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After finally buying our first house, I was able to live out my dreams of installing a large high-tech rimless aquarium. It has:
RO-water lines in (one large one for water adding from the basement storage, one small one for the top-off reservoir and float valve) with leak prevention and redundancy.
A drain-out in the wall behind the stand for easy water changes.
Before the tank was ready, some work was needed...
Supplemented flooring:
My wife and I partnered with a structural engineer to design a plan to supplement the flooring under the tank (basement). It was about a month of work on and off to get the studpacks all assembled, installed, and inspected to approval with engineered lvl beam lumber. We did such a good job that the engineer offered me a job as a structural framing assistant lol. No worries about collapsing our old 1960s floor with a 2,000lb+ aquarium anymore.
Reverse Osmosis setup:
I installed an RO system in the basement with 3 prefilters (sediment, carbon, carbon) at about 60PSI house pressure, then a booster pump dialed to ~78PSI, then a 50GPD membrane (produces less wastewater than 100GPD). I also installed a permeate pump for when the pure water exists the system to the pressurized storage tanks (two 20-gallon bladder RO tanks) to majorly improve the pure:waste ratio. I also ran a line from the pressurized RO tanks up to my kitchen for an RO faucet for cooking/drinking/etc, and a line through the basement to where the aquarium would be for the auto-top off reservoir (Trigger Systems Crystal ATO 10 Gallon) because the lower pressure the tanks produce is ideal for a float valve set up in the reservoir. This reservoir would be in the stand itself.
The combination of the permeate pump, booster pump, and warm boiler room where the membrane is means that I tested the water to be between 1:1 pure:waste up to 2:1 pure:waste, which is pretty amazing for most home RO systems that are closer to 1:4 or even 1:6 pure:waste.
I then cleaned and modified a large 55 gallon drum (you can find these near you for $20 used) to use a float valve (AquaticLife Float Valve, been using for years in different projects with great success) directly from the RO system. I plumbed a bulkhead in the bottom 3rd of the barrel, and hooked it up to a ECO-Worthy Diaphragm Pump. This pump was set up on a smart timer, so not only can it be set to "off", I can run a script/program that automatically turns the pump off when it gets to the bottom of the barrel. This pump produces about 5gal/min at the head height I was running the water to. I ran this pumped RO water through a 1/2" PEX line through the basement floorboards, and up to the back of the aquarium stand for super fast water addition from the 55gal drum barrel. I could use the 55 gal drum for the bulk of a 50% water change, and top off the rest with the internal RO reservoir and GHL computer/level controller.
DIYing the ADA/UNS style aquarium stand:
The inspiration from UNS:
150 cm-sized stands of this type run about $1,200 or more before shipping. I figured I'd build my own! I already had many of the woodworking tools needed (track saw, table saw, 3d program for modeling, etc.
Here you can see my Shapr3d modeling of the stand. It would be made of seriously indestructable 3/4" baltic birch plywood. It was based on the designs of manuals I found online for ADA/UNS/Other stands, often made with MDF, in this exact configuration. Note that the large tube you see on the right was future work testing the addition of a large horizontal CO2 reactor! More on that later
The whole project required 3 sheets of 4x8 baltic birch ply from my local lumber yard, total $390. The Kreg Pocket screws (already had the equipment) were about $60, the wood glue $20, the primer and paint about $100. It took me about a week to build it working part-time by myself, total cost in the end probably less than $600 (half the cost of the MDF UNS stands!). Of course I had the tools already.
I laid out the cuts on the sheets and got to work:
I wish I took more pictures.
We got it into the location, and it took 4 people to move the 400+ lb glass aquarium. It was placed on to a dense yoga mat that was trimmed to size:
My wife can fit inside of it lol (she's pretty tiny!).
The tank was from Aqua Rocks Colorado, which I'm fortunate to live only 15 minutes from. Tommy gave me a great deal because this particular tank had been sitting for a long time with no buyers. ARC also has INSANE hardscape selection (they are a literal warehouse with hundreds of TONS of hardscape).
