Saturday 27 June 2015

The almost 1 2X4 riparium lamp stand

Because the 10 gal tank is in a rather dark corner, I am building this very simple stand.  If satisfy with it, I might build some more for other tanks.

Material is 1 2X4 plus about 24 inches of a 2X6 for the legs.
Hardware is 6 lag bolts, 3"X5/16.

I applied some iron buff to darken the wood.  The I will probably just oil it...  Picture to come.

Sunday 7 June 2015

A larger planter, for my 29 gal this time - Turning it On

View Part 1

I decided to direct the output of my 2213 Eheim canister filter to the planter.  I reduced the flow for now.  Of course it made the tank rather cloudy.  That should clear up...

Some observations.  The geotextile seem to defy the gravity.  Hanging free and lower than the bottom of the planter, capillarity seem to suck the water out of the planter.


Turning the filter on, water flows down the geotextile.  I extended the geotextile by adding a longer layer as the dripping is a little noisy.  Adding a longer layer that touches the surface of the water in the tank makes the system completely silent.

Here is the outflow of the canister filter flowing into the planter.

And finally, the big mess in the tank.  Fishes really seem to careless.

9 June 2015, the flow of the filter is set to max.  Water in the tank has cleared up a bit.  Here is a close look at the mini river...

2015-06-13.  Quick update.  The planter is receiving visitors from the tank.  Some snails are working their way up the water fall :)

2015-08-04.  Peace Lily really catching up.  Tank water is clear.  It's my black water tank.  The paint holder HOB filter is... holding on.





A larger planter, for my 29 gal this time

Planter on top of aquarium or hanging on the side of the tank is an addictive activity.  Here is one I am setting up on my 29 gallon tank.

I took a planter that I lined with a piece of PVC pond liner because the planter has a drain hole.  I laid over the liner a sheet of geotextile.  I cut a piece off the front portion of the planter.  The water will drain back in the tank slowly flowing against the geotextile that I cut longer.  Eventually, some moss could be established there.

Some of the plants: Pothos, Spathiphyllum (very small for now), Tradescantia zebrina, Papyrus (Egyptian?), Fittonia.



So this is what the planter looks like on the tank.  Now I just need to figure out how I want to setup the pump.

Part 2 - Turning it On

Friday 5 June 2015

I recently set up a home made HOB planter made of a cheap paint holder bought at Dollarama.  The planter is hung on my 15 gal tank.




I added some moss from the bottom of the tank.  I laid the moss on some geotextile that should remain wet from the water flow.  Alos put some wilder moss I collected from the pond in the backyard.




An overall view of the tank as of 30 May 2015