[hilikus16]

Well i wasn't happy with my eclipse 3g (mainly because i kept scratching the acrylic and the filter is crap) so i decided to upgrade to a 5.5g. I removed the rim and made a light fixture from an old 10g incandescent fixture and some wood. Here are a few of the current specs:

-lighting- 20w screw in flourescents
-filter- Tom Rapids mini canister
-substrate- Eco complete
-plants- crypt lucens, java fern, marselia minuta, and crypt spiralis--the spiralis is in there for cycling purposes only and more plants will be added tomorrow when i get to my LFS
-fish- none currently but otos will be added soon and hopefully a school of some kind of boraras in the future

anyways here are some pictures of the build and how the tank looks after i filled it up tonight:















I left some room near the rocks because I want to add some downoi around them. I'm also thinking about adding a few rocks to the right side with some blyxa behind them to balance the tank out. Let me know what you'll think because I'm very open to suggestions.

 

[gravy9]

Very nice work on the tanks. The light looks very nice.

 

[Tex Gal]

Why did you leave so much room between the tank and the lights? Just wondering?

 

[hilikus16]

Very nice work on the tanks. The light looks very nice.

Thanks Gravy!

Well i added a few plants and a few more rocks to try to balance out the tank.

-current plants-
rotala indica (it might be rotundi but it was labeled as indica)
crypt wendtii red
sagittaria
crypt lucens
marselia minuta

-future plants- i left some room on the right side for some blyxa and some room all along the rocks for some downoi...now i just need to get my hands on some *wink wink*

Let me know what you'll think. Thanks!

FTS


Angled


Left Side


Right Side

 

[hilikus16]

Why did you leave so much room between the tank and the lights? Just wondering?

good question Tex Gal. I really don't have a solid answer. For one, i didn't want overheating to be an issue and i also knew it'd be easier to arrange the equipment with some room. I also wanted to keep the rimless look as much as possible (without suspending the fixture) so i tried to keep the lights off the tank. Hopefully i'll be able to take the legs off and suspend the fixture in the future to give it the 100% rimless look.

 

[Tex Gal]

I really like your new plant additions. They look great.

 

[hilikus16]

I really like your new plant additions. They look great.

Thanks a bunch, i like them too they just need to grow out a bit and i think they'll look great. I really need to get my hands on some downoi and blyxa because i really think they'll bring this tank all together. Also, any idea on how long eco complete tends to cloud up the water?

 

[hilikus16]

Not a whole lot has changed besides the water clearing up but here's an update anyway. I moved the filter intake and spraybar to the left side because i like the water flow better that way. I also added the fish from my 3g after checking my parameters; this includes 2 otos and 2 rummy nose tetras. The tetras will be moved to my brother's 29g tank when i leave for college but the otos will be comming with me. When i get settled in back at school i plan on buying a school of harlequin rasboras or one of the boraras species (prob 5-6 fish). Also, i believe my crypt wendtii reds are melting but this was kind of expected...anyways here's the pics so let me know what you'll think:

FTS






One of the otos just hanging out

 

[nguyendetecting]

great looking tank, was the trim hard to take off?? Great diy hood btw

 

[hilikus16]

great looking tank, was the trim hard to take off?? Great diy hood btw

Thanks! The trim wasn't too hard to take off. I rushed and cracked one tank but i took my time on the second one. I found it was easier to slice/cut the corners of the trim and just basically peal the trim off. But i just can't stress enough that you need to take your time and dont yank too hard on the trim.

 

[marke14]

I know this is probably a dumb question, but are you worried about the rim as a structural component? Is it just the silicon that holds any tank together?

 

[hilikus16]

I know this is probably a dumb question, but are you worried about the rim as a structural component? Is it just the silicon that holds any tank together?

From my research, anything 10g and under is relatively safe to take the trim off of. Some people have even done it to 20g which is just way too risky IMO. So i'm not too worried about the structural integrity.

 

[FBG]

I've taken the rim off of three aquariums to date and none of them have fallen apart of leaked a drop. been running for as long as 4 months. (two 10gallons, and a 2.5)

 

[marke14]

Thanks!

 

[foofooree]

That tank looks really nice! I like it

 

[hilikus16]

That tank looks really nice! I like it

Thanks! I'm liking it a lot too. It's been fun watching the growth day by day. I can't wait till my blyxa and downoi get here- they should almost complete the tank. Also, i dug under some of the substrate around the marselia and found a lot of runners with plants sprouting on them so the foreground should start filling out quicker. I figure I'll go ahead and update it again since it's a journal:

 

[FishandTurtleJunkie]

It is coming together nicely. When the marsilea fills in it will really look great.

 

[954baby]

Try to post a pic i'd like to see how it looks. I just set up a tank that looks a lot like yours.

 

[hilikus16]

It is coming together nicely. When the marsilea fills in it will really look great.

Thanks FishandTurtleJunkie! I agree, i cannot wait for the foreground to fill in. I'll also be adding a few more plants in the next couple of days. I'll update it when i do so.

Try to post a pic i'd like to see how it looks. I just set up a tank that looks a lot like yours.

I've posted several throughout this journal (the most recent one is about 2 days old), but i'll post another after work tomorrow. Do you have a thread for your tank? If so i'd like to follow it

 

[ShostAmateur]

I like the set-up a lot. Did a very nice job with it -- all the equipment is un-obtrusive to viewing the tank. The new plants look good, and I agree with others, it'll be great to see them fill in!