xXInkedPhoenixX

I've found this to be true in my smaller tanks. I believe Custom Aquarium included a UV in our build. I agree. Couldn't say enough positive things about him Thing is, though he is helping me plumb the tank (I threatened that if I did it water would almost assuredly ruin the wood flooring at some point) but once that's done the tank and it's maintenance is almost entirely up to ME (though he also admits he wants to help with the inside set up also picking species, and I welcome his input). Purchasing the tank was his idea and neither of us knowing much about sumps or large tanks period we are both very much newbies in this. So we knew no better. I think one of the reasons why we chose Custom Aquarium is that they are very supportive and believe in their product so I'm willing to try how they sent the set up. They've been very helpful even after purchase when Intrepid Partner has called. As of right now I only have a small impression of what was included in this tank as the "guts" have been stored away since we got the tank. I'll be able to give this thread more of an impression of what's going on and how it's going together as time goes on. ****The discussion about filtration between you all has been very helpful and gives me things to think about before I get to that point. So thanks! **** This is an interesting idea! Stainless mesh would be a good option I think. You'll have to let me know how it goes if you do this.

We had that concern too (not being to access all plumbing). Though a peninsula tank we're placing it off the wall, Intrepid Partner is going to be building a box to cover the end that will be removable and a wall/shelving unit that fits flush to the wall to make the whole thing look like it's basically a wall without a gap on that side of the tank. Supposedly CA thought of these things as Intrepid Partner stressed that I'm a small fish keeper- however I fully anticipate issues with the design. I'm hoping whatever I can come up with is INSIDE the tank and hopefully won't even deal with fish getting into the sump - but I'm sure I'll have trial and error- hopefully at not too high of a fish life expense. I anticipate some loss. This is very interesting material. Wondering if I can somehow also incorporate this design into my sump, kind of the best of both worlds with @anewbie's new sponge set up and traditional sump set up with the socks or bio media. Maybe even ultimately just going this route. Thankfully Intrepid Partner took note on this complaint in the forums he visited when coming up with stand design. It's TALL. I have lots of space ot maneuver. But, we're going to use a drywalling table for me to stand on to do maintenance 😆

During maintenance yesterday my Hillstream Loach, Dyson decided to make an appearance and say hello. I really love this species.

You are in line with Custom Aquarium's recommendation. Intrepid Partner called them and this is what they said too. We have some left over Birch from the door build so he is going to try and shim it with that. Noted.Thank you. No idea to be honest. Getting this tank was entirely Intrepid Partner's idea in support of my hobby. This will be my first venture into a sump system. I've only ever had tanks 20 gallons and smaller with sponge filters and HOB. What little noise they make has never bothered me but Intrepid Partner notices it. Thank you, I agree, and that's true- this stand was definitely not built to dampen sound. He went on a bunch of forums looking at fish keepers' complaints about stands. Of course you've mentioned wood not being great because it warps- he noted that and used marine grade wood for what little of the stand has wood. The decorative birch that will be on the doors has been coated with waterproof polyurethane. He also intentionally built the doors with gaps because of complaints of condensation inside the stands. Also it's tall, giving more space for maintenance and the doors come off if I need to get really serious about stuff. I personally have no issues with white noise, so I'm hoping he'll be ok with the tank once it's set up otherwise we have some tweaking to do!!! As to discussion yesterday about valves @anewbie and @madmark285, Intrepid Partner and I believe a gate valve is one modification we will make when setting up the tank so thanks for that. Yes, it was going to be a peninsula tank/room divider all along so that was the only way to go. It's a 7 foot tank so yea the water has to get far. I think per CA's recommendations we have a chance at good flow because they sent 2 pretty pricey wave makers which will help get the water all the way to the end at a decent clip. Hopefully not causing any issues for the small fish I intend to keep. Intrepid Partner did all the tank ordering so I have a feeling since he's not the fish keeper that he did a lot of what the sales person recommended. As good as they seem to be with these tanks I'm sure we'll be happy with the vast majority of what they put with this tank. We discussed a moving filter bed last night and both agreed that other than the gate valve, for now we will just set the tank up as CA sent it and tweak things from there.

