# 54 Corner Overhaul



## BillBBB (Jun 4, 2007)

Hi All! This is my first post to this forum, but I am not entirely new to planted aquariums. I was looking for some advice on renovating my 54. We recently moved, and I have been neglecting my auqarium for some other house projects. Over the last year I lost all of my plants except for the anubias..

Current Setup:
AGA 54 Corner with overflow
5 G wetdry sump (I know its a co2 remover and a nitrate factory, but I like it)
Pressurized co2 diffused in sump with a homemade diffuser (It hasn't been hooked up for a while)
135w 55k PC lighting

Proposed:
250w 65k halide
pressurized co2 diffused through sump pump venturi

I would really like to have some high light/colorful plants. What do you think of this setup (should I make any changes?) and what plants would you recommend?

-B


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

First off, welcome to apc, Bill.



> Proposed:
> 250w 65k halide


That's a LOT of light. You might want to dumb that down some to start with. You can always build to your target light after your tank has settled in. I can't comment on the sump, never having used one, but others do claim it can be an issue with the CO2.

In case you haven't read these, check them out:
http://www.aquatic-plants.org/articles/basics/pages/index.html
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ums/14684-new-tank-setup-guide-parts-1-a.html


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## BillBBB (Jun 4, 2007)

I was also thinking a 175w MH with a couple smaller CFs (CFs for 2hours then MH for 5-7hrs then CFs for 2 hours), but I don't want to have to rebuy the MH if it is not enough. The tank has a very oddly shaped top and it will not fit most traditional lamp setups


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## BillBBB (Jun 4, 2007)

*first steps*

I thought I might as well test my water parameters today as I have not done so in quite a long time. It's embarassing actually, probably been almost a year since we moved in. The plants died shortly after the move, but the fish seemed fine and I had too many house projects to play with the tank. Now that all of this has wound down a bit, and we finally finished the living room, I am ready to completely revamp the tank.

I decided to build a hood, there don't appear to be any decent ones available for these corner tanks. (I need to remove an ancient inwall AC unit first or the hood won't fit. Another house project...) I am going to try to replicate the look of AGA base for the tank in a 10" hood. In the hood I am going to usa a 175 MH 65k bulb with a couple 24w 10k PCs for viewing and to phase the lighting in and out.

The water parameters measured as such..

*TANK*
ph - 8.1 
nitrate - 80
nitrite - 0 
ammonia - 0 
kh - 7
gh - ??? either 0 or through the roof. The test doesen't seem to work properly I never see the solution go orange, just kinda yellowish, and it never goes green either.

*TAP*
ph - 7.8
nitrate - 10
nitrite - 0 
ammonia - 0
kh - 8
gh - ?? same results, hmmmm...

With the tap water ph that high no wonder I blasted through a co2 tank in like a week when we first moved in. (I think I remember seeing the fish a bit distressed, but I thought it was from the move. Maybe it was from the co2 concentration.)

So, what's up with this water? Is it time to invest in RO and mix my own?

-B


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

When you measured your tap pH, did you let it sit for a couple of hours prior to measuring it? It needs to degas first, or your readings won't be accurate.

In regards to your tank - I guess you are right in your first post when you said the sump was a nitrate factory  if you indeed have 80ppm there! You will need to bring this down. If out of the tap you have 10ppm NO3, you shouldn't have to worry about much additional being needed if you do regular water changes. Make sure your test kit is calibrated with a known concentration so you can put faith in those readings.



> With the tap water ph that high no wonder I blasted through a co2 tank in like a week when we first moved in.


A kh of 7 is not bad, imo. (Heck, mine is 10) That should not cause you to blast through a tank of CO2 - you might want to check all your connections. The only time I ever went through a tank in 2-3 weeks, I had a slow leak in my regulator. I would suggest getting a drop checker to measure the CO2 in your tank. If your tank has a kh of 7 and a pH of 8, you have essentially no CO2 in there. Again, the sump may be a problem here.

I wouldn't worry much about your gh. Unless you want to grow soft water type plants like Eriocaulons and Toninas, I wouldn't get an RO unit. Your call. 

Sounds like your hood project will be real interesting. If you like the turnout, post some pics.


