Journal 75P - Journey Into High Tech

[Minninips]

Inspiration, Goals, & Considerations

I've had an interest in aquariums since a young age and had my own aquarium with fish like Angelfish and Mollies around middle school. Growing up, my dad had a bigger tank with Blood Parrots and Silver Dollars. Over 10 years ago, I had a low maintenance 55 gallon planted tank. I was pretty proud of it, but always envied the high tech tanks I saw on forums/social media and told myself when I broke that tank down that the next time I set up a tank, it would be like what I envied. At the end of 2024, I set up a small low tech 5 gallon planted tank to help scratch my aquarium itch, which really only reaccelerated my desire for setting up a high tech tank. And now, here we are!

The size of the tank was mostly dictated by the space. I originally planned on something around 30 gallons, but my LFS had the UNS 75P in stock and after measuring and discussing with my wife, we agreed it would work for the space. The tank is between the kitchen and living room, which is essentially a play area for my son, so lighting needs to be adjusted to make sure he's not blinded by the light when looking up at the tank.

Generally, I'd like to have a visually pleasing aquarium with lots of fish and plants that's peaceful to enjoy. I'd like to automate / reduce as much friction as possible and I realize there's still plenty I need to learn, so I'll need to have patience when things go wrong. I want to keep away from anything that's hard to get out of the tank once it's in (duckweed, moss, pest snails, etc). I felt like sharing prices below might give value to anyone in the future that's looking to start where I did with a high tech tank.

Specs (prices include sales tax)
Tank:

UNS 75P (8mm Glass - 29.52" x 17.71" x 17.71") - $519​

UNS Atmos Backlight - $274​

Lid - Working on getting a custom lid made​

Lighting:

Chihiros WRGB II Pro 60 - $263
Chihiros WRGB II Pro Shades- $40
3D Printed Side Shades - Still need to do this
Chihiros Hanging Rope Kit- $37
Chihiros LED Lights Hanging Stand Kit - $64​

The mounting screws provided protruded beyond the bracket and would not fit with the backlight. I ended up getting washers and placing them outside the bracket to limit the screw depth.​

Really disliked the fact that the stand was branded with Chihiros and visible when looking into the aquarium.​

UNS Light Hanging Bar - $105​

​

Filtration:

Oase BioMaster 2 Thermo 850 - $461​

Oase: 60 ppi prefilter, 2x 30 ppi, _x 20 ppi - $56 (spares)​

Oase tubing - Included with filter​

Co2:

Misc. 10lb Cylinder - $118 (includes CO2)​

CO2 Art PRO-SE Regulator - $105​

Aqua Rocks Colorado Small Yugang Reactor 19mm w/ 90 degree elbows - $150​

Inflow & Outflow Pipes:

Aqua Rocks Colorado Stainless Steel Lily Pipes 17mm - $54​

Aqua Rocks Colorado Lily Pipe Clipper - $11​

Substrate & Hardscape:

UNS Controsoil - Black, 'normal' used as a base and ‘fine’ on top - ~$129​

CaribSea Super Naturals- Jungle River Sand (foreground sand) - $42 (only used a small mount of the bag - will user remainder in upcoming tank)​

UNS Controsand Santa Fe (used as accent around dragon stone) - $57 (only used a small mount of the bag - will user remainder in upcoming tank)​

UNS Controsand Sequoia (used as accent around dragon stone) - $52 (only used a small mount of the bag - will user remainder in upcoming tank)​

I was surprised how dirty these rocks were and how much rinsing was required. For the price point, I felt like they should have come pre-washed.​

Driftwood & Dragon Stone from Aquarium Co-Op - $111​

Fertilization:

Burr Aqua Micros and Macros​

Chihiros Dosing Pump System(4 Pump Heads) & Chihiros deluxe 4 color silicone tube - $154​

Chihiros Magnetic Stirrers - $100​

​

Battery Backup & Power

EcoFlow DELTA 3 Max (2kwh) - $680​

Unfortunately prolonged power outages are not uncommon for us. We've been without power for multiple consecutive days, 7 days being the longest. This battery backup gives me some peace of mind knowing the tank can run for some time uninterrupted giving me the flexibility to get the generator out and running at a later time, refill with gas, etc. I believe run time will be around 12 hours.​

Eaton Tripp Lite Isobar 8 Outlet Surge Protector -$100​

Other Misc Equipment:
Chihiros CO2 Drop Checker
5 x Oase ShutOff Valve 16/22
Inkbird WiFi ITC-308 - $38
SwitchBot Leak Detectors - $15 each

