My big tank journey

[Luciferkrist]

So I finally got into a place in my life when I could get into something I always wanted. A ridiculously large aquarium. I knew I was going to be limited to a 6ft tank, as my unique basement stairs force me to stand any tank longer than 48 inches on its end, and my ceiling is only 6'6" over them. So I had 3 options - 125, 180, or 210. The 125 is only 18 inches deep, and the 180 and 210 are 24 inches. So I decided to make a 'blank' of the middle option, 72x24x21. And...

It fit! So now it was time to order my new tank:

All 210 gallons of it! Special thanks to Blue Fish Aquarium and their careful delivery! I had to get it nice and level and figure out where it would go.

Next, was deciding on the method of filtration. This was... trying. Obviously there is no 'correct' answer, but with the help of you lovely people on here I ended up with a Fluval FX6, as HOB or sponge filtration would have ruined the point of having the overflows, and sumps are still a bit intimidating - and I have cats that are a bit too curious to be trusted to stay out of it, and I do not want to add cat hair to the stuff I have to clean out of it! So after too many trips to the hardware store, and lots of trial and error with fittings...

Consider it plumbed. Yeah, I know the extra slack on the outputs isn't great, but due to how I had to position the canister, I needed the few extra inches to make the runs to the nozzles equal. I may end up shortening them down or reduce the output to one side in the future.

 

Next big decision - SUBSTRATE. Holy crap-baskets this was the WORST part of this so far. Mostly because there are as many opinions on what is the best in each situation as stars in the sky. The only thing I knew is that since I was going to have a good number of plants, just tossing a layer of basic sand wasn't going to cut it, and I didn't want to spend 2 grand on aquasoils! Eventually I leaned on what my 75gal tank taught me; Inert porous gravel + root tabs + sand cap = works. Got 200lbs of the stuff, and 2 50lb bags of play sand, and a bunch of root tabs. Unfortunately I was too excited to remember to take any pictures of most of that process. What I used for the base was this: 

The stuff is pretty rough textured , so I was going to have to cover it with something fine-grained so my bottom dwellers didn't get their bellies and fins shredded, so there is where the sand comes in!

While out looking for river rocks at a local landscaping place I found some really neat looking boulders. Turns out it is called Kona Boulders, which is mostly a red dolomite - perfect for aquatic environments.

Looks a bit like bacon, eh?

I also know that I will have bichir(s) eventually, so I wanted to go with some 'red'  - Apparently they have their colors and patterns 'pop' against a dark red. In service to that I also wanted to get a splash of color on my substrate, so I got some garnet sand-blasting media.

My camera doesn't do it justice, it looks more of a rich, deep red, and has a bit of translucence.

Now that I got my bottom done... I needed something to tie it all together, some more natural hardscape.

After 3 weeks of searching landscaping places, pond service businesses, wood product processors, and even a few taxidermy places to find a good piece or two of driftwood. No dice. In Michigan it is illegal to take any from public beaches, and everytime I tried to go out to rivers or woods, it would rain and flood them out, or make the areas with fallen old timber inaccessible. I was close to giving up, when I decided to stop into a small shop that mostly sold things like lawn gnomes and pink flamingos - They had a brilliant, complex, and most importantly well-weathered piece for the hefty price of... 15 bucks.

I took that bad boy right home and proceeded to scrub, spray, and disinfect it with diluted isopropyl just in case. Had to leave it to dry for a full week to make sure it was all evaporated and no surprises were burrowed in it! When it was ready I placed it into the tank and siliconed it to the bottom and the top to keep it from floating or twisting when I am messing around with the scape the first few weeks.

Then I started putting it all in and finally began filling it with water... Around 1 ton of water and a hundreds of pounds of sand, substrate, and rock, the stand had a few creaks... but she held. I put some of the garnet sand into a path to try to make some varied terrain, and I'll have to get some time to straighten it out soon, and added a few plants from my nearly over grown 75gal.

Now it was time to turn on all my heaters, filter, and air pump, and lights.

And was met with a horrific sound coming from my filter.

After another round on here, and some sage advice, I took the motor off and discovered my impellers shaft was cleanly snapped in half!

So ran to my LFS to see about a new impeller or kit, or if possible replace or warranty. People, be good to your LFS and they will be good to you - the manager offered to give me an entire new impeller assembly. My dream is salvaged, and I know where ALL of my regular purchases are going to be for this tank! Except things they can't won't get very often... Still going to buy ACO plants, accessories, and ferts, even with shipping, still a great value. So now my filter is running and I begin the long, frustrating process of starting the cycle.