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## BillBBB (Jun 4, 2007)

Bert H said:


> When you measured your tap pH, did you let it sit for a couple of hours prior to measuring it? It needs to degas first, or your readings won't be accurate.


I let it sit for about 2 hours.



Bert H said:


> In regards to your tank - I guess you are right in your first post when you said the sump was a nitrate factory  if you indeed have 80ppm there! You will need to bring this down. If out of the tap you have 10ppm NO3, you shouldn't have to worry about much additional being needed if you do regular water changes. Make sure your test kit is calibrated with a known concentration so you can put faith in those readings.


And its 80+ppm after a 50% wc! (I had to move the tank across the room.. what a PIA!) Maybe it is time to replace the substrate, it is three years old. I have read that a really dirty substrate (with no plants now) can cause nitrate spikes. I forget the brand but it is 2-3mm black gravel stuff which was designed for plants (~2-3 inches) mixed with a couple pounds of laterite. Is there a concensus for a good substrate material?



Bert H said:


> A kh of 7 is not bad, imo. (Heck, mine is 10) That should not cause you to blast through a tank of CO2 - you might want to check all your connections. The only time I ever went through a tank in 2-3 weeks, I had a slow leak in my regulator. I would suggest getting a drop checker to measure the CO2 in your tank. If your tank has a kh of 7 and a pH of 8, you have essentially no CO2 in there. Again, the sump may be a problem here.


I'm not worried about the kh, just the gh. I wish I could tell if it is really 0 or off the chart. I will probably go pick up a new test kit today.

Where I used to live we had a tap ph of 7.0 and I would run with the co2 at 6.6. I think when we moved and did an 80% wc with the new tap water (closer to 8.0) it just sucked down the co2 to try and stabilize teh water at 6.6.

I'll try to post a before pic tonight.. It will probably be a week or so before I can start in the hood project. Maybe I should turn this thread into a journal...

-B


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Unless you're going with an 'el natural' type tank, I see no reason to replace a substrate. Laterite, I've never used, so can't say there. Maybe all you need is a major gravel vac, but again how laterite works into that, I don't know. If you just moved the tank, you surely stirred up the substrate substantially, and I would wager that's where the high NO3 is coming from. If your tap is indeed 10ppm NO3, why not just set up some sort of continuous drain/fill with pythons etc, until you reach a more moderate NO3 content, ie 10-20ppm. You can always dose back the other macros once you reach a good level.


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## BillBBB (Jun 4, 2007)

I am just worried that some extra nitrates may come from some rotting plant/animal matter in the substrate.

I had a reasonably productive weekend.. The AC unit is out and the hole is patched (siding too). I have started working on the canopy (I am by no means and accomplished fine carpenter but I am doing my best). I will post some pics soon for a before/after comparison. Anyone know of a decent free image hosting service?


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## BillBBB (Jun 4, 2007)

The hood is finished as is the ballast box. It turned out much better than I had hoped. I would love to post some pics this weekend, but I still can't find an image hosting service I like.


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## BillBBB (Jun 4, 2007)

Some Images... hosting thanks to ImageShack










New inline co2 reactor...










Homemade hood underside view. 2 10k AHsupply 36w kits and 1 Iwasaki 150w 6.5k MH bulb.










Front view.










The stand I attempted to match.










Ballast box with the M142 for the halide, the CF ballasts and 12v for the fans.










Front view with breakers/switches.


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## strange_screams (Apr 10, 2005)

wow, dont have any advice for you, just praise, that hood looks great, good luck and please post more updates


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Hood looks great!


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## BillBBB (Jun 4, 2007)

Okay, Its been a week, the hood is on, the new reactor is in (and wow does it work soo much better). I also had some time to do one more WC, and my nitrates are ~15 finally. Most of the algae has been scraped, (and my a. barteri is still recovering from a bleach bath). Drove out and picked up a nice piece of wood, some river rocks and started my scape (I don't know if I like the rock placement). The plants should be in on Wednesday, and I can't wait to really get things going. Is it me or does nobody have java moss in stock? oh well. I'm going to try a HC carpet, we'll se how it goes. Some more pics from today:


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

I think the wood placement is good for that tank. You'll of course need to dress it up with some green. I don't know about an HC carpet with that pleco in there. The rocks could work, but they need to be all the same type to make it look natural. These are of course my opinions and what's important is how you feel about the setup.


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