# 2014 New Year New Aquarium 120 Gallon Planted Aquarium



## rwong2k10

Hi all,

First time starting a tank journal. I've recently closed down by 35 22"x22"x22" planted cube aquarium. I wasn't going to start this project until after April as my
wife is expecting with our first child then, but I found some free time during this Christmas break and I decided to set up this aquarium with the go ahead from my wife

I would like to share my journey of this aquarium with everyone on this forum.

Took a few photos on my latest adventure.

The specs of this aquarium setup are:

120 ish gallon aquarium 48x24x24" bought off my friend who's also on this forum.
TEK T5HO 8x54watt light fixtures, with 4 giesman aquaflora and 4 mid day tubes
Eheim 2080 Filter
Eheim 2075 Filter
10lbs CO2 tank with a 3 way manifold on 24/7 with 2 diffusers in this tank
6 bags of ADA Amazonia substrate

Some background:

I've fairly experienced with planted aquariums and have been successful with growing plants except my aquascaping sucks. 
I've had planted aquariums since 1996 and the usual method I use is high light, high co2, high water flow + heavy substrate fertilization.
My cube aquarium is almost algae free except for the occasional BBA on the filter intake tubes, which I usually remove manually pretty easily.

Here's the start.

Here's the last images of my cube aquarium before tearing it down, most of the plants are out grown and needed a trim.

Here is a front tank shot









Here is the tank with the ada like cabinet my friend build for me










As you noticed the lights are a funky mixture since I've sold off most of my lights for this aquarium and I'm left with 46watt CFL's (which work great!)

Here is an image of my cube aquarium emptied


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## rwong2k10

Ok that should be enough photos of my old aquarium, onto the new one.

This one's been sitting in my garage for about 4 months besides my motorcycle (so after removing the aquarium and shifting things around I can park my car inside my
garage again!, enough of scraping the frost off my windows in the morning, the extra 5 mins of sleep helps!)









Finally got the tank in the location I wanted with my buddy Ed's help









Boxes of ADA Amazonia from Pat from Canadian Aquatics









DOH! only needed 6 bags of ADA, now I have 2 bags left over and some photos of the petrified wood I'll be using from King Ed Pets









Here's Ed extremely happy finally filling in the aquarium









One of the two monster filters I'm going to be using, an Eheim 2080 from JL Aquatics boxing day sale 









Tank filled with water, super cloudy









The TEK T5HO Fixture from Tom Barr that I'm using for this tank









The two filters side by side Eheim 2075 and a Eheim 2080, unfortunately they are too big and won't fit in the custom cabinet for low viewing  so had to put it on the side









Here's a tank only shot, I know the sponges on the filter intakes look ugly, but when the plants fill out it'll cover them










Here's a front tank shot with the cabinet









thanks for looking,

hope to update in another month when the plants fill out.

Ray


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## jhj0112

Very nice Ray!! hey your aquascaping is at least 10 times better than mine lol It will be apisto heaven! 

BTW I'm so jealous on this tank!!!! it's awesome!


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## Fish rookie

Very very nice, thanks for sharing.
Congrats on the up coming baby by the way.
Did you use any of the additive from ADA in your soil?
Your Co2 is only a light green in your square tank, how do you keep that from going yellow with 24/7 Co2?


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## rwong2k10

thanks for the kind comments and thanks for looking,

I didn't use any additive for my ada soil, from my previous experience with ADA Amazonia, my plants grew fine without them or the powersand.

I've done a bit of research on this and some people swear by it some don't use it at all. So I'm cheap so I decided not to go with it this time.

My first planted tank was a 65ish gallon tank and I used normal gravel with a thin layer of peat and I used clay balls and the plants were growing nuts except when you pull the plants out the clay would make the water cloudy.
Oh the co2 in my drop checker is usually dark green, it's light green in this photo because I haven't changed the indicator fluids. I have pretty high surface agitation so the oxygen levels should be pretty high in the tank also

I have collectoris, there's too many species in this tank and I'll have to remove a few species shortly. But I recently found some rotala sp. green finally after searching for a while for this plant, so I had to buy it and add it to this tank. That stuff grows easily so I might transfer it to my office planted tank instead.


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## charles

that is a lot of filtration... great looking tank.


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## 2wheelsx2

Awesome. I'm sure you'll find that even with those 2 monsters that there is barely enough filtration for a fully planted CO2 injected, high light tank. A few questions just out of curiosity:

1. You bought the Tek from Tom? I know he's gone all ATI dimmable. Just wondering why you didn't go that route or LED? Cost considerations?
2. Why 2 big canisters and not a sump? I know if I had to do a tank > 75 gallons from scratch again I'd sump it in a minute. Once again, Tom's gone all sumps in all his tanks and after close to 10 years of injecting CO2 and high light tanks, I'm tired of cleaning clogged up canisters and will likely never plan a new tank that is not sumped anymore.
3. No solenoid? Why do you want to inject CO2 24/7? pH stability? Especially on a 120 gallon, you might find that you go through the CO2 very fast at 24/7. I am running a 20 lb tank in my 125 and it's low/med light and I only have to fill once a year. When I was going with more light and more complex plants I was going through the 20 lb 2x a year.

As for the ADA, I am with you totally. I love it, and I never used any additives. I think the rest of it is hocus pocus. I think the substrate is great by itself. If only it were cheaper. That 4x2 footprint allows so many options for scaping. The only thing that would scare me is the pruning. I am extremely happy with growing only slow plants in my ADA 12" cube because I only prune once a month. 

Anyway, it's rare that someone on BCA would go high tech on a big tank like this and I love it and applaud you for doing it!


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## Claudia

Well done, looks awesome and will get better when plants start growing  Ed looks so excited hahahahah


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## rwong2k10

Hi 2wheelsx2 and all,

Here's my responses to your questions, so my disclaimer is: it might not be the 'right' way of doing it but it's been successful for me for quite a few years so it's tried and true for the way I keep my planted aquariums.

The only algae problem I have is sometimes I get BBA on the filter intake tubes  but I usually manually remove them.

1) it was partly cost reasons and partly not, the deal he had for them was too good to pass on them so I said what they heck why not. I was considering ATI dimmable lights but I've read too many issues with them on the forums and it's a pain in the butt to ship them back to the states for warentee purposes. Imagine a few weeks without lights on your planted tank, that would be a disaster! (I think, not too sure how the people in TO are coping with a week long power outage) TEK lights are tried and tested for many aquarists and it works for them.

I didn't go with LED because I was using similar LED's you are using the AQUA RAY products on my cube tank and with all conditions being the same, I found my plants didn't grow as well in LED lights vs. T5HO's. I can easily afford LED lights and I've used them, but I've sold off most of my LED lights already. maybe it was too much light, as I don't have a PAR meter, but I plan on getting one soon. If I recall correctly plants like my styrogene repens didn't respond well to the LED lights.

2) I'm a canister guy, maybe I'm too scared of sumps, getting the flow proper and flooding my living room. If someone can show me their sump setup and the way of the light I'd be interested one day for my next project.
I've used Eheims since 1996 and until recently that filter was still running strong (Eheim 2217) so I've been successful with them, so why change it. Eheims, if I'm lazy, I clean them every 4-6 months and they're still fine. RENA XP filters, I had them without any issues but my friend has them and they leaked on him flooding his basement.

3) I do have a solenoid but it's plugged on 24/7. I used to time it similar to my lights, or before the lights go on the co2 turns on, but in the end I found mainly because of pH stability and pH swings.
I currently have 2x10lb co2 tanks ,they lasted me 6 months on my cube tank, I bumped the bubble count slightly on my 120, but i'll use a drop checker to see (I do have a pH meter, too lazy to plug it in)
I'm thinking of getting a 20lbs one since I have space to put it now. 10lbs costs $20 cash to fill at AW fireguard 10 mins from my house. So having 2 tanks is pretty nice to have.

Actually considering getting a high end regulator later either a green leaf one or a Swaglok one, right now I have a cheapie Milwaukee one.

Like I mentioned, these are techniques that have worked for me for quite a few years they might not be the 'right' or 'standard' way but it's been working  fish are happy, plants are happy

But yeah trimming is a pain, I've limited myself to less stem plants, I've taken quite a bit of them out when transferring from my cube tank.

thanks for the kind comments!

my biggest problems are 1) collectoris and 2) scaping

I really want to scape this tank well but it's so much fun collecting rare and hard to find plants.

I have a few questions, I see stuart (crs fan) using one, but are the filter in line co2 diffusers more efficient, I bought one from HK and it was leaking so that was pissing me off, well and my wife 
I have a bunch of new glass diffusers left over but I find these fluval ones the easiest to use and to change the ceramic discs.

thx for looking!

Ray



2wheelsx2 said:


> Awesome. I'm sure you'll find that even with those 2 monsters that there is barely enough filtration for a fully planted CO2 injected, high light tank. A few questions just out of curiosity:
> 
> 1. You bought the Tek from Tom? I know he's gone all ATI dimmable. Just wondering why you didn't go that route or LED? Cost considerations?
> 2. Why 2 big canisters and not a sump? I know if I had to do a tank > 75 gallons from scratch again I'd sump it in a minute. Once again, Tom's gone all sumps in all his tanks and after close to 10 years of injecting CO2 and high light tanks, I'm tired of cleaning clogged up canisters and will likely never plan a new tank that is not sumped anymore.
> 3. No solenoid? Why do you want to inject CO2 24/7? pH stability? Especially on a 120 gallon, you might find that you go through the CO2 very fast at 24/7. I am running a 20 lb tank in my 125 and it's low/med light and I only have to fill once a year. When I was going with more light and more complex plants I was going through the 20 lb 2x a year.
> 
> As for the ADA, I am with you totally. I love it, and I never used any additives. I think the rest of it is hocus pocus. I think the substrate is great by itself. If only it were cheaper. That 4x2 footprint allows so many options for scaping. The only thing that would scare me is the pruning. I am extremely happy with growing only slow plants in my ADA 12" cube because I only prune once a month.
> 
> Anyway, it's rare that someone on BCA would go high tech on a big tank like this and I love it and applaud you for doing it!


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## rwong2k10

Oh also about the ADA, I've used it in previous tanks before with success, but I've tried the Fluval Stranum in my cube tank and plants were growing nuts and healthy, but when I bought 8 bags of ADA, I think my price per bag of ADA was cheaper than the bag of Fluval Stranum even with a 15% discount that king ed said they would give me if I buy 8 bags.

Yeah the ADA bactor stuff, I don't know anyone that uses those additives except Ed uses them bactor to feed his crs when he was breeding them


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## 2wheelsx2

rwong2k10 said:


> Hi 2wheelsx2 and all,
> 
> Here's my responses to your questions, so my disclaimer is: it might not be the 'right' way of doing it but it's been successful for me for quite a few years so it's tried and true for the way I keep my planted aquariums.
> 
> The only algae problem I have is sometimes I get BBA on the filter intake tubes  but I usually manually remove them.
> 
> 1) it was partly cost reasons and partly not, the deal he had for them was too good to pass on them so I said what they heck why not. I was considering ATI dimmable lights but I've read too many issues with them on the forums and it's a pain in the butt to ship them back to the states for warentee purposes. Imagine a few weeks without lights on your planted tank, that would be a disaster! (I think, not too sure how the people in TO are coping with a week long power outage) TEK lights are tried and tested for many aquarists and it works for them.


Good reasoning. I just hated swapping out the tubes myself and how they get so dim after 6 months. But I've run my Giesemann bulbs now for 18 months and the plants grow fine in my 100 gallon discus tanks. As you say, you can go wrong with Tek.



