# 48Gallon Seapora Planted Ecosystem Tank



## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Im back. Its been 5 years since my 6G Planted Tank and 11 years since my 34G Saltwater Tank

Finally moved into the new house and all situated. I sold my 6G tank to a friend who loved it. Now that things are returning to normal and my Renovations are done its time to get back into the hobby. This will be the first time I get to dictate everything I want in a tank (vs. being stuck with certain things due to tank size or space/money restrictions) 

*Tank *is a 48 Gallon Rimless Seapora Crystal Tank - 90CM x 45CM x 45CM

The stand, i will be building myself and replicating the ADA style tanks. I'll be building it with 3/4" Plywood and painting it white. I love the look of a stand with the exact proportions of the tank so you have a sleek minimalist look like this:










It is going to be a slow build but I will post here as i progress, including uploading the blueprints to the stand.

Right now I know it will be a planted community tank with a few key features;
1) Enough rummynose tetra's to create a shoal
2) Endler guppies to create a constant supply of babies
3) Cherry Shrimp everywhere

Once the above are all situated and I am happy with stocking levels I will introduce some sort of small predator (Electric Ram maybe?) to keep baby population in check


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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

Welcome back!


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Purchased Aspen Plywood from homedepot. I now realize its not the greatest option as it isn't going to give me a very smooth finish. Just means i need to use more pore filler and alot more sanding.

Tank is 90CM x 45CM and my goal is to make it flush with the tank.. The left compartment will be for the canister filter. The right compartment will hold a pull out drawer (near the top) for fish food and then a few cubbies for whatever I choose. I drilled two holes on the left hand side (will be against a wall) and two holes in the back (for electrical outlet and one for random cords, maybe lights?)


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

Looks great so far! Hope to see it filled asap


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

cb1021 said:


> Looks great so far! Hope to see it filled asap


It won't be a quick build. I enjoy the setup and planning. I imagine it's going to take me a while to find the centerpiece driftwood I want (large stump in back left corner that sticks out of the water and a root system that reaches other side of the tank)


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Finally have the stand fully puttied and all traces of plywood is gone. Applied primer/sealer and sanded it down... Very smooth


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Here is the idea/look I am trying to accomplish.... I'm not sold on the current trunk I have with the multitude of spiky roots coming out of it... But also lots of areas for shrimp and fish to swim around


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)




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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Stand done


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

Jesus that stand looks amazing! I love the seamlessness. What do you mean by puttied? I'd love to _try_ to build the same stand. I gotta say, what a nice piece of furniture. I have a rimless 180G that has a stand from Miracles. I swear we're in the 1990s with design when it comes to aquariums. You see the stuff from Europe (also ADA of course) that looks sleek and contemporary. The tanks/stands we have here suck. Straight up. 

Cool driftwood too.


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

cb1021 said:


> Jesus that stand looks amazing! I love the seamlessness. What do you mean by puttied? I'd love to _try_ to build the same stand. I gotta say, what a nice piece of furniture. I have a rimless 180G that has a stand from Miracles. I swear we're in the 1990s with design when it comes to aquariums. You see the stuff from Europe (also ADA of course) that looks sleek and contemporary. The tanks/stands we have here suck. Straight up.
> 
> Cool driftwood too.


You can see the before and after images. With the wood putty (Famo Wood Filler) I sealed all seams on the exterior and put it all along the open plywood (where you see the layers). After a sanding it should blend in nicely. Although I had to paint it white before I saw some areas that needed more sanding or putty.

I agree though, all the north American stands are super old fashion or just don't fit right. I wanted the Japanese style with this tank (both the style of the furniture and how the tank sits flush with the stand)

I'm waiting for the wood to water log and hoping it doesn't set me back a long time. Boiled it for 2 hours and still floats better than a boat


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

I've got some leveling to do... A little unsure of the best and safest way to do this. I bought composite splints but it's off by the smallest amount


Also my driftwood, under water for 2 weeks now, and after being boiled, still floats really well


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Ok. Almost ready... The wood is still not sinking. 8 hours of boiling so I screwed some slate at the bottom and now I'm starting to aquascape. 

The front will mostly be sand with soil behind..


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

Looking good! Love the stand. What will you do for lighting and co2?


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

It will be low tech. I have the light you see in the picture. So far I really like it because it has a 24 hour light feature. In dusk/dawn it's more redish and at night it's blue... Full on at lunch. 

On the left side I'm building a mount for the emerged plants that will come up and around the trunk (about 2 feet~ from surface of water)


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Ok. Finally have something resembling a planted tank.

Got some planted tanks during black Friday and things are looking good. Some plants are in temp locations to grow in


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## soorigsby (Dec 2, 2021)

awesome pics ,I miss my planted tank


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

I found some weird caterpillars in the leaves of the vallis. Very nasty


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

Wow that looks fantastic. Do you have some co2 going ?


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

cb1021 said:


> Wow that looks fantastic. Do you have some co2 going ?


Nope, no CO2

My goal is to make it easy and care free. Want to minimize water changes (lots of plants) and reduce things I need to "monitor"


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Alright, I cant believe its been about 4 months but I finally finished my cycle and have some endlers and shrimp in there as my first 'light load'

Its looking really good


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

It's coming together so we'll that I've blown myself away

A peace lilly and pothos is growing from the stump and hanging on the edge

I Have a red lotus in the front right of gravel, hoping it goes to the surface because that area doesn't need light and will complete the look I am going for (floating plants without overwhelming reproduction)



























I have 18 Rummynose Tetras
Endler Guppies
6 Neon Tetras
Neo Shrimp
Ghost shrimp
Pom Pom Crab

Oto catfish coming next and I want some colour fish but not sure what is suited for community and not a jumper or shrimp killer


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

Here is the growth after 2 months from last picture. The plant behind the log grows super fast and ive trimmed it about 3 times.


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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)




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## Kweli (Jun 2, 2010)

The tank is thriving and all fish are doing great with full bellies.


No pests made it through (snails)
No algae problems on the glass
Both light sources I have, the LED strip on the right and flood light on the left, are not hitting the front glass and I can go over a 6 weeks before I notice some vision hinderance from algae

Water changes once every 6-8 weeks
I have enough plants (in the water and emerged in the back corner) that all my readings are 0 (Amm, Nitrite, Nitrate)



The baby endlers sometimes sleep in the 'blades of grass'










Or they are hiding from my Apistogramma cacatuoides













This is about 4-5 months growth... Its time to thin some of this out


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

So beautiful and peaceful. Love the tank. Water looks crystal clear.


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## guily yalai (Dec 31, 2021)

A great successful tank with elf fish. I have the a clip on light the same as yours.


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## discuskid (Apr 24, 2008)

Looks great. Love the stand too!


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