Da_Neefer
Guest
Hi all! Dropping in to create a bit of a build thread for something not seen much here but I hope you enjoy taking a peek.
I’ll start by saying that I started fish keeping more than 20 yrs ago with freshwater and live plants. sort of the start of the current version of it anyway. Things were simpler then and just like reefing, the tech today, some species of fish, and even the plants we keep now weren’t even a glint in our eyes.
I started around 1999 and then took a break for something like 8 yrs between about 2003-2011 for various reasons. Dove back in with a number of planted tanks and then the beginning of the pandemic started me in reefing. I went whole hog so to speak and shut down all freshwater tanks. Been living with and enjoying the new IM 112 INT since Aug 2022 and have started pining for the green in addition to the blue these days. Maybe I just needed a new project lol
The last planted tank I had up was the 69g UNS 90U and this is what it looked like at one of its multiple “peaks”.
It spent some time as a reef tank and now one of our members has put it back in use as a freshwater tank. I hope he’s enjoying it!
So back to this last week…
I took a trip to Aquatic Collection because I knew they had a few UNS tanks and ended up getting this UNS 60S for a song.
24”x14”x7” Yup! It’s shallow all right.
Tank in hand, I had to go shopping for all the FW stuff I gave away or sold almost 3 yrs ago. Light, filter, rocks, driftwood, heater, etc. I knew I should have kept more of it lol!!
After getting some of the hardscape and basics together online I took friday off to visit Neptune Aquatics and Aqualab Aquaria along with @Meshmez for a reef related swap. I came home with 15lbs of Dragonstone rock and some semi-aquatic plants that will grow out of the tank.
My idea for this tank is a cave that hides the heater and has the Aquaclear hob filter pulling water from the cave and spilling over rocks back in to the tank. I zip tied a bunch of egg crate together as a support for the rock-work then wrapped the top and sides with some fancy filter media so the substrate wouldn’t fall through.
Yes there will be plants and moss growing on top of the cave as well as the fish and shrimp being able to use said cave. If it doesn’t collapse it should be fun!
Thanks for reading all that. You deserve some pics now!
The vision changed as I was building and stacking stones to mostly what you see in the last pic. I did add 3 pcs of branchy driftwood and the semi aquatic plants but the water is so cloudy I can’t get a good pic. There’ll be updates with more soon.
I’ve got 2 shipments of plants and sundries on the way and will be picking up 24 Wine Red King Kong shrimp tomorrow. Not sure what fish I’m going with yet but I’ll be looking tomorrow at AC to see what they have. Perhaps 8 Ember Tetras or 10 Chili Rasboras.
The plants growing above the waterline are going to need a much taller light source so I’ve also ordered some stainless steel 4mm rod to create new, taller legs for the light. Also not sure if I’ll be doing CO2 yet but it’s on my mind.
Hopefully you enjoyed what I’ve shared so far. More updates soon!
I’ll start by saying that I started fish keeping more than 20 yrs ago with freshwater and live plants. sort of the start of the current version of it anyway. Things were simpler then and just like reefing, the tech today, some species of fish, and even the plants we keep now weren’t even a glint in our eyes.
I started around 1999 and then took a break for something like 8 yrs between about 2003-2011 for various reasons. Dove back in with a number of planted tanks and then the beginning of the pandemic started me in reefing. I went whole hog so to speak and shut down all freshwater tanks. Been living with and enjoying the new IM 112 INT since Aug 2022 and have started pining for the green in addition to the blue these days. Maybe I just needed a new project lol
The last planted tank I had up was the 69g UNS 90U and this is what it looked like at one of its multiple “peaks”.
It spent some time as a reef tank and now one of our members has put it back in use as a freshwater tank. I hope he’s enjoying it!
So back to this last week…
I took a trip to Aquatic Collection because I knew they had a few UNS tanks and ended up getting this UNS 60S for a song.
24”x14”x7” Yup! It’s shallow all right.
Tank in hand, I had to go shopping for all the FW stuff I gave away or sold almost 3 yrs ago. Light, filter, rocks, driftwood, heater, etc. I knew I should have kept more of it lol!!
After getting some of the hardscape and basics together online I took friday off to visit Neptune Aquatics and Aqualab Aquaria along with @Meshmez for a reef related swap. I came home with 15lbs of Dragonstone rock and some semi-aquatic plants that will grow out of the tank.
My idea for this tank is a cave that hides the heater and has the Aquaclear hob filter pulling water from the cave and spilling over rocks back in to the tank. I zip tied a bunch of egg crate together as a support for the rock-work then wrapped the top and sides with some fancy filter media so the substrate wouldn’t fall through.
Yes there will be plants and moss growing on top of the cave as well as the fish and shrimp being able to use said cave. If it doesn’t collapse it should be fun!
Thanks for reading all that. You deserve some pics now!
The vision changed as I was building and stacking stones to mostly what you see in the last pic. I did add 3 pcs of branchy driftwood and the semi aquatic plants but the water is so cloudy I can’t get a good pic. There’ll be updates with more soon.
I’ve got 2 shipments of plants and sundries on the way and will be picking up 24 Wine Red King Kong shrimp tomorrow. Not sure what fish I’m going with yet but I’ll be looking tomorrow at AC to see what they have. Perhaps 8 Ember Tetras or 10 Chili Rasboras.
The plants growing above the waterline are going to need a much taller light source so I’ve also ordered some stainless steel 4mm rod to create new, taller legs for the light. Also not sure if I’ll be doing CO2 yet but it’s on my mind.
Hopefully you enjoyed what I’ve shared so far. More updates soon!
