Last update: October 17, 1998
12059
This is a very low tech and relatively unsuccessful tank due to no CO2. We used this one as a control to see if we could grow plants with our water without CO2 injection. Some plants like Ambulia and Crypts did OK but most others either remained static or died slowly. Luckily, we had a huge supply of cuttings from the other tanks to replenish the stock. At the end of its life (as shown here), we did add Tetra CO2 bells, but they didn't help at all and were too much fuss and bother.
| Tank
Filtration
Water CO2 Fertilizers |
55 gallon glass, 48" long x 13" wide x 17" deep
Undergravel filter with 2 powerheads, Eheim 2213 canister filter with a Surface Extrator and wide jet nozzle Fluorescent, shop light fixture, one 40 watt Triton bulb, one 40 watt PennPlax Ultra Tri-Lux bulb, 10.5 hour photoperiod 2.5 inches of Texblast 2-3mm quartz gravel 76 degrees F, 4 dGH, 2 dKH, pH ~7.3 2-3 mg/l (natural equilibrium) Duplaplant tablets, Duplaplant-24 drops, Duplagan |
This was our first successful plant tank. We considered it "high tech" after we added CO2 injection to it and started using Dupla fertilizers. There really were fish in the tank -- I guess they were hiding for the photo shoot!
| Tank
Filtration Lighting Substrate Water CO2 Fertilizers |
85 gallon acrylic, 60" long x 18" wide x 18" deep
Undergravel filter with 2 powerheads, Eheim 2217 canister filter with a spray bar. Fluorescent, two shop light fixtures, two 40 watt Triton bulbs and two 40 watt PennPlax Ultra Tri-Lux bulbs, 10.5 hour photoperiod 3 inches of Texblast 2-3mm quartz gravel, some Duplarit-K laterite balls 76 degrees F, 4 dGH, 5 dKH, pH ~7.0 15 mg/l, Dulpla Starter Set with 2.5 pound bottle, Dupla CO2 diffuser Duplaplant tablets, Duplaplant-24 drops, Duplagan |
A bit more sophisticated setup for the 85 gallon tank. Now we are specializing in Rainbowfish and have upgraded the CO2 system to a 5 pound bottle and use the Eheim filter for a reactor.
| Tank
Filtration
Water CO2
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85 gallon acrylic, 60" long x 18" wide x 18" deep
Undergravel filter with 2 powerheads, Eheim 2217 canister filter with a Surface Extrator and wide jet nozzle Fluorescent, two shop light fixtures, two 40 watt Triton bulbs, two 40 watt PennPlax Ultra Tri-Lux bulbs, 10.5 hour photoperiod 3 inches of Texblast 2-3mm quartz gravel, some Duplarit-K laterite balls 78 degrees F, 5 dGH, 5 dKH, pH ~7.0 15 mg/l, manual DIY setup with a 5# bottle, regulator, Nupro B-4MG2 valve, Dupla bubble counter, injected via Eheim canister filter. Duplaplant tablets, Duplaplant-24 drops, Duplagan |
After lots of success with the 85 gallon tank and being inspired by a discus seminar by Dr. Ken Reeves of Denver, we decided to up the ante and set up a discus tank using as many of the Dupla principles as we could afford. This was our "Almost Optimum Aquarium", having everything except substrate heating coils.
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Filtration
CO2
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100 gallon acrylic, 60" long x 18" wide x 21" deep
Amiracle 150 trickle filter with skimmer box, 4 gallons of generic bio-balls, Silent One pump @ 360 GPH, Eheim 2217 canister filter with a wide jet nozzle Fluorescent, two Triton Enhancer reflectors, Rena end caps, two 40 watt Triton, two 40 watt PennPlax Ultra Tri-Lux, 10.5 hour photoperiod 3.5 inches of Texblast 2-3mm quartz gravel, 1 kg Duplarit-G laterite in lower 1/3 of gravel 84 degrees F, 2 dGH, 5 dKH, pH 7.0 15 mg/l, automatic DIY setup with a 10# bottle, regulator, ARO NO1 valve, Dupla bubble counter, Dupla Reactor 'S' in trickle filter sump, Sandpoint II dual controller (ORP monitor and pH controller). Duplaplant tablets, Duplaplant-24 drops, Duplagan |
This is a all-out Dupla Optimum Aquarium literally "by the book". That Fish Place had a clearance sale on Dupla equipment when they dropped the line in 1991 and we got a bunch of goodies for half price. We just couldn't pass that up! We started with discus in the tank but changed to angelfish after a while -- the metal halide lights seemed to scare the discus and they hid all the time.
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Filtration
CO2
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90 gallon glass, 48" long x 18" wide x 24" deep
Amiracle 150 trickle filter with skimmer box, 4 gallons of Dupla BioKascade bio-balls, Silent One pump @ 360 GPH Metal halide, Hamilton Technologies suspended hood with 2 175w 5500K bulbs and 2 40w Triton bulbs (sunrise/sunset), 10 hour photoperiod 3.5 inches of Texblast 2-3mm quartz gravel, 1 kg Duplarit-G laterite in lower 1/3 of gravel, 250 watt Dupla substrate heating system. 78 degrees F, 3 dGH, 5 dKH, pH 7.0 15 mg/l, automatic DIY setup with a 20# bottle, regulator, ARO NO1 valve, Dupla bubble counter, Dupla Reactor 'S' in trickle filter sump, Sandpoint II dual controller (ORP monitor and pH controller). Duplaplant tablets, Duplaplant-24 drops, Duplagan |
The 85 gallon tank had a beautiful, red variety of Echinodorus horemanii that was getting out of hand. We asked ourselves, "What if we had a bigger tank for it?" The answer was "It would be cool" so we set up the 120 gallon tank just for it and some Rainbowfish. After tons of experience with the other tanks, we knew this one would be a cinch!
