PokeSephiroth's 15 Gallon Column Tank (Finished Setup)

Kids these days.... I tell ya.

He doesn't need a Squirtle, he has a Blastoise in there! Which EVERYONE knows is an evolved form of Squirtle, horray for science!

I really wanted a Charizard. My lvl 100 Charizard can withstand water... heck, he turns it all into steam!
Squirtle ---> Wartortle ---> Blastoise . . . Evolution! Darwin would be prou-...
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The problem is that Blastoise require bigger than a 15g, thats why it needs to be a Squirtle.

if he can fit in a pokeball he can fit in a 15g... it's simple physics!!!!
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Well if we're talking about size, then shoot. Screw Squirtle/Wartortle/Blastoise... I want a frickin Wailord! (largest known pokemon, known so far.)

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Exactly.

Here's how the tank looks, in my room. It's really great, when the room lights are off, the "shimmering effect" goes on my bed, and it really adds to the ambiance.

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Very nice!

pbmax, thanks! Now, just gotta add some co2 and call it a complete walstad setup!.........................
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Mmmm, dos equis. I prefer the amber though.

Im certain I need custom matching night stand planted tanks now. lol. oh darn.

censeoflife, definitely do it! It's so relaxing watching the plants sway back and forth, side to side, and watching the little inhabitants do their thing, as you fall asleep.
The shimmering effect also adds to the overall ambiance, which is a definite plus!

Semi update:

Boy, that Riccia Fluitans I got from the GSAS Auction, is really taking off! It's so poofy and it makes the branches look like they're swollen with some sort of disease. LOL!!! I still like how it looks though!

I recently just stocked the tank with White Cloud Mountain Minnows, and they seem to be hitting it off really well. They don't seem to bother my Red Cherry Shrimp either. Awesome.
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I'll post a video of the tank soon.

Lamental Jester, this one is for you.
Here's how I modified my hood. I completely took out the built in stock fluorescent light. In order to do that, I had to use my dremel. It was quite the arduous task, but well worth it. I also had to fidget around to get the light fixture and switch out. Nothing a little screw driver couldn't handle
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Next, I built a frame out of legos, because the newer lights that you and I have (Ecoxotic Panorama LED Freshwater Kit) barely fits into the tank's stock framework, as you and I have already noticed. By building a frame out of the legos, the LED lights fit JUST right!! As you can see in the pictures:
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The tank's original frame even has some kind of brace, towards the back, which I ended up making a "bridge" out of the lego frame, and it seems to work out pretty well. Definitely makes the lego structure sturdier, and acts as an additional barrier, which helps protect the lights from any splashes that may come out of the filter (but since you're no using an HoB filter, I s'pose that doesn't really matter in your situation as much as it does with mine. lol)
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Lol, I made a lego hood for mine yesterday. But when I have the right tools to modify the actual hood I'll probably do that

Lamental Jester: Yes, definitely do it. My plants are so much better now that the lights are evenly distributed, not to mention, the shimmering effect is even more prominent when the lights aren't just off to one side.

I know what you mean, my light have been evenly distributed since I took the hood off. The lego hood I made works well but its not very aesthetically pleasing, so I'm gonna have to find someone in town that has a tool that will cut the hood like you did, somehow I don't think scissors will work, haha

Lamental Jester: lol, yeah I tried using scissors (really heavy duty ones) and it was just impossibru!! I even tried using a mini saw, still no luck. Heh. Why aren't laser cutters commercially available yet??

Anywho, I also noticed that when I took off the fluorescent fixture, and placed one of the LED strips right underneath the hood where it has those vents... the heatsink on that LED light was SOOO much cooler than the one that's not underneath the vents. So, I guess that answers our heatsink heating problem. I'll have to find a way to make more vents for the other LED fixture without trashing up the hood. That way it doesn't overheat.

Lol, maybe you can nail some holes into the hood

These are awesome guys!!

Poke, could we please have a close up picture of your set up?



Lego's are proving to be an awesome DYI commodity. I passed the Lego torch to my child a while back. He would have a fit if he seen I was using them. It would be one of those things where I used that "special" piece off his Millennium falcon or something- you know..." that 1 piece you've been looking for to complete a 1000 piece project" ..lol!!!

theChad, I'll have a video up and running in a bit. Still learning how to use Camtasia Studio 8 lol. But I should have the video up and running by this afternoon.

As for a close up shot, I'll definitely do that, tonight!

Legos, my boyfriend's son (13) has a butt ton of legos as well, and it still boggles me how much those lego sets cost! They built the Star Destroyer, and the X-wing, and those two are priced in the hundreds of dollars, mark. Geebus!! D:

Update!

