travis simonson
Aquarium Advice Addict
I've been wanting to use natural sunlight with a planted tank for some time now and I've finally gotten around to putting things in motion. I was inspired by a Spanish gentleman's tank (I can't remember his name but will post references when I can find them).
I've moved my 30G long tank with ADA Aquasoil to a stand on my balcony that allows it take full advantage of the southern exposure I've got. I know it's early in the year (late February/early March) to put a tank outside in Colorado, but I've got two heavy-duty Ebo-Jager heaters keeping it warm. Even at 20 degrees F outside, the tank remains above 50 degrees F. I am not planning on stocking it with fish due to the likely temperature variances. It is currently only stocked with hardy plants to test it out.
I am injecting CO2 and currently only running a QuickFilter on the tank. If more filtration becomes necessary, I will add it. Here are the pics of the setup. More will follow as things progress![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
The CO2 feed coming off of my three-way manifold that goes out to the tank:
The small hole in the wall for the CO2 that my landlord probably wouldn't be happy about:
The exterior hole for the CO2:
A shot of the diffuser pumping away
:
The tank on the day I set it up. A bit cloudy with debris:
The tank tonight, during a snow storm here in Englewood. It has cleared up nicely and I haven't noticed any algae issues at all in the five days it has been up and running. Note the snow on the wood sticking out of the top of the tank
:
I've moved my 30G long tank with ADA Aquasoil to a stand on my balcony that allows it take full advantage of the southern exposure I've got. I know it's early in the year (late February/early March) to put a tank outside in Colorado, but I've got two heavy-duty Ebo-Jager heaters keeping it warm. Even at 20 degrees F outside, the tank remains above 50 degrees F. I am not planning on stocking it with fish due to the likely temperature variances. It is currently only stocked with hardy plants to test it out.
I am injecting CO2 and currently only running a QuickFilter on the tank. If more filtration becomes necessary, I will add it. Here are the pics of the setup. More will follow as things progress
The CO2 feed coming off of my three-way manifold that goes out to the tank:
![New_01_x800.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fdump.fibervault.com%2FNew_01_x800.jpg&hash=4ea0f01d0948395f9ff8b09e46abeac1)
The small hole in the wall for the CO2 that my landlord probably wouldn't be happy about:
![New_02_x800.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fdump.fibervault.com%2FNew_02_x800.jpg&hash=487eafbfa444549e04a6e4df6acbb032)
The exterior hole for the CO2:
![New_03_x800.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fdump.fibervault.com%2FNew_03_x800.jpg&hash=24220ab1139c09c225cde4ddc19e2485)
A shot of the diffuser pumping away
![New_04_x800.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fdump.fibervault.com%2FNew_04_x800.jpg&hash=9fc44967b1eea708980eb162f52875c5)
The tank on the day I set it up. A bit cloudy with debris:
![Balcony_Tank_240207_x800.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fdump.fibervault.com%2FBalcony_Tank_240207_x800.jpg&hash=ec5cbad5e0b578ecb40d240465dac9b7)
The tank tonight, during a snow storm here in Englewood. It has cleared up nicely and I haven't noticed any algae issues at all in the five days it has been up and running. Note the snow on the wood sticking out of the top of the tank
![Balcony_Tank_280207_x800.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fdump.fibervault.com%2FBalcony_Tank_280207_x800.jpg&hash=1639216952363adbad8a91cbbdf72bc6)