After a day of making sure everything survived 24 hours, I added some more Italian Val. The keen eyed of you will notice that I flipped the driftwood, as it offered a really nice small planter in the hollowed out part. Have some val and a large anubias in it right now!

Next step is making a custom hanging baffle for my lights to maximize the coverage, and reduce the bleedover.

Will update as it progresses! On a related note - Anybody have advice on how to make clean lines in different sand/substrates AFTER the tank is filled? I may have gotten too eager to start this one.

[K McZongo]

On 9/24/2022 at 7:54 AM, Luciferkrist said:

Will update as it progresses! On a related note - Anybody have advice on how to make clean lines in different sand/substrates AFTER the tank is filled? I may have gotten too eager to start this one.

Looks great, I can't wait till I get enough room for a huge tank.

The last couple times I have tried to have stratified sand it's always ended up mixed together due to stocking (bottom dwellers Cory's or other catfish)  mixing it or accidentally during maintenance. Only way I've been able to keep different colored substrates is by have two different kinds and a rock barrier. E.g. fluorite and sand keeping a "dam" of smaller rocks in between. Even then I ve had to add new sand on top very once in a while to keep the color contrast.

[Luciferkrist]

Okay, light shroud is done!

Starting with some aluminum tape and some vinyl gutter endcaps.

 

6ft length of u-channel vinyl gutter!

Now apply the aluminum tape to the inside of the gutter - Don't forget the endcaps!

Now to paint. I chose some metallic black paint to match my stand color.

Dries super fast and is really easy to touch-up if you mess up.

From white to black in just an hour. Now to see how it look on my tank and if it is too restrictive on the light...

And it works like a charm, and quite less light getting wasted on my ceiling. (Yeah, I added some more plants since then...) 

Next up?

Straighten out the garnet river, monitor the plant growth/melt, and weekly water testing so I know when I can start fish shopping!

[meadeam]

Very Nice.  I am contemplating a 6' tank myself.  It would go in an addition I am having built right now.  I'll enjoy watching yours take shape in the meantime.  

[Luciferkrist]

Welp... tested my water on Tuesday and it is apparently ready for fish? So I added some of the 'extra' guppies from my small tank.

I already have FRY... Seriously. 5 days. That's all it took.

So of course I made my weekly pilgrimage to my LFS that same day, to see if they got any new driftwood in - I am in the processes of cycling a 65, for what I have no idea. And I noticed these same 3 fish in the same little display tank, right on the bottom row where nobody can see, that have been there for over 6 months now. Blue gouramis, now I am not a gourami guy as I had my fill of them when I was a teenager, but I asked why there were there for so long and why they were only 5 bucks each. Turns out they are actually pretty old and were taken in as a trade in back in January, they are all about 5 inches so they needed a larger than 'usual' tank, and people like the look of the juveniles more. I figured if they were going to just sit in their 20 gallon nursing home - I might as well give them some room to roam until then. I grabbed all 3, thinking that if they did not like their new home, or my testing was a false positive I could house them in my 75 until it my 210 finishes the cycle.

 

The 3rd one is a bit smaller and likes to hide behind my stump, doesn't much like my camera I guess. They are all doing fine, as you can see, I JUST too those this morning, and aren't even picking on my mutt-guppies, though they do certainly chase them. And since they had been in the store for so long, they come pre-trained to expect feeding when I gently tap on the glass like my other tanks!

Oh.

I also decided to 'modify' my lights again - I was having a bit too much plant melt and some of my other plants were not getting adequate lights. So I drilled a bunch of holes in my ceiling, like you do.

But now my light gets almost everywhere, and does really look more even.

And, I also added some tumbled garnet to the 'border' of the river. Still not quite happy with it but I looks REALLY cool in the water.

Surprisingly inexpensive (relatively) as well, very soft edged and when I rinsed it... nothing came out in the water. 

In case anybody is interested:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Q7NKT39?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[meadeam]

I always think Gourami's are underrated fish.  I have kept them, but don't currently have any.  I'm kind of stuck on the idea of housing fish together who are from the same continent even though it isn't necessary.  All of my current fish are South American.  I remain blissfully unaware of my plant's origins, so I can mix those up.

I like the garnet sand.  I ordered some agate from the same seller.  I don't know what to do with it yet, but I like it.  

[Luciferkrist]

Two birds one stone this time!

Got the rats next of lily pads out of my 75, well one of them, and transplanted it into my 210. Look at the size of that monster! It was blocking so much light my other plants were suffering, and it was just getting too big, and I didn't want to trim it.

