# Do!aqua Plant Glass Cube20: Might



## Ugly Genius

I just set this tank up today.

This is what ADA calls a "Plant Glass Cube". It's twenty centimeters cubed; a bit over two gallons.









_I know what you're thinking.
The driftwood should be a bit to the left. Right now, I think so, too.
Once the plants grow in, however, I think it'll be right where it should._


























_____
Notes:
For the complete line of Do!aqua tanks, go here.(Japanese only; as of this writing, the English site does not list all products. If you need translation help, just ask.)


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## Kayen

What does quasi-wabi mean D:


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## Dollface

It's sorta wabi-kusa style but not really?

edit: and like I said back in Source, That moss is going to look fantastic when it grows in


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## PinoyBoy

i love how all your aquascapes are nice.


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## Ozymandias

looks varry good and cant wait for this one to grow in


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## CL

Nice. Did you jack that light off of Source?


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## CL

Ugly Genius said:


> Notes:
> For the complete line of Do!aqua tanks, go here.(Japanese only; as of this writing, the English site does not list all products. If you need translation help, just ask.)


Wow, they have mini-m's for $34


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## ZooTycoonMaster

clwatkins10 said:


> Nice. Did you jack that light off of Source?


_Woah_ I read that as something else:hihi:


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## Craigthor

Looking good UG. You know instead of setting up more tanks you could just upgrade the Mini M's Hardware 

Lucky you get to go look at all this stuff in person.

Craig

P.S. Any thought on that Yamata Stone?


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## Ugly Genius

Viettxboii said:


> What does quasi-wabi mean D:


Dollface pretty much said it. I was just being clever. Instead of pronouncing it the way it usually is: QuasEYE, pronounce it QuasEE. Then: QuasEE-Wabi. It rhymes!
It's because this is marketed as a Wabi-Kusa tank, and the way I scaped it isn't. So it's a fake wabi-kusa.



Dollface said:


> edit: and like I said back in Source, That moss is going to look fantastic when it grows in


Thanks! I hope so.



PinoyBoy said:


> i love how all your aquascapes are nice.


I appreciate that.



Ozymandias said:


> looks varry good and cant wait for this one to grow in


Thanks! I can't either. 
Once the Mini Microsword spreads, I'll be adding a dense cluster of dark plants in the back right corner, probably Bolbitis and one other stem plant. That way the rock will look like a river running through a dense forest. That's the plan, anyway.



clwatkins10 said:


> Nice. Did you jack that light off of Source?


Temporarily, yes. I've since gotten a thirteen watt 5,700k screw-in CF. (It's a tad high for a tank this size IMO.) Soonish I'll go to Fry's and pick up another Ott-lite for this tank. I'll also probably be pumping CO2 into it. DIY. I thought I wouldn't, but I now realize that I can't help but put CO2 into a tank.



clwatkins10 said:


> Wow, they have mini-m's for $34


If you look, they have a ton of cool stuff there. I like this. It's called "Waterfall". I've love to 'scape that. But $260's a bit steep for me.



ZooTycoonMaster said:


> _Woah_ I read that as something else:hihi:


I won't even ask, *Zoo*.


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## BradH

I'm moving to japan! lol I wish. I always wanted to go there though.

That waterfall tank does look pretty cool. I wish I had the guts to try to make my own tank. I'm just scared it will bust or something.


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## MARIMOBALL

Thats it UG you are a full fledged ADA junkie addict lol uh and welcome. that is a neat little tank. pm how much they cost. don't really see the wabikusa influence but very nice. for a wabikusa use these filter http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU.../aquariumsystemsduettomultiinternalfilterdj50
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp19167/si1378632/cl0/fluval1plusunderwaterfilter
hide it behind a rock and bring the water down to half and that bolbitis will look awesome when grown in air. Now im really jonesing a new tank all these ADA nanos all over the forum. I have a new ADA 30C sitting on my floor since Sept. I also have a zoomed 501, new eheim 2213, new light, Aquasoil, ADA branco sand, seiryu stone, drift wood and CO2 set up. But Im already busy with 2 ADA tanks a cube, koi pond, work, and 2 clients waiting for me to set up there tanks


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## CL

Ugly Genius said:


> If you look, they have a ton of cool stuff there. I like this. It's called "Waterfall". I've love to 'scape that. But $260's a bit steep for me.


I saw those in their catalog, and again yesterday
http://www.flickr.com/photos/piccolo_daimaoh/2203977086/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/piccolo_daimaoh/2203181931/in/photostream/


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *Craig*. I did get the Eheim 2232 for Source yesterday. I've yet to set it up, though. More precisely, I set it up, but getting the tubing straight enough to not cause my pipes get all crooked was a PITA. I need to figure out something to keep the tubing straight while having the filter next to the tank.

The only other thing I'd think of upgrading on Source is the stand. I'm kind of in love with the Ott-lites on this tank. The spread's perfect.

Yamata stones are nice. They are very small, though. One could do a good 'scape with them, no doubt, but I didn't see a single piece bigger than closed fist. No pieces stood out as Craig's-gotta-have-_this_-one! though.

I know, huh, *Brad*. I didn't even know about planted tanks when I lived in Japan. Which is a good thing, probably. It's expensive enough just living there, let alone being addicted to all the cool planted tank stuff they have.
I've been dreaming of a Mini-S inside of a 60-F. Water from the Mini-S would cascade into the 60-F and back again. That'd be neat.

My name is Ugly and I'm a ADA addict.
Hi, Ugly!
The price was twenty-five for the tank, *MARIMOBALL*. I not going wabi-kusa in this tank. I'm too much of a control freak with planted tanks to go that route. Letting the Bolbitis grow out the rim is a good idea, though. Is there anything special I have to do to achieve that?

Speaking of being an addict:








My kitchen is starting to look like a fish store. If I weren't so reliant on my microwave, I could get rid of it and have a corner of Aqua Bliss. (Actually, when I get a Mini-L, I will be moving the microwave to the other side of the counter so as to have my corner of Aqua Bliss.)


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## CL

Wow, I LOVE your kitchen!


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## CL

Oh, and where can I get that Apple brand filter? :hihi:


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## Craigthor

Thanks UG, Couldn't ya do a Wabi in your sink? Also if you put the microwave on top of your fridge or in a cupboard you could easily fit a few more tanks on that counter. Looks great.

Thanks for checking out the stones for me.

Craig


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## deleted_user_16

gah, i was gonna do a bowl with no heater and some white clouds from do!aqua 

does afa carry the actual tanks yet?


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## BradH

Ugly Genius said:


> I know, huh, *Brad*. I didn't even know about planted tanks when I lived in Japan. Which is a good thing, probably. It's expensive enough just living there, let alone being addicted to all the cool planted tank stuff they have.
> I've been dreaming of a Mini-S inside of a 60-F. Water from the Mini-S would cascade into the 60-F and back again. That'd be neat.
> 
> 
> Speaking of being an addict:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My kitchen is starting to look like a fish store. If I weren't so reliant on my microwave, I could get rid of it and have a corner of Aqua Bliss. (Actually, when I get a Mini-L, I will be moving the microwave to the other side of the counter so as to have my corner of Aqua Bliss.)


I'm jealous you lived in Japan.  I have always heard it's really expensive though. That idea with the 2 tanks sounds cool.

Love that pic. I wouldn't mind cooking if I had that to look at.



Craigthor said:


> Thanks UG, Couldn't ya do a Wabi in your sink?


haha!


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## jinx©

I've owned a few cubes like these (-the do!aqua sticker) in the past, but you had to pick through them carefully to find ones with the least distortion IMO.
I'm curious as to how much that little do!aqua sticker raises the price of these things...lol

[edit] I noticed the price on a reread...$25 isn't too bad though I've seen these type of cubes available a lot cheaper. Tuesday Morning used to carry them for as cheap as 5 bucks. 
They make a cool little tank if you can find one without a lot of distortion in the primary viewing sides.


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## Ozymandias

man wish i had a kitchen like that. also looking at those tank i feel like i've seen alot of those types in different places (like Pier 1 or something like that)


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## brion0

ADA should sponsor you!


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## MARIMOBALL

I read your thread after i posted. Now i know what you intend to do with this tank. Bolbitis will grow out of water fairly easy just tie it towards the end of the wood and it will grow out toward the light. Thats a good price for the Do! .You are lucky you live within driving distance. All the LFS appear to be closing around my area. What does George at AFA have in terms of lighting for this tank?


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *jinx©*. The quality of these, once you fill them is not bad at all. If anything, the imperfections seem engineered in that the bubbles, distortion, and all the other attributes of similar glass containers is not in any place that ruins to overall look of the scape but rather add to it. Engineered wabi-sabi, I guess you'd call it.

Thanks, *Ozymandias*! You have seen them, I'm sure. I've seen them.

Thanks, *brion0*. I could use the sponsorship. This stuff's getting expensive!

Hey, *MARIOMOBALL*. Thanks for the info on the Bolbitis. Once it grows more, I'll start training it along the driftwood.
And, yes, I am lucky to have all these cool fish stores near me. Luckily, I'm employed and I try to support my LFSs as much as I can.
The guys are selling the RedSea Nano filter, a quarter bag of Amazoia Powder, and the LED (from page one of this journal) together as a set. You don't have to buy all of that, of course, but they have them grouped that way for people wandering in off the street wanting a Betta. I personally don't recommend the LED light. It's too dim. This tank needs the equivalent of around nine to thirteen watts. It's just two gallons so anything under or over that is waiting for a heartbreak.

EDIT:
Missed some of you.

*cl*, thanks! The Apple filter is available at the Apple Store with the purchase of a forty-eight month AT&T voice/data bundle package.

*Craig*, I literally LOLed at the kitchen sink comment. Promptly followed by the phrase, "He has a good point...Hmmm."

*fish*, once in a while they have some of them. There's a journal around here of one of the Mini-S types.

Hey, *Brad*. Yep, for five years.
And for the record, I don't really cook so much as heat up food in the microwave.


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## Dollface

Hey UG, how many inches would you say the cube is? I found an 8" square cube that looked exactly like yours right down to the wonky bottom (even the bubbles look the same) for 20$. I was very tempted by it, and this really rectangle vase that was like an inch wide that I'll probably get some time in the future

on the other hand, the Ott lites were 80$ each >:|


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## Ugly Genius

Hi, *Dollface*. This tank's a shade shy of a quarter of an inch under eight inches per side.
And that's way too much for the Ott-lites. But if you find them for thirty or so, get them. I'm serious. For a nano there is no better light fixture out there. You will thank me later. Nothing matches their spread.

Yesterday, I added a CO2 bottle + diffuser from Riven Impact. I simply cannot have a non-CO2 injected tank. It's, like, physically impossible for me not to have CO2. 
I also added some more Mini Microsword after work today.








In order to speed the water clearing, I added Purigen to the filter.

As I'm still new to this tank, I'm going to be keeping an eye on the growth of the Mini Microsword and algae to find the lighting "sweet spot" for a two gallon cube. Right now I have a thirteen watt screw-in CF at 5,700k. I'm going to try a straight/square pin nine or thirteen watt 10,000k after a few weeks. (I love anything 8,000 to 10,000k.)
Actually, now that I think of it, I'm going to plant a sprig of Glosso to gauge the minimum amount of light to get it to carpet. 

These are for future reference so as to gauge growth.


















