120 Gallon ADA like

[Tom Barr]

I love the aesthetics of ADA's rimless tank, they are also quite practical for the gardener. I liked the look of the stand as well. I bought a smaller 60p and really liked the over all display, I am not overly fond of the lily pipes and am surprised I have not broken them yet(2 so far).

For the 120 Gal, I wanted a shallower tank than the 24" depth. I chose 18" as a nice middle ground. The front to back depth was increased to 30". the seam and rimless bevel was done by a guy in LA, Charlie and the fish tank factory, Lemar also does a similar custom job upon request and they sell via LFS's if folks are interested ,Charlie will sell direct, but you need to pick it up.

His:
http://www.fishtankfactory.com/

Nice guy and took care of the needs.
2nd tank I've bought from him.

This one is the nicest.
The stand I got through fellow poster "janz", he's in the SCAPE club and his brother makes really well made stands. Really well made.

The wood, well, you likely know me well enough to know I collect and hunt for wood as I have for many years.

I plan on doing hair grass belem mostly, or all C parva or a mix. The "Tree" will be exactly that. I will use Anubias much like a bonsai. This tree is well suited for this goal. the slope will have the tree on a hill of grass, with nice smaller Anubias petite as leaves. the tree will be partially out of the water with the leaves extending above the water line.
The tree will actually be on the other side and the over flow pre filter will hang on the side of the tank, not the rear.This makes access easier and the flow better IME.

There will be a Vortech pump on the same side of the pre filter as well. A sealed sump below.

I am thinking and leaning towards a West African theme fish wise.
Something that does not jump out. I'd wanted a pleco "heaven", the tank would be good for that, but the wood hath spoken.
The other 60 cube will now be modified and converted for that goal.
that's another step towards the next phase, redoing the 180 Gal will be the last step. So 3 tanks to go till I have pretty much all my tanks like this and the 60p.

The next 60 cubes will be a different size: 36Lx24DX18"H, 67 Gal, but alot nicer dimension to work with.

Cubes are fun, but the 24x24' dimension is getting old, time for something different and time to get rid of the Glasscages tanks and stands. Selling them pays for an ADA like stand etc.

Nice thing is, jnaz and Charlie both live close by, so I can get all the stuff on one trip.

I'd like to make a Cree LED lighting system with angled lighting and variable colors, with a dimmer....but I can wait a bit

I have the wide spread 4x 54 W in the Tek hood

 

[Matt F.]

That is a damn nice set-up! Good choices with flora, too (I'd say go for the eleocharis belem). The thought of that makes me drool.

 

[Tom Barr]

Sometimes the wood hath spoken, go big on one idea and do not bend.

 

[Hallen]

I like the depth, looks awesome on a framless tank!

How are the hinges made on the door of the cabinet, one hinge running across the whole door?

 

[Tom Barr]

Redid the hood, all nice a pretty white. The bars as well.
They blend in well and do not distract from the scene.

Jason B had mentioned he chose the U shape and the side mounts for his to not distract from the photographs. Good idea, but the side mount would not look good for my taste here. I can place a white backboard if need be in the rear, but in general, they will not stand out that much.

A ceiling suspension is best obviously:icon_idea

I like the all white clean look.

 

[greengreen]

really love the driftwood wish I could find ones like this

 

[ShadowMac]

that is a fantastic looking piece of wood. I know you find the stuff locally, or regionally, do you sell wood often and are there pieces like that to be found? where I currently purchase wood I don't have much choice on what I get with the package.

I think your idea for that piece is great. I have wanted to see something like this done. Most people use mosses, however, the proportion between the branches and moss "leaves" aren't ideal. the anubias may look very cool. Please keep us updated and good luck (not that you will need it).

 

[fjf888]

that is a fantastic looking piece of wood. I know you find the stuff locally, or regionally, do you sell wood often and are there pieces like that to be found? where I currently purchase wood I don't have much choice on what I get with the package.

I think your idea for that piece is great. I have wanted to see something like this done. Most people use mosses, however, the proportion between the branches and moss "leaves" aren't ideal. the anubias may look very cool. Please keep us updated and good luck (not that you will need it).

I think Tom is selling the wood on TPT swap and shop now. He definitely collects and sells it. I am happy with my purchase which I am incorporating into my new setup shortly.

 

[Tom Barr]

really love the driftwood wish I could find ones like this

I sell pieces like this. That one ain't cheap though.
Be about 1 month till I collect more.

 

[Tom Barr]

that is a fantastic looking piece of wood. I know you find the stuff locally, or regionally, do you sell wood often and are there pieces like that to be found? where I currently purchase wood I don't have much choice on what I get with the package.

I think your idea for that piece is great. I have wanted to see something like this done. Most people use mosses, however, the proportion between the branches and moss "leaves" aren't ideal. the anubias may look very cool. Please keep us updated and good luck (not that you will need it).

Most use smaller set ups and dinky pieces of wood, nothing like an olod looking gnarled piece at this scale with anubias, with the roots hanging down etc.

 

[Tutku Ozer]

Tom,

Can you please let us know about the glass thickness? and also the type of glass, of course? Is it a specially reinforced/tempered type and crystal clear or ordinary window glass?

Thank you.

 

[Tom Barr]

It is starfire 1/2" thick glass.

 

[Tom Barr]

You can see the duct tape around the lip of the sump.
A simple CO2 system, Victor reg, Clippard in line check valve, burket solenoid, and Nupro valve with vernier micrometer handle. Feed into the intake of the needle wheel and into the return. Lots of sponge and bioballs. Clear PVC return.

I'll be getting a lot petite Anubias in a few days and will tie them to the wood.

 

[JJ..Bequiet]

is that a tek light, did you paint it white yourself? or do they sell white somewhere?

 

[Tom Barr]

I painted it with high temp enamel.

I'll likely redo most of the bar and lights this way.

 

[JJ..Bequiet]

i like the white so much better!
i just sold my tek36 or it would be white tonight.
future thanks for this idea

 

[chopsticks]

Do you use the needle wheel to return the water to the tank or do you use another pump for that?

Regards,

Juan

 

[Tom Barr]

You could do either way for the needle wheel.

The Supreme Danner brand sells needle wheel impellers so you could get one of those for the pump return, you lose some flow with a NW impeller, but I often back off the flow rate anyway, so there's not a lot of power loss, less than a typical separate pump often times.

 

[JJ..Bequiet]

Is that the return line next to the overflow?
I want to put the overlfow on my 180 on the side like you have on this.
Also how is this tank coming along? i really like where it was going..also like the wood decoration on the floor..

 

[Tom Barr]

Plants are slowly filling in, Anubias are slowly growing onto the wood, not a fast process, but that's the point.

I have some maiden hair fern(Native plant here), that will go next to the tank.

Goldie pleco ripped up the corned of grass, so they where replanted.
This batch of soil leached a lot of tannins.

Finally tapering off.