Putting a custom setup together for the first time

Yes that would’ve been awesome! @GaryG ’s river tank is 2,5m - that’s more like it!

 

Today when I mentioned fast flow, all he could latch on to was potential noise. I damnwell hope that filter is dead silent, or there may be trouble in cabinet

 

I like the mock up. River rock is cool bet that wasn't cheap.

It needs to be 2.5 meters. You know you want to

 

Foam on the doors. Great slicer

 

Yeah I definitely want to
Well I bought 35kg of rock today. Was marked at R40/kg but got it at half price. Now I wish I collected river stones from that camp site in December, but the car was packed!

 

Totally
Ooh nice stones you got! Which tank is this? Looks great!

 

@GaryG very nice! Won’t you start a thread for this tank too? Not a great deal out there on brackish tanks. Exciting about your puffers, keep us posted

Re the rocks - totally! It somehow feels wrong to have to pay for it. And if you have access to it without disturbing an ecosystem then it’s a no brainer. As you say, someone else collected the stones I bought anyway. I did collect the smaller ones, but needed big ones too.

 

Thanks!
Yeah I’m toying with the idea of putting the stones in a container of water in direct sunlight to get some algae going while I wait for the tank...

 

Great, thanks! Yes I’m super excited

The tank should be ready for collection between 2 and 3 weeks from now. As far as I understand they let it cure completely, then test for leaks. 36mth warranty on the seals.

Initially I thought to use mopane wood I have on hand, but decided against it. Think I’ll use some of the spiderwood I have. But want the stones to be the main focus, complemented by plants and wood. I also bought 2 pieces of unknown driftwood from a pet shop/fish store. Looks similar to spiderwood but not as heavy and it cost only R60 each! They assured me that it’s safe for aquariums but we’ll have to see about that It was completely dry, now soaking in the pond.

Reckon I’ll use a bag of Langa soil at the back only, capped with pfs. Bottom layer at the back crushed lava rock. Pfs sloping down to front.

Will used crushed coral to buffer my soft water, not sure if I should bury it in the substrate or put it in filter?

 

I’m so grateful that you guys can anticipate these issues and help me circumvent them!

How about this:
- the lava rock and Langa only at the back and concentrated on the left and right sides of the tank, under and behind the rock piles
- capped with a thick layer of pfs (2,5cm?), planted heavily
- flow concentrated across the front of the tank, with only pfs, stone and pebbles
- I’ve never used a canister filter before so not even sure if this can be achieved in practice. Filter outlet on the left short side of the tank, close to the front panel, to blow across to the right?

This is a pic taken from above.
Tank dimensions 1500 x 40 x 40
I’ve ordered the DoPhin C1600