GreggZ's Planted Rainbow Tank

[Greggz]

I currently have a 120 gallon (5ft) Rainbow fish tank with low tech plants. I have made the mistake of following Jay’s Planted 180g Tank thread. So after putting it off for years, I am going to attempt to go high tech with pressurized CO2.

My goal is not to have the full blown undersea magical world like Jay created, but to be able to keep a wider variety of plants and have more growth. You could say a fish tank with plants, rather than a planted tank with fish.

So here’s where I am today.

120 gallon 60x18x26

2 Aruba Sun Retrofit Fixtures mounted inside top of canopy (4x54W T5HO)

SMD 3528 Waterproof 300 LED’s on dimmer used for morning/night viewing

LED Moonlights

2 Rena XP3, Output to spray bars angled up 45 degrees

2 Hydor Inline heaters, 2 AC 30 Powerheads, 2 Hydor Koralia Evolution Circulation Pumps

Here’s a video I took recently that shows where I am now:

For those that might be interested, I also built the stand, which was a thread here a couple of years ago:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/threads/120-diy-oak-stand-canopy-build.270233/

So everything is ordered, and I plan to update this thread as things progress. I already pulled out most of my old plants, and am going to start over pretty much new.

Optimistically hoping for the best, but prepared for some stumbles along the way.

I’ll post again when everything arrives. Wish me luck. I feel like I really have no idea what I am doing. Any and all help/ideas will be appreciated.

 

[JAY973]

Subscribed, I'm tagging along for the ride =)

 

[Greggz]

Well, good news. My GLA PRO CO2 system arrived today. I already ran out and got it filled up.


The thing is, I'm really not fully ready for it. I also purchased a Filstar XP-XL (Rena XP-4) which isn't here yet. My plan is to run it in addition to my two Rena XP-3's. I'm only going to run sponges and bio media (no fine filter floss) and use it as a reactor. I bought two Y hose splitters, and will run two inputs and two outputs to/from the filter. At least that is my plan.

Plan B is to build a DIY reactor, but first we'll see how this goes first.

In the meantime, I have it up and running, and just put the output into a power head. Just couldn't wait to at least see it making some bubbles.

 

[Rbishop]

Awesome looking fish/tank!

 

[FreshyFresh]

Way cool.

 

[SnakeIce]

How big are those rainbows? They make the tank look not as big as it is, so that made me wonder.

 

[Greggz]

How big are those rainbows? They make the tank look not as big as it is, so that made me wonder.

The largest Rainbows are over 8 years old and 5" to 6" in length. There are 23 total Rainbows, but some max out at only 3" or so. There's also the loaches, Denison Barbs, and a few Rams.

 

[Greggz]

Been very busy but have a few things going on now. I can see this is going to be a long process.

Here's the important parts of step one:



The Rena XP4 will be the CO2 reactor. The Y connectors will allow for two inflows/outflows (one each corner of the 5ft tank). The in line diffuser will be the method of getting the CO2 into the input line. I removed the guts, as I don't want to clean the diffuser. I just wanted the 5/8" inline housing.



The plastic connectors were all replaced later by steel ones, but you get the idea. I painted the blue Rena parts black, so they should up less against my black painted background.



It took a lot longer than expected, because of my puppy helper.


Here's how it looks now inside the cabinet.



I pulled out a bunch of my old plants, and put some new ones in, but I haven't really had time to do much. The drop checker goes from blue in the morning to green, so I guess there is some CO2 getting in there.

As I really don't know what I am doing, I'm not overly confident things will go well. At the least I expect to face a learning curve, and expect some bumps in the road as I try to figure this out. I'll try to get a tank shot later.

 

[Greggz]

A quick update. Finally took a "before" picture. More plants coming soon.


Some observations. Injecting the CO2 into the Rena XP4 seems to be working. Drop checker goes to a nice lime green, and haven't seen any bubbles at all. So far, so good.

Also, the few plants I have right now are responding well. Showing growth and color. It will be interesting to see how things go once I get the next batch in.

Even more importantly, the fish don't seem to be bothered so far. I can see it will be a balancing act, and am keeping a close eye on them.

 

[Rbishop]

Looking good!