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It might be a little tricky getting good access to the equipment in the back there.

That is a good point that LF brought up. I assume the back of the cabinet is pretty much open. This way you could just drop down tubes, wires, etc and pull them into the base. When I had my 46G there were a few times I had to move the tank I took out about half the water and slide the tank on the tile.(I don' recommend this), Looks like yours might be on carpet anyway.

My Scapes

the cabinet is one problem i'm trying to over come at the momment its solid 1/2in pine. guy who built it suggest cutting large holes where ever i need them, i might try to remove half the wood to give a large gap for the wires and pipe work.

hopefully i should be able to put all the pipe work in place before filling the tank then i can slide it into place and fill.

i've now got 4 bags flourite and one on its way to me.

still not sure what size heater to add to the 150W i already have? any suggestions.

the lighting i have is the t8 tubes - on my 40g they just sit on the condensation glass with little holders - how else could i do with them

if i screw into the hood how do i remove the hood for water change etc because the wires will go below the tank so can't just lift lid of.

should i do water changes through the hood openning cause don't have to worry about gravel vacs on heavily planted tanks - this way don't have to remove hood.

so much to think about and i haven't even filled it yet.

hope everybody had good christmas. i;m going away friday so i'll start the setup next year!!

so wishing you all good new year.

shekoi

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

shekoi,

so much to think about and i haven't even filled it yet

That is the best time to think about it. You would most likely run into problems if you set up the tank first and then start thinking .

Some pointers:

- Make sure that you provide enough space to even remove the tubing etc completely without having to move the tank. It can always be that some piece of hardware (filter or what not) breaks and needs to be replaced.
- You say your light sits on the glass of the 40G, right? Is there a glass top on this one as well? If not, I think (never had a canopy) that bulbs directly exposed to the water could have problems with condensation on the contacts and ballast etc.
- Get another 150W heater of the same type that you have.
- Planning to do a water change through the hood opening doesn’t sound good. Although you don’t have to do gravel vacuum (as there is no accessible gravel in a heavily planted tank), you should still stir up the water above the substrate and suck it up. This means that you hose will have to reach pretty far down in the tank no matter what. Couldn’t you place the hood wires in a fashion that you could take off the hood after unplugging them (maybe you can explain what thinks would be attached to the hood)?
- Think about your plants before you even add the first drop of water to the tank. Setting up the tank right away with plants is much easier than adding them later.

That should give you some brainfood for the time you go away over New Year

Have fun,

Ingo

PS: Don’t see this preparation time as stress, it is actually fun and part of the game .

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

i'm now back from my short break over new year really needed.

tank setup is to be delayed as while away we decided (should say i was told) to decorate the room before setting up the new tank, so now its in the middle of the room with a dust sheet over the top.

this however has give me time to think everything over, because of the problem stated earlier about lighing in the hood, i would like sugestions of different lighting options. photos of your lighting and notes on how connected to hood or no hood etc. would help me greatly.

need at least 2wpg so about 120W plus would suit.

cheers shekoi.

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

shekoi,

I really like the CoraLife lights, I think in your case 2x65w would be 130w and you could also try the 2x96w. I don't know how long your tank is (forgot it or it actually was never mentioned).

A picture of who this light looks on my big tank can be found on [link=Page 37]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Planted%20Aquaria/64425_37.html" style="COLOR: #ff6633[/link] of my Log. I have the system raised on legs ($7) and this way I can even remove the glass withough having to take the light off. Oh, good that I write this, it is strongly suggested to have a glass top between lights and water.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

cheers LF that luminaire of yours is nice and its what i just been looking at - but not cheap! :%) i've seen these http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/Z319140.asp i'd go for the fresh water T5 40inch one, i can just afford one - unless she goes mad with the decorating would this light be ok should give about 2.6wpg.

on your tank LF you have a black rim which hides the surface away - mine doesn't so i was thinking i could cut out the top of my hood and then sit the luminaire on the hood rim, then have glass tray over the tank to stop - or help against condensation and water lose and stop cat jumping in.

