# Seiryoku's 29g, First Planted Tank *R.I.P.*



## 20 20 (Feb 7, 2008)

_Nobody's going to talk to you until you put a picture up...




Unless it's to tell you to put a picture up..._ :icon_lol:


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## itstony (Jan 11, 2009)

theads worthless without pics


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

itstony said:


> theads worthless without pics


There, it isn't worthless now >_>


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## timme278 (Jan 1, 2009)

itstony said:


> theads worthless without pics


quite blunt, but i agree

nice tank
if your cycling with neons they will die unfortuanatly


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Tank has long been cycled  (they are cardinals)


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## timme278 (Jan 1, 2009)

thats okay then

i realy should read the whole of theads before commenting, ahh well

both neons and cardinals couldnt withstand the cycling


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Yeah, they are rather sensitive to both ammonia and nitrite if I remember correctly.


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Playing with the macro lens, little buggers wouldn't stop twitching!









My stash >_>









Got my second bag of eco-complete today, but don't think I'll get to adding it to the tank until tomorrow after work.


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Added the second bag of eco-complete, doesn't appear to be anything wrong with it other than a handful of boulders I pulled out of it. Think I may have buried a panda cory though >_<; Can't find #5!

Added some plants too! I'll post some pictures after the dirt storm settles.

Dirt storm!









Clear enough for a picture, I suppose.









Almost sat on something when I turned around to sit down...


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Added ~20 RCS to the tank today (thank you epicfish) at lunch. So far I've found ~17 of them, but one of the cherry barbs (still need to move them to my 46g) looks rather fat...


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Looking good. Beautiful cat.


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

Glad to see more plants going in. Looks like you still have room for quite a few more!


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## organic sideburns (Dec 22, 2005)

how are the RCH doing? i want to order 20 from epicfish as well but im worried most of the small ones will get eaten in my peaceful 46 gal community tank. i have a dozen ghost shrimp in there and they are thriving so idk.


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

sewingalot said:


> Looking good. Beautiful cat.


Thank you x2 



Tex Gal said:


> Glad to see more plants going in. Looks like you still have room for quite a few more!


I have 3-4 packages of plants arriving this week from various members here. Don't remember what they are all...hope I can make all three tanks look nice.



organic sideburns said:


> how are the RCH doing? i want to order 20 from epicfish as well but im worried most of the small ones will get eaten in my peaceful 46 gal community tank. i have a dozen ghost shrimp in there and they are thriving so idk.


They are doing fine, was looking at them a few minuets ago. I think a cherry barb ate one or two, the cardinal and rummy-nose tetras were also chasing/nipping at a few when I first added them. General rule is, if it will fit in their mouth they will eat it, or at the very least try. Enough should survive if they have enough places to hide.

I'm pretty sure ghost shrimp will eat RCS and possibly interbreed with them.

---

Forgot to mention I'm getting 6+ Ottos tomorrow for the tank. Figure I'll lose a couple, sadly, and end up with 3-4.


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Woot! Received four boxes today (all plants)! I honestly don't remember what I got, will have to wait until I get home to open them up.


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Aquascaping freshwater tanks is harder than arranging live rock in saltwater -_-; Got a bunch of plants in, just finished actually...and my right hand is all pruned up.

Added six ottos! They are doing great so far, looked like albinos in the bag, but are coloring up nicely. Already munching on stuff too. Lose how they can rest on a leaf 1/4 their size.

No idea how my plants will grow in, since I know very little about them. Have a feeling I'll be redoing this tank a lot as they grow ^^)b


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Seiryoku said:


> Aquascaping freshwater tanks is harder than arranging live rock in saltwater -_-; Got a bunch of plants in, just finished actually...and my right hand is all pruned up.
> 
> Added six ottos! They are doing great so far, looked like albinos in the bag, but are coloring up nicely. Already munching on stuff too. Lose how they can rest on a leaf 1/4 their size.
> 
> No idea how my plants will grow in, since I know very little about them. Have a feeling I'll be redoing this tank a lot as they grow ^^)b


I am glad to hear another pruned victim. I was beginning to think I was the only one. When do we see pictures?


