Bruno's Proxima 325L

[Bruno]

Hey all,

Thought I'd make a new thread and provide a little update. You may (or may not) remember my Juwel Rio 125, for which I made a tank log as well: https://www.tropicalfishforums.co.uk/index.php/topic,183281.

Right before quarantine here I moved to a new place, where as it turns out, I have a bit more space.  Since I had to empty the Juwel anyway to move the fish, I figured it was the right time to upgrade in the process. :D

I bought an Eheim Proxima 325L. It's a glorious tank. My Juwel was running with an Eheim Professional 4+ 350T. I didn't think this filter would be sufficient for the 325L so Ive upgraded the filter to an Eheim Professional 5+ 600T. The 5+ is a real beast, as you can see from the pictures below.

I  further upgraded the tank a little by adding the Eheim day/night cycle dimmer to the led bars and the system runs an Eheim UV filter just like before. I'm also still using a CO2art Dual stage, inline diffuser for enrichment. The whole system is powered by a smart wifi controlled multiplug, which makes it super easy to add individual timers to specific power sockets like for the UV filter and CO2 valve.

I did learn a few lessons related to maintenance, and anticipated accordingly. I added a T Junction to the Filter exhaust with a tube and a double tap followed by a quick release. I have a 5 meter tube I can just plug on to it. Next to the window in the same room I had a T splitter added to the drainpipe coming down from the roof. The idea here is that I can just plug the 5m hose on the quick release and literally pump water out of the tank and in to the drainpipe, directly to the underground rainwater sump in the garden. I can then also use either the tap outside in the garden (unfiltered) or use the tap in the garage (where I have a choice between RO or regular filtered water) with my same 5m hose and fill up as I need. This is also the reason why I decided to add the splitters to the filter exit, rather than the entrance. The water in the garden sump is then used to water the grass and plants.

Lets move on to the interesting topic! I still have the exact same fish species in my tank, except I added a few to make some bigger schools. Currently in the tank I have approximatively :

• 15 Pearl Gouramis
• 10 Panda Corydoras
• 6 Blue German Rams
• 10-15 Green Tetras
• 10ish Rummy Nose Tetras
• 4 Black Skirt Tetras
• 6 Otocinclus
• 1 Rainbow shark (Labeo Frenatus)
• 1 Bristlenose pleco
• 3-4 Assassin snails

So most of these fish are the fish I started with 5y ago. I did have a few losses, but I figure some fish are just getting to the end of their lifespans. From my original stock from 2015, I have lost 2 gouramis, 2 Black skirts, 1 pleco, 3 Cories and about 3-5 Tetras (Neon + Rummy).

I did change all the plants in the tank, as well as the driftwood as over the last 5 years the driftwood suffered from some serious erosion and the plants in the Juwel were at a stage where they could not be easily repotted in the new tank. Some had roots covering the entire layer of substrate ...

In the new tank I used the Seachem Flourite Black Sand (80kg of it ...) for substrate, which gave me a good 2-3 inch layer. I recently trimmed the plants A LOT but you'll recognize some of my choices I'm sure.

Currently I have a few:

• Hygrophila (Angustifolia & polysperma)
• Sagittaria Subulata
• Alternanthera Reinickii
• Echinodorus (Harbig red & Bleherae)
• Cryptocoryne Albida Brown

I went for a savage scape in the sense that I just wanted it to represent something natural. I generally don't trim too much (maybe once every 6 months) as I like the overgrown wild look.

Finally, here are some pics of the delivery, initial setup and what it looks like now (after some serious trimming).

[TropicalFishForums]

[Bruno]

This is roughly what working from home looked like this summer. I've since added a lot more decorations but the view is the same.