_For the record, I'm falling deeply in love with Mini Microsword.
Not Glosso-level of love, but close. A winter fling, if you will._​


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## Craigthor

When that Microsword spreads LMK I may be ready for a small rescape, also help you fund a pressurized system for you other tanks.. Placed my order from AFA today just didn't order nay rocks. LMK when the good ones come in 

Craig


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## rekles75

Another Bad Creation. I had to say something just so I can get the updates sent to my email. You have the best kitchen nook I have ever seen, all you need is a cot and a toilet in there and you would be straight.


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## jinx©

Looking nice already.roud:


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## Ugly Genius

*Craig*, I'll let you know. Stuff's not as slow-growing as I had heard, so it might not be all that long.

*rekles*, thanks, man! Appreciate that. I'm already trying to figure out how to install a toilet in my kitchen and I'm set.

*jink*, thanks!

Small changes only a father would see. Water's starting to clear. I'll be adding more Bolbitis and some of that new fern I got in Source to this back right corner later in the week.








I also upped the bulb from a thirteen watt 5,700k screw-in to a fifteen watt 6,500k screw-in. Due to the fact that this is a screw-in bulb with a less-than optimal reflector on the lamp, I'd estimate that about three to four watts is lost to the inefficiencies; hence the upgrade.


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## Kayen

Eh still those spiral bulbs pack a punch to tanks like these.

Question : Why do all your tanks always look oh so dark ?


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## Ugly Genius

I don't know why they're so dark, *Kayen*. It's probably something with the settings on my camera, but I've found that the settings I'm using take the crispest pictures. Perhaps this comes at a cost of brightness.
It's also possible that because the most of my tanks are medium lighted, that could be it, too.
Thanks for the tip on the bulbs. I'll keep my eye on algae and move down a watt or five should the light prove to be too bright for this tank. I'm hoping that the CO2 and the soon-to-be density of plants will allow me to keep the tank lighted by a fifteen watt spiral bulb as anything less makes it hard to make out the details.

Speaking of details. After shooting the previous photo, I saw the beginnings of that white cottony fungus that grows on driftwood in the beginning of it's life underwater. Hate that stuff.
It's best just to let it run it's course, right? I mean, the tank's too new to add shrimp to clean it off so I'm kind of stuck with it, I'd imagine.


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## thief

Yep I got the same thing UG in my 60-P. It really think though and very white, Not as gooy looking. Really gross is pretty much the best way to describe it! From my exp the best way is to leave it as it will just start all over again if you scrub it off. Only thing is that last time in my mini M it took like 2 months to get it to go away by itself! 

Also I really like the positioning of the moss tree and all.

Ohh I think I am almost ready to get some UG and maybe some Mini Pellia from you! But almost is the key word!:thumbsup:


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## corporate p

i've been staring at that tank at afa every other weekend for about 3 months!!! i want it soo bad, but i promised myself to not spend anymore money at that store. 

pure jealousy...


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## Ugly Genius

*thief*, just say the word and some UG's on your way. I just have a tad of Mini Pellia, but it's enough to get you started. All's ROAK, of course, but I do ask that you be cool to a complete stranger in exchange.
I'll just let the fungus, which has gotten worse, run it's course.
And thanks for the compliment. This tank has legs, I can feel it. I just have to master such a small small volume of water. I'm pretty good with a Mini-S and Mini-M, but two gallons is proving to be harder than I'm skilled for.

*corporate p*, you got one life to live. That's all I'll say on the matter.
And thanks or sorry, depending on your mood.

The Mini Microsword started yellowing today. Dunno why. It's doing fine -- great, even -- in Impact and Source. It may be that there's too much CO2 being pumped in. It might be light, too much or too little. I'll keep my eye on it and adjust as necessary.


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## Ugly Genius

Ugly made an ugly mistake. A mistake involving Purigen and bleach.

Long story short, all plants in this tank are doing very, very poorly as a result of a inadequately rinsed and de-chlorinated bag of Purigen.









_From a distance, the carnage is not that bad._









_Close up, the signs of distress are not always apparent._









_Look in the right (or wrong) places, however, and you start to see the signs of plant suffering_









_My poor Anubias Nana "Petite"!_









_The worst of the carnage. The mighty Bolbitis is suffering._​
When I used a recharged bag of Purigen, I rinsed it, but not all that well and only with a minimal amount of Prime. Big mistake. A few days later, all plants started to show signs of burns and melting. (And the plants in here are the bulletproof kind!)

I've since added extra Prime and did a significant number of water changes. The optimistic side of me hopes this is helping and sees some improvement, but the optimistic side of me is also an idiot, so the pessimistic side of me is erring on the side of caution by looking for other causes and possible solutions for the dramatic decline in plant health.

I really, really like this 'scape, so I don't want to tear it down and start over. I'd like to try to nurse these plants back to health.

Only time and patience will tell if I can bring these plants back from the dead.


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## garuf

Not just the plants will be effected, so will the substrate and the filter media all of which will absorb the bleach. Sad times.


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## roybot73

Bummer. Clip the leaves off of the Bolbitis, and it should spring back nicely. It's actually recommended to trim the leaves off _before_ it's planted.

It'll come around!


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## Phoenix-cry

Oh nose!!! That bites!


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## @[email protected]

well you may see more damage over the next week, but that wont be new damage, it will be just the lag between the plants exposure, and the foilage death. i know when i did bleach dips on plants, they were getting worse for about a week or so, even though they were in bleach for only a couple minutes, and then rinsed in water with a lot of dechlor.


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## Ugly Genius

*garuf*, there is no emoticon for what I'm doing right now so I'll explain it to you. A round face with both eyes shut, fingers stuck in both ears, and the mouth moving in a manner that says, "Lalalalalalala!"

I nose, *Phoenix*. Terrible.

Thanks, *@marko*. Fallout to last a week. I'll be patient.

Thanks for the advice, *Roy*. I didn't know that about Bolbitis. And I hope you're right about it's recovery. This 'scape is kind of dependent on that plant.

I can say that I've noticed some of the yellowing blades of Mini Microsword start to green up. (I've also notice some melt completely.) So the optimistic side of me and the pessimistic side of me are both saying, "I told you so."


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## fish_fasinated

geez another beautiful tank, I'm sure its gonna pull through.


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *fish*. Hopefully it will. Got my work cut out for me, but it might not be as bad as I had thought. It's kinda-sorta showing signs of improvement.

This tank is a b---h to shoot. I have to take twice as many photos to get half as many good ones as I do my other tanks. It's probably due to the less-than stellar lighting and the glass.
Even these, that aren't that great, took forever to get.


























I added a new bunch of Mini Java Fern and some of what I assume to be Lawn Marshpennywort in the front and on the right.

Plant-wise, I think I'm done with adding. I'll let it grow out and see what happens from there.


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## garuf

You need to trim back as much as you can nuke it with co2 and do extra water changes, dosing excel will help too, you need to be getting as much of the algal spores out of the tank as possible and keeping the co2 as rich as possible so that the plants have the best chance they can to make it through.


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## Down_Shift

wow nice kitchen! I guess you don't cook much haha.

I really like the DO!AQUA tanks... anywhere I can get them in the states?


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *garuf*. I've been doing pretty consistent water changes since the tank's setup and CO2's been pumping from day one. I'd cut off the leaves, but it breaks my heart to do it. I know it's stupid, but I can't stand seeing my plants naked.

Hey, *Down_Shift*. I boil water and microwave. As I am heating things for consumption, that is technically cooking, right?
You can get the Do!Aqua stuff from AFA in SF. Just write/call and they can hook you up.

I've got no science to back this up, no visual signs to confirm my belief, but I got a feeling that the plants are coming around. Call it intuition.


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## chase127

youre always able to nurse a tank back to health


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## garuf

Better to have a naked plant than one leaching _algae causing_ ammonia into the water column.


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## fish_fasinated

looks like its picking up to me, should be good again in another week or two im sure


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## Ugly Genius

I've come to the conclusion that what you think may be too much filtration is very often just enough. This two gallon tank is now hooked up to a Zoo Med 501. The flow is not tearing the tank apart and the water's surface is actually smoother than with the Red Sea Nano Filter.


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## Ugly Genius

Minor tweaks here and there after the introduction of the Zoo Med.








I wish the Mini Java Fern was taller, but given time, it should fill in the back.

Plants are starting to recover, but the Bolbitis melted completely. The rhizome seemed healthy, so I have it in the back behind a rock going through rehab.

We'll see what effect having a big filter on a little tank has on growth, algae, and the like.

EDIT:
After writing that I wished the Mini Java Fern were taller, I added taller Mini Java Fern.


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## Ugly Genius

Life is returning.








The Christmas Moss that was rendered brown and dying by the accidental bleaching a couple of weeks ago is starting to green. The Mini Microsword is throwing down roots and throwing out runners.

It's a good feeling to see this tank recover.

The one thing about it that bothers me is that the driftwood is a pain to clean around. One inadvertent nudge on my part and it topples. This irks me to no end. I like my hardscapes to be solid. Earthquake-proof. To have a hardscape so fragile breaks the sense of stability and calm my tanks give me.
On the flip-side, perhaps I should learn from this metaphorically: Perhaps I should stop seeking assurances of a stable and secure future and accept the fragile, transient nature of life and open my soul to it's perpetually-temporary beauty and find that spiritual and personal transcendence I seek in the knowledge that nothing lasts forever and so every moment must be felt for what it is and nothing more. And nothing less.
Or, next time just bury the driftwood deeper in the substrate.


















_You can't see him in there, but there's an Olive Nerite in the tank._​
Everywhere is sold out of _Street Fighter IV_. What's up with that?


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## Ugly Genius

With Mini Java Fern, Anubias Nana "Petite", Christmas Moss, and Mini Microsword, this is _the_ slowest-growing tank of all time. 

The Lawn Marshpennywort grows very quick and the tank -- even the Mini Java Fern and Anubias Nana "Petite" -- pearl. So that's something, I suppose.

When things are getting _really_ exciting in this tank, the lone Olive Nerite will move across the front of the glass. It's party time in Quasi-Wabi when that happens.








I don't think the tank will look it's best until it grows in. It's beauty will be contingent on the Christmas Moss on the DW greening up, the Mini Java Fern growing denser, and the Mini Microsword carpeting.

Until then, I'll just keep enjoying watching the Olive Nerite move across the glass.

Woohoo.


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## CL

It looks great UG!


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *cl*! I appreciate it. (And the post. This is my most silent journal!)

As is usually the case after I look at a photo of this tank, I added more plants. The below photo only shows a new Anubias Nana "Petite", but I also added another stem plant that for the life of me I can never remember but ZooTycoonMaster always does. *Zoo*, if you're here, what's that stem plant I'm always asking you the name of? It turns red in high light? Small, roundish leaves--? Anyway, I added that in order to give the tank more life and color. I also want a crypt in here. Bronze.








I like this tank as it actually makes me want to keep adding and subtracting to and from it. I suppose that's the problem I'm having with Riven Impact. It doesn't make me want to do anything to it; I just have to wait for it to grow out. This one, I see it, find a flaw, change it. Am happy with it. Two days later, I see it, find a flaw, change it. Am happy with it. I actually _makes_ me want to 'scape it.


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## ZooTycoonMaster

Ugly Genius said:


> As is usually the case after I look at a photo of this tank, I added more plants. The below photo only shows a new Anubias Nana "Petite", but I also added another stem plant that for the life of me I can never remember but ZooTycoonMaster always does. *Zoo*, if you're here, what's that stem plant I'm always asking you the name of? It turns red in high light? Small, roundish leaves--?


Rotala sp. 'Araguaia':hihi:


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## Ugly Genius

Thank you, *Zoo*! Yeah, that's the plant! Got a good brain on ya, kid.