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

One of my new RCS molted, saw the molt floating around while planting tonight.


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Pooooooop!  Plenty of food for them.

















































































My panda corys are coming out a lot more now that I added all these plants. Even though it was only a few hours ago.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

nice work! keep adding more pictures.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Lol nice idea for the tube Is that Blyxa behind it?


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Lol nice idea for the tube Is that Blyxa behind it?


Yep, it is blyxa japonica.

The blue thing is actually an antique (not crystal, no lead in it) cup/glass I got from work, it has a swirl/spiral thing going on that is difficult to see. We came across a pair of them and I knew right away they'd look good in an aquarium. The other is in my 46g, always finding a couple of khulii loaches in it


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## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

nice close up shots


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

malaybiswas said:


> nice close up shots


Thanks  Those were taken with a 18-55mm lens. Haven't mastered my macro lens yet.


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Woke up to all of my ottos alive! Surprised me honestly, usually have bad luck with them. Hope they are all doing ok when I get home this evening.


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## TubaTime1010 (Nov 7, 2007)

Looks nice. I like the clean look. The black background really makes things look brighter and pop. Is it painted on or just taped up there?


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

TubaTime1010 said:


> Looks nice. I like the clean look. The black background really makes things look brighter and pop. Is it painted on or just taped up there?


Taped onto the back, was to impatient to paint it (again). I might make my own background (that one is the standard double sided stuff you buy by the foot) that is more of a satin/flat black. The high gloss on the current background reflects to much I think.


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## TubaTime1010 (Nov 7, 2007)

My reef has the taped on background and the salt creep does horrible things to it, lol.

If you get it on there well enough, I dont think it would remain much of an issue in a fresh tank.

Do you like the drop checker you have in there? I like the cal aqua equipment...but is it worth the price?

I feel like I've seen you on another forum...N-R maybe?


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

I go by the same name there, but haven't posted in 6+ months or so. I recognize your avatar I think 

I taped the black background on my 20H saltwater tank, used black electrical tape all the way across the top and part way down the sides to keep out the creep.


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## gabriella (Mar 25, 2009)

*Cat for sale?*

Beautiful tank! Is there anything for sale on these pictures? I'm not interested in any fish/plants/equipment or aquarium related stuff, but that cat... hmm...


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

I could never sell my kitty! Don't let her pretty face fool you, I'm pretty sure she has been plotting my death for some time


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## gabriella (Mar 25, 2009)

Seiryoku said:


> I could never sell my kitty! Don't let her pretty face fool you, I'm pretty sure she has been plotting my death for some time


With cats it's either their way or no way at all. They are independent creatures and the equation is simple: feed me and leave me alone. We have both cats and dogs, and I know as a fact that a cat will never get as excited as a dog every time you'd throw a stick. One might enjoy their beauty and intelligence but don't expect a cat to bound with you like your best buddy dog. As for your kitty plotting your death, I hope you're exaggerating


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Seiryoku said:


> Woke up to all of my ottos alive! Surprised me honestly, usually have bad luck with them. Hope they are all doing ok when I get home this evening.


Excellent! How are they doing today?:thumbsup:


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## binders (Mar 22, 2009)

*Light you are using.*

Your tank look really good! What light do you have on there? I have a 29gal also and I'm having a hard time deciding what light to get. Yours looks really nice!:thumbsup:


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

binders said:


> Your tank look really good! What light do you have on there? I have a 29gal also and I'm having a hard time deciding what light to get. Yours looks really nice!:thumbsup:


It has a two 23w screw ins on it right now, had to move the t5HO fixture to one of my shrimp tanks...the fixtures I ordered for the shrimperies are on back order... Thanks for the compliment 



sewingalot said:


> Excellent! How are they doing today?:thumbsup:


All six are still healthy and getting chubbier!



gabriella said:


