Another tank setup – another long 2ft story

[Rupert]

Thanks AquaObsession, I find the ambient noise in shops is often much higher than at home, which is logical, but it does make determining the amount of noise coming from equipment difficult to determine.

I have another tank setup in the living room that has an Articia chiller and it is noticeable when it is on [Heat & noise], so this time I am being careful, but it is still difficult.

[Rupert]

Equipment Update

Acquired another second-hand Eheim 2028 from a forum member that I have bought equipment off in the past, then let it operate on my 4ft tank with 2 other 2028’s for a while to allow bacteria to colonize the media before transfer to the 2ft tank.

The set up with the chiller was not a problem, controlling the water flow was expected to be an issue, so stepped down the filter outflow from 16/22mm – 12/16mm then finally to 9/12mm. Reducing the outflow to 9/12 mm probably reduced the water flow, but not sufficiently as there was a real intensity to the water circulating the tank, with the consequential dislodgment of plants requiring urgent action. The Teco Chiller taps [picture below] saved me as I could adjust the water flow using those and now have a water flow set somewhat higher than what the Eden 501 could do, but a lot less than what the 2028 can do. Later on I found out via BFG [moderator] that the 2028 impeller could be swapped with the 2222 to reduce flow.

The Teco TR-10, is a smooth design that sucks air from the bottom before expelling it from the back it also has a couple of interesting features in addition to the chiller connections doubling up as taps. This chiller model also can house a UV sterilizer although I chose not to get it. It also has a silent mode which is to temporarily reduce the noise during operation. Silent mode is not recommended for permanent use and as found out, it changes the noise more than it is reduced [my impression].

The manual for the Teco is just two A4 sheets of paper of instructions, which from my perspective has insufficient technical information. For instance the thermostat reading to the user seems to be in 0.5 increments [vs Artica 0.1 increments] and I am not sure if that can be changed? The shop I bought the chiller from also showed me that the chiller can be set to start on a 0.5, 1.0 or 1.5 degree C range from the set temperature, although this is not found anywhere in the supplied documentation. Compared to Articia manual I give the Teco an F grade for supplied info, to be fair the Teco was half the price.

When in operation the noise from the chiller is ok, definitely better than the fan that I was using previously and comparable to the Articia that I have. What makes the noise really bearable is that the chiller only comes on for 6 -10 minutes each hour to reduce the tank temperature from 25c to 24c. One needs to put this time in perspective that my effective tank volume is about 34 liters [not including water in the chiller 1.5Lt & 2028 holds 9.5Lt] and that the entire setup is less than 2 meters from a permanently open window.

The Chiller & Eheim 2080 can be located together in a 1ft x 2 ft space, which is what I wanted but probably more by good luck than design as if either of them was 2mm longer this would not be possible

So all is need now are the CRS and some steady plant growth and I will be a happy man.

[spinex]

Rupert,

You might consider setting the temperature to be 25 degree instead. The crs would still be comfortable in it. I setting that exactly for my 2ft tank. That will save you some electricity bill and less kick in.

[Rupert]

A quick update, the HC hasn’t taken off, rather started floating around the tank and became a magnet for hair algae so started replacing it with dwarf hair grass. No point in showing a picture as the only thing that is really growing well is the mimosa plants.

CRS arrived a few weeks ago and most impressed with their vibrant / vivid colour bands. As usual have spent too much time traveling, but this did give me the time to document some basic CRS fundamental colour profiles. There are some pictorial examples included of various body parts showing vivid to weak coloration. My preference is for 4 banded CRS. Anyway this profile collage might be useful to others?

Was exploring some shops in HK and wondered what the white stone was in their CRS tanks, before I knew it end up buying a couple of products:

Montmorillonite [Soft mineral that has small crystals that forms a clay like stone] This is used to enhance the white colour. Naturally was told that the product below that was needed to enhance the red

Shrimp Food to make the redder

Lastly saw some real small algae tablets. Unfortunately never saw this product again.

[ranmasatome]

Yay!! an update!! so any pictures of the tank rupert?? i wanna see the plant growth..

[ching4ever]

2028 for a 2ft tank... so powerful the water flow. i buy a 2213 and change with you, want or not? hehehehe...... just joking:P!

faster update the tank picture, can't wait to see the tank...

[Rupert]

Yay!! an update!! so any pictures of the tank rupert?? i wanna see the plant growth..

The plant growth has been so little that it is not worth posting a picture. As the tank literally survives with ambient light + 1.5 hours of 54watt and no CO2, so plant growth is slower than slow.

Plus I do not have access to a camera that can take front-on pictures, hence my pictures have to be taken at such angles [eg below link] to avoid flash bounce that it would distort this set up.

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...&postcount=110
I should have gone to the AQ Photo workshop a while ago, where I would have learnt a trick or two.

2028 for a 2ft tank... so powerful the water flow. i buy a 2213 and change with you, want or not? hehehehe...... just joking:P!

faster update the tank picture, can't wait to see the tank...

I hardly had any problems with controlling the 2028 water flow, except for the first few minutes which dislodged most of the HC! However I am really pleased that I decided to stay with one canister filter model in the house ie I have 3 2028’s in operation now.

Suppose I should try over Easter to get a decent photo, but will only post it if it show some progress.

[richietay]

Rupert, nice tank! i would say u have a good selection of plants and combination!