@madmark285 and @anewbie a LOT to think about. I had watched the k1 type sumps in youtube videos in the past and think it's a super cool concept (seems more often applied to people who keep larger fish though yes I'm aware of its use in smaller applications). My concern is, yes the noise. The house is VERY small and the people I share the house with (2 besides myself) are VERY noise sensitive. I'm already concerned about the level of noise it will make even running "as designed". I will though still consider moving filter beds. I'm not running anything with high bioload though. Only nano style fish and I don't plan on coming close to being overstocked. I am wondering though if your suggestions to use a gate valve would be prudent even using it as it is designed and leaving the future issues or changes open to a different valve. If it's permanent and has to be glued but is the better option I don't mind spending the 100 dollars if it needs to happen. This is not an inexpensive project and I don't want to cheap out on it now!

Intrepid Partner added a light to the stand, it may be temporary since we may go with a light that can change brightness and/or color but it gave us an idea of how it looks. We're at a tiny bit of a standstill. This last week we'd tried to plan to move the tank on top of the stand. So I helped Intrepid Partner do some finishing work on the doors (wood needed notches cut to accommodate magnet closure contact). Let me tell you how much I appreciate him having made the doors removeable. He'd attached the marine grade wood to the top and bottom of the stand as well. Once that was finished the stand was moved in place and we uncrated the tank (at least took everything off but the platform) to get ready to move it. Then we got to discussing how we're going to move this approximately 400lb tank to the stand later (we had potential help on standby) but noticed we have a floor problem. Backstory: The area you see to the left of the stand in pictures used to be a garage once upon. Well the area where the tank is going to be placed (for good reason) used to be a wall so it has support under the house. However, the floor where the wall used to be is not totally flat. One side of the stand is pretty flush the other not so much, almost a seesaw effect. Now while in my estimation this will likely level out (meaning the higher side will probably be pushed down) with a 400lb tank on it (and water) Intrepid Partner wants to look into using a foam pad similar or the same as the one the tank has to sit on. Here is how it sits on the left side closest to the outer house wall: And here is the side furthest away: There is always something isn't there? To be continued....

It is with a heavy heart that I have to mention that my beloved little Invictus passed suddenly overnight. I'm not even sure what might have happened. Devastated really. Swim in Peace little buddy. You will be missed!

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea if it is swim bladder I would continue doing what you are doing. Maybe the reason it's getting caught in the net is an injury that caused the issue. If that's the case only time will help. Not sure if you ever saw my thread about Verti, my Black Neon that was swimming vertically. He did have an injury and I did medicate and then use salt. After treatment all I did was make him comfortable guessing he'd be that way forever but miraculously he got better over time and released back to the herd! Black Neon Swimming Vertically? What I've done so far.... I would hand catch your fish, no nets. That's what I do with most of my sick fish now.

Well, the fascinating thing about this hobby is that you can set up 5 of the same size tanks in the same house using the same lights, filters, water and similar or same substrate, decor and STILL have differences in each tank.

Bissell definitely loves his spot. I've taken to putting a little Repashy on the leaf in the morning since they seem to have an AWESOME handle on ALL the algae in the tank. In the Parent tank I've spotted 2 False Julii Cory babies of different sizes rooting around in the tank. I caught them both in this picture. Note that the glass bowls the littlest one is near are small lab dishes so they are tiny! I think this makes 10 Julii total!

Personally, I think even though you started this tank with old media it's still a new tank going through the growing pains and is not yet "balanced". Though some would argue the point about adjusting light, I think the light seems pretty bright, I would change that and/or cut the duration. Most plants don't need any more light than 4-6 hours a day. This is how I've solved most of my problems with that sort of algae outbreak. However, if it is blue/green or cyano bacteria (which is also very common in new tanks) you can try several methods that are brought up online. Personally I'd go the medication route (maracyn) BUT you'd possibly have to put new, old media back in the tank when done because that usually crashes your good bacteria. It doesn't really look like it to me from the pics you've posted.

@Paynekiller sorry about your loss. Despite what the industry would have us believe, Betta are actually pretty hard fish to keep. I'm sure you did your best to help them.