And to think I was going to call it Rotala sp. "Aguilera" (as in Christina).


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## Ugly Genius

Had a _very_ tough week at work and whatnot and as a result, my brain's fried. 
Rather than go on and on about this that and the other like I usually do, I'll keep it simple. 
Added a piece of driftwood with Mini Pellia and Mini Java Ferns and two RCS.


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## luckydud13

It looks really good, keep up the good work!


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## Craigthor

Love the additional wood. Thought you've been missing on the boards a bit this week. Is this wood from AFA? Love the twistyness of it.

Craig


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *luckydud*!

*Craig*, I've been here, but my mind was elsewhere. Too elsewhere to post, I guess you'd say. 'Twas a terrible, terrible week, and it's over now, and I'm listening to Beethoven on a rainy Sunday morning and everything (finally!) feels right. Ugly has been reloaded.
The wood's from Riven Reloaded, if my memory serves me correct. I had it in my Betta tank for a couple of months and yesterday, I realized that Quasi-Wabi looks very swampy so I wanted to go full bore in to the swamp look and add one more piece of driftwood. (So I guess this tank can now be called Quasi-Wabi-Swampy. Or maybe Wabi-Swampy is better.)
The only changes I can foresee for this tank is to do something with the right had back corner. I'll either let the Lawn Marshpennywort grow bushy and upwards or add a stem plant. Other than that, I'm going to let this tank do it's thing and trust my initial artistic instincts.


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## Ugly Genius

Nothing new going on here. This is just a post to help me keep track of this tank's growth.


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## chase127

i wish i had your talent bro  amazing tank


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *chris*. That's a nice thing to say. And don't you dare sell yourself short; I've seen your 45-P and it's awesome. (Your Mini-M would be awesome, too, if it weren't full of saltwater! Couldn't you have just gone brackish and left it at that?!)

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention. The more observant of you may have noticed that I swapped out the Do!aqua Music Glass 15 for a Music Glass 10. I needed the 15 for Source and this one got the 10 because I had it and it fit the scale better.


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## ZooTycoonMaster

Wait you're using DIY CO2 and it works with the diffuser?


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## chase127

Ugly Genius said:


> Thanks, *chris*. That's a nice thing to say. And don't you dare sell yourself short; I've seen your 45-P and it's awesome. (Your Mini-M would be awesome, too, if it weren't full of saltwater! Couldn't you have just gone brackish and left it at that?!)


dude this saltwater nanos gonna be pretty tight  you'll see... and chaetos technically a plant sooooooooooo :hihi:


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *Zoo*. Yep. People who say that you can't get DIY CO2 to work with a glass diffuser are not doing it right. Simple as that.
I've read all the posts about people who swore that it can't be done, but I've done it with many brands of diffusers and different setups. It's worked every time.
(That's not me being cocky, I'm just trying to correct the popular (and false) belief that it doesn't work.)


----------



## chase127

Ugly Genius said:


> Hey, *Zoo*. Yep. People who say that you can't get DIY CO2 to work with a glass diffuser are not doing it right. Simple as that.
> I've read all the posts about people who swore that it can't be done, but I've done it with many brands of diffusers and different setups. It's worked every time.
> (That's not me being cocky, I'm just trying to correct the popular (and false) belief that it doesn't work.)


i concur. DIY worked on 4 different diffusers for me!


----------



## Ugly Genius

I know what you're thinking and you're absolutely right.
_What's the point of posting photos that look exactly like the photos you posted two days ago, Ugly?
_​And I won't argue that there is a point. At least not in the whoa-that's-cool sense of it all.
However, I find that these journals keep me on track and honest. I'm less likely to neglect maintenance if I post frequent updates.

Besides, last time I took photos from the _right_. Today one is from the _left_.

Before I post that one, however, the requisite FT "with-driftwood-sticking-out-of-the-tank-simply-for-the-sake-of-saying,-_Look-I-have-driftwood-sticking-out-of-my-tank!_" S:








And here, ladies and gentlemen, is a shot from the left.









_Ta dah!_​
In my defense, I did change the tank a little. I trimmed the dying leaves of the Anubias Nana "Petite"; those were the result of the "Bleach Incident" a few weeks back. I added a red plant whose name escapes me in the front right corner.

Despite the utter lack of activity in this tank, I really do love it. Of my three kids, Riven, Source, and Wabi, this one's got a special place in my heart. It's the same space that's reserved for that one rare little kid who you see fall down on the street and scape their hands on the pavement. For a brief second, surprised pain washes over the little kid's face and everyone who sees the fall thinks for the briefest of seconds, "Maybe he won't cry." Usually they do, however, and everyone's obligated to say, "Aww, poor baby." (Even though a part of you feels like saying, "S#!t happens, kid.") But every now and again, however, you see that one rare kid, a real trooper, who falls, scrapes his hands, and gets the pained looked, get up, wipe his hands, look up to his dad who is thinking the same thing we all are, and with trembling lips the kid'll say, "I'm okay, dad. Just a boo boo." The part of me that feels untellable affection for that brave little kid, also holds a special place for this tank.


----------



## Ugly Genius

The "Special Ferns" are getting ravaged in Source by the shrimp, so I took one out and put it in here. I think it looks awesome in here.

















Initially when I bought the extra "special fern", I intended it to go in here. However, because I was favoring Source at the time, I gave it to that tank instead of this one.
In the end, I did what I intended. Took two months, but it finally got where it belongs.









_Up close, the Special Fern makes the Rotala look like a rose, don't it?_​


----------



## CL

Very nice, ug. I see that you got some of those cool plants from craig as well


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *cl*. Yes. Craig was very generous and gave me a bunch of beautiful plants of which I do not know the names. All of them are great, though.

Also, I'm on something of a roll here as I can't stop adding to this tank. I put in an additional bunch of "special fern" (I've really got to find the name for this plant) and some Needle Leaf Java Fern. Their inclusion is rather unobtrusive and it's doubtful anyone would notice had I not said anything, but after adding the first "special fern" I simply _had_ to add more to "make the 'scape right."

















See? I told you that you wouldn't see a difference with the newly-added plants. The thing is, a feeling of unease was upon me until I put those two plants in. Funny how that works, huh? Even if no one else notices, you still have to do it "right".


----------



## Craigthor

*UG* Here is what I sent: 

Baggie no paper towel - Ammania 'Bonsai'
Baggie paper towel round green leafs - Micranthemum Umbrosum
Baggie paper towel red leaf - Rotala Macrandra
Labeled baggie - Lindernia Parviflora 'Varigated'

Enjoy! I broke something today  Updating thread with photos.

Craig


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Craig*. I don't know why, but I have a terrible time with plant names. Even the common ones like HC and UG.

Please forgive my two-day photo posting session, but I've got a love affair with this tank right now. It's coming out pretty close to how I envisioned it when I set it up. (Which is rare for me.) The tank needs some manicuring here and there, but the wild swampy look I was going for is there.









_So much of my attention to something so small._









_The entire 'scape hinges on this plant.
If you've read The Dark Tower series,
this is my equivalent of the rose in the vacant lot in New York City._









_This shot is unique in that it's the first time I used a mirror
to reflect light back into the tank so as to reveal more details._​
No more pictures today. I swear!

EDIT: I lied. Two more. _Edited so as to avoid bumping this thread and bringing notice to my lie._


----------



## lookin_around

Ugly Genius said:


> Hey, *Zoo*. Yep. People who say that you can't get DIY CO2 to work with a glass diffuser are not doing it right. Simple as that.
> I've read all the posts about people who swore that it can't be done, but I've done it with many brands of diffusers and different setups. It's worked every time.
> (That's not me being cocky, I'm just trying to correct the popular (and false) belief that it doesn't work.)


Mind sharing some of your secrets? I've been trying this 2 liter bottle, jello method to no avail. In my attempts to "ooh" and "ahh" my roommate and friend who know nothing of aquaria, the failing Co2 system doesn't look to good. Oh yea, and I'm not even using a glass diffuser, just one of those stupid disposable airstones. I was going to purchase one, but if my relationship with Co2 keeps going in this direction, I may have to "cut the line" so-to-speak.

Great looking nano, I've definitely already taken a few ideas from this and used them in mine (or at least tried to ).


----------



## Ugly Genius

*lookin*, I know the frustration you're feeling. I've been there, too.

It's probably one of three things or a combination thereof.

Your connections are not airtight. The seal from the bottle to your tubing has to be tight to NASA specifications.
You're not doing your mixture correctly or your ingredients are expired. Double check your recipe. I've never done the jello route; I do the sugar, bread yeast, baking soda mixture.
You're not waiting long enough. DIY can take up to ten hours to start diffusing, depending on room temperature. Usually, it starts for me in about four hours, though.
Don't give up on CO2. It's a pain in the butt in the beginning (you'll feel like the one guy in the room that doesn't get the joke that everyone else is laughing about), but once you get it down, it's a piece of cake.
In my experience, the diffusing of CO2 is not as impressive to non-aquaria people as it is to us.
When you get the bubbles, it'll go thusly:
"What are those bubbles?"
"CO2 for the plants."
"Why?"
"With higher light levels to supercharge growth, plants need supplemented CO2 in order to outcompete algae for nutrients in the water column. What you see here is a simple method of CO2 production and diffusion via vis the fermentation process of yeast and sugar."
"Dude..."
"Furthermore, the closed eco-system you see here is, to a greater or lesser degree, representative of..."
"DUDE! Shut up! You're such a friggin' nerd."​
Trust me. That's _exactly_ how it'll go down.

And thanks for the compliment.


----------



## lookin_around

Ugly Genius said:


> *lookin*, I know the frustration you're feeling. I've been there, too.
> 
> It's probably one of three things or a combination thereof.
> 
> Your connections are not airtight. The seal from the bottle to your tubing has to be tight to NASA specifications.
> You're not doing your mixture correctly or your ingredients are expired. Double check your recipe. I've never done the jello route; I do the sugar, bread yeast, baking soda mixture.
> You're not waiting long enough. DIY can take up to ten hours to start diffusing, depending on room temperature. Usually, it starts for me in about four hours, though.
> Don't give up on CO2. It's a pain in the butt in the beginning (you'll feel like the one guy in the room that doesn't get the joke that everyone else is laughing about), but once you get it down, it's a piece of cake.
> In my experience, the diffusing of CO2 is not as impressive to non-aquaria people as it is to us.
> When you get the bubbles, it'll go thusly:
> "What are those bubbles?"
> "CO2 for the plants."
> "Why?"
> "With higher light levels to supercharge growth, plants need supplemented CO2 in order to outcompete algae for nutrients in the water column. What you see here is a simple method of CO2 production and diffusion via vis the fermentation process of yeast and sugar."
> "Dude..."
> "Furthermore, the closed eco-system you see here is, to a greater or lesser degree, representative of..."
> "DUDE! Shut up! You're such a friggin' nerd."​
> Trust me. That's _exactly_ how it'll go down.
> 
> And thanks for the compliment.


Haha thanks, actually, it kinda went a little more like this...