> With cats it's either their way or no way at all. They are independent creatures and the equation is simple: feed me and leave me alone. We have both cats and dogs, and I know as a fact that a cat will never get as excited as a dog every time you'd throw a stick. One might enjoy their beauty and intelligence but don't expect a cat to bound with you like your best buddy dog. As for your kitty plotting your death, I hope you're exaggerating


I have two cats, kioki the siamese and pooey the small gray thing. Kioki is as you said, her way when she wants it or nothing. Pooey is actually rather attatched to me, follows me into every room and sleeps next to me every night. Had a dog for fourteen years, she passed a way a couple or years ago. She did love sticks too 

Kioki is an evil siamese! Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night to find your cat sitting on your chest staring at you? It is freaky and she does it often... She also likes to try to trip me when I'm carrying something large and can't see in front of me...


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

I have a slightly different story. My cat wasn't evil, but he did his business outside (no litter pan ). If I didn't get up with the alarm to let him out, he would swat my face with his paw. The longer I took, the longer his claws came out.

btw, how are the plants doing that I sent you. I saw a few of them in this tank. I assume the rest are in different tanks?


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

The things we do for our cats 

Honestly I don't remember which plants I got from you. Four boxes showed up on the same day, they all got unpacked and spread out. I put a lot of them in my two 20L's. You can't really see them as I haven't taken any new shots of them, the most recent pictures were taken after planting. Stirred up aqua soil = fun.


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

Seiryoku said:


> Stirred up aqua soil = fun.


Yep, I usually give it 24 hours to see how much will settle or get filtered out. Then I bring in the diatom filter to take care of the rest.


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Don't have a diatom filter  I think the cloudiness is all gone, the water looks a little yellow which is from the aqua soil leeching stuff. Time for another water change!


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

My six ottos are still doing great! Will start feeding them some vegetables and what not now that they cleaned out the entire tank.


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

I should really mix up some of my ferts and start dosing...


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Seiryoku said:


>


Hmmmm I wonder where you got your avatar:hihi:


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Nooooooo idea *runs away*

I love ottos and marimo balls


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## funkyfish (Mar 16, 2009)

Those are some nice close up shots  And another good looking tank


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Thank you


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Seiryoku said:


> I should really mix up some of my ferts and start dosing...


That depends on the plants, substrate, lighting, gh and kh of your tank.

Could you post a full front view of your tank?


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Most of that info is in the thread  I need to dose, and actually started doing so this morning. Mixed everything up last night. Going with PPS Pro for now.

Will help with the algae problems that have started to I hope. I'll post a new FTS after water changes this afternoon.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Seiryoku said:


> Most of that info is in the thread Mixed everything up last night. Going with PPS Pro for now.


Where, I can't find it. Modem is not working properly thus connection slow now so humor me and say your gh, kh, ph, and lights.


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Battling various types of algae! Hate it all. Killing off staghorn via H2O2 spot treatments and higher CO2, fish are ok so far. The very fine hair algae, I'm guessing, on the glass is diminishing too.

Also, my blyxa is going to utter crap while the downoi is growing like a weed...any thoughts? All other plants are doing fine actually. One of them, don't recall the name, has already reached the top of the tank, was half it's current height when I got it.

Recently found 2-3 medium sized ramshorns (red, not the blue I'm after) and some other type of snail I'm not familiar with. Has a slightly elongated shell.


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## Seiryoku (Apr 1, 2009)

Nuked the tank last night, all but a few fish I got out quickly are dead, as are all of the snails.

Was spot treating some staghorn as well dipping a couple of plants in H2O2. Had two bowls full of water, for rinsing, and another full of H2O2. Was doing this a little late last night and accidentally dumped the H2O2 into the tank instead of the final rinse water bowl (needed a little fast top off water before bed)...

Got the panda corys and otto cats out quickly and they all seem to be doing fine. Forgot about the pair of cherry barbs...they survived in there until just a few minuets ago somehow (hardy little buggers).

Moral of the story...don't work on aquariums when you are half asleep! Also, eco-complete is _not good _and I'll never use it again, not even for kitty litter.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Oh no! I am sorry to hear this. It totally sucks to loose fish. Hang in there.


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