Journal UNS 45T Nature Style-Inspired High Tech Build

[ample]

I picked up a UNS 45T secondhand and decided to set up a high tech, NA-inspired triangular layout. Aiming to keep this relatively low maintenance.

For the cabinet, I ordered a SUNDSO cabinet from IKEA. It's a stylish black indoor-outdoor cabinet made of galvanized steel but extremely flimsy, with all of the panels warping at the slightest touch. I built a simple lumber frame from 2x2s and 1/4" plywood to go inside. Although it's not tied into the cabinet, the frame measurements have so little tolerance that it is solid and reinforces the cabinet perfectly with no torquing or lateral movements. This cabinet is ideal because the shelving and bottom panels can be omitted from the installation without compromising the assembly of the walls, so I was able to insert the lumber frame inside and transfer all of the load directly onto the floor. The other major benefit of this cabinet was the adjustable feet, which made it easy to achieve perfect contact between the top of the lumber frame and the inside of the cabinet. Essentially, the cabinet acts as an aesthetic shell that fits over a much more structurally sound stand. The only other modification made was to drill holes in the side and back panels for plumbing and electrical wiring. The sharp holes were fitted with 3D printed grommets.

Equipment:

• Tank: UNS 45T
• Filtration: Oase Filtosmart Thermo 100, FZone stainless steel inlet/outlet pipes with surface skimmer
• Lighting: Chihiros WRGB II 10th Edition 45cm
• CO2: 5 lb cylinder, FZone budget regulator, FZone inline CO2 diffuser

Cabinet and equipment close-up

Layout
The goal is a triangular peninsula layout with lots of negative space. In the past I have done much more hardscape-heavy layouts with way too many plant species, so I'm trying a slightly more minimalist feel with mostly epiphytes and mosses.


Final layout. Spiderwood and some stone whose name I can't remember. The majority were very geometric and cuboid, so what you see are the most organic looking pieces I could find in the bin. Substrate is Fluval Stratum and UNS Controsoil which will be added after planting.

Plant list, if sourcing works out

• Java fern trident
• Ludwigia arcuata
• S. repens
• Hydrocotyle japan
• Buce lamandau mini purple + other mixed buce
• Anubias nana petite
• Riccardia chamedryfolia
• Christmas or weeping moss

Inspiration
Heavily inspired by this aquascape by Rachel Ellis for Horizon Aquatics.


Other inspiration comes from JJ Aquarium




The tank is currently filled and in a dark start with some seeded media while we wait for the light to arrive. Chihiros halts business during the entire month of Chinese New Year so it hasn't shipped yet.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Looks awesome, great job with the cabinet, too!

 

[BranchScape]

Great cabinet and clean setup, very impressed with the clean addition of holes and mounting. Also jealous you could build the hardscape at ADG. What substrate are you using for the non planted section? This looks very cool.

 

[ample]

Thanks. ADG is incredible and I’m sad to see the retail side closing permanently. I’m new to the area so I haven’t explored all of the local shops, but there’s a robust community out here. Will probably be visiting the new 360 Aquatics location that just opened up.

We did all of the DIY with just a power drill. For drilling such thin metal, all we needed was a step drill bit which we bought off Amazon for less than $10. Worked surprisingly well. I have some UNS Controsand for the foreground that will be added after planting.

 

[BranchScape]

Awesome and I am sad as well. I planned on going this year. Hoping I can call in a semi bulk hardscape order and pick it up and just check the gallery.

 

[techman81]

Thanks. ADG is incredible and I’m sad to see the retail side closing permanently.

Wow, this is the first I've heard of this. I was also planning a trip there this spring to check out the gallery and also perhaps bring home some hardscape. Looks like the end of this month is it.

 

[ample]

Wow, this is the first I've heard of this. I was also planning a trip there this spring to check out the gallery and also perhaps bring home some hardscape. Looks like the end of this month is it.

The gallery will probably still be worth a trip. I can’t personally vouch for them yet, but 360 Aquatics just moved to a huge location and from the photos I’ve been following, it seems like they’re going to have a very large selection of hardscape along with plants and fish. I plan on checking it out in the next couple of weeks.

