Social Feed

Welcome to ScapeCrunch, @Stendkerfan!
We would love to get to know you. Please tell us about yourself. What tank do you have?

This is the future home for the announcements when someone obtains an achievement badge. Let the games begin!

If you've been in the aquarium hobby for a while, I'm sure you've created or picked up so valuable hacks that fall into the tips, tricks and time-savers categories. So, in an effort to compile and share them, let's post them here.

This site is about sharing knowledge and experiences so don't be shy, no hack is too small or silly.

Please post yours.

Time to get a new journal started. The start of this aquarium will eventually result in the total rescape of some and even final end to others.

So why is 75g in quotes? It seems that the budget pet store aquarium brands like to over state the volume of their tanks. This is a used Marineland tank and stand combo I purchased off marketplace. Marineland markets it as a 75 gallon tank. At best, it's only a 67 gallon tank. Filled with BDBS and including the volume of the filter, tubing, and reactor, real volume is just over 64 gallons. End of rant, now the details.

This tank has a number of purposes/goals:
1. Serve as a tank to grow many different plants.
2. Serve as a temporary holding tank for fish.
3. Serve as a testbed for my first fully inert substrate tank with water column dosing only, using separate macros and micros rather than an all-in-one fertilizer.
4. Try my hand at designing and maintaining a Garden/Hybrid Dutch style layout.

I began getting this tank and stand ready quite some time ago but other projects got in the way. Like my current 40g farm tank, this is setup on the "work" side of my basement. The other side of the basement was finished when I purchased the house but it was done rather poorly and has been in mid demo mode for some time. It will eventually be remodeled to be the aquarium "gallery". Once that happens, this tank may simply become a farm/quarantine tank. My basement floor is far from level so I had to add leveling feet to the stand. I soon realized however, the bottom of the cheap stand is only 1/2" wood?? and with the resulting gap underneath, the weight of an Oase 850 filter and 10lb CO2 tank caused the bottom to flex a good amount. I decided I needed to make some mods to provide a little more support. I added a sheet of 3/4" plywood across the entire bottom including the finishing strips. I used a lot of wood glue and brads to secure it and then upgraded to some heavier duty leveling feet.. That did the trick as it's much more solid now. While I had the stand up on the saw horses I also made a few changes to the inside build. I swapped out the dosing bottle holder to a powered stirrer courtesy of a great deal from @Naturescapes_Rocco, mounted the Dwyer flow meter where it can be easily read, mounted the new Jebao return pump controller to the door, and cleaned up the wiring.

Build and Hardware Details
Oase Biomaster Thermo 850 (internal impeller disabled)
Oase stock In/Out pipes using spraybar
Oase Crystalskim 350 Skimmer
Jebao MDP-3500 Return Pump
10lb CO2 tank with DIY "Bettatail" regulator and Dwyer RMA-151 Flow Meter
Aqua Rocks Colorado Small Acrylic Yugang CO2 Reactor
Chihiros 4 Channel Doser plus Stirrer
Inkbird ITC-306A Temp Controller
Week Aqua L1200 Light

Substrate and Fertilization
Black Diamond Blasting Sand (no root tabs or other material under the BDBS)
Burr Aqua Macros and Micros

There were a couple of gotchas in the last 2 days getting things finalized so the tank can start cycling. Yesterday while calibrating the doser, I couldn't get any channel to prime. This doser has been sitting on the shelf for quite some time but had been used before. I had to take apart the pump heads and pinch and stretch the tubing, and after putting it back together, everything worked fine and calibration was right on the first time.

The worse gotcha was today on the first turn on and leak test. It's always the nervous time, and for good reason. Priming the system went fine, no leaks, but as soon as I turned the pump on, I heard spraying ! Problem was with the ARC reactor. I purchased the reactor a long time ago but realized it was too large for my 49g tank, so It's been sitting on the shelf waiting for one of these 120cm tanks. Unfortunately, I never even leak tested it. I wish I had, because I might have returned it to ARC. The problem is with the CO2 input. There is the push-to-fit part that screws in, and then the permanent mounted insert the fitting screws into. That permanent insert was actually the cause of the leak. After pulling everything back out of the cabinet and taking the reactor apart, I could see that the insert was cracked. For now, I've bypassed the reactor so the tank cycling can commence. This was important because several trays of matrix in the filter came from my other established tanks and I also seeded the tank with a sponge from one of the established filters. Over the next couple week, I'll get the ARC reactor fixed and back in place.

