journal Custom Aqua One 620T

[rawprawn]

Picked this tank up locally for 150 bucks.

I'm hoping to keep yellow cherries and royal blue tigers together in it.

Don't like the filter in the hood or the lights either, so I'll go a bit custom and go for what I understand to be a low tech, medium/high light planted tank.

I've already got NZ black iron sand, an 800L/hr ebay cannister filter, and some ebay led flood lights.

I'm pretty new with this, but have a big background in technical fabrication.

Please feel very free to advise me.

Cheers,

[rawprawn]

First of all is the lighting hood.

I've got 2x 20W cool white 6500K LED floodlights.

I know this sounds bright, but I've read that with LED lights you need to go by lumens, not watts.

I found several articles stating that for a medium light tank you needed 35-50 lumens/L.

My tank is 130L (and 70cm deep), and I'll probably be around 100-110L with sand, etc in the tank.

So I need 3500-5000 lumens?? Seems a lot.

These lights are rated at 1600-1800 lumens each (120 deg spread), and knowing ebay product ratings they're probably 10-25% less in real life.

So I'm probably looking at anything from 2400 (1600x2-25%) to 3600 (1800x2) lumens.

Hard to tell with ebay stuff, but I found a couple of articles where they praised these lights highly.

I've stripped all the crappy and heavy flouro gear out (weighed a tonne), and 3D printed mounts that put the face of the light down flush with the bottom of the hood. One of the complaints I read more than once was that the flouros being recessed up in the hood cast serious shadows and greatly affected the performance of the lights.

I cut the bottom of a junction box out so it would fit, and so I could solder wires and keep the individual light switches for versatility.

I've got epoxy and silastic drying now, so that's it for tonight.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2016 by rawprawn

[jayc]

Following with interest.

I kept my Aquaone filter in place and filled it with ceramic noodles.Then I fed the outlet of my canister filter into the Aquaone filter.

Double the filtration.

[rawprawn]

25 minutes ago, jayc said:

Following with interest.

I kept my Aquaone filter in place and filled it with ceramic noodles.Then I fed the outlet of my canister filter into the Aquaone filter.

Double the filtration.

That's quite a good idea!!

No foam in the basket? Just in the canister filter?

What I mean by that is ceramic noodles only up top?

 

Edited February 8, 2016 by rawprawn

[jayc]

9 hours ago, rawprawn said:

That's quite a good idea!!

No foam in the basket? Just in the canister filter?

What I mean by that is ceramic noodles only up top?

 

I didnt use any foam. But you can use any combination of filter media you like. 

[rawprawn]

While I'm waiting for some epoxy to cure in my light hood, I moved onto the top filter.

I decided to go with jayc's good idea (which really should have been obvious to me) and connect my canister to the top filter.

I really hate the plumbing that comes with cheap ebay canisters, so I made my own in pvc pipe.

 

 

 

 

The white pvc looks a bit agricultural I realize, I'm more into function than form. I have considered painting the down pipe in the same aqua paint I'll use on the back of the glass. That would be perfect but I'm unsure about toxicity.

The intake strainer is from a rural pump shop, and I'll tie a stocking over that. I have a spare, so at water change time I'll just screw the old one off and put on a fresh one.

I'm thinking that putting some of that (very expensive) poly filter mat in the first section under the spray bar might be good, as the water should be pretty clean and I can easily check it for the change of color it does when exposed to chemicals, and then ceramic noddles in the second section.

Does anyone know anything about painted items in the aquarium water? Is it a no no?

Edited February 9, 2016 by rawprawn

[rawprawn]

Very pleased with the lights/hood.

Certainly very bright, but seems within reason even when empty.

I put the power lead out the side as it seems they had it running through the filter box, which would make it ridiculously difficult to remove either hood by itself.

 

 

 

Edited February 9, 2016 by rawprawn

[neo-2FX]

Awesome stuff mate!!! How much did the lights set you back?

[rawprawn]

39 minutes ago, neo-2FX said:

Awesome stuff mate!!! How much did the lights set you back?

Pretty reasonably priced lol....

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/272048180761?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=570861081187&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[jayc]

3 hours ago, rawprawn said:

I'm thinking that putting some of that (very expensive) poly filter mat in the first section under the spray bar

Great idea.

 

Loving the mods so far. It's so neat and tidy.

[rawprawn]

35 minutes ago, jayc said:

Great idea.

 

Loving the mods so far. It's so neat and tidy.

Thank you.

After 25 years working in oil rigs, mines, petroleum plants etc you'd hope I had my stuff right.

But I know little about shrimp, so feel free to set me straight there.

I'm hoping for some advice on a couple of things.

1. Some plants and mosses suited for a low tech, med/high light tank.

I'm interested in putting some plants among the roots of that mangrove wood, some mosses on it and I'd like to have a complete carpet of ground cover if possible without Co2.

Substrate is black NZ iron sand, and I'm looking for a bit more than the old java moss but low maintenance all the same.