Believe it or not, that is about 6 months growth from one of those 5 dollar bulb packs from top-fin! It was supposed to be a DWARF lily! Extra bonus, when I pulled out the roots, I had an extra bulb! Planted it behind the rock with the little anubis glued to it - hopefully it will get right up there with that one!

Now for the sad news.

My 10 gal that I had some green neon tetras in and a few banded barbs growing out in, went crazy. Lost 6 out of the 10 neons, and 4 of my 5 barbs over a week! I pulled them out, and am quarinting them in a 65 - guess I found out what THAT tank is gonna be for - a hospital! I broke down the tank, cleaned it out, and boiled all of my old hardscape. Now I have a free, empty tank....

I decided to try something I always wanted - a natural 3d(ish) background

.

So I started siliconing broken pieces of slate flooring (always ask if they have any when you're at a big box store, they usually just give it to you!), and wanted to make some jutting out.

After about 12 hours, I propped it upright and spray-painted the back, re-set my newly sainitized hardscape, and replated the plants I was able to save - Though not all are in top form now.

To top it off, I sprinkled a few of my garnets around, but I'm not exactly sold on them with this color palate. The center rock is actually green quartz, but will not photograph green! I also need to replace that fugly heater that came with the tank, but I am quite happy with the background!

 

This will be the last update for a week, as I will be heading to Shedd Aquarium, then Aquashella this weekend, first vacation in 6 years! Hope to see some of you there! Maybe when I get back I will know what I want to eventually PUT in my small swimming pool!

Edited October 4, 2022 by Luciferkrist
Spelling

[lefty o]

wow i missed this thread. tank looks great. i'll be honest, i saw the first pic before i read, and my first thought was oh no i hope thats not going to be the stand.😲

[Luciferkrist]

On 10/4/2022 at 3:10 PM, lefty o said:

wow i missed this thread. tank looks great. i'll be honest, i saw the first pic before i read, and my first thought was oh no i hope thats not going to be the stand.😲

LOL... you should have seen the faces of the people that delivered the tank when they saw it.

[Luciferkrist]

Well, got back from Chicago. I have mixed feelings about Aquashella - Cool things to see, but very little to learn. Sure, the speakers were interesting, but I was hoping to be able to talk to people a bit more.

Anyway!

I did bring back some unlikely friends - the price and fish were just too good!

Well, one dream fish down! I was hoping to find some inspiration for my final stocking, and a 6 inch silver arowana for 20 bucks! He is already eating pellets, but I am going to leek to get him some more 'real' food this weekend.

I also managed to get my hands on a Delhezi and Endlicheri bichirs! But they are VERY small... and they haven't come out much since I acclimated them. Now all I need is an Ornate, and I will have collected the whole set!

Also added a couple plants - but I am still only floating them until I figure out exactly where I want to put them.

[Luciferkrist]

Okay, finally did my first canister cleaning. Wasn't too bad, mostly probably due to my fairly light bio-load, but I did have a few surprises still!

First was the amount of snails that were in there. Probably a dozen or so on each of my 3 trays. Also I noticed that there were quite a few egg bundles all over the inner wall of the canister!

Next was a seemingly solo orange neocaridina shrimp. I never put on them in. Figured it hitchhiked on a plant.

My last surprise was once again, my bloody ropefish! I moved him to the big tank so he would STOP ending up in my filters. Somehow this guy crawled down one of the outlets! He can't get to the input, as it is behind the overflow with slits too small for even him to sneak through. If he ends up in there again, after I raised my outlets above the water level now, I might have to give him back to the store, which is a shame as I really like him.

Edited October 21, 2022 by Luciferkrist

[Luciferkrist]

Finally got the courage and time to start my WC system... At least the drain part.

Started with the drain behind my washing machine, as it is the closest one with an existing trap - Did not want any gasses or smells in my fish room that aren't my fault.

Getting the angle on the cut piece and the t-joint was a bit of trial and error, but it seems to be just right now.

The next pieces would be a massive 18 foot run straight run to my tank. I knew I would have to angle it a bit to make sure the water ran down to the drain properly.

I put a 2 inch rise over the length, which I HOPE will be enough, and then put a riser up to keep my pump's hose from having any chance to spill.

Then I am painting it to match my walls, still have a few coats, but hey, you get the idea. I don't know if I will ever be able to get a 'fill' system set up, since my python and hose seem to get the job done for now.

 

I am now in a holding pattern until my fish grow up! Will update any changes that happen!