# Photos of my tanks - Zapins



## Zapins

Here are some pics of my tanks (some from now some from a while ago). Various setups some soil/EI/PPS/Low/High tech.

*Edit*


TropTrea said:


> Would be interesting if you gave us particulars on the lighting, your fertilization system, etc for each of these tanks. What size are they they almost look like all 125 gallon tanks from the pictures.


As requested here are the stats on the tanks (don't be afraid of using higher lighting, it doesn't = algae if you have enough plants to compete):

Tank 1
*Size:*55g tank (10,000K I think)​*Lighting:*2x55w Power compact (10,000K)​*Fertilization:*EI​*Substrate*Fluorite​*CO2:*Yes, 3 bubbles/sec into an inline CO2 reactor​









Tank 2
*Size:*90g​*Lighting:*4x54w T5 HO (6500K)​*Fertilization:*EI​*Substrate*Fluorite​*CO2:*Yes, 3 bubbles/sec, into a powerhead​









Tank 3
*Size:*90g​*Lighting:*4x54w T5 HO (6500K)​*Fertilization:*Soil based tank, no water column dosing​*Substrate*Scotts premium topsoil under fluorite cap,​*CO2:*Yes, 3 bubbles/sec into an inline CO2 reactor​









Tank 4
*Size:*90g​*Lighting:*4x54w T5 HO (6500K)​*Fertilization:*EI​*Substrate*Fluorite​*CO2:*Yes, 3 bubbles/sec into a power head​









Tank 5
*Size:*5.5g​*Lighting:*1x55w Power compact (6500K)​*Fertilization:*Soil based, no water column fertilization initially, then KNO3 added later after nitrogen deficiency happened​*Substrate*Garden soil (can't remember the brand), covered by pool filter sand​*CO2:*3 bubbles/sec into a powerhead​









Tank 6
*Size:*55g (only half the tank is shown in this photo)​*Lighting:*2x54w T5 HO (not sure the color temp)​*Fertilization:*Soil based, no water column fertilization​*Substrate*Scott's premium topsoil covered by pool filter sand​*CO2:*3 bubbles/sec into a powerhead​









Tank 7
Basically just a close up of Tank 1, so the same specs
*Size:*55g tank (10,000K I think)​*Lighting:*2x55w Power compact (10,000K)​*Fertilization:*EI​*Substrate*Fluorite​*CO2:*Yes, 3 bubbles/sec into an inline CO2 reactor​









Tank 8
*Size:*90g​*Lighting:*2x55w power compact (6500K I think, maybe 10,000K)​*Fertilization:*EI​*Substrate*Fluorite​*CO2:*Yes, 3 bubbles/sec into a powerhead​









Tank 9
*Size:*55g​*Lighting:*2x55w Power compact (6,500, or maybe 10,000K can't remember)​*Fertilization:*EI​*Substrate*Fluorite​*CO2:*3 bubbles/sec into an inline CO2 reactor​









Tank 10
*Size:*55g tank (zoomed in portion of the main tank)​*Lighting:*6x55w Power compact (not sure the color temperature, 6,500-10,000K)​*Fertilization:*EI​*Substrate*Fluorite​*CO2:*3 bubbles/sec into an inline reactor​









Tank 11
*Size:*55g​*Lighting:*2x55w power compact (not sure the color temp, 6500-10,000K)​*Fertilization:*Neglect mostly, sometimes a dash of ferts every so often. Nothing consistent​*Substrate*Fluorite​*CO2:*None​
(brown filter floss on the left not algae! )


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## Yo-han

Nice! I love the first tank!


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## Michael

Beautiful!


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## Pinaki_Pal

wow ....amazing set ups.....


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## Rusty

Nice tanks


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## Charlie 1

Nice, always good to see what others are doing. Those tanks must have brought you some great satisfaction.


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## Zapins

Thanks  they were fun to set up. They get overgrown quickly.


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## thunderjack14

WOW ! Really nice tank's Zapins a real piece of nature.


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## Zapins

Thanks thunderjack.


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## Aquaticz

cool tanks Zap!
which one do you like best and why?
Same equipment on all?


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## Zapins

I like the first and third tanks best. They both make use of a lot of scaffolding to grow plants. The first tank uses a wood, the third mainly rocks.