"What are those bubbles?"
"CO2 for the plants."
"Why?"
"With higher light levels to supercharge growth, plants need supplemented CO2 in order to outcompete algae for nutrients in the water column. What you see here is a simple method of CO2 production and diffusion via vis the fermentation process of yeast and sugar."
"Well why don't you just put one of those little air pumps on it, there is Co2 in the air..." (says the Molecular biology masters graduate aka roommate)
"Well there isn't enough concentration of Co2 in the air for the plants. Just trust me, this way is better. *wink with a clicking sound made simultaneously*" (I find that doing this at the end of a statement solidifies their belief of what I have just said)

Then my other friend chimes in..
"Man Glenn, you're making me want to start a tank, but I don't want all the work."
"Oh, so you just want a tank with some fish in it?"
"No, not really, I want it to be like those ones in that book you got in the mail." (The ADA booklet that came with my Amazonia)
"Well those are very high maintence tanks, part of the reason I did a small one is to hopefully try and decrease the time I have to put into it."
"Ooh, well mine is gonna be like its own little ecosystem so I won't even have to change the water or anything....Dude, your tudent (what we call people we tutor) was so hot, did you see how big her..."​
And as you can see, our minds were instantly drawn somewhere else....I wonder how she would like to hear about my little aquatic garden...Oh, never mind that...Anyway, its been over 12 hours now, and no Co2...I think I'll probably end up going back to the good old method that you are using. That method worked fine for me in my 29 so we'll see.

Edit: Took off my cheap-o check valve and now I'm getting some consistent clusters of bubbles every 2-3 seconds.


----------



## Francis Xavier

Hah, I've had similar conversations. Once when I phoned home asking if my parents happened to have a co2 system laying around (the step-dad does a lot of weird projects like that, though this time around he hasn't done welding in ages so I had no luck).

Me: "Hey, you happen to have a CO2 tank laying around?"
"Maybe, what do you need it for?"
"My aquarium"
"your aquarium? doesn't that...kill the fish?"
"no no, I need it to grow the plants because there isn't enough CO2 in the water to compensate for the higher light output"

Then my mom chirps in, who happens to be an avid gardener:
"you don't need co2 in the tank, plants grow just fine without it. and that'll kill the fish, the fish _need_ o2 not co2, I think you're confused. Just listen to me, I know what i'm talking about"
"No no, the co2 doesn't hurt the fish, there isn't enough co2 in the air or water to fill the need of the plants"
"well, plants grow just fine in the pond without adding co2"
"Ok ok, I believe you, I'll talk to you later."

Sometimes it's easier just to let them believe they are right.

The typical response when a chick see's the tank:
"Ohh! look at the bubbles! is that an airstone?"
"No, that's Co2 for the plants"
"why do you need Co2 for the plants? shouldn't they be fine with just light?"
"No, in laymans terms, when there's so much light the plants need more co2. Quite simple, for example, if you have 50 hamburger buns, you also need 50 meat patties...if you increase that number to 65 buns, you can't make 65 burgers without 15 more patties...this is basically me adding more patties to my bread so I can have my 65 burgers instead of 35 full burgers and 30 half-burger things that aren't really that tasty."
"Ohhh that's a pretty fish, I like that one (pointing at the small guppy that was a hitchhiker"
"That's just a random hitchhiker, how about the rams! they're the real fish of the tank"
"Meh, they're okay, but I don't like big fish they aren't cute."
"These aren't big!!"
"The guppy is still better"
"The guppy was a feeder guppy! it's pure gray/silver with a single black spot! It's just that lucky guy who happened to be in the right spot at the right time!"
"Aww, that's so cute"
"Yeah, but the ram is a cichlid! it forms territories! it's intelligent! they're more interactive with each other!! they're the top of the food chain here! Plus they're sensitive fish to keep, so them being alive and well and vibrant is a sign of a good setup! The guppy would be happy as long as it has a filter and some water to swim in!!"
"Hmm...you have catfish in here (the oto's) you really shouldn't have that many, they grow too big. This one time my grandpa had a tank with a...."


----------



## Ugly Genius

Ha to *lookin* and *X*. Funny stuff, fellas. While our experiences differ subtly, I think we can all agree that pretty much everyone not on this forum thinks that we ("we" be all of us; yes, you, too; yeah, I mean that _you_ reading this right now) are dorks.
Or they try, as *lookin* and *X* pointed out, to up-nerd us.
Which isn't possible.

Here's proof.
I said I would not post any more photos of this two gallon tank today, but I can't help myself. Here are some more.









_Today the tank's looking really nice to me._









_Guess what. I got a fever..._









_...and the only prescription is more cowbell.
(And the cowbell thing is a non-sequitur. You're not missing anything by not seeing the connection between that and Quasi-wabi.
'Cause there is none. Sorry.)_​


----------



## Ugly Genius

I'm playing with light. In an effort to get better at taking photos, I've started using mirrors and additional lamps when shooting my tanks.
This kinda worked. You can see more detail in the center near the driftwood.








I still got a lot to learn, though.


----------



## Francis Xavier

photography can be pretty fun. seems like whenever I travel I find myself wishing I had a better camera. you really can see the difference there. as a side note, it's been a week since my hc and glosso was shipped. It's probably going to be DOA now :\


----------



## Craigthor

Francis Xavier said:


> photography can be pretty fun. seems like whenever I travel I find myself wishing I had a better camera. you really can see the difference there. as a side note, it's been a week since my hc and glosso was shipped. It's probably going to be DOA now :\


 
If your HC doesn't arrive by this Friday LMK. I will be mowing my HC down and you can have the tops to plant. won't be rooted but will grow non the less and easier to seperate for planting single stemmed. You can have it for shipping.

Craig


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## Francis Xavier

Cool man, i'll keep that in mind.


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## Ugly Genius

Work has been super-busy for the last three weeks. Each day, running on diminishing energy reserves, I have no choice but to kick in the adrenaline via Redbulls, coffee, and music and keep on keeping on. We have two days -- two days! yay! -- left in the current project and my eyes are blurring and my face feels perpetually flushed. I'm probably coming down with a cold, but sickness, unfortunately, is not an option.

So, in order to take my mind off all that, I'll post photos of Quasi.

















I would have thought that a two gallon tank would be a nightmare to balance, but perhaps due to the relatively large filter and the plant density, it's been the easiest of all my tanks to keep stable.
Medium light and lots of CO2 seem to be the key, too. 
I highly recommend medium light, lots of CO2, and almost too much filtration.


----------



## CL

I'm glad you're finding time to relax, UG. It's been a tough two weeks here as well


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster

lookin_around said:


> "Ooh, well mine is gonna be like its own little ecosystem so I won't even have to change the water or anything....Dude, your tudent (what we call people we tutor) was so hot, did you see how big her..."​


LOL.

I was talking to a friend about ADA AquaSoil and it sort of went like this:

"Oh and there's also a $28 bag of 'special aquatic dirt' for growing plants"
"WTF?!???!!? Can't you just take regular dirt out of the garden???"
"It's special dirt..."
"Who would spend $28 on a freaking bag of dirt?!?!?!?"
"Plus shipping if you don't live near San Francisco..."

Anyway, nice tank UG!


----------



## Francis Xavier

Try explaining buying rocks.


----------



## lookin_around

Francis Xavier said:


> Try explaining buying rocks.


At least they're cool rocks. Buying dirt sounds worse to me. I just told my buddies that it was like buying gardening soil and they seemed alright with that lol.

You're tank is looking great UG. I think I'll have to stop by the AFA store next time I'm in the area. I should be going up that way sometime next month to check out the Berkeley campus.


----------



## Down_Shift

Man this tank is looking great. I love this cube


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *cl*. It's over. The hard part of work is finished and it went off wonderfully. The next project's a hundred times bigger, but I'm not even going to think about that. This job's finished.

*Zoo* and *X*, I've had those conversations and there is no arguing your way out of them. Because even if you win and convince them that the bag of dirt and/or rocks are worth every penny of what they cost, the point they take away with them is: so he's a dork.

*lookin'*, don't think about going to AFA; go! Just not on Tuesdays. They're closed.

Thanks, *Down*.

The LFS down the street from my house got some new shrimp in today. I added two Orange Shrimp, two CRS, and a blue shrimp (dunno what kind).









_Orange Shrimp_









_Dunno_​
When I first set up this tank, I wanted it populated solely by CRS, but as I like Orange Shrimp a lot, and this was the first time my LFS had them, I thought I'd try a couple in Quasi. The cool thing is that when they're on the ferns, they make them look like orange trees.


----------



## CeeBee

Love the tank :smile:

The shrimp in the bottom photo looks like an Amano.


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *CeeBee*. It's definitely not an Amano. I'll try to get a better photo later.


----------



## rrrrramos

I really like this tank. It goes to show just how much can actually be done with such a small amount of space. Though your tanks really never cease to amaze!


----------



## Craigthor

Its getting there UG. Love the additional shrimps. I can now see mine better too.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks a lot, *rrrrramos*! I appreciate that.

Thanks, *Craig*. It funny, though. This tank's two gallons and last night I was trying to show my girl the new additions. Told her, "They're bright orange, so you can't miss them." We sat there for two full minutes -- looking into two gallons, mind you -- and we didn't see either of them. We saw the CRS and RCS and even the "Dunno" shrimp -- which I'm thinking may be the wild-type Neocardinia or a Blue Shrimp -- but no Oranges.

I took about another bunch of "Special Fern" from Source and added it here. That fern is simply too delicate to be in a densely-populated shrimp tank. (And when I say "delicate" I mean expensive.)


















_Maybe Orange Shrimp are shy around girls, because last night,
this dude was no where to be found. Today, he's front and center.
You're not going to get any chicks being shy like that, bro._








I think of all the tank's I've done, this one comes the closest to being truly nature aquarium style. Given the unnaturally small confines of the tank, Quasi is -- while not in the literature-major sense of the word -- ironic1.
In order to have this tank come together in true Nature-style, however, I need the Christmas Moss to take. It's having a very slow recovery from the bleaching incident and while it _is_ recovering, it's doing so very, very slowly.







_____
1. "Irony" is perhaps _the_ most misused word in the English language. 
This misuse and subsequent redefinition of the word shows the beauty of language, though, don't it? After all, each of us comes into this world and adapts our brains to it's structure; we are taught how to speak and read -- proper spelling, grammar, and syntax. Then, given time, each of us in some small way changes language to better suit our needs where it is subsequently diluted, tested, and sometimes absorbed into the general public vernacular.
This is not done willy-nilly however. Like a well-balanced planted tank, there are checks and balances: know-it-alls who will point out, for example, that irony is often misused.
And so some of you may be wondering, what is irony, then? Is it ironic that Ugly's talking about irony in a journal about a Do!aqua Plant Glass20? 
No, I think the word you're looking for is "dork".


----------



## Ugly Genius

_Taken from the side 'cause taken-from-the-side shots make one's tank look more pensive and artsy.
Like it's thinking hard about something profound while looking off into the distance._









_Nerite "branching" out._​
Currently, this is my favorite tank. Evidenced by my frequent updates to this thread at the expense of Source. (Source is boring the crap out of me. Were there not so many shrimp in there -- in particular, a berried CRS -- I'd rescape.) I love Riven EDIT: [STRIKE]Reloaded[/STRIKE] Impact (Freudian slip, there?), too, though. Just for different reasons.
I think my affection for this tank stems (no pun intended but take it if you want it) from the fact that it's success is the culmination of my experience with Riven, Riven Reloaded, Riven Revolutions, Source, and Riven Impact.
Meaning, I really _did learn_ from my mistakes! So far I've had no algae outbreaks, no deaths, fairly consistent growth, and I even managed to have the tank recover from bleach!

Artistically, this tank has been the most challenging as well. In a tank this size the hardscape and plantscape must be deliberate and precise. Minute details, like how a leaf bends as it grows, determines whether or not the aspect in question stays or goes. The line between just enough growth and too much is razor thin. Balancing my sense of aesthetics with my pride of having healthy, thriving plants is a constant challenge. Usually, and unfortunately, pride over my green thumb usually wins out. (Which is odd, because I'm as shallow for beauty as they come.)