> I didn't go with LED because I was using similar LED's you are using the AQUA RAY products on my cube tank and with all conditions being the same, I found my plants didn't grow as well in LED lights vs. T5HO's. I can easily afford LED lights and I've used them, but I've sold off most of my LED lights already. maybe it was too much light, as I don't have a PAR meter, but I plan on getting one soon. If I recall correctly plants like my styrogene repens didn't respond well to the LED lights.
> 
> 
> 
> I think you were using the big Grobeam tiles? I have 2 of the Grobeam strips in my 125 and they are more yellow, but the newer LED's like Vertex and in particular, the Kessil Amazon Suns give off amazing spectrum. I am hoping to do a 4 foot tank some time with 2 or 3 Kessils just because they look so good.
> 
> As for S. repens, I am growing tons of repens now in my ADA cube, but it could be that I am using a mini tile (12w) on 12" cube so the light is very intense. I do have one of those DIY PAR meters which tells me that it measures up to T5HO in the same setup. But my main reason of course is I couldn't light the cube effective with T5HO.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 2) I'm a canister guy, maybe I'm too scared of sumps, getting the flow proper and flooding my living room. If someone can show me their sump setup and the way of the light I'd be interested one day for my next project.
> I've used Eheims since 1996 and until recently that filter was still running strong (Eheim 2217) so I've been successful with them, so why change it. Eheims, if I'm lazy, I clean them every 4-6 months and they're still fine. RENA XP filters, I had them without any issues but my friend has them and they leaked on him flooding his basement.
> 
> 
> 
> I totally agree on the classics. I've also run a 2028 since 2003. It was my first canister filter. It's still in service and I have a in line atomizer and a Coralife UV connected it. I agree the classics are workhorses. But I'm afraid to tell you that the Pro II and Pro 3's are not nearly as reliable. My Pro II has sprung a leak 2x already. Once with the main gasket and once with the double tap. And my 2078 double tap eject button totally failed last year. Lucky my discus tank is drilled and plumbed so I could turn the inline valves off and just cut the hoses off. You have to keep an eye on that 2080. When you open it up, you will see that the eject button is a cheap piece of plastic connected to cheap plastic gears. Charles has seen several of those fail already and all the owners went to sumps. Anyway, I don't want to scare you, but that's been my experience and knowledge of the newer Eheims. I have a 2213 which has never failed except a worn impeller. I have in addition, 2078, 2075, 2028, Rena XP3 and a Fluval FX5 all in operation. The 2213 replaced a Fluval 204 which totally failed on me. As you can I prefer Eheim canisters too, but over time, it just seems more logical (to me personally) to sump and use true unions so circuits and parts can be replaced. But as you say, a proper sump is a daunting task, so I'm going to watch Tony1928 finish his and get him to help me with mine when I start my sump project.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 3) I do have a solenoid but it's plugged on 24/7. I used to time it similar to my lights, or before the lights go on the co2 turns on, but in the end I found mainly because of pH stability and pH swings.
> I currently have 2x10lb co2 tanks ,they lasted me 6 months on my cube tank, I bumped the bubble count slightly on my 120, but i'll use a drop checker to see (I do have a pH meter, too lazy to plug it in)
> I'm thinking of getting a 20lbs one since I have space to put it now. 10lbs costs $20 cash to fill at AW fireguard 10 mins from my house. So having 2 tanks is pretty nice to have.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Once again, perfect reasoning. I am running a 20 lb in my 125 and a 10 on my ADA cube and it costs me about the same (but with taxes as I pay with a CC) to fill at Royal City. It is nice to have a backup tank but in the future I might go to a tank swap scenario.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Actually considering getting a high end regulator later either a green leaf one or a Swaglok one, right now I have a cheapie Milwaukee one.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I got a Praxair dual stage used from a member here. I was going to get a custom stainless one made eventually by one of the guys on Barr Report. The Milwaukee is a fine unit but I like the security of a dual stage as I already had one tank kill due to EOTD on my 20 gallon when I started and I don't want to experience that again.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> my biggest problems are 1) collectoris and 2) scaping
> 
> I really want to scape this tank well but it's so much fun collecting rare and hard to find plants.
> 
> I have a few questions, I see stuart (crs fan) using one, but are the filter in line co2 diffusers more efficient, I bought one from HK and it was leaking so that was pissing me off, well and my wife
> I have a bunch of new glass diffusers left over but I find these fluval ones the easiest to use and to change the ceramic discs.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I think your problems are everyone's planted tank problems. That's why lots of guys have multiple planted tanks. I had 4 for a while but it just got too crazy and eventually my pleco addiction forced me to stop some of the planted tanks so now I'm down to 2 high tech planted out of 6 tanks (3 others are low tank planted and the last is a barebottomed growout)
> 
> I run one of the inline diffusors as mentioned above, but I don't like them as I'd have to dismantle the plumbing to clean it. I run 2 bazooka diffusers and when I sump my next tank I'm going to run a needle wheel instead, just like many of Tom Barr's tanks. Once again, seems a lot less lower maintenance, and more and more, low maintenance seems to be key to keeping my interest up and not letting the tank go wild.
> 
> Thanks for the detailed responses. It's discussions like these which make coming to BCA worthwhile to come back to once in a while, now that I don't spend much time on here. I'll keep an eye on your tank and maybe I can buy some of your trimmings as they grow out or we can trade a few things although I'm unlikely able to provide the volume you need since yours is 120 and mine is 8 gallons.
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


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## Bien Lim

very nice tank….my dream tank!!! but no space right now.


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## 2wheelsx2

rwong2k10 said:


> Oh also about the ADA, I've used it in previous tanks before with success, but I've tried the Fluval Stranum in my cube tank and plants were growing nuts and healthy, but when I bought 8 bags of ADA, I think my price per bag of ADA was cheaper than the bag of Fluval Stranum even with a 15% discount that king ed said they would give me if I buy 8 bags.
> 
> Yeah the ADA bactor stuff, I don't know anyone that uses those additives except Ed uses them bactor to feed his crs when he was breeding them


Haha..true, when you get the big bags, the pricing is not so bad.

Wow, I just took a look at your link and realized you're a pro photographer. There's some impressive work in your portfolio. No wonder your shots are always clear and properly lit.


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## rwong2k10

I think I know how to do the multi quote, but I might be wrong so it'll be safer to reply this way.

1) swapping tubes is annoying and expensive, I was using the big grobeam tiles on my cube but I stil have 2 grobeam strips on my 10 gallon planted shrimp tank, 
glosso and flame moss are doing well but those grow well in any light

I think LED will be the way of the future, I mean all the research that's posted so far in forums, the PAR levels are much higher per watt than T5HO's. Is it there yet, 
I'm not too sure, I tried the growbeam tiles and strips and were not too impressed, but the Kessil pendants do look very nice. A lot of people on the plantedtank.net forums 
use the Finnex LED or buildmyled modules, but I belive their penetration power isn't as powerful as say a 10 or 30 watt led for an aquarium this size. But I can be wrong.
The LED's in my fixtures were 1 watt, I believe.

2) great warning about the pro2's and pro3's, that's everyone's worst nightmare, come home from work and the place is flooded. If my 120 flooded my wife would kill me.
I've had the 2075 for about 3 years now without any issues (knock on wood) I gotta check the rubber o ring next time I maintenance the eheim. but you're right, now that I think about it
it's the classic that I've had for the longest time. I'm definently not a Rena XP series fan. But that's just me 

How's the noise of a sump? I guess under a cabinet it's ok? Eheim's are pretty slient. My cabinet was a custom low viewing cabinet so there's 3 partations underneath.
I don't think I can even fit a sump in there properly without getting another cabinet.

3) I've had a EOTD before on m 40 gallon breeder and all my fish were dead floating on top, that was an ugly sight, I almost cried. But those stainless steel 
dual stage regulators just look that much sexier.

4) I've been slowly throwing out plants that I don't feel that fit my aquascape or go crazy over anymore, slowly eliminating them one by one till i have a few
remaining species left. Although it's a lot of fun to collect the plants.

Unfortuantely, I do have the space for a few more large aquariums but my wife doesn't want that many so I have this 120 gallon and 2x 10 gallons in the
cabinets under it. I'm limited to one location at my house for my aquarium.
Or else I'd make a fish room 
One 10 has, well, they were painted fire red cherry shrimp but without culling they've reverted back to cherry or brighter cherries 
The other 10 gallon tank is in the middle of setting up. it'll be non co2 low light with moss, mainly for breeding some apisto borelli's

I love the process of setting up a aquarium. It's so much fun.

5) Hmm, I've heard of needle wheels before, let me google or look into it or if you have any links fire them over, as I'm not too familar with them.

thanks for your input.

I'll try to do a monthly update on this tank. I'm predicting the stem plants in the back should be adapting shortly and start to grow pretty quickly.
One of my favourite plants is the LOBELIA CARDINALIS but it grows so slow, I'd say about 1" per 4-5 months. I'm trying to locate the small form of this plant but not having
any success. I believe it's a bog plant, not a true aquatic plant, that's why it doesn't grow so fast.

Sounds great for a trade later on


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## rwong2k10

Oh Bien! thanks for the kind comments! You've got to post more photos of your awesome aquariums! Time for a bigger house 

Thanks for the kind comments about the photos! Just a hobby 

I love discus and one day I'll get back to them, here's the female with babies of one of my breeding pair about 2 years ago.


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## 2wheelsx2

I may be going to a buildmyled with the discus cube this year, so you can get a firsthand review then. 

To do the multi-quite, I just cut and paste the word quote and the /quote and put the square brackets around them. Some trial and error got it working a while back for me.

You'll be ok with the 2075 as it is a small one. The 2080 and my 2078 have to push big plastic gears and if a grain of sand gets in there, it's game over.

The stainless regulators are indeed so sexy.....

I do that with my planted tanks too. I go crazy and then weed and weed until I get it the way I want. I need to get some red plants in my ADA cube currently so I might go back to some Ammania gracilis. Tried some Ammania sp. bonsai from Pat's latest shipment but they all melted.

I've been given an ultimatum too, so I'm limited out when it comes to tanks. I'm eventually going to replace my 125 with a custom in-wall tank in my home office but that's a ways off. To do that, I'll have to get rid of a couple of tanks as I plan to go 200+ gallons.

You're right, the best part of this hobby is the setup, once you get a few years in. Once it's running, all the challenge is out of it.

Needle wheels are used all the time by reef guys to generate bubbles for skimmers. All it is is an impeller full of holes or small fins. Many pumps have needle wheel options. Here's one. Store Water Pumps Protein Skimmers Protein Skimmer Pumps

If you look at the detail, the fins are just cut up into "combs".

I googled Lobelia cardinalis and it looks like that indeed is a bog plants native to southern US.


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## 2wheelsx2

rwong2k10 said:


> How's the noise of a sump? I guess under a cabinet it's ok? Eheim's are pretty slient. My cabinet was a custom low viewing cabinet so there's 3 partations underneath.
> I don't think I can even fit a sump in there properly without getting another cabinet.


Forgot to answer this one. That's my dilemma too. To go with a sump you gotta get the big sump in before closing off the stand usually, unfortunately, so I have the same problem as you.

