Question of the Day What's next for your tank?

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What is next for your planted aquarium?
We all love to tinker and keep improving.

What's the next thing you have planned for your tank?

I'm thinking about:
  • Adding a couple of metal U adapters for my dosing tubes as they are kinking and causing some issues;
  • Adding a CO2 flow meter so I can better fine tune my CO2 addition;
  • "Tough love" trimming and removal of emersed growth

What's up next for you?
 
Debating if i wanna set up my auto doser or not and hook it up to the hydros controller.

Main issue is that the room my tank is in can be in the upper 80s and Im not sure if my fert solution can handle that lol

If I do set it up I havent decided to dose at the sump or the display tank
 
Last edited:
SingAlongWithTsing said:
Debating if i wanna set up my auto doser or not and hook it up to the hydros controller.

Main issue is that the room my tank is in can be in the upper 80s and Im not sure if my fert solution can handle that lol

If I do set it up I havent decided to dose at the sump or the display tank
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My auto doser not only handles dosing while I'm away, it provides consistency even when I'm home. This removes my lack of daily predictability out of the equation. I don't know about the heat but I would definitely try to set it up and dose into the sump. A high-flow area of it so mixing is done well.
 
Art said:
WOW! We definitely need to see pictures of that. Have you set up a build thread for it?
Click to expand...
Not far enough - big effort just to get substrate in and check for leaks. It is @ house being built so no one lives there yet so harder to do routine stuff you might do if actually there 24/7. I'll try to get a picture of it with substrate and filled - hopefully some drift wood and rocks will be added this week and a few plants and test fish friday or sunday. Got this pesty female angel i need to sep so she will do - and maybe one of my L206 - see where things are during the week.
 
Ok. Here is the picture of a 550 (10ft long 4ft wide):
b3.jpg
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The windows will have shades in about 2 weeks. Dealing with an aquarium this large has new challenges - a huge piece of drift wood looks tiny - taking a picture is not as simple as standing in front with an ultra wide angel lens as you need like a fish eye - the sides are 4 feet and I'll retake a picture of that view looking through the side once the shades are up right now there is too much reflection. On the other side of the room i only had room for an 8x4 but i have a 4x4 next to the 8x4. Hum. A lot of work setting this thing up and working out the kinks but i need it running so i can move my fishes from their current home. Basically everything in my 120 will get split between the 450 and 550.
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As for the back - well i expect to make the aquarium look like this:
festy.jpg
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But with the extra depth i expect full plant coverage in the back so the plumbing should eventually become invisible.
 
On the opposite end of tank sizes, I just impulse purchased a nano hang-on canister filter (with exceptional engrish decals!) for my 5-gallon that I’m pleasantly surprised with. Solved my dilemma of surface skimming such a small tank.

F991988D-022F-4D9F-8D6F-764F2ED9C788.jpeg
AE467B10-9533-420B-ADB3-9DF985F46CC6.jpeg
3654B8A6-B244-44E0-A6B3-9F155B4EF286.jpeg

Now the decision is between purchasing a Week Aqua M400/S400 Pro to replace the Hygger 957 on the 5 gallon, or swap the M450 Pro from the 10 gallon and replace it with a Z200. And yes, I’m aware both options are grossly excessive overkill. I enjoy a challenge.
 
Great looking filter! I think small hand ons are underrated in the hobby.

That will be a LOT of light for such a small tank. You do like a challenge!
 
Art said:
We all love to tinker and keep improving.

What's the next thing you have planned for your tank?
Click to expand...
I’ve been thinking about this question for a while, but having trouble thinking of what I can do next.
I really like to tinker and loved setting up my tanks plus solving the varius problems that cropped up. But right now everything is going smoothly, there is little room for more plants, both tanks are fully stocked with healthy fish, water changes and maintenance are a breeze and I just can’t think of any other equipment to add!

I can see this being a problem when the cold wet fall/winter season hits and I have too much indoor down time on my hands, lol : )
 
*Ci* said:
But right now everything is going smoothly, there is little room for more plants, both tanks are fully stocked with healthy fish, water changes and maintenance are a breeze and I just can’t think of any other equipment to add!
Click to expand...
This is a luxury problem when aquarists gain the knowledge to do things right. It's a blessing but also difficult because now there is little "tinkering" necessary.

When we're in the thick of battle with plants and algae, we dream of the joy of just observing a beautiful tank. That becomes the goal. But, then we get there and become anxious that there isn't enough for us to do. :)
 
180g tank - Time for a DEEP clean. The substrate has never been thoroughly vacuumed in this tank for........ take a deep breath...... a decade. I'm virtually certain many of my current issues with this tank stem from that, no pun intended. It's going to take a few hours. I plan on a complete teardown, fish removal, and then thoroughly blast the substrate and suck it out again with a garden hose. Most likely this will cause some evil for a short while, but overall it should really help.

150g tank - Time to plant it! The best part. When I tear down the 180g, I'll transfer a good quantity of the crypts and anubias to this new setup. All of the hard work is done now. Time to get the plants in and fire up the CO2, program the lights, start fertilizing, and watch it all happen. Then a few fish. Then, once everything is nice and steady, DISCUS!
 
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