# Scaping Deep Tank - 30" to 36" Deep



## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Has anyone every scaped a tank successfully that was 30" to 36" deep? If yes, I would imagine there was lots of challenges due to the height. Not only in terms of physical ones, but light, etc.


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## Beasts (Apr 14, 2006)

My 30 inch deep aquarium has 864 watts of T5s over 410 gallons. I have a lot of what I consider strong growth especially in Vallisneria gigantea, Rotala indica and Echinodorus (several species). Hornwort and Hydrocotyle grow like weeds as floating plants. The 4 species of Cryptocoryne are alive and healthy but not growing very quickly - they also have not experienced any melting in a year and a half. Ludwigia grew quite well but eventually got leggy and ugly as did many other stem plants. The remnants are now looking real nice as floating plants. My Anubias might as well be plastic for all the growth they're showing! The java ferns are growing well. I also have two different Crinums and two species of Nymphaea all of which are reasonably healthy but not showing the vigorous growth I'm hoping for.
The lights are on for 12 hours each day with half coming on a half hour before and going off a half after the other half. I use CO2 and keep the pH at 6.9. The filter is a wet/dry flowing about 2800 GPH. I use Watson fertilizers. The substrate consists of gravel intended for sand/gravel filters and mud from the bottom of our pond. I have no algae problems currently.
Reaching the bottom is challenging but I just pull my shirt off and use a spotter who makes sure I grab the dead leaf or plant I was shooting for. Thankfully, my arms are long enough that I don't need a snorkel.
This is my first planted tank and I am pleased with my results but realize that I still have a lot to learn and there are certainly other ways to get good results.
Beasts


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## geministudios54 (Mar 27, 2005)

*Hello Houseofcards. I'm about to install a 125gallon in our showroom that measures 48x20x30" (LxWxH). I think the challenge is not only the 30" depth but also getting the PC lights and lid flipped up enough to allow for any major tank work etc. I'll have 330watts of PC's overhead and hopefully achieve some medium to high plant growth. The other challenge is that the stand is 40" tall plus 30" for the aquarium making a ladder necessary for every little aquascape change. It's definitely armpit territory when it comes to anything near the bottom. At 5'11", I wish I had the advantage of Orangutan arms. The perfect telescopic arms for deep tanks. We're currently having the stand made so I plan to set this up over the Christmas holidays...I'd be more than happy to keep you posted with progressive pictures if you like.
BTW. I thought your tank and scape from a few months past you posted (forget it's name) was absolute eye candy. Very well done...*


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

Thanks for sharing those experiences.

Beasts:
That's quite a first project. Did you do any modifications to the wet/dry system to keep the co2 from degassing. 

Geministudios54:
Sounds like a great project and yes I would love to see progressive pics. 

The tank I'm going to be working on is 36" deep and I always considered 30" the max that's workable. I am also about 5'11" so with a 36" deep tank I believe it's physically impossible to place large rock without someone holding me upside down, etc. I also don't know how well plants well do that deep even with very strong light. I think I would be limited to lowlight plants possibly tied to driftwood that is easy to place and take out if necessary. The tank is only 18" wide so it would be impossible to go inside it to scape. 

Thanks for the compliment on my tank. Your probably referring to "Petrified Valley"


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## geministudios54 (Mar 27, 2005)

*That's exactly why I made the thank 20" wide so I could fit in it!!..NOT...I too am curious just to see the response of the plants based on the 30" depth. But as Rex Grigg says, 'it makes next to no friggin difference!!' I'm not so sure about that. I'll soon find out. 
Please do post some shots if you do end up doing any future aquariums. Yours scapes are excellent.
Pics some time in later December....thanx..*


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## Beasts (Apr 14, 2006)

houseofcards,
I keep the filter side of the sump tightly sealed but the pressure on that side gets so high that it still loses gas to the other side underneath the divider. Still, I don't think that my CO2 consumption is that high. The surface of the aquarium itself is always undisturbed and my CO2 is totally dissolved when it enters the aquarium (Aqua Medic Reactor 1000). I have also modified my prefilters to get a good seal around the top.
That extra 6 inches will definitely add to the challenge!
Beasts


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## geministudios54 (Mar 27, 2005)

*Hi Beasts. Any chance of getting some pictures posted of your mammoth tank. Love to see how you deal with such real estate to scape with! That's huge in my books...*


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## Beasts (Apr 14, 2006)

geministudios54,
I would love to comply, and fully intend to as soon as I can clear up two little problems. First, I have yet to commit to digital and am still using a film camera - I realize I could scan photographs but I would like to assure good quality. It's frustrating as an amateur photographer to wait to have pictures developed before you can be sure you coped with reflections, depth of focus, etc. properly in an aquarium. That intervening piece of acrylic continues to cause me problems. Secondly, I am kind of embarrassed because at this point the look I have is kind of overgrown and looks neglected. The picture I have in mind involves a lot of filling in by many slower growing plants and in the meantime the Vallisneria, hornwort and Rotala are "helping to keep the algae at bay."
It's huge in my book too! I dreamed about having an aquarium this size for years. I have cared for aquariums up to 10,000 gallons but it was always a job, never mine.
Currently my 410 looks nothing like the photographs in Amano's books or in the submissions for "Tank of the Month." Thank you for your interest.
Beasts


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## geministudios54 (Mar 27, 2005)