As for noise, there are 2 sources: 1) air in the downpipes, which can be taken care of by a Herbie or a Beananimal style overflow (makes use of a full pipe and a "skin" only pipe to limit gurgling) which are dialed in by gate valves, and 2) noisy pump, which can be sorted by choosing the smallest quietest pump which can do that job instead of a massive pump, and also insulating the stand with soundproofing. I don't like noise in my living room either and even the Eheim 2078 is too noisy for me so I put in some acoustic foam in the stand, which are well worth it.


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## Reckon

That tank looks pretty awesome buddy. You're going to have a great time keeping it. How about using a reactor for CO2 injection?

I've got a small plantling of small form Lob Cardinalis I've been hoarding, but don't have really have a place in my scape for it. If you're in my area you can come pick it up from me. I'd rather someone else keep, propagate, and make this plant more available within the community. It's a really nice species.


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## Phillyb

Great picture of the discus female and her fry! Glad to see things are looking great with the new tank! Also Happy New Year to you and your family


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## Pamela

2wheelsx2 said:


> To do the multi-quite, I just cut and paste the word quote and the /quote and put the square brackets around them. Some trial and error got it working a while back for me.


Another way to do the multi-quote is to click on the little "+ on the bottom far right of every post that you want to reply to. A check mark will appear to show the post has been selected. Then click on the + Reply to Thread (in the red rectangle) after the last post. All of the selected posts will show up in the reply box. You can delete any of the extra text that you don't want, being careful not to delete the square brackets (and the text within them) at the start and end of each quote.

That's one big beautiful set-up that you have, I'm looking forward to following it's progression


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## 2wheelsx2

Pamela's tip is the way to do it. For some reason I had assumed when I saw the post that you had wanted to quote different parts of one post to answer questions, which is what I do. Oops.


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## Pamela

2wheelsx2 said:


> Pamela's tip is the way to do it. For some reason I had assumed when I saw the post that you had wanted to quote different parts of one post to answer questions, which is what I do. Oops.


There's different ways to do the same things on here, your way is good too ...whatever works for ya


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## rwong2k10

thx for the kind comments and help on the multi quote

ill give it a try

more photos coming up soon.

I take photos of the tank every few days but I doubt people will want to see that many photos that often


heh

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2


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## bonsai dave

Great looking set up . I can't wait to see it the plants fully grown. I would have personally gown with the ehiem 2262 over the 2 you got . I have had a few 2080's and cleaning them became a pain in the bum. That is an awesome picture of the discus.


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## 2wheelsx2

rwong2k10 said:


> I take photos of the tank every few days but I doubt people will want to see that many photos that often


Post them up. Everyone on BCA loves photos.


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## rwong2k10

oh wow that 2262 looks like a monster

bonsai Dave what did you like the 2262 over the 2080?

quick question see if you guys know. should I be lubing the rubber o rings and or how often should they be replaced? 

knock on wood but I think I've had my 2075 for 3 years without any issues except for a broken ceramic propeller shaft I snapped while cleaning it


thx

Ray

more photos to come soon

but as expected with this level of light got a little bit of greed dust algae on the glass but my bn plecos are taking care of it

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2


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## 2wheelsx2

rwong2k10 said:


> quick question see if you guys know. should I be lubing the rubber o rings and or how often should they be replaced?
> 
> knock on wood but I think I've had my 2075 for 3 years without any issues except for a broken ceramic propeller shaft I snapped while cleaning it
> 
> thx
> 
> but as expected with this level of light got a little bit of greed dust algae on the glass but my bn plecos are taking care of it


I've never lubed the O rings except when I fit the replacement on the 2028 that one time. My 2028 has been running for 3 years since the double tap replacement and 4 years since the gasket replacement. 2078 around 3 years now and 2075 over 2 years. No o ring issues yet, but I've never stored the filters so they've been wet all this time. I think maybe the problem was my 2028 had been on the shelf for a long time before I bought it from Big Al's (when it was in Richmond) and the gaskets dried out.

As for the green dust algae, I would have been surprised with high light and CO2 injection that you didn't get any at all this early in the cycle of the newly planted tank. The only tanks where I have not gone throw green dust and brown diatoms are my non-CO injected low light ones when I set them up.


----------



## bonsai dave

rwong2k10 said:


> oh wow that 2262 looks like a monster
> 
> bonsai Dave what did you like the 2262 over the 2080?
> 
> Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2


The 2262 is a monster of a filter. I find they are built a lot better than 2080 less parts to break and it's a lot easier to clean than the 2080. The motor of the 2262 is above the filter and it's easy to clean it comes with quick connect attachment on the hoses. So when you have to clean the filter it's lot easier plus it also come with back flush feature. I have had 3. 2080 over the past 4 years and it got be a pain in the bum after while. The ehiem classic filters will last a very long time . I have read of people who have and their classic filter for over 20 years.


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## rwong2k10

2wheelsx2 said:


> I've never lubed the O rings except when I fit the replacement on the 2028 that one time. My 2028 has been running for 3 years since the double tap replacement and 4 years since the gasket replacement. 2078 around 3 years now and 2075 over 2 years. No o ring issues yet, but I've never stored the filters so they've been wet all this time. I think maybe the problem was my 2028 had been on the shelf for a long time before I bought it from Big Al's (when it was in Richmond) and the gaskets dried out.
> 
> As for the green dust algae, I would have been surprised with high light and CO2 injection that you didn't get any at all this early in the cycle of the newly planted tank. The only tanks where I have not gone throw green dust and brown diatoms are my non-CO injected low light ones when I set them up.


oh the tanks fully cycled. the filter media on the 2080 is from another eheim filter. my 2075 has been running all along. and I used all my water from my 35 gallon cube in the 120. I could be wrong but I've used this method a few times before when setting up a new tank

checking the fish stress level and they seem to be doing well. although I have pretty easy to keep fish.

the substrate is new though. stem plants are growing at a pretty decent rate unlike my l. Cuba which grew 2 inches per day so I had to get rid of it.

thx for the info regarding the o rings

lifting the 2080 is a pain as this thing is freaking heavy filled. good thing it has wheels

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## rwong2k10

bonsai dave said:


> The 2262 is a monster of a filter. I find they are built a lot better than 2080 less parts to break and it's a lot easier to clean than the 2080. The motor of the 2262 is above the filter and it's easy to clean it comes with quick connect attachment on the hoses. So when you have to clean the filter it's lot easier plus it also come with back flush feature. I have had 3. 2080 over the past 4 years and it got be a pain in the bum after while. The ehiem classic filters will last a very long time . I have read of people who have and their classic filter for over 20 years.


that's great info

my last eheim classic lasted me 15 years now its on my cousins tank without any issues

those filters are great

the back flush is a nice feature to have

oh well no regrets now got the 2080 so ill stick with it and hopefully no issues with regular maintenance

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2


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## 2wheelsx2

rwong2k10 said:


> the substrate is new though. stem plants are growing at a pretty decent rate unlike my l. Cuba which grew 2 inches per day so I had to get rid of it.


I guess that's what I meant. I don't ever "cycle" my tanks which are planted. I just stuff them full of plants. But in every instance where I've introduced new substrate or started a new tank with CO2 and high light I've had cycles of green dust algae and brown diatoms. I attributed them to the process of establishing a new tank well documented by Frank Wazeter on plantedtank.net (and reprinted on TFH magazine a while back). Either way, looks like you're off to a great start and I can't wait to see what this tank evolves into since it's such a large tank. That would be my dream to do a planted 120.


----------



## rwong2k10

oh that's great information you're sharing.

from my personal experiences I usually get brown diatoms from freshly set up aquariums without the cheating startup

maybe I am getting brown diatoms but my bn plecos are taking care of them

im also a huge fan of red ramshorn snails in my planted aquariums

more photos coming up soon

but trying to get a hold of more c rypts for my low tech office aquarium



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## 2wheelsx2

Have you tried any of the Aquaflora stuff from Patrick? The cell cultured stuff is very nice, and of course algae free.

I don't know what kind of snails I got, but I get a billion of the little suckers. So much so that I have bred my own colony of Assassin snails to deal with them.


----------



## rwong2k10

2wheelsx2 said:


> Have you tried any of the Aquaflora stuff from Patrick? The cell cultured stuff is very nice, and of course algae free.
> 
> I don't know what kind of snails I got, but I get a billion of the little suckers. So much so that I have bred my own colony of Assassin snails to deal with them.


I was at pats place a few days ago and I missed the c rypts by a few hours. some guy went over and bought all his crypts. great for his business but sucks for me 
so waiting for his next shipment

but im impulsive so I hope I can get some more asap

assassin snails are awesome. I used them to take out all the Malaysian trumpet snails in my last tank. those snails are so ugly. heh... at least I know where to go if I ever am looking for assassin snails. 3 of them took out 100s in my 35 gallon

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 2


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## 2wheelsx2

rwong2k10 said:


> I was at pats place a few days ago and I missed the c rypts by a few hours. some guy went over and bought all his crypts. great for his business but sucks for me
> so waiting for his next shipment
> 
> but im impulsive so I hope I can get some more asap
> 
> assassin snails are awesome. I used them to take out all the Malaysian trumpet snails in my last tank. those snails are so ugly. heh... at least I know where to go if I ever am looking for assassin snails. 3 of them took out 100s in my 35 gallon


I think Fantasy Aquatics may have some. I've gotten some of mine from them.

Sure thing, if you need some Assassins I'm your man.


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## rwong2k10

thx 2wheelsx2!

I just saw Fantasy Aquatics posting, might swing by there this weekend to take a peek


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## rwong2k10

Hi All,

Just a quick update.

I've finally acquired some uncommon/rare plants that I've been looking for a while for this aquarium.

Rotala sp. green (I've had this plant before but I can't seem to find anyone with this plant anymore)
staurogyne porto velho (I've been wanting this plant forever and noone would ship it to me, but I've finally found and got some!)

the rotala's adapted to my tank and spreading quick quickly but it's crawling instead of growing upwards due to the high lighting in my aquarium.

The porto velho should take a week or two to adapt and then it should start to spout new leaves in my tank, or that's my guess

Plants have adapted and are growing well. My staurogyne repens have rooted quite deeply already and are sprouting new 
leaves. I had to move them around.

On the side news is I've been trying to get some bucephalandra species for a while and I've finally found a source.
Going to get 6 species shipped to me next week, but they might be going into my other 10 gallon planted,co2 injected tank
first instead of this 120 gallon.
I havne't decide yet.

Anyone locally have experiences with bucephlandra species? I was told they are quite sensitive by some and others mentioned
they are similar to anubias species

thx
Ray

Should have some photos next post


----------



## Reckon

You gotta text me... you know what about 

Looking forward to those pics!


----------



## rwong2k10

I've been eyeing a swaglok regulator but I have no idea how to build one or what parts to order.

So I might be going for this one
Ultimate Two Stage Regulator | Green Leaf Aquariums
with a 3 bubble counter/valve manifold for $600

Time to upgrade my milwakee one with a tri manifold.


----------



## 2wheelsx2

That's a nice reg. I use NV-55's in my setups and am very happy with them. I'd like to get an Swagelok for my next one though. If you're seriously considering building your own reg and you're handy, have a look at some of the dual stage reg. threads on barrreport.com as they are very detailed. I thought about it for all of 2 minutes before I decided I would rather buy something which reduces high pressure to low pressure in my den/office.


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## Bien Lim

thats a nice Smith regulator !!! but if you like to save some money, take a look at this guy

I'm building high-regulators with brand new factory ordered components - Aquarium Plants


rwong2k10 said:


> I've been eyeing a swaglok regulator but I have no idea how to build one or what parts to order.
> 
> So I might be going for this one
> Ultimate Two Stage Regulator | Green Leaf Aquariums
> with a 3 bubble counter/valve manifold for $600
> 
> Time to upgrade my milwakee one with a tri manifold.