Got the video edited, so here it is! I think I'm pretty much done planting in this aquarium, and I'm pretty sure the butt load of White Cloud Mountain Minnows is really pushing the bioload, for a 15 gallon tank (especially once they get bigger). I will transfer any out as they get bigger, and move them to my other tanks

PokeSephiroth wrote:
Legos, my boyfriend's son (13) has a butt ton of legos as well, and it still boggles me how much those lego sets cost! They built the Star Destroyer, and the X-wing, and those two are priced in the hundreds of dollars, mark. Geebus!! D:

Buying Lego's is like paying full retail for aquariums and supplies!




Picked up an odd shaped tank last weekend. Its an 8 gallon and seems to be a "display" tank. Its long, 2 feet to be exact. The width is like 6 1/2", and a foot tall. Weird shape, but after I reseal it I would like to set up my 1st planted nano tank, so Im taking lots of notes here

The video was GREAT! Perfect close up shots . I am amazed how this has turned out. I hope my project turns out half as nice.

theChad, thanks! I was really shocked at how fast the riccia fluitans grew. I thought they were slow growers. Hahaha!! Boy was I wrong =P

That 8 gallon tank sure does sound like it has some interesting dimensions. It's perfect for a planted tank, since it's nice and shallow! I can't wait to see how it turns out!

very nice, great video editing skills too.

binbin9, thank you thankfully the learning curve for using Camtasia Studio 8 isn't as hard as I thought it would be. XD

I'm trying to take pictures with my camera, but the fish are moving way too fast, they end up looking like blurs. LOL... ughhhh!!! Hopefully the video will suffice for now, as far as close ups are concerned.

PokeSephiroth wrote:I'm trying to take pictures with my camera, but the fish are moving way too fast, they end up looking like blurs. LOL... ughhhh!!! Hopefully the video will suffice for now, as far as close ups are concerned.

The video is perfect PokeSephiroth!

theChad, Nyawwww... thanks I got fed up with taking pictures from my digital camera, after the batteries decided to die on me. LOL.

I got more close up shots of my 15 gallon tank.
theChad, I think you'll get a better kick out of this one
This video is dedicated to all of your WaFishboxians! . . . er... WaFishbox-ers... um. LOL. What do we call ourselves? Anywho, onto the video!

That was an awesome video. Very well done!

Betty, aw shucks! Thanks!! I hope you spotted some of your Albino BN Plecos in there! They're still growing, and I can't wait to find out if they're male or females! <3

I did! I bet they love being in your tanks. I found more pleco eggs today. I wish they would just stop!

Betty, LOL!! Wow, they just keep breeding like crazy. They looooove you! Hahahaha

Great video....close up and personal. The shrimp climbing the driftwood in the beginning is wonderful. And I saw Betty's pleco too...what a nice looking little one. Your tank is beautiful. I read this whole thread but don't remember...are you running CO2 on this tank? and what type of filter?

cichlid-gal, thank you very much! Betty's BN plecos are so cute, I'm so glad that they're doing well in my tanks. There's three of them in the 15 gallon tank. I figured they would be fine in a small tank for now, ehehe

There might be a chance that you've read Lamental Jester's topic because he and I both have the same 15 gallon column tank, and we've been "competing" so to speak on who has the best one (mine being the far superior one, because it had pokemon decorations in it before! LOL!!) He also uses co2 in his tank, while mine does not.

As for the filter, I replaced the filter that came with this tank (It was an aqueon something or other HOB filter) with an Aquaclear 70 HOB Filter, and just placed a bunch of Seachem Bio-Matrix media in the filter instead of the foam block, and it seems to be doing very well at filtering and keeping ammonia/nitrites at 0, and nitrates at really low levels. The plants do a lot of the nitrate absorbing though, which is great!

Update: for anyone that's interested. Here's the most recent video of my 15 gallon tank. Enjoy.

Wholly WOW AngelOooo!! 1st, sorry I totally missed the 1st video, (don't ever get a windows phone- totally glitchy :/ ) . 2nd , I can't believe you took these videos with a PHONE, these are very sharp & totally tranquil.

Thanks for sharing

Washington fish boxŌnians *

theChad, what? Whoa... I could've sworn you commented on my 1st video lol! Well, here it is, just incase you did miss it.



And thanks! Tranquil and Relaxing was totally what I was going for!

Nice vid.

thank you

There's something about LED lights that I like when the water gets cloudy like this (I pulled some plants in my dirted tank, and did a water change, that's why it's cloudy, anyway...) I love how I can see the beams of light penetrating through the water column... kinda reminds me of when you can see the sun rays in the clouds, while the sun is setting.

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 neat!