ARC has a "dojo" you can practice scaping in:
The dojo happens to be 150cm wide, my exact dimensions! The stone is Manten Stone. The largest stone is about 120lbs and literally made my truck sag when we finally placed it inside. The total weight of rocks was 600+lbs. It took me hours to scape it in-store, but I was glad to not have to do it at home with a delicate glass tank!
Tommy at ARC gave me a huge dense-styrene sheet to place on the bottom to prevent the rocks from cracking the glass bottom panel.
AFter some adjustments like flipping the large main stone around, it was ready. Glued and hardscaped. There are large pockets of aquasoil in between and behind the rocks for planting.
AND THEN I SCRATCHED THE SHIT OUT OF IT. Accidentally. With a kitchen sponge.
Planting was meant to be simple, sparse, and temperate river-like! Only a few species:
Blyxa japonica in the midground.
Crypt parva in the foreground.
some pygmy buce wedged between cracks.
Anubias nana wedged between cracks.
Vallisneria sp in the back, meant to grow to the surface and flow around the tank.
I also installed the lighting: two Skylight Hyperspot FM Wifi lights. I had seen these lights used by many professionals in Europe. The selling point was the water caustic (ripple reflection/refractions) that the point-source-style lights caused, and most of all, the fact that these lights do not blind the observer. They aren't just powerful, they have hyper-focused light beams that allow you to be right in front of the hanging lights and not be blinded by 180-degree diffused lighting. MJ Aquascaping, Green Aqua, and Aquashow Poland all use these lights extensively and speak about how they do not blind you and have very natural, vibrant colors. It's been over a year now, and I could not be happier with the Hyperspots. Color rendition, power, functionality, WIFI and programming, etc. Ask me any questions you have about these lights! We need way more US carriers. They should be the most popular high-end light, in my opinion.
After a few months, it really started to grow in:
I fell in love with Blyxa. I don't think I'll ever NOT use it in a scape. It's so easy to grow, so clean and versatile, and very easy to manage.
The Valisneria, on the other hand... sucked. Most notably, somehow I got a species that despite the wide leaf size, never grew very long?? It also started spreading runners directly under the 120lb main stone. I had to rip out runners every week, and it started to want to take over the tank.
Another few weeks later:
I was so scared of fertilizers. I was still fighting the idea that "nutrients cause algae" in my head, and the blyxa began to turn red. My nitrates bottomed out, and I got some CRAZY blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) that began taking over the entire surface. Once I finally researched and understood that this bacteria can likely fix N2 from the atmosphere as a source of N when in N-limited environments (using the existing P that the plant's can use due to Leibig's Law), I knew how to treat it. I dosed with UltraLife Blue Green Slime Remover, manually removed as much as I could, and started dosing NO3... and what do you know, it went away and never returned again.
In this Version 1 tank, I was rocking two modified Oase Biomaster 850 filters. They were 850 head units, on 600 bodies.
I ran ZERO biological media, only 60ppi sponges in the prefilters, 40ppi sponges in the second highest basket, and Seachem Purigen in the top basked in both filters. They were mostly empty, and helping prove my belief that in low-bioload planted tanks, we just don't really NEED biological media. The filters are there to create flow, distribute oxygen and CO2, and mechanically scrub fine particles out of the water (and then in cleaning the prefilters, act as organic-nutrient export). If you have questions about Biomaster Filters, please ask me anything. I have used every combination of parts, version 1 and version 2, in every way possible. I know them like the back of my hand and I love to help!
The ATO (auto top off) reservoir brought RO water to the tank via Oase Optimax 560 pump. I genuinely believe these are the best pumps on the market, and I've tested a LOT. Usually quiet, multi-year warranty, and super powerful and customizable.
The water level was monitored by two black GHL Float Switches that I attached to a DIY 3d printed bracket:
The ATO functions use each sensor for redundancy, monitored and programmed by the amazing GHL ProfiLux 4 Controller. The ATO reservoir itself has 1/4" RO line Leak Protection Valves drilled into the bottom panel of the stand in case the float valve inside the reservoir ever fails.