----------



## 2wheelsx2

Bien Lim said:


> thats a nice Smith regulator !!! but if you like to save some money, take a look at this guy
> 
> I'm building high-regulators with brand new factory ordered components - Aquarium Plants


I've with Bien. I was just looking for that thread. That guy does awesome work. I was thinking my next rig will be from him. Do you have one from him Bien?


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## Bien Lim

No I don't but I would get it from him if I'm looking one.



2wheelsx2 said:


> I've with Bien. I was just looking for that thread. That guy does awesome work. I was thinking my next rig will be from him. Do you have one from him Bien?


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## rwong2k10

great link, I've been following Matt F's work for a while now, i'd say it'd be the same price as the green leaf ones though, about $200 in labour and $400 + in parts

lots to consider


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## 2wheelsx2

Same price, but everything would be custom to your specs.


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## rwong2k10

Here's an update of my tank, it's been 3 weeks since I've set it up. As expected quite a bit of green dust algae on the glass and rocks
but I'm not too worried about it.

Here's some photos

ludwigia lacustris









Fields of glosso









rotala sp green









male apistogramma borelli 









Full tank shot









thanks for looking

Ray


----------



## 2wheelsx2

That's an insane amount of pearling.


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## jhj0112

very nice ray!! your apisto borelli looks awesome!!


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## randylahey

Amazing display! The 4x2 footprint is great for a nice planted tank. I bet that light was worth every penny, oh yeah, nickel too. I need to get myself a bigger tank.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Reckon

Wow that grew in fast  I'm sure the Porto Velho will start creeping very soon.

Big fan of the Rotala sp green hedge.


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## Vancitycam

Wow very nice planted set up both before and now. I'm getting jealous of your guys immaculately designed, planted and maintained tanks lol. I really need to put the malawi books down and brush up on plant knowledge before I redo my dads palanted. This setup is something I could only imagine pulling out. 

Also can't ever post too many update pics, that's a main reason to cruise bca haha.


----------



## Reckon

Vancitycam said:


> Wow very nice planted set up both before and now. I'm getting jealous of your guys immaculately designed, planted and maintained tanks lol. I really need to put the malawi books down and brush up on plant knowledge before I redo my dads palanted. This setup is something I could only imagine pulling out.
> 
> Also can't ever post too many update pics, that's a main reason to cruise bca haha.


I was just talking to Ray last week about how to get into 'high' tech planted tanks. Sure a person can get into automated dosing, sumps, leds or high light output, etc etc but really a keeping a nice planted tank only involves the following:

Dose fertilizers regularly, buffer the tank, use *some* co2, reasonable amount of light, daily water changes, keep your tank and filter(s) clean. A substrate high in nutrients will help a lot, but not necessary based on plants you choose.

Sure there's a bit of a learning curve but once you figure out how much to dose, and recognize what the plants are happiest with it's not too hard.


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## rwong2k10

thx for the kind comments! I'll post more plants soon, some green dust algae on the petrified wood and lower portion of the leaves, got to clean those up.

I went with the TEK lights after reading some reviews on the ATI lights and the problems they had. I didn't want to spend $800 + shipping + taxes
on those things and then have to return it back to the states for warrenty and leave my tank lightless. ( I guess if my TEK lights break down I wouldn't have 
backup either  )

So far I'm pretty happy with them. On my cube tank I had a mix of t5 + led's, which i read somewhere results showed that was the best mix for plants.
But can't go wrong with the TEK t5 fixtures.

Forgot to mention that some plants already reached the surface and I trimmed them and replanted them to get a bushier effect.

Yeah plants are pearling like crazy, maybe I should take a photo of the tank just right when the lights goes on, less bubbles in the photos, but
the leaves of the plants are all closed.

I'm struggling with the lindernia rotundifolia variegated. It's a lovely plant and grows well, but I can't scape it properly or trim it so it gives a bushy
effect. So I might have to move it to another position or remove it out of this scape. Still deciding. 
I am a huge fan of micranthemum umbrosum or micranthemum micranthemoides. 

I have a source for the MM, but she's not responding to my emails recently, so i think she's out of the country , MU I haven't found a source yet. 
So if anyone has these two plants let me know 


I'm upgrading my 2x10 lbs co2 bottles to 2x20 lbs co2 bottles in a few weeks time, they've been ordered through Pat @ Canadian Aquatics.

lawson, i'll text you about the buce's soon, just swamped recently at work


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## rwong2k10

2wheelsx2 said:


> Same price, but everything would be custom to your specs.


very true, but i'm lazy, next regulator will be a swaglok, as for now I ordered the green leaf one  I wonder how much better it will be than my milwakee one that's been running perfectly fine for the past 5 years


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## AdobeOtoCat

Sick. It's instances like these that makes quitting fw hard for me. 
Great job. 

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk


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## rwong2k10

thx adobeotocat, I was following a few of your threads and i love those baby otto photos!


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## 2wheelsx2

rwong2k10 said:


> very true, but i'm lazy, next regulator will be a swaglok, as for now I ordered the green leaf one  I wonder how much better it will be than my milwakee one that's been running perfectly fine for the past 5 years


I think you'll find the needle valve makes the most difference in the beginning. The NV-55 holds the bubble rate very well right to the end. With the dual stage, the only difference to you would be no increase in pressure at the end of the tank, and of course, no EOTD.


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## rwong2k10

thx 2wheelsx2, can't wait to receive this regulator! and my upgraded 20lbs co2 tanks 

just a quick update or comments.

Trimmed and replanted my Alternathera Reineckii 'Mini' to promote growth, I usually find when I trim plants like these guys and my styrogene it promotes growth or it might be something i'm doing wrong 
I want a field of these guys


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## Phillyb

Wow great pictures of the plants! Keep up the good stuff things are looking Epic!


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## rwong2k10

Just a little experiment I did today.

If I remember correctly from my previous high light planted aquariums, plants do their growing at night in the dark

the first photo is my rotala species green, growing in a crawl position due to the high light









the second photo is the same plant but I turned off the lights for most of the day and the plants started to creep upwards








pretty neat 

I used to have ludwigia var cuba and that stuff grew about 3" in the dark


----------



## rwong2k10

Reckon said:


> I was just talking to Ray last week about how to get into 'high' tech planted tanks. Sure a person can get into automated dosing, sumps, leds or high light output, etc etc but really a keeping a nice planted tank only involves the following:
> 
> Dose fertilizers regularly, buffer the tank, use *some* co2, reasonable amount of light, daily water changes, keep your tank and filter(s) clean. A substrate high in nutrients will help a lot, but not necessary based on plants you choose.
> 
> Sure there's a bit of a learning curve but once you figure out how much to dose, and recognize what the plants are happiest with it's not too hard.


I honestly feel co2 is more beneficial than high lights, as for how plants react.

high lights, high fertilizer, high co2 tanks are pretty fun also


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## 2wheelsx2

rwong2k10 said:


> I honestly feel co2 is more beneficial than high lights, as for how plants react.


That's what Tom Barr always says. Get the CO2 right and you got it made. Problem with high light is getting the CO2 right without killing the fish.


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## Peekay

Love this build! The 'Happy Ed finally filling the tank' photo made me laugh out loud. 

Did I miss the livestock list? What are you keeping in that beaut?

Looking forward to seeing this grow in and evolve.


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## rwong2k10

thanks for the kind comments

the fish in this tank are super easy to keep fish

corydoras sterbai
pure endlers
bn plecos
2 pairs of apisto borelli
2 pairs of kribs
3 silver flying foxes that I find are useless (I have a little bba on my outtake tubes and they don't touch them)
and some dwarf neon rainbow fish that doesn't school properly 

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## rwong2k10

Minor Update

bunches of ludwigia lacustris
love this stuff









GLA Smith Regulator arrived today at my office! woot! with a 4 port manifold, replacing my Milwaukee one with a 3 port manifold.

Waiting for my 2x 20lb co2 tanks to arrive from Pat @ Canadian Aquatics then i'll take some photos of this baby and hook it up to my multiple aquariums


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## 2wheelsx2

That's a nice looking plant. And I can't wait to see your new regulator and dual 20 lb tanks. Are they aluminum?


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## jobber

Very nicely done and beautifully scaped.

Sent from my LT30a using Tapatalk


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## rwong2k10

yep, it's aluminum,

every co2 tanks I've had were aluminum

but honestly, what's the difference with steel co2 tanks? I know they're heavier, do they potentially rust?
I'm not really too sure


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## 2wheelsx2

1. They're heavy. More than 2x heavier, in the case of 20 lb tanks.
2. They rust. I have a big rust stain around the base of my tank on my carpet. Now I put a piece of cloth down, partially due to reason 3 below. Right after filling they are very cold. I bring them straight home and even though I wipe them down they rust at the base.
3. They are heavy and hard. So if you have hardwood floors, the chances of denting your floors is high. I have carpet, but a filled 20 lb steel tank is still a pretty heavy weight if you land it on an edge first.


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## rwong2k10

thx for the info

ok the dwarf neon rainbowfish are schooling, I've been so busy at work I haven't had time to spend looking at my aquarium,

had a break yesterday and found these guys school,

now i'm thinking of getting more in this aquarium
I currently have 15, think maybe another 15 or so


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## rwong2k10

Heading off to toronto on sunday for a week on business, but here's an update before I leave

received my awesome dual stage smith regulator from GLA, too bad it's not all SS but I'll get another one later

Plants are growing well, been trimming and selling off the faster growing stem plants.

The rotala sp. green is growing awesome. great highlight and low light plant.

the field of glosso is spreading nicely also.

We will see how crazy the plants have grown in a week without me constantly cutting the plants will be.

fts










monster regulator










thanks for looking

Ray


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## rwong2k10

honestly i'm considering taking the petrified wood out of this aquarium and making it a dutch style tank, that'll allow me to group the plants in larger groups.

there's 11 pieces in there , costed me a fortune 


oh also hidden in the back on top of my pleco caves are some buces

here's a list of the ones I have in this tank also, letting them grow for a bit before moving it into my other high tech tanks
Bucephalandra Sp. " Theia 2"
Bucephalandra Sp. “Emeral Pearl”
Bucephalandra Sp. "Copper Leaf"
Bucephalandra Sp. "Sintang",
Bucephalandra sp. "Narcissus II"
Bucephalandra Sp. "Midnight Blue II
Bucephalandra Sp. "Cherish 3"
Bucephalandra Sp. "Titan 4"
Bucephalandra Sp. "Kedagang"


----------



## rwong2k10

im still in Toronto so a minor update.

well in Markham

after work my friend took me to 3 aquarium shops and im impressed

first was shrimp fever. shrimp only shop with lots of healthy high quality shrimp and cheap. they even ship to vancouver for $55 for 1 day or $35 for two days shipment

small but very similar to shrimp only shops on hong kong

next stop was aquainspiration. an aquascaping shop with lots of beautifully aquascapred tanks. their planted 180 gallon looks awesome. my next tank will be a 180

they also havr dragon stone for $2 per pound well all their stones and rocks were $2 per pound. much cheaper than locally

when im back in June I will buy a bunch of dragon stone. the aquascaping with them are so nice in real life

the third store was in pacific mall. still pretty big with a lot of selection.


and I finally got some ludwigia brevips from my friend. I used to have this plant but I have been looking forever it again and I've finally found it

lots of other shops to visit but running out of time



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## rwong2k10

just back from Toronto and got some ludwigia brevips from my friend, I packed it in my luggage, but it's not there, so I must have left it out  poop!

here's my tank after a week away









Got 20 painted fire reds from shrimpfever in markham and going to pick up my 20lbs tanks from pat on sunday


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## Bien Lim

looking good!! I have some Brevipes, we can just trade if you like?


