huzzy Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 I meant to put some pics up earlier, but work has kept me busy. The tank is 10long, 2wide and 2.5high. With the sump and rocks, is it a tad under 1500L Cabinet I had the cabinet custom made by some local furniture makers. The hardest part was picking colours and trims. The woodgain and aluminium suit the style of our house, it may not appeal to everyone. It has been designed to hold 4 ton. Canister Filter The Canister is an Ehiem 2217, and it barely makes a dent in the water movement due to the length of tube on the intake end. Will upgrade to a Pro or something beefier when time permits. Coral Mound I have exhausted LFS Baserock supplies on the Central Coast. Will have to make another trip to sydney for another 150kg shortly. This one pile here is about 120kg. Hood close up The Hood was originaly designed with lids, but they became more annoying than benefit so i removed them. Side On From the Left hand side, its a little murky due to them getting a midnight snack 5 mins earlier. Sump 1 Sump 2 The sump has 90L of Dupla Cascade Bio Balls, and is fed by a spinning arm. Water is returned to the tank via an OceanMedic 6500 - Whisper quiet so far. Temp is a steady 25.5deg. The hottest day i have had has been 33deg outside and the coldest nights have been around 6deg lately....Tank temp has never droped below 24 or above 26. Its warmed by 2 x 300W Fluvals in the sump. P.S The observant will have noticed the sump says 10x2x2. Im not a liar. The tank was that size, but it was damaged during transport, so i changed the dimensions while i could. Tank 1 Tank 2 Tank 3 Sorry for the blury pics, im a hopeless cameraman. And yes, i know it needs some plants. Again, lack of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Wow That thing is amazing. Hope you got a strong floor Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzacam Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 HOLY WOWSIES! That thing is a monsterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr~! What fish do you plan on keeping in there/have in there now? Cameron BTW: I like the look of the cabinet and what not, very sleek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorman Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Hey mate nice size tank It approx 1350 litres though not 1900 I have 2 big tanks 10.5 x 3x 2 How much fun are they big tanks lol makes u never want to go back to the smaller ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mianos Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 Wow, it looks fantastic! That would really suit my place too. How are the lights fitted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huzzy Posted May 4, 2006 Author Share Posted May 4, 2006 It approx 1350 litres though not 1900 ← Too right....that 9 was meant to be a 5 Thats 1am typing for you. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huzzy Posted May 4, 2006 Author Share Posted May 4, 2006 What fish do you plan on keeping in there/have in there now? ← Not Sure....its Malawi atm, but i have temptations to try my hand at some tangs. Im looking for some good quality P. Demasoni right now, and may offload the 15 strong colony of Red Empress. i wouldnt mind a nice Saratoga J., but that kind of limits tank mates.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 WOW...I would soooo love to get my aquascaping hands on that! Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huzzy Posted May 5, 2006 Author Share Posted May 5, 2006 Andrea, i would humbly take on any suggestions or ideas you have. Have seen and admired your work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyclops Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 100+ ps saulosi would be nice in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkmuncan Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 looks great love the cabinet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wui39 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Very impressive tank. I assume all the mechanical filtration is done by the 2217? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huzzy Posted May 5, 2006 Author Share Posted May 5, 2006 I assume all the mechanical filtration is done by the 2217? ← Correct. There is a piece of fine wool seperating the two chambers in the sump, but its effectiveness is quite limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 With filtering, you want to turn your tank over 4-6 times per hour. It is tough to do this via canister filters on a tank your size. It is not difficult to move that much water with a pump, but difficult to do so via a canister filter. You should set your tank up to filter via a sump system, otherwise there will be a very good chance you will not be satisfied with your canister filters performance regardless of how big it is. