Project Aquaria180

[serialthriller]

Hi! I'm new to this forum and I'm an aspiring amano-wannabe. Couple of days back my girlfriend wanted a wall to separate the dining room and the living hall. Instead of a boring wall, I suggested a 6ft X 2ft X 2ft (180 gallon) planted tank... She agreed and I was 'arrowed' to undertake this project. This is the kind of arrow that I like and I believe many here will agree with me. I call it Aquaria180.

I'll need advice from the experts in this forum...

Concept - A bed of lush Riccia and Glossos amidst a garden of rocks

Fish - Cardinal Tetras, SAE & Guppies

1. Tank (6ft X 2ft X 2ft ) + Cabinent - Any suggestion of a shop with good workmanship and reputation?

2. Lights (3 watts per gallon) - That means I'll need 540 watts of light to effectively create photosynthesis. FL or MH? I'm leaning towards Metal Halide. Looks like MH will provide the light intensity I need. I'm looking at a configuration of MH 250w X 2 and FL 20w X 2. Is there a 20w FL? What is your recommendation? Shop recommendation? How much would it cost?

3. Substrate - I intend to get dennerle duponit mix over Boden-Fluter heating cables (100w) attached to dennerle Duomat 1200 and top it off with river sand. How many cm of fertilizer and river sand?

4. Chiller - I'm thinking of getting the locally made 1.25hp titanium chiller. Any comments or suggestion?

5. Filter - Robert (Mr Fish Aquaristik) mentioned that by attaching 2 Fluval 404 together (correct me if I'm wrong) will convert nitrite to nitrate or something along that line. Any comments? Will this setup work? Is Ehiem Pro II 2038 better than Fluval?

6. CO2 - A complete dennerle CO2 system - Profi2000 + solenoid + ph-controller588 comfort. I want to minimise the no. of tubes sticking into the tank thus to create an amano feel. Is is a must to have the CO2 reactor in the tank or is there another solution?

Your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[jacian]

wow...I can see the cost of your project exceeding 5K.

Just some suggestions:

1. Riccia can become quite a nuisance, especially for a 6-footer.
2. Forgot about the SAE, I think they might spoilt the look of the tank. consider some shrimps instead.
3. Since the tank is going to be in the middle of the room, using MH may be quite glaring.
4. substrate heater is not a must.
5. Ehiem Pro II is better than Fluval. Attaching 2 Fuval together? do you mean in series. I prefer to run them separately.

good luck for your project.

[lorba]

A 6ft tank full of riccia, you are gonna break your back once every week or two?

2. I have not tried MH, but as jacian mentioned, it might get too glaring. Since you are prepare to spend a fair bit, why not consider a wall like feature, extending from tank top to the ceiling. This way, you can hid the MH.

6. You can try the external CO2 reactor selling at NA for about $70. The filter output goes to the reactor then into the tank. I believe Amano takes out the tubings before the shootings. If you look close enough at the World books, you can see rainbars and tubes in the big tanks, out in the open.

Just an idea, maybe paint the tubes black and have a black backing?

[loupgarou]

don't forget the flourite.

depending on how you do your MH fixture. ie: make it encased within a wall housing so that light doesn't flow all over the room. just directly on the tank. (might have reflectors on the top. install some fans (perhaps even an air duct...heh) out to the balcony or window.. get creative.

[liam]

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On 6/6/2003 5:14:36 PM

Hi! I'm new to this forum and I'm an aspiring amano-wannabe. Couple of days back my girlfriend wanted a wall to separate the dining room and the living hall. Instead of a boring wall, I suggested a 6ft X 2ft X 2ft (180 gallon) planted tank... She agreed and I was 'arrowed' to undertake this project. This is the kind of arrow that I like and I believe many here will agree with me. I call it Aquaria180.

I'll need advice from the experts in this forum...

