Ripper Hollow

My 26 gallon aquarium is classed as a “high tech” aquarium. I run a large amount of light on this aquarium (about 7.5 watts per gallon), so the plants need a good source of CO2. The more light you have, the more CO2 (and nutrients) the plants need.

Equipment:

1. 10 lbs CO2 tank
2. Electronic regulator
3. Glass diffuser

The electronic regulator let’s you adjust how many bubbles of CO2 you want in a certain time frame (4 bubbles per second (240 per minute) down to 1 bubble per 10 seconds). Right now I have it set to about 4 bubbles per second.

The glass difuser has a ceramic disk that turns the CO2 into tiny bubbles to help it disolve into the water better.

I have to refill my CO2 tank about once a year.

I need to get a drop checker so I know I’m getting the right amount of CO2 in the tank. I had a drop checker before I moved in to my house, but I still can’t find it.

I plan on getting a Hydor Koralia Nano power head to help evenly distribute the CO2.

Popularity: 100% [?]

I’m currently in the planning stage of my 20 gallon aquarium.  I already have the tank (it’s a tank that I’ve had for a while now), the lighting, the filter, heater, and some of the hard scape materials.  I still need to get the organic soil, sand, plants, and of course, shrimp and fish.

Equipment I Already Have:

1. Single GLO Life-Glo T5 HO 24W 6700K
2. 20 Gallon Tall Aquarium
3. Eheim ECCO 2232
4. Catalina Titanium Heater 100W
5. Two Red/Brown Sand Banks

Stuff I Still Need:

1. Organic Topsoil (un-fertilized)
2. CaribSea Tahitian Moon Substrate

Planned Fauna:

1. Neon Tetra x10
2. Red Cherry Shrimp x5
3. Amano Shrimp x5
4. Otocinclus x5
5. Zebra Nerite Snail x5

Planned Flora:

1. E. tenellus, Marselia minuta, or dwarf sag
2. Hygros, Bacopa, Rotala indica, Ludwigia repens, Hydrocoytle leucocephala for stem plants
3. Mosses, ferns, anubias, and crypts

Popularity: 52% [?]

Every aquarium requires maintenance, whether it be saltwater, black water, freshwater, or planted aquariums. Maintenance can include water changes, top offs, cleaning the glass, trimming plants, or even adding fertilizers.

Here’s my weekly maintenance schedule:

Monday: 1/16 tsp Trace, 2 ml Fe, top off.

Tuesday: 1/16 tsp KH2PO4, 1/16 tsp K2SO4, 1/4 tsp KNO3.

Wednesday: 1/16 tsp Trace, 2 ml Fe, top off.

Thursday: 1/16 tsp KH2PO4, 1/16 tsp K2SO4, 1/4 tsp KNO3.

Friday: 1/16 tsp Trace, 2 ml Fe, top off.

Saturday: Clean aquarium glass with magnetic scrubber.

Sunday: 50% water change, prune plants, remove most of the duckweed, 1/16 tsp KH2PO4, 1/16 tsp K2SO4, 1/4 tsp KNO3.

My fertilizer dosing is based on the EI (Estimative Index). You can find more info on it here or here.

Once a month I do a partial cleaning of my cannister filter. The reason I only do a partial cleaning is so I don’t kill all the beneficial bacteria.

That’s about it for my maintenance schedule. You might think it’s a lot of work, but it really isn’t.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Happy New Year!  It’s time to write down my resolutions for 2010.  There are so many things I need and want to do.  This will probably be a rehash of my 1 Year Plan series (here and here) that I wrote a while back.  Here they are, in no particular order:

1.  Sky Diving – I plan on going sky diving for the first time this upcoming year.  Probably in mid Spring, so it’s not too cold or too warm.

2.  Passport – I’m not sure when I’ll be crossing any borders, but to do that, I need to have a passport.  I have the application all filled out, but I haven’t made an appointment at the post office to file it and get my photo taken.

3.  Bonus Room – Finish designing a bonus room above my garage.  This includes a home theatre and a wet bar.

4.  Sprinkler System – Install sprinklers in the front and back yards, so the grass doesn’t die again.

5.  Fitness – Get into shape and loose 35 pounds.

6.  Aquaria – Set up my 20 gallon aquarium.

I’ll keep you updated on my progress.

Popularity: 9% [?]

I’ve been using the Fluval 205 for a little over a year now, and I love it.  I have it installed on my 26 gallon planted aquarium.  I use the Fluval foam sponges, Fluval Pre-Filter and the Fluval Bio-Max.  This cannister filter is for aquariums up to 200 litres (40 US gallons), and pumps a hearty 180 gph.  It has a total of 3 media baskets, and holds 4 foam sponges.  I also have a pre-filter sponge on the intake to protect my small fish from accidentally getting stuck to the intake.

Maintenance is a snap.  All you have to do is close the suction/discharge valve, unplug the filter, and disconnect the Aqua-Stop Valve.  I only clean my filter once a month, and I don’t clean the whole thing.  I clean 2 sponges, and one media basket, and I always rotate which baskets and sponges I clean.  That way, I’m not destroying all of the beneficial bacteria that lives in the filter media.  After I clean the filter, I reconnect the Aqua-Stop Valve, open the suction/discharge valve, and the filter automatically fills itself with tank water.  Once all the air is out of the filter, I plug it back in and I’m done.  Very simple.

Each filter comes with: Instant-prime system; single-motion lift-lock clamps; clog-proof intake strainer; dual-layer foam screen; and instructional DVD to ease set-up and use.

Fluval has plenty of other filter media available, including carbon, peat, Zeo-Carb, ammonia remover, nitrate remover, and water polishing pads.  For my planted aquarium, I do just fine with the foam sponges, Pre-Filter, and Bio-Max.

I definitely recommend this product.  Lots of flow, great media, and easy maintenance.

Disclosure: I did not get paid to review this product.  However, the image above does link to my Amazon Affiliate account.

Popularity: 70% [?]