@Paynekiller I've had no issues with using Kanaplex with all my fish when treating a whole tank for one fish. You don't NEED to shut off lights but does help with stress. Most plants only need a 4-6 hr cycle so you can shorten time. The most important thing with popeye or any physical injury is to keep the water VERY clean. We're trying to avoid secondary infections when a fish gets injured. Hope this helps. Also, welcome to the forum!

@anewbie thanks for the help! I will keep this bookmarked when we finally get ready to do the set up! @Beardedbillygoat1975 thanks so much! This will be fun!

I do believe CA did tell the Intrepid Partner about this - they said something about the gluing only applying to salt water. I don't want to glue much if possible. I will definitely keep your post in mind.

Yea that was my concern too with larger tanks typically used for larger fish. Intrepid Partner DID discuss this with the builder and told them it was for small fish- they insisted this tank is set up for them. Since I've yet to be able to go through the whole setup this of course cannot be verified. I'm prepared to jimmy rig, but clearly Intrepid Partner is handy with this sort of thing too.

Sorry to see this. I would immediately check your water parameters. My first thought is that they are losing their slime coat, and that is often a water quality issue if they had some sort of pH swing, nitrate/nitrite or ammonia. You can generally treat this by fixing the water quality and letting time handle and/or salt the tank. You want to try and avoid them getting secondary infections due to loss of that protective layer. That's what I think. Maybe @Colu or another has an idea. (salt I think is a little counterintuitive but my understanding is that it irritates their skin enough to encourage the slime coat growth while also being antibacterial)

FIRSTLY Aquatop, if you're not familiar, makes awesome tanks. I'm on my 3rd one. I've had 2 cubes and their 13 gallon bookshelf which was amazing, however due to downsizing it's now at me Mum's house. It now has a ton of shrimp. I would say you have a solid plan so far. I do think because the tank you're looking at isn't tall it shouldn't be a problem for the shrimp at all. However if you do go with that battery powered pump it would be good to get one that can do the intermitent air. That will save battery and likely go for longer. In that long 13 gallon I used a battery back up pump too but plugged it in (it's more for power outages) and it ran a small sponge filter and an air stone (dual pump)

So even if I use the sump provided (I will have to for a while at least) if I can get it so that the return is below the water it will be less noisy? I'm not too worried about noise since I'm used to quite a bit of "white" noise in my house, however Intrepid Partner is a little more sensitive to it. Neither of us have ever used a sump (only a pump under his house). I understand the principals but this will be a learning experience for the both of us (more me he says lol). I've even yet to watch the video CA sent because by the time we get ready to set this up I'll have forgotten it all anyway! I have though watched several videos on youtube about how they work. It doesn't seem that difficult. I'm already doing weekly maintenance but yeah this would be a pain when you're told that bigger tanks are easier to maintain and often do maintenance less often. Now of course you have a HEAVY load with that huge tank. Though this tank isn't small it's tiny in comparison to 600 gallons at a 1/3 of the size. At this point decently large schools of middle dwellers (Rasboras, Tetras) and some bottom dwellers (cory, otos, only a couple small species of pleco) and my SAE is all I plan to do at this point. I wouln't say it will be HEAVILY planted, we don't want a jungle but decently planted. Soo I'm wishing hard for once a month maintenance. This stand is so tall I don't thing I'm worried about maintenance space, the only think I'm waiting to really see (hear) is how noisy it is and if Intrepid Partner will be able to handle it.