Cleaning the 60PPI sponges in the prefilters was part of weekly maintenance, but took about 5 minutes in the kitchen sink and could not have been easier. My water was extremely clear:
The end of Version 1:
What you don't see, is that after 5 months I began to get insane algae issues. Specifically, algae was suddenly rampant on the blyx and the vals. The crypt parva was killed off by the algae. It was a short, filamentous algae, but most importantly, I noticed my plants were no longer growing or pearling. I now know, it's because the plants simply didn't get what they needed.
I have since learned a new perspective on the hobby... Stop trying to avoid algae, and start focusing on growing plants. Healthy plants do not get algae. Understand Leibig's Law, non-limiting fertilized environments (either from aquasoil, liquid ferts, or fish waste), and learn to use calculators like Rotala Butterfly. If you get this balance down, the worst algae you'll have to deal with is GDA, the "aquascaper's algae", on your hardscape or glass. I wish I knew this before the algae took over this tank.
Removing the 120lb rock was genuinely terrifying. My wife had to get her rain boots on, stand INSIDE the aquarium, and squat-lift the rock over the rim to me, then I had to cradle it as she dropped it into my arms and guide it down to the bucket on a dolly to take it outside. Pics do NOT do this rock justice, it is HUGE. And it cost at least $300...
Saving it for future scapes!
Could I have saved this tank? Cleaned the algae, trimmed the plants, started focusing on growing healthy plants instead of chasing gimmicks and misunderstanding fertilizers, causing algae?? Absolutely. But without my current new understanding about actual fertilizers and focus on growing healthy plants, I would have continued to create nutrient-limited environments, and the alage would have simply come back again. Plus, it had been 8 months, and I was ready for a change and a new challenge, one with WAY more plants...
A few final pictures and videos for the Version 1 Riverscape:
Started with 2 Biomaster 850 heads on 250 bodies (foam only, no biological media). Many don't know you can mix and match these filters and their parts to make one that works for you! The 250 body size was great because it meant I could get to the prefilters without removing the filters from the stand. However, I wanted something with more flow and simpler setup. I've also had great success with two tanks in a row running zero biological media (only sponges/prefilters), so I'm currently using only a Netlea Prefilter G1 before an Oase Optimax 1420 pump. My entire filter setup for this 140-gallon tank is just a prefilter with a super fine sponge, and a super powerful 1,420gph pump! My water is crystal clear, not sure if I even need purigen anymore. Time will tell if it continues to work, but so far so good! Plus the Netlea Prefilter is super easy to use and clean.
I think filters in a planted, biologically active/mature tank are only important for flow, oxygenation via surface agitation, CO2 distribution, and manual removal of waste particles. We might not even need bio media in low-bioload tanks (my fish are small, ok?).
I also run the same Oase 350 Skimmer that I ran on Version 1 of this tank. I'm convinced it is the best skimmer for large tanks if you know how to set it up properly!. The skimmer is on a timer to prevent shrimp and fish deaths.
Heater/temp:
None! This is a colder setup. It stays between 67-72F in our living room. Fish are chosen appropriately (White Clouds, Rainbow Shiners, cooler Corys, CPDs, SAEs, Otos, and Panda Garras).
CO2 setup:
CO2 comes on 4 hours before the lights do to fully saturate my water to 30-40ppm CO2 before the photoperiod. This is because I run a TON of surface agitation and don't inject as aggressively as I could, so it takes a while for it to reach 30-40ppm. Once it gets there, it remains there in balance between injection and offgassing for about 7 hours, before turning off for the last ~1.5 hours of the photoperiod. I have NEVER seen plants pearl like this before. I am convinced, again, that having CO2 injection reach a high point earlier in the photoperiod is FAR better for our plants (See my thread here on why you're probably not starting CO2 injection early enough).
This is all using the large-size 10cm diameter, 65cm long Aqua Rocks Colorado Acrylic Horizontal Yugang Reactor (see my full thread here). Runs perfectly, so unproblematic. The dual-stage/gauge CO2 regulator I bought from @Bettatail has a great Swagelok needle valve with markings for fine adjustments. I also use a GHL pH probe with my ProfiLux computer to take chart readings of my pH to determine how long it takes for me to reach 30-40ppm CO2, and when it hits equilibrium between injection and offgassing. I will forever use horizontal reactors on large tanks, never going back to diffusers!