Concept - A bed of lush Riccia and Glossos amidst a garden of rocks

Fish - Cardinal Tetras, SAE & Guppies

1. Tank (6ft X 2ft X 2ft ) + Cabinent - Any suggestion of a shop with good workmanship and reputation?

2. Lights (3 watts per gallon) - That means I'll need 540 watts of light to effectively create photosynthesis. FL or MH? I'm leaning towards Metal Halide. Looks like MH will provide the light intensity I need. I'm looking at a configuration of MH 250w X 2 and FL 20w X 2. Is there a 20w FL? What is your recommendation? Shop recommendation? How much would it cost?

3. Substrate - I intend to get dennerle duponit mix over Boden-Fluter heating cables (100w) attached to dennerle Duomat 1200 and top it off with river sand. How many cm of fertilizer and river sand?

4. Chiller - I'm thinking of getting the locally made 1.25hp titanium chiller. Any comments or suggestion?

5. Filter - Robert (Mr Fish Aquaristik) mentioned that by attaching 2 Fluval 404 together (correct me if I'm wrong) will convert nitrite to nitrate or something along that line. Any comments? Will this setup work? Is Ehiem Pro II 2038 better than Fluval?

6. CO2 - A complete dennerle CO2 system - Profi2000 + solenoid + ph-controller588 comfort. I want to minimise the no. of tubes sticking into the tank thus to create an amano feel. Is is a must to have the CO2 reactor in the tank or is there another solution?

Your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
----------------

Man, I am so envious of you. Wish I'd get arrowed too.

[SpuD]

Woah,
i think you will need a weekend just to setup the tank...but remember... patience is the key... do not rush to buy all the stuff... do alot of research 1st in order not to make silly mistakes like all of us did in the past.
The maintance of ricca will kill you in the long run... sometimes, you can create a beautiful tank with just low maintance plants.

by the way... are you living in a HDB flat? if you are ..i think you need a approval for the tank...
3ft and below-don't need
above 3ft-you need

Happy aquascaping!!!

SpUD

[Simon]

i think using dennerle gravel for a 6ft is very luxurious [] cant imagine parting so much for the substrate.. u intend to have how thick a substrate? go to www.dennerle.de, there is a calculation page to do the sum for u..

[serialthriller]

Wow! Thanks guys for the response!

jacian – I thought of the glare factor before… I thought of placing the light closer to the water, about 1 inch above the water to minimise the glare and focus the light into the tank. What do you think?

lorba – I’ve thought of the wall feature that you’ve suggested. I think a height adjustable pendant light system would be better to allow room for me to aquascape and do some maintenance. When I don’t need to tinker with it, I can lower the light closer to the water surface. What do you think?

“Just an idea, maybe paint the tubes black and have a black backing?#8221;

Yeah but the tank serves as a partition between the dining room and the living hall. A see through aquascape will give one a surreal sense of more space.

loupgarou – The Arcadia Pendant MH fixture I was planning to buy comes with fans installed. Sorry, what is fluorite?

SpuD – My girlfriend stays in a condo… maybe we still need approval? I’ll check with her.

[fatikan]

Hi
Remember to apply permit from HDB, there are guid line in
web site.
Cheer! Happy Planting

[pipsqueak]

Hi, I belive someone suggested at least a foot off the surface for MH lights, as it'll heat up the water, and one inch from the surface is gonna be bad for that criteria. Everyone should be aiming for 25~27 deg cel. for ideal plant growth.

Have fun with your project, and its amazing to hear your girlfriend approves of such a big tank!

[Simon]

with the MH that close to the surface, any splash 'might' crack the glass..

[loupgarou]

Hi, I belive someone suggested at least a foot off the surface for MH lights, as it'll heat up the water, and one inch from the surface is gonna be bad for that criteria. Everyone should be aiming for 25~27 deg cel. for ideal plant growth.

I'm extremely successful at moss growing under direct MH light. in this weather, with AC fan, my tank is 29 when lights are on. 28 when lights are off. during the december period.the single ac can can cool the tank to 26

My mh is 8 inches from the water surface. the glass is tempered, so splashes doesn't make it crack (I know, cos I hear water sizzle when I water change). its not any closer cos I'm using a single MH pendant for 4ft tank, so I need the spread.

