I'm trying^^^
Progress slowed down a bit. I'm waiting for some mesh to arrive and for the aforementioned special plastic part before I can put substrate and water in the tank. And my substrate has to arrive from AOA. I completed the sump intakes, added a plastic mesh and floss to the sump. I cemented about a third of the return line, I'm waiting for a return pump and the mesh I ordered before I can finish the return side.

I sourced a 2ft light at Bunnings for $3.53. It's a 7W LED tube-like fixture. Discontinued model, got the demo at half price, plus I had a voucher... It'll be going under the stand, but for now it lights up the plants in the 3ft.

Not coffin progress, but in 24hrs I lost my Guppy (as in vanished without a trace) and lost an Ember Tetra (as in I found the body this morning... and the head this arvo.)
I hope everything that had to go wrong did and I won't lose any other fish... Still got saddles and berries on my cherries, but no births yet. I noticed berries only two weeks ago...

Wow looks like a pretty neat setup! 

What plants have ya got in there? 

I lost track... I have some baby tears, blixya, hairgrass, I forget the names of the others... I'm new to planted tanks, so I'm not yet familiar with all the species.

On other terms, I wanted to do a small update. I took possession of six boxes at the post office last week. Included was my substrate and xmas prize from @ageofaquariums (thank you!), my t-shirt prize from the crossword comp (Thanks @NoGi), a TDS meter, a pH meter, my return pump, a temperature controller, and other non hobby stuff.
I had a few more boxes this week, finally got my mesh. Got that special piece I was waiting for, however it is not quite ready to be installed. I also received the supplement for the substrate and plants.

I saw eyes in the berries of the first one I noticed, the one with the most eggs. Unfortunately that female died and my efforts to save the eggs failed... I also hope the last 2 days of 40+ won't affect them in a bad way. (still looking for a chiller)
I did find a few shrimplets when I added an IAL to the tank, so I guess they don't really mind 28+ degrees. I still have lots to come, saddles and berries everywhere.

Where's the selfie with the shirt lol

Not gonna happen. Never took a selfie, not about to start...

Looking at potential stock, and the current state of my current tanks, would a lone assassin snail be lonely in my coffin? I don't want snails, but I have a few come with my plants and even if it's not invasive, I want to keep them at bay. I'd only get one assassin to not have babies.

And speaking of plants, they seem to be dying, most are melting. I noticed it happened more in the potted plants, my cuttings are in substrate and the melting isn't as noticeable. I moved the pots to the hex with my Cherries today so they're in better light.

As for the coffin, I'm almost ready to put the substrate in. I just need to clean the tank first and a final touch in a corner.

I know this journal is in dire need of updates. For now, I can't (or won't) say much. I have been shuffling things around a bit, the hex tank still has my shrimps in it, but they lost the croc. They gained a few plants for now, I've been moving plants back and forth between tanks ( @Disciple thanks again for the hairgrass, but that thing refuses to stay put! haha) 

I had misadventures with my ember tetras, I'm down to 6 from 16, I will not restock them. I'm open to other suggestions for tankmates for my cherries. Including input on my previous post ^^^.

I guess I can share a pic or two... hahaha

 

What's a coffin without bones? Or skulls?

Edited January 30, 201610 yr by FMuscle

On ‎24‎/‎01‎/‎2016 at 9:19 PM, FMuscle said:

Looking at potential stock, and the current state of my current tanks, would a lone assassin snail be lonely in my coffin? I don't want snails, but I have a few come with my plants and even if it's not invasive, I want to keep them at bay. I'd only get one assassin to not have babies.

And speaking of plants, they seem to be dying, most are melting. I noticed it happened more in the potted plants, my cuttings are in substrate and the melting isn't as noticeable. I moved the pots to the hex with my Cherries today so they're in better light.
 

I don't think we can get assassin sales in Perth.

What type of lighting are you using for your plants? what type of plants aare melting? Do you have any pictures? What are your water parameters?

1 hour ago, Disciple said:

What type of lighting are you using for your plants?

That's the problem. No light. I mean, they had indirect sunlight sometimes, the tank is by an East-facing window with a wall to the North and a carport roof above, but that blind is mostly kept closed.

I moved them to the hex, which is a blue planet with the stock light, not sure of the specs. But that was only temporary... 

what are the hangers for?

 

did you find your killer fish?

haha you shall see shortly. But the hangers, or part of them, are a very important part of the tank. 

I did not, however the killings stopped for a while at 10 fish, but I'm now down to 6, I don't believe it was murder this time, I neglected my 3 ft and the wp are probably off the charts. I won't look, as I'm in the process of closing that tank down.

 

*Yes, behind the stamp is a blurred picture of the actual tank.*

Edited February 1, 201610 yr by FMuscle

A week left...

Today is the day, now is the time. @perplex you should get your answer for the coat hangers haha!
Although not the result I was anticipating, I present you the Coffin.

If the youtube video above isn't working, click here.

Thank you for watching.

Edited February 14, 201610 yr by FMuscle
fixed youtube stupidity

Video removed..... Violation of youtubes policy on killer tanks, pun intended!

Yeah @Foxpuppet I'm on it... The bastards removed it, but there's nothing in it violating the terms of use. I didn't put audio to be sure not to violate copyright.

Go figure.

well lucky me, i got to watch it before it got taken down... take was looking really good untill that happend omg..... any idea why?

 

btw i still dont know what the hangers are for LOL, maybe i missed it

Well it should be fixed now. @perplex look at 43 seconds... you can see the hanger's cross sections.

I don't know why or how it happened, the pump was stopped and restarted a few times without issues and has been running for long periods, so I doubt it was is. Nothing moved in terms of scape or plants, and there's no way my tetras did that. Complete mystery. 

oh no wonder i didnt see :P they are on a different angle than i was expencting

 

could you of had a big are bubble under something, then that just came up and moved it all around?

Nope, every time the pump stops, air gets in the pipe, and as the return is inside the cave, as the pump starts the air is pushed out of the return and made its way through the cave ceiling. Every time I started the pump, bubbles came out of the substrate. Never had any, or minimal dirt coming up. 

I thought the cave could have collapsed, but it was still standing as of its first day when I drained it.

It has been running for a week, started the pump on monday the 1st, and during the night between sunday 7th and monday 8th it happened. The dirt clogged the mesh and I woke up at 3am to water dripping on the floor.

could of there been air under the cave? that might of been trapped

no. if air doesn't go through, it would go out near the left where the plastic canvas arches above the cave entrance, it's the highest point of the cave and the exit path is only blocked by java moss.

i like the shallow style tank dude so many options for emergent plants and vivarium aspects you could use! good luck with the redo!

Looking good. Did you workout what was making it cloud up or disturbing the soil?

Good luck with the change was looking really nice