They all use CF light or T5 HO (between 2 and 4 wpg) but they are not all the same equipment.

The last one had no CO2.

The 3, 5, 6 tanks were high tech soil tanks and the rest were water column dosed.


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## Aquaticz

Thx 
I assume 
scaffolding = terracing


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## Zapins

Aquaticz said:


> I assume
> scaffolding = terracing


Yup!

I find there is a lot more freedom when you use scaffolding or terracing rather than try plant everything on one plane.


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## kris

Hi! 
Great tanks
What's the structure that supports your terracing?
Kris


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## TropTrea

Zappin's did you not have some reef tanks as well? 

I have never had much luck with the terracing approach. Yes they looked great and provided some separation from varieties that reproduced by runners. But usually in about a year the effect seemed to flatten out for me. 

Would be interesting if you gave us particulars on the lighting, your fertilization system, etc for each of these tanks. What size are they they almost look like all 125 gallon tanks from the pictures.

They all do look great.


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## Zapins

kris said:


> Hi!
> Great tanks
> What's the structure that supports your terracing?
> Kris


The terracing is mainly a framework of driftwood under the plants. It is held in place by large stones tied onto the wood. After that, I used black thread to tie on the anubias. Once the anubias grew in it filled all the gaps between the wood up and make it look like a solid wall of plants rather than allowing you to see the scaffolding of wood that supports it all.

The rock tank is similar, there is a little bit of wood on top of the large decorative rocks I have in the tank, and behind all of that are the stem plants. This tank didn't use as much scaffolding as the anubias / wood tank.



TropTrea said:


> Zappin's did you not have some reef tanks as well?


Nope, tried salt water a long time ago (maybe 15 years or so), rinsed the filter out in normal non-chlorinated water and everything died. So I shut that down and went back to freshwater permanently.



TropTrea said:


> I have never had much luck with the terracing approach. Yes they looked great and provided some separation from varieties that reproduced by runners. But usually in about a year the effect seemed to flatten out for me.


I had the same sort of problem with the 6th picture down tank. I used garden soil and placed large rocks in it, then covered it with pool filter sand. The sand tended to run down the slopes over time and expose the soil in places. Once the UG grew in it helped to stabilize the slope quite a bit, but initially it was quite a problem. The soil stayed in place, but the sand was an issue, especially since the slope was so steep. I think you really need to choose the right kind of plant for the slope. Something that will help stabilize the slope. Glosso or HC might be a good choice since they grow very densely and would probably keep the sand from shifting.

Come to think of it, choosing something other than sand might also be a good idea. Or perhaps cutting steps into the soil layer and then adding the sand over the top of it all might help prevent the sand from sliding all the way down, since sand would still remain in the corners of the steps and you'd only lose some sand from the edge of the step that jutted out.



TropTrea said:


> Would be interesting if you gave us particulars on the lighting, your fertilization system, etc for each of these tanks. What size are they they almost look like all 125 gallon tanks from the pictures.
> 
> They all do look great.


Oh boy. Haha. I'll edit my first post and add the stats above each tank as I remember them. Some of these tanks are from years ago. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/photography/93673-photos-my-tanks-zapins.html#post696161


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## TropTrea

I fijd your lighting very interesting. 

Right now I'm running a pair of 54 Watt T-5's on a 120 gallon one bulbe is a an ATI purple Plus and the other a GE 6,500K. With good results but Im not runnng CO2 on that thank yet. Only complaint is my Ludgigia repons that is slowly getting less red and more green. 

My old planted tanks I used CO2 on but they were 75 Gallon tanks and found the best lighting back then for them was 3 40 Watt T-8's with 2 GE 6,500K and 1 GE Chroma 50 (5,000K).


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## Newt

Very nice tanks. They are so diverse in style. 

Where do you find the time for so many tanks?

What are the 2 reddish plants in Tank #2?


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## Zapins

TropTrea said:


> I fijd your lighting very interesting.


I've always been a fan of intense lighting. I think it is the way to go. Especially when coupled with a soil based tank, you literally have no tank maintenance other than trimming and the occasional water change. Not having to fertilize for 4 years straight on a tank is great, especially when you are running 3-5 watts/gallon of high intensity light. I'm really not sure why more people don't do high tech soil tanks. They are so maintenance free compared with EI.



