Zezmo
Aquarium Advice Addict
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.
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.