Hello everyone and welcome to another Andrew Slaikeu's Aquarium Blog post. Thanks for checking out my aquariums that I've setup through out my years in this hobby. This tank is so new it's still waiting to be fully setup with water or any plants or fish.
Are you a Criagslister? Have you gone out and dealt with the both posting and responding to ads? The lighting equipment and CO2 ($150 for both) on my tank is from a Craigslist ad. When I went to pick it up, the seller warned my about the algae build up that would occur. Looking at the rig to make sure it worked properly I noticed he had the lights on a twenty four hour cycle; yikes. Blue atinic was on twelve and the 10k was on twelve. I didn't have the heart to tell him, figuring he was already ditching the hobby. A good idea for future projects, if your going to have an expensive rig, do a little reading on the internet. Wikipedia and wikiHow are internet research staple sites. Where do you go on the internet for research? I would like to know.
I've picked this tank as a challenge. Expanding on the limits set to my previous post, The Office Experiment, just on a much larger scale. There won't be an aquarium care discipline missing on this tank.
The questions I hope you answer with this build are can I sustain a tank with high lighting and CO2 at this capability. The other question is with the tank two feet behind me, can I work next to it with a chance of it being a distraction and will this help rationalize putting some extra hours in at work.
At work, management is very understanding that I have no windows in sight at my desk. With this monster of a life support aquarium, I get some sanity. I'll reflect on a story I heard during the miners rescue months ago that study show depression may occur with prolonged lack of sunlight. The lights in the tank show similar frequencies to sunlight and are exactly the same used in light therapies (10K light bulbs can do wonders for people with seasonal affective disorder that can be common when you live in an arctic tundra for 5 months or work long hours without being exposed to sunlight).
The CO2 and bulbs and lighting system all are found on Craigslist. Some of the lessons learned are stated above but here is one more. The light bulbs are freak'n expensive. There just aren't two ways to say it. At $45 to $65 a bulb you've got to get creative like go online. I've never been the person to pick the lowest rated seller on Amazon to get the best price so I got lucky by running across a post on Craigslist. This guy had 8 bulbs. I got four 10k bulbs for $40! Here's the bummer. When I talked with the guy and sent emails I could tell I was working with a business guy so it was pleased. When I met him at a local food spot there was a magnetic door sign on his car. He was a contractor and I recognized the logo. Perfect. We exchanged and I went to the office to check them out and sure enough one of the bulbs was broken. Sending an email and not expecting to hear back I learned a valuable lesson. The glass fragments were fine enough that it could have been my fault. I didn't take the time to look at them so who's to say.
Being there isn't any driftwood or large rocks, I want to grown in thick healthy plants throughout the tank.
Purchased as my very first fish tank, this 37 gallon tall aquarium dimensions are 30"H x 12" W x 24" T. The stand is the bottom half of a hutch that Jennifer had.
The lighting system was a great find on Craigslist. The setup has two 21' CLFs 55w 10k with two fans. I had to perform surgery on this light. The fan was incredibly loud originally. I purchased two quite 55mm fans online and re-wired them to two power supplies purchased at Axeman Surplus. A digital timer ($30) is going to provide power to the tank. This timer is digital and is the bee's knee's. Eight outlets total, four have separate timers which it perfect for power-heads and the solenoid CO2 control. I'll document the timing element in a later post once this tanks up and running.
This CO2 rig is the real deal. Far from the DYI yeast and sugar packet of my past tanks. An electronic solenoid controls the release of CO2 flowing into a power-head to disperse it in the tank.
You'll see in the pictures below I have installed a substrate heater from Red Sea called Root Therm ($50). This unit promotes a small amount of water current where plants absorb the most nutrients, the soil.
You might be asking, why there isn't water or anything in it. Great question, the reasons are many. Most of them being centered on the time and energy that will be put into this task. I can't be distracted so I'm waiting to hit a few goals at work. This is going to be my personal reward though I've been given the go-ahead from management to get it 'watered-up'.
Well all the components are in place for a very nice planted tank. Thanks for looking and have a great week. We'll see you next Monday for another post! If you have ideas for plant life please let me know, I'm open to ideas and don't have plans set in stone.
PS>
Real quick, I want to say hello to a fish store that's helped me throughout the years. Sea Level in Hopkins MN has hard working enthusiasts/hobbyists that can help with any setup you're looking for whether it's salt or freshwater. Ask for John or Rob.
PPS> Recognizing the teachers and supporters in Wisconsin this past week. I stand with the teachers, nurses, and all public employees of Wisconsin who are fighting for their rights. Please know this protesting has a greater stake for the entire country. Do your part to help keep the ability of collective bargaining rights for teachers and state employee unions. Keep up the good fight! Should it come to MN, you'll see me on the picket lines!
Post Post Post Script> To sandwich method my political thoughts, have you seen Conan's show lately? He is funnier than ever before! Team Co-Co!
Now. On to the tank!
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| Here is the full setup as is sits right now. |
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| I just brought the tank in the office. |
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| Here is my first attempt at the substrate heated wire layout. I wanted the wires to hang off the left side with everything else. |
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| Here is the final placement for substrate heater wires. |