103: The Office Experiment: Start up (Dec 2010 - Feb 2011)

Hello everyone and welcome to my Aquarium Blog, my name is Andrew Slaikeu. Thank you for visiting. 


This entry was going to be my first post.  Last Monday when I checked the post one more time I noticed the photos and captions were missing and was forced to post my alternate that was incomplete instead of posting nothing because I had already made a few notices about starting this blog.  Writing the captions once again, not only did I miss details but it wasn't as exciting (similar to warping Christmas gifts for a third time; you can ask my family about that one, I had done the opening of say gifts at a very young age). 

Before I start, a quick hello and thanks to a few people that sparked an idea of creating multimedia content to share and connect with people using the internet.  An inter-perspective and political comedian Mark Maron, his pod-cast WTF and local comedian and poker-playing-money-taking friend Corey Adam, thank you and please never stop creating. 

OK, about the tank already, The Office Experiment idea came to me December 2010.  To this date I have never put together a tank with so many controls in such a small space.  If all comes to plan, submitting an entry to the 2011 or 2012 AQA Contest would be amazing.

My hope is to have taller semi-aquatic plants that grow over the sides or have a lawn effect that covers the bottom evenly.  I plan on making this tank a heavily planted. Though it's small in size, I am open to having the plants overwhelm.  High output lighting, carbon dioxide injection, daily trace fertilizing and ground tablet fertilizing; the plan is to not miss a key area for a high level aquascape.   For fish, I would love to have either Blue German Ramirezi or Apistogrammas accompanying the plants.

Found by Craigslist posting. This Mr.Aqua 12 gallon long tank was originally listed for $65 (sold new for around $100 with shipping).  After about 4 weeks of back and forth I purchased this beauty for $45.  Nice woman and easy to deal with.  Thank you again Craigslist.

The tanks inch of clay substrate is covered by a half inch of gravel.  The light is a Corallife 24" 65w 10K CFL.  I have two hang-on filters and plan to get a canister to remove the unsightliness.  The timer is setup for 11 hours with 15 minute breaks for every 45 minutes on.  Finally, hanging on the back is a Nutrafun CO2 reactor with a ladder disperser.

Before you go looking at the photos please note that I started this blog to share my hobby and this doesn’t mean that I am showing off my skills.  On the contrary, you’ll see many of my tanks needing improvement.   Learn with me & teach me.

Enjoy additional information with each photo, the build is explained through the captions.

Thank you,

Andrew

PS>

Amazing news in Egypt last Friday, February 11th 2011.  Congratulations to a successful demonstration of the people!

PPS> 
Hey!  One last thing, I had my car serviced at Amigo's and have gone there for many years.  If you're in South Minneapolis, check them out.  The dealer I bought my VW from wanted a large sum of money for a 90k maintenance service and I ended up only paying three Jackson's.  Helped that my car was is in top form.  Now on to the tank!

Basic start up here. I looked at dirt for a couple 
weeks thinking about what to center this around.
I had decided months ago I wanted this size and 
sure enough it can through on a Craigslist ad.  
(12/15/2010)

First full tank. (12/26/2010, above)

About those custom made light supports; I got the fine idea 
of duct taping wire hangers together.  Do the math 65w bulb
9 inches away from the substrate.  Can you say algae? 
You thought that genus ended there, no-no, just wait for a 
few more images.

....what’s that camera on my phone?  Your auto
correcting processors can’t handle that much light?

Before I show you those dreaded algae shots, I'll show 
you the second version of my improvised stand.  Taller wire 
hangers with duct tape; that was the improvement. 
You'll see the wood legs I end up using on the right.

Before the heavy algae growth.

You can guess how much algae was on 
the slate rock covering up the CO2 ladder. 

Spending some time with my crafty father, we 
came up with a platform to hold the lighting rig.  You 
can see the backdrop, CO2 canister and spiderweb 
of cords.  I might have to raise this more or change 
to a lower wattage bulb. I'll spray paint to match the 
color once the algae is under control.

So there you have it.  It’s the beginning of a long story with this tank.