It's here that I'm lucky that I chose Natural as a design model. An iwagumi or Dutch would take entirely too much effort to keep manicured and the tank could quickly turn over-planted given a missed trimming session. With Natural, I can have a look of controlled chaos without having to trim it every other day.


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster

Woah that Nerite is a couple [STRIKE]centimeters[/STRIKE] millimeters away from coming out:icon_eek:


----------



## Ugly Genius

He actually rode around the rim after taking that shot, *Zoo*. Almost did a full lap.
Dunno what it is with Nerites -- maybe it's their tidal nature -- but every now and again they'll climb to the rim of my tanks and sit there. They don't try to escape necessarily, they just seem to need to be in the open air. Even if I push them back in, they come right back to the rim, hang out there for a half an hour, and then go back into the water.
Speaking of snails, besides that one Nerite, this tank has no snails what-so-ever. I'm wondering of my bleach fiasco killed them all early in the tank's life. 
But watch, now that I said something, I'll have a ton.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Okay, just got some closeups of the "Dunno Shrimp". Whuddya think? Wild-type Cardinia?


----------



## Aquamadman

Im really liking "Mr. Unknown" shrimp. His patern kinda fascinated me. Correct me if Im wrong but I believe he/she is black spotted. The randomness of its patern almost like a TV with no reception ( you know the grey&black dots ) only transparent.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Hey, *Aquamadman*. You're right about the spots. I think the author William Gibson said it best, "[The shrimp] was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." Except in the opening sentence of the wonderful book _Neuromancer_, Gibson was talking about the sky, not shrimp. 
But it applies here: a shrimp after the US conversion from analog to digital. So maybe this is a "Analog Shrimp".

I've come to the conclusion that shrimp could care less about tank size. What they love is hiding spots. Here, in this cramped, tiny tank, they are as happy as can be. I believe it's because there are so many places to hide. In Riven Impact, larger yet much less densely planted, they're miserable.
So I say to you, give your shrimp places to hide!


----------



## chris.rivera3

Ugly Genius said:


> Thanks, *cl*. It's over. The hard part of work is finished and it went off wonderfully. The next project's a hundred times bigger, but I'm not even going to think about that. This job's finished.
> 
> *Zoo* and *X*, I've had those conversations and there is no arguing your way out of them. Because even if you win and convince them that the bag of dirt and/or rocks are worth every penny of what they cost, the point they take away with them is: so he's a dork.
> 
> *lookin'*, don't think about going to AFA; go! Just not on Tuesdays. They're closed.
> 
> Thanks, *Down*.
> 
> The LFS down the street from my house got some new shrimp in today. I added two Orange Shrimp, two CRS, and a blue shrimp (dunno what kind).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _Orange Shrimp_
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _Dunno_​
> When I first set up this tank, I wanted it populated solely by CRS, but as I like Orange Shrimp a lot, and this was the first time my LFS had them, I thought I'd try a couple in Quasi. The cool thing is that when they're on the ferns, they make them look like orange trees.


amazing tank!!! i noticed in your 2nd picture you have a ton of bubbles on the surface of the water...i have the same issue...i have a DIY CO2 w/ a diffuser and i have a ton of bubbles also...is that normal??? anything bad about it?


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *tinytim*! 
The CO2 bubbles on the surface are not necessarily a bad thing; they're not necessarily a good thing, either. 
What they reveal is that the CO2 bottle is producing CO2 but they do not indicate whether or not the CO2 is being absorbed into the water column. 
As I don't measure CO2 amounts, I judge CO2 absorbtion by plant growth and, more immediately, by pearling. You should look for the same. If you're not getting either, chances are your problem is with your flow -- namely, a lack thereof. (But don't worry if you don't see pearling. More informative is plant growth.)
So to answer your question, I'll say that if you have good flow in your tank and have bubbles on the surface, yes, it is normal, and, no, it is not a problem.









_My main concern with DIY CO2 is not the bubbles on the surface,
but the absorption into the water column.
Usually this is evidenced by pearling, minimal algae growth, and overall plant health._​


----------



## Ugly Genius

A cool thing about ADA and Do!aqua tanks is that they are so pretty, they become furniture. It's not just what's inside the tank, but the whole damn thing.









_Especially filled to the brim._​
The character of this tank does not really come through in photos. I suppose it's due to it's density and relative darkness. However, this photograph sort of shows the character that can only be seen in person.









_Here I used an ISO of 200 on my camera.
It seems a good compromise between the too-dark-yet-fine 100 and the light-yet-grainy 400._​
See, in here the shrimp don't eat the Special Fern.


----------



## Ugly Genius

In an effort to make this journal's pages load even more slowly, I'm posting more photos of this tank.

Today I took the day off. After going to Japantown to pick up a bento for lunch -- salmon bento, if you were wondering -- I went to AFA.

I got three plants. More Special Fern, a Bolbitis, and Rotala "Pearl". I did minor tweaking to this tank in order to maintain balance and scale with the new plants in there. I very much doubt most of you will notice the changes, but please don't say that. I spent an hour tweaking. Maybe more than an hour. Time flies for me when I'm 'scaping. Two and a half hours feels like fifteen minutes.

Here's an Ef Tee Es:








Here's more of the Special Fern with the Bolbitis in the back:









_I don't know if you're like me, but when I say "Bolbitis"
I say it like a gangsta from the "hood": Bo bidis.
Fo shizzle bo bidis._​
And here's the Rotala "Pearl".








In order to have the tank come together, the Christmas Moss needs to do it's part and stop looking so suntanned and the Special Fern needs to bounce back after being devastated by the shrimp in Source.

Question:
Would you think that the driftwood would look better with Mini Pellia tied to it as opposed to the Christmas Moss? Before you answer, remember that Mini Pellia tends to grow fungus-shaped when tied vertically to driftwood and tall rocks. (See Source for an example of this.)









_As a rule, I don't like tanks with rounded corners, but rules suck so here ya go._​


----------



## CeeBee

I am discovering that tanks are addictive. I'm on tank two now. 

After seeing how beautiful planted tanks are, I had to try for myself. 

Now, after seeing how beautiful nano tanks can be........ 

There's a pattern forming isn't there? 


UG - I hold you partly resonsible  Your tank is just stunning.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *CeeBee*! I really appreciate that. This tank gets relatively few comments, and sometimes I wonder if it's one of those tanks that I really like but no one else does. (Although it's my girl's favorite.)
Get a nano! They're rad. You'll have so much fun. They're really not all that much work. On this tank, the maintenance is probably ten minutes a week. Once you find the balance of light and CO2 for the size you've chosen, the hardest part is trying to find new angles from which to shoot photos.

Speaking of which...









_Mini Microsword slowly doing it's thing._









_This shirmp is blue. He's very pretty. Just not so much in this photo._









_You can see two Special Fern babies forming under an adult leaf.
This plant has about six of such plantlets growing all about it._​
I figure this tank'll take two more months to fill in. I'm most impatient with the Special Fern. It looks terrible munched up but looks stunning healthy. I'm reluctant to trim too many of the leaves, however, as many plantletts are on the undersides of said leaves.
I'm also impatient with the Mini Microsword, but what's new there?


----------



## Ugly Genius

So I'm on the phone with the girlfriend. We're talking about the AIG execs' bonuses, drama at work, my dogs, and who would win in a fight: Darth Maul or Wolverine. (Darth Maul. Period.) As we're talking, I see a dead strand of Christmas Moss on the driftwood and decide to pull it off. We continue to talk and I continue to absentmindedly pull dead strand after dead strand of Christmas Moss off the driftwood. Soon it's all gone.








We had to hang up due to my mobile's battery going dead, but as I folded the phone shut and looked at the tank, I decided that I like the driftwood a lot better without the moss.








It gives the tank a contrast that it was lacking.


----------



## fastfreddie

I LOVE this tank! Can't wait to get home from work and read the whole thread tonight. 

The diffuser is super sweet too!


----------



## manini

I've been watching your tank mature and it looks like its coming along great. I do have a few that I am working on also. They are mainly wabi-kusa.


----------



## lookin_around

I agree with you on the driftwood...and on the Darth Maul issue for that matter. I love the variety of plants in this tank, although it does seem like it would be a b*tch to do any sort of major maintenance.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *fastfreddie*! FYI, the diffuser's the Do! aqua Music Glass 10. AFA's got 'em. (I swear, I should get a commission from those guys.)

Hey, *manini*. Thanks. Good luck on the wabi-kusas.

*lookin*, it's not as hard to maintain as you'd think. Like I've said before, this tank is a culmination of my experience on all the other tanks. Consequently, when setting it up, I did so with maintenance in mind. For example, virtually all plants are tied to individual rocks so as to make moving and pruning easy.
And at last count, there are eleven different species of plants in here. Mini Microsword, Glosso, Rotala sp. "Forgot", Rotala sp. "Pearl", Special Fern, Mini Java Fern, Narrowleaf Java Fern, Lawn Marsh Pennywort, Mini Pellia, Christmas Moss, and Anubias Nana "Petite". I think this is tied to or more than Source.
It also has about four or five species of shrimp.









_Unfortunately, this tank, while my current favorite, 
is not as photogenic as Source and Riven Impact.
Up close and in person, I think it might be my prettiest tank.
It just does not have all the high-tech gadgetry of Source
or the benefits of my extended experience with Riven Impact, a Mini-S._









_The Rotala Brothers._​


----------



## garuf

Ugly, can I urge you to post your tanks over on Ukaps, go on don't be a stranger. You should be proud of them.


----------



## Ugly Genius

I hope they understand my American accent over there, *garuf*.

The girl and I went to Fry's today to pick up a present for Pops. (Got him an Elvis lamp. Pops loves Elvis. But that's not why I got it for him. I picked it out mainly to piss off Ma. She's real tasteful when it comes to things like interior design, clothes, et cetera and a tacky lamp like that would drive her nuts. Mission accomplished. Pops loved it; mom hated it.) While there I picked up a couple of Ott-lites for myself.

I'm trying one on Quasi-Wabi. So far the results have been promising. Pearling began in earnest in less than two hours. It took considerably longer with the screw-in CF I had been using.









_I tried many times not to have this shot come out crooked.
Obviously, I was not successful._


















_I love the way Special Ferns pearl._









_Okay, now what kind of shrimp is this?_









_Ott-lite: the perfect nano lamp.
The Home Depot Robo Cop lamp gots nothin' on a couple of these._​


----------



## garuf

I'm certain they'd be well received, we're having a really drought of good journals over on ukaps, too many people with too many agenders that mean we never see many of the members tanks in any sort of detail until we buy a magazine or till after the competition results are in.

This tank is growing in really well, I can't wait to see the microsword grown in nice and thick. 
I'm loving that bacopa style plant too, the subtle nature of it's shape and colour benefits the scape well and adds an extra touch of texture and interest. 
The ott light seems a nice bit of equipment, make sure you keep on top of your co2 and water changes when uprating a light, you'll be treading a thinner rope every time you increase the light otherwise. Algae loves high light tanks.


----------



## Craigthor

*UG* I have to say this is my favorite tank of yours. I love hte jungle look it has with the Special ferns in it. 

I would love to find a plant I can plant behind my wood that would grow emmersed out of the tank in the back could be interesting.

Craig


----------



## Dollface

maybe your mystery shrimp is a ninja shrimp? or a maylay shrimp?


----------



## jjungle78

Very Nice!