"Stand"
Because the guts are located in a kitchen cabinet, I didn't want to screw directly into it and damage it. I was also concerned silicone would not be able to dry and outgas properly when sealing the edges. I opted to line the cabinet with contact paper. It's essentially a giant sticker, so I lined the sides, bottoms, and a second layer over the bottom edges/joints. I built a 3 panel "stand" inside of the cabinet so I could house everything and screw into the plywood without any concerns. I used 1 sheet of 3/4" Maple plywood and coated 1 side with a latex primer followed by a layer of latex white paint. This is mostly for water resistance and not necessarily water proof. I placed a silicone cabinet liner under the right side equipment. I made a shelf to place the EcoFlow on so if there's a catastrophic leak it's off the bottom.

One consideration I hadn't thought about was how "cramped" the cabinet would be since I placed the EcoFlow on a shelf with a "wall", which essentially made the work area much tighter.

Cable Management: Raceway and cable clips
Water
Express Water RO5DX - $160

I saw this recommended by @Naturescapes_Rocco, and feel like the value is pretty hard to beat. I waited until it was on sale to purchase, but even at the $190 list price, it's great. Water source is an artesian spring (well). From the tap, TDS measures 56. In my 5g, I've used water straight from the tap, but opted for RO so I can keep things consistent with this setup. TDS after initial filter flushing was 0 (yeah, 0!).​

55 Gallon Brute Trash Can, 44 Gallon Brute Trash Can, 32 Gallon Greenmade Trash Can, and 2x dollys.

I need to improve this setup because it's a PITA. RO goes into the 55g, then I need to transfer it to the 44g to fill the tank. The 32g was originally what I purchased because that was the biggest Costco had, but it didn't hold enough water to fill the tank, so I had to rethink my plans. Seeing the 55g in person, I wasn't confident I could fit 2 side by side in the space I set up the RO in (which I couldn't). This setup is very clunky and requires a lot of water moving to make it to the tank. I've been using the 32g for waste water so I could water plants with it, but I might get worn down quickly and send it down the drain.​

​

Plants (all UNS TC)

• Homalomena Sp Sekadau South (babysitter)
• Hydrocotyle Tripartita (potentially babysitter)
• Alternanthera Reineckii Rosanervig (initially planned as babysitter, but may keep some in long term)
• Hemianthus Callitrichoides 'Cuba'
• Rotala Rotundifolia Blood Red
• Anubias Nana Petite
• Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo'
• Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini'
• Echinodorus Rose

Livestock:

Coming soon

• 25x Red Neon Blue Eye Rainbow
• 7x C005 Corydoras pantanalensis
• 3x C123 Yellow Cory 'Rio Nanay'
• Aphyosemion bivittatum 'Funge' Pair
• 5x Stiphodon rutilaureus Goby
• 1x True Siamese Algae Eaters
• 1x Bamboo Shrimp
• 8x Amano Shrimp

 

[Minninips]

Reserved for pictures / Major updates

 

[Koan]

I want to keep away from anything that's hard to get out of the tank once it's in (duckweed, moss, pest snails,

I have had excellent success stopping the pest snail plague, using this process :

Post in thread 'Miscellaneous Questions/Rambling: Dec 16'

Dec 16, 2025

Is there a “guaranteed “ way to clean snails/snail eggs off of plants before they go into your tank?

I was impressed with this experiment, so far I have found this to work beautifully

• Koan

• 

Lid - Working on getting a custom lid made

One thing to bear in mind when fitting a lid, be sure there is an air gap all the way around. It can be small so that your fish and shrimp don't escape, but ambient room air needs free access to the surface of the tank

It is possible to fit a lid too tightly over a CO2 injected tank and prevent adequate oxygen circulation for your livestock.. ask me how I know

 

[Minninips]

One thing to bear in mind when fitting a lid, be sure there is an air gap all the way around. It can be small so that your fish and shrimp don't escape, but ambient room air needs free access to the surface of the tank

It is possible to fit a lid too tightly over a CO2 injected tank and prevent adequate oxygen circulation for your livestock.. ask me how I know

I'm really glad you shared that. I was planning to fully contain everything originally. I was looking into getting essentially this lid, with modifications to my setup. I assume the opening being in the center vs air gap all around would be okay?