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## rwong2k10

oh sweet bien. ill send you a pm

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## Reckon

That's looking super lush super quick!


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## rwong2k10

thanks Lawson!

Buying from local people with healthy plants like Lawson or stuart (crs fan) or bien and many others I've dealt with, I've got excellent healthy plants, submerged growth and usually larger portions and sometimes cheaper ( and sometimes hard to find rare plants)

but I've also very jealous that big chain stores down in the states like petsmart have pretty healthy prepackaged plants like s. repens, downoi and a few other goodies for a really good price

ok that was just a random comment


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## rwong2k10

Just picked up my 2 new 20lbs co2 tanks from Pat









Old regulator vs. new regulator, 3 port manifold vs 4 port manifold









New regulator attached to the new co2 bottle










thanks for looking
Ray


----------



## rwong2k10

decided to head to aquariums west to pick up a plant I've been trying to re-get a hold of. micramtheum umbroso, love how it looks in groups

I hate going downtown, I used to work downtown, if any other stores would carry ada aquariums besides aquariums west, i'd gladly buy from them.

picked up a new project while I was there, actually saw this aquarium in markham at a fish store and I wanted to get it









ADA 45F

it was so busy at the store, I waited there patiently for 30 mins before someone helped me. no one even looked at my, I had to politely ask someone if they could help me, still waited another 15 mins after that.

on the other hand I have a rant

I saw one of the staff members give bad discus advice to convince a rich looking pair to purchase their discus, I guess if you're rich and willing that's attractive to some people


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## 2wheelsx2

rwong2k10 said:


> I hate going downtown, I used to work downtown, if any other stores would carry ada aquariums besides aquariums west, i'd gladly buy from them.


Patrick sells the full ADA line.

Nice new toy.


----------



## rwong2k10

oh sweet thx for letting me know, should have got it from pat instead. i'll be grabbing a 2nd one soon

just looked in my aquarium and found some surprise, my algae cleaning crew grew 

about 30 BN pleco babies, quick snapshot!
I love these guys!


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## 2wheelsx2

You're going to be inundated with them soon. What type are they? Common BNP?


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## rwong2k10

hmm not too sure what that means. do you mean pull them out and raise them seperately?

they are short fin albino plecos

I usually keep them in the tank and 50% survive and grow to adults

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## TigerOscar

He means that they will multiply.....
Still gotta come see you for those shrimpies......Nice tank!


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## 2wheelsx2

You'll have hundreds before you know it. Oh since they're albino you should have a market for them. It's just so many people breed common BNP that it's hard to find buyers for them. I got rid of my common BNP pairs for that reason.

Only 50% survive? Are the fish picking them off? I usually lose only 1 or 2 out of each batch. I pull them out and grow them separately just because I can feed them more and grow them out faster, plus they're easier to catch in a bare bottom tank with no decor other than wood. Took me forever to catch the first batch when I left them in the regular tank.


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## rwong2k10

opps missed a post. 

I use 2 fluval ceramic difussers, I've had inline diffusers but they're pain to clean and it was leaking the one I had. I like the fluval ones because you can open it and swap out the ceramic plate for $5 ish

Oh from my previous tank they babies i'm guessing were probably eaten by my other fish, just a guess.
I've taken them out into a separate tank and raised them before and the survival rate was much higher.

I can't catch anything inside this tank unfortunately. I have 3 bunches of anubias petite where I wedged it onto the filter outtake tube for temp placement and one of the anubias petite fell off and I have no idea where it went in my aquarium.

I'll try another sweep tonight see if I can find the thing 

I love albino bn plecos, great for cleaning the green dust algae off your aquarium, I have it in my work low tech tank too and it's spotless


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## rwong2k10

TigerOscar said:


> He means that they will multiply.....
> Still gotta come see you for those shrimpies......Nice tank!


 thanks tigeroscar, haha I had no idea what that meant =p

let me know when you're ready, got lots, actually picked up some painted fire reds to my collection also.


----------



## Bobsidd

Hey Ray,

Do you have any caves or other special breeding spots for your BNPs? Or are they just finding a quite spot in amongst the plants?

Thanks,
Rob


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## rwong2k10

Hi Rob

Yep I have 5 ceramic pleco caves amd two coconut caves in this t ankm

I tried to hide them in between the plants so they won't be visible from front view but from certain angles you can see them

thanks for looking

Ray

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## Fish rookie

This could also look super nice as a dutch aquarium.
Thanks for the updates with all these super nice pictures.


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## rwong2k10

thanks fish rookie for the kind comments! I only have one last piece of petrified wood in my aquarium and I will probably take it out shortly also and go for a full dutch look, or an attempt.
I might add some small pieces of driftwood into my aquarium though, since the BNP might like those, or so I've read.


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## rwong2k10

Rant of the Day:

I know negative reviews on sponsors are frowned upon so I'll leave their names out but I'll still write about it.
If you're interested in the sponsor's name, PM me and I will let you know.

A little background. I'm very experienced with keeping and breeding apistogramma species.

I purchased a group of 25 wild apistogramma macmasteri's from our sponsor about a month ago. I asked him if they were sexable he mentioned no
because they were too young. That's ok, from my previous experiences, wilds will have a mix of females and males.
After a month had passed, they start to have better shape and colours and they don't look like macmasteri's. I've owned them before, seen them in books and
seen my friend's pairs recently.

I kindly mentioned it to our sponsor that these are not apistogramma macmasteri's and they looked all mixed and one looks like even a cautodoides.

I'm not looking for a refund or an exchange just for him to admit they were mis labelled.

Instead he mentions they are from a specific region and should be vejitas saying that these are more expensive. Implying I got a deal from him.

A little bit frustrated, but not all is lost. I still love the fish and I will try to raise them up.

Do I sound a little bit sour, probably, I've dealt with his partner for over 10 years, not that I'm their top customer, but I buy things here and there once in a while.

Just won't be dealing with this vendor anymore and my family members and close friends will be told about this sponsor also.

I'd rather pay extra money and get it from other stores or other suppliers back east and pay the shipping than to deal with them anymore.


----------



## Fish rookie

Your tank is very nice and I really appreciate you taking the time to update it so we can all learn from your valuable experience.
I love how fast and lust you are able to grow your plants with injected CO2 without you going yellow on the drop checker and drive all your fish crazy. It is not easy to obtain a nice balance but you obviously got it. I can see you must have tones of experience below your belt and I really appreciate you sharing that with us.


----------



## charles

As I mention before in pm, they can't be cautodoides. Cautodoides just doesn't come out from Columbia. Cautodoides are from Peru or mostly from Asia nowadays. In my pm, I have no where mention you get a deal. I mentioned to you that there are 2 other kind of apistogramma that get collected, and the one you think it is cautodoides is mostly vejitas and I did mention they are normally more expensive; but never imply you get a deal. I do appreciate you telling me that some are different. 

For your information, some fish are mis-labelled on purpose so other exporter will not get the same fish. A good example is Kitumba which is not collected at kitumba at all because this exporter intentionally mis-labelled the collection point so he is the only one that will get the purple zaire variant. This is also true to apistogramma or any other wild collecting fish.

I have been buying the same apistogramma from this same collector since I started with Columbian fish years ago. And this is not my first time to bring them in. I have no complain about them till now. And I have no reason to doubt him as there were no mis-id from him except corydora pygme vs habrosus, and some surisoma type.

If you think they are mis-ID, or not the type of fish you are looking for, I am sorry about that. That is why I never do pre-paid pre-order at my wild fish as I want my customer to come and see them, happy with what you are buying, then take them home.

And thank you for not trying to name it was me who sold you the apistogramma. I think I am as straight up as I can be so I thought there shouldn't be any problem for saying it out there as well.


----------



## jhj0112

rwong2k10 said:


> Rant of the Day:
> 
> I know negative reviews on sponsors are frowned upon so I'll leave their names out but I'll still write about it.
> If you're interested in the sponsor's name, PM me and I will let you know.
> 
> A little background. I'm very experienced with keeping and breeding apistogramma species.
> 
> I purchased a group of 25 wild apistogramma macmasteri's from our sponsor about a month ago. I asked him if they were sexable he mentioned no
> because they were too young. That's ok, from my previous experiences, wilds will have a mix of females and males.
> After a month had passed, they start to have better shape and colours and they don't look like macmasteri's. I've owned them before, seen them in books and
> seen my friend's pairs recently.
> 
> I kindly mentioned it to our sponsor that these are not apistogramma macmasteri's and they looked all mixed and one looks like even a cautodoides.
> 
> I'm not looking for a refund or an exchange just for him to admit they were mis labelled.
> 
> Instead he mentions they are from a specific region and should be vejitas saying that these are more expensive. Implying I got a deal from him.
> 
> A little bit frustrated, but not all is lost. I still love the fish and I will try to raise them up.
> 
> Do I sound a little bit sour, probably, I've dealt with his partner for over 10 years, not that I'm their top customer, but I buy things here and there once in a while.
> 
> Just won't be dealing with this vendor anymore and my family members and close friends will be told about this sponsor also.
> 
> I'd rather pay extra money and get it from other stores or other suppliers back east and pay the shipping than to deal with them anymore.


Do you have any pictures of your apistos??  If you have True Viejitas(which is extremely rare, 99% of viejita labeled in LFS are Macmesteri), That's awesome..


----------



## rwong2k10

thanks for chiming in.

just bad luck on my side this time

maybe I should just stick with domestics that hopefully are properly labelled

just sucks as a apisto collector to get the wrong species

its pretty hard to take photos of them in my tank but ill give it a try shortly



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----------



## jhj0112

Oh I hear you! Ray.. I have been told by other LFS (including Bellingham) on the phone saying they got such apistos pair then I go and check.. bam.. Uaually male only tank or wrong labels...


----------



## jbyoung00008

Ive been reading the thread. Buying fish and than realizing they aren't what you thought they are sucks. Hopefully they turn out to be beauties and it's no big deal 

As for the un named sponsor. Im pretty impressed to see him call himself out and apologize for the mix up  Ive been on here a few years and I can say Charles knows his stuff. I've dealt with his partner many times and its always a great experience. Hope you too can patch things up. Sounds like an honest mistake.


----------



## rwong2k10

oh well can't do must but just to enjoy the fish in the tank 

you're right jhj, not just fish but I see a lot of plants mis labelled at stores all the time too 

live and learn


----------



## brezilian

Very nice I must say


----------



## Bobsidd

Hi Ray,

I may have missed this in the 11 pages, but could you please disclose your fert dosing schedule? I'm interested in how much and how frequently you are fertilizing your plants?

I apologize if you have already mentioned this.

Cheers,
Rob


----------



## rwong2k10

Hi Rob and all,

thanks for reading through the thread. The way I fertlize might stir up some contraversy, but it's worked for me.
I usually use the EI method but for my last tank, the cube one and my current one, I don't dose the water column at all.

If I notice any difficiencies I will start dosing, but everything is substrate fertilized. I use a mix of ada substrate
then with hardened clayballs + osmocote, or flourish root tabs shoved in the roots of the plants. Red plants are pretty red, no holes

The reason I do this is, if the plants don't show signs of difficiencies (probably due to the easy to grow species I keep)
then there's really no need to start adding all these chemicals and fertilizers to your tank and less nutrients in the water column for algae.

