Behind the Scenes

[Zezmo]

I was messing around with a new Ph meter/indicator that I bought this week and I realized that while I love to share pics of my tank, I almost never show pics of what it takes to make it all work. This is a series of shot that I took showing off behind under and around my tank. Basically the tech part of the high tech tank.

This is a shot of my pressurized CO2 setup. It is a 5lb cylinder ($70 new, $7 refill every 6-8 mos). The regulator is a welding type unit (approx $40). The second dial shows CFM flow rate, instead of PSI, a nice feature. The solenoid is an industrial type. I bought it at the local machinery surplus store ($3.95)(http://www.trianglemachinery.com/), and finally the needle valve is a PVC type from the MSC catalog ($8.95).

Next is my Timers and Filters. Filters are 2x Fluval 303's. I bought them at auction for $35 for the pair. They are great units, easy to maintain. the timers are Timex digital timers (approx $15). They have up to 20 on/offs and you can set different events for different days of the week. As for the rest of that fire hazard, well you see why I don't show it much.

This is a shot of the heater (Hydor in-line), and the U/V (Coral twist).

This shot shows the LED's I mounted under the tank. It also shows the risers nicely. The LED's are from Current USA.

Filter outlet/Spray-bars. The second shot shows the holes I drilled above the water line to get some surface agitation. This simple solution got rid of all my issues with gasping fish, and allowed me to remove the air-stone that ran at night.

This shows my filter inlets which are on the opposite side of the tank from the spraybars. It also shows the new Ph meter I bought last week. So far it seems to work fine. before the CO2 is on in this shot, it shows the Ph at 6.2 which agrees with my master test. The pic also shows the ADA diffuser and the power-head the CO2 runs into. the rest of the shots in this series show the CO2 mist in full action.

These show my 390watts of nuke lighting on this tank. They are both Current USA Satellite fixtures for a total of 6x 65watts power-compacts. They all run 10 hours a day. I run 1 fixture (2x65) approx 45 min in the am M-F for feeding. This light is on from 6am to noon on the weekends.

Finally, here is the whole tank, I completely rescaped it last weekend, yet again I have reduced the number of species and am trying for a more open/natural look.

I sure would love to see what some of the rest of you have going on behind the scenes. Add the pics to this thread if you want to share.

 

[Glenc]

After looking at that beautiful set up, I would'nt dare post pics of my mickey mouse DIY junk!! Very nice, cool idea for a bit of surface aggitation also, going to get my drill!

 

[LindaC]

Very nice, I feel the same was as Glenc, my setup wouldn't even be worth looking at after seeing yours. Btw, I have one of the PH Meters on my 29 gallon, actually I'm on my second one now, I bought the one that lasts from 4-6 weeks and I really do like it. In the morning before the lights go one, it reads between 7.0 and 7.2 and then about an hour after the lights go on, it reads 6.6.

Thank you for sharing your behind the scenes photos.

 

[An t-iasg]

Your tank is beautiful and the "behind the scenes" pics are great too. They would be of great help to someone just starting to put all this equipment together.

 

[majolo]

That is super impressive. But I don't get what the LEDs under the tank are for?

 

[mr funktastic]

i am guessing the LED's are for a cool visual look. as for my behide the seens... not so pretty lol.
here is my home made light that i use over my 20 gal

and my DIY co2 set up.

and here is the whole set up. not really a current picture. its a few weeks old.

 

[czcz]

Great setups.

 

[GlitcH]

Good stuff Zez... I think your on to something with that new scape.

My "behind the scenes shot":

Pretty scary huh 8O

Here's the front end:

 

[SHIFT_Unique]

mother of god...

 

[875mill]

Jesus !

 

[GlitcH]

lol ya I fully expect to wake up one morning and see my tank on FIRE!

 

[chrism]

Hey, This is a great post... This was exactly what i was looking for a couple weeks ago! Wish i had seen it back then... but anyway...

great idea for a topic, wow 6 x 65w!! Thats a lot of light

love your aquascape, thanks for sharing!

 

[875mill]

Beautiful Tank Zezmo. What plant is that in the left foregroud? I like it alot

 

[Zezmo]

Thank you for the kind comments, and also thanks to those who also shared thier set-ups. Glitch, though it looks a little hazardous, I am sure it is reasonably safe. I see you also use dual Canister filters and a U/V. In fact, except for mist CO2 instead of an inline reactor looks like we have about he same stuff going on.

I have an agreement with my wife, basicly she lets me go crazy with this hobby, but..... The main tank (the 72) is in our living room. So I have to keep it "presentable" at all times. Also, I have my nano in the bedroom, that was not only has to be presentable, but it can't be "stinky". I use the scented ADA CO2 on the nano, that helps mask any odors.

I dont really have any shots that show the whole room, my tank is next to my TV, and is at an angle to it and the wall. FWIW, the angle is such that with lights on, you can use any seat in the living room and not have a glare on the TV from the tank. I watch my tank instead of the commercials, truth be told, I may watch the tank instead of the show as well coughsavesmefromchickflicscough. This gave me a lot of space behind the tank to work with, making it easy to keep things reasonable neat.

The blue LEDs are just to look cool and highlight the unusual design of the stand.

The plant in the front left corner is Tonia Belem (High light, CO2, and Low Kh (acidic) water needed for it to thrive. I typically run the Kh at 1-2 dKh, and the Ph is around 6.2 (or lower when the CO2) is on. Starting on the left the foreground is Tonia Belem, Bali Moss (colected by someone I know in a stream in bali), E. parvviflorus "Tropica", Eriocaulon sp "Guang Zou", Downoi, and my current most challenging plant... Echinodorus tenellus "Red". That plant hase proven challenging on many levels. Anything less than extreme lighting and it does nothing, and the red does not stay in the leaes long. I swear if a fish casts his shadow on the stuff too long it melts. Maybe someday I will have the lush red lawn I am trying for.

 

[7Enigma]

GlitcH,

I knew that was your behind the scenes for you snail-planted-no CO2-no ferts-moderate light tank. j/k

Zezmo,

Thank you for such a great idea with the behind the scenes setups. I'll snap a few of my much less difficult 20gallon setup (not pressurized) and edit this post.

2 2L bottles through a PH

Only 1 powerstrip for me, but behind the QT tank I have the digital timer that controls the lights on the main tank. The orange old fashioned timer is what my PH CO2 setup is on that coincides closely with the lights.

Overall shot of the setup. Please note my wall is not that color (the flash plays with the paint ), the room is normally cleaner , and the QT tank is hidden by a large poster because as you can see my cat Tubbs is already eyeing up her next meal (my barb that's healing from some nipped fins).

Wow, looking at those, I feel like I should just delete this whole post. My tank/setup is not worthy.

 

[Thebluyak]

my ghetto straight fabulous light set up

my co2, filter and various lights, timers for light and timer for moon lights

 

[mr funktastic]

what size of tank is that? looks like a 29 gal but i see an xp3 under the stand. seems like overkill lol.

 

[Thebluyak]

its a 36 g bowfront

its overkill but I never worry about ammonia spikes from food I missed. It was originally planned for a 55g discus tank but I opted out of them for a smaller tank (apt lease).

I actually need more current in my tank and im getting a powerhead to place lower down to help the P become more active and to help get rid of that stupid cyno algea

 

[GlitcH]

what size of tank is that? looks like a 29 gal but i see an xp3 under the stand. seems like overkill lol.

Overkill is my middle name.......hah.......i wish.........my real middle name is Harold........thx alot dad.

Off topic I know but hey......I'm still workin on my first cup of coffee.