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Aquastudent's 135g Aquarium

dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
If it's going to be hidden under a canopy, then use an under-the-bed style rubbermaid (the short ones). I have an FX5 going full bore into the 18g rubbermaid dump filter I have. Put a lid on it and add 3-4 holes on the bottom and you'll be fine.

Or alternately, put a separate pump in the tank (that's how I filter both of my 150gs).

Keeping a basket of fluff (or a filter sock) on the dump (or sump) for mechanical filtration works wonders. It's much easier to change than a canister filter and keeps gunk out of your bio media. It's a bad idea to leave it out of a sump/dump.

Matt
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
Picture taking's not my forte. But it really is as simple as it sounds: A rubbermaid on 2x4s on top of my tank :)

Matt
 
AquaStudent

AquaStudent

Members
Today is filter day. Last night my friend helped me pick the tank up and put it on the stand. Now I can properly measure out the tubing for the intake and outflow. Once I get the tubing cut I'll move everything over to the 55g AC tank to get the filter seeded.

Tonight is finally the night to get my hands wet. I'm going to fill up the tank and check for leaks. If all goes well I'll order the remaining supplies needed for fish (basically a heater).

The plan is to go with 2 - 300W Jagers from DrsF+S.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23726

Also, does anybody have any experience with the Drs. F+S dechlorinator? Seems like a good deal if it works.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=25130
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
I don't have experience with Drs. Fosters and Smith dechlor. I'd assume that it works.

I use Chloram-X from Kensfish.com. Free shipping for orders over $75...

Matt
 
AquaStudent

AquaStudent

Members
No thank you Sebastian. A new 300W heater is $35. There's no reason for me to buy one for that price from you.

Chloram-X looks pretty snazzy. That'll treat a lot of water. Ken's is only a couple hours away in Massacussets. I wonder if I could schedule a visit/interview.

Today was quite eventful. I got the filter set up. The clips that hold the tubes to the edge of the aquarium are quite strong. I had a hard time getting them on and off. The FX6 is currently set up on the 55g and running parallel to a Fluval 306. I'll probably let it run for a week or two. By then (assuming the tank passes the leak test) I should have the pool filter sand in the bottom of the tank, some of the driftwood ready for insertion, and the heaters installed (I'll order them tonight).

Hopefully tomorrow the pump from Dan will arrive and I won't ever have to bucket water into that thing again. 1000 pounds of water is not fun to move via 5 gallon buckets.

I checked the levelness before, during, and after adding water and it's stayed perfectly level. I'm very happy about that. There's no immediate sag in the floor. Looks like I was correct in load baring wall identification and floor joist direction.

Here's the photo of the tank (prior to falling through the floor)


Note: This can also be taken as evidence that I am not a vampire since my reflection is rather apparent in this photograph
 
fish

fish

Banned
AquaStudent said:
No thank you Sebastian. A new 300W heater is $35. There's no reason for me to buy one for that price from you.

Chloram-X looks pretty snazzy. That'll treat a lot of water. Ken's is only a couple hours away in Massacussets. I wonder if I could schedule a visit/interview.

Today was quite eventful. I got the filter set up. The clips that hold the tubes to the edge of the aquarium are quite strong. I had a hard time getting them on and off. The FX6 is currently set up on the 55g and running parallel to a Fluval 306. I'll probably let it run for a week or two. By then (assuming the tank passes the leak test) I should have the pool filter sand in the bottom of the tank, some of the driftwood ready for insertion, and the heaters installed (I'll order them tonight).

Hopefully tomorrow the pump from Dan will arrive and I won't ever have to bucket water into that thing again. 1000 pounds of water is not fun to move via 5 gallon buckets.

I checked the levelness before, during, and after adding water and it's stayed perfectly level. I'm very happy about that. There's no immediate sag in the floor. Looks like I was correct in load baring wall identification and floor joist direction.

Here's the photo of the tank (prior to falling through the floor)


Note: This can also be taken as evidence that I am not a vampire since my reflection is rather apparent in this photograph
Click to expand...

Ok. You would not have to pay shipping though.

Ill give it to you for $23 if you want...


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
festaedan

festaedan

potamotrygon fan
AquaStudent said:
No thank you Sebastian. A new 300W heater is $35. There's no reason for me to buy one for that price from you.