*No pressure whatsoever with regards to the pics. Whenever you're ready. Interested in whatever state it's in so as to see progress over time. That is truly a big tank for any home. At least with every month that passes, digital cameras keep dropping. Good for the Christmas list!!...*


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## manini (Mar 18, 2007)

Houseofcards,
I had done a 35x36 inch hex tank. Plants that I used were shade loving plants. Just your basic Java ferns, moss, and some crypts. V. nana didn't do well in the tank. I did have some success with hairgrass but the moss just took over the tank. Lighting consist of 2-150W halides and 2-32W T5's. Filteration is done using Fluvals FX5. So far the tank has been running for almost a year now and I had to do 2 major trimings to it. This hex tank has been one of the hardest tank to maintain for me just because it's soooooooo deeeeep! I'll post a pics of the tank as soon as I can figure how to do it.


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## manini (Mar 18, 2007)

Hope this works....alot has changed since this photo was taken. Crypts,moss and ferns has been thinned out. Hope you guys like it.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

That looks really good!

So I guess at that depth is more or less plants on a stick. When you first set it up did someone actually go into the tank or did somene just reach down. Another question is that tank drilled? 
Thanks again for posting info and pics.


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## DanD5303 (Oct 12, 2004)

That's a nice looking hex. I had a 60 gal hex years ago, but it was before I got into planted tanks. I kept a spiny softshell turtle in the tank and she did very well for about three years. 

I currently have a 48 x 24 x 31 inch tank in my classroom that's heavily planted. I only work on it during partial water changes. Taking the volume down about a third lets me reach to the bottom. I pull up a classroom table and stand on that while I'm reaching into the tank. I built the hood to hold six 55 watt pc's from AH Supply. The middle bank of lights just runs for six hours in the middle of the day-two timers. I think tall, rectangular tanks can get plenty of light to the substrate. I could grow about anything that could handle hard water when I used CO2. 

The hood has a piano hinge about nine inches back and is routered(?) down the sides so I can slide it back and forth while its on the tank. I can push it back about eight inches, giving me enough space to work with. Leave some space between your tank and the wall. 

The tank has about four inches of sand blasting grit over Walmart kitty litter. I've added a couple of areas of Flourite where I wanted to grow swords. I'm not using CO2 at this time. 

I've got anubias, Crypt walkeri, wenditi, and balansae growing very well. Have one sword in a corner and a few stem plants. Bacopa works well in a tall tank because it get thicker when you whack it back. 

I've got some old pics from last spring, I'll try to post one.


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## DanD5303 (Oct 12, 2004)

Here is the tank last spring. It was pretty badly overgrown, but right at the end of school I kinda let it go.


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## manini (Mar 18, 2007)

Houseofcards
I filled the tank up with aquasoil so that when I placed the driftwood it would stay somewhat in place. I then placed some larger stones to help keep the wood in a steady position. More aquasoil was added. A friend actually helped out by offering to squeeze part of his body into the tank and help manuver the rocks and plants into place. (I did offer him dinner cause I knew his ribs would be somewhat bruised the next day )The tank was custom built so that it could be viewed thru all six sides. The center of the tank has a hollow pillar (that runs the entire height of the tank) large enough to thread the plumbing through. No holes were drilled. Did I mention the stand sits 3 ft high? Total height of the tank with canopy is 6'4". Here are two more older pictures that I have. I'll try to get current photos of the tank later tonight. Thanks for your comment.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

That is a very interesting tank! Do you use an external CO2 reactor? If I had that, I suspect I would have nightmares about getting green dust algae.


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## manini (Mar 18, 2007)

hoppycalif,
I just use a regular diffuser on this tank. The only problem algae that I have is that green spot algae that grows on the acrylic thats really hard to come off. Is that the same as the green dust algae? If it 
is, yup it sucks.


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## Aquaspot (Jan 19, 2006)

For large and tall tanks, some plants which needs a lot of space for optimum growth displays their best. Some examples are Bolbitis, Java Ferns, Crypts and Vallesneria species.

Going for MH lights should allow you to grow just about anything, including regular carpet foreground plants.

One viable option for scaping such a deep tank will be to raise the substrate level.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Green Dust Algae is different from Green Spot Algae, in that it quickly covers all of the glass, but can be wiped off easily. On an acrylic tank I don't know how anyone gets GSA off the sides - it is tough stuff and grabs ahold of the sides very firmly. How can you get to it to remove it in such a deep tank?


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## manini (Mar 18, 2007)

hoppycalif,
Not quite figured that out yet. All I'm doing now is scrubbing twice a week. As far as trying to scrub the last 2 inches of the tank, (since I cant reach it my self.... short arms) I call on one of my friends that has a longer reach than me to help me out. Has anyone try out that algae scraper from Kent. It suppose to be able to scrape algae off of acrylic without scratching. Let me know if it works.


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## Beasts (Apr 14, 2006)

I use the Kent scraper with the long handle and the plastic blade. It does a pretty nice job and I haven't yet noticed any scratches. I do have to apply a lot of pressure but the handle is quite sturdy. I prefer the blade because it rarely picks up any gravel, which would definitely cause scratches. I have no problems reaching the bottom of a 30 inch deep aquarium. It does remove spot algae but it requires some elbow grease.
Beasts


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## manini (Mar 18, 2007)

Beasts,
Thanks. I'll pick one up and try it out.


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