465 Gallon Planted Amazon Biotope

[neilanh]

Originally Posted by Plantbrain

Light, I'd suggest some MH's, 400w.

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Do not use 400w MH's that is too much light for your goals.

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Regards,
Tom Barr

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Neil, I do that one all the time. Adjust a thought and miss one edit..

eBallast is just an Electronic Ballast. They are more efficient as with most things electronic.

The drain/fill plumbing is a great idea. I use a regular tube that connects to my pump to let me do PWC's. Even tho I have to drag a hose over, I don't have to babysit it when it's being done. (Mine is only a 120, it takes about 45 minutes-1 hour depending on how fast I put water back in.. yours would be about 2 hours..)

[kansei]

A LFS here has a 400gal planted display tank that (completely planted) with loads of tetras , they run 4 x 400w MH at about 2 feet of the tank with a corner overflow and 75gal sump . I'll see if I can get pics of the setup .

[sherry]

Tom does take clients and as much as said so when he mentioned how much he can help you save on livestock. PM him before you go any further. I've been following his site, www.barrreport.com since it started, and his advice since I started a few years ago.

He bases his opinions on hard experience and experiment. Trust him. Most of us do!!

[J Migidy]

Originally Posted by Corey

Mbu puffer Mbu puffer Mbu puffer Mbu puffer Mbu pufferMbu puffer Mbu puffer Mbu puffer Mbu puffer Mbu puffer Mbu puffer

Awww man I would definitely get an MBU if I had a tank this big. I love those guys. My LFS had one in a 300 gallon and it was kick ***!!!! Good luck with your project and get those pictures coming once you start to get it set up

[Zezmo]

One thought on substrate. Turface is a nice dark substrate, that is great for growing plants. And, at 8-12$ per 50lb bag it would be substantially cheaper than Eco. In the long run, it will give every bit of growth performance you might expect from Eco. Probably the only thing that might actually be better would be ADA aquasoil.
Aquasoil would be seriously expensive in that size tank. But, you could have smaller "zones" with aquasoil, for more difficult plants. Then Turface in the rest of the areas.

For that size tank, here is a comparison of approximate costs:
Eco complete approx $600
ADA Aquasoil approx $900
Turface approx $120

[Plantbrain]

SMS and Turface are not that same back color though.
EC is pretty black.
SMS and Turface are funky grey.

I used 80 Bags of EC on the 1600 gal with a 12 x 4 foot print.
I do take CA clients.

I can do on site consulting or work, your choice.
I also get livestock and product at wholesale cost, so the rate I charge is that + 10%.
I make the $ on the labor/consulting, I'm not in the resale business and this is for clients only(otherwise I'll get 100 emails begging for savings on items, the answer is no, so do not ask, this is one method how I save much more than I charge, but I am not cheap).

I generally work in the north LA area or SF/Sac area.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[black hills tj]

any update on how things are going?

[black hills tj]

Anyone heard how this beast is coming?

[happygirl65]

I would think you might have pictures by now

[black hills tj]

Any updates on this tank?

[vcorey04]

just checking to make sure you haven't fallen in!!

[xyyz]

just curious, what was the budget for this type of setup?

[SpeedEuphoria]

Originally Posted by Pleco

I have spent around $4200, and have roughly around $4-5k left for this project.-Pleco

yup

[Ziggy953]

Pictures??? Where are the pictures????