Brian_Nano12g
Aquarium Advice Addict
Back at it again with a 12g, this time a "long" (pun intended) time favorite tank size I've always wanted but couldn't justify... That is, until now, the Mr. Aqua 12g long has arrived. In low iron high clarity glass to boot!! 
After selling a few things I accumulated in the hobby, I was able to scrape up some funds and acquire this beauty, shipped to my door (and with a help of a small coupon) for a whopping $10, out of pocket. Score!
I was able to justify this acquisition with the misses because we moved to a new place that was more than double the size and there was a perfect spot for it on a pair of Ikea kallax shelf units. I think the planets were in alignment and it was destiny to finally get one of these!
What else justified this build was the fact that I have extra bags of substrate, unused hardscape material, filters, co2 mini regulator, and a light... So the only real investment would be my time, plants and fish.
With that said, here's the run down:
* Tank: Mr. Aqua 12g Long (35.4" x 8.3" x 9.4")
* Light: 24" Ecoxotic E-Series
* Substrate: Brightwell Aquatics FlorinVolcanit + ADA Aquasoil Amazonia
* Ferts: PPS-Pro and Flourish Tabs.
* CO2: Aquatek mini paintball
* Filter: Fluval 106 + CalAqua Labs Lily Pipes + AZOO Skim 250
After a little internal debate and asking opinions in my 60p journal, I decided to go with a frosty clear background (instead of black) coupled with the clean, but also higher maintenance, Lily pipe combo. Nothing screams sexier than a rimless with lily pipes, IMHO. So I measured and cut to size some Con-Tact clear shelf liner, which is more like a semi-opaque self adhesive privacy glass material. It's good stuff because it's easily removable without leaving a sticky residue. What a pain to apply on a large surface tho! Left some bubbles here and there, despite trying my best to squeegee them out. But dang, it still looks clean, especially with the sharp crisp lines of this tank, excellent silicone work, and elegant beveled glass edges.. Wow I'm ecstatic!
So for lighting, my initial thought is that because I have both 24" Ecoxotic E-Series suspended over the ADA 60p, I'd use my "extra" 18" E-Series on this 36" long tank... Wait.. This doesn't sound right! Lol. But maybe if I suspended it high enough and at full-power output, maybe the light spread would be large enough? Wrong! It almost would work if I kept an island center type of scape, but ideally I'd want a 36" long light fixture, but I decided to swap the 18" light with a 24" one from my 60p build. I also decided on doing another conduit pipe light hanger, but this time with a single 90° bend over the 12g long and paint it black to match the dark brown wood furniture. Lastly, a nice guy in my 60p club in TPT agreed to make me a copy of his pair of custom designed and cut acrylic light brackets that hold the E-Series to the conduit pipe with precision. They look fantastic and I finally get to use them after holding on to them for years!!
And finally, swapping the 18" fixture to the 24", which is much much better!! oh and my girlfriend helped with the side decor... Lol
Night mode:
Thanks for following and any comments.
After selling a few things I accumulated in the hobby, I was able to scrape up some funds and acquire this beauty, shipped to my door (and with a help of a small coupon) for a whopping $10, out of pocket. Score!
I was able to justify this acquisition with the misses because we moved to a new place that was more than double the size and there was a perfect spot for it on a pair of Ikea kallax shelf units. I think the planets were in alignment and it was destiny to finally get one of these!
What else justified this build was the fact that I have extra bags of substrate, unused hardscape material, filters, co2 mini regulator, and a light... So the only real investment would be my time, plants and fish.
With that said, here's the run down:
* Tank: Mr. Aqua 12g Long (35.4" x 8.3" x 9.4")
* Light: 24" Ecoxotic E-Series
* Substrate: Brightwell Aquatics FlorinVolcanit + ADA Aquasoil Amazonia
* Ferts: PPS-Pro and Flourish Tabs.
* CO2: Aquatek mini paintball
* Filter: Fluval 106 + CalAqua Labs Lily Pipes + AZOO Skim 250
After a little internal debate and asking opinions in my 60p journal, I decided to go with a frosty clear background (instead of black) coupled with the clean, but also higher maintenance, Lily pipe combo. Nothing screams sexier than a rimless with lily pipes, IMHO. So I measured and cut to size some Con-Tact clear shelf liner, which is more like a semi-opaque self adhesive privacy glass material. It's good stuff because it's easily removable without leaving a sticky residue. What a pain to apply on a large surface tho! Left some bubbles here and there, despite trying my best to squeegee them out. But dang, it still looks clean, especially with the sharp crisp lines of this tank, excellent silicone work, and elegant beveled glass edges.. Wow I'm ecstatic!
So for lighting, my initial thought is that because I have both 24" Ecoxotic E-Series suspended over the ADA 60p, I'd use my "extra" 18" E-Series on this 36" long tank... Wait.. This doesn't sound right! Lol. But maybe if I suspended it high enough and at full-power output, maybe the light spread would be large enough? Wrong! It almost would work if I kept an island center type of scape, but ideally I'd want a 36" long light fixture, but I decided to swap the 18" light with a 24" one from my 60p build. I also decided on doing another conduit pipe light hanger, but this time with a single 90° bend over the 12g long and paint it black to match the dark brown wood furniture. Lastly, a nice guy in my 60p club in TPT agreed to make me a copy of his pair of custom designed and cut acrylic light brackets that hold the E-Series to the conduit pipe with precision. They look fantastic and I finally get to use them after holding on to them for years!!
And finally, swapping the 18" fixture to the 24", which is much much better!!
oh and my girlfriend helped with the side decor... Lol
Night mode:
Thanks for following and any comments.
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