Fluorite (www.seachem.com) is an excellent substrate for plant growing (that i find is going to be totally hassle free in the long run, you don't have turning to mud problems like ADA, you don't have to worry about anaerobic substrate producing Hydrogen sulphide etc), planting is perfect since you can rip out plants and the plume of dust is just fluorite and not basefert that can cause a algae bloom. (along with proper choice of root fertilisation.. ) I don't bother with adding stuff to the substrate, the fish mulm does it for me pretty well.


you can search for testimonies here on the APD Digest
http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/

[sherchoo]

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On 6/7/2003 11:19:55 PM

My mh is 8 inches from the water surface. the glass is tempered, so splashes doesn't make it crack (I know, cos I hear water sizzle when I water change). its not any closer cos I'm using a single MH pendant for 4ft tank, so I need the spread.

--------------

Glass being tempered does not mean it won't crack. Tempered would only mean that when the glass breaks, it will break into non sharp edges making it safer.

serialthriller,
It's definately a no no to place the light 1" from the surface. Reason:
1. Intensity will be too strong
2. The light will be poorly ditributed
3. Water gets heated up
4. Light risk getting splashed (may cause damage to light)

I think benny has a good point to how you may be able to tackle this problem. Do give it some thoughts.

[sherchoo]

Concept - A bed of lush Riccia and Glossos amidst a garden of rocks

Glosso is ok but Riccia is high maintenance. Not only that, it's quite impossible to remove if you decide to rip it out.

1. Tank (6ft X 2ft X 2ft ) + Cabinent - Any suggestion of a shop with good workmanship and reputation?

I've made mine from Soon Heng (Yishun). I'm quite satisfied with their work. Might want to get a quote from them. Check the LFS list for contacts (link located at the top of the page).

2. Lights (3 watts per gallon) - That means I'll need 540 watts of light to effectively create photosynthesis. FL or MH? I'm leaning towards Metal Halide. Looks like MH will provide the light intensity I need. I'm looking at a configuration of MH 250w X 2 and FL 20w X 2. Is there a 20w FL? What is your recommendation? Shop recommendation? How much would it cost?

You can try using 3X150W instead. 3W/g only applies to FL/PL lighting. If you go down to Gan's farm, his tank is 2X150W and it's doing fine. You just have to be more selective in your choice of plants.

3. Substrate - I intend to get dennerle duponit mix over Boden-Fluter heating cables (100w) attached to dennerle Duomat 1200 and top it off with river sand. How many cm of fertilizer and river sand?

If you have the budget, by all means use duponit mix. If not you can consider other cheaper means of base fert like JBL Aquabasis etc. Do search around and compare the price. As Jacian mentioned, heater is not a must. If you do decide to get one, your tank water has to be cool enough or else it won't work efficiently.

4. Chiller - I'm thinking of getting the locally made 1.25hp titanium chiller. Any comments or suggestion?

No comments

5. Filter - Robert (Mr Fish Aquaristik) mentioned that by attaching 2 Fluval 404 together (correct me if I'm wrong) will convert nitrite to nitrate or something along that line. Any comments? Will this setup work? Is Ehiem Pro II 2038 better than Fluval?

I woudn't suggest Fluval as spare parts are not easily available. I do recommend eheim pro II 2028 (I don't think they have 203.

6. CO2 - A complete dennerle CO2 system - Profi2000 + solenoid + ph-controller588 comfort. I want to minimise the no. of tubes sticking into the tank thus to create an amano feel. Is is a must to have the CO2 reactor in the tank or is there another solution?

Do you need a branded CO2 set? I find the taiwanese regulator works quite well with a timer. Do check the price before investing. Again, if you got the budget, by all means get it.

[serialthriller]

jacian, lorba, loupgarou, liam, spud, simon, fatikan, pipsqueak and sherchoo: A big Thank You for the advice and comments. Can't wait to get Aquaria180 started... Will keep everyone posted on the setup progress as soon as I come back from overseas business trip.