----------



## Jack Gilvey

Love that shot! Beautiful stuff, UG. Is this the light you're using?




Ugly Genius said:


> _Ott-lite: the perfect nano lamp.
> The Home Depot Robo Cop lamp gots nothin' on a couple of these._​


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *garuf*.
Regarding the light, this morning, I raised the light two paperbacks in height. Technically, the OttLite (thirteen watts) is a few watts less than the spiral-type fifteen watt CF I was using, but the inefficiencies inherent in a spiral-type probably results in an overall wattage-hitting-the-substrate increase with the tubular-type OttLite.

Thanks, *Craig*! I appreciate that.
While I'm not certain, the Crepidomanes auriculatum (I really should stop calling it "Special Fern") might grow emersed. I saw this photo that makes me think so.

Hey, *Dollface*. Long time no see, girl! Where ya been?
He might be a Malaya Shrimp as you suggested. I really wanted him to be a Ninja Shrimp because Ninjas (the badass assassins) are friggin' rad, but the markings seem more in line (pun _totally_ intended) with the less-cool-sounding Malaya Shrimp.

Thanks, *jjungle* and *jgilvey*! (Haven't see you around either, jgilvey. Don't be a stranger.)


----------



## Jack Gilvey

I come here specifically to check your threads, but haven't even gotten a tank set up yet much to my dismay. Not much to contribute, in other words. I've had an ADA 30C sitting here for the longest (I'm looking at it right here at my workdesk/kitchen table), but with work and raising that which is in my avatar, just haven't gotten to it.


----------



## Dollface

Ugly Genius said:


> Hey, *Dollface*. Long time no see, girl! Where ya been?
> He might be a Malaya Shrimp as you suggested. I really wanted him to be a Ninja Shrimp because Ninjas (the badass assassins) are friggin' rad, but the markings seem more in line (pun _totally_ intended) with the less-cool-sounding Malaya Shrimp.


I've been lurking in the deepest darkest shadows.
By wich I mean the lounge.

But yeah, it looks like a maylaya shrimp in that photo, but I'm not clear on them changing colors. 

Maybe your Malaya shrimp was specially trained by Ninjas, who knows.


----------



## gpwap1

Ugly Genius said:


> _Okay, now what kind of shrimp is this?_​


 
You might be a little disappointed by this but i dont think you should be. The shrimp that you have there is a mutant female cherry shrimp (from what i can see in the picture. size and features seems about right). I believe it's a recessive mutation where they appear brown as opposed to red. People around here call them Blue morph or Black morph. This mutation is fairly common unlike red mutants that resulted in crystal reds. For selective breeding of deep red coloration people usually remove these morphs from the tank. I have a bunch of them in my tank but i dont bother removing them. That's because i dont care about colors. A cherry shrimp is a cherry shrimp. Also, they seem to be a lot hardier than the red cherries. It might be just a psychological thing but when i had an accidental NO3 overdose that killed a lot of my shrimps, almost all of the ones that died were red...​


----------



## Ugly Genius

*jgively*, that which is in your avatar is cuter than any amount of ADA stuff could ever achieve. So the choice you made is a good one.

I always forget the two most happening places, The Lounge and the Swap n Shop, *Dollface*. In fact, I rarely venture out of General Planted Tank Discussions and Planted Nano Tanks. Were I to go to The Lounge, I'd probably go on for ninety-seven pages about the video game Peggle that my girl and I played all weekend. It's friggin' addictive as heck. And in the Swap n Shop, I'd go broke sending people AOKs as I have a guilt complex about living so close to AFA.
As for it being trained by ninjas...in this case, I'd prefer jedi. That way, rather than being stealthy, this shrimp could Force Pull algae to it and Force Shock hydra and such. 
And this one'd be Sith for sure. Light Side jedis are wusses if you ask me. The Dark Side's the way to go. No doubt.

*gwap1*, not disappointed in the slightest. I am partial to only one species of shrimp: alive. 
I don't care what grade CRS it is. I don't care if it comes from a volcano-heated lake in Sulawasi. I don't care if it glows neon when CO2 levels reach ideal. (Although that would be really convenient, don't you think? Drop checker shrimp.) All I care is that the thing's alive and is relatively happy in my tank. (Which is why I get so bummed when shrimp jump. _Why, little guy? Whuddid I do? Couldn't we have talked it out?_)
A few pages ago, I mentioned that I thought it might be the wild-type Cardinia and even if she is, she's still a pretty kick-butt shrimp. As Shakespeare would have said, a shrimp by any other name would still kick the same amount of butt.









_The shrimp think I can't see them._









_Bolbits + Wood = Good_









_The fill-in's going to take a while._​


----------



## Jack Gilvey

Ugly Genius said:


> *jgively*, that which is in your avatar is cuter than any amount of ADA stuff could ever achieve. So the choice you made is a good one.


 I started this using her as an excuse to get back into fishkeeping. "Y'know, Julia would _love_ a little fish tank." As is my wont, however, "her" fish tank winds up requiring CO2, EI dosing, substrates with mystical qualities...


----------



## @[email protected]

i really like your tanks UG. they always give the impression of a rocky mediterreanian landscape with some trees, but mostly grass and shrubland. it looks very nice.
and as i mention on source, i love your mini pellia.


----------



## Ugly Genius

*jgilvey*, when I started (then stopped) with this hobby, it was for Zooey. Zooey loves fish. I bought him a goldfish. Then a plant. Then substrate. Then I moved the goldfish to an outside pond and got fish that don't eat plants. Then I got more plants. And a new light. CO2. And it went downhill from there. 
After just a few months into the hobby, Zoo, Fran, and I had some pretty bad drama in our lives that got us out of the hobby for four years, but we're back now. Fran could care less, but Zooey loves it. Father like son, I suppose.
My point is, you might be on a break right now, but some things are inevitable. Some things will happen no matter what. Like a 30-C.

Hey, *@marko*. Haven't seen you in ages! And thanks for the comment. That means a lot.
I remember when I first got Mini Pellia. I didn't like it. I think I said it looked like a toupée. That changed quick, didn't it.

Here are four of this tank's eight or so shrimp and sole Nerite.








And foliage.








I'm only three days into the OttLight, but it seems to be working out fine. I swapped out the Ott bulb for a sixty-five hundred k one. I'll get a ten k soonish. I like that spectrum better.
Or even better, has anyone ever seen a thirteen watt CF eight-thousand k bulb?


----------



## Francis Xavier

I don't much like the pelia I have at the moment, No idea where to place it and in it's current incarnation it looks ugly! But I like the effect it has on your driftwood.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *X*. 
I'm not a huge fan of Pellia. I adore Mini Pellia, but the regular stuff looks like algae to me. In a month or so, I'll have a bit to give you if you want some.
The MP on the driftwood started in Riven and then spent a few weeks in Riven Reloaded and then went to GIFT, a betta tank that gets virtually no attention from me. This is to say, it grew stringy like it is from medium light and no CO2 or ferts.

Speaking of MP. I added a bunch today. Minor changes that you probably would not notice had I not mentioned it, but I added about four small stones of Mini Pellia at the base of the driftwood. My hope with the stuff is that it takes the look of the tank from swampy to foresty.



































Something I learned while moving things about the tank today is that much of the aesthetics of plant layout is intuitive; for me, at least. Meaning, I don't consciously know what looks right and what looks wrong, but when something's wrong, there's be an itch in the back of my brain that won't go away.
Here's what I mean. Look at the last photo from above. See the Anubias Nana "Petite" on the right? I didn't realize it at the time, but as I stared at the tank, that itch came. The itch got stronger the more I looked at that plant. It wasn't until I stepped away and came back that I realized that it was backwards. You see, I try to place my plants so that it looks like they grew there. Had that Anubias Nana been "born there", it would have been facing the other way as that is where it would get the most sun. By having it backwards, on some level I sense it was wrong without consciously knowing it.
Once I turned it around, as seen in the second photo above, the itch went away.
Weird how that works, huh?


----------



## Hail

I can totally relate. The only problem is that my intuition is in no way as honed as yours. While you are able to listen to your "itch" and figure out a possible cause, I am only able to realize something is wrong. With no way to follow the itch-trail to the problem, I just have to find ways to ignore it. 
Good job on your intuition though. It has created a pretty tank!


----------



## Ugly Genius

Intuition is just experience we didn't realize we had. 
Do this long enough and you'll scratch those itches, *Hail*. 
And don't you for a second think that I've scratched every itch. When I look at Source and Riven Impact, I feel like my brain's been rolled in Poison Ivy! The itches in this tank are easier to scratch just because it's so small.
I'm sick today, and I needed to get out of the house lest I loose my mind, so I went to AFA. I didn't get anything exciting -- just some Amanos for Riven Impact and Source (_Eat that hair algae, fellas!_) and SuperBac Aquarium Cleaner. (I love that stuff. I have absolutely no idea if it does anything, but the feeling of pouring something that _might_ keep my tank cleaner is awesome. I just imagine my bio-filter getting stronger and stronger and it fill me with a sense of hell yeah.)


----------



## Craigthor

*UG*- Hehe, I like your thinking. Instead of Intuition I prefer Instinct. Nature lets me know what ot do and when. A couple weeks ago it kicked in high gear with 3 changes in 5 days. I'm super happy with this current setup.

I was bad though and just ordered some Elatine Minima from BigStick here. susposed to carpet like HC with leaves larger than HC and smaller than Glosso. You're first on my list once it spread abit. I was told its a super slow grower. 

Also have 20 more shrimp coming.  Some (8 or so) are going to a local person here but the rest are mine. 

Also I ROAK'd out the MMS and several of the others I got from you as I didn't have room for everything.

Craig


----------



## Ugly Genius

The Elatine Minima looks cool, *Craig*. Just googled it. I had never heard of it.

I swapped out the sixty-seven K bulb for a ten K last night.








In person, the tank's whiter as opposed to the yellow tinge that the lower K bulbs put off.

Christmas Moss is slowly growing out of the tank.


----------



## fastfreddie

I bet the 10K looks better! Lets see another FTS!

I still can't find this tank for sale anywhere (even AFA.) Am I just not looking hard enough? You've got me losing sleep over the thought of starting up a nano. I'm serious... I couldn't sleep last night!


----------



## Ugly Genius

Here's a FTS, *fast*.









_With the ten K bulb._​
While it's true in a sense that they don't have this tank at AFA, in another sense they _do_ have it at AFA. To the right of the register is one, albeit currently planted. It's not a complicated 'scape, so them tearing it down would not break anyone's heart. It's got an LED light and a Red Sea Nano Filter on it. Try asking about that one. The tank itself, while used, is in good condition. I actually wanted that one when I bought mine as the clarity seemed really good. From time-to-time, they sell "sets" with the cubes. The set includes a small bag of Aqua Soil, an LED light (which I do not recommend unless you're raising bats), and a Red Sea Nano Filter (use a Zoo Med 501 if you get this tank; flow's perfect).


----------



## fastfreddie

Thanks man! I'll check into it!


----------



## Ugly Genius

I removed the Rotala brothers, as I came to call them, and added some newly-bought Staurogyne. It's quite small and looks like lettuce (or cabbage, I always get the two mixed up; or are they the same thing?). It's from Tropica by way of AFA. It's new and I don't really know all that much about it. If you have any info on it, lemme know.


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster

Ugly Genius said:


> I removed the Rotala brothers, as I came to call them, and added some newly-bought Staurogyne. It's quite small and looks like lettuce (or cabbage, I always get the two mixed up; or are they the same thing?). It's from Tropica by way of AFA. It's new and I don't really know all that much about it. If you have any info on it, lemme know.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ​


Ooooooh I want that!!! How much was it?


