Yah, time to do a concise "what has he got in his tankses"-type information page, since the data is pretty much scattered into the twenty-plus entries on the page.

Not now, soon.

Turns out that there were two specimens of Echinodorus subalatus, they are now positioned on opposite sides of the tank.

Deposited yet more cash to Akvaariokeskus.

Bought three plants, two swords (Echinodorus bleheri [Amazon Sword Plant, Miekkakasvi] and E. subalatus [no common names in either language]) for the background and a very short plant (Hydrocotyle verticillata [Marsh Pennywort, Hatturuoho]) for the foreground.

Fishwise, bought six more glowlight tetras (total number now twelve) and added four catfish as scavengers (Corydoras sterbai [Sterba's Cory, Helmimonninen].

Settled the fish via the "add a cup of tank water into the plastic bag every ten minutes thrice"-method. Plants were left floating, to be planted tomorrow morning.

Pictures of the fish to appear.

Tank was just fine. Water conditions not changed for the worse at all.

Did the weekly 20% change, and added liquid fertilizer on the same go.

Noted that one of the Anubias plants is blooming.

Also noted that the carbon dioxide reactor has stopped bubbling, time to restock the fermentation substance.

Instructions left for fish-sitter. Ought not to be a problem.

And the conditions are fine. pH could be a tad lower (hovers near or slightly above neutral), but nitrites are fortunately absent altogether.

Ok. I've now used a different way to refer to scientifically named entities on the page with every single entry. Clearly confusing, and unintendedly so.

In the future the following template is used: latin name [english name, finnish name]. If a decent web page for the species exists, it is linked to via the latin name.

The no-name heater that came with the tank seems to have given up the ghost. During the coldest night this year (was -18C outside at 8am) the temperature had decreased two degrees to 21C.

Bought a 100W replacement from Jäger. This has a temperature setting wheel, whereas the old one forced you to guesstimate. So it's 30 euros well-spent.

The next thing to get is some black (or dark blue) paper to cover the sides. Distractingly wallpapery right now, even with the heady thickets on the sides. Academic bookstore's basement had a huge renovation going, and all the artists' supplies have been evacuated somewhere. Thus, purchasing the background was left for another day.

No spillage at all. Introduced two new species of plants: one medium and one very small Cryptocoryne wendtii [Ruskomelalehti, no common english name] and one smallish Hydrocotyle leucocephala [Konnanputki/Hatturuoho, Pennywort].

The latter seems to be caught up in the rather powerful waterflow, but the former now firmly planted. Both nabbed from my parents tank where they grow well.

Cut and replanted the tops of the existing miramar weeds and ambulias.

Done. Surprisingly dry. Apart from the splashy bathroom, where I noted that the fittings for the hose must be tightened really well. Oh well, better there than in the living room.

Added clay balls and tetra's crypto-fertilizer to the sand near the largest thickets. That ought to help the apparently nutrition-depleted plants to grow even faster.

The fish seemed to take the water change well. Water measurements later, when the surplus oxygen has dissipated.

More pictures as well.

Updated the stylesheet to match that of the main blog. Quite simple, just ripped off a few redundant (and ugly) definitions.

Finally got the last piece of the semiautomatic water changer. The sieve to prevent the inquisitive catfish from swimming into the gaping hose. The contraption ought to give me the possibility to do utterly splashless one man water changes without undue stress.

First water change tomorrow, didn't want to disturb the fishes evening meal by an intrusive cleaning operation.

Also looks like the plants are growing erm... roots that do not go down into the bottom, so it's clearly time to up the amount of fertilizers, that, too tomorrow.

The water conditions hold nicely. Though the carbonate hardness is still on the low side.

Plants have grown like mad. Chopped the highest and planted the tops in sand. Thickety result to say the least.

These tiny (less than two inches in body length) catfish seem to be real workhorses. Despite a big meal on Tetra's algae pills last night, the guys have fully cleaned the algaed-over java fern.

No worries about the fish being too nervous to eat. They took to quick exploration of the tank after the lights were back on after acclimatization. Even the catfish were very visible all the time, lounging on sand near the front glass or hoovering the glass.

