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True, true....I finally got the assembly instructions faxed to me....man, they might as well be written in Swahilli....I'm soooo not mechanically inclined. Oh well, I'll figure it out I'm sure.

Another problem, has anyone seen the shipping for Eco-Complete??? I nearly fell out of my chair at work. Can't I possibly do half & half???? Pleeeease. It will cost more to ship the crap than it will to buy it. The best shipping price was dr. foster & smith, but the stuff is higher there.....of course.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

crazyred,

See it from this point: better bad luck right now than once the tank is set up .

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Thanks, this set-up would not be possible without y'alls help. I've already learned a lot before making some serious mistakes. I'm going to order the lights this week. I have hit a little snag.....hubby bought the tank stand for me yesterday and there were no instructions on how to assemble it in the box. ]:|]:|

I've got the phone number of the manufacturer, but getting a hold of them is proving a little difficult! ]:|]:|
Man, I have the worst luck!!!

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

My 55g is set up like yours, except for having one 48" light fixture. It never occured to me to get 2 separate ones. I agree that you should get the 48" one because it would just be easier when cleaning it or what not, to have to take only one fixture off. If that makes sense...
I also think you should get the mounting legs. I am seriously thinking about buying them now since I didn't when I got it. It would make it so much easier now because you could take the two glass tops off instead of everything. Good luck with your new setup!

*Kristin*

crazyred,

The carpet plant is Glosso, or Glossostigma elatinoides as it is really called. And yes, you should read the whole log to see all the things that went on so far to get the tank where it is now (and it is way not done ), but you better make sure you have a lot of time at hand . Work seems a good place to do so .

I have 4x96W on my tank, and I have 1/2 of it on for 11 hours and the other 1/2 comes on in the middle of the day for currently only 3 hours (still working on finding the right settings).

Hope this helps a little, have fun reading the log (sorry if it is a little off once in a while),

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Sounds great, and your tank looks totally awesome!!

BTW....how many WPG are you running on that tank? I love the carpet look of the plants on the bottom covering the substrate. What is that? How may plants did you have to put down to get that look. I love the "meadow" effect. Heck I should probably just break down and read the entire tank log ....Maybe when I go back to work tomorrow and have absolutely nothing to do. I love these tank logs and how helpful they are. I think I'm going to drag hubby to the store to get the tank stand today....I'm totally ready to start setting up!!

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

I had the same idea than you when I was considering the setup of my 72" tank.

After careful considerations and with the input of FP members (my thanks to Bob W) I decided on the full length unit and didn't come to regret it. [link=On this page in my Log]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Planted%20Aquaria/64425_37.html?200601020819" style="COLOR: #ff6633[/link] you can see a rare shot of the unit above the tank. I would suggest you pay the extra $7 or so to get the mounting legs as it gives the unit additional cooling when it doesn't sit on the glass directly. Also, this way you can remove the glass and mess with the tank without having to remove the unit. I use the legs even on my single 65W unit on my 29G.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Excellent site you guys....thanks for the heads up!

I have another question for anyone with a 55 set-up. My tank's top is split with a brace in the middle. It came with 2 covers 24" each and two light strips 24" each. So, question: should I go ahead and buy the 48" light which, I think, will lay all the way across the top (the brace in the middle is flat) or would it be better and easier to buy 2-24" strips. Either way the light wattage should stay the same (2 X 65 W) What do ya'll think?? There's not much difference in price.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

I just purchased a light from hellolights and so far they have had great service. I ordered late on the 23rd and because of the holiday was told that the product wouldn't ship until Tuesday the 27th which it did and I received it today which is the 30th. Well packaged as it was wrapped in bubble wrap, then packed in a oversize box with styrofoam peanuts to insure safe delivery. Very pleased so far. I also ordered a spare bulb (1/2 price if ordered with the fixture) as well as the legs for the light.

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

A suggestion on where to order the Coralife light fixture...if that is what you want:
http://www.hellolights.com/482xcofraq2x.html

I ordered mine from there. It is only about 10 bucks cheaper than the one from Big Als though. Shipping was $9.95. It comes with 2 65W 6700K bulbs. If you want to get an extra bulb (like 10000K), they are half price when you order the fixture. (I think my 10000K bulb was like $11). You can also add the mounting legs on the same page.
I thought it was a better deal because I wanted a 10000K bulb and bulbs at Big Al's are like $25.
My fixture came UPS. The fixture and the extra bulb were in separate packages and neither were broken.

Of course Big Als does have free shipping until Jan. 2 on orders over $50...if you are ordering soon.

*Kristin*

Okay, so I will go full Eco....geez my wallets getting thiner all the time!!

Anyway, I will take your advice LF and plant in that particular order. I usually only fill about half way when planting anyway....try to keep my "pits" dry.

Thanks for the help y'all!

Last edited by sirbooks at 30-Dec-2005 21:58

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Cost may be a factor for the EcoComplete but the cost is well worth it if you consider the savings in rinsing your substrate. With Eco, no rinsing and no dust in the water!

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

crazyred,

Sounds like a plan, almost

add layer of Eco complete …

I thought Eco Complete is a full substrate. Why do you mix it with regular gravel? Cost? I have no clue, but did you check with the pros here if that is a good idea?

add water, assemble and turn on filter and heater, add plants

- Assemble Filters etc, place in tank
- Add just ground covering water + 1 to 2 inches
- Prepare any mosses etc that require being tied to driftwood, rocks, etc (if applicable) and place in tank. Keep water spray bottle handy to water them from time to time during the planting
- Plant the low level plants (if applicable, like grasses, glosso, dwarf sags)
- Fill tank half way, add all other plants
- Fill tank
- Turn on equipment (except the lighting, which you might want to turn on earlier so you can see what you are doing during the planting)

This reminds me, I am keen on a light strip that can be placed on legs (like the CoraLife lights). The legs sit on the tank frame and allow you to remove the glass cover without removing the light itself. Very useful when doing aquascaping etc.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

Last edited by LITTLE_FISH at 30-Dec-2005 08:48

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Well, crap.....I knew that price was too good to be true on that light set-up. I guess I'll go with my back up plan....http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=29553;category_id=1875;pcid1=1843;pcid2=

Costs just a touch more (double ), but worth saving problems later I guess.

No, I'm not moving any fish at all from my 29 to my 55 except maybe my two male platies.....I'm needing birth control in my 29.

The stocking scheme for the 55 looks like this: Rams, angels, tetras.

I'll take some gravel and filter media from the 29 to help jump start and put the platies in there and monitor. I do plan on heavily planting this thing (waaaay more than 5 plants ) before I put any fish in so that will help too.

Here's the order of set-up......assemble tank stand, wash tank, put on stand, put new PC lights on top, add layer of Eco complete, add layer of new gravel and old gravel from the 29 for a total of 3" substrate, add water, assemble and turn on filter and heater, add plants, add male platies, and monitor the tank before adding anything else.

I'll probably add the tetras next, followed by the angels, and finally, after I'm convinced everything is waaay stable the rams. I know I need to stock slowly....that works out great because the fish are not going to be cheap and I will have to spread out my finances.

If I'm missing anything let me know.

EDIT: and no, I don't have a QT...I know I need one, but dang me whenever I get a tank I put fish in it. So, yeah, I will have to take extra care to get fish from folks I trust and stock very slowly.....better on the wallet that way too....shipping fish is expensive as crap!!!







Last edited by crazyred at 30-Dec-2005 08:37

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."