Making my 150g dream tank a reality

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Cant wait to see it set up. I hope I can find similar driftwood pieces for my 135!! Was it also purchased from Designs by Nature? Did they charge you an arm and a leg. DW is expensive in my neck of the woods
 
OOOH I can't wait to see this one done! Going to look good too. I like the Rocky and the Pangaea.

Subscribed, too, by the way!
 
Natalie;4582936; said:
Thanks!



That's a really nice thing to say, thank you. :) I've got another background to add to my choice list.

Designs by Nature Pombo Rocks
I wasn't too wowed by the stock photo:
DBNPomboRocks-1.jpg


but when I saw it set up in an actual tank I went "Wow!!" It's very dramatic but still natural looking. What do you all think?
DBNPombo2.jpg


Love that one too. Seems to have much more character and you can do a lot with it still.
 
NixMix;4614810; said:
Love that one too. Seems to have much more character and you can do a lot with it still.

Thanks NixMix... I know there were a lot of votes for the really 3D pieces, like the Pangea Rocky and the DBN Pombo. :) I ended up buying the DBN Bulu last week, because it has a lot of texture to it but doesn't take up much space (3" thick). The others were up to 10" in their widest spots, and I wanted to leave as much swimming room as possible for my midas. I figure once it gets a little algae growth, it's going to look stunner. I've been tracking the shipping and it should arrive Friday. I'm glad I ordered when I did because the price on that particular background just went up $45!

elting44;4614753; said:
Cant wait to see it set up. I hope I can find similar driftwood pieces for my 135!! Was it also purchased from Designs by Nature? Did they charge you an arm and a leg. DW is expensive in my neck of the woods

I ordered the driftwood from manzanita.com. In hindsight I should have saved money by ordering two pieces rather than three, because three is going to look too crowded. I can always use the third piece for something else in the future. It was fairly expensive but I don't have good driftwood in my area, either. I'm glad I went with that site.


Small update: My latest purchase was a 4x8 sheet of polystyrene foam that's going to serve as underlayment for the tank. I didn't think that purchase through, because once I got to my mini SUV I realized I had to cram an 8-foot sheet into a 5-foot space! I discovered that this foam bends really well without breaking, lol.

Next steps are:
- cut the polystyrene foam to size
- purchase more filter media and media bags for the Eheim 2262 that's coming on Thursday!
- search the nearest Lowes and Home Depot for a good carpet scrap to put under the tank stand, and last but not least...
- wait patiently for the TANK to arrive :)
 
It's going to be a great looking setup once you get everything in there. Did you deiced what media your going to use in your 2262? My two just arrived today :) now I just have to deiced what tank to use them on. I think my MiDevils are getting jealous of your Midas since yours has all that room to himself. I have been having great luck using the heavy duty carpet pads under my stands and tanks.

Now how high is the water level going to be? And do you plan on having it at that level indefinitely?

I'm looking forward to it getting all done.
 
RedDwarf;4616253; said:
It's going to be a great looking setup once you get everything in there. Did you deiced what media your going to use in your 2262? My two just arrived today :) now I just have to deiced what tank to use them on. I think my MiDevils are getting jealous of your Midas since yours has all that room to himself. I have been having great luck using the heavy duty carpet pads under my stands and tanks.

Now how high is the water level going to be? And do you plan on having it at that level indefinitely?

I'm looking forward to it getting all done.

Thanks!

I'm constantly thinking about media.... I have some existing ceramic rings in the two Penguin 350s I have on the Midas' current tank. I bought 2L of SeaChem Matrix and 1/2 liter each of Fluval mechanical and bio media. Once the 2262 arrives I'll have to estimate how much more media is needed (probably a lot!)

The water level will initially be about 12" deep. That's mainly until my dad visits next month and tells me if the floor is strong enough for a full 150g. If so, I'll fill it all the way at that point. If not, I'll keep the level low until I move out of here next summer.

Thanks for the suggestion about carpet pads. Are you talking about those mottled green ones that go directly underneath a carpet?
 
Well I use the water proof one that are more one color and have sort of a coating on either side. The molted ones are glued together so I don't think they would hold up as well.

I use pond matrix in all my larger canister filters along with EHFI Mech and EHFI Fix and for polishing I use polyfil I find at Joann fabrics.

I never really had to think about weight on the floors, being on a concrete slab helps, but when I put the second floor on my house I plan on having them put in some steel beams just in case I want an aquarium on the second floor.
 
^ Thanks for the info, RedDwarf. Your two Midas/RD are really pretty. They have some of the best pattern I've seen, and I can't wait to see what they look like as they grow up!

So... I've been staring at these three pieces of driftwood for about a week, with no idea how to place them so that they don't look deliberately positioned. I couldn't fall asleep tonight, and after about 15 minutes of moving them around, I came up with this. What do you think????

001.jpg


002.jpg


It kind of looks like one gnarly piece now-- I like it. I hope and pray I'll be able to fit these pieces through the top of the tank (gulp).
 
I think it looks good, i like how all of them do end up looking like just 1 piece.

How wide is the opening of your tank? I would hope you could twist and turn em to get them in. IF NOT Ill be glad to drive down to Gainsville and take them off your hands, free of charge :lol:
 
Natalie;4616605; said:
^ Thanks for the info, RedDwarf. Your two Midas/RD are really pretty. They have some of the best pattern I've seen, and I can't wait to see what they look like as they grow up!

So... I've been staring at these three pieces of driftwood for about a week, with no idea how to place them so that they don't look deliberately positioned. I couldn't fall asleep tonight, and after about 15 minutes of moving them around, I came up with this. What do you think????

001.jpg


002.jpg


It kind of looks like one gnarly piece now-- I like it. I hope and pray I'll be able to fit these pieces through the top of the tank (gulp).

What's shakin bacon?!?! If your worried about the pieces fitting, can I offer a piece of advice and say get them soaking now? They will be far more flexible once waterlogged and heavy. I have pieces that don't fit through the openings in the acrylic unless I pre-soak them. Adding them together as one piece is for sure the way to go.. Looks amazing!!!

BTW, I ordered the tree stump from DBN, its in my garage right now :D
 
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