The only algae i have in this tank so far is a little bit of green dust algae on the glass but my BN pleco army and red ramshorns snails usually take care of it. I had a little bit of BBA on my filter outtake tubes, but a dose of excel and then the red ramshorns snails took care of it.

keep in mind some plants are potassium or nitrate hogs, it's just the species I've selected for this setup aren't as high demanding.

this might work for you and might not, depends on the plant species you plan to keep.

When I did dose EI, I just dose dry powder straight into the tank, KNO3,MgSO4 and i forgot the other's for N-P-K, and for macro nutrients I use Tropica's stuff, but I have an unopened bag of CSM+B from years ago.

cheers!

Ray


----------



## 2wheelsx2

Those are excellent results with substrate nutrient augmentation. Are you making the clay balls yourself? I was successful with substrate ferts using gel caps and Osmocote that I loaded myself in a silica sand bed in the discus tank for quite a while, but then I got a sick discus and had to jack the temps up and do daily water changes, which really screwed up the balance. Even with water column dosing now my tank hasn't recovered...could be partly because the pleco population quadrupled and more during that time. 

Regardless, nice to hear a success story with no column dosing.


----------



## rwong2k10

Hello,


Yes I make the clay balls myself. Just ran out recently and tried to goto that clay shop in surrey a few times but they are always closed on long weekends.

Long story short, about 15 years ago there was a planted tank group in the lowermainland, a subset of vahs i think, that meets about once per month, kerry from fantasy aquatics was in it too. Anyways I was at a guy's place named Steve Pushak and he introduced the clay balls and we were all making them. I've had pretty good results with them and continue to use this technique.

I don't think it's necessary to start fertilizing or over fertlize when the plants don't show signs that it needs it. I think over fertilizing 'might' cause more algae, maybe I'm wrong.

Yeah, I do notice plants not doing well in higher discus temps, some plants do well like ludwigia some didn't.


----------



## 2wheelsx2

I'm familiar with those clay balls. I was given a few when I started my planted tanks. I find with ADA for the first while I don't have to fertilize as long as light management is good. The problem I have now is that my AquaRay mini has too much light for the ADA cube. One of the problems with a small tank. More difficult to find balance. I have a low tech 20 gallon that I have 7 year old Florabase that is growing Crypts just fine with an old Beamswork LED. I breed bristlenose plecos in that tank and the only thing I add is a bit of Metricide after a water change to guard against algae (like 5 ml) and a enough GH booster to bring the TDS to about 100 (more for the fish than the plants).

The breaking point in the temps is 28 C. Any higher than that and the plants start to have algae and not grow or melt. 27.5 is still excellent for most plants. I had it up at 30 for 2 weeks and that pretty much did everything in except the Stargrass and the moss.


----------



## rwong2k10

Small photo update

Three rare plants I'm currently growing out in my aquarium,
They're growing very slowly but pretty healthy.

Trying to get the names from lawson and i'll update this thread.

One's bacopa japan




























Trying to ID this plant from Aquariums West, I'll post in another thread
it was labelled as Limnophila something, can anyone help out?


----------



## randylahey

Pic 3 is lindernia sp. India. Beautiful plant, long slender stems and the color the leaves turn closer to the light is unique.

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----------



## rwong2k10

thx randy! ( i dont think that's your name, i met you before...)

just asked lawson,
here are the plant names:
sygonanthus belem
bacopa sp japan
lindernia india
ludwigia inclinata green


----------



## randylahey

You're welcome ray. No, randy is not my real name. Some people know the reference and some do not. Oh well!
Thanks for the info on substrate fertilization, I'm very intrigued as I'd rather not add stuff to the column. You fertilize/water the roots of terrestrial plants, not the leaves.

Man, does everyone have goodies from lawson?

Cheers,
GREG

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----------



## rwong2k10

hey greg,

it's a can of worms, I tell you, lots of people swear by the EI dosing method, and I've done it for years before switching to this method. Once I mention that I don't dose people frown upon it, so I don't recommend it unless you're having success and the plants I keep are all easy growing plants. The only plant I had problems is a similar problem to everyone is tonia, once you trim the tops most people replant it and the bottom just dies, and it favors soft waters vs. harder waters.


it's whatever works for someone, I mean if you're making algae soup then yeah switch it up 

i'd like to say it's not a science, but it is 

there's people who get PhD's in this stuff.

I just like to have fun, enjoy my tank and sit in my couch and look at my tank from time to time to de-stress,

only fear I have is my 120 gallon leaking or I had a dream that my filter hoses unclamped and flooded my living room.


----------



## 2wheelsx2

rwong2k10 said:


> i'd like to say it's not a science, but it is


It is. But to use that science, having a lot of empirical experience is a huge asset. I have 6 tanks currently of which 5 are planted, only 1 is high light and 2 are CO2 injected. I use Metricide in 2, dose EI in one, dose only K and GH booster is 2 others, and a little of this and a little of that in another 2 based on what the plants are doing. Two have silica sand, one has Florabase, one has ADA AS, one has Estes river gravel. So as you said, everyone's mileage varies. If there was only a canned scientific based formula, everyone could have beautiful tanks without any algae in them, but alas, I have fought enough algae blooms to last a life time in the 8 years that I started down the CO2 road, beginning with yeast and sugar concoctions in a 20 gallon.


----------



## rwong2k10

great comments! yeah if there was a winning formula then everyone would have algae free tanks and the only problem would be aquascaping!

I LOVE dosing
I love pouring stuff into my tank on a daily basis.
when I first started my first algae issue was green water. I over dosed on some premixed plant nutrition liquid. heh

I can't wait to set up the ada 45f, it'll be the same formula, high light, high co2, ada substrate, but been thinking lately of keeping a buce's only tank, those things are fascinating. either that or a simple field of glosso and some bloody mary shrimp
nice and simple setup.

waiting for the paintball regulator so I can dose co2 into my work aquarium


----------



## rwong2k10

I thought I trimmed and threw out all of ludwigia ovalis but phew found 2 stems in my tank appear!

can't wait to grow a bush of these plants, pretty slow growing ludwigia species


----------



## Reckon

Pictures are stunning as always. And also you know who you can ask for ovalis


----------



## rwong2k10

thanks Lawson!

Minor Update!

I need to do a proper trim of this tank soon.

Got some rare goodies coming in soon I hope!

Full tank shot









Micramethum Umbroso










paintball regulator just arrived, hope to set it up in a few days for my office aquarium.

thanks for looking

Ray


----------



## Bobsidd

Those plants grow in quick. Wow. 

How are the albino pleco fry doing? Are they the long or regular fin variety? Will you be selling those?

Let me know if your selling some trimmings again, mate.


----------



## rwong2k10

thx rob,

I have about 10 species in there I'm growing out maybe put them up for sale later  we'll see

the albino pleco fry is doing well, mainly at the back of the tank now, they're the regular fin type, moved 10 'teens' out of the tank into my work aquarium,

not too sure about selling them, fish are a pain to catch in this tank, fish only go in and nothing comes out


----------



## Fish rookie

This is one of the nicest tank I have seen here! 
Great plants, great scrap, great looking color contrast! Great photography as well.
Thank you for sharing.



rwong2k10 said:


> thanks Lawson!
> 
> Minor Update!
> 
> I need to do a proper trim of this tank soon.
> 
> Got some rare goodies coming in soon I hope!
> 
> Full tank shot
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Micramethum Umbroso
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> paintball regulator just arrived, hope to set it up in a few days for my office aquarium.
> 
> thanks for looking
> 
> Ray


----------



## rwong2k10

thx fish rookie!

just picked up 3 awesome pairs of apistogramma cautoides, I think triple reds from pat @ Canadian aquatics, top notch fish, 2 are in my office aquarium and 1 pair is in this aquarium.

they're so healthy and nice i'd set up a tank just for these fish only


----------



## deepRED

Picked up some plants this evening and saw this tank in person. Very healthy and beautifully 'scaped. Highly recommended seller!

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----------



## Fish rookie

I saw those triple red in Pat's place a few days ago. They must look really nice in your planted tanks. The color on their tails are so vibrant and bright.
He does not have too many in stock from what I have seen.


rwong2k10 said:


> thx fish rookie!
> 
> just picked up 3 awesome pairs of apistogramma cautoides, I think triple reds from pat @ Canadian aquatics, top notch fish, 2 are in my office aquarium and 1 pair is in this aquarium.
> 
> they're so healthy and nice i'd set up a tank just for these fish only


----------



## rwong2k10

definitely super healthy 

these guys are awesome for planted tanks

except they eat shrimp



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## rwong2k10

Love is in the air,

eventhough these are the easiest fish to breed, just found about 40ish fry from my Kribs
so took a few snapshots









and









thx for looking
Ray


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## rwong2k10

Photo update 

Hygro sunset
in the shade








in semi shade









thanks for looking

Ray


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## jhj0112

very nice Ray!! can you put some pictures of apistos please??  I just can't wait to see your apistos


----------



## rwong2k10

yeah I really want to take photos of the apistogramma cautoides triple reds from pat, these things are so healthy and awesome looking! but they're swimming around my tank too fast and I have a manual focus macro lens. on the side note just bought a autofocus macro lens today so hopefully I can capture and post some photos of the apistos in my aquarium.


----------



## jhj0112

lol I will pick them up on this coming saturday!! Chantal's aggie D red both died of bloat( heart breaking). She insists Caca T red for a while lol it's hard to find fish.. good pick up!!


----------



## rwong2k10

oh sorry to hear that!

Here's a few photos of the apistogramma, male and female plus a dwarf neon rainbowfish 





































thanks for looking

Ray


----------



## rwong2k10

some bloody mary shrimp from frank


----------



## rwong2k10

freshly arrived,

I love collecting rare plants,

Anubias white


----------



## Reckon

If I could triple, or quadruple like I would


----------



## Bobsidd

That is a stunning plant. Or will be. Where on earth did you get it?


----------



## rwong2k10

the plant is acutally about 1.5 cm each, it's tiny

i'll try to grow this plant in two different setups and we'll see how it goes.

gotta figure how to get it all white, looks like the guy I bought it from has a few white leaves and a few mixed leaves.

I got this plant shipped to me, costs a fortune though  found a few sellers of this plant that would ship to me but the prices are very similar


----------



## randylahey

Very cool! Wow, those are teeny tiny. I hope they do very well for you.

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## rwong2k10

krib babies update!


----------



## rwong2k10

not too sure if I can post in 2 threads but here I go:

Just a photoupdate,

Here's some photos of my bloody mary shrimp, very different red than my painted fire reds


----------



## rwong2k10

little update,
got addicted to these ada tanks so wanted another 45f but decided on the 45p for now.

it's going under my 120 gallon so unfortuantly it will be going longways replacing a 5 gallon aquarium

it'll be a shrimp only tank and my 45f's a field of glosso, the 45p will be a field of hc

photo's out of focus but i only took one shot, here it is


----------



## 2wheelsx2

Sweet tank. What plants are in the jars?


----------



## rwong2k10

thanks gary

that's three small batches of hc

going to go for a field of hc in this aquarium

still thinking about lighting

might go with a kessil. just received a $150 visa rebate card on some camera gear I purchased a while ago



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## 2wheelsx2

Will you have enough clearance under the 120 for a kessil?


