Bill's 12 Gallon Long - Iwagumi V.2

[fort384]

Nah, I haven't taken in the pics of it in the last several months. Tank is looking ok... not as good as it used to. Once things calm down a bit I'll get back to it. Still a nice looking tank but isn't "photo-worthy". Need to spend a few weeks at some point whipping it into shape. The coral has grown like crazy.

I am around pretty much every day on AA - just don't get to post as much as I used to

 

[Billbug68]

That's what I figured, I know you've got other duties to take care of here... I'm sure all of us that have been here awhile miss you on the planted side, though!

 

[Billbug68]

Oh, and...

I planted some e. acicularis behind and in between the stones Friday night. Trimmed the HC and cleaned the tank. It's hard to see, but it should end up mingling well...

 

[Aidanflower]

i was curious how your fluval 106 is doing for your tank. is it enough flow, could it use more flow? i aM in the process of planning my tank and tomorrow i am buying a mr aqua 12 long and the lights! anyway i am thinking about having red crystal shrimp in the tank and i know that they need perfect water. so what are your opinions on the 206 for that tank? thanks for the help!

 

[Billbug68]

i was curious how your fluval 106 is doing for your tank. is it enough flow, could it use more flow? i aM in the process of planning my tank and tomorrow i am buying a mr aqua 12 long and the lights! anyway i am thinking about having red crystal shrimp in the tank and i know that they need perfect water. so what are your opinions on the 206 for that tank? thanks for the help!

Well, I don't know the difference in specs off the top of my head... Depending on the layout and what other equipment you're running, the 206 should be okay. The 06 series has flow control, so if it's too much you can always dial it down a bit. On my setup, with the lily pipes I run, the 106 tends to blow some substrate around, but if you're using the stock in/out flows or even a jet pipe instead of the normal lily, you shouldn't have that problem.

 

[Aidanflower]

I do plan on using the stock in/out for a little while until i save enough to get nice glass ones. i was thinking about getting a return similar in shape to the one you have, do you think a different shape would be better to prevent the substrate from blowing around? also once my carpet grows in will that help prevent the substrate moving or will the plants just get blown around?

 

[Billbug68]

Yeah, once the carpet fills in it helps. If I had to do it again, I'd get the stainless steel jet pipes or return like this one...
http://www.adana-usa.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76_26_3&products_id=79

 

[Aidanflower]

Wait, the pipe in the link. Is that the return or the intake to the pump? The wording confused me a bit

 

[Aidanflower]

Sorry i was thinking that the long section goes in the tank and there are slots for the water. Now that i know which side is right haha wouldn't it send a jet through the tank and it would push the substrate more? Or do you like it because it has a smaller profile?

 

[Billbug68]

Sorry, I guess I should have been more specific. With then lily pipe I have, it sends the flow down at a slight angle towards the substrate. With the one I posted a link of, that one would send it straight out across the tank. In theory, not disturbing the substrate as much. Make sense?

 

[Billbug68]

Quick cell phone vid of the tank...
http://youtu.be/k4QugfFYhTo

 

[Aidanflower]

Aahhh okay i understand now. Thanks for the clarification. I also like the look of that pipe in the link better, it has a low profile and is less noticeable. Btw i am crazy jealous of your sweet tank!

 

[Billbug68]

Glad I could help, and thanks for the kind words!

 

[Aidanflower]

Also do you use a heater? I havnt seen any in the pictures an i was curious if you had one hiding or something

 

[Billbug68]

Also do you use a heater? I havnt seen any in the pictures an i was curious if you had one hiding or something

Yeah, it's an inline heater made by hydor.

 

[Aidanflower]

Also do you use a heater? I havnt seen any in the pictures an i was curious if you had one hiding or something

 

[Aidanflower]

Sorry for the double post. I was looking at getting one of those! How is it working out for you?

 

[Billbug68]

Sorry for the double post. I was looking at getting one of those! How is it working out for you?

No worries. Just so you know, you can always go back and edit posts.

I love the inline heater. I've had no issues with it so far, and the tank is always a constant temp.

 

[NanoJack]

Hi Bill.

What's the total wattage on your current satellite plus? I've just purchased an 18" satellite plus at 13 total watts. Are you running those at full intensity or have them dimmed? I'm using my first
Lights (Archae 7.56w) in addition to the plus, making it a total 20.56 watts above my little 45F. I calculate the wpg to be atleast 4 wpg. I have dimmed the new
Lights to match the other fixtures intensity and will gradually increase over time. (Don't want an algae explosion). I believe I have good flow and good co2 distribution. I bought the extra light because I noticed my Cuba growing vertical (Not what I want). Do you think I I should double up the ferts due to the increased par?

 

[Billbug68]

Hmmm... I'm actually not too sure what the watts are on the 36" fixture. But what you have running seems like a lot of light... Plus, watts is kind of irrelevant, especially when it comes to LEDs. What you really need to know is PAR values. IMO, you may be asking for trouble running both fixtures... Personally, I'd give the HC a little more time. Sometimes it starts to appear to grow up, but then lays over and roots itself down.

I don't know exact numbers, but I'm almost positive that with my light, on my tank, I'm running moderate light and still carpeting HC well. It's taken about 10 weeks to fully carpet the tank.

I'd say, do some research on the PAR values for your fixtures. Google is your friend. Here's a good link to get you started, so you can get a better idea of what I'm talking about... You really don't need extreme high levels of light, it'll probably cause more problems than good.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=160396

As for the ferts. I'd let your plants, algae, and testing dictate any adjustments you need to make.