----------



## Ugly Genius

Nine dollars for the two of them, *Zoo*. Kind of expensive, but they're really cool-looking.


----------



## garuf

Bloody hell that's expencive. It's a nice plant thought, I've been growing it for about 9 months now and you have you trim the tops otherwise it gets lanky and the lower leaves die off, It's a slow grower too and doesn't carpet like hc or glosso, it's more of a really really short stem plant. I saw short, you can leave it and it will grow to about 6inches tall but really it should have been cut long before that especially as it has 2 growth forms which are stimulated by cutting, or not as the case may be.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Yeah, it was expensive, but to me it was worth it. Thanks for the info on it, *garuf*. When it grows up like you described, it'll really add to this tank, I feel.









_Smack dab in the center of this photo is a CRS. 
Can you see him looking out of the dark?_​


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## Ugly Genius

One shot, two tanks.









_Got a vivarium vibe to it, don't it?_​


----------



## CL

It really does look like a viv, with all of those ferns! Very cool!


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *cl*. I really like those ferns. They take more than a while to get settled, but once they do, they are beautiful. I've still got about sixty percent that needs to die off, but all of the dying leaves have plantlets, so I'm keeping them on until their babies are ready to drop.

Here are some Monday evening shots.









_I love this driftwood._









_Crouching Tigers, Mini Pellia._









_My microwave._









_FTS._​


----------



## jjungle78

Haha. Are those blue tigers? I know theres no blonde eyes but it seems pretty dark.


----------



## Ugly Genius

I'm pretty sure they're just normal run-of-the-mill Tigers, *jjungle*. They probably appear dark because of the camera.


----------



## thief

Wow this tank has Reeally developed!!! I like it. Actually this tank really capture my mind. I am so used to thinking of hardscape skills ( Golden Ratio, Odd # rocks, whatever ) This tank makes me feel balanced almost. The plants ARE what made this tank to what it is now. 

I like the diversity of plants... Wild... natural feeling to it.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *thief*!

I forget how many plants varieties I have in here, but there are a lot. Thirteen or fourteen, I think it was.









_Seven or eight species of plants are in this shot alone._









_This one's tucked in the back-right where no one can see it yet.
I put it in there to counterbalance the light green of the Staurogyne in the front-left of the tank.
It should be visible in an FTS in about two weeks, I'd imagine._​


----------



## J.T. in Tennessee

I also like your kitchen wish my girlfriend would let me keep my tanks in one room.


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## Ugly Genius

*J.T.*, no comment. There is no way I'm getting in the middle of _that_ one.

I like this shot. It looks like an ad for Do! aqua.








For the longest time I didn't have MTS (the snails). I finally got some as hitchhikers not too long ago and I've been letting them do their thing in all my tanks. This little guy is Quasi-Wabi's only MTS. Currently.









_The Tiger Shrimp is staring right at me, huh?
No fear with that guy._​
Here's a photo where I tried to get artsy, but it didn't come out like I intened. 
What I had tried to do was get both the underwater plants and the diftwood in focus.
It's a good photo, though.








With a tank this small, any algae on the glass can be scrapped with Q-tips. Maintenance does not get any easier than a friggin' Q-tip on glass.


----------



## Ugly Genius

I read and heard that trimming Microsword encourages it to spread more quickly. I decided to try it just now. As a result of doing so, I see that I like the look of this tank much more with a very short carpet of Mini Microsword. I'm going to keep it trimmed to around this height.

















Now the Staurogyne is much more visible.


----------



## asimkhatri

I love ur all tanks *beautiful*.. 
I must say awsome


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *asimkhatri*! Haven't seen you around in a while.

Currently, all of my love for this hobby is being poured onto this tank. Riven Impact and Source are still near and dear to my heart, but it's this tank that's The One, in capital letters.

















I don't test my water. Once every other month or so, I'll check pH, but that's about it.
This should not be interpreted as me not caring about water parameters, however. I care a great deal. What I don't care for is _testing_ the water. 
Matching colors and reading numbers bore me. 
Besides, what's important to me is what those colors and numbers represent and what those colors and numbers represent can be learned without a single test kit.
In Quasi-Wabi, the main things I look for are algae, pearling, and shrimp behavior.
Algae tells me if there are too many nutrients and/or too little CO2.
Pearling tells me if my DIY CO2 is being produced in sufficient quantity and that it's being absorbed into the water column.
The shrimp let me know if everything is in balance. If things are spot on, they will not freak when I put my hand in the tank to trim or clean. If things are _really_ spot on, they climb on my hand, chopstick, glass scraper, et cetera as a way to say, "Right on, bro. Thanks for this cool place to live. Very comfy, I must say."
There are dozens of other little things I look for, but most of them sit on the subconscious level.
I learned all this because, I believe, I cut my teeth in this hobby in nanos. The major drawback to a nano turns out to be it's single greatest blessing. 
Here:
The razor-thin causality inherent in a smaller tank allows a person to see quite quickly exactly what causes what. While this can come to bite a person in the proverbial butt in the case of, say, an ammonia spike, it also allows a person to see, for example, that positioning the outflow in a certain way, increases CO2 absorption; visible vis-à-vis pearling thirty minutes sooner than with the previous outflow positioning.
What's my point?
I don't have one. I just felt like saying all that.
Pressed to give a point, I'd say:
You don't need test kits. Just a love of the game.


----------



## CL

That mp is awesome. I finally had mine grown into a nice big chunk (currently one of my favorite plants) and it started melting  I also had my entire ug field melt in a different tank right when it was almost filled in


----------



## Ugly Genius

What happened, *cl*?


----------



## CL

Ugly Genius said:


> What happened, *cl*?


idk, I also had one of my prized anubias nanas (the first specimen that I ever bought- about 2 yrs old) completely melt on me in my big tank. It's killing me :icon_cry:


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## Ugly Genius

That friggin' sucks, man. I feel for you. Lemme know if you need any plants to get you back in the game when you get your tanks settled. 

When that happened to me in this tank, it was bleach. Eventually, everything bounced back though. So don't give up. That Mini Pellia I gave you died once and came back to life. It's a soldier.


----------



## fastfreddie

Ugly Genius said:


> The shrimp let me know if everything is in balance. If things are spot on, they will not freak when I put my hand in the tank to trim or clean. If things are _really_ spot on, they climb on my hand, chopstick, glass scraper, et cetera as a way to say, "Right on, bro. Thanks for this cool place to live. Very comfy, I must say."


Greatly enjoyed your whole speech on testing, but I must say this was my favorite part!


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## ZooTycoonMaster

Does the Staroguyne (however you spell it) creep sideways or grow straight up?


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *fast*!

*Zoo*, I've seen it do both in photos. It's too soon to tell how it'll grow for me. So far it's growing sideways and creeping up slightly. It's a super cool plant. I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I am.


----------



## garuf

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Does the Staroguyne (however you spell it) creep sideways or grow straight up?


Not particularly, it tends to form bushy solitary plants, you have to cut and replant tips to get the best out of it.


----------



## quicktap

UG, I must say, I've read through most of your two other journals, but this tank is my favorite. It's beautiful; and it continues to improve as it fills out.

I like it so much that it's convinced me (actually, I convinced myself, through a complex set of rationalizations, but this journal didn't help matters  ) to purchase my own small tank, a mini-L, for my office.

I think I remember reading in another of your threads that your only fertilizer is Brighty-K, is that true? Have you made any adjustments? Have any wisdom to share?


----------



## asimkhatri

I was busy..


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks a lot, *quicktap*! A lot of nice things you said there. Appreciate it.
Have fun with that Mini-L! Have you decided what type of hardscape you're going to do? 
To answer your question...generally speaking, yes. With Aqua Soil, I've found it's for the most part unnecessary to dose anything but potassium.
A couple of caveats:
I don't keep high-light tanks. Dosing gets much more complicated -- too complicated to be fun for me -- in high-light tanks.1
I change water like most people shower: at least once a day.
I use Aqua Soil in all my tanks.
Take Source for instance, I didn't even dose K until a week ago. It didn't need it. I think a lot of people underestimate the value that a nutrient-rich substrate like Aqua Soil brings to tank.
This is to say, if you didn't order any other macros or micros besides K, you'd still be fine for months as long as you had Aqua Soil. At least, that's been my experience.

_____
1. When setting up a tank, I don't even consider the overall concepts of "high-" and "low-" light. Instead, I lean towards using -- where possible -- the lowest lighting level I can get away with to grow what I want the way I want it to grow.2

2. Look at that! A footnote of a footnote.3 Case in point, Glosso. I tend to use Glosso a lot, so when watching the tank for the first time, I'll place a sprig of Glosso at the lowest point of the substrate. If after a couple of weeks, it does not carpet, I know that I have to either increase the overall wattage poured onto the tank or lower the light source to closer to the water's surface. Most often, Glosso will carpet in a nano with well under what would be considered high-light. I believe this to be because the distance the light has to travel to hit the substrate is relatively short when compared to larger tanks in which the light must travel two feet or more in some cases. Generally speaking, once you can get Glosso to carpet in a nano, you can grow pretty much any plant considered high-light.4 I've found that four point five watts per gallon (well spread) in a nano is strong enough to grow pretty much anything. Another way of saying all that is: an increase of just one watt provides significantly more to a nano that it does to a bigger tank; so be careful about jumping up too quickly.

3. Would that make it a toenote?

4. To end all of this footnote foolishness and sum up what should have been said back in the first footnote, I believe that the best tanks are the tanks that have just enough (JE) light. Not a watt more, not a watt less.5

5. Now that I reread my first footnote, I see that I did say just that.6

6. Which is to say that not only were these footnotes needlessly confusing, they were also too numerous (by five), repetitious, and, let's be honest, kinda stupid.7

7. Sorry.


----------



## CL

lol!


----------



## Craigthor

*UG* I found what you need for this tank. AFA has some Do! Aqua stuff listed on there site. 

Do! Aqua Music Bubble Counter
Do! Aqua Mini Music Glass

May as well go all Do! Aqua with this tank would be cool to see. Along with the Do! Aqua Violet Mini Pipes.

Craig


----------



## quicktap

Thanks for the information, UG.... Especially the note on *UGGRW* (Ugly Genius's Glosso Reference Wattage).1 Like you, I prefer "does it work?" to any sort of test kits or arithmetical metrics.

I've had a few conversations with Steven (and George, and a few others) at AFA, they have been very helpful. In addition to the mini-L, I've got Brighty-K, Step 1, Power Sand Special, AquaSoil Powder, and a 36W Archaea light heading this way.

Hardscape? A LFS has some black obsidian, I think I can dig 3 nice pieces out of the box. Two pieces have veins of white in them. I'm afraid it may be too flashy, though; I believe it would be very hard to balance that contrast. As an alternative, I'd like to find a stump that I can cover with anubias 'petite', mini java ferns, and some moss, with a foreground of glosso or HC, and some blyxa tucked in the back.

----
1. pronunciation: ug-GROW


----------



## Ugly Genius

*Craig*, I didn't notice that they had added that Do!aqua stuff. Right now the tank's got the Music Glass diffuser, but the bubble counter will have to wait until I get pressurized CO2 on it.
Speaking of which, I got a copy of a Do!aqua catalogue this week and one of the cool things in it is a Do!aqua CO2 "Starter Kit". It's basically a Do!aqua version of the ADA Advance System. I don't know how much it'll cost and it won't be available until Spring of this year (or are we already in Spring?), but it looks promising. The boys at AFA told me that they'll be ordering it when it comes out.

