# 340 gallon planted tank build!



## grogan

Yeah im excited too! I work at the lfs on the weekend for loot, and live stock and have become the local plant guy. This is kinda why I haven't been on here so much recently. Well anyways our shop is almost done with this custom tank and the client wants a high tech planted tank made out of it...YES! The owner wants me to assemble the co2 components, lighting, plants, and substrate. This is going to be a huge challenge for me because its on a scale that is...lets just say out of my current knowledge. Im doing massive amounts of research. I don't have any pics yet but I will document the whole thing. Oh, the client wants nano fish...it really cant get any better. Imaging a school of 200-300+ fish!


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## funlad3

Can I turn you into a costume and do it for you? Please? :angel:

You'd better have so many pictures that I get sick of pictures!

Am I allowed to ask his budget or your pay?


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## grogan

Lol funlad. Im setting up a meeting with him this week to find out his exact budget. Im going to present 3 levels he can choose from. He works on the north slope and is gone for weeks at a time, so Im really going to push for him to drop the cash on a fully auto system verses having other people tinker with his expensive set up while he is gone.

(this is just the co2 systems, lighting is going to be tricky. The tank is 130" long.)
Low light: 
Minimal co2 system, ph controller, auto dose fertilizers and a 20lb co2 tank- $500-$700

Medium light:
A dual stage regulator with dual outlets, ph controller, 2x co2 reactors, auto dosing fertilizers, and 40lb co2 tank- $700-$900

High light:
Dual stage regulator with dual outlets, ph controller, 2x LARGE co2 reactors and a 50lb co2 tank-$900 and up.

(the level of light determines the co2 requirements)
The people at planted tank are really pushing for led flood lights, so ill look into that. 

As far as me getting paid...lets just say I no longer pay for the hobby....


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## funlad3

Yeah, at that length, I'd do halides or high powered LEDs. 

I wish I were in you're position. I still owe my family money from black Friday... If I were privately funded, my build would be running now.


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## Fishpunk

grogan said:


> Oh, the client wants nano fish...it really cant get any better.


Get 4 pairs Heterandria formosa and just let 'em breed.


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## Mikaila31

LEDs aren't all that good on deep tanks as far as I know, even the high powered ones. But then LEDs seem to be advancing faster then I can keep up with them lol. 

If it was my tank I would scratch all 3 of those ideas. A good single stage regulator, needle valve, and solenoid has never caused me any problems. I know dual stage is better, but even if I had the cash I'd be hesitant to drop it on those components especially the pH controller. Save it for stock, nanofish are pricey lol For dual outlet rex griggs would be your best bet. I have one of his regs for 3 and a half years and use it to run CO2 to a 55 and 20 gallon tank. In the end the ability to support multiple lines cost me like $6 or something. It can run 1, 2 or 3 lines. The splitters he sells are really cheap and small.

I would first determine what the client wants the plant scape to look like then work from there. While I think meticulously aquascaped tanks look nice, I'm much more partial to really dense more wild and random plant growth. Thats why I call my tanks plant war zones lol. But you need to have a starting ground then pick equipment to achieve your ultimate goal.


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## grogan

I meet up with the guy today. He already has all hiw co2 stuf, so thats a big load of my back. he decided on a 4 bulb halide setup. [email protected] watt. I also ordered his Ph controller...i ordered one for myself too.  sorry, forgot to take pics when I was in there today.


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## bmlbytes

grogan said:


> he decided on a 4 bulb halide setup. [email protected] watt.


600 watts of power?!

That guy is going to have a pretty awesome power bill.


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## Mikaila31

bmlbytes said:


> 600 watts of power?!
> 
> That guy is going to have a pretty awesome power bill.


Yep thats like $20 a month just up in smoke. I don't even want to know the wattage of the heaters he's gonna need lol. 

Still not as bad as my parents outdoor hot tub. I commend hot tubs for being a huge money hole. I mean what better way to waste money then to heat a couple hundred gallons of water to 102* in the middle of a Wisconsin winter. Meanwhile I worry about my apartments electric bill.... :-(


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## grogan

...Yea I tried to sell him on the leds, but he said they were to expensive. So then I was telling him about using 8000k bulbs in the halides and he started disagreeing with me. 8000k halide bulbs are what Takashi uses...lol. Well anyways halide is what he wants so ill get them. Im going into the store after I get off work today to order more stuff, ill take some pics today.