Also in the next couple weeks I'll do some flow testing and provide results for those curious as to how combining the Jebao pump with the Oase filter works out. I can tell you this already, in a 120cm tank, 100% power is far too much. Pulling water through the fully setup 850 doesn't faze the MDP-3500. I have it set at 55% right now and even with a spraybar, will probably need to turn it down once planted. I think the MDP-2500 would be more than enough for this setup. In fact, I may add a bypass to the ARC reactor while I have it out. Of course, it's also very quiet, even at the 100% power level.

I expect the tank to cycle fairly quickly and may start planting in a couple weeks. Most plants will come from my farm and other tanks for now, but I'll be thinking about what other plants I need to fill in for a proper Dutch look. The current 40g farm tank will be shutting down and going by-by once this tank is cycled. Also, my first aquascape, the 49g, will be getting torn down for a full rescape shortly after and the fish in it will be getting rehomed to this tank for the immediate future.

I do enjoy the Green Aqua videos, but sometimes they are costly. A recent subject was terrariums. The dry desert-inspired design inspired me. With a couple of shallow 2ish gallon cubes collecting dust and too much time on my hands, there is a section of cacti and succulents on the way towards me in the barely capable hands of the USPS.

My regulator is leaking, as shown in the picture. Can I fix it, and if so, how?
Thanks!

Inspiration, Goals, & Considerations

I've had an interest in aquariums since a young age and had my own aquarium with fish like Angelfish and Mollies around middle school. Growing up, my dad had a bigger tank with Blood Parrots and Silver Dollars. Over 10 years ago, I had a low maintenance 55 gallon planted tank. I was pretty proud of it, but always envied the high tech tanks I saw on forums/social media and told myself when I broke that tank down that the next time I set up a tank, it would be like what I envied. At the end of 2024, I set up a small low tech 5 gallon planted tank to help scratch my aquarium itch, which really only reaccelerated my desire for setting up a high tech tank. And now, here we are!

The size of the tank was mostly dictated by the space. I originally planned on something around 30 gallons, but my LFS had the UNS 75P in stock and after measuring and discussing with my wife, we agreed it would work for the space. The tank is between the kitchen and living room, which is essentially a play area for my son, so lighting needs to be adjusted to make sure he's not blinded by the light when looking up at the tank.

Generally, I'd like to have a visually pleasing aquarium with lots of fish and plants that's peaceful to enjoy. I'd like to automate / reduce as much friction as possible and I realize there's still plenty I need to learn, so I'll need to have patience when things go wrong. I want to keep away from anything that's hard to get out of the tank once it's in (duckweed, moss, pest snails, etc). I felt like sharing prices below might give value to anyone in the future that's looking to start where I did with a high tech tank.

Specs (prices include sales tax)
Tank:

Lighting:

Filtration:

Co2:

Inflow & Outflow Pipes:

Substrate & Hardscape:

Fertilization:
Battery Backup & Power

Other Misc Equipment:
Chihiros CO2 Drop Checker
5 x Oase ShutOff Valve 16/22
Inkbird WiFi ITC-308 - $38
SwitchBot Leak Detectors - $15 each

"Stand"
Because the guts are located in a kitchen cabinet, I didn't want to screw directly into it and damage it. I was also concerned silicone would not be able to dry and outgas properly when sealing the edges. I opted to line the cabinet with contact paper. It's essentially a giant sticker, so I lined the sides, bottoms, and a second layer over the bottom edges/joints. I built a 3 panel "stand" inside of the cabinet so I could house everything and screw into the plywood without any concerns. I used 1 sheet of 3/4" Maple plywood and coated 1 side with a latex primer followed by a layer of latex white paint. This is mostly for water resistance and not necessarily water proof. I placed a silicone cabinet liner under the right side equipment. I made a shelf to place the EcoFlow on so if there's a catastrophic leak it's off the bottom.

