Sorry for the picture heavy thread. I wanted to share my build and get some thoughts and advice. This tank breaks a 14 year dry spell for me and I wasn't familiar with the RSM setup. I was only looking for 65 gallon tank due to size constraints when I came across this one.
The tank and everything with the exception of the lights and fans were purchased second hand. The tank cycled about two months ago and I have two fish, three shrimp and a CUC. I am currently battling GHA (I have seen much worse) and I am having a tough time getting rid of it. I don't have any of the large black sponges in the tank and I am changing my filter floss daily because they get so dirty. I started using CPE & Purigen last week and it seems to be helping, but the GHA isn't completely dying off.
I feed once a day and my lights run for seven hours, but I find there is a lot of detritus material in the tank. Is this normal? Any suggestions of what I could/should be doing?
.....Now on to the build pics.
I made new doors and side panels to better go with the decor of our home.
I placed dosing lines along the back and into the area where the rear fans went (previous owner had removed them).
I made a new acrylic panel to house the dosing lines, ATO line and a small fan.
I also put a QD connector plumbed to the outside that I use for water changes. I made the mistake of placing it with the hood off and it ended up hitting the connector. I decided to notch the hood and I re-use the plastic piece I removed. The piece was cut and epoxied into place so the hood stayed sealed.
I replaced the hood fans with 25mm (just got a good deal) and so I had to cut the slots from the factory 20mm fans so they would fit.
I purchased Chinese black box LED lights and removed the LED panels from their housings. I had to cut the LED panels as they were too wide to fit in the hood.
I used angle aluminum to hold the LED panels in place and installed the LED's drivers into the hood. I use an Apex to control the white and blue channels and three separate blue LED's that I use for moonlight. I just left the timer in place, but it isn't used.
The tank and everything with the exception of the lights and fans were purchased second hand. The tank cycled about two months ago and I have two fish, three shrimp and a CUC. I am currently battling GHA (I have seen much worse) and I am having a tough time getting rid of it. I don't have any of the large black sponges in the tank and I am changing my filter floss daily because they get so dirty. I started using CPE & Purigen last week and it seems to be helping, but the GHA isn't completely dying off.
I feed once a day and my lights run for seven hours, but I find there is a lot of detritus material in the tank. Is this normal? Any suggestions of what I could/should be doing?
.....Now on to the build pics.
I made new doors and side panels to better go with the decor of our home.
I placed dosing lines along the back and into the area where the rear fans went (previous owner had removed them).
I made a new acrylic panel to house the dosing lines, ATO line and a small fan.
I also put a QD connector plumbed to the outside that I use for water changes. I made the mistake of placing it with the hood off and it ended up hitting the connector. I decided to notch the hood and I re-use the plastic piece I removed. The piece was cut and epoxied into place so the hood stayed sealed.
I replaced the hood fans with 25mm (just got a good deal) and so I had to cut the slots from the factory 20mm fans so they would fit.
I purchased Chinese black box LED lights and removed the LED panels from their housings. I had to cut the LED panels as they were too wide to fit in the hood.
I used angle aluminum to hold the LED panels in place and installed the LED's drivers into the hood. I use an Apex to control the white and blue channels and three separate blue LED's that I use for moonlight. I just left the timer in place, but it isn't used.