Newt said:


> Very nice tanks. They are so diverse in style.
> 
> Where do you find the time for so many tanks?
> 
> What are the 2 reddish plants in Tank #2?


Well, I've been in the hobby a long time, so I've had quite a bit of time to try different setups out. Not all of these are currently running. These are just some of the tanks I've set up over the years.

The plants are Barclaya longifolia (red version) on the left, and Rotala macrandra on the right.


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## TropTrea

I have had my fist planted tanks in 1962 and continued to have them with the exception of 2004 through 2013 when I converted everything over to reef tanks. Back in 1982 through 2004 I ran CO2 on a majority of my planted tanks and did a considerable amount of experimentation with different lighting spectrum's for planted tanks. In 2013 I started converting back to all planted aquariums. 

Through the years I have done several soil based tanks but prefer to go with some of the commercial laterlite bases with a top layer of either fine flint sand or a product that used be sold as black diamond gravel. Basically it was a lot less messy when you ended up pulling a plant because it outgrew the tank. I really loved the Dupla substrate but today I cannot find a source for it in the US and have not found anything that really comes close to it.

As far as light intensity goes I find watts per gallon very deceiving. This is especially true when I look at my past experience using standard Florescent T-12's, then Compact Florescent, Metal Hide, HO T-5's, and now LED's. The efficiency of each of these lighting system is considerably different. Then when you factor in the spectrum differences between selective bulbs within each variety it adds even more variance. 

Using florescent lighting I have been having good results running in just over 1 Watt and usually end up with issues when I stat going over 1.5 Watts per gallon. Right now I have 30 gallon tank that is running 58 Watts of HO T-5 and even with 30% water changes every other day still get green water. 

I also have several 15 gallon and 20 gallon planted tanks that I'm running on LED's. I originally lighted these tanks with 25 watts of LED lighting but have changed drivers on them twice reducing to 18 Watts per tank and then to about 12 watts per tank. I think I'm still excessive in the 15 gallon tanks and considering dropping to just 4 LED's on those tanks bringing them down to 8 watts. 

Note I'm running my lights for 10 hours every day.


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## Newt

Zapins said:


> ..........................Well, I've been in the hobby a long time, so I've had quite a bit of time to try different setups out. Not all of these are currently running. These are just some of the tanks I've set up over the years.................................


LOL and ha-ha-ha. It sounds like TropTrea and I have you beat and by a long shot. October 1964 start for me.

But you have quality, that's for sure. Good eye for balance and aesthetics in diverse flora.


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## Zapins

Ha. You two definitely have a few years on me 

Any chance of seeing some of your tanks?


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## Newt

Well, right now I only have the 75 running and a spare 10 sitting in the basement. I sold everything else off. I thought retirement would bring more time for the hobby and an 8ft 300 gal tank. Seems doing a water change is the last thing I want to do. I've become busy with household projects and a renewed interest in audio gear and repairing gear especially speakers.

Currently I'm bringing back my tank from the brink for the ??? time. It was my 2 black Angelfish having babies that ignited the spark again. I've had females lay eggs but never a male to fertilize. I must have 100 fry swimming about and the parents chasing them, sucking them in and returning them to the java fern. I've begun posting again in hopes it will keep me going. Below is a picture of my 75 at its height. I was using (3) T8s: Aquarelle, Philips ADV850, AGA 8000K + T12: Sylvania GroLux Std and WS for dawn/dusk lighting. The GroLux Std is one of the few bulbs that uses a true (expensive) red phosphor. Too bad its only T12 as the red signature spike isn't overly strong. They are only good for about 6 months, loosing 60% output. This spring I hope to change the original flourite substrate for (2) bags of Eco Complete and (4) bags of flourite black that I've had lying about for sometime.


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## TropTrea

I'm not sure if this will show up since I'm not used to working with photobucket for pictures.

But if it does show up this is that tank I started to convert from a full Reef to a Planted tank last Summer. For Lighting I have a an 8 tube HO T-5 fixture which I'm only using two bulbs one is a GE 6,500K and the other Bulb is an ATI Purple Plus. This gives me 108 watts on the 120 gallon or just under 1 watt per gallon. Substrate is 6 boxes of Seachems laterlite 100 pounds of Flint gravel, and topped with 25 pounds of Spectrums black gravel.