I use a Dwyer RMA-150-SSV Flowmeter to monitor my actual amount of CO2 injection, as well as make CO2 canister swaps easier to dial in once changed. I run this at about 40cc/min on the flowmeter consistently. If I increase my surface agitation by raising my outflow pipe, I might increase it to 43 or 45cc/min. This isn't calibrated to anything, it's just "relative" to itself. I'm sure it's not actually 40cc/min, but it gives me a relative standard that has been amazing. I will also forever use flowmeters on large tanks, never going back to bubble counters or anything else!
Lights:
Two SKylight Hyperspot FM, running for 8 hours per day, between 80 to 100% power.
Substrate:
Nearly 11 bags of ADA Amazonia V2 (I will never do this again $$$) finished with an extra few bags of UNS Controsoil brown. I really wish I didn't use the brown controsoil... the dark Amazonia clashed with the light brown until it grew in.
I change about 60% water each week, and front load the primary and secondary macros. I remineralize the new incoming RO water to: 15-20ppm NO3, 6-10ppm PO4, 30-40ppm K total, as well as 20-25ppm Ca, and 5-8ppm Mg.
Note: What gave me success was finally understanding Liebig's Law; plants simply cannot grow if they are limited in any single nutrient, even if presented with others in excess. Whether it comes from your soil, root tabs, liquid ferts, tap water or animal waste, you cannot create limited environments--algae will grow on your plants. Plants with algae are not healthy or happy. Algae on the glass and hardscape is fine, but if you have algae-covered plants, or if your plants arent pearling (co2/light dependent), or if your plants aren't growing, you are 99% likely bottoming out on some important nutrient. I have never had a high energy tank as algae-free as this one, despite the fact that I've also never dosed this much fertilizer into one tank before.
DO focus on growing plants, DON'T focus on avoiding growing algae. If you grow healthy plants, the only algae you'll get is on your hardscape or glass (for the most part ).
Back to the dojo at ARC. Their hardscape is unbeatable. I'm so lucky to live so close.
In the tank with some modifications. secured with a few rocks below, liquid superglue, and paper towel sprinkled with crushed aquasoil to hide it. Dark Start: No lights, garbage bags taped around, no CO2, only filter with some initial mature bio media to jumpstart the cycle. ADA Amazonia V2 puts out soooo much ammonia in the beginning... a dark start should be required. I let it cycle for about 3 weeks before the ammonia readings were zero. I also had a heater running to increase the biological activity. Planting: Almost all plants I didn't already have came from Aquarium Plants Factory, the only "big store" who has good plants at reasonable prices. A few later additions came from users here!
Foreground:
Dwarf Hairgrass Mini
Staurogyne repens
Hydrocotyle verticillata (the parasol/mushroom/flower looking plant)
Midground:
Alternanthera reineckii mini
Blyxa japonica
Pogostemon deccanensis (planted diagonally between front and back wood)
Planting took two sessions over two days. I prepared and planted over 200 plugs of the mini DHG... that alone took about 6 hours in all!
I removed basically all the emersed leaves on the AR mini when planting. They recovered great and had fewer algae-covered emersed leaves to die off. I ended up doing the same with the Java Ferns once they showed signs of putting out their first new leaves.
I glued the Monte Carlo with superglue gel like a moss.
In the back, I made as many propagation cuts from the stem plants I received as possible. You can take 1 long stem, trim it to have a few nodes in each section, and plant them separately to grow new roots and shoots (as long as you plant them the right direction). I don't think many beginners know you can do this, but it really helps save on cost, promote new submersed growth, and helps plant super densely from the start.
I also tied moss with ADA moss cotton, as well as superglued the moss with Gorilla Glue gel. Meaning, I took pads of moss, added a dab of superglue gel, brought the moss underwater, and pushed it into the driftwood. The super glue gel forms an inert "skin" as soon as it touches the water. I also don't think many aquascapers know that you can do this without toxicity or issue to a filled tank. It's how many reef keepers have been attaching their corals for decades!
7 days later, all the plants have some sign of new growth. I fertilized with 0.05ppm fe daily via auto doser, and added about 20ppm K per week at first (the aqua soil provided the other nutrients needed initially). Lights are set to 50%, increasing by 10-20% per week after planting.
