DesertConverts 4 Foot Journey

I've been wanting to upscale my 3 foot for some time. I patiently browsed the forums, waiting for a 2nd hand system to become available, and I found a beauty. This is the journey.

Size: 1200 x 45 x 45
Filtration: Sump (tank is bottom drilled)
Lighting: 2 x 54W T5s 10000K
Fauna: 14 Neons, 9 White Clouds, 5 Zebra Danios, 4 Silver-tip tetras, 1 Rainbow Shark, 1 Red-Eye Tetra (ou-ballie), 3 Yo-Yo Loaches.
Flora: Amazon Sword, Java Ferns, Java Moss, Assorted Crypts, Anubias, Hornwort.

Testing if I had assembled the plumbing correctly. No leaks.



Installing the overflow box. I didn't like the PVC piping. Plus I wanted to be able to limit the water level. Plus I didn't want the fish sucked into the sump I hope to have the moss grow onto and all over the overflow box.



Fish, driftwood & most plants moved over from 3 foot. New driftwood added. New fish added.



Bought a few more plants. Added the root driftwood on the right & transplanted my Amazon Sword. Added a few rocks. Still need to weigh the root down with a rock. I hope it will stay down on its own quite soon.



Fish seem to love the environment.

 

Looking good, will keep on following this thread. Good luck.

 

Good looking setup - please remember update pics in the near future - always love to see the progress.

 

Very nice start dude!

 

Very nice indeed...@DesertConvert it seems everyone is going the planted root, nice to see and get ideas from everyones pics, like that big plant in the centre, I need something like that for my tank. Will go shopping this weekend...again :nuts:

 

Many thanks. I noticed that it's easier to keep the tank parameters constant with plants. That Amazon Sword in the middle has come a long way...got it as a small little plant I just hope the Vallis & Crypts take hold in the tank. Since I use pool filter sand for the substrate there's nothing nutritional for the roots...yet. Fish need to start pooping
My motto: Create an environment that the fish enjoy living in

 

Very nice set up.
Nice balance on the scape.

Can you provide photo's of the sump and plumbing? I see you have 2 return pipes from the sump... what type of pump are you running needs to many outlets?

What fertz are u using?
What lights?

You have some good healthy growth in there.

What fish are you planning for the coconut caves?

 

I will take a few sump & plumbing pics this evening. Don't know off-hand what the pump rating is. Will add that this evening. The guy I bought the tank from had already done the plumbing setup. I don't think I 'need' both outlets, but they create a very gentle flow in the tank. It's amusing to watch the White Clouds swimming against the flow...they seem to enjoy it. I don't plan to change it at this stage. I want the tank to establish itself properly before playing around.

The majority of the plants came from my 3 foot tank where I was running 1 x 10000k T8 (I think - not so sure off hand). Fertilization was care of the fish, and more recently Seachem Flourish.

This tank has 2 x 10000k T5s (I would like to replace those with 6400K if I can find them. Visited 2x LFS this past weekend but neither had the 6400K tubes. I read they are available at The Lamphouse in Marlboro, but that's a bit out of my way for just 2 lamps!)

I am also dosing Flourish in this tank. I might need to pop in a few root tabs soon for the Amazon, Vallis & Crypts since the tank hasn't been up that long so the fish haven't had time to fertilize the substrate yet

Coconut caves were in my 3 foot for my Rainbow Shark. Currently they are not planned for this tank. I don't think it fits in with the scape.

 

@DesertConvict - Loving the look and the feel of the tank! I cannot wait to see the plants fill out - this is a show worthy tank!

The only changes I would suggest is the rocks on the right, see if you cant find longer rocks to create a more flowing look, those three at the end I would move to middle section around and behind the amazon, might not even be necessary to add more rocks, maybe some smaller pebbles strewn about to finish it off?

 

Thanks @Wyvern. I've been scouring my garden(the source of these rocks), LFSs and general surrounds...haven't found quite the right rocks yet These little ones are actually more a stop-gap solution. Thanks for the suggestion...I will definitely keep it in mind for the rocks I am sure to find

 

Hehe, its always a pleasure. I loved the old tank you had, this one is already one of my top tanks to watch. I would give it a month or so and then enter it into the TOTM thread. What I love about the tank is, it doesnt feel scaped. It has a very natural feel to it which is what I prefer in tanks these days

 

I appreciate the vote of confidence I also prefer a more natural tank (and to be honest, the less labour intensive the better!). That having been said, I am still heavily impressed and inspired by many of the other planted tanks out there. CO2 does wonders for a tank, but with a sump filter CO2 is just not economical, so I'll have to keep it simple

 

I have to be honest, I have been tempted by CO2 0 just for the faster growth, but then I look at my tank, I havent had a major outbreak of algae (some BBA that I could remove easily) and I kinda like the slow growth. The only issue I have is some of my plants I can see are struggling without the CO2, but I am still not to fussed since I still love the look and feel of my tanks.

Besides we need some low tech people on the forum This is just to show that you can achieve the same look with a bit more patience. It also gives anyone who is new to planted tanks the option to be patient and get amazing looking tanks!

 

I agree! The best part is that with a low tech tank and easy grower plants you get a balanced system very quickly. I did, however, notice that once my sword got to its current size the other plants started to suffer a little in my 3 foot. It just demands more. I don't know if it was the CO2, or the nutrients that became the limiting factor. But I think I will need to get some root tabs for the Amazon quite soon or it might take a bit of a knock after the transplant.

I also haven't had algae issues since reducing my lighting 2 years ago. Balancing all the elements is the real challenge in any tank.

 

Why don't you get 2 8000k and 2 6400k lights or one of each so that you can swop them around to find the light that appeals to you visually. 6400k are apparantly yellow? I have a 10000k and an 8000k and will be hooking up 2 more 6500k's. I will then swop/mix them around to get the right feel and then look at staggered on /off times for morning/midday/evening setup.

 

Personally I don't mind the yellowish tinge (I'm guessing it's similar to tannins leached into the water?). But I might do as you suggest and mix it up...maybe a 6400k + 8000k or a 6400k + 10000k. Each light has a reflector so I think the lighting from 2 T5s should be sufficient for my needs.

 

DesertConvert nice tank! also would to know what your return pump is rated @. im just getting all my ducks in a row for a low tec tank with a sump. so ill be watching your tank grow and picking up some pointers. keep up the good work and please more pics
cheers doug

 

The plumbing at the back. Flow enters the pipe in the middle and is split between the left and right inflow.

Return pump is a ViaAqua VA-845A. According to the box, flow should be about 2800L/hr at the height of my tank. I have no way at this point of measuring if it is really delivering that, bar removing the pump from the sump & testing it with a bucket outside (not gonna happen anytime soon!).



This is the piping from the tank into the sump.



And this is...the whole sump. Currently have those black plastic balls & about 2KGs worth of ceramic rings(also added the ceramic rings from my old tank when I moved over) as bacteria hotels

 

Dude your tank looks amazing......very nice indeed!

 

neat setup dude!