Chloram-X looks pretty snazzy. That'll treat a lot of water. Ken's is only a couple hours away in Massacussets. I wonder if I could schedule a visit/interview.

Today was quite eventful. I got the filter set up. The clips that hold the tubes to the edge of the aquarium are quite strong. I had a hard time getting them on and off. The FX6 is currently set up on the 55g and running parallel to a Fluval 306. I'll probably let it run for a week or two. By then (assuming the tank passes the leak test) I should have the pool filter sand in the bottom of the tank, some of the driftwood ready for insertion, and the heaters installed (I'll order them tonight).

Hopefully tomorrow the pump from Dan will arrive and I won't ever have to bucket water into that thing again. 1000 pounds of water is not fun to move via 5 gallon buckets.

I checked the levelness before, during, and after adding water and it's stayed perfectly level. I'm very happy about that. There's no immediate sag in the floor. Looks like I was correct in load baring wall identification and floor joist direction.

Here's the photo of the tank (prior to falling through the floor)


Note: This can also be taken as evidence that I am not a vampire since my reflection is rather apparent in this photograph
Click to expand...
This tank looks great already!
When I first got my 120 I was going back and forth with buckets and a syphon and since this tank is almost as tall as I am when its on the stand it wasnt eazy. The pump realy did the trick. What I did was put it in a 30 gallon rubbermaid trashcan with wheeels on the bottom and I put the pump inside so all I'd need ro do is fill the trash can with water and then pump it into the tank. I still use that method to this day, except with a stronger pump.
 
spazmattik

spazmattik

Members
Good choice with the cloram-x... As Matt said in an older thread "safe smells like death and cloram-x smells sweet".... I was obligated to buy safe because kens was out of cloram-x for like a month when I was trying to order more. I think Matt's assessment was pretty accurate..

nice work so far man. Good to see things coming along. You know you felt accomplished lugging the buckets of water around! lol
 
AquaStudent

AquaStudent

Members
spazmattik said:
Good choice with the cloram-x... As Matt said in an older thread "safe smells like death and cloram-x smells sweet".... I was obligated to buy safe because kens was out of cloram-x for like a month when I was trying to order more. I think Matt's assessment was pretty accurate..

nice work so far man. Good to see things coming along. You know you felt accomplished lugging the buckets of water around! lol
Click to expand...

I did feel accomplished. I know I got my workout in for the day. A bucket with wheels sounds genius! So far the tank seems to be holding up well. I was a little bit stupid. I filled the tank with cold tap water because I didn't want to heat the room up unnecessarily. I forgot about condensation so it was hard to tell if anything was leaking or if it was condensation. I figured the tank was solid but just wanted that extra security. It's been quite a few hours and there's no change.

I didn't order Chloram-x but I'm definitely considering. I have a $50 gift card for Drs. F+S from buying the FX6 so i was going to put in an order there. Not sure if I want to split them. If I end up ordering a large pump from Ken's I'll probably invest in a pound of Chloram-x too.
 
AquaStudent

AquaStudent

Members
We have some news this morning.

The good news is I did not wake up to find a giant hole in my floor. There wasn't any water flooding my living room. Everything seemed to be in one piece.

The bad news...I have to grade papers today. I hate grading papers. This afternoon I'm picking up MATLAB and will have some research analysis to do. Fun projects ahead.

The next step in this build is to get the canopy repaired. I need to replace the main board because the original has started to soften. If I can't salvage the cabinet side pieces I may end up having to build it from scratch. If that's the case I probably won't get to it until Friday/Saturday.

I also need to pick up some pool filter sand and get that cleaned up and in the tank. I also want to pick out the driftwood that I want to use. I'm a bit disappointed it's been cloudy the past few days and drizzly today. It's putting a damper on my exploration and driftwood adventures.

Last night I ordered the heaters which should arrive in about a week. The FX6 should have a decent start on seeding the filter by then. By the end of next week I'll move over a few fish from the 55g (bichir and perhaps the blue peacock) to keep the filter going in the new tank and spread out the stocking a bit. Once the tank is settled with them I'll order the new fish (and put the peacock back in the African Cichlid tank).