First dinner was a success, that much is clear. The tetras are not afraid at all, and quickly attacked the floundering flakes. The catfish took a while to discover the algae pills on the bottom, but pounded once located. Happily, at least a couple of the cats are very interested in the algae-ridden fern, let's see how they like the growth on that plant.

And the two first schools of fish are in.

Six glowlight tetras (Hemigrammus ocellifer, lyhtytetra in finnish). A hardy south american characin whose otherwise drab colour scheme is contrasted by a glowy yellowish spot at the base of the tailfin and an eye whose color is just impossible to determine (yellow/orange/purple). Hardy indeed, the species is supposed to withstand averse conditions, but seems to be right at home in the current water.

The second shoal is consist of five pitbull plecos (Parotocinclus jumbo, katinkultamonni in finnish). It's a recent discovery, named LDA25 until its proper classification in 2002. A small suckermouth catfish, it's supposed to be a good little algae eater, but not an exclusive vegetarian to tide over those moments when there's not enough algae in the tank.

Also bought a couple of small tins of fishfood. Not sure about feeding the inhabitants the first evening - depends on how nervous they appear.

The tetras were too small and too quick swimmers to be adequately captured by the camera. More the fault of my own meager photography skills than the canon's, but it sure could be a bit more decisive on what element in the picture to focus on. The floating particles in the water and the curving front glass sure aren't making its job any easier.

The plants have stuck to the sand, the CO2-fertilizer is happily bubbling. The water conditions are appropriate. Seems like the tank is now ready to welcome its first inhabitants.

Yet a further mandatory decoration element is a cover for the two side glasses, right now the wallpaper and wires distressingly shine through. Paper or something self-adhesive and opaque ought to do the trick.

And there's one more technical aid missing - a hard pipe with a 180 degree angle that would allow one-person water changes straight from the tap.

Here's a picture of the rear corner of the tank, there's quite a few pipes going in and out (heater, filter's in- and outflow pipes, as well as the CO2-fertilizer's narrow hose).

The water seems to be just fine. At least the plants like it.

And it seems that algae likes it even more, a nasty brownish-red coat covers parts of the java fern, and it also sports bright green filamentous algae. Time to switch from corys to ottos in the first batch of fish. And also to figure out what the rusty layer is all about.

About the only suspectible water measurement was that of carbonates. Helsinki tapwater is notoriously poor, and seems that the first week of no fish has caused the plants to deplete them even furter.

Added Aqua-dur, a common remedy for the situation. From an old package scrounged from my parents' tank equipment. The usually fine powder turns out to be rather clumpy, and does not fully dissolve in water. A situation made even worse by not noticing this in time due to mixing the powder into water in an opaque vessel. Now some regions of the tank look like they had some serious snowfall recently.

If the flakes (small, but annoyingly conspicuous) persist tomorrow morning still, it's hooverin' time. No matter what, I consider this a learned lesson, and will inspect the powder better the next time around.

Water conditions seemed to be OK yesterday, so went to purchase a second batch of plants.

Turned to Stockmann, whose small aquatic department is rather well-stocked with basic plants. Bought three clumps of Miramar weed [intianvesitähdikki, Hygrophila polysperma] and three also of Ambulia [vedensuosikki, Limnophila sessiliflora].

Noted that the tank is kinda dark without the overhead lights, so planting the new arrivals will have to wait until tomorrow.

And not merely the shops - the hardware may be a tad cheaper in germany, but I prefer to keep good shops in business. Without sales of high-priced items such as filters, what's the incentive to stock even fish...

Anyway, noted in aqua-web, that there's a self-published book on setting up marine aquaria. The very first in finnish, and certainly locally written. Couldn't resist ordering. Not that I'm looking for immediate expansion into salty domains, but it's useful to know what's the current state of things.

The roiling silt from the apparently imperfecly washed sand has now settled, the water is back to its usual transparent quality and you can actually see the rear corner of the tank.

More bacteria quickstarter to be added tomorrow, and then it's time to start taking measurements on water conditions to see whether the ammonia/nitrogen cycle has indeed working. With luck, there's a good chance to go for lots more plants and a few hardy initial fish (choice still open, leaning towards some corydorids at the moment) on saturday.

We have immersion.

