Setting up a new tank, 500L

[rain-]

I thought that it would be nice to share this with you all. I know you will enjoy hearing how long it took to wash all the sand etc

Well, it is next weeks problem. Now I only have the tank. 200cmx50cmx50cm, 500L

And some wood (pine and apple tree).

There will be metal halides (with Philips Mastercolour 942) hanging from the ceiling, not much fish but lots of plants. Only filter will be an, uhm, Hamburger Mattenfilter.

Layer of peat and clay in the bottom, on top of that some Tetra Initial Sticks and Sera Floreplus -tablets. Then a thick layer of sand blasting sand, 0.1-0.6mm. Near the plant roots I will put some Tetra Crypto -tablets and home made clay balls. DIY CO2 will be added via this kind of reactor. I will use two different liquid fertilizers, for two weeks PMDD and then for two weeks Seachem products. I hope that it will make the plants grow better (there are different kind of chelates in PMDD and Seachem, others work better in lower pH, others better in higher).

Hasemania nana, Sturisoma panamense, Corydoras pygmaeus, Corydoras habrosus and Otocinclus sp. I'm not sure if I will put anything else there.

So, I will post more pictures when I get something done with the tank. First of all I will hide the stand with black fabric.

 

[Adrinal]

8) 8)
OK when you are done with that can you come finish my set up for me?
Of course I have wine and curry

 

[Adrinal]

Oh, can you tell me about the light over the smaller tank plz ... in detail

 

[billy61788]

thats going to look awsome...keep us updated with some new pics

 

[rain-]

Adrinal: Thats a deal.

It is a mercury vapour lamp, HQL, Osram Floraset 80W. It's a nice one for decoration, but not for the most effective/cheap way to light your tank. I think 80W of mercury vapour can be compared with 40W of fluorescent light. The color of the light is a bit greenish/yellowish, but not much. I personally like the color.

 

[Adrinal]

 

[Doggfather]

can't wait to see the finished product

 

[rain-]

hmm Mercery Vapor = Halogen?
Is it rated for a certian color/Kalven?
Guess I need to spend more time in the plant section of the forum.
I love plants, but I can't Imagin doing anything but an African Cichlid tank
Anyhow, it will probably take me 2years to really slow down on the SW stuff... still I am interested in the lighting with all the time I have and will spend on SW lighting.


What is making the bottom of the tank black? Is there a reason for this? I assume you will go with sand any how right?

Not halogen, this is usually used for house plants. 3500K, thats all I know now. And that my lamp is Osram Floraset 80W De Luxe (3500K).

My friend has only those in her planted tank and the plants are just awesome

The bottom of the tank looks black because there is a blue uhm, not styrofoam, but the other one, thingy between the tank and the stand (well, there is also a wood thingy between that blue thingy and the stand). I hope that you know what I mean, because my english vocabulary ended there =)

And yes, sand, lots of sand, at least 100kg. I'm going to wash it tomorrow. Going to be fun. Would you like to come and help? B)

More pictures to come during the weekend =)

Owww. And today I am going to buy a young Glyptoperichthys joselimaianus (L001) to mess up my decoration (and to dig up my plants when swimming past them) when it grows big.

He is just too cute. I can't resist.


It looks like this:

 

[Adrinal]

Not halogen, this is usually used for house plants. 3500K, thats all I know now. And that my lamp is Osram Floraset 80W De Luxe (3500K).

My friend has only those in her planted tank and the plants are just awesome

Wow, I didn't realize the K was so low... gah so many different aspects of this hobby... one life time is hardly enough

The bottom of the tank looks black because there is a blue uhm, not styrofoam, but the other one, thingy between the tank and the stand (well, there is also a wood thingy between that blue thingy and the stand). I hope that you know what I mean, because my english vocabulary ended there =)

Your English is much better than most of us idiots, and you know that! Just the fact that you know thingy... I doubt that is in the dictionary I am bilingual too... don't try that modisty stuff on me.

And yes, sand, lots of sand, at least 100kg. I'm going to wash it tomorrow. Going to be fun. Would you like to come and help?  B)

Oh, criminy, look at the time!
hehe
I would if I could!

More pictures to come during the weekend =)

Owww. And today I am going to buy a young Glyptoperichthys joselimaianus (L001) to mess up my decoration (and to dig up my plants when swimming past them) when it grows big.

woo. more pics!
is he going in the old tank for now?

Keep it comming, and thanks for the info!

 

[rain-]

The Glyptopttisgtlstystts josemalianiaminaninanalilalialus (yes, I am practising the name, not doing that good yet =) is now in my 60L tank He looks so cute being only 5cm tall

I ordered some stuff from a german webshop and now they are stuck in finnish post.... Sucks. I have to wait them for 1 1/2 weeks and I can't do anything to the tank before they are here. Theres some bottom fertilizer stuff etc.

But well. I have time, but my plants and fish don't. I just bought lots of new plants and theres absolutely no room for them in my tanks. Some of them are going to rot before I get them to the big tank

I forgot to tell the parametres of our tap water. First of all, no chlorine or anything like that.

pH 7,9,
conductivity <20 mS/m,
carbonate hardness 1,4 dKH,
total hardness 4dGH,
NO3 0,3-1 mg/l,
NO2 <0,003 mg/l,
Fe 0,03 mg/l,
Mn 0,02 mg/l.

It's quite pure for a tap water, no need to use any water conditioner

 

[Adrinal]

How much did you spend on your testers?? seems very acurate!

 

[rain-]

They are from our water company =)

I emailed the main dude of the water company. He send me via snailmail dozens of papers about the water (who gets anything but bills nowadays from mail?). He has answered my every question and has been really helpful

 

[ryan]

L001 one is a great fish, I used to have one, he never disturbed any plants unless something upset him and he wanted to hide quickly, then everything was flattened until he got through to where he wanted to go.

 

[rain-]

That's one of my 4 metal halides before I paint it black. 70W, dimensions 20cmx17,5cmx8,5cm.

 

[Adrinal]

And thats your lepard bed sheet?