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Planted Tank Automatic Water Change Overview
Time for a long overdue overview of how I set up my Auto Water Change (AWC) and Auto Top-Off (ATO) systems! First, let’s start off with the major components. The most important component of my Auto Water Change system is the GHL Profilux Controller, seen here. In the case of the AWC (Auto Water Change), I created a Timer. 8x per day, the Profilux turns on the AWC pump for a specified amount of time.The Profilux also controls the ATO (Auto Top-Off). The water level in the tank needs to be monitored, so I installed an optical level sensor.The level sensor is seen here on the right. It’s held in…
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Oase Biomaster 600 Thermo
Now that the stand is complete, it’s time to start adding equipment. The first and most important thing I needed to decide on was the filtration. I went back and forth between a few different canister filters but finally decided on the Oase Biomaster 600 Thermo. Two of them. The Oase Biomaster 600 is the largest canister filter that Oase offers. They advertise a max flow rate of around 1250 l/ph or 330 gph. Since my tank is 5′ long (143g) I decided it would be best to have two for proper flow throughout the aquarium. This will also allow me to clean on an alternating schedule. One canister will…
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Building the Waterbox Clear Pro Stand
We found the perfect spot for the new Waterbox Clear Pro aquarium, so now it’s time to build the stand! The stand is from Waterbox and it’s designed to fit the new Waterbox Clear Pro 6025 tank perfectly. Gathering the pieces: Here is the hardware as supplied from Waterbox Aquariums. Next we had to bring all the pieces in from the garage. And there was a lot! Let’s build! You start with the base. There are A LOT of leveling feet.The instructions are bit lacking. They are illustrated steps, nice and clear but almost zero mention of any of the hardware.If you’ve put IKEA together before, it shouldn’t be a…
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NEW TANK BUILD!
After more than a decade and several successful builds in the Saltwater Reef hobby, I’ve decided to jump ship (for a little bit) and try my hand at this planted tank thang. For real. Not the little low tech 7g cube I’ve posted about here, but a proper, large aquarium. So time for a new planted tank build! I set up the little 7g cube that I’ve been fooling around with to kind of dip my toe in and start familiarizing myself with freshwater planted practices. But it’s really just scratching the surface. For the big tank, I’m going all in! So, let’s get on with the show, shall we? Here’s…
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Betta Tank July 2018
It’s been a while since the last update, but this low tech Betta Tank is cruising along. Although the Betta behavior changed and he’s not eating well. The Betta situation has been interesting. He was doing great, then his behavior changed. First, he seemed to become quite anti-social! This sounds funny, but it’s true. He likes to go inside the rock structure and he spends much of the day in there. He has also become a bit listless. If he is out and about, he tends to be just sitting on the substrate. And finally, it’s like he became blind and dumb when it comes to food. If I drop…