| Tank Filtration Lighting Substrate Water CO2 Fertilizers |
120 gallon glass, 48" long x 24" wide x 24" deep
Amiracle 250 trickle filter with skimmer box, 4 gallons of Dupla BioKascade bio-balls, Silent One pump @ 360 GPH Metal halide, EnergySavers suspended oak hood with 2 175w 5500K bulbs and 2 40w Triton bulbs (sunrise/sunset), 10 hour photoperiod 4 inches of Texblast 2-3mm quartz gravel, 1 kg Duplarit-G laterite in lower 1/3 of gravel, 100 watt DIY substrate heat (Duplaflex 300 cables, 100 watt 24 V transformer, light timer control). 78 degrees F, 5 dGH, 5 dKH, pH 7.0 15 mg/l, automatic DIY setup with a 10# bottle, regulator, ARO NO1 valve, Dupla bubble counter, Dupla Reactor 'S' in trickle filter sump, Sandpoint Accurate I pH controller. Duplaplant tablets, Duplaplant-24 drops, Duplagan |
We did extensive remodeling of our house in 1995 and had to move all the tanks as each room was redone. This gave us the opportunity to upgrade all the tanks to what we think is the "right" way to do things. In the process, we decided that four large tanks were one too many and combined the best pieces of the 90g and 120g tanks into an upgraded 120g tank.
The older 85g and 100g acrylic tanks were replaced by new 100g tanks. We like the taller 100g size and the old 100g tank had what seemed like poor quality acrylic that had some crazing on the front surface. We had Amiracle in Denver build two 100g tanks with holes and cutouts per our specifications. The new tanks are 3/8" acrylic instead of the 1/4" in the old tanks.
| Tank Filtration Lighting Substrate Water CO2 Fertilizers |
100 gallon acrylic, 60" long x 18" wide x 22" deep
Amiracle 150 trickle filter with skimmer box, 4 gallons of Dupla BioKaskade bio-balls, Silent One pump @ 360 GPH Fluorescent, two Triton Enhancer reflectors, Rena end caps, two 40 watt Triton bulbs, two 40 watt PennPlax Ultra Tri-Lux bulbs, 10 hour photoperiod 3.5 inches of Texblast 2-3mm quartz gravel, 1 kg Duplarit-G laterite in lower 1/3 of gravel, 200 watt DIY substrate heat (Duplaflex 750 cables, 200 watt 24 V transformer, Ultralife temperature controller) 84 degrees F, 3 dGH, 5 dKH, pH 7.0, 150 L changed weekly, 75 ml Duplagan, NaHCO3, CaCO3, MgSO4 added after changes 15 mg/l, automatic DIY setup with a 10# bottle, regulator, solenoid, Nupro B-4MG2 valve, Dupla bubble counter, Dupla Reactor 'S' in trickle filter sump, Sandpoint II dual controller (ORP monitor and pH controller). 1 Duplaplant tablet weekly, 4 Duplaplant-24 drops daily |
| Tank Filtration Lighting Substrate Water CO2 Fertilizers |
100 gallon acrylic, 60" long x 18" wide x 22" deep
Amiracle 150 trickle filter with skimmer box, 4 gallons of Dupla BioKaskade bio-balls, Silent One pump @ 360 GPH Fluorescent, two shop light fixtures, Mylar reflector, two 40 watt Triton bulbs, two 40 watt PennPlax Ultra Tri-Lux bulbs, 10 hour photoperiod 3.5 inches of Texblast 2-3mm quartz gravel, 1 kg Duplarit-G laterite in lower 1/3 of gravel, 150 watt DIY substrate heat (Duplaflex 500 cables, 200 watt 24 V transformer, Ultralife temperature controller) 78 degrees F, 6 dGH, 5 dKH, pH 7.0, 150 L changed bi-weekly, 75 ml Duplagan, CaCO3, MgSO4 added after changes 15 mg/l, automatic DIY setup with a 20# bottle, regulator, solenoid, ARO NO1 valve, Dupla bubble counter, Dupla Reactor 'S' in trickle filter sump, Sandpoint II dual controller (ORP monitor and pH controller). 2 Duplaplant tablets bi-weekly, 6 Duplaplant-24 drops daily |
| Tank Filtration Lighting Substrate Water CO2 Fertilizers |
120 gallon glass, 48" long x 24" wide x 24" deep
Amiracle 250 trickle filter with skimmer box, 6 gallons of Dupla BioKascade bio-balls, Silent One pump @ 360 GPH Metal halide, Hamilton Technologies suspended hood with 2 175w 5500K bulbs and 2 40w Triton bulbs (sunrise/sunset), 10 hour photoperiod 4 inches of Texblast 2-3mm quartz gravel, 1 kg Duplarit-G laterite in lower 1/3 of gravel, 250 watt Dupla substrate heating system. 78 degrees F, 6 dGH, 5 dKH, pH 7.0, 150 L changed bi-weekly, 75 ml Duplagan, CaCO3, MgSO4 added after changes 15 mg/l, automatic DIY setup with a 10# bottle, regulator, solenoid, ARO NO1 valve, Dupla bubble counter, Dupla Reactor 'S' in trickle filter sump, Sandpoint Accurate I pH controller. 2 Duplaplant tablets bi-weekly, 8 Duplaplant-24 drops daily |