Things have been just nutty in my life lately and I've not had a lot of time to post nor spend quality time with my tanks just maintenance and sadly sometimes just minimal at that. Firstly it's been nice to have deleted a tank- though I miss the Medieval tank a lot my Mum has been having fun with it. She's added a lot of plants from her tanks that are now decommissioned and gave me some of the overflow (which were my plants originally anyway). I don't have a very recent picture but the new Embers and Endlers she's gotten are doing well. She's had the same issue as me with the plain platinum guppies and the few that she bought have passed. Her fancier iridescent residents are fine. I don't know what the platinum guppy issue is but there's definitely something up there with them just dying off randomly. Poor Punk. He's not gotten any better. He still has popeye and his other eye isn't super clear though he seems to see out of it. The tank is lightly salted and has 2 IAL floating at all times but I've run out of treatment options for him. So I try and make him as comfortable as I can. Since I'm not sure how well he sees I decided to make more open space for him. It was getting rather jungle-y in the Angry Man: The plants in the front right were suffering a bit from the salt treatment too so I pulled them, picked off the stuff that was suffering, lead weighted it and put it in front of one of the sponge filters giving him the vast majority of that front area. I am in LOVE with my SAE, Bissell, what a little workhorse fish they are. All of the hair algae is gone to the point where I pulled plants from the Accidental tank to have them clean up. This is the state the Anubias was in and now it's entirely cleaned. Of course I lost a few leaves as they were never able to recover the algae assault, but overall the plant is now doing well: I need to get a pic of how clean it is, but you can get the idea with the picture above of the new arrangement, especially if you zoom in to the both of them as the before pic is a decent amount older. Bissell is steadily growing too. Can't wait until the big tank is up and running to let them loose in there as they are definitely growing! I even started with the smallest fish the LFS had. Bissell is probably already pushing 3 inches. He happily swims along with the other fish in the tank. While cleaning the Dragon Tank with Invictus the Betta I noticed his Betta leaf was covered in algae. So I switched out a clean one for him and decided to give the algae to Bissell too. Well, Not only have they mostly cleaned it at this point but this morning I saw this: Bissell cleaned house and made himself a home! You can see the Anubias leaves they cleaned in the background. I'd planned on removing it when finished with the algae but as you can see I just won't be able to bring myself to do it- despite all the other natural resting options. Speaking of fish named after vacuums, I have recently seen my oldest Hillstream and first love of the species, Kirby: I see the other, Dyson, all the time but they are much harder to take pics of as they are usually wedged between a Foo dog and the middle sculpture- so it would just be a pic of a black Hillstream sideways. Hardly a prize winning photo! Last but not least Invictus doing well, though I think at times he gets bored. I've tried the Betta mirror but he doesn't even acknowledge its existence. He's always looking for my attention, I love the little snuggler. Come a long way from the poor little shell I got at the box store.

There have been some delays in progress on the stand due to a trip and then illness caused by trip. This past week the Intrepid Partner and I treated the Birch finishing wood for it (stained on both sides and half polyurethane'd already, pending that side to dry for the other coats). He also had the marine grade plywood for the top and bottom of the stand and while it's got its waterproof properties that didn't stop us from giving it coats of polyurethane on both sides too. Once that's attached to the stand we'll be calculating a way to get the tank finally out of the crate and onto the stand. @anewbie saw that you changed your sump, looking forward to knowing what you like about that set up.

I am very sorry to see this. I have had 1st hand dealings with dropsy. I wouldn't discourage you to try and treat your Betta, but I would caution you that when a fish, especially Betta display pineconing, this is a symptom of organ failure typically and cannot be cured in 99% of cases I've ever seen. I want you to be prepared and make your fish as comfortable as you are able. If you search "betta dropsy" on this forum you will see countless posts, sadly most of which the outcome was death. I don't like to be negative when it comes to treating our pet fish but again, I want you to be prepared. You do not have to remove or treat snails. Here is one of many posts our friend @Colu has put up outlining potential treatment, in this case the culprit may have been high nitrates. You should check your water parameters if you're able.

I'd compare it to this chart that our friend here @Colu uses to ID and treat accordingly. Remember that Epistylis can be worsened when using heat so if you think it might be that but are on the fence just go with the meds only treatment. : If you search what you think it is with the word "treatment" on this forum you'll come up with lots of threads to help.

This is my uneducated guess. I see those sacks are above the waterline. Once they dry I doubt they are viable eggs. Detrius worms are typically harmless to your population- their purpose is to be scavangers and eat the dead/dying things. I think maybe in this case that is what these are doing, on top of the fact that whatever food you might be feeding- if any of it floats it's probably a great perch for them and the food might stick to the sacks as well. I'm willing to bet they are not doing this on the totally submerged sacks- as I can see just below the top there is a sack that is and there are no worms stacks on it.

The tanks look fantastic! One tip I have for pet sitters. I portion out food in small containers or snack ziplock bags and label them. They get put near or taped to the tanks they belong to. This definitely cuts down on the possibility of overfeeding.