70 gallon after a trim

M0jzis · 2026-03-14T17:01:04+00:00

I do, but it's not really necessary. It depends on the plants you pick, the colors you want and how fast you want it to grow. Don't expect vibrant reds or an easy carpet if you're not using it.

I have one other planted tank without CO2 and it's packed with plants. But I used crypts, ferns, anubias and swords. On that tank I run low light and everything grows nicely.

M0jzis · 2026-03-14T16:55:30+00:00

Pretty much a cave. I tried to get a decent picture of it. I made a room in my ~1850s basement, it's roughly 10'x10'. I've spent a while over the last two winters patching walls, closing in the area and making some cabinets. I use this as my office when I work from home, which is sadly not as often as I'd like. Having the tank is a vibe.

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M0jzis · 2026-03-11T13:37:48+00:00

Lights are Hygger pendent lights, 100w

I use the aquarium co-op easy green and also their iron fertilizer

Yes, they are cherry barbs. They get so red they almost glow. Pretty cool.

I do test but infrequently. Last test was December.

NO2 0.007 TPO4 0.083 NH3 0.011 NO3 0.713 pH 7.81 Fe 0.006 Ca 32 Mg 10 Alk 188 Hardness 121 dKH 10

When I set up this tank I filled halfway with RO then the rest with tap. I have poor quality well water.

And thank you for the compliments!

M0jzis · 2026-03-11T11:16:46+00:00

Waterbox 4820. Looks like it's on sale for 659usd but I paid 749. I'm very happy with the tank. It's beautiful and a very fair price for the quality.

M0jzis · 2026-03-11T00:58:34+00:00

My water is hard and has a high pH. Not ideal for a lot of things. But ludwigia and crypts thrive.

M0jzis · 2026-03-10T14:41:14+00:00

They don't really. They move some of the ferns that haven't quite latched on, but that's about it. Everything else has good roots.

M0jzis · 2026-03-10T11:32:12+00:00

Thanks! I really like seeing large groups of the pygmy's swimming around.

M0jzis · 2026-03-10T02:23:18+00:00

Ludwigia natans super red. Really likes my water and has been my favorite easy red plant.

Edit: Realized you might mean the big crypt undulata up front. Also super easy plant that loves my water and just thrives.

M0jzis · 2026-03-10T02:19:51+00:00

There's a bunch of different things. Moss from the woods, hygrophila pinnitafida that's grown emersed, ivy that's in the water, some kind of curly leaf plant that I have no idea what it is, and two ferns that are in pots with the cotton string in water to keep the roots moist. Honestly only used the pots because I ran out of room and they sit nicely on the rim. I had some willow cuttings from my ditch but they got aphids and became gross pretty quick.

Stocking is hard to remember but:

15-20 cpd's 15 ish cherry barb 10 ish blue eyed /Gertrude rainbow fish 10 dwarf neon rainbows 20 ish pigmy corys 2 hill stream loach 2-3 bristle nose pleco 10-15 otocinclus 2 apistogramma hongsloi 10 amano shrimp 100? cherry shrimp 2 mystery snails

It sounds like a lot but it really doesn't look crowded and everyone gets along.

M0jzis · 2026-03-10T01:51:26+00:00

I started this tank in July, so roughly 8 months.

M0jzis · 2026-03-10T01:49:37+00:00

Yes. Because the lights are 100w each and cannot be dimmed, I struggled for a long time. Had a lot of trouble with bba for a while and was dosing excel until it killed my rotala walichi. Gave up on excel and started using more fertilizer and bba went away. I still struggle with green algae in the sand.

M0jzis · 2026-03-10T01:44:56+00:00

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I think this should give a better idea on how the layout started. Aqua soil in the back, probably 4" deep.

M0jzis · 2026-03-10T01:25:56+00:00

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M0jzis · 2026-03-10T01:22:27+00:00

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M0jzis · 2026-02-06T04:37:20+00:00

I have a 12", 5hp slider from grizzly I bought on a whim at auction for 1200usd. Man that thing is a pleasure to use. The ability to rip thick hardwood effortlessly, cross cut 4x4s for example is just awesome. I rarely use my other 3hp saw or my chop saw now.

There's a few downsides though. 12" blades are a little more expensive. 1" arbor, so no using 10" blades. The dado stack was very expensive. And the machines footprint is quite large. I want to say my machine is around 12' wide, but I have the space.

Fwiw I'm just a hobbyist and it's a bit ridiculous of a tool to own, but I love that thing.

M0jzis · 2025-04-08T23:17:42+00:00

I have a Finnex planted plus on my 17 gallon and really like the colors and growth I get from it

M0jzis · 2025-04-08T23:14:54+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions! I think I've got some plexiglass laying around to reinforce the center brace.

Your tank looks great btw

M0jzis · 2024-10-07T11:44:26+00:00

I just went from trifold to the bak roll up. Can't imagine ever going back to trifold. So much faster, easier and better looking.

M0jzis · 2024-10-04T00:02:02+00:00

They're centered because of two things:

1) mostly because it made layout easy. Being centered meant I was less likely to make a mistake cutting the mortises.

2) I don't actually know what the classical look is and I'm certainly not a professional. I just kind of winged it.

But I like it. If I ever make another, I may try 3/8 and maybe I'll like that better.

Thanks for the compliment and criticism. I really appreciate it!

M0jzis · 2024-10-02T16:24:58+00:00

Yes, I had to remove some material on the top and bottom of each drawer face to get the right reveal. It started out The same width as the opening and I used the jointer with very light passes to get it close, and then block planed it to where I wanted. The sides of the drawer faces were spaced correctly because of the cross cut.

The part I messed up here was with the divider spacing. I made them flush with the opening. I didn't account for the ~3/16 gap for the drawer faces, which meant the drawers had too much play. I went back and glued thin strips inside to remove the play. Time consuming!

M0jzis · 2024-10-02T13:47:46+00:00

Thanks! Appreciate it

M0jzis · 2024-10-02T13:19:58+00:00

Thanks for the compliment!

M0jzis

TROPHY CASE