have had these before and they are extremely tough, have small petite flowers, fine leaves and if it wasn’t for the small thorns and the fact they are probably a common weed, more people might want to have them?

The approach is to consider the space above the waterline as a separate shallow garden, with consideration that it is connected to what lies below, B Japonica being part of the link. Like a partially submerged Pejing garden… the concept might work?

[Justikanz]

Rupert, it was nice to see the tank in person. Very nice, indeed.

The guppies would probably disturb the CRS. But hey, CRS would look cool.

ps: The mimosa can grow to the size of a small tree... Maybe, that, together with the fact that they have those irritating thorns, are the reasons why no one wants to rouch them...

If you go Teos, you might want to get some emersed Marselia sp. to replace the mimosa. The leaves will also fold, but they fold at night.

[Fei Miao]

I think the guppies doesn't go with the layout, other than that the tank is turning out nicely.

[solonavi]

The other tank inhabitants of choice will most likely be CRS. I have been tempted by CRS for such a long time that for certain I am going to get some. The main concern about CRS is that they are supposedly more sensitive to water conditions, so cycling before adding them is important and CRS prefer a low tank temp of about 24-26 degrees C. The problem is that 26- 28C temperature can be achieve by a fan which is what I have now, but now considering looking for a mico chiller, then the Eden 501 wouldn’t have the ability to power it…. A vicious circle of spending more money! Plus another vicious cycle of looking for a micro chiller!

Lovely tank, as usual.

Have u consider getting a IceProbe Aquarium Chiller since ur tank's volume is small? Check out this link, http://www.reefdepot.com.sg/AddProduct.asp?ProdID=1

Cheers
JC

[Rupert]

Hello Fei Miao, the Guppy’s are only temporary to assist in cycling of the tank, then they are gone.

Hello JC, I am not sure what to do, I discounted the Icepobe as for me it would require a hole in the tank and that is out. The easy choice would be to give up my thoughts of having CRS and stick to Cherry Shrimp. However I really really want CRS, so am willing to give this little problem of cooling the tank to 25- 26C some more time and thought.

The Micro Chiller Choices I am aware of are:

1. Teco Micro Chiller [114 watts] Same voltage as SG. Indicative retail cost $HK1950
· Uses no coolant or compressor, uses a large “heat sink” to remove/dissipate heat
· Dimensions: 203mm x 152mm x 213mm 6.27 lbs however has a separate power supply that is approximately 302x 50mm x 50mm in size, which is almost as large as the chiller itself!
· Water through put required: No slower than 450l/H and no faster than 680 l/H.
· Verdict – too expensive, power supply not integrated, just didn’t look like it could do the job.

2. Resun CL – 85. [120watts] Same voltage as SG Cost $225
· Uses a compressor
· Tank volume 60L
· Dimensions: 214 x 254 x 180 about 6kg
· Water through put required: 300 l/H
· Verdict: TBC.

3. IceProbe $SG200 [Probe & adaptor unit]. Requires a hole in the tank to which it protudes into and therefore not an option.

4. Fans. They are cheap, make a bit of noise, can cool the tank a few degrees, but when summer comes then, not enough probably

So I am just going to wait a while…

[solonavi]

U can try doing a simple bracing to hold the probe upside down ontop of ur tank. Thus only inserting the probe onto the water surface, maybe somewhere near ur filter to minimise mess.

Imho, the best solution is to go with the Resun chiller and get an external pump to run it.

Just a suggestion.

[Rupert]

Hi JC,

What I have heard about the Resun CL-85 that it actually utilizes a large heat sink and probably more like the Teco option, therefore probably not entirely suitable. Why I say not entirely suitable is that for items like chiller one needs to plan for the temperature peaks at the hottest time of the year and this little chiller probably would not be suitable, a very hot week/month and dead CRS?.

So now I am inclined to go the other way and do the job properly get a 1/10 or 1/5 hp chiller, driven by a canister filter.

The tank is rather small, 55 liters - minus rocks substrate etc which make water volume even less, so what I have been pondering is getting a 2080, because it is the same as my other canister filters, plus it holds 15-20 liters of water, thus making the system more stable than before. The concerns that I have is a 2028 has a higher water flow than I need and reducing that flow to an acceptable tank level might damage it. All this to keep some CRS happy!

[BFG]

How about getting a styrofoam box and place the Eden 501 in it. The box is then filled with water and ice to a certain level. If it is too painstakingly manual work, you could add the iceprobe in the styrofoam box.