The razed AR Mini putting out new growth. Note how good the mini DHG looks from APF. Would recommend! Plenty of mold on the driftwood.
Monte Carlo and pygmy buce (soon to be swallowed by the Monte Carlo lol)
Moss tied with Moss Cotton thread and superglue. SO much mold on this driftwood! I scraped it and vacuumed it out to prevent excess organic nutrients as it decayed. It was the worst I've ever seen on driftwood before.
Background stem propagations showing new growth.
Heres a GREAT example of what I mean by propagating stems. You can see the old emersed-growth stems that I chopped into 2-3" sections. They look like topped tree trunks, putting out new emersed growth.
2.5 months after planting, time for a serious trim!
Plants are finally starting to fill in. I also started seeing some algae on the driftwood, glass, and some BBA in the moss.
Blyxa, S repens, H Verticillata and AR mini growing in
Despite sitting at or near 40ppm CO2 injection, fish are happy as can be and CPDs are constantly showing breeding behavior.
2 Weeks Later:
Trimmed plants are coming back bushier than ever. Added some Pilo Moss. Hydrocotyle putting out runners, Monte Carlo going bonkers. Some algae on the oldest AR mini and S. repens leaves.
Look at the pearling. I need to emphasize, I am NOT injecting CO2 via diffuser. The bubbles are oxygen!
~3 Months after planting:
Couldn't figure out why I was getting crazy Green Spot and Green Dust algae, until I realized I wasn't dosing enough PO4.
I was STILL fighting the idea of "Phosphates cause algae!!", so I didn't dose 'too much'. The plants stopped pearling as much, grew some algae on the leaves, and GSA appeared on the glass and leaves.
At this point, I switched to the Netlea Prefilter and Oase Pump (essentially getting removing the last of my "traditional" canister filters), running only 1 dense-sponge prefilter and a 1,400GPH pump for the tank's circulatory system.
I DOUBLED the dose of PO4, closer to 10ppm per week, and saw a quick rebound. In fact, adding this much Phosphate is just what my tank needed...
3.5 Months after planting:
The increase in NO3, PO4, and K dosing finally led to healthy plants and got rid of algae. The only algae left is on the oldest of leaves, which should be trimmed anyway. Focus on growing healthy plants, stop trying to avoid algae!
The carpet is fully grow in. The mini DHG has been the least problematic of all the plants!
The Pogo deccanensis needs a trim/shape badly. I want it to slope towards the back, but it's currently a wall lol.
The photos do NOT do the Monte Carlo masses justice. They are almost 8" across, trailing 6-7" downwards. They are EATING everything in their path and pearl like crazy.
Algae-free plants despite HEAVY fertilizer dosing.
LOOK at that pearling!
This is all I've been running for filtration for about 3 weeks now... a small G1 Netlea Prefilter (super easy to remove and clean!!), and an Oase Optimax 1420gph inline pump. Water is incredibly clear, the gas pocket in the horizontal reactor doesn't build up as much, and is super easy to remove with the built-in quick disconnects, clean in the sink, and return to the aquarium. There is more flow from this 1 pump setup than using BOTH modified Biomaster 850 filters with very little media. The pump is even quieter than the filters were lol.
The small white device is a water leak detector. I have tons of them placed inside and around all of my aquariums. Peace of mind!
Thank you for reading! Looking forward to updating more here. Please let me know what questions or comments you have!
Beautiful tank and great write-up! Stellar idea to mix and match Biomaster parts. I have one under my 125 gallon, and the difficulty of accessing the prefilters is a big pet peeve.
I quit using Purigen years ago. It didn’t make sense to be adding nitrogen while using something that would be stripping it back out (or is that a misconception?). I also mostly rely on sponges, and leave several compartments empty for better flow. I have an 8 gallon that doesn’t even use a filter. I think bio-filtration is really most useful when initially cycling a tank, but once the tank matures there’s enough beneficial bacteria in the substrate and surfaces, that it’s really not needed in the filter.