----------



## opt-e

rwong2k10 said:


> little update,
> got addicted to these ada tanks so wanted another 45f but decided on the 45p for now.
> 
> it's going under my 120 gallon so unfortuantly it will be going longways replacing a 5 gallon aquarium
> 
> it'll be a shrimp only tank and my 45f's a field of glosso, the 45p will be a field of hc
> 
> photo's out of focus but i only took one shot, here it is


Really looking forward to this.. ADA tanks are so pretty!


----------



## rwong2k10

yep just checked clearance is pretty good

mounted on the cabinet there's about 4" above the 45p amd double that amount on the 45f from the light to the surface

it will be scaped but the 2 tanks are long ways just because there's 3 partitions in this cabinet.

was considering another 45f over a 45p for the longest time

im very jealous at the 90p that ed is picking up today. my 45p looked so dinky compared to his tank on top

just day dreaming one tank fields of glossostigma and one with fields of hc and billion shrimp in them



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## Mortskrap

On your 120 gallon, why do you have some much filtration? I'm about to start a 90 gallon planted and only have an Ehiem Classic 600 (2217). Should I consider more filtration? Beautiful tank btw!


----------



## rwong2k10

hmm I always love to over filtrate

maybe I've been speaking to some experienced shrimp breeders and the ones I've spoke to love to over filtrate

if I had to do this again I'd go with 2x2080 or the mega eheim classic. forgot the model number

I love lots of flow in my tank also from my personal experience areas with low flow and my setup of high light amd high co2 I'd get bga 

I almost want to add my hydor power head into this tank but it kinda looks ugly

hope that answers your question
but like I've said before. what works for me might not work for others

oh also I dont do water changes on this tank. ever since it was set up 3 months ago. I only top up weekly


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## randylahey

Mortskrap said:


> On your 120 gallon, why do you have some much filtration? I'm about to start a 90 gallon planted and only have an Ehiem Classic 600 (2217). Should I consider more filtration? Beautiful tank btw!


It's never a bad thing to over filtrate. I have a 90gal and I'm running 2 eheim 2075s full blast. I had 1 going for a bit and I was having problems with bba. As soon as I added the second filter, the algae was reduced. I added a hydor 425 right beside the filter output with the co2 reactor and the algae was crushed a little bit more. I added an eheim skim 350 to the opposite end and the bba was almost gone. A little bit of metricide killed the last of it. Being so HEAVILY planted, high flow and filtration is pretty much necessary to the keep the water moving around the plants and keeping algae growth down.

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----------



## Mortskrap

Thanks guys. I've got a Fluval 305 as well so I'll run both the Ehiem and the Fluval.


----------



## rwong2k10

hey randylahey (forgot your real name, heh)

Do you find it's the filtration or the flow that makes the algae difference? or a combination of both.


----------



## 2wheelsx2

rwong2k10 said:


> hey randylahey (forgot your real name, heh)
> 
> Do you find it's the filtration or the flow that makes the algae difference? or a combination of both.


Thought I would just throw in my 2 cents here.

In my ADA, it's very obvious when my Tom Rapids Mini canister needs a clean. I start to see algae on the plants and the filter tubes get algae. Once I clean everything up the flow is increased and the water clarity improves. So for me it's always been both flow and adequate filtration.


----------



## randylahey

It's definitely a combination of both that has eradicated the evil algae. Before adding the powerhead, the bba was pretty bad down in the shady dead flow areas. I noticed a slightly higher reading on my drop checker as well as it is pushing the co2 everywhere.

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## Reckon

Yep keeping the filter clean means less organics in the water, that means less food for algae.


----------



## Bobsidd

Hey Ray,

How's that Anubias white going? Growing so fast you need to chop up the rhizome and sell it to the BCA community? 

Rob


----------



## rwong2k10

Hey Rob and everyone,

slight update,

it's growing well, about one new leaf every month it seems definently a slow grower, I've already propergate it from 2 pieces to 3 pieces now.

My buce's are doing well also, a new leaf every 2- 3 weeks

I doubt anyone would pay what I paid for the anubias white in this community 

more photos coming soon!

Ray !


----------



## Bobsidd

rwong2k10 said:


> I doubt anyone would pay what I paid for the anubias white in this community


This scares me! My collectoritis is just beginning and I'm not sure how to tell my wife that plant costs may end up outweighing my equipment costs.

Is it in your 120? Or a smaller tank?


----------



## randylahey

rwong2k10 said:


> I doubt anyone would pay what I paid for the anubias white in this community


 As far as I can source, the rare anubias can go into the triple digits. I'd be willing, but im going to have to sell a lot more plant stems before that happens. WHO WANTS PLANTS?  The pricing on rare and uncommon plants on this forum are quite low compared to the cost to get them into this community.

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----------



## 2wheelsx2

randylahey said:


> As far as I can source, the rare anubias can go into the triple digits. I'd be willing, but im going to have to sell a lot more plant stems before that happens. WHO WANTS PLANTS?  The pricing on rare and uncommon plants on this forum are quite low compared to the cost to get them into this community.


That's the way it is for rarities. Hence the reason Aquabid had a Hypostomus luteus being sold for $2300 last year. Whether it's fish or plants or corals, there's a price tag to be had to be in the exclusive club.


----------



## rwong2k10

quick photo update,

received from Lawson about 8 months or so ago

ludwigia red reaching the surface of the aquarium









thanks for looking

Ray


----------



## 2wheelsx2

That's a great pic. And of course the plants are awesome too.


----------



## charles

Those are beautiful plants.


----------



## rwong2k10

thx Charles and Gary!

I love this plant, doesn't grow too fast and pretty attractive looking and really easy to grow

Since I have an open top tank, I'm starting to let some of the plants grow out of water to their emersed form


----------



## Spit1A

These are beautiful photos! The plants look fantastic.

Would you be able to share what camera settings you typically use for shots of your fish?


----------



## rwong2k10

hi spit1a I can but the thing is the settings will differ for each different environment.
the more lights you have or the brighter your aquarium is, the different settings you'll need

this last shot was 100mm @ f/4, iso 100, 1/160s

but I typically for aquarium photos, I use AV mode (aperature priority), select a F stop f/2.8 ~ f/4 for subject isolation or f/8 for full tank shot and iso either on 800~1600 or on auto iso the shutter speed is auto calculated in AV mode.

I don't use a tripod, all my shots are handheld

Hope that helps or let me know if you have any questions 
Ray


----------



## rwong2k10

I've got some plants reaching the surface of my aquarium and turning into the emersed form,

pretty neat and interesting, hopefully I can keep those up and looking decent


----------



## rwong2k10

Here is a quick update of my aquarium,
I let some plants surface and here is linderia roundfolia variegated flowering









Here's a messy photo of my aquarium, just been busy recently so I haven't had time to aquascape properly, but 6 months and the tank is still going strong. Had to replace one light tube last week as it stopped working.








Thanks for looking.

Ray


----------



## 2wheelsx2

Boy, you got some big albino bnp's in there!


----------



## UnderseaGal

Looks amazing! Big fan of your aquascaping work.


----------



## rwong2k10

oh thx, I got to work on the aquascaping, pretty messy right now .... well and before.

I've got about 50+ albino BNPs in this aquarium, some are huge, a few breeding pairs

my rotala sp. japan is all gone now, I received 4 stems from Lawson and I grow a big ball to about 200+ stems, but the thing started floating and I can't get it to stay in my substrate!!!

so I decided to take it out of my aquarium

here's another random photo from today, my emersed growth and flowering

Linderia Roundfolia Varigated by RW-Photography, on Flickr

thx for looking

Ray


----------



## skabooya

that is beautiful


----------



## Tommy72a

Hey Ray,
Absolutely stunning.. Congratulations and I look forward to your updates. Some questions for you.. Can you share your water change schedule with us? How much and how often? Do you supplement iron?

Ps.. When is your next trim??


----------



## rwong2k10

thanks tommy!

Sure, my water change schedule is none, since the tank's been setup since boxing day I haven't done a water change in this tank. I top up with a bucket of non treated tap water per week.
Nope, no supplement on iron, once my ada Amazonia runs out of power, i'll fertilize the substrate with root tabs and jobes fertilizer sticks.

my bn plecos are digging up my field of glosso, so that's annoying.

oh no fish deaths for the past few months, except for a few jumping endlers, I keep easy to keep and hardy fish in this aquarium.

my kribs, bn plecos, endlers are all breeding non stop,

my kribs ate all my cherry shrimp in this aquarium, so trying to breed an army in 2 other smaller aquariums and then I will 'try' to repopulate the aquarium.


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## Tommy72a

No water change huh? I knew that.. You either told me or read it in your posting somewhere, I just couldn't remember. So.. You are not seeing excessive mulm build up? Hey your occupants are multiplying so it must be doing well!

After reading your postings... I'm thinking about trying kribs and endlers.


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## Reckon

rwong2k10 said:


> Ray


really digging that BN pleco under the foreground 

Also I want to say bravo on the perfectly groomed rotala bush far left.


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## rwong2k10

well I clean my filters every 3 months or so, and I've over filtrated.

kribs and endlers are as easy as they get and they're fun fish to watch.

this won't work for discus, I had a discus only and a discus planted tank which I did water changes daily. but got tired of that after that so went with a auto - maintenance free tank,

trim my plants here and there once in a while and also there's an eheim auto feeder on the tank, so I rarely feed the fish.


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## rwong2k10

I haven't posted an update in a while, but almost a year later and this is what the tank looks like 
Still only doing top ups, no WC for a year 

Aquarium 2014-12 by RW-Photography, on Flickr

thanks for looking


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## jhj0112

wow!! that is beautiful?? No WC for a year?!?!? that's awesome!! lol


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## Reckon

Nice to see the L. Lacustris reach ideal color. Great work Ray!


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## 2wheelsx2

Looks like you ripped out all your foreground on the left. Was it HC before? Did it lift? I removed mine for that reason. Had to trim it non-stop to keep it down so I finally just gave up and ripped it out and now have S. repens and Downoi in the front.


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## rwong2k10

That's exactly what happened. It was glosso and I hate trimming glosso because it the leaves go everywhere. But first it starts out. Then it's a nice compact layer. Then it grows on top of each other making a huge sponge. Afterwards it starts floating and it's a pain to up keep. Oh man I wish I had some styrogene repent left. I love that plant. Currently I have the Porto velho version and that stuff is invasive and grows everywhere. I ve got to trim this tank better and get the 2 corners filled out as I pulled out some plants there. Oh I pulled out the l lacrius because it was grown too fast I've replaced it with brevips


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## rwong2k10

The Kribs and bn plecos reproduce like crazy. I've got an army in here


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## 2wheelsx2

rwong2k10 said:


> Oh man I wish I had some styrogene repent left. I love that plant.


I have some which is being choked out by my Erios. I can trade you for some stems if you want. Let me know. Wouldn't be a lot as this is in my little ADA cube, but with your skills it wouldn't be long for you to carpet the whole corner.


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## rwong2k10

Sounds great. I forgot which area you lived in. Was it burnaby? Pm me which plants you'd like and we will do a swap. I was on a business trip to toronto and met up with my buddy there and got a huge bunch of Monte Carlo. Trying to grow that out.

My buce s are growing quite well also. Super slow but pretty neat results.

I am hoping for the 2 corners to fill out so I can do a 1 year before and after shot but probably won't grow that fast.


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## 2wheelsx2

Yep, I'm in Burnaby on South Slope, close to Northwest Landscaping (how convenient, huh? ).

Oh yeah, the S. repens grows like crazy with CO2. In one year, if left unchecked it would overrun your whole tank. I manage mine by having other taller plants around it so it doesn't get as much light.


