Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Tom Barr

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Here's a 12ft tank I recently did.

Took 22 hours to plant it.
8 to scape the hardscape.

Long weekend:)

Has pure O2 and CO2 injection, 4 1000w MH's plus PC's/FL's for viewing darker conditions for fishes.

The tank volume is about 1600-1700 gallons.

I will likely do 3 more like this one but for the Los Angeles Zoo's exhibits.

The wood is awesome.

Most of the foreground is HC. Oh, that took a while :eek:

regards,
Tom Barr
 

Tom Barr

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

You cannot see the tank much and I have a lot of stablization rocks in place still. The pipe is to make sure nothing shifted as we filled.

This is right at filling, so things are ratty.
In 2 weeks, I'll be back and will add even more plants.

Other folks have some good pics.

I have one of the owner hanging in the tank that's pretty good:)
It'll be a few days till we get the pics from everyone and documentation etc.

I was in the tank most of Friday and Sat.
So I did not get the pics, just did the work involved:)

This tank will be nothing short of awesome later as it grows in. the plants where pearlign 2 hours after set up.

The tank has a valve linked to a 700 Gallon RO tank and 1000gpd RO unit for water changes and blends with tap. 6 ft FBF, flow meters and will have O2 controllers added.

Has 3 stages of CO2 injection, 2 beetle 50's, 2 x 3/4" mazzi venturi's and 2 24" tall x 4 CO2 reactors fed directly into return pumps.

The piece of dirtwood in one corner is about 300lbs, took 5 guys to get it in and about 1 hour to place right.

There's a 160lb pertified rock in the tank.

Who need a gym when you have a tank:)

Regards,
Tom Barr

dfgfgh.jpg
 

Tom Barr

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Here's the left side, I apologize for the bubbles and clarity, the tank was only 1 hour old:)

regards,
Tom Barr

bigwoodleftsideresized.jpg
 

Wet

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

That is awesome. Are you using a sump like Amano did, or do you find it unnecessary? Look forward to the next pics and documentation.
 

VaughnH

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Wow! My wife would have a cow if I brought one of those home for the living room!
Do you have to climb into the tank to plant it? How will they keep the glass clean? Not using Excel, huh?
 

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Great tank Tom, I'll be looking foward to seeing some more pictures.

What is the purpose of the O2 injection?
What type of wood did you use?

Thanks,
Bill
 

Tom Barr

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

The wood is all swamp cedar, wait till you see it in the tank after a month or two, it's beautiful red color and awesome grain.

It's not leaching much and sinks after a little while and stays that way from then on.

I have a lot of heavy rocks to make sure nothing pulled up and we wedged a 2" PVC pipe to hold the biggest piece in place just in case.

These will be removed soon.

There is a huge sump and the over flows are opposite ends.
There 's a 7 ft fluidized bed filter, a 5 ft Biotower, dual back up reduncy on most every system, 1000gpd RO system and 700 Gallon reservior, 3 o fthe largest iwaki pumps, flow meters, O2 system etc.

The O2 is mainly for the fish and bacteria, this modulates the NH4 and organic loading should the plants not grow well etc. The fish list is just plain crazy. So extra efforts have been made to ensure no losses.

Partial listing:

36 10" Discus, all champs,
60 Rose line indian barbs, yep, 60
64 Altums, we expect losses here.
1000 cardinals
60 Spotted Hatchets, never seen these before
200 apistos
Rare plecos etc

You most definitely have to get into the tank to plant it.
They took a bunch of Tom the Tank monkey pictures.
As someone that deals with several 4ft tanks, we have our secrets for glass cleaning. :p

Excel does not kill glass algae.

Here's some of the folks that worked on the tank.
Andy, Richard, me, Mark.

DSCN1829.JPG
 

Bill

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Swamp cedar, nice wood I have some in my tank.

Do you think you will post any detailed pictures of the filters and etc..

Thanks,
Bill
 

Bill

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

I had another question about the O2 added.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding this concept but when the water column becomes saturated with gas, that's when our plants begin to pearl right?

If the water column wasn't 100% saturated then the plants could be growing just as much as a tank that's pearling but not start pearling until the water becomes 100% saturated?

Anyway, when the water is 100% saturated with gas, does that mean any type of gas? What I'm asking is, it's not possible for the water to be 100% saturated with O2 and 100% saturated with CO2 and 100% saturated with (gas x) is it? Isn't it that any combination of the gases makes up the 100%, not each individual gas.

Besides trying to understand this better the reason I'm asking this is because I was thinking that if you add O2 and you were at 100% saturation just from the O2, wouldn't that prevent the CO2 from being absorbed into the water column?