I use a Dwyer RMA-150-SSV Flowmeter to monitor my actual amount of CO2 injection, as well as make CO2 canister swaps easier to dial in once changed. I run this at about 40cc/min on the flowmeter consistently. If I increase my surface agitation by raising my outflow pipe, I might increase it to 43 or 45cc/min. This isn't calibrated to anything, it's just "relative" to itself. I'm sure it's not actually 40cc/min, but it gives me a relative standard that has been amazing. I will also forever use flowmeters on large tanks, never going back to bubble counters or anything else!
Under standard condition, the general Dwyer flowmeter correction factor for co2 is 0.8, but due to precision margin of the specific instrument model and different flow range, the correction factor is slightly off.
--Aalborg high precision mass flow meter use CO2 correction factor 0.72-0.73 for flow rate below 100 cc/m, and 0.79 for more than 1000 cc/m.
so I think if you use co2 correction factor as 0.8 is ok, without creating the actual calibration data sheet through measurement.
40cc/min reading on the Dwyer RMA150 is about 40X0.8, = 32 cc/m,
32 SCCM actual CO2 flow rate.
Thanks! Of course sponges provide some bio filtration, what I mean is that I have zero dedicated bio media besides sponges.
I've had some fish in it! You can see em in the photos and videos. White Clouds, Rainbow Shiners, Panda Garras, Otos, SAEs, and CPDs as well as wild type colored Neocaridinia, amano shrimp, and a few pond snails.
I really want to like rainbow shiners, but they are the most jumpy fish I've ever seen. I've lost half of them to jumping, so I'm trying to find them a new home where they can have a lid. Still LOVE white clouds (most underrated fish IMO), and panda garras are absolutely my new favorite bottom/algae eater.
Your tank is so inspiring and I am hoping my 120U UNS that's going to be in my office in my new house will be 30% as amazing as what you have.
That's amazing the pre filter is your only mechanical filtration now. Is the inline pump louder than the oase canister was? I'm thinking about the 850 BM2 for my 120U tank.
I'm also thinking of buying that same @Yugang reactor for my tank from aquarocks but now I'm considering the small, even though that might be significantly underdosing CO2, seeing how big the large size is and that it could be used for up to a 180cm, which is wild.
Also I love white clouds, and they've been my surviving species in my walstad tank and I'd love a huge school of them.
What's your advice for properly setting up the skimmer?
Thanks again for the inspiration1
also thinking of buying that same @Yugang reactor for my tank from aquarocks but now I'm considering the small, even though that might be significantly underdosing CO2, seeing how big the large size is and that it could be used for up to a 180cm, which is wild.
I just physically removed the monte carlo masses altogether, trimmed a center portion, added a dab of gel superglue, and stuck them back into the driftwood smaller this time (spoiler, they grow back even larger):
Time to shape them up a bit!:
I wish I trimmed the Rotatla Green even more, as well as the front monte carlo patch. AR Mini is soooo unatractive when trimmed, but grows back so much denser. The random few stems of Rotala Indica Bonsai in the front right 1/3rd totally took off and I love how they look, see below:
17 Days later:
The hydrocotyle is out of control. I'm hoping I don't regret adding it. Otherwise, plants are mostly healthy, except I noticed the new hydrocotyle leaves twisting... and the rotala leaves had a bit of algae on twisted leaves... I had just tested the end-of-week NPK with all 3 salifert test kits to make sure I hadn't bottomed out (this tank needs about 18 GRAMS of KNO3 per week minimum right now), and I was good. This all led me to think that my Micros were having an issue.
I took a look and my micro bottle, which should have been near-empty, was half filled. I think the chihiros in-line doser has completely clogged. I'm just going to run a micros line up the back of the tank, and design and 3d print a tiny holder to keep it like an overhanging drip line in the tanks (this is what I've done in other tanks that don't have the chihiros in-line doser adapter.
What a shame! The doser adapter is super cool:
but it just doesn't seem to work. It's VERY clogged up right now with my micros solution. I don't want another in-line device to clean, so the in-line dosing adapter is a 0/5 for me at the moment.
Your tank is awesome. I love the randomness of the Hydrocotyle. It makes it more natural. Yeah, I know you don't want it to take over, but it looks great now IMO.
Tanks like yours inspire me to keep trudging along with mine.
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