The Sunnyside 300 :: Tank Log

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mikeyw64
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So that's an order placed for a new 300 litre tank for the family/dining/kitchen room. Lead time is approx 6 weeks which suits me and pretty much takes me into the NY.

Still need to finalise a stocking plan however I am around 98% certain at this point that I will pull the pin on an APS 2000EF (without UV) plus external EF2 booster. Plan being to replace the media in the main canister with something like Biohome and keep the mechanical filtration in the smaller booster canister.

On the bio media front I'm thinking of getting it in advance and placing some of it in mesh bags in the Fireplace Community so that it can start building up some munchers in preparation.

Sensible idea?

Oh and why I hear you ask (ok maybe you aren't) am I calling it the Sunnyside 300?

It's because that is the original name of our house from when it was first built in 1824 (and we have all the original wax parchment title deeds going back to around 1856, its only the very early ones missing) and it's 300 litre :)


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Last edited by mikeyw64 on Wed Feb 26, 2020 7:47 am, edited 2 times in total.
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plankton
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I look forward to this log. :)
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mikeyw64
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It may involve more dedicated use of excel this time :)


As I alluded too above I have a plan in my head to help kickstart it


a) store as much of the media as possible in the current tank between when I return from holidays and the tank arriving (should be around 4 weeks) with the idea being that bacteria will be growing on it there.
b) moving my secondary sponge air filter for an initial period to the new tank
c) moving one piece of bogwood and planting to the new tank

Now I am aware the general concensus is that fishless cycling is better but in my head (at the moment) I'm thinking that by taking the above steps then the new tank will effectively be partially cycled so I may just move the 4 Platys to it initially
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plankton
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You'll need to be careful with the current tank when you take media out from it.
It will start to re-balance between the current filter and any extra you put in, so when you do take it out, there won't be the same amount able to cope with the bioload.
(Sorry that was quite a long sentence which may or may not make sense.....)
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mikeyw64
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no it makes sense. That said If I move the Platys at the same time then the bio load (and the Platys are by far the biggest load I would have thought) will be reduced at the same time as the media being taken out.

Monitor , Monitor, Monitor :)
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plankton
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The answer to that will be yes..... ;) :D
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mikeyw64
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So first off apologies for my scrawl, I'll try and explain (and also I know I'm no artist!!)

So drawn up a draft of where my mind is currently at when it comes to laying out in this tank.

General Idea is to put in a layer of sub substrate that is more conducive to plant growth than just sand.

Into this create a cave wall using slate (maybe?) approx half the depth of the tank tapering off in height as you come towards the middle (and also curve it towards the front of the tank)

Add more of the sub substrate to build a slope covering the cave wall then go over the whole lot with a sand layer

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Ric
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That's a nice idea. Seems to me the biggest problem is how to get the slate cave to stay in place and not fill up with substrate + keep the slope in place. Have you got any 'engineering plans' how you want to keep the set-up in place, so it doesn't shift with plants and roots growing and any fish and shrimp doing their things?
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mikeyw64
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Ric wrote: Sun Dec 01, 2019 10:07 am That's a nice idea. Seems to me the biggest problem is how to get the slate cave to stay in place and not fill up with substrate + keep the slope in place. Have you got any 'engineering plans' how you want to keep the set-up in place, so it doesn't shift with plants and roots growing and any fish and shrimp doing their things?
Missed this question whilst I was away :)

Ok so I think some strategically placed dabs of silicon should be enough to maintain the structural integrity of the slate cave wall.

To stop the substrate coming through into the cave wall as the space behind is backfilled with substrate I was thinking either some sort of egg crate material or (more likely) use a sheet of filter foam cut to size.

As for maintaining the slope etc let me first go through some revised thoughts :)

First off I've since been thinking i may extend the cave wall so that It starts at around 12" in on the LH side at a max height of around 10" (above the lower base substrate sweeping around to a point on the front face approx 12-15" from the RH side at a height above the base substrate of approx 2".

The triangular area thus formed in the front LH zone would then receive a secondary top layer of sand.

I'm then thinking that from the front point of the first cave wall back to a point on the RH side approx 15-17" that I'll create a small secondary wall at around 2" high and again in this triangle on the RH side add a secondary sand layer.

The area behind the walls would then be backfilled with the same material as the base substrate topped with either a thin(nish) layer of gravel or again sand (at this point in time I'm more tempted to use gravel in this central zone)

Along the backwall I'm thinking of 3 or 4 clumps of something like Vallisneria with one roughly in each corner and one slightly off centre

In the gaps between these and coming slightly forward into the mid ground Is where I'm thinking of sitting the bogwood with a mixture of Java Fern & Windelov on (as I have in the current Fireplace Community) and then possibly some interspersed crypts
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plankton
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Vallis can be difficult in soft water, I can't keep it with 7.9 dGH.
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