shekoi

ps my tank is 40inchesx18x24, with hood rim the length would be 42 inches

Last edited by shekoi at 10-Jan-2006 10:46

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

think going to go for it - to get same output from normal T8 like have now need to have about 5/6 tubes thats 3 starter units so 3 plugs etc.

still would need 3 normal T5 55W thats again 3 starter units.

so the ts luminaire looks the best option with in my means.

off the subject now - cleaning flourite substrate.

would it be alright to wash the substate all together in the tank then remove the water after. the grains a so small i could loose loads washing in buckets etc.

ideas?

shekoi

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

I might be wrong in my math, so feel free to correct me:

a) You have 72US Gallons – I guess your log name part of 60G was in UK Gallons
b) The tubes I see listed there say “Four T5 Tubes : 4 x 39w”, which totals to 156w and as such really “only” 2.17wpg (as we all measure it in us gallons here). That is a range that might be ok, but given a tank depth of 24” (right? ) might create some minor problems with light hungry plants that are low to the substrate.

Also, creating a frame out of the hood to rest the glass on might lead to problems. You would have to make sure that the wood is 100% water sealed as otherwise the contact area of wood and glass will start to rot (eventually). Furthermore, let’s assume your ground is not 100% level, then there is a chance that the condensation water from the tank on the glass will flow to the side of the glass and onto the top of the hood frame. From there it could seep through the contact area and down the outside of the hood frame, down on the outside of the tank. You somehow would have to make sure that any water that runs off the glass would flow back into the tank.

I am with you on the cat issue though

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

your math is fine - i was using uk gallons whish gives 2.6.

as for the hood issue the condensation tray would be below the wood. about 1-2 inches below where the hood sits on the tank. so that should be no problem - even so i am painting and varnishing the wood to protect it.

cheers.

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

Decorating almost complete. i'll have alll finished by next weekend hopefully, so i'll begin the tank setup on sunday, week today.

i'll start by cleaning substrate 5 bags of flourite.

i've ordered a luminaire 4x39W blubs so should be plenty of light for my plants.

shekoi

starting the varnishing of the tank cabinet tomorrow - only varnishing areas that come in close contact with the tank for example the hood. the rest will be waxed to match the mirror above the fire place - this is done by order from the boss - ie the girlfriend.


Last edited by shekoi at 18-Jan-2006 17:52

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

decorating taking longer then planned.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/decorating009.jpg

this is link to how my tank looks now i've waxed it, can see new wallpaper behind.



www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

shekoi,

Nice waxing job

But I hope you are going to put a background on the back glass, right?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

i'm having a black background, putting it on now.

got luminaire on it's way 4 x 39W with reflecors.

also got a second 150W heater on its way so should have water in by wed

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

shekoi,

I would recommend using the supplied carbon pad that comes with the tetratec 700 (not to be confused with yours truly).

Use it for a few weeks it will help with algae control until the biofilter get's going than throw out the carbon pad and fill the filter with more bioballs.



My Scapes

cheers for that, i'll put the pad in once i move it over - at the moment i'm cycling it on my 40g.

got some plants yesterday. went to LFS and they had ones i wanted and never seen them before so i go them - they are still in there pots at moment in my 10g.

i got
2 crypto undulata broad leaves
1 echinodorus cordifolius
1 hygrophila corymbosa 'siamensis'
1 limnophila sessilifora
1 hygrophila diffornis

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

which co2 would be ok for me these are all i can afford.

either 2 lots of
http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=484

or one of these
http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=484

one of these
http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=79_120&products_id=422

help needed quickly

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

Shekoi,

I wouldn't waste money on any of those co2 devices. I would just use Flourish Excel until you get a pressurized system.

You could also setup a diy yeast co2 system, but with a 72 gallon I think it will be alot of work.




My Scapes

shekoi,

Yeah, I completely second tetratech. Use Excel and get the real deal ASAP.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

hows tank goin? like wax job

Yeah, I completely second tetratech
Finally

My Scapes

cheers for the replies.

i'll wait then.

i'm starting setup now quick advise needed.

spray bar same side as intake pointing towards other end.

or on the opposite end poniting towords the intake.

got 2 heaters one either end? or on either side?

where would co2 think go with above spra bar postions? so i can leave room!

cheers shekoi


www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

don't know whats wrong with my threads - every time i post something and go back later to check the thread my posts aren't there.

i have to right a new reply to see what people have writen?]:|

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

Shekoi,
Sometimes a pic is worth a thousand words.