This is a tank in progress and my next step on this tank is to switch to between 90 and 120 Watts of LED lighting that I will build.

I'm also rebuilding my old fish room converting from salt water back to fresh water. Smaller tanks but more tanks. I also love breeding fish especially fish that are not commonly found in the hobby. I'll try attaching some pictures of my fish room.





Note my tanks in the fish room are all on LED lighting that I built with the exception of one tank. Which is a 30 breeder running on 2 39 Watt HO T-5's. This tank has way to much light in my opinion and will eventually be converted to LED's as well.


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## Michael

Zapins, I was just going back through this thread and studying your tanks. Your observations about creating a framework (background, terraces, driftwood) as a vertical space for plants struck a chord. More and more I find myself using variations of this, and it has piqued my interest in the Dutch and European technique of lining three sides of the tank with some type of material that can support epiphytes. My favorite one so far is a 3.5 gallon nano in which I used thin pieces of flagstone against the back and glued 'Petite' anubias to it. This way you either see foliage or natural stone as a background. The anubias completely covers the stone now, I am seriously considering removing a fair amount of it to reveal more stone.

Thanks for posting your insights, and the beautiful photos!


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## Zapins

Scaffolding and tiered substrates are definitely quite helpful. Also there is surprisingly little emphasis on them in the hobby for some reason.

Your experience with anubias has been the same as mine. The petite stuff grows in so thick. I've had clumps 6 inches deep and a few feet long. All one plant.

Any pics of your tanks Michael?


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## Michael

Zapins said:


> Any pics of your tanks Michael?


Some day I will get to that, I promise.


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## Zapins

Newt your tank looks very lush and filled in. Looks like a dutch layout?

What kind of fertilization are you using on the tank? How often?

TropTrea I love those wooden stands and your fish room. It looks so much more organized than my fish room was. I had a metal wire shelf and had dozens of tanks sprawling all over the place and then some larger tanks lining the edges of the room. Now I've just got the one 180g tank setup down there and a 40g breeder here in my apartment. Not too much time at the moment for maintenance haha.

What I really want to set up is two 10g tanks with identical equipment and set up my peristaltic lab grade pump to dose nutrients at timed intervals to each tank. Then I can start depriving one tank of nutrients and document the effects of the problem, then replace the missing nutrient to confirm. That way I'll have a control tank and an experimental tank and I can test a few dozen species at once. Then I can take high res images of each type of plant damage and update the DeficiencyFinder.


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## TropTrea

I'm hoping to do some experimentation with ceramics in the near future. My initial idea was creating some breeding caves for my bristlenose plecos as well as my Apisto's. However with the thoughts on having various levels of plants it is adding some extra interesting thoughts in my head. Now Im think about creating something looking like ancient ruins with plant pockets in them at various levels.


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## Zapins

I think that would be really cool. I've often thought about cutting small blocks of stone and basically making a miniature model of ancient buildings. Then planting different species on them and making a scape out of it. The main issue is finding a soft enough rock that won't leach into the water column. Something like Angkor Watt or one of the Aztec ruins.


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## Tugg

When I first got into the hobby with a crawfish, I got the idea to make a mini model of New Orleans. Specifically the I-10, Hwy90 area by the superdome.

It would be like an underwater trainset... but with fish, shrimp, and CPOs. 

I doubt it will ever happen


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## TropTrea

Zapins said:


> I think that would be really cool. I've often thought about cutting small blocks of stone and basically making a miniature model of ancient buildings. Then planting different species on them and making a scape out of it. The main issue is finding a soft enough rock that won't leach into the water column. Something like Angkor Watt or one of the Aztec ruins.


The big thing is need to calculate if the cost would be feasible. But my idea would be sculpturing out of potters clay something that looked like a miniature caste wall that would realy be a small planter say 3" X 6" By 2" tall. Then having them fired in a kilm. These could also be painted with a glaze to add some color to the project. After firing in a kilm they should not have a leaching issue.

I had original thoughts about doing something like this with plastic resins. However my research ended when I found the restrictions on some of the sales of these resins and that some were not available in smaller quantities. Reasonable on a large quantity commercial production line but not for a hobbyist unless he is a mufti-milionare.


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