 

[Koan]

I was looking into getting essentially this lid

The center is all mesh which allows free exchange of room air, so that entire mesh is essentially the air gap!

 

[Unexpected]

It's great you posted the cost of your setup. I could have benefited from old journals a long time ago doing this! I would have been prepared for the true cost of my addiction . Looking forward to following along.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Subscribed!

 

[Minninips]

The Aquascape Ride

Using scape-it.io, I made a rough looking mock up of what I was going for.


I took inspiration from @Jeff Miotke and added the rocks and soil to the the front edge of the tank. Originally I had only planned to do the driftwood and aquasoil.


The original scape I had laid out at Aquarium Co-Op, which didn't include the piece of driftwood I had purchased previously. I really liked the piece I already had (It's got some really cool nooks and crannies for fish to go into). Once I got home, there just wasn't enough space for the wood in this picture. Saved for a future project!


Initial layout in the tank



Mostly final setting of the initial scape. This picture also gives a decent idea of where the tank is located.


Flooded the tank and did a dark start. The trash bag left a small opening on the front and with the backlight on, reminding me of the Upside Down from Stranger Things.


100% water removed, planted, refilled - 1/31/2026. None of the Dwarf Baby Tears wanted to stay in place. I kept fighting to keep them in.


2/8/26


2/11/26 (nothing changed besides the background color and a bit more green algae)

 

[techman81]

None of the Baby Dwarf Tears wanted to stay in place. I kept fighting to keep them in.

A couple tips on Dwarf Baby Tears:
1. Plant many small pieces rather than fewer chunks for more uniform carpeting growth early on. Same with other carpeting plants.
2. Don't be afraid to push it deep into the substrate with leaves barely showing in order to help keep it down. This is also where spending money on good quality pinsettes with long fine tips pays off.

 

[Minninips]

A couple tips on Dwarf Baby Tears:
1. Plant many small pieces rather than fewer chunks for more uniform carpeting growth early on. Same with other carpeting plants.
2. Don't be afraid to push it deep into the substrate with leaves barely showing in order to help keep it down. This is also where spending money on good quality pinsettes with long fine tips pays off.

Thanks for the tips! I do have a set of UNS curved tip pinsettes, but I feel like I'm still getting the hang of the release without pulling the plant up at the same time. Admittingly, I was in a rush to get into bed, so I put big chunks of DBTs in hoping that would speed up the process. Not sure it did... I even uprooted it tonight during a water change.

 

[Kwyet]

Good luck! I tried a tissue culture of Dwarf Baby Tears recently, and snails ate every last scrap in one night! I won’t try again with a tissue culture of that particular plant.

 

[Minninips]

Good luck! I tried a tissue culture of Dwarf Baby Tears recently, and snails ate every last scrap in one night! I won’t try again with a tissue culture of that particular plant.

Thankfully nothing living in the tank yet, so hopefully the dwarf baby tears get established enough it doesn't get eaten!

 

[Minninips]

2/15/26 - 22 days since flooding / 16 days since planting

1. Changed to the UNS Light Hanging Bar. Not really sure what UNS was thinking, but the tank + UNS Atmos back panel are wider than the opening for the mount. Only option was to side mount, which turns out I don't mind. It really bugged me that the Chihiros stand was branded and every time I would look into the tank I would see it. The UNS bars are subtly branded on the top side of the mount/clamp. The silver also looks SO much better than the dark Chihiros.
   1. Downside is the power cord for the WRGB Pro II is too thick to be routed through the pre-cut channels of the bars. Probably ends up not being a big deal for my situation since the light sits so low to the tank anyways. I hate the light cords, but it is what it is.
2. Added a couple small cups of sand to the front of the tank. I liked the look of the minimal sand, but knowing how many Corys are headed my way, I wanted to make sure they have plenty of sand to play around in!
3. Bought more superglue and re-stuck the Monte Carlo into the wood. It surprisingly stayed for a while without any, but once it dislodged, I couldn't get it to stay again.
4. Since the previous pictures, I added Rotala Rotundifolia Blood Red and Echinodorus Rose (back right corner)

Misc notes/thoughts:

• I only have 2 set up right now, but I was having trouble calibrating one of my Chihiros auto dosers. I suspect I didn't leave enough slack between the bottle and the doser, so I need to replace it. Or I'm on the struggle bus reading the measuring tube... But the 2nd one came out perfect
• I need to figure out the Chihiros app and automate the auto dosers. I presume it's best to dose micros/macros earlier in the photo period? Maybe before the lights even turn on? Right now it's a "oh yeah I need to do that"
• I'm surprised how much the Baby Dwarf Tears have grown. I'll probably need to start trimming them soon so they spread out.