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## bmlbytes

What color bulbs did he ask for?


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## grogan

He wants 6500k or 6700k. they are almost pure white. He also mentioned the slightly pink ones to. These will do just fine.


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## Mikaila31

Slightly pink was probably like a 8000K bulb. I love these and GE aquaray bulbs. I use them on all my 'showy' planted tanks. They give off colors better, where as the lower temps kinda give a washed out green color =/. I'd never use anything below 6500K on a show tank unless he's gonna mix higher temp bulbs with it.


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## grogan

Pics Finally! This tank is a monster, Im really excited to set it up.


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## Amelia26

Its gunna be awesome!!!!!! good luck!!!


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## funlad3

Does the shape fit into a wall or something? I sort of like it, but it seems like it would be a bit distracting...


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## grogan

Must be. Im not exactly sure about where he puts it. I guess its actually a tank repair not a new build. Turns out the bottom pan broke....omg! he didnt give me to much detail but if it broke with water in it...epic fail


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## P.senegalus

That's an awesome looking tank!


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## giggitygiggity

That thing...... is epic!


Cant wait to see it in full force! Im super jealous of you lol


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## Amelia26

any updates on this project???


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## funlad3

Yeah, you're holding out on us!


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## grogan

Sorry. It finally passed its water test last week. 4 of us lifted it up on saw horses....not fun! This is going to be fun to move into the guys house. We are now waiting on trim pieces for the canopy to be made. The store has been crazy busy so we have been working on other projects. Ill updating more


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## grogan

The tank is finished. Some last few shots of it in our shop. They took it to the residence last night and I got stuck helping customers  Im supposed to head up this weekend with my boss and set it up. He is doing the plumbing and I am doing the lighting and co2


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## giggitygiggity

grogan said:


> The tank is finished. Some last few shots of it in our shop. They took it to the residence last night and I got stuck helping customers  Im supposed to head up this weekend with my boss and set it up. He is doing the plumbing and I am doing the lighting and co2



Awesome man!


Cant wait to see that thing in action!


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## Kimberly

That thing is so cool!! You better be posting pictures as you set it up and when its finished! I'd love to see that thing filled!


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## grogan

UPDATE!!!!!!!
We we made a trip up to the owners house to hook up the closed loop system. Their is an intake in the center that comes down into the stand. From there it goes to the CO2 reactor that has an integrated Ph probe. After that it goes to the massive uv sterilizer, and then to the return pump. After the pump the line splits into a 'y'. From the 'y' each side goes to a return at the ends of the aquarium. Each return has 4 spouts that evenly distribute the flow/CO2. 

The lights are 4x 150 hqi metal halide fixtures. Two run on 8000k bulbs and the other two are 6500l. They are mounted 39" above the substrate line making the tank perfect light for a high light system. 
Check this out!:

This is the view outside of the Hummer we took up there. I was holding the camera level and that gives you an idea of how steep the hill was


























This is the awesome kegerator the guy has. Needless to say i downed several delicious Guinness.









the returns 









Cat fish!









The beginnings of the plum

























Getting close

















Finished plum









Filling it to test for leaks and setting up the lights


























What we finished today









the sunset on the way out


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## grogan

Looks like ill be heading up there again sometime this week to tinker with the co2 system some more.


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## snyderguy

That tank is amazing.


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## grogan

I was up there last weekend and snapped this panorama pic. What a great location!


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## funlad3

Awesome pictures! As for the setup, you got the easy job! Give the store owner props for using unions, they make life easy. :fun:


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## grogan

funlad3 said:


> Awesome pictures! As for the setup, you got the easy job! Give the store owner props for using unions, they make life easy. :fun:


They really are neat. He put some tacky petco background on it over the weekend. It looks HORRIBLE. Its not my tank but Ill try and talk some sense into him.


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## funlad3

Ugh... Paint it black and be done with it...


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## grogan

+1 it would look better anyways. You know its bad when I didn't even take a picture of it lol


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## blindkiller85

A tacky backround from a chain store is still better than a back round that a tweeny bopper in her early teens would chose. I can see it now. That gorgeous tank.....with a hot pink back round.


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## iheartfish:)

Oh god  Hot pink background???? Shoot me now  That looks awesome, grogan. I am so so so jealous!!! I agree, though. A black background would be best. Maybe after a while he'll realize what he's doing...


