catshanon

really sleeeeeeeek.... :drool: :drool: ... I bet you are having tons of fun setting her up....

Check out the bottom link (if you haven't done so already..), very good explanation of the reactions going on for producing CO2. Treatise on DIY CO2 When I was doing DIY, it took quite some time ( > an hour) for the bubbles to come out of the powerhead..I also found that the airline tubing got clogged with yeast mixture over time...(but maybe that was because I was squeezing the bottle to get the gas into the tank..)

I second that..Vals are pretty easy to grow...and they will reach the surface of the tank depending on the species and the tank conditions. With CO2 and good lighting, they have taken over my tank...

I am not an ACE member yet.. if I attend the ACE meeting on Tuesday and become a member then, can I still qualify for selling at the auction ? Raj..

Nice pictures...The swords and java moss look really healthy. A frontal full tank shot will be good to see....

So you finally have that in place. When I came to pick up the neons and the otto it had just arrived. I bet you gaze at the empty tank and visualise the finished landscape.. Hope it turns out like you envision as you have waited for this for quite some time. Raj.

Trimming the old root systems will definitely promote new roots. Also, trim some of the old leaves. In this way, new leaves will be encouraged to grow.

I know its kind of absurd, but I was wondering if people ever tried the above... The filter houses the beneficial bacteria, but in a planted tank, there are (enough ??) bacteria in the substrate, and on driftwood and decorations. The plants (if heavily planted) will produce oxygen to sustain the tank and then with weekly water changes, fresh water is getting added. I am saying this as my tank ran for ~10 days with no filter and I didn't have any casualties. I did not measure the water parameters to see what they were..maybe they were reaching dangerous levels... but I think I will try it again... and keep track of the parameters... I think Diana Walstad mentioned something similar in her "Ecology of the planted aquarium"..... Raj

That would depend on the thickness of the gravel. If there is a 2" layer, then the light has to penetrate a shallower depth. (IMO)... Also, Darkangel, do you really do such meticulous calculations when dosing prime or fertilizers ? medicine is a different story, but I kind of take it easy with my tank's maintenance.. I always put in an approximate amount(on the lower side) of prime and I am erratic with my ferts dosing regime.. I like the tank to take its own course... but thats me..and people are different..

I would say do the calculations for 56.5Gallons.. I am intrigued though, how did you get an exact measurement of 56.5G ??? Raj

check this out...natural gravel... Natural gravel on Kijiji

Target play sand from home depot is what I use. I think for a 50G, you will require maybe 5 bags..for a 2" layer (IMO)..I think each bag costs ~$6.00

The last shot is a real sweeet one.... :thumbs:

Thats a really nice tank. I have seen it in person and it looks awesome. Its an Oceanic system and the lights are really bright, so the colour of the cardinals really come out. The aquascaping is very simple and ever since I saw the tank, I wanted to emulate that aquascaping, but then I have gone through tens of ideas through my head... Its also very well maintained and clean and when I saw it, the plants were growing on DIY CO2..

Great one, werner !!!!! :rofl: -roll- :rofl:

FYI: "It is a common misconception that water can hold only so much dissolved gas and adding CO2 will displace oxygen. This is not true. As a matter of fact, if enough CO2 and light is present to enable vigorous photosynthesis, oxygen levels can reach 120% of saturation. Even at night, when the plants stop using CO2 and start using oxygen, the oxygen levels will stay about the same as a typical non-planted aquarium. " These are not my words, but from George Booth, who is a renowned aquarist.. and your saying that "this process happens "best" when the tank is heavily planted " is totally wrong. In reality, the opposite happens.

Super explanations :thumbs: Now I have to do some experiments with my CO2 and hopefully I will have a spike in growth...Just have to make sure that the tanks are heavily planted, though..so that Oxygen is being produced abundantly....

I am putting the cart before the horse and building my decorations before my tank is cleaned and set up...but, what the heck..as long as it keeps me busy.... So, I am looking for Quikrete cement to put over foam. If anyone has leftovers that they can part with, please let me know. Also, can I get this at Home Depot ?

Google Sketchup can be downloaded and installed on your computer...So go ahead and have plenty of fun.. There are lots of cool video tutorials too, to get you up to speed in no time... Some of the drawings/sketches are really amazing..... I will try to do my aquascaping in that program too... Looks like I will end up with a digital version of my tank rather than the real thing...

Lana, I used Google SketchUp to create those drawings.. Its a fantastic program and quite easy to use. You can create the models in 3D and then create 2D pictures of them at any angle that you want. Okay, so I will go with 2x4s (thanks Corvette) and plywood. I was thinking that particle board will be cheaper than plywood, hence I opted for Pboard. Just waiting to hear about some comments on horizontal beams.... Raj

So I did some sketches and finally I think I am ready to modify my IKEA cabinet to support my 60G tank. I will be using wood screws and carpenter's glue to put the 4x4s and the plywood/particle boards. Bare Cabinet from IKEA Front view with the 4x4s and the plywood/particle boards... I plan to put 2 sheets of wood to reinforce the cabinet. One at the bottom and one at the top. Questions are : 1) Which is better, plywood or particle board ? 2) Do I need any horizontal supports at the base and at the top of the 4x4s ? Side view When I place the tank, I will make sure that the 4 ends will be directly over the 4x4s to distribute the weight evenly. Experienced carpenters please let me know if I need any horizontal supports at the top and the bottom. :bow: Thanks in advance for suggestions. Raj.

Jay, Is this the one that's in your basement? All the plants are gone..........

Do you need to register to buy, I was reading www.fish-club.org/index.php?nav=au and the rules and regulations seems to imply I need to register to buy/bid. Never been to an auction before, how do these things normally run? The people who will be selling their stock will display the items on tables and each item will have a number. People who are interested in buying, will look at the items during the display time and note down the numbers of the items that they are interested in. Then the auction will start. The auctioneer will pick up an item and describe it and also say the item number and he/she will start off with an opening bid. People who are interested in buying that item will indicate so by a gesture, usually by raising hands. Nothing fishy goes on in an AA auction, so its pretty simple... If lot of people raise their hands, then the auctioneer will go on increasing the prices and the interested people will keep their hands raised. This goes on until some people think that the item is getting too costly and they drop out of the bidding by lowering their arms. In this way you will end up with a whole lot of fish and plants and an empty wallet.... and then you will come back in the evening and drool over your new treasures and discuss that on the board... -ham-

Hey Mark, You really have a nice camera, 10x optical zoom and 8MP. You definitely can take super pictures of your fish with that baby. However, just like we all read about fishes and plants and aquascaping, we (aspiring photographers..) need to read up on photography too. Exposure, shutter speed, use of flash ... all play a major factor in good photos. So, if you do a little bit of reading and with patience, you will definitely get good pictures...Here is a link I found after googling... http://blog.fotonomy.com/tips/8-tips-for-t...quarium-photos/ Happy ( educated ) clicking !!!!!!!!! Raj

Ryan, Thanks for the tips. I will definitely have to beef it up with some 2x4s on the 4 vertical posts and also in the middle.. Which makes me wonder, just chuck the dresser and get some cinder blocks and plywood from HD and have a strong and sturdy stand...Then I will have no worries of the stand collapsing....