55 River manifold / HMF tank build.

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happypoet

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I've been a busy guy this MLK day!

I'll put some specific info about the PVC works in the DIY sub-forum.

This is probably not going to be the final set-up. I'm going to move one of the two powerheads (THANK YOU, PLATY! YOU'RE THE BEST!) down several inches. There will be the Rena output and input situated accordingly, and then the mattenfilter will go in front of all of the inputs. I'm doing the mattenfilter for two reasons.

1. It's a neat concept, and I'm more interested in experimenting and having fun than having perfect aesthetics.

2. My panda garras (if I can get lucky enough to spawn them) and Sewellia both release eggs into the current. I'm hoping some eggs will make their way through the semi-porous mattenfilter (it'll be 20 ppi) and then hatch in the little area behind it. The intakes of the Rena and powerheads will be encased in very fine 45 ppi foam, so not much will get through them other than water (I realize I am wasting the filtration capacity of the Rena. But it came with the tank, it'll be good additional water flow, and I can add chem if need be with it). Thus, the several inches behind the mattenfilter will be a little fry safe-haven. This is why I added the high-up horizontal intakes rather than the standard vertical pipes. They're 8 inches long, so there won't be as high flow/inch, and the lower regions shouldn't be too crazy flow-wise.
All of this is a novel concept, so we'll see! I e-mailed the very friendly and helpful Stephan Tanner at Swiss Tropicals (from whom I am getting my Poret Mattenfilter), and he thinks I may very well succeed. We shall see! I'll update a bunch in the coming weeks as I get this off the ground.

All of my fish from my 20 long will go in here, and I'll keep much of the same aesthetic.

(and no, that's not where the tank will be long-term)
 
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Oct 31, 2009
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Can't wait for pictures :). I know they will be great!
 

happypoet

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Well, so much for a "build thread." I didn't really take any pics while building at all. It was exhausting, but it's done! It has 4 gooseneck clamp lights from Lowe's. Each has a 13W 6500K CFL that claims the equivalent of 60W per. Looking at it, there's no way it has 240W of light, but it definitely is a lot brighter than last night when I had 70W of T8 lighting on it. As you'll notice, the powerheads aren't in there at the moment. I had to remove them and reseal them to their PVC housing. The glue didn't do enough, and this morning bits of plants were stuck in there, indicating it was drawing water from where it nested, rather than through the manifold. They are curing with silicone at the moment. When I get them back, I'll put up a vid showing the current, which is pretty astounding. The fish seem to really like it. Aesthetically, this is very similar to my 20 Long. It'll look nicer as algae grows in. The fish love the nooks and crannies, so I have lots of little rocks. I'd prefer it more spare, but if my fish are happy, so am I.

Stocking is: Stiphodons: ornatus, atratus, & "orange-fin" (sadly, my semoni disappeared on me), Panda Garras, Reticulated Hillstream Loaches, Australian Desert Gobies, 1 Rhinogobius Rubromaculatus, a few Cory Habrosus (leftover from my old tank. I couldn't bear to part with them), White Cloud Mountain Minnows, Blue Pearl Shrimp.

Full Tank!


The hidden bit:I'll adhere this more artfully soon. Magnets, maybe.


Behind the curtain:

Overhead: I really like watching them like this.


Male Australian Desert Goby


Female:


My red-nosed blue pearl shrimp population is doing fine:


Plain-Nosed!


A better-colored shrimp with a Rainbow Stiphodon (sp. ornatus)


Sewellia:



Panda Garras: I LOVE these fish. They are very gregarious.


Eating some Repashy:


Rubro: He's very camera-shy




White-Clouds:


Oh, FishyCat woulda loved this one.



That's all for now. Video coming soon.

th_NewRiver003.jpg th_NewRiver018.jpg th_NewRiver008.jpg th_NewRiver013.jpg th_NewRiver026.jpg th_NewRiver024.jpg th_NewRiver034.jpg th_NewRiver039.jpg th_NewRiver041.jpg th_NewRiver012.jpg th_NewRiver002.jpg th_NewRiver006.jpg th_NewRiver007.jpg th_NewRiver046.jpg th_NewRiver040.jpg th_NewRiver035.jpg th_NewRiver036.jpg NewRiver003.jpg
 
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platytudes

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Incredible! Your fish pics look fantastic...these fish must be kind of still, right? Because there is no way I could ever get that sort of clarity with no blurring whatsoever if I were photographing my fish ;) You should give yourself a big pat on the back, there!

If I were trying to hide a part of the tank like that, I'd probably cut up some bamboo placemats to fit and attach them to the trim with Velcro. I have tons of those things and they are very serviceable. They cut easily with heavy duty scissors.

I was very surprised to find that 4x 10 watt 6,500k bulbs produced MUCH more visible light than 2x HO T5 bulbs (108 watts total). I am getting a lot more brown algae with the new lighting setup, but I got a little rubberlip plec that is going to town on it!
 
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