Here you could see my spray bar upper right (green tube) and my intake. The spraybar is attached to the left side glass at an angle downward. I think you could see the bubbles in the water.

My heater is that thicker black tube. If you have 2 one on either end.

You could also see my wood diffusor. The space you need would depend on what method you use for co2 diffusion. There are several and all seem to work, but if you use an airstone or glass diffusor it should be positioned under the spraybar.



tetratech attached this image:


Last edited by tetratech at 24-Jan-2006 12:00[/font]

My Scapes

cheers
so you have your spray bar on the back off the tank pointing forward but slightly down? does this give enough movement at the other end of the tank?

is it best to have the spray bar lower the surface? or slightlt above and pointing down -to stop co2 being removed

Last edited by shekoi at 24-Jan-2006 12:02

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

Yes the return tube that connects to the spray bar is coming back up from the filter over the left back. It then attaches to the spray bar that runs just below the surface along the left edge. I actually cup on the left glass holding it there.

It's best for co2 diffusion to have very little agitation at the surface, so it works good to have the spraybar just below the surface.

My Scapes

just filled her up for the first time - substrate has been put in - water very cloudy but i'll let it settle then remove about half so easy to aquascape - i'lll prob fill it up again with water from my 40g.
says it should anywhere from 2 to 12 hours to settle out. flourite when wet is almost like soil.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/952d0787.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/ed812405.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/95706275.jpg

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

Welcome to the world of Chocolate Milk! Once everything calms down it gets much better. I have done a few replants in my tank and all I dont have any major problems. I have had it in the tank since Aug.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

the tanks going to look great - what colour have you pianted (waxed it)

what is the large wood you have in there?

So far so good shekoi,

That was the easy part .

Now we gotta make it pretty

How exciting,

Ingo

PS: You cannot see your post because your browder might have cached the page. If so then simply post the entry, go to the pager where you posted it, and hit the refresh button (on your browser, not FP). That should do the trick. Let me know if it still does not work.

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

shekoi,

Looking good so far

What do you mean when you say you have grasses left over?

What grass is that? Like hair grass?

That should go in the front.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

i mean vals. got loads they grew well in my 40g so spread them out and had left over to put back into the new look 40g.

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

shekoi,

How about if you try some Tennellus (Pygmy Chain Sword) for the foreground?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

i'll have a look out for them - i'm not going to add much more yet going to wait she what the plants i have now do!

Update

water is now clear, don't no if its just down to adding the carbon, but it sure helped.

i've transfered some of the fish

[url]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/3e9bd98a.jpg[/url]
[url]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/ab0dd14a.jpg[/url]

i've decided against adding the corys for a number of reason - first i would never see them! and i'm not sure how they would be on the flourite. so i've rescaped my 40g with cories in mine it's all sand with bit of gravel at one end.
[url]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/40g/0c64f383.jpg[/url]
going to add large shoal of something and add few more corys - just don't know what shoal to have yet - prob be neons think the blue would look good in that tank.

i'm only going to add 5 more rasbora and a couple male rainbows, but these are at later date, got let it settle down first - check everything is fine.

my luminaire hasn't arrived yet - they said they had delay there end and should be out as soon as possible - what ever that means

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

current stock of new tank

1 angel
1 RTS
4 dwarf neon rainbows
7 Hariquin rasbora
6 glowlight tetras
1 clown pleco
3 ottos

hows does that look?


www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

shekoi,

That looks wonderful

I didn't know you have Rainbows and when I looked at the second picture I saw 2 fish that looked a lot like 2 females.

I just recently got my first 6 praecox, 3m and 3f.