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## rwong2k10

ok awesome,! will PM you!

I think the ADA substrate is losing it's MOJO, looking at my plants compared to my friend's planted aquarium where he doses daily, his leaves are definitely 'greener'. It's either that or my daylight lights are washing out the green. I'll have to take a closer look at his aquarium next time I'm over at his place.

Time to start making some clayball/stick fertilizers. That art shop in langley that sells the red art clay is always closed everytime I trek out to port kells.


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## 2wheelsx2

I suspect it's a bit of both. I've noticed that I've had to dose my ADA cube a bit heavier lately or I start getting algae. Mine has been running a couple of years now though so that's pretty good.


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## rwong2k10

here's another photo of the emersed growth of linderia roundfolia var varigated with flowers, pretty nice above the waterline

Linderia Roundfolia var varigated by RW-Photography, on Flickr


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## rwong2k10

added a few new bolivian rams into this tank,

super healthy, here's a quick snapshot

Bolivian Rams by RW-Photography, on Flickr


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## Daryl

Wow. That is a nice looking Bolivian! Impressive trailer on his caudal fin!


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## rwong2k10

thx Daryl!

A few more photos!
they're loving the tank!

I'm moving a few out later to my office aquarium

Bolivian Rams by RW-Photography, on Flickr

Bolivian Rams by RW-Photography, on Flickr

Bolivian Rams by RW-Photography, on Flickr


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## Hammer

You have done a really impressive job. I'm just starting to get into planted tanks (just bought a paintball regulator). Very inspiring. Mine will look like Homer Simpson's barbecue.

Cheers
Hammer


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## rwong2k10

thanks Hammer,

i use a paintball set up at my office aquarium and it works great, at 1 bubble per second a 20oz lasted me about 4 months and refill is about $6.

I love co2, I have it in all my tanks, my planted, shrimp planted, office


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## jhj0112

really nice Bolivian rams!! I'm amazed how you aquascape your tank!!


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## rwong2k10

thx man, i took out the plants on the left and right corner and replaced it with another 2 plants, so a few weeks and it should look better and my field of glosso and s. repens should fill out nicer by then, or so i hope.


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## rwong2k10

aquarium update! looked better last month, but I am waiting for the foreground plants to fill out and the left and right side to fill out (still deciding on the right side) trying to get something slower growing stem plants! thanks for looking!

Jan 2015 Update by RW-Photography, on Flickr


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## rwong2k10

hygro compacta from april's aquarium adapting to my aquarium, should look pretty nice once it grows and bunches up in my aquascape
hygro compacta by RW-Photography, on Flickr

hacked the luwdigia brevips

Brevips Hacked by RW-Photography, on Flickr

all recovered now

Brevips recovered by RW-Photography, on Flickr

thanks for looking

Ray


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## rwong2k10

left and right side filling out! so is the foreground, just a photo update
Late Feb 2015 Update by RW-Photography, on Flickr

thanks for looking


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## crazy72

Just breathtaking. Fantastic job.


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## Bobsidd

Hey Ray, do you still have that anubias white in there? Tank is looking awesome. 

Cheers,
Rob


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## rwong2k10

Hey Rob,
Yep, i have 2 pieces of anubias white in there, I tried emersed form but it wasn't doing too well, back to submerged form and it's really taking off! should have a pretty nice piece soon

Ray


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## rwong2k10

Just borrowed Jeff's par meter from JL aquatics
Here are the measurements in my aquarium
(μmol m-2 s-1)

My Kessil light on my 10 gallon are 200 in the middle and 67 on the sides

Par ratings by RW-Photography, on Flickr

I kinda want to buy a unit for fun though 

Light fixture is 7" above the water top and the tank is 2 feet deep


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## gklaw

Darn tempting 
Gorgeous tank!
Great photography!


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## rwong2k10

thx gklaw, i think it's gord (i forgot  )


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## Hammer

Very cool and informative. You put in the par values in an earlier image and it really shows the variation. When replanting or adding plants, it would be a valuable tool. Especially in high growth tanks where shade pockets are created or plants are nearing the surface, it would be good to know how much light they are actually getting.


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## currietom

I can't believe this journal has been up for over year and I only recently found it. Your tank is bad ass! Good job.


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## rwong2k10

quick update of my aquarium, been setup for 1.5 years, little bit messy,
I'm going to be swaping out the glosso in front for marsalia which i have growing in another aquarium, it's darker green than the glosso.

thanks for [email protected]

Ray

My Aqarium June 2015 by Raymond Wong, on Flickr


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## Reckon

Looks great. You really managed to use the scale of the tanks and plants well!
What's the green plant in the front center-left?


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## rwong2k10

thx reckon,

it's the aquatic version of lobelia cardinalis, got it from April's Aquariums


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## turttle

Nice work. Tanks look nice


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## rwong2k10

two years since I've set up this aquarium around xmas time, here's a minor update, re-did the scape a little bit, waiting for the foreground plants to spread.

Darn anubias snow white is so slow, grows about 1 leaf every 3 months 

thanks for looking!

Ray

RWP_8797 by Raymond Wong, on Flickr


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## rwong2k10

Quick update of my aquarium.

Added 150 white cloud mountain minnows to my aquarium as for the past 6-8 months I've removed a lot of fish since I'm trying to make it a shrimp only aquarium then thought white clouds are quite nice.

Got them from April.

Here are some photos and a quick movie I made of releasing the minnows into my aquarium. (I'm not that great at making videos but just for fun)
150 Minnows by Raymond Wong, on Flickr

Jan 2016 aquarium by Raymond Wong, on Flickr






Thanks for looking


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## rwong2k10

just a current photo update of my aquarium. everything seems healthy 

2016-02-13 Aquarium update by Raymond Wong, on Flickr


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## matedogg

Looks awesome


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic

Love it. I've never done a full-blown planted tank but your's looks great.


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## DunderBear

How much did you get the tank for itself if I may ask and what brand?


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## rwong2k10

I hate buying used but I got it off my bud on here. It was a tank and stand for $250 I think. Brand new a 120 gallon is around $450 and stand is around $400

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## rwong2k10

I think it's custom the stand is extra low for viewing which sucks cause I'm semi tall but my 2 feet tall toddler loves it and it's euro braced so it doesn't have a center brace

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## SeaHorse_Fanatic

rwong2k10 said:


> I think it's custom the stand is extra low for viewing which sucks cause I'm semi tall but my 2 feet tall toddler loves it and it's euro braced so it doesn't have a center brace


What I did with my short stand was add a 10" riser on the bottom. I took the measurements of the bottom of my existing stand, bought a very straight 2x10 from RONA, cut to fit, screwed the boards together, painted it to match the stand, then when the tank was empty I raised it to fit perfectly under the existing stand. That raised my short stand to the height I wanted. It'll be a lot more work with a full planted tank, but it's something to think about if you ever decide to do a restart or upgrade in the future and want your tank raised to a more satisfying height.


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## rwong2k10

Ah great advice. once I move to.a bigger place I'm thinking of adding 2 180 gallons. Just a dream but probably not. A shrimp rack sounds more fun

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## rwong2k10

Minor update. After thinking long and hard, I'll be selling my 120 gallon setup. It's pending sale to a friend and should be picked up next weekend.

My next project starts with 2 ada 60p and one ada 45h with ada like cabinets.

I'm looking for a ada like cabinet for my ada 45p. 

I've ordered 2 ada 60p and cabinets from pat already.

Going for 6 ada 60p in total in the end.

I was pricing out 2 180 gallons but after thinking about it, seems more fun for now playing with smaller 20 gallon tanks. And I can keep more species of shrimp.
Stay tuned for a new journal.

Ray




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## April

Very cool . I think you will enjoy more setups and you can do different scaping in esch


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## rwong2k10

April said:


> Very cool . I think you will enjoy more setups and you can do different scaping in esch
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


More reasons to head to aprils aquarium which isn't too healthy for my wallet 

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## Dou

rwong2k10 said:


> More reasons to head to aprils aquarium which isn't too healthy for my wallet
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


Move to Richmond so you can take me with you x)!!!


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## rwong2k10

Dou said:


> Move to Richmond so you can take me with you x)!!!


That's dangerous. I'll be too close to Pats place 

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## rwong2k10

Not the best paint job as I'm not a diy person but thanks to Dou for the advice. The 3 cabinets were originally black.

Here's the final results.

Waiting for Pat to get his order of my 2 ada 60p. I already have the 45h and picked up 2 pieces of spider wood from april today. It'll be a spider wood and rocks cape with a few plants for the ada 45h tank.

New adventure begins soon.

Thanks for looking.

Ray

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## rwong2k10

I've been posted photos of my 120 gallon jungle aquascape for the past two years but this tank has now been sold and pending pick up this Sunday. But I've stated with a new journey and going with 3 ada tanks, 60p,45h,60p and then will get 3 or 4 more 60p's later. I just love keeping different species of shrimp and I've noticed my close up photos of the fish, shrimp, plants inside my ada tanks with their high clarity glass makes a huge difference. As I'm into photography, these ada tanks do make quite a huge difference. I'm not a DIY person, but the 3 cabinets were originally black (or had to wait another 6 months for the next shipment of cabinets from china), but I wanted the dark grey ada like colour. Here they are after their final coat of paint and one last photo of my 120 gallon jungle.

Thanks for looking
120 Gallon Aquarium, last look by Raymond Wong, on Flickr

New adventures ada like cabinets by Raymond Wong, on Flickr


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## wslam

What kind of cabinets are they


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## rwong2k10

oh some ada like cabinets that Myuibi aquarium stocks, they're from china, ada cabinets I believe are MDF these ones are just particle board, just like any other aquarium stand


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## wslam

They look pretty good. I kind of what an ADA style cabinet as well, how much did they cost? More specifically the one for the 60 cm tank.


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## rwong2k10

wslam said:


> They look pretty good. I kind of what an ADA style cabinet as well, how much did they cost? More specifically the one for the 60 cm tank.


they retail for $225, but I got 2 so got a discount on them.

You can probably build your own for a lot cheaper and use MDF or other materials instead of particle board. there's bunch of schematics on the internet on the pieces you'll need to build you own. I'm just not the diy type of guy and I don't have a table saw anymore. The cheaper larger sheets come in 4'x8' but you can get smaller pieces also from home depot.


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## rwong2k10

On Sunday, I emptied and moved out my 120 gallon planted aquarium. Onto new adventures with ada tanks but it was a very fun adventure for the past 2 years.

I've decided to go with smaller aquariums and keep more species of shrimp instead in planted aquariums.

Here are the last photos of this aquarium.
120 gallon side view by Raymond Wong, on Flickr

120 gallon front view by Raymond Wong, on Flickr

120 gallon emptied by Raymond Wong, on Flickr

Thx for looking and following my journal
Ray


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## barvinok

It was a very nice looking tank and an interesting journal.
Looking forward to new ADA/shrimp journals


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## Sean's Ponds

Glad to have seen it in person! I bet your wife is thrilled that its gone.

New adventures in shrimp keeping.

Cheers,
Sean


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## Philip

Hi Ray. I've been keeping planted aquarium for about 2 years and easily got it to the highest color plants should be. but my problem is i cant keep them stable for long time. plants some time are very nice( deep red and green and very clean of algae) some time not. i had to rescape 3 time in 1 year. very apreciated if u would give me some advice.
im using 120p ada with 6 t5ho on 7-8h a day. co2 on before light on. and ie dosing. some pictures of my 3 times scaping. second and third were invaded by bba. (
1st


second


third


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