Certainly would like to see those high graded crs, indeed rare! heard some of these could fetch up to thousand over bucks!

[Rupert]

Rupert, nice tank! i would say u have a good selection of plants and combination!

Certainly would like to see those high graded crs, indeed rare! heard some of these could fetch up to thousand over bucks!

I am a beginner and haven't got high graded CRS, just thought there was something missing, ie a “profile sheet” that summarized the various profile types, then thought some specific grading cutouts might even help more. The aim was to arrange the photo cutouts from various sources [mainly Japan MFF] from very solid, vibrant, bright colouring to dull, weak, transparant, so that enthusiasts had something to refer to.

In principle profiles would not change that much over time, grading/colour intensity standards are shifting/increasing all the time.

My preference is for 3 or 4 banded CRS and have only 14 of them, which will never produce the stunning white S or SS body shapes. So sorry to disappoint, but I am not in the SS or SSS league.

[Rupert]

Sometime ago I came across some interesting information about water temperature and the correlation to expected hatching dates for CRS eggs. Since I had a bit of spare time over Easter and aided by the formula [below] the above graph data was created with the intent to test if the formula is a reliable predicator of CRS hatching? This effort was fueled by the fact that on Friday 14th April one of my CRS presented itself with eggs and I wanted to know when they would hatch. So if the above graph is correct then in about 23 days the eggs little shrimp should be seen? This post will be edited in the future to let you know.

Large Edit – From my observations it took 21 days +/- 1 day for the female CRS eggs to hatch. The Female CRS offloaded the eggs progressively and was still carrying some eggs 22 days after I first saw her carrying her clutch. With a sample size of 1 and approximate observation + some good luck of being in front of the tank when a young CRS was first observed I will make the leap of faith in assuming that the graphical correlation between water temperature and hatching is correct and summarized in the picture below.

[Rupert]

Here is a late afternoon picture with the sunlight hitting the tank. The right side is ok, and have used Cladophora aegagropilac often known as “Marimo balls” to provide some colour. I broke the balls open so that they carpeted the areas they occupy. This plant/algae is an amazingly dense and looks and feels like course cotton wool.

The Left side has been a problem, it looks barren. Current thoughts have been to replace the hair grass to a moss of some kind, probably erect moss when I can find it. Spiky Moss was tempting for a while, but thought that I would loose control of it and am hoping that the Erect Moss will reach up towards the Salvina Natans and complement the roots that hang down.

[ranmasatome]

heh.. great idea on the cladophora.. it'll spread to other parts is what i heard.. but thats just heresay.

[Rupert]

heh.. great idea on the cladophora.. it'll spread to other parts is what i heard.. but thats just heresay.

I am not sure if it will spread, but happy to say that it has and pretend the hair algae that I have got is cladophora spreading

[Rupert]

Made some subtle changes, added some sand as the previous substrate couldn’t hold the Utricularia. I am not sure if Utricularia is a good choice, I like the light green look, but as a "bladderwort", a carnivorous plant it might be difficult to grow into a lawn. Below is a good web site with untold site links to Utricularia information:

http://www.humboldt.edu/~rrz7001/Utricularia.html

The Erect Moss is collecting hair algae at an alarming rate, so added as fast grower “Myriophyllum tuberculatum” to shield the Erect Moss from the afternoon sun. M tuberculatum is a fast grower and probably not suited to a low tech, small tank, but as I had some handy in it went. The Mimosa has been growing like a weed on the rock, I often have to trim its roots and branches. The small thorns on this plant grab anything and have ripped it off its perch more than once.

My CRS look good, but for some reason they are not breeding, the tank parameters seem ok, but something is not right, so have some thinking to do about that problem.

I now have water current from the Eheim 2028 on full, which means there is quite a lot of water movement around the tank, the shrimp do not seem to mind at all and it forces the floating Salvinia Natans to one end, otherwise this plant would take over all the surface area in days.

[Rupert]

Have been meaning to post an update… it wasn’t until the weekend that decided finish what was started some time ago. Utilized Nana Petite that I had been keeping in a container for months after they were removed from my larger tank.Ran short of Sarawak sand on the left

This set up has no dedicated lighting, just ambient light. For me I like the the surface just as much as what is underneath

[Jungle-mania]

Very nice and unorthodox setup. If you are worried about not having enough lighting underwater, I saw some underwater lighting sold at wu hu about 18w, should be sufficient.

[ranmasatome]

Actually i think the beauty of this tank is precisely because it has no dedicated lighting and still manage to look so nice. Great effort Rupert. I have one such tank sitting outside as well.. i'm waiting for growth..

[Mintz]

Nice tank setup..
Can i know how u plant the plant on top? is very nice..

[Rupert]

Hi Mntz,

I didn’t plant the large fern, it just appeared naturally and grew on the rock, the tank is near a permanent opening so plant spores must be floated in. I did have another rock with a much larger fern type, but it got out of control started growing everywhere.

The smaller green plant is all that remains of the HC-Cuba that I did try to grow 9months ago, it floated up and would never stay down, it was the best of intentions to have a foreground, but that failed miserably. This plant needs CO2 and light, so not surprising that it only exists out of the water now.

Growth in this tank is so slow that weeks go by quickly waiting for something to change.

[Mintz]

wow.. thats cool...
I like the way it grow, so naturally.

so that mean you don't use co2 or light.?
just using sun light and filter..??

Mmm...