The tank is now set up, full of water and Tetra-provided bacteria to get the cycles kickstarted.

The uneven floor proved to be a small hurdle. In the end, some of the tank-stand's legs had pieces of hard cork and old credit cards slid under them to provide an even keel.

Sandwashing was a chore. As expected. Put most of the contents of a 40 kilo sack of blowsand into the tank. After rinsing it in half-a-pound portions under flowing water. Thankfully had a very sturdy sieve to speed up the process. And mr. Rubberduck was a very attentive spectator to the whole effort.

Filtration techniques have sure evolved since the Lavonius clan bought its previous aquarium (back in '83). Maintenance feels simple, and the hose connections seem sturdy indeed.

So, the decoration's in as planned. Four pieces of bogwood (bought from Stockmann, solid and weighty), one with java fern and anubias attached. Coconut-half, with yet more anubias and some java moss.

However, the most visible element of the tank right now is the multitude of bubbles. Thousands upon thousands, clinging to every surface.

Next up... More plants. Time-controlled power for the lights. Extension to the filter outlet to allow placing it on surface, now it's uncomfortably tilted to avoid constant splashing.

And multiple water daily water checks. Though I'll wait at least a week before adding fish.

And the tank's located in its corner. However, the floor proved to be slightly uneven. Not enough to cause any serious wobble. Enough to cause worry. Time to borrow a water level and place some thin cork or plastic wedges underneath to ensure a thorough balance.

Also noted that carrying a 40-kilo sack of sand up three flights of stairs is quite a decent workout. Tank was tough due to some corners in the stairwell, the rest (stand, filter, couple of bags of smaller items) was a piece of cake after the first two items.

The real show begins on saturday, it seems. Time to buy some bogwood tomorrow. Still unsure about the eventual occupants, but there'll be time enough to figure them out before the tank is fully mature.

Bits and pieces have been collected up, and I got a delivery slot for the tank, stand, sand, filter and whatever else on wednesday evening.

It'll be weekend before everything's in its rightful place, however.

Akvaariokeskus has Pseudohemiodon laticeps [lattamonni in finnish, spade catfish in english] for sale. Not sure of the species, looked a lot more like P. thorectes in the Mergus' Wels Atlas. Which would be a good thing, since the latter attains only half the size of its bigger relative (clocking in at less than six inches), who'd be too big (a foot long) for the 190 liter aquarium.

Seems to be somewhat fussy with water chemistry, so this will not be in the first wave of occupants, but will keep this catfish in mind once the tank is settled and the fish thrive. A definite pro is the non-territoriality of the species, so a small shoal is doable. This is no algae-eater, so another loricariid will have to fill that role.

Ordered the tank and all non-perishable goods as well from akvaariokeskus in Ruoholahti. Expected delivery on week 3.

The tank is a Juwel Trigon 190 (juwel's site violates most web design rules known to man, and a direct link to the tank specs is thus not available). I'll also use the cabinet supplied with the tank. Color of the cabinet and the top frame is black. Like its name states, it's a triangular tank (with a gently curving front), capacity 190 liters. Fits perfectly to a currently unused corner in my flat (the present occupant, a golfbag, gets retreated to cellar).

At least initially I try to make do with the 2x18 Watt fluorescents + reflectors shipped with the tank, but will certainly look into an upgrade (to a mercury vapor lamp) as by their virtue of actually hanging two feet above the tank, provide much easier visibility to tank during cleaning operations. A potential downside for the latter approach is the lack of a central support for cover glasses, so some creative geometry is needed.

The filter supplied by Juwel is supposedly ridiculously underperforming. Thus that will be replaced by a way more appropriate Eheim 2228 (Eheim's site also pretty much disallows direct linking). Maybe supplemented by a venturi-equipped internal filter if needed.

40 kilos of sand. Blue adhesive background (the ones by Back to Nature look very nice, but are expensive as well as unsuitable to this particular tank by their size). Fertilizers for plants. Water chemistry test kits (pH, kH, gH, NO2, NO3). Water conditioner. Probably some other minor items as well.

Bogwood (several chunks in various sizes) to be bought. As well as some rocks. Now's not the season to go stone-hunting, so have to rely on what's available in the shops.

Plants and fish to be bought even later.