 

[techman81]

The gallery will probably still be worth a trip. I can’t personally vouch for them yet, but 360 Aquatics just moved to a huge location and from the photos I’ve been following, it seems like they’re going to have a very large selection of hardscape along with plants and fish. I plan on checking it out in the next couple of weeks.

Checked out the 360 Aquatics FB page and it does look quite impressive. It sounds like they plan to start selling online as well later this year. Maybe a trip to see the gallery in a few months and then a stop by their store.

 

[ample]

Officially planted. A few comments:

• Buying local rules. Bought from a guy who grows everything submerged except for the buce, so I don’t have to deal with the absurd transition phase. Happy to share his contact for anyone interested.
• Too much buce— gonna give some back to the guy I bought it from but keeping it in the front of the tank for now.
• Would have liked more of the trident Java fern but my seller only had two portions.
• Waiting on Ludwigia arcuata stems to fill out the back
• Probably going to grab some more hydrocotyle tripartita from my other tank to fill out the substrate up front
• Only drained 70% of the water so gluing the moss to the stones was a pain. The smaller stones I was able to tie with vicryl thread.
• May get either cyperus helferi or crypt balansae for the back left corner for that trailing effect at the surface

My current plan is to run the Chihiros wrgb II 10th edition at 25% for a few days, then ramp it up by 5-10% every few days. 6 hour photo period to start with a half hour ramp up on either side. Dosing APT 3 from the start and running CO2 1 hr before lights on to 2 hrs before lights off.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

I wouldn't go with crypt balansae-- it gets HUGE! See this account's hillstream tank with 2 foot balansae leaves:



Instead, I'd check out Crypt spiralis ('regular' for green, 'red/tiger' for color).

This guy uses crypt spiralis 'red' and regular/green for background:

 

[ample]

I wouldn't go with crypt balansae-- it gets HUGE! See this account's hillstream tank with 2 foot balansae leaves:



Instead, I'd check out Crypt spiralis ('regular' for green, 'red/tiger' for color).

This guy uses crypt spiralis 'red' and regular/green for background:

You’re right I should probably go with crypt spiralis. Or maybe even a dwarf lily.

In other news, found an amano shrimp a good 10+ feet from the tank on my carpet this morning. I started with 7 and now have 2. Probably not for the worst since a tank this size definitely wouldn’t have supported that many adults, but still a bit sad.

 

[BranchScape]

You’re right I should probably go with crypt spiralis. Or maybe even a dwarf lily.

In other news, found an amano shrimp a good 10+ feet from the tank on my carpet this morning. I started with 7 and now have 2. Probably not for the worst since a tank this size definitely wouldn’t have supported that many adults, but still a bit sad.


View attachment 15447

I had 20 and now have about 5-10 in my 120P. I blamed my Angels and Keyholes but I think these suckers just like to jump too. No idea how some people have no jumpers.

 

[ample]

I had 20 and now have about 5-10 in my 120P. I blamed my Angels and Keyholes but I think these suckers just like to jump too. No idea how some people have no jumpers.

I had heard they were jumpers so I was frequently checking the side glass for any evidence of water drips but didn’t see any sign of jumping. I’m also surprised neither of my cats got him either. Guess I’ll be sticking to neocaridina.

 

[ample]

Made an annoying mistake that luckily only cost me a little time and convenience. It’s been about 10 yrs since I last had a CO2 injected tank, and I guess I forgot that I need to wrench tighten the regulator. I set up the CO2 about a month before I finally got planted, but noticed that the pressure was near 0 and the bottle was almost empty. Applied a little soapy water everywhere and couldn’t find any leaks, but I knew there had to have been one somewhere. I’m getting new washers today to be sure, but I’m fairly certain I just didn’t tighten the regulator connection enough.

Oh well, just refilled the 5# bottle today for $14 and asked them to fill to 800PSI.

To be honest, I intended to get the higher end FZone regulator but got this one secondhand from someone selling it along with the CO2 bottle. If I encounter more issues I’ll probably swap it out.