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 I agree with Craig re- filtration. As far as landscaping...I gather bits and pieces and squirrel them away for use at a later stage. I literally have tons of differing rock, substrates, shells, wood sitting here that I can chose from. I will often buy something from the LFS that I don't immediately need, but know it will fit a "theme" that I have in mind for later. I pick a theme...eg. smooth dark coloured rocks in a "cut away riveresque" theme. Then I match all the decor up...eg. smooth dark coloured gravel, two or three types of plant only (bunch and asymmetrically placed), a lighter coloured paint for the back/sides of the tank that is the same tone as the rock, but lighter shade. I add pieces of well worn wood (also darkish). Basically, what I am saying copy nature as best you can. Don't mix limestone with woomera rock for example. Don't plant individual plants in rows or at even spacings. Dark rock/light substrate is generally not found in nature. Remember that the surrounding cliffs weathered to produce the riverbed sand. Hence brown quartzite gravel wouldn't be found around limestone rock (for example...unless we are talking glacial activity ). Similarly, angular gravel is unlikely to be found around waterworn rocks/pebbles. Remember the tank is 3D...try to scape it to enhance the depth/width of your tank. Terracing can sometimes be advantageous too (especially in narrow tanks). Try not to place feature rock/wood/plants in the centre of the tank. Also avoid regular geometric placements of rock and wood. It makes the tank look 2D. Use different size rocks...perhaps one really large one, 2 or 3 slightly smaller pieces and a heap of much smaller ones placed around the larger pieces. I try to build my rockwork outside in the backyard first. Admittedly it never goes in the tank the same, but it is easier to get a feel for it and organise a basic plan without the constraints of glass and stands. Hope some of this helps a bit. Ultimately you are the one that will be putting in the admiration hours, so it has to please you. Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikita Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 I have same size tank and use a 2x2x2 sump, cant remember what the pump is but it keeps it crystal clear. Only problem I have is catching fish out of it! Have just had to take out a heap of rock but still trying to redesign it to make it easier for me. Any secret techniques for this size tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlashieFront Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 thats big & modern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 Um Craig & Andrea - there is a sump, the canister is supplemental Awesome tank Huzzy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huzzy Posted May 6, 2006 Author Share Posted May 6, 2006 Also, I forgot to mention the digital thermometers. Not sure if its something many people think about, but the accuracy of these things is quite laughable. The two you can see in my sump pic are identical, bought on the same day, sitting 1.5inces apart in the water (at the same depth). 1.5degree difference. I had a third identical one, that was 4 degrees below the lowest of the two. The 25.5deg one is as close to accurate as i could get...i believe it is within 0.3deg of actual temp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 I had a 5deg spread on my digital thermometers too, luckily the only one of them that was accurate enough to keep is the only one that didn't fail unexplicably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Um Craig & Andrea - there is a sump, the canister is supplemental Awesome tank Huzzy! ← The sump only has bioballs in it, to filter a tank it needs to have mechanical media in there to keep it visually clean. My comments weren't aimed at a criticism, but highlighting a potential problem. Having the canisters as a "supplemental" situation is good, but you've got to have them as supplemental and not as the only form of mechanical filtration before it could be considered supplemental. Andrea, I agree completely with all your aqua scaping comments. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huzzy Posted May 8, 2006 Author Share Posted May 8, 2006 My comments weren't aimed at a criticism, but highlighting a potential problem. ← And they certainly weren't taken offensively. I do agree that my mechanical filtration needs to be beefed up quite substantially. However, i may just feign offence to assist in the negotiation of some certain P.Demasoni. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 Sorry Craig, I thought you guys were refering to it being underfiltered in a biological sence & had missed the bit about the sump. Perhaps add an AC500 for mechanical backup rather than more/larger cannisters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 However, i may just feign offence to assist in the negotiation of some certain P.Demasoni. Ha! I didn't realise the connection. You'll get a kick out of my tanks when you pick up the fish, and I'll show you what I mean by filtration, but the price will remain the same No worries Ash. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobaltcraig Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 However, i may just feign offence to assist in the negotiation of some certain P.Demasoni. Ha! I didn't realise the connection. You'll get a kick out of my tanks when you pick up the fish, and I'll show you what I mean by filtration, but the price will remain the same No worries Ash. Craig ← In other words allow a extra 2hours for the visit and try to visit during daylight saving Cheers Good Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.