Thanks,
Bill
 

Tom Barr

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Bill said:
Swamp cedar, nice wood I have some in my tank.

Do you think you will post any detailed pictures of the filters and etc..

Thanks,
Bill

When the rest of them share the pics:)
Be a couple of days yet.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

Tom Barr

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Pearling a few different things, flow rate of water, exchange rate, concentration, and production from the plant's themselves.

Even in highly sat water, at low light, or limiting conditions, not much pearling occurs because.........??

Low production.

Pearling is a production rate more than anything.
High light, lots of CO2, nutrients=> more pearling.

As the O2 is produced, it'll build up or else be dissolved fast, as the plant's metabolism really gets cranking, 1-2 hours in the light cycle in well run tanks, the O2 can be below 100%, and you still get pearlage.

So the saturation will help, but it's not the entire story.
Rather than depending on the plants alone, adding O2 amplifies the abcteria as well, this in turn helps decomposition and digestion. Pure O2, about 70% is added the waste water towers to amplify oxidiation by bacteria.

This prevents both low O2 stress to fish and also enhances the bacterial growth. If I do lots of uprooting, there is also no issue with low O2 levels etc. I'm no longer dependent on trhe plants alone for higher O2 levels for fish.

Pure O2 can be pumped into the biotower and the FBF to enhance the bacteria, they do drain O2 from the system after all oxidizing waste.........

Regards,
Tom Barr


Bill said:
I had another question about the O2 added.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding this concept but when the water column becomes saturated with gas, that's when our plants begin to pearl right?

If the water column wasn't 100% saturated then the plants could be growing just as much as a tank that's pearling but not start pearling until the water becomes 100% saturated?

Anyway, when the water is 100% saturated with gas, does that mean any type of gas? What I'm asking is, it's not possible for the water to be 100% saturated with O2 and 100% saturated with CO2 and 100% saturated with (gas x) is it? Isn't it that any combination of the gases makes up the 100%, not each individual gas.

Besides trying to understand this better the reason I'm asking this is because I was thinking that if you add O2 and you were at 100% saturation just from the O2, wouldn't that prevent the CO2 from being absorbed into the water column?

Thanks,
Bill
 

Bill

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Thanks for the reply I didn't realize that you could have pearling without the water column being 100% saturated.

So adding the O2 is for the fish and the bacteria.
Do you think it has any affect on plant growth?

Bill
 

Tom Barr

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Indirectly beneficial, since it will reduce the NH4 faster via bacteria which will oxidize the Organic waste at much faster rates.

Folks use air, they use CO2, seldom do they use O2 in the hobby.

In aquaculture, hatcheries, wastewater, it's common.

There is a TDG(total dissolved gases) that includes Nitrogon gas also, Argon etc function on one of the YSI monitors, nitrogen from too much air can cause the bends in marine fish and others.

Just like us.

Dissolved gases in solution is somewhat weird, often unexplored territory.
Many have peculiar assumptions about it.

I just use a base, observations and try it and see.
Wastewater is where I saw the O2 being used first in the pure form for filtration.

No stinky swer wastewater plant there.
All sealed up in a 70% pure O2 tower jamming along nicely roasting the sludge into NO3, then that's sent to the denitrification digester.

Pink Floyd w/Roger Waters is playing at the client's home for a benefit for the Rainforest. And I'll be there. :cool: Maybe I can sit in for a bass part or two :D


Regards,
Tom Barr
 

David Hui

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Tom,

Impressive specs, but 10" discus???

David
 

Tom Barr

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

You have to see them David, I've never seen them this big. Even at Discus shows. If you come to LA sometime, I may be able to get you a chance to see them.

I have plenty of Discus friends that are zealots.
They are 7-8 years old and the guy is fanatic and stuffs them full of food.


Regards,
Tom Barr
 

David Hui

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Tom,

Thanks for the offer, how often do you go down? Do you know if they were wild or domestic fish? I saw some super size wild discus on a german web site, but I have never seen them in person.

David
 

Tom Barr

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Yes, these are those same super size German discus actually.

If he can afford the tank, he also can afforsd the best biggest stuff for the tank as well. It's not about the $$, haha, but it's about the display, everything involved.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

turbomkt

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Tom,
Would a visit by a small group of SCAPE members be possible during a future trip?

Thanks.
 

Tom Barr

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

PM me and we can see, most likely can be arranged.


I'll be down there not this weekend, but next, Sept 8-10th.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

BHornsey

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Re: Barr's Behemoth giant plant tank

Hi Tom,

Just to go back to a point, you inject pure oxygen into your filter stack?

I have thought of doing something similar on a sump I'm planning but was going to use just plain air. Do you use plain bottled O2? (The stuff I got from the chemist when my Dad was ill)

Brian