Hello all,
I figured sharing my tank build with the group would be a good way to introduce myself to those who I'm sure I will rely on for advice in the coming months.
Backstory, I have been an aquarist and reptile keeper for over 40 years, along with a dive instructor, surfer, etc., etc. To say the least, I love this stuff. So when my 11 year old daughter took an interest in snakes, I knew it was time to get her involved. As such, we've created our own Youtube channel to help inspire other daddy-daughter duos to enjoy this hobby together, while teaching her the science that makes this awesome hobby work. I get to go all-in with my hobby, and my daughter gains a better understanding of science, how to run a organization/marketing/social media, and a new life-long passion for cool glass boxes. It's a win-win. So far we keep two dart frogs in a bioactive vivarium, cats, these aquariums, and a ball python.
The concept of our current build is to do twin aquarium, side by side, one a Amazon biotype (ish) and the other a mixed reef. We started by building a custom stand that's 6' x 18" and sits 40" high (because commercial stands are WAY too short!). This will hold the twin 40 gallon breeder tanks, but can also hold a 125 or 150 in the future.
The freshwater part of this build is loosely inspired by the Amazon tributaries (albeit, mostly with the fish), with a mix of wood hardscape and plants (which admittedly, come from all over the world). This is a mid-tech build with pool sand, lost cost LED lighting and for now, root tabs and DIY CO2. The CO2 is "controlled" by having the bottles sit in a bath of water, which is heated 4 hours before lights-on, and is allowed to cool again 4 hours before lights off. The ramping and slowing of the yeast's metabolism does a good job in maintaining a steady CO2 level of about 20 ppm 24 hours a day. I can increase or decrease the CO2 levels by adjusting the concentration of sugar and yeast in the bottles. I run two gallon sized bottles of mix, each being changed once a week, one on Saturdays and one on Wednesdays. Right now, we've got cardinals, glowlights, embers, ottos, bristlenosed plecos, and loads of cherry shrimp. A lot more growing for the sparse plants in there now.
The reef is cycling, however it's got a modest sand bed of about 1.5", about 40 pounds of dry rock which was smashed, and reconstructed into something that resembles a reef. We drilled the tank in the back, and I'm running an internal box, herbie overflow. I have a pond-master 1200 pump I inherited, and it's (I'm guessing), putting about 300 gph through the overflow. I control the flow by allowing a portion of the pump output, to be routed right back to the sump which we custom build out of a 20 long, so I have another 200-300 GPH that can be routed to a reactor in the future.
The lights are still up for debate, but one of the lessons I want to teach my daughter is how to build things herself, so a somewhat DIY, or at least "low-cost with some ingenuity" solution is the way we'll go. When things get good and dirty, we will populate the refugium and at some point, I will show her how to build an ATO, and other components for future projects/posts/videos. The best part is the rad backlighting we installed.
Anyway, we're planning on populating the reef with a clown (dad wants a Clarkii and she wants Nemo), a royal gramma, and perhaps a blenny or goby or two. All TBD. She likes the way softies and LPS moves, and I like the lower cost and ease, so that's the ticket for us.
We'd love your feedback.
I figured sharing my tank build with the group would be a good way to introduce myself to those who I'm sure I will rely on for advice in the coming months.
Backstory, I have been an aquarist and reptile keeper for over 40 years, along with a dive instructor, surfer, etc., etc. To say the least, I love this stuff. So when my 11 year old daughter took an interest in snakes, I knew it was time to get her involved. As such, we've created our own Youtube channel to help inspire other daddy-daughter duos to enjoy this hobby together, while teaching her the science that makes this awesome hobby work. I get to go all-in with my hobby, and my daughter gains a better understanding of science, how to run a organization/marketing/social media, and a new life-long passion for cool glass boxes. It's a win-win. So far we keep two dart frogs in a bioactive vivarium, cats, these aquariums, and a ball python.
The concept of our current build is to do twin aquarium, side by side, one a Amazon biotype (ish) and the other a mixed reef. We started by building a custom stand that's 6' x 18" and sits 40" high (because commercial stands are WAY too short!). This will hold the twin 40 gallon breeder tanks, but can also hold a 125 or 150 in the future.
The freshwater part of this build is loosely inspired by the Amazon tributaries (albeit, mostly with the fish), with a mix of wood hardscape and plants (which admittedly, come from all over the world). This is a mid-tech build with pool sand, lost cost LED lighting and for now, root tabs and DIY CO2. The CO2 is "controlled" by having the bottles sit in a bath of water, which is heated 4 hours before lights-on, and is allowed to cool again 4 hours before lights off. The ramping and slowing of the yeast's metabolism does a good job in maintaining a steady CO2 level of about 20 ppm 24 hours a day. I can increase or decrease the CO2 levels by adjusting the concentration of sugar and yeast in the bottles. I run two gallon sized bottles of mix, each being changed once a week, one on Saturdays and one on Wednesdays. Right now, we've got cardinals, glowlights, embers, ottos, bristlenosed plecos, and loads of cherry shrimp. A lot more growing for the sparse plants in there now.
The reef is cycling, however it's got a modest sand bed of about 1.5", about 40 pounds of dry rock which was smashed, and reconstructed into something that resembles a reef. We drilled the tank in the back, and I'm running an internal box, herbie overflow. I have a pond-master 1200 pump I inherited, and it's (I'm guessing), putting about 300 gph through the overflow. I control the flow by allowing a portion of the pump output, to be routed right back to the sump which we custom build out of a 20 long, so I have another 200-300 GPH that can be routed to a reactor in the future.
The lights are still up for debate, but one of the lessons I want to teach my daughter is how to build things herself, so a somewhat DIY, or at least "low-cost with some ingenuity" solution is the way we'll go. When things get good and dirty, we will populate the refugium and at some point, I will show her how to build an ATO, and other components for future projects/posts/videos. The best part is the rad backlighting we installed.
Anyway, we're planning on populating the reef with a clown (dad wants a Clarkii and she wants Nemo), a royal gramma, and perhaps a blenny or goby or two. All TBD. She likes the way softies and LPS moves, and I like the lower cost and ease, so that's the ticket for us.
We'd love your feedback.