hoppycalif

I suggest not plugging those bottom holes in the 45 gallon tank. If you decide to use that tank instead of the 90 gallon, which would be much easier to do a good aquascape in, you can use those bottom holes for a completely hidden filter setup. That makes for a very nice looking tank, not having the hoses draped over the back.

My back is already aching just thinking of the work you have to do with all of those tanks.

C.Anderson

Well, at least one more...I definitely need some sort of quarantine tank...and it needs to fit fish that are appropriate for a 300g tank =/.

We'll see how it goes though...I'm not going to start working on them until after this weekend. I've got too much to do lol!

Cris

C.Anderson

Yeah...I thought about running an inline PVC ball valve to 'plug' both sides, then a screw on cap to make sure I don't screw up and bump the valves lol. That way if I ever decided to use them all I'd have to do is connect and turn them on. No extra plumbing or draining or reworking substrate. I've heard you can't use the bottom holes with a cannister style filter...but I can't for the life of me think of why? All you'd really have to do (I think) is reduce down to your hose size for connection to the cannister itself, then make sure your filter intake was run back and installed vertically a few inches above the substrate...and the same with your outlet (only higher of course). I mean, what's the difference of whether your hoses go all the way up and over, or simply go up into the tank directly?? I really wish the 300gal was drilled like that. As a divider tank, it's difficult to have hoses and still have things look decent. If I had known more I'd have done it before I set it up...it would have cost me maybe a day...and made things SO much easier in the long run.

Anyhow, I'm considering putting the 45gal above my TV (yeah...I know lol). I've got a rather well built entertainment center, and it's designed in such a way that I could brace it up even more in order to ease my mind about its strength lol. I mean, I'm 210lbs, and I've STOOD on the thing while lifting up relatively heavy artwork (in the range of 60lbs) to hang on the walls and it didn't even flex. I know that's not the 350lbs (or so) a 45gal weighs...but it's getting there. The ONLY thing I really dislike about that tank is the baby blue acrylic front and sides. Do they make ANYthing that can cover that up from the inside other than home made walls? I hope so!



On another note...I'm either a very lucky guy, or a very unlucky guy lol. I've ordered plants from 3 different people, and fish/shrimp/snails from 2 more over the last two weeks, and guess what?

They're all being delivered tomorrow. 20 Endler's Livebearer's, 15 Cherry Shrimp, 6 Brigs snails, and about 2 dozen plants lol. Tomorrow. All of them.

Poor postman!!

Crappy thing is it was like 108* here today. Hope everything works out ok...I really don't think I'm interested in a bag of boiled fish, shrimp, and snails =/.

Wish me luck!

Cris

hoppycalif

Cris, you are right about the canister filter. You can install it using the holes in the tank bottom. Of course the shutoff valves you mention are important, and that is the scary part to me - I can stop water from flowing out and emptying my tank when I use hoses over the rim, by just lifting up the hoses to break the siphon. But, that doesn't work with the bottom drilled tank setup. I can visualize forgetting to put those valves there, then having a problem and watching helplessly as all X gallons of water dumps on the floor - rapidly!

45 gallons of water above the TV? Hmmmm. That just doesn't seem right.

C.Anderson

Well, I'm a little annoyed. I dropped $160 last night in ball valves, fittings, a replacement retaining nut for the bulkhead (try finding THAT at Home Depot!! Ended up using a nut that holds your sink drain in place lol), silicone, a new light setup, bulbs, masking paper and tape...and Krylon Fusion in satin black to fix this tank up. I then get home, get the thing up on a bench to begin prepping/masking the inside...and what do I see?

Scratches.

Looks like whoever owned the thing prior to myself/the kid I traded it for cleaned it with steel wool =/. I immediately called him, and he agreed to paying an extra $50 to cover my costs in refurbishing it, which was cool. But now I need to find out what polishing system to use, and what the best way to go about it will be!

Bleh! I really wanted to get the thing setup and beginning to cycle sometime early next week!

Oh by the way Hoppy...I definitely included the ball valves lol. Now I just have to determine exactly how I want to plumb the tank internally. Now would definitely be the time to install a multiple outlet 'diffuser' of sorts to help keep water movement high, and surface agitation low. Possibly even dual suction points on each side of the tank....

Hmm....!

Cris

hoppycalif

Here: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...90&pcatid=4090, is what Tom Barr used for his big tanks with bottom drilled canister filter setups. He used a "Y" fitting on the outlet, each with a jet installed, so he can direct the flow in two directions. The suction fitting is just a screen, as I recall.

C.Anderson

Thanks Hoppy! I think those just might do the trick!

Cris

C.Anderson

Well! Small update.

The wife broke her camera lol, and so I haven't been able to get any pictures until now. I had a huge order of plants, fish, and shrimp come in Wednesday...along with my driftwood! I had fully intended to wait until I finished my slate walls to install the driftwood...but getting the plants on the same day sort of negated that idea. Since I needed to plant them I decided to go ahead and redo the hardscape, leaving the appropriate amount of room between for the terraces. That way when the time comes to do the walls, I can simply move a few plants, install them, scoop up the substrate and deposit it where it needs to go, then replant. Thank God I have three filters on this thing and any cloudiness clears up in a matter of minutes lol. Soilmaster Select is a messy, messy substrate (I didn't rinse it, as directed by most websites in order to help with the CEC is it?) once you've added your water lol.

Anyhow, here's a few pictures. It does still look a little bare, but the amount of plants has more than tripled (both sides of the central line of decorations are now planted), and I am getting another order of plants from BK828 in Wednesday/Thursday including:

L. Aromatica 7 stems
Martii Sword (Large)
Althernanthera reineki 2 stems
Rotala mix 7+ stems
Sunset/green Hygro 3 Stems
Xingu Sword 5 large mother plants with runners + extras

Along with that I'm thinking of ordering of 9 dwarf swords, and 30 dwarf sags to help with the foreground on both sides. All in all I'm looking to try a LOT of different plants, so I can gain some experience in how to utilize them in my aquascapes,

I've been reading around on this board (and others, but particularly 'whiskey' on this board) about people utilizing a mix of 'high tech' and 'low tech' on larger tanks like this. Under 2wpg, 10-20ppm of pressurized Co2, and a fertilizer program loosely based on the EI format, only utilizing about 1/2 to 2/3 dosage. I think this is going to be the route I take first.

Anyhow, on with the pictures!! The descriptions in italics are based on the layout I put in the center!


From the 'bottom right' of the tank.


From the 'bottom center' of the tank.


From the 'bottom left' of the tank.


From the 'top left' of the tank.


Layout for reference.


From the 'top center' of the tank.


From the 'top right' of the tank.


One fullsize frontal view.


A better full size frontal view.

Two things to ignore...the floating plants (the largest of the pleco's uproots them on purpose...I've seen him do it...just grabs em with his sucker and shakes once to toss 'em =/...), and the sparsness of the plantings. Things need to grow in for sure, and as I said I've ordered more plants to help!

So...any advice?!?! =)

As a side note...the repolishing of the 45gal is going...slowly...but it's going. I think it'll be a usable tank soon enough!!

Cris

davemonkey

It looks phenomenal! I've been following along to see how this has progressed and it's looking GREAT! I amazed at how well you tied the whole thing together. (Mine is just 50 gal and it seems like there's always one spot or another that doesn't "mesh".)

Thanks for sharing this awesome experience step-by-step with us! I can't wait to see more.

-Dave

Bk828

Cris you have pure skill, to make a HUGE tank like that planted and look nice truly isnt for everybody. I cant wait to see how the tank looks in a month once the slate walls are done and plants fill in. Keep it up