On a different topic, how many fish did you add already? Isn't the tank not cycled? I am not sure if you have enough plant mass to stopp an ammonia spike. Be careful.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

yes i know about that, i'll keep my eye on the levels, the filter was cycled and i've added gravel from the old tank to help the cycling process. i needed to get the other tanks dismantled as soon as possble, girlfriends sister is having one and is picking it up tommorow

she lives 5 hours drive away so shes planned on coming this weekend. so had to have it ready.

i had 6 rainbows but lost my two males when i move from my mothers place to my new house - they were the only ones i lost no idea why. i'll get a couple more once the tank is settled.

still waiting on my light - should be here monday. will the plants be ok with very low light until then?

cheers shekoi

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

shekoi,

I think the plants should be ok until early next week. People have tank blackouts for an entire week and the plants survive. I think the worst that could happen is that some of the leaves that are weaker might die.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

update 30/1/2006 - this years going quick

still waiting on the luminaire no signs of it yet - buying from germany so might be a bit late.

this is where i'm up to at the moment - the wire is the power extension for my T8 which is badly lighting up my tank at the moment.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/6b86768f.jpg

i'm doing a 20% water change a day at the moment, because i've had to add all my fish at once - there is no problem with the water all reading 0. the filter was cycled and i've added substrate from my old tank, plus the bogwood and plants - so it might cycle ok.

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

heres some more photos of the new tank.

glowlights hiding out in the grasses
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/10372704.jpg

Snail?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/cfdf041c.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/f505da27.jpg

i'll post some more later.

shekoi

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

i've just ordered some more plants. i've gone for easy grow low-mid light plants. these are what i've ordered.

Aponongeton crispus (bulb&plants) single
Crytocoryne nevilli 5
Bacopa rotundifolia single
Cryptocoryne balansae single
Cardamine lyrata (bitter cress) single
Hygrophilia polysperma (mush plant) 5
Eleocharis vivipara (hair grass) 5

most to help fill out the foreground and a few for the middle and back left.

still no luminaire


www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

now finished the modifications to the hood so that the luminaire - if every arrives can fit over the tank and so you can't see the surface of the water and all the condensation glass etc.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/485bfab6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/644b95ff.jpg

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

Little advise and help now needed. -LF Bensaf ready?

nutrients?

tank is 72g(US) - getting close to heavily planted
will have about 2.2wpg - if luminaire ever arrives.
co2 by excel at the moment will be getting pressurised soon as can.

anyway what dose of what should i be adding to the water and how often?

cheers Karl

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

Oi Karl,

I wish I would have a direct answer for you, but I don't as I don't know what ferts you have available.

I am dosing KNO3, and interchangably KH2PO4 and K2SO4 (to balance K and P). For Micros I use TMG.

The others know more about where you might get access to these ferts, I know one of them is Stomp Remover and one is an Enema (or maybe that is even the same).

Overall, your light is good but not overwhelming. I would think that you will not achieve super fert uptake. The Excel (for carbon supplement) can be added daily or every other day.

Let's see what the others say...

Ingo

EDIT: BTW, tank looks nice already

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Shekoi,
We have the same size tank.

I dose 3 times/weekly
Sun/Tues/Thurs (macros)
.50 tsp no3
.05 tsp po4
Mon/Wed/Fri (micros)
10 ml Flourish
5 ml Flourish trace

I have stronger light and co2 pressurized so your plants will probably use less depending upon your mass. I would start off with 1/2 of the above doses and see how it goes. If plants grow and mass increases then increase dosing.



Depending on your plant mass and with your light you could probably cut these number in half.


My Scapes

cheers for the replies - i'll go have a look in lfs for flourish etc.



www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

shekoi,

well done, the tank looks great


DOn't forget dosing of the Excel as well. See how it works for a week or so, then you may be able to up the dose to give you better growth. Megil is experimenting with it now on his high light tank, it'd be great for you to document how it works for you as well, as well as what doses.

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Back in the saddle!

cheers for the replies - i've found all the flourish things on the site i buy from so now ordered.

the luminaire has just arrived

no time to take photos now i'll post some when i get back in from uni.

only problem with it is the bulbs - they are only 30W each not the stated 39W and all are 14000K is that a problem for plants?
or should it be ok for a while before i get some around 6500K?

so now works out at 1.7 WPG

EDIT: the company have just emailed me that the 30W printed on the bulbs is a misprint and they are 39W so i'm back up to 2.2wpg.

still are 14000K is this ok for plants or should i change some? all?

cheers Karl

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

Shekoi,

Anything above 10,000K is usually considered not good light for plants. Not that it harms them, but the temperature range doesn't help them to grow either.

