FishProfiles.com Message Forums

The time has come to start a log for my new 240 gal Tank . This is my first attempt at a log and my purpose in doing so is to get as much advice as possible
The tank arrived 1 week ago and the substrate and rocks arrived last weekend . The plants are on order and should arrive in the next few days .

The Equipment
Tank: 72x24x32
Filter : Fluval FX5 - 536 g per hour -3 media baskets, Otto Powerhead sponge – 317 g per hour
Heaters: 2x 300w Aqua One Stainless steel external control
Air Pump: Aqua World AW05 – 13 g per minute
Lighting : Aqualina 2 x96w 10000k white 2x96w Acintic blue
Substrate : Total 260 lb – 40 lb of grey course gravel – 60lb of Flourite – 160lb of dark medium gravel.

Plant List
Foreground
Pygmy Chain Swords 12
Dwarf Hairgrass 20
Glosso 30
Small Middleground
Anubias nana 5
Red wendtii 5
Pearl grass 5
Large Middleground
Anubias barteri 3
Java Fern 5
Pennywort 5
Large Background
Stargrass 15
Creeping Red Ludwigia 5
Rotala macrandra 5
Fish :
1 Albino Red Fin Shark
1 Black Shark
1 Red Tail Shark
1 Red Fin Shark
1 Chinese Algae Eater
1 Cuckoo Catfish
6 Angels
3 Blue Gourami's
1 Pearl Gourami
4 Kissing Gourami's
7 Tiger Barb's
4 Gold Tiger Barbs
5 Golden Barb's

I started the setup last Saturday with the leveling of the tank , then spent Sunday setting up the equipment . The shots below are the tank after the equipment has been installed .
Firstly a shot of the tank from the right side



Attached Image:

Full front shot

Attached Image:

This is the specially made hood which I had to drill half moons into to allow access for the filter pipes etc. It has no top to allow for the heat of the lights to dissipate.

Attached Image:

Shot of the Fluval FX5

Attached Image:

I soaked the rocks for 48hours and then scrubbed them thoroughly. The gravel and fluorite were then washed.

Attached Image:

Now it was time for the fun part. The first part of the scape was to lay the grey gravel into a river formation and border that with rocks. I then added a half inch layer of normal gravel followed by all of the fluorite.

Attached Image:

Next I added the top layer of dark gravel and positioned the remaining rocks. The idea was to have a terraced look on the right and a rock pile on the left.

This is a shot of the tank from the left at some distance.

Attached Image:

Here is the full tank from the front.

Attached Image:

Shot of the rock group on the left.

Attached Image:

wow 240 gallons is a big tank for aquascaping potential
I think that the rock layout looks good.
Are you going to use any wood, it might look cool overlooking the river or something.
I think your idea is good though I can't wait to see how this tank turns out.

-Vincent

The last part of the design was to try and get some overhang of the river . I decided to try and do it with driftwood. Here in country Qld driftwood is very hard to get, but I managed to get some, not sure I m entirely happy with the effect. Will have to wait until I plant to see if it works.

Full shot of the tank with the driftwood in place.

Attached Image:

Shot of the driftwood from the right looking down the river

Attached Image:

Shot of the driftwood from above.

Attached Image:

Thats about it for the moment until the plants arrive in the next few days. Im not planning on doing C02 at this stage but I will be going with what from my research I think is a moderate fert regime as follows. Flourish, Flourish Excel, Flourish Nitrogen, Flourish Phosphate, and Flourish Potassium twice per week. Havent worked out the doses yet .

As far as the planting goes the plan at this stage is to make the right side of the tank look fairly ordered like terraced gardens and the left side like a jungle , however Im open to any suggestions !




I would love to have any comments or advice on what Ive done so far and the plans for the future.
Garry

Vincent , Thanks for you comments & compliment , as you can see you were spot on with the driftwood . Its certainly a big challenge. But whats life without a few of those .
Garry

i guess i posted while you were still in the middle of putting pictures so yeah thats what i meant by overhanging the river thing.

-Vincent

Very impressive, congrats on the tank.

Lighting : Aqualina 2 x96w 10000k white 2x96w Acintic blue

I don't think your current lighting is going to work. You do know the Actinic bulbs are useless for freshwater planted, so in effect you only have 192watts over 240g. This really won't grow anything, let alone the glosso and other ground cover. Obviously you could change the bulbs to 10k and know you have double the wattage. My other concern is whith the spread of those lights. I don't know if they will be able to reach down 2feet and to the front of the tank, especially for ground cover type plants. My feelings are you will have to add more reflectors to the front of the tank to maintain anything there.

Sorry to crash the party, but I thought if you have plants coming this would be good information to have.



My Scapes

Agree with tetra here. The depth of this tank is going to play a big role in the ability to grow ground cover plants. Without very intense lighting it's going to be very difficult IMO.

Assuming you get rid of the actinic bulbs which aren't much good for plants (besides being unpleasant to the eyes), the dwarf sagg should be OK, but the glosso is going to be tough to grow the way you're imagining it (low, dense and clean). It will likely become leggy and sparse, reaching up as high as it can for more light.


And I really don't mean to be too much of a drag, but Black Sharks are monsters, they can grow to around 2 feet long and very thick.... plus they're big plant eaters, so say goodbye to any delicate stem plants.

Again, sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Starting up a big new tank is always very exciting. But when planning out a planted tank you need to be careful about plant choice, fish choice, lighting and intensity, and tank size and shape. Things can get out of control quickly and with such a large tank it'll be easy to get discouraged.

---

Back in the saddle!

Tetra , thanks for the insight , your absolutley right now is the time to get it right, which is the main reason Im doing this post.
So I will take your advice and get all daylight white 10000s.

What about the supposed plant friendly pink tubes ? Do you have a thought on them ?

If Im reading you right, you think I may need another fixture to cover both front and back of the tank ?with another couple of 96w 10000s?

NowherMan6, Thanks for the interest. ,
Thats exactly how I envisaged the growth so your thoughts on the above questions would be appreciated as well .

Also Thanks for the shark advice Ill take it on board .

Really appreciate both you guys stopping by and taking the time ,
Thanks
Garry