[solonavi]

Not too sure if we can still get those chiller with external cooling coil in singapore. Rem seeing somewhere b4. Something like this.



Cheers
JC

[Rupert]

Thanks JC,

An interesting option, I wonder it the cooling coil could be inserted into a canister filter /eden somehow?

At the moment I am going through a Chiller search, similar to the one that I did a year ago. Last time I bought an Articia chiller, expensive but one the will not breakdown while you are on holiday. This time I am still reliability focused, but believe the premium gap has been closed by the other brands, plus my need for the chiller to reside within a cabinet has gone.

Teco have an attractive and good “word of mouth” range eg Teco TR or TC range, which I first saw at aquarama, I have yet to find Daeil… then I need sort out the filter…

[ranmasatome]

hows the HC growing Rupert??

[Rupert]

hows the HC growing Rupert??

The HC seems to be ok, but because this set-up relies on natural diffused light [98% of the time], growth is hard to see. That said it seems to be growing and standing up a bit as expected under such low light conditions, no CO2 .

HC was rather tricky to plant; it almost has no substance, with fine filament type roots that means that some leaves in a bunch need to be sacrificed to make it hold.

[escahmo]

look nice to me.

[Rupert]

Finally finished planting out my tank last weekend, using a twisted short form of Vallisneria on one side and Valisneria Nana on the filter side. The Valisneria Nana arches over with the flow of water from the filter, while the twisted form has more structure and stands up like kelp.

Previously I thought my HC was growing, but this was probably an illusion, it was falling out and caught the guppies pulling it out! The use of totally natural lighting didn’t help the HC to settle in / grow well so have my lights on for 3 hours per day now. It is assumed that this will assist the plant to take root and spread.

The Guppy’s [used for cycling] are gone, given to next-door neighbors with my spare 5plan tank. The. Boraras Brigitae replaced the Guppy’s and is a fish that from my perspective suits the layout. I am not sure if CRS will entirely suit, but I want them and they will be put in the tank at the end of March.

On the equipment side I have found the Eden 501 to be a great little filter, but I am replacing it with a Eheim 2028. Why Eheim 2028? Well my tank set-up has such a low water volume that I wanted to increase it as much as possible and the 10lts in the canister will do this. Secondly I have two 2028’s already and prefer to have the redundancy of parts and lastly to drive a chiller. The challenge will be to restrict the canister filter outflow sufficiently to be suitable with the size of the tank.

The Chiller has been a real challenge, I don’t want to buy it and would prefer to stay with a fan set that I am using now, but when it gets really hot, I don’t expect a fan set to be able keep the tank at 25C without some significant variation. Variation of 3-4 degrees is tolerated by Cherry Shrimp, but CRS probably will not it at all.

Will post an updated picture sometime in March.

[d2hpeter]

nice layout!
but the "floating" rock at top left looks a bit wierd to me.

[Thirteen]

erm...may i ask if ur intention of getting a chiller is just for keeping Crystal Red Shrimp??

[Rupert]

Hello Peter, the floating rock, which is now held in position by a special Perspex bracket, is an experiment. It is a bit disconcerting and for that reason I sway between liking & and disliking it, them move it to a new location, but it returns to the present location above. It was also considered if I should attempt to grow something on top of it that grow upwards or grow something on it that hangs down into the water. However as I have no ideas at present that will have to wait.

Hello Junliang, yes I am only considering getting a chiller for the CRS. I know CRS can tolerate higher temperatures and a fan will keep the temperature to 25 – 27C on a day like today, but when it really gets hot the tank temperature will go beyond 27C. CRS live better & display there colours better at a lower temperature, which is also important [for me] consideration.

For the illogical reasons, this tank where I go to relax and have a drink coffee in the mornings / “eaux de vie” at night and really do not want to see or hear a fan, or indeed see the Eden 501 hanging on the side.

The chiller of choice at the moment is Teco TR-10 as it has a silent mode of operation.

[AquaObsession]

Maybe this information may be of some worth...

You are considering of replacing your fan for a chiller such that you have a quieter place to sit back and relax right... well, i just bought a resun CL280 for my tank, and it's place in my room.... the noise is "horrible". I mean I can bear it since I love my tank, but at night really really was a pain in the first week... Now getting used to it gradually...but still more noisy than a normal AC fan.

I hope that the TR-10 silent mode of operation is really useful... Check twice before you commit to it though...I dun wanna you regret buying a chiller just to have a quieter place, which you may not indeed..