 

[Kwyet]

I like to have my dosing set for a little before lights on, so it’s all available to the plants at the beginning of the day. I’m not sure how much it matters though.

 

[Minninips]

Fish from Dan's Fish shipped on Monday 2/23 and arrived Tuesday 2/24/26. Temps here were in the lows around freezing and highs around 40, so I was pretty concerned about the fish. The shipment had been postponed previously due to the temps here being in the 20s-low 30s. Fish arrived warm and healthy. 1 fish was DOA unfortunately, but Dan's took care of that. Each fish was individually packaged, with the exception of 4 Amano shrimp per bag. Dan's recommended floating, then releasing. Since I keep my tank at 79 degrees, I decided to skip floating and just net and release. This is something that felt very wrong having bought from LFS previously, but the info I found online (and Dan's too) said to get them out of the shipping water as soon as possible. All fish (as far as I can tell) are thriving! Since the fish were individually packaged, I think it took me well over an hour and a half to get them all in the tank. My son is absolutely obsessed with the Gobys and loves pointing out the bamboo shrimp.

• 24x Red Neon Blue Eye Rainbow
• 7x C005 Corydoras pantanalensis
• 3x C123 Yellow Cory 'Rio Nanay'
• Aphyosemion bivittatum 'Funge' Pair
• 5x Stiphodon rutilaureus Goby
• 1x True Siamese Algae Eater
• 1x Bamboo Shrimp
• 8x Amano Shrimp

My custom Kraken Reef lid arrived on Thursday 2/26/26 (use my referral code to save 10%). The quality is excellent as was the customer service. I emailed back and forth numerous times with questions and diagrams and what I received is fabulous! All in cost with expedited service and a feed cover was $388.



Shoutout to @Naturescapes_Rocco for making me dosing tube holders!



The fish have gone to town on all the string algae I was growing! I turned up my light from 30% to 35% today as well as pushed the start and stop 30 minutes, with a 30 minute ramp up. I think that means photoperiod is essentially the same, but 5% additional intensity. Let's go fish!

First fish in the tank (look at the rocks and the fuzz on the drift wood)


A bit more than 24 hours later (and then the full tank shot with the lid above being Friday afternoon)


Not intended for this tank, but now that it's here, I guess there's not a lot holding me back from getting started on my 120p. This had been on backorder from Nature Design Studio since I think the end of November. Influenced by the one and only @Naturescapes_Rocco !

 

[techman81]

My custom Kraken Reef lid arrived on Thursday 2/26/26 (use my referral code to save 10%). The quality is excellent as was the customer service. I emailed back and forth numerous times with questions and diagrams and what I received is fabulous! All in cost with expedited service and a feed cover was $388.

The lid looks great. I just can't get myself to buy a lid that costs as much as the tank or a high-end light.

Since I keep my tank at 79 degrees

Can I ask why you keep it so warm?

 

[Minninips]

Can I ask why you keep it so warm?

No particular reason other than Dan's saying "We keep all our fish at a temperature of 79 F". Is 79 too warm?

 

[techman81]

I'm by no means an expert and I know there are some in here who know well more than me on the subject, but I keep my tanks 73-74. Of course, I'm not keeping any fish that prefer warmer waters. Based on some reading I've done, many plants might actually do better in the low 70s regardless of the tropical environments they come from. Cooler water also holds dissolved CO2 better, although I don't know the math to calculate the difference between 73 and 79. I think many shrimp prefer slightly cooler water. Lastly, it saves a few pennies on the electric bill.

 

[Koan]

Is 79 too warm

Several things you may find at higher temps. One is an increase in GDA and other soft algae.

High temps also speed up the metabolism of everyone in there, fish shrimp etc, therefore shortening their overall lifespans.

Blue-eye rainbowfish have relatively short lives anyway so it might be worth considering a drop to around 74° to 76°

 

[Minninips]

Several things you may find at higher temps. One is an increase in GDA and other soft algae.

High temps also speed up the metabolism of everyone in there, fish shrimp etc, therefore shortening their overall lifespans.

Blue-eye rainbowfish have relatively short lives anyway so it might be worth considering a drop to around 74° to 76°

Thanks for the info! TIL! I'll start dropping the temp down to ~74 gradually over the next week.