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## blindkiller85

iheartfish:) said:


> Oh god  Hot pink background???? Shoot me now  That looks awesome, grogan. I am so so so jealous!!! I agree, though. A black background would be best. Maybe after a while he'll realize what he's doing...


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## iheartfish:)

w-w-what was that supposed to mean...?


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## blindkiller85

Came off like you would enjoy a hot pink backround....I face palmed with disapointment.


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## Chaos553

blindkiller85 said:


> Came off like you would enjoy a hot pink backround....I face palmed with disapointment.




Looked like you lucked out Grogan, what I would do to help set up a monster like that...


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## grogan

It has been alot of fun..and getting paid to do it is a real blessing.


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## Mr. fish

What ever happen to the pics after the plants got setup?? That setup looked amazing.. i want something similar


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## grogan

Mr. fish said:


> What ever happen to the pics after the plants got setup?? That setup looked amazing.. i want something similar


last night the owner sent me this picture. He is having murky water issues because he used mountain dirt as his base. I wasn't involved in this step so im not exactly sure how he did it. Once this thing grows in it will be stunning. Oh and I want this tank too!


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## Mr. fish

wow to be honest not to down the tank or anything but i was expecting better results and aquascaping by now.. I know this is out of ur hands by now but really? This tank has such great potential. Thats one kick ass tank, wish I owned it


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## grogan

If it were my tank there would definitely be more of an emphasis on aquascape. However it could always grow in very nice. I just ordered him some new ADA halide bulbs and his CO2 system is on point. the pants will grow thick and give it the jungle look. He has always wanted a jungle tank verses a high maintenance scaped tank. The exact opposite of me but still a respectable style.


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## Chaos553

I may have missed the post, but what is he stocking it with?

It's too bad the water is still cloudy, hopefully it'll clear up and we can get a clean shot soon .


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## Fuzz

The driftwood pieces look pretty sweet. Hard to tell what plants are in there, but doesn't look terrible. It would be fun to do a project like this...especially if it isn't at my expense.


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## grogan

He is stocking the tank with nano fish (rasbora's, tetras ect). He also purchased a large piece of driftwood to add to the center yesterday. Yeah I wish I could do something like this. The owner has lots of cash to spare so that...helps alot.


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## Chaos553

grogan said:


> He is stocking the tank with nano fish (rasbora's, tetras ect).


I can't even begin to imagine how many of each species he's going to buy...in mass quantities haha.


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## grogan

Lets just say I have been salesman of the day...for awhile now! lol


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## giggitygiggity

Its an awesome tank, but the black things up front (don't know what they are called) are very distracting.


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## snyderguy

^^^ It's the sealant and yeah, I completely agree. Don't really care for it.


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## grogan

Its actually sealant covered with black plastic trim...yeah not my favorite. In all honesty pictures dont do this tank justice. It looks better in person. Next time im out there I will take a video.


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## Betta man

Nice tank! I'm jealous...


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## giggitygiggity

grogan said:


> Its actually sealant covered with black plastic trim...yeah not my favorite. In all honesty pictures dont do this tank justice. It looks better in person. Next time im out there I will take a video.



I believe you and im not saying it looks bad, it just has so much more potential without the trimming.


Its kinda like an all blacked out lexus with chrome trimming. Ever seen that? It drives me crazy lol.


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## grogan

A LONG OVERDUE UPDATE:

Last weekend I drove up the mountain to hang with the owner of this beauty. Glad to see it grew in so well. He has recently ordered a ridiculous amount of ada substrate through me. We are getting ready to break it down and go to the max...even more.


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## kcrunch

WOW
I AM IN HEAVEN>>>> I would be lost in there my mind would be on everything under the sun....


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## cossie

bet that a bugger when you want to catch just one fish


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## OhYesItsMe

That looks really amazing. Whats the fish with the large stomach in the third picture? how old is the tank, he needs more fish.


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## grogan

Avocado puffers. He actually has tons of fish in there. The plants are so dense that its hard to see them.


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## lohachata

to set up and own a tank like that takes some very deep pockets...
there is a store in buffalo new york that has i think either a 2000 or 4000 gallon tank set up...i would love a tank like that...it would hold lots and lots of fishes...mostly small ones.
and a herd of about 50 clown loaches...


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