# can I use a rimless tank? Vodka to cycle?



## Exile123 (Jun 23, 2006)

It has been a LONG time since I have had a piranha tank, I switched to saltwater corals, now that I realize how cheap piranhas are, I want to go back to them, saltwater is no joke, ive spent over $9,000 getting a 75 gall SW tank decked out with nothing but the best.

I have a rimless 40gal glass tank(AGA 40gal breeder, with the black rims taken off and glass sanded smooth), if I remember correctly they jump, so that might be a bad idea. I can retro some black eggcrate on the inside of the tank, I am going to be ordering 2 hydor 3 pumps, turn on a maxi only at night, that tank is drilled, has a glass overflow(A MUST SINCE IVE SEEN HOW USEFUL THEY ARE IN SALTWATER) closed loop, with a maxijet1200 return.

I am not sure if I want to run CO2 and make a planted tank, I have all the stuff needed, just have not decided. I may just be using my aquacontroller to just keep the ph high, and I may also run ozone to keep the water crystal clear. with that said...

I will be dosing vodka at 1cc a day, until the dead coy fish are 100% disolved(then cut off the 1cc of vodka), then I will get a few more, and make sure they live, only reson I am using vodka is to get the bacteria going super fast. I have done this before, with great results. I use this in my saltwater tanks to keep the NO4 and PO4 in check.

I will be using nothing but RODI water from my RODI unit.

I will be using a auto top off from www.autotopoff.com to keep the waterlevel current.

Well, now I am asking your toughts on what I can put in a 40gal breeder. I am thinking 3 reds.
any thought on the vodka dosing?

thanks

Oh, and I sold my 125 / 55gal and the 30gal in now my sump/refuge in my saltwater tank.

ERR! for lighting I was going to put on a 250 watt metal halide with a 6500k spec for max plant growth. or a 6x bulb tek light.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

You can use a rimless tank, but some sort of cover would be advisable. I wouldn't put any reds in a 40g breeder...a solo could work, but your better off with a small serra like a sanchezi.

I'm really not sure if all that equipment is necessary for a solo p tank. I'm not sure why you would need all that water movement...one pump or powerhead should suffice.

The pH should be kept around neutral or even slightly acidic. Make sure you are adjusting that RO water and not using it pure excpet for the auto top off.

If you are doing plants, an overflow will negate your CO2 addition due to outgassing. You would be better off with Fluorish Excel and a low light setup. 250w MH is ridiculous overkill for a 40g breeder even with CO2. I would sell off most of that EQ, get a good planted substrate, get a NO t-5 fixture at about 1wpg, and go from there.

I personally would skip the vodka and koi method. Plant it first and then add a bunch of cheap tetras to cycle it. When it is ready get a small serra and enjoy!


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

Did you buy this tank rimless or did you remove the rim on a 40g breeder?


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## Ba20 (Jan 29, 2003)

Since you already have all the equipment for CO2 why would you only put 1 wpg over your aquarium "that makes no sense ! ! ! Also WPG is a bad measurement for aquarium lighting. Try this bio put 4wpg over a nano then try it over a 55 you'll find out how WPG dont work. Being that exile is currently growing corals he'll know what im talking about. Now i do agree that T5 is the route to go for lighting, approx 110 Watts over that aquarium in addition to pressurized co2 you will be able to grow any aquatic plant you want. you might want to look into eco-complete substrate it has benificial bacteria in the water solution with the gravel. this gave me a huge jump on my cycle time on my planted aquariums.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Ba20 said:


> Since you already have all the equipment for CO2 why would you only put 1 wpg over your aquarium "that makes no sense ! ! ! Also WPG is a bad measurement for aquarium lighting. Try this bio put 4wpg over a nano then try it over a 55 you'll find out how WPG dont work. Being that exile is currently growing corals he'll know what im talking about. Now i do agree that T5 is the route to go for lighting, approx 110 Watts over that aquarium in addition to pressurized co2 you will be able to grow any aquatic plant you want. you might want to look into eco-complete substrate it has benificial bacteria in the water solution with the gravel. this gave me a huge jump on my cycle time on my planted aquariums.


There is no point adding CO2 to a tank that has an overflow for a sump filter...most of it will be lost and it will be a waste and that makes no sense.

I know WPG isn't an exact science, but I told him 1wpg of T-5 for a lowlight setup because that would be perfect for a 40g breeder. I have 2 40g breeders right now running 36w of T-5...65w of Compact Fluorescent works well too. No need to discuss tanks he doesn't mention.

I have 12 tanks of varying sizes and all of them are planted to some extent. Only 3 have CO2 because it would be overkill or pointless on the others. The rest get Fluorish Excel and IMO that is the best way to go on this tank since at this point he states he may or may not want to go all out (plus the whole filtration issue). He can always slap on more light later if things are going well and he wants to grow higher light plants.


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## Exile123 (Jun 23, 2006)

Thanks for getting back to me, I am using eco-complete substrate, the system I have is a closed loop overflow, just for surface skimming, low 300GPH return, with a ballvale, I will be buying a black rhom, and a few tetras to get this started, the vodka seems to be working, the cloudy fishy smell is almost gone, last night it was pure white, I could not see a lux led flashlight through the tank shortways, now I can see right through. I thinkI am going to run my Tek light over the tank, I will just get low spec bulbs and 2 blue plus, and 4 daylights. I will only run CO2(because it is cheap and easy to get), Fluorish Excel price gets up there. I can keep the PH at a set level with my aquacontroller with, I will have it dose the tanks with limewater for 10 secs then wait 5 min in pulses till it gets the right PH, and then turn on the CO2 if it gets too high.

thanks again guys!


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## Ba20 (Jan 29, 2003)

Bio this aquarium here is fully planted as you can tell. It has pressurized co2, sump filtration with surface skimming bulkheads










Exile I knew a reef head :laugh: like yourself wouldnt cut any corners haha anyways Tek is One awesome light fixture you'll be really happy with your results. If you need any help finding anything dry ferts, drop checkers, or anything hit me up im always willing to help.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Post some pics in the Planted Forum when you get that bad boy planted!









You'll like the Eco-Complete. I would go with 3-4 bags unless you are mixing it with something else. Make sure you've got your CO2 levels dialed in, your macros ready to dose, and go all out with the number of plants. Things can go bad in a hurry with that much light. I would keep some Excel on hand anyways in case of algae outbreaks.


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## blbig50 (Jan 1, 2009)

So whats the vodka do?


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## Exile123 (Jun 23, 2006)

heck ya ba20, the older I get the better you want things to look / work, thanks for the help/input

thanks bioteach for all the help/input.

The Vodka is made of carbon, SO it is like nothing but PURE(vodka is the cleanest liq you can buy nothing is added unless you get the flavored stuff.) clean food for the bacteria to thrive/eat/live in.

for cycleing I do 2cc per day, then ramp it up to 5cc a day, until the white clouds are gone, now my tank is crystal clear, reading zero all over. so I am going to stop dosing, and get a few tetra.

thanks again fellas.


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