That should about cover the main part of setting up the tank.
1) Tank preparation (resilicone/background)
2) Stand preparation (cleaning, sanding, painting, tank location)
3) Filter
4) Lighting, canopy restoration, and heating
5) Aquascaping
6) Stocking
7) Maintenance Protocols

A final project could be building a sump. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with that so that's being put off.
 
AquaStudent

AquaStudent

Members
My roommate and I tried salvaging the sides of the canopy. The screw heads had corroded away and couldn't be unscrewed. We tried using a hammer to separate the rotting pieces but he ended up mauling both pieces. Oh well. It gives me the chance to completely redo it.

The question is should I build it to the exact height as before or make it a bit taller? I still have the lid/opener part from the original piece. That's still in good condition. But if I make the canopy taller (to give more room for the light) then I'd have to build an entirely new canopy.

Also, I took a stroll today to a patch of woods where I spotted some downed trees on my walks earlier this month. After a little poking around and some sawing, I claimed a few pieces of hardwood. It was entertaining having my roommate and me walking down the street with a bunch of wood (get your minds out of the gutter).

I got the driftwood home and sanded off some of the few pieces of bark that hadn't been knocked off before. I tossed the pieces in the tub and ran them under hot water for a bit. The pieces were much too large to be fully submerged by the water but I rotated them around and also treated with some boiling water.



My goal for tonight is to get MatLab installed and edit the next episode in my video series. I should post those here too...

Episode 1 - Tank Prep - Aquastudent's 135g Tank Development Series
 
AquaStudent

AquaStudent

Members
Just some more thoughts here. I'm in a tough position on the canopy. I'm trying to save up money so I can splurge on the fish. That's where the quality is going to come in. I know the fixture I have will work if I make the canopy the same height as before. The only issue is I have a 4' fixture on a 6' tank. That means there will be a 1' gap on either side where there won't be light above it. The light cone will be able to hit most of the tank but the upper corners will likely be shadowed. I'm not sure how severe this effect will be or even if it's that horrible.

I briefly spoke with UaruJoey last week and he's coming out with an inexpensive dimmable LED lighting video this Sunday. I could always either rebuild the fixture or add in something to highlight the corners. I doubt the LEDs would be strong enough to allow me to plant the tank but the Quad T-8's should do the trick. That all depends if the fish will allow me to plant.

I've also been staring at the driftwood (when I'm not watching the World Cup). I will definitely have to cut down that largest piece. I think I'm going to trim off some of the thicker bottom and some of the longer, single fork. That will give me a little bit of wiggle with the main trunk and then a few branches coming off the end. The trimmings could either add to the scape or be used to wack my roommate on the head when he doesn't do the dishes.
 
AquaStudent

AquaStudent

Members
Episode 2 of the series was just released. In this episode I highlight what I did with the stand and what factors I considered when selecting a location for the tank.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25oLZfKA3Z0


For other updates, I just got back from a trip to Lowes. I picked up what should be the lumber required to put the canopy back together. I'll get that pieced together and painted. Also, I picked up some colorless greenhouse roofing. That will be cut down to size and used as lids. Going with the greenhouse roofing is much more cost efficient than glass or acrylic although it is not as structurally sound.
 
AquaStudent

AquaStudent

Members
We have success! Earlier today the heaters came in. Let me tell you, the 300W Jager's are HUGE! I've never seen a heater this large before. I think I want to build a sump just so I can hide the heaters. Plus, the cords on them aren't very long which makes it hard to plug them in. Either way the water is heating up as we speak (although it doesn't need to heat up much because it's rather warm here today).

The tannins from the driftwood are still leeching out (not surprisingly). I'm also going to have to pin the driftwood beneath some of the rocks. I'm a bit worried that if it comes loose it could smash out the crosspiece in the frame. I could also just let it float until it decides it wants to sink. We shall see.

I finished painting the canopy today and got the light secured in. Everything is now on the tank. I'll need to touch up some areas that the paint scraped away from but overall it's solid.

I'm going to test the pH of the water tomorrow morning. I'm curious how much adding the driftwood has changed the pH. I tested the pH when I added the driftwood so we can compare.

I need to get a little stool so I can access the tank. That's a good issue to have.

Assuming everything goes as planned with the heating of the tank and pH measurements I'll be moving over the polyupterus senegalus from the 55 gallon. I can then order the other inhabitants (will hit up Josh and then possibly work out a group buy order from Wetspot).

 
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