When are you getting the other lights?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

cheers LF

i could get a couple of bulbs max now but can't afford 4.

not sure what K value my LFS has says ideal for plant growth. it's the plant pro lamp on this link - think it's second one down.
http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/Z377150.asp

anyway here are some more photos of the tank with the luminaire on.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/57cffe81.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/3a84afc8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/8bba6053.jpg

what do you think of the tank?



www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

quick question about my corys again.

they are still in my 40g at the moment which is very bare, with just couple plants and sand substrate, this is slowly being filled with rocks before turning into a african cichlid tank.

so i don't want to house the corys in it for much longer, but will they be ok in a heavily planted tank? there will be no open swimming space on the substate very soon, as i have even more plants being delievered to me.

and it will be very hard to see them ans check they are ok and feeding.

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

shekoi,

I know nothing about Cories in densly planted tanks, sorry. But your concerns are exactly the reason why I decided not to get any.

About the light: I am weak on reading a color output chart as well, but if I am not mistaken then good plant lights have a spike in the blue and red range. The one you link to seems to be rather equal on almost all levels (I think that means 10,000K, wild guess though).
If this is the case then these lights are ok, but not the best for your plants. A good combination could be 2 of these and 2 of the 6,500K that you want to get (makes it less green to the human eye than pure 6,500K).

I take it that the 14,000K you have are the ones below the one you are looking for. The name might be giving away what their purpose is: "Arcadia T5 Marine White Lamp" .

Hope this helps a little,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Shekoi - re: the cories, don't worry about the plants getting in the way of your cories, it's the other way around The cories will be fine with ground cover plants, they'd probably enjoy rooting through the plants for bits of food - but that's just the problem. Like loaches they're e to digging through the substrate and this may be enough to upset any ground cover plants like glosso, and may get in the way of them really settling in the substrate. Not that it WILL be a problem for the plants, but don't worry about the cories, they'll do just fine i would imagine.

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Back in the saddle!

i don;t know if they are the marine ones it doesn't say on them just says 14000K they came with the luminaire which stated ok for marine, freshwater and plants so who knows?

most of the instructions and details are in German

i'll get one of the 10000K if thats what they are and i'll see if i can find a T5 with 6500K- haven't seen one yet.

Still haven't got my harries to sit still how do you do it LF?


Cheers Nowherman - i'll put the cories in and see how they do, i haven't got any plants that are shallow rooting, all cryto, and grasses so should be ok then?
Karl

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

Shekoi,
What kind of light where the vals in before you moved them to the new tank. 1.7wpg I think is low for that plant. I would definitely not fool around with your lights for too long. Get anything between 5,000 and 10,000k, if I'm not mistaken 14000k as LF pointed out are more for marine use and might give you add'l algae problems in your tank.

My Scapes

i still haven't found any 36" T5 bulbs with that fits into that scale, i'll get a couple of the 10000K and shop round, but they aren't cheap

some of the vals where in my 40g which has 1.25wpg and they grew ok.
some where in my 10G which had 1.5wpg.

cheers

karl

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

how do you do it LF

It's a secret

Well, it is called "make 100 pictures and one just might be good"

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

ok i'll give it ago - i'll post the results in march i think

i'm just going to move the corys over now - got find a bag for them.

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

that took longer then planned - quick little buggers!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/978857a3.jpg

sit harlie sit
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/b21f03e7.jpg

ok didn't work this 100 try, try agian

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

cories are now in look happy enough after the short trip from one tank to another.

lets hope their not to stressed
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/6a689a1e.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v138/shekoi/My%20setups/60g/1392c767.jpg


now for the 40G aquascapping need about 20-30Kg of oceon rock for what i want to do so one piece a month, be done by christmas

karl

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

sit harlie sit

I think you might have to borrow tetratech's Wisteria Whip, maybe it works on harlies as well .

One more thing: what is an ocean rock exactly? A rock that has been rounded with water and sand or litterally a piece of calcium containing ocean rock. You can see where I am going with this question, right?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club