NeonBlueLeon
Fishaholic
Hey folks!
Here's the setup journal for my long awaited (by me) semi-Waalstad method tank. Enjoy!
The stand was set up first. I had to shift a bit of furniture, but this was the intended spot when I was planning the tank. The hardest part of having the tank here was wire management as this is right next to my computer. The stand is an Aquatic Fundamentals 29 Gallon Stand. The bars are metal, and the shelves are wood. The overall quality seems decent at best.
In the garage, checking the tank for leaks. So far, so good.
Time to sink the driftwood. There were three branches of manzanita in there that I like, but I only wanted two of them. I removed them from the bucket, put it in the sink in my garage and ran scalding hot water on them. Then I plugged the drain and let it sit in the hot water. Half a day later, I pulled the plug and repeated the process. It took two days to sink this bone-dry wood using this method, refilling the sink with hot water only twice a day. What’s that in the top left corner…?
Tank on the stand! Good height, I think. Seemed easy enough to view from the front, and look from the top. Any higher, and I would not be able to reach my arms in safely.
A little background, I originally wanted a shorter, longer tank. 30 gallons, 36” x 12”x 16”. This 29 gallon tank is 30” x 12” x 18”.
However, it was near impossible to find this tank in stores or used.
Checking out my new lights! I was stoked to try out LEDs for the first time. They are Current’s Satellite LED+. They have 6500K white LEDs as well as RBG LEDs. According to their website, the light will have a PAR of 28 in this tank. I estimated the distance from the light to substrate to be about 18 inches.
Here is the empty tank with the lights at full blast. All 6500K whites and RBG LEDs are on is on the left, moonlight is on the right. Unfortunately, the different lighting programs (sunset/sunrise, cloudy days, etc.) could not be programed to a timer throughout the day. It would have been an awesome feature to have the lights dim up and down on a timer. Too bad though.
Unboxed my Eheim 2215. Also my first canister filter. I usually run hang-on-back filters. I am slightly worried that the flow maybe to a bit too strong. I have the outputs pointed horizontally about an inch under the water surface.
So, I attached my powerhead to the output hose of the Eheim, and filled the tank up like that. Aren’t I clever? My python water changer hadn’t arrived yet, so this was my solution to filling the tank. I wanted to run the filter for a few days to make sure it works alright. Still so far so good.
I ordered Amazon Frogbit and it came before I got setup. So I threw them into my betta, Scherbatsky’s, tank. The roots melted and shriveled up at first, but new roots shot out on day three. The leaves have doubled in number six days after putting them in. Scherbatsky loves swimming through the plant roots and has been blowing tons of bubbles into the leaves. Betta owners, I highly recommend floating plants. I’m going to leave some in the tank for Scherbatsky.
So, what was in the top left corner? The name of the game for this tank: dirt. I’m sick and tired of crappy substrates producing crappy plants. I did not want to run a high-tech tank due to the price and the required diligent maintenance. I ran the dirt through a strainer to filter out the big rocks and pieces of wood. I am using Miracle-Gro Organic Potting Mix.
This is the clay I used for the soil. It was 1lb for $2.99 at Michaels (an arts and crafts store). I rolled them into ½” - ¾” balls. There was so much clay in my fingers and palms and the whole process took maybe 90 minutes or so. Worth it.
I'm hoping to get the substrates setup this this weekend. It'll take the whole day to do it properly. I won't have time starting Monday because of a new job!
Many more updates and pics to come!
Here's the setup journal for my long awaited (by me) semi-Waalstad method tank. Enjoy!
The stand was set up first. I had to shift a bit of furniture, but this was the intended spot when I was planning the tank. The hardest part of having the tank here was wire management as this is right next to my computer. The stand is an Aquatic Fundamentals 29 Gallon Stand. The bars are metal, and the shelves are wood. The overall quality seems decent at best.
In the garage, checking the tank for leaks. So far, so good.
Time to sink the driftwood. There were three branches of manzanita in there that I like, but I only wanted two of them. I removed them from the bucket, put it in the sink in my garage and ran scalding hot water on them. Then I plugged the drain and let it sit in the hot water. Half a day later, I pulled the plug and repeated the process. It took two days to sink this bone-dry wood using this method, refilling the sink with hot water only twice a day. What’s that in the top left corner…?
Tank on the stand! Good height, I think. Seemed easy enough to view from the front, and look from the top. Any higher, and I would not be able to reach my arms in safely.
A little background, I originally wanted a shorter, longer tank. 30 gallons, 36” x 12”x 16”. This 29 gallon tank is 30” x 12” x 18”.
However, it was near impossible to find this tank in stores or used.
Checking out my new lights! I was stoked to try out LEDs for the first time. They are Current’s Satellite LED+. They have 6500K white LEDs as well as RBG LEDs. According to their website, the light will have a PAR of 28 in this tank. I estimated the distance from the light to substrate to be about 18 inches.
Here is the empty tank with the lights at full blast. All 6500K whites and RBG LEDs are on is on the left, moonlight is on the right. Unfortunately, the different lighting programs (sunset/sunrise, cloudy days, etc.) could not be programed to a timer throughout the day. It would have been an awesome feature to have the lights dim up and down on a timer. Too bad though.
Unboxed my Eheim 2215. Also my first canister filter. I usually run hang-on-back filters. I am slightly worried that the flow maybe to a bit too strong. I have the outputs pointed horizontally about an inch under the water surface.
So, I attached my powerhead to the output hose of the Eheim, and filled the tank up like that. Aren’t I clever? My python water changer hadn’t arrived yet, so this was my solution to filling the tank. I wanted to run the filter for a few days to make sure it works alright. Still so far so good.
I ordered Amazon Frogbit and it came before I got setup. So I threw them into my betta, Scherbatsky’s, tank. The roots melted and shriveled up at first, but new roots shot out on day three. The leaves have doubled in number six days after putting them in. Scherbatsky loves swimming through the plant roots and has been blowing tons of bubbles into the leaves. Betta owners, I highly recommend floating plants. I’m going to leave some in the tank for Scherbatsky.
So, what was in the top left corner? The name of the game for this tank: dirt. I’m sick and tired of crappy substrates producing crappy plants. I did not want to run a high-tech tank due to the price and the required diligent maintenance. I ran the dirt through a strainer to filter out the big rocks and pieces of wood. I am using Miracle-Gro Organic Potting Mix.
This is the clay I used for the soil. It was 1lb for $2.99 at Michaels (an arts and crafts store). I rolled them into ½” - ¾” balls. There was so much clay in my fingers and palms and the whole process took maybe 90 minutes or so. Worth it.
I'm hoping to get the substrates setup this this weekend. It'll take the whole day to do it properly. I won't have time starting Monday because of a new job!
Many more updates and pics to come!