 

[Koan]

Leak test fails were my Achilles heel for years this really helped:

@Bettatail's step by step by step process of fully leak testing any CO2 regulator and it's post - body system

Complete Leak Check, CO2 pressurized system

CO2 is toxic in higher concentrations: 1% (10,000 ppm) will make some people feel drowsy.[7] Concentrations of 7% to 10% cause dizziness, headache, visual and hearing dysfunction, and unconsciousness within a few minutes to an hour ---make sure your house ventilation is good, or your system is...

www.plantedtank.net

 

[BranchScape]

I had heard they were jumpers so I was frequently checking the side glass for any evidence of water drips but didn’t see any sign of jumping. I’m also surprised neither of my cats got him either. Guess I’ll be sticking to neocaridina.

My cats let me know a fish jumped once by going on a alert but did not try to touch the fish. Nor did they seem to touch the shrimp I found. or the three fish I have had jump in the last 2 years, I find that once Amano's acclimate the jumping stops.

 

[Kwyet]

After finding one leak with the new regulator on my 75g and fixing it, I still wasn’t getting a good CO2 concentration in the water. It was working, but not as expected. Then I realized the tubing was more flexible than what I was using on the other tank. I had forgotten to use CO2 tubing instead of regular airline tubing. I read somewhere that it wouldn’t really make much difference, but as soon as I switched to CO2 tubing I didn’t have a problem anymore. Just something else to keep in mind.

 

[ample]

Leak test fails were my Achilles heel for years this really helped:

@Bettatail's step by step by step process of fully leak testing any CO2 regulator and it's post - body system

Complete Leak Check, CO2 pressurized system

CO2 is toxic in higher concentrations: 1% (10,000 ppm) will make some people feel drowsy.[7] Concentrations of 7% to 10% cause dizziness, headache, visual and hearing dysfunction, and unconsciousness within a few minutes to an hour ---make sure your house ventilation is good, or your system is...

www.plantedtank.net

Awesome resource. I bookmarked it. Thanks

 

[ample]

My cats let me know a fish jumped once by going on a alert but did not try to touch the fish. Nor did they seem to touch the shrimp I found. or the three fish I have had jump in the last 2 years, I find that once Amano's acclimate the jumping stops.

Found one of the two remaining Amanos dead during water change today. I added 3 neocaridina from another tank a couple of days ago that seem to be doing well. I’m itching to add a batch of pseudomugil luminatus, but they’re also notorious jumpers (had them in the past) and I’m just not confident that they’ll like the CO2 and pH swings. Maybe I’ll start with a honey gourami and see how it goes. Should be a little more forgiving too since it’s a labyrinth fish.

 

[ample]

• 

And that’s 1 week.

• Pretty much no diatoms so far (lengthy 1 month dark start seeded with established mulm— didn’t really get diatoms in my last dark start setup either)
• Almost no plant melt, but some of the buce might be starting to show signs of transition stress since it was grown emersed.
• Still dialing in CO2. Currently at 2bps 1 hr before lights on, now 2 hrs before lights off because drop checker was going yellow several hours before lights off. Might need to start earlier because the checker isn’t quite green at lights on.
• Light: Chihiros WRGB II 10th edition at 25% power. Probably going to leave it as is for another week before increasing. I absolutely love this light. The color rendering is gorgeous. I used to have a Twinstar E series on my last high tech tank years ago and this blows it out of the water.
• Dosing: 2mL APT 3 every other day
• Inhabitants: 1 amano shrimp, 3 red neos, 1 ramshorn snail

Goals for the coming weeks:

• Give back extra buce and plant the background with Ludwigia arcuata
• Add some detail stones/gravel to blend the hardscape
• Slowly stock with fish: pseudomugil luminatus, 1 honey gourami, and either a small group of harbors corydoras or sundadanio axelrodi
• Maybe add some cyperus helferi? Found some on Etsy and confirmed with the seller that it was grown submerged.
• Was initially set on getting a cabinet mounted hanging stand for the light from Liti Aquaria, but it’s still out of stock and at this point it seems like it’s more trouble than it’s worth.
• Eventually want some brownie ghost 2011 but not until the tank is well-established.

Overall, very happy with the progress so far. I just want to stay home from work and watch the tank all day.