One consideration I hadn't thought about was how "cramped" the cabinet would be since I placed the EcoFlow on a shelf with a "wall", which essentially made the work area much tighter.

Cable Management: Raceway and cable clips
Water
Express Water RO5DX - $160
55 Gallon Brute Trash Can, 44 Gallon Brute Trash Can, 32 Gallon Greenmade Trash Can, and 2x dollys.
Plants (all UNS TC)

• Homalomena Sp Sekadau South (babysitter)
• Hydrocotyle Tripartita (potentially babysitter)
• Alternanthera Reineckii Rosanervig (initially planned as babysitter, but may keep some in long term)
• Hemianthus Callitrichoides 'Cuba'
• Rotala Rotundifolia Blood Red
• Anubias Nana Petite
• Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo'
• Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini'
• Echinodorus Rose

Livestock:

Coming soon

• 25x Red Neon Blue Eye Rainbow
• 7x C005 Corydoras pantanalensis
• 3x C123 Yellow Cory 'Rio Nanay'
• Aphyosemion bivittatum 'Funge' Pair
• 5x Stiphodon rutilaureus Goby
• 1x True Siamese Algae Eaters
• 1x Bamboo Shrimp
• 8x Amano Shrimp

Hey all,

Thought I would share this little project as it turned out to be pretty simple and streamlines my aquarium interface. It’s not up and running yet but I’m setting up a 243L (64gal) soon.
I have the chihiros WRGB II set up in the app and planning on getting the auto dose system. Then I realised there’s CO2 control in the app…..

Quick google and turns out the chihiros CO2 regulator is discontinued and I already have a new Aqualabs reg on the bench in wait.

This however gave me an idea….



And a couple of weeks later here’s the little box…… crushed by its long journey from somewhere in China to very far south of Australia.



I’m definitely not splicing fibre or making delicate electronics but….

Turns out usb cable just has a positive and negative wire conveniently coloured in the bundle!





Plug it in and hey presto! Shows up in the app!



I haven’t yet got the CO2 tank but it seems to control the solenoid with a satisfying click so I’m calling it a success!

This is not a rant or an attack on anyone, but are we becoming too obsessed with fertilizers and “optimal” conditions? Many algae problems seem to be caused by high nutrient levels themselves, so I don’t really understand why people often say, “Nutrients don’t cause algae.” If you look at research papers, many of them show that excessive nutrients in waterways are not a good thing. Maybe we rely on nutrients too much, and observing plants maybe better than dosing in access?

I’ve observed many natural habitats where plants grow really well, and I don’t think there are extremely high levels of dissolved nutrients in the water, as it is mostly in the substrate. (Correct me if I’m wrong.)

Also has anyone had experience using organic liquid fertilizers for aquarium plants? And is it really eco friendly as claimed?

It finally happened!

I've been away for work for a few months, during which I got really into the idea of getting a nice aquarium. While I'd already begun planning out a 125 L / ~30 gal tank, expectations had to be tempered because I'll be gone again for a while soon, and my partner would have to take care of the tank alone during that time. So we chose to settle for a 45 L / 12 gal shrimp tank first to test the waters, with me getting to take care of the 125 L tank after returning from my last long trip some time next year. We already got some of the equipment for the larger tank, which is why some of the things here are somewhat oversized.

Things then happened quite quickly when I found a great deal on our shrimp-tank-to-be in a local group. Initially, we'd planned a dark start and to use that time to settle on a plant list, but this used tank came with some plants already, so I'd appreciate any help with plant IDs and input on how to go forward from here.

This tank is intended to be a medium energy setup that allows for some flexibility in care, such as reducing water changes to every two or three weeks when needed. We're looking at slow and medium speed growers, with only very few if any fast growers. We really like bucephalandra and want a few nice ones!