2. I'm thinking of painting the down pipe in the same color as I use on the back of the tank.

I'm seeing a lot of people in the US using satin black "Krylon Fusion", which they say is aquarium safe in the water if cured 7-10 days. Any thoughts on that?

I'd really appreciate help with those 2 points as I'm unsure.

Edited February 9, 2016 by rawprawn

[jayc]

3 hours ago, rawprawn said:

Does anyone know anything about painted items in the aquarium water? Is it a no no?

Many years ago I used Krylon Fusion paint to paint the inside of my sump tank. It is aquarium safe. But it's not easy to find.

Spotlight used to stock Krylon range, but I'm not sure if they still have it. You can check.

The other option, if all else fails to find Krylon, is coat the PVC pipe in aquarium safe silicon, and roll the pipe in black substrate (ADA, BEP, whatever you use). The pipe will be camouflaged if the back glass is also black.

 

Mate, I'm full of ideas. 

Edited February 9, 2016 by jayc

[rawprawn]

7 minutes ago, jayc said:

Many years ago I used Krylon Fusion paint to paint the inside of my sump tank. It is aquarium safe. But it's not easy to find.

Spotlight used to stock Krylon range, but I'm not sure if they still have it. You can check.

The other option, if all else fails to find Krylon, is coat the PVC pipe in aquarium safe silicon, and roll the pipe in black substrate (ADA, BEP, whatever you use). The pipe will be camouflaged if the back glass is also black.

 

Mate, I'm full of ideas. 

Got some. Paid through the nose, but better than dead shrimp.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/191786375801?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Any plant suggestions?

 

Edited February 9, 2016 by rawprawn

[jayc]

49 minutes ago, rawprawn said:

Got some.

Well done, but wtf at that price ! $20 plus $20 shipping !!

Didn't you like my substrate idea? 

 

Plants:

Fore, foreground - Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo'

Foreground - UT ( Utricularia graminifolia )

Midground - Alternanthera reineckii ‘Mini’. The red will break up all the green between fore and back grounds.

Background - a LARGE bunch of Tonina Belem.

Driftwood - US Fissiden draping off the drift wood.

 

[rawprawn]

9 minutes ago, jayc said:

Well done, but wtf at that price ! $20 plus $20 shipping !!

Didn't you like my substrate idea? 

 

Yeah....screwed with no lube on that one.

I'm just super particular and once I'm set on a way I'm going to do something I'm hooked.

Substrate idea is good and thanks, but I've just got a plan in mind.

[jayc]

1 minute ago, rawprawn said:

Substrate idea is good and thanks, but I've just got a plan in mind.

I was just joking naturally.

I'm sure your plans are just as good. I would have gone the paint route myself.

[rawprawn]

Just now, jayc said:

I was just joking naturally.

I'm sure your plans are just as good. I would have gone the paint route myself.

Cheers for the plant tips as well.

Just looking at the monte carlo now. Looks like a good thing!

[jayc]

Just now, rawprawn said:

monte carlo

If you want a carpet in low tech tank, this is your best option.

[rawprawn]

Did my painting today with difficult to obtain and ludicrously expensive Krylon Fusion in satin black.

Quite happy with the results, but being a second hand tank some imperfections in the glass show up and I wish I'd thought of painting the suction pipe before I glued it in permanently.

Still very nice, and with the dark grey iron sand I feel sure that the lighting will work well and make the colors of the driftwood/plants/shrimp pop.

 

 

 

 

[neo-2FX]

Brilliant!!

[Disciple]

Looking good man.

Us fissidens are a nice moss which Jayc mentioned. I also like mini pelia and Christmas moss.

[rawprawn]

1 hour ago, neo-2FX said:

Brilliant!!

 

Thank you.

It's actually the first time I've gone this way with a tank. I'd normally rely on the color of the wall behind or use a paper backing, but I think this will look much neater.

Here's the filter and chiller:

 

 

I wasn't going to use a chiller because the tank's in an aircon room and it will mean that I have to place the tank/stand protruding out of the alcove in the office where I plan to put this tank, but this little Hailea HC100A has struggled on a 4 footer in the Aussie summer, and I recently acquired a second hand HC250A to replace it.

Canister is a 40AUD ebay cheapy, but I've got some decent ceramic noodles and mat to go in it, as well as running it through the top filter as previously mentioned. Should be OK.

 

[jayc]

5 minutes ago, rawprawn said:

as well as running it through the top filter as previously mentioned

What a brilliant idea. I wonder who came up with that?

Painted parts are looking good. The pipe is mostly camouflaged.

[rawprawn]

5 minutes ago, jayc said:

What a brilliant idea. I wonder who came up with that?

Painted parts are looking good. The pipe is mostly camouflaged.

 

Full credit to jayc for the brilliant idea lol!

[jayc]

Nah. Just kidding. You did ALL the hard work.

If I ever need to mod another Aqua One hood, can I hire your services?