[K20A2]

The beginning of time for this tank was October 2007. I set this up a few days after I moved into my house. My first house by the way, so a very exciting time for me. I haven't posted as much since then but my dedication towards the hobby has still remained strong.

This closed loop biological system is maintained by the following equipment:

Lighting: TEK light, 4 x 54 W HO.
Filter: Eheim Pro II
A couple submersible heaters and me randomly dosing nutrients that I make from dry ferts.
CO2 is from a 5 lb tank that I run into some sort of oxygen diffuser made by Eheim. It links up onto the spray bar on the exhaust of the canister filter. Its pretty deal if you ask me, 'cause I try to go for a less is best policy when it comes to equipment in the tank.

This is about the 5th age of this thing if my memory serves me correctly. I've been fortunate in that my plants grow very well at times and after I let them go for a few months a total apocalypse is in order. After the destruction, I start over with a fresh scape and planting. Yes I do trim but sometimes I just let it go…

Onto the pics…

The layout of the wood was done by a good friend of mine Swiss!!, and I put all the plants in the gravel.

A few close ups, with my beautiful angels in better detail.

I know the photo quality isn't at the level which really captures all that an aquarium has to offer but this is the best we can do.

Thanks for looking and please leave me comments, both positive and negative. Tell me what you would do different, basically just say what comes to mind.

 

[K20A2]

Thanks for the comment.

It is recently planted so the grasses will fill in a bit in time. My vision for this layout was to keep it a little more bare. All my previous designs were really full and left little visible gravel. I wanted to change it up a bit this time around.

 

[K20A2]

First off, I realized I said "closed loop" above, and this certainly relies on support from me so it isn't a closed loop system.

Very nice tank. I've always love the simpler design. A nice big rock in there would complete the thing. Congrats

Thank you.

Nice work, Matt. Very simple layout. How long have you had the tank?

Can you share the specs, please?

This one has been running since I moved into my house, so 13 months now.

Its your standard 75, so 48x18x21, I believe.

As for lighting, it gets 108 W of T5 HO (planta bulbs) for 4 hours, then I crank it up to 216 W (planta bulbs + 6700K) for 3 hours, then let it cool off for 2 hours with just 108 W. (planta bulbs)

Nutrient dosing is random, but I dose all the basics made from dry ferts and distilled water. I run the CO2 24/7 but crank it up a bit during the "midday burst" that goes on. I hardly ever test the water 'cause the plants grow well and the fish rarely die.

Watch, I'll lose half tonight just for typing that!

Sweet. I really like that driftwood, its very cool to look at. Have you had any of the angels form a pair?

Its quite a few pieces put together. The look I wanted to pull off was that of a tree that had fallen into the water and over time had fallen apart and plants were growing up around it and between the pieces.

None of these angels have paired off. I do however have a pair in another tank that lay eggs like clockwork, but always eat them as well.

Once again, thanks to everyone for looking! I'll keep this thread updated as the plants grow..