---

Equipment, flora, fauna
Tank: SuperFish Scaper 45 (45x32x32 cm)
Light: SuperFish Scaper LED 64 (24 W, 16100 Lux, 269 PAR) (I also have a Week Aqua Z400 Pro lying about...), 8 hours a day
Filter: Tetra Ex 1000 Plus (1150 L/h canister filter with 30 ppi foam and some filter wool), surfrace scimmer on intake


Substrate: Tropica Aquarium Soil
Fertilizer: APT 3/Complete, APTe and DIY micros/macros,. Currently dosing 15 mL APT 3 after 50% weekly water change, this should stabilize to 20 ppm NO3 without accounting for uptake
CO2: Injection from 2 kg bottle with JBL Proflora CO2 Taifun Spiral 5 (though this will likely become an in-line diffuser) and an Fzone regulator, starts 2 hours before lights

Hardscape: Mangrove roots and millenium stone, not set up yet

Parameters

• RO/DI remineralized to 6 dGH (4:1 Ca:Mg using CaSO4 and MgSO4), 0 dKH
• pH: 6.2
• CO2: To be measured, 1 bubble every 4 s for now, fair amount of surface agitation (gentle, visible waves)
• NH4: undetectable
• NO2: undetectable
• NO3: 20 ppm

Flora:
There are 10 species in here right now (I think), as well as some Amazon Frogbit and Salvinia minima on top. I think they might be:

• 1 - ???
• 2 - Limnophila sessiliflora
• 3 - Amazon Sword (Echinodorus amazonicus)
• 4 - Echinodorus ?
• 5 - Rotala ?
• 6 - Ludwigia repens
• 7 - Anubias nana
• 8 - Anubias mini coin
• 9 - Hygrophila salicifolia
• 10 - Dwarf Hairgrass
• Hopefully no Duckweed

Fauna (planned):

• Red Rili Blue Body Neocaridina
• Possibly a school of nano fish

---

Looking for advice

I really wanted this to be a journal about planning and setting up a tank and how well we eventually managed to translate our plan into reality, but thought it best to ask for advice on how to proceed from here first. Yesterday evening (it's now ~24 hours later), we got home with the aquarium and after a good cleaning, I filled it with aquasoil and water and planted the healthiest plants before heading to bed.

As you can see, these plants aren't doing too great, and some have quite a bit of algae on them. With live plants on our hands, we're skipping the originally planned dark start. I got the filter from the previous owner (asked him to not rinse it), and even though it's only a tiny HOB, we at least have some beneficial bacteria there. I'm running both filters right now in hopes of seeding the canister filter quickly.

I'd appreciate any help with plant IDs and care tips for the different species to help them grow in more healthy. Any recommended treatments to get rid of the algae? Especially the anubias have some small, black spots on them. The Amazon Sword has some pretty torn up leaves with brown and thin spots.

I'm considering hanging the Z400 Pro (rated at 120 W) quite high up, as it blinds surprisingly little for such a powerful light. Though I have noticed that its hue at the same RGB ratio changes quite drastically as you go down in power. Still, this would give me more control over the lighting, as the current light is fixed at 8 cm above the water surface and can't be adjusted.

---

Future plans

I'm really happy about finally getting into this hobby. We're already super excited and don't even have the shrimps in yet!

For now, I think we'll let the plants recuperate a bit and adjust to the new environment. I think they came from harder water and no CO2. Since we're gone in the weekend, we'll set up the hardscape next week and do a short replant, hopefully that won't bother the plants too much.

Then we'll finalize our personal plant list and begin assembling those, replacing some of the current plants. If you have any favorite plants that would suit this type of environment, I'd love to hear about them!

And last, when we have some nice biofilm developing, we'll add the tiny little shrimps!

---

Updates
Update 2026/07/09
Added some (slightly) nicer pictures of the plants before heading out for work. Have a camera, might as well use it! Hopefully I can post pictures of good looking plants soon. Update update: Well they were nice until the webp compression got to them. Good thing to learn about early on!