Hey, *quick*. Love the UGGRW.
The setup you have coming sounds perfect. You you going to inject CO2 in any way?
I'm deciding what light to use on a Mini-L. It won't have CO2 initially, so I'm thinking twenty-six watts in the form of two OttLites.

Before I'm off to the gym, photos.


----------



## quicktap

UG, I will be injecting CO2. Regulator and pH controller were delivered yesterday. Diffuser is included in my AFA order. A bit of overkill, but since it's in my office, I won't be able to monitor the tank daily. 

I looked for some Ott-Lites, the only ones I found were $50 and looked a bit short to sit over a mini-L. Based on my conversations with AFA, the 36W Archaea "clip on" comes with an ADA 8000K bulb, that's a bonus; made the decision a bit easier.

Still picking up your mini-L this weekend? It's almost unfair that you have AFA as your LFS... while I have to wait 5 business days for a shipment.


----------



## thief

Quick- The 36W Archaea comes with the ADA 8000K light bulb! I didn't know that! I might just go get me one or maybe 2! 
lol you got a point it is unfair UG gets a pimp out LFS made for nature aquarium. Hopefully the NA spirit will spread east wards- odd way to look at it but opposite way of the manifest destiny! 

UG your such a photoholic:thumbsup: But the nice kind of Photoholic


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## quicktap

Thief - That is my understanding; talked with Steve at AFA a few times last week. I'll be able to verify when my light arrives next Friday (after the week-long wait that SOME people don't have to suffer through  )


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## Craigthor

Guys I would be so much more broke if I lived by AFA, or atleast have more goodies with the savings on shipping.

Craig


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## Ugly Genius

CO2, no matter how high-tech, is never overkill, *quick*.
The Archaea does come with an ADA 8,000k bulb. I was looking at them last week and saw them inside. How much are they, by the way?
I'll probably go there tomorrow to get a Mini-L and a piece of driftwood. For a moment, I thought I'd have to put the thing on hold as I miscalculated when Zooey's thyroid meds would run out, but it turns out that it's not until next month. (Zoo's vet appointments cost me several bills a visit.)
You know, for a long time, I felt really embarrassed about going to AFA so often. I kept thinking that the fellas there would think, "Doesn't this dude have a _life_?" (Kinda in the same way I get this niggling insecurity when I update my journals daily.) But I got over that once I realized, I'd rather be going into AFA weekly than a bar. If you're going to go somewhere where everybody knows your name, it might as well be a pretty somewhere.

*thief*, there's no rule that you can't start your own ADA shop out there one day.


thief said:


> UG your such a photoholic:thumbsup: But the nice kind of Photoholic


I believe the technical term is "dork". Or "loser", depending on the context.

*Craig*, twenty bucks says that if you lived out here, you'd work there part-time in order to get a discount and you'd spend the money you earned before you even finished your shift.

Oh, and, *quick* for the record, while I live only fifteen minutes from AFA, it does take me a good four to five minutes to find parking without a parking meter. (Unless I'm on my motorcycle, in which case I park right in front.) Sometimes it's even _cold_ as I walk the half block from my car to the store. So don't think I have it super easy out here.

I've been remiss as of late in interjecting random tidbits of dorkitude into this journal...
_Left 4 Dead_ is awesome. Almost zero plot and frantic shooting action. Good fun. I didn't think I'd like it, but I do.
I saw my first HD program today. I don't have an HD TV as I barely watch TV as it is. (The only HD anything that I've seen has been in the showroom floor of electronic departments. And all they play is _Spiderman 3_; I'm sick of that movie! It sucked in the theaters and it sucks at Target.) I downloaded _Legend of the Seeker_ from iTunes onto my MacBook and now I see what all the fuss is about. HD is really nice, isn't it? I'd still rather buy a kick-butt tank with the thousand plus dollars that an HD TV would cost, but I can see why a lot of people elect to do the opposite. Seeing as how they prefer _Spiderman 3_ (losers) to growing plants underwater (winners!).


----------



## quicktap

The Archaea 36W "clip on" light was $89.

UG, with respect to vet bills, I sympathize, my wife and I have 2 dogs and 2 cats... their health can have a significant impact on our budget.


----------



## Craigthor

Ugly Genius said:


> *Craig*, twenty bucks says that if you lived out here, you'd work there part-time in order to get a discount and you'd spend the money you earned before you even finished your shift.


You win only problem would be you would be giving me your $20 so I could get you the discounts. Steve and George would wonder where the tanks I keep buying are going. :icon_roll I think I would have to work double time there jsut to cover the cost of working there as I would have to pay them on payday not the other way around.



quicktap said:


> UG, with respect to vet bills, I sympathize, my wife and I have 2 dogs and 2 cats... their health can have a significant impact on our budget.


I understand that. My wife has 3 Rabbits and 2 Cats vet bills get pricy when they come around. Oh yeah I guuess so is my tank. :confused1: Guess I have no leg to stand on.

Craig


----------



## thief

Lol Ug actually I have been planning for my own business! Thanks for letting the secret out!:thumbsup: lol

Also just a Q. When you get your bike were will you be carrying your fish, rocks, DW, and tanks? lol For fish I would think that there is some sort of compartment but other than that I don't think so. But then again you could save 5 minutes looking for a parking spot so It sort of levels out.

Anyways keep us updated. I will go update my journal too.


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *thief*. I already have a bike and very often I ride to AFA. As a matter of fact, one time I had close to forty pounds of rocks in my backpack. The trick here was to just lay flat across the gas tank, hope the bottom of the pack wouldn't rip apart (it didn't), and hope to God that I wouldn't have to stop fast (I didn't).
Sometimes when I'm riding home from AFA or Justin's and I have shrimp in my backpack, I wonder if shrimp can hear. "Fellas, we got two options: slow and quiet, or fast and loud. What'll it be?" They usually tell me that the wanna go fast, so I take 'em up to a hundred on the freeway going home. (I guess I just figured out why I have so many shrimp die. They have heart attacks from the ride home.)

A couple of days ago Zoo (the person, not my dog) asked how the Staurogyne grew: up or out.
Here's a picture that shows that for me it kinda does both.









_An unrelated caption: Whomever can breed a Nerite snail that lays
red eggs will probably make a lot of money._​


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster

Ugly Genius said:


>


Must....buy!!!!

Lol I'm going to go broke during my trip to San Francisco and going to as many fish stores as I can


----------



## Ugly Genius

Yeah, it's a cool plant, *Zoo*. Hit me up in a month or so and I'll send you a small bit of it. The one on the right-hand side of the tank is growing pretty quick compared to the left-hand side one. Dunno why that is. It gets less light than the left-hand side one, it's further from the filter's flow, and further away from the CO2.

Tank's still chugging along. I removed the Rotala "Magenta" I had in Riven Impact (too red) and tucked it besides the driftwood in here. As this is not a high-light tank, the color will probably fade, but I want to see if it adds to the tank. Personally, I like the different hues of green and want the only accent color to be CRS (of which I want a lot more in here), but I thought I'd give it a try and take it out if it doesn't fit.









_The Rotala "Magenta" is right of center in this shot._









_Top-middle here._









_Tucked behind the Anubias Nana "Petite" in the center here._









_I'll probably add another five CRS to give the tank color.
Better yet, have babies, guys!_​


----------



## Ugly Genius

More than anything, I want mushrooms.
I think they'd be absolutely rad in a planted tank. This particular 'scape screams for them. They would totally jive with the forest-vibe I'm trying to make here.
However, to the best of my knowledge, aquatic mushrooms don't exist. At least not the cool-looking types I want in my 'scapes.
In an effort to give the effect of mushrooms growing, I added three stems of Marsilea Crenatea. While hardly mushroom-looking in appearance, I tried to tuck them in the rocks where I imagined mushrooms would grow in nature.


























So until someone discovers an aquatic mushroom, Marsilea Crenata will have to do.

By the way, what's the difference between Marsilea Crenata and MM? I can't find much info on Marsilea Crenata.


----------



## quicktap

Sorry for the interruption, UG, I wanted to correct something I wrote a few days ago.

The 36W clip on fixture from Archaea DOES NOT come with the ADA 8000K bulb. AFA has another fixture ($119) that does come with the 8000K bulb, but it is a more traditional 4-legged light.

I received my order today (the tank is fantastic), and noticed that I have a 10000K bulb. A quick phone call to AFA cleared up the confusion and we were able to work something out.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming...


----------



## Ugly Genius

Interrupt away, *quick*.
Good to know about the clip-ons. The lamps I had seen, now that I think about it, were the leg-standing ones. I didn't even know that they had clip-on thirty-six watters.
Cool deal with the tank. In an hour or so, I'm going down to AFA to pick up a Mini-L. I'm pretty excited about starting a new tank. This one will be placed where it'll be viewed from three-hundred and sixtyº so the challenge in setting up a hardscape that will account for this is a challenge I'm kind of looking forward to. (Twenty bucks says I will not have this optimism later in the day.)
I'll be going low-light on this tank: two OttLites at thirteen watts a piece. I'll see about not supplementing CO2 or Excel. The initial planting will consist of Special Fern, Bolbitis, and Mini Pellia.

I'm off today at a time I rarely see Quasi-Wabi. I've noticed that it's DIY CO2 production must be in full-swing because it's pearling like nuts. (For a DIY setup, at least.) As a matter of fact, there's one shrimp that must have ran through a field of O2 because he's covered in pearls.









_At least there's no worry about suffocation._​


----------



## quicktap

Enjoy the mini-L. I look forward to seeing what you do with it. I've changed my mind a few times about how I'll approach to my own; now that it's here, I think I've got a plan.

Tell Steven and George that order #1317 says 'Hello'.


----------



## Ugly Genius

_Editor's Note: For the benefit of speed readers, interactive portions of this post are preceded by *bold* text indicating the type of interaction requested._

Well, it's here.

I've yet to get a filter, so it'll be a week or so before I fill this thing, but I'm playing around with the hardscape and that's fun.

















The rock on the left is _stunning_; the photos do not do it justice. It's about as nice as the piece I have in Riven Impact. (And, yes, I forgot to look what kind it is.)
The driftwood is two pieces I'm going to use intertwined. I think they look cool -- like a monster marching out of the mountains.

I have a Coralife twenty-eight watt light that I'll be using. *Question:* Is this low enough to forgo CO2 on a Mini-L?

Just now, I was studying the hardscape, and it's a good thing that I have a week to finalize things as I just realized that I'm going to have to learn how to plant BIG. (Relatively speaking.) The plants on my usual pallet for Mini-S's, Mini-M's, and Plant Glass 20's are not going to cut it. I need _big_ plants. 
I'm not certain if I'm going to do a carpet this time around. 
I do know that I want to use Mini Pellia (of course), Bolbitis, and Special Fern. I want to keep the additional plant selection consistent with these three choices in terms of feel. *Request:* If you have any ideas of plants that you feel will match these three, please let me know.

I was going to call this tank ADA Mini-L: Inevitibility, but I might choose ADA Mini-L: Elements. As in Mini-L, Mini-M, Mini-S: eLeMentS.

Once I get a filter and fill this thing up, I'll start my fourth journal.

Oh, remind me to tell you about some cool stuff they have at AFA.


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## amano101

Oh man that looks awesome. Super evil looking right now with that wood and dark lighting. I love it.


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## deleted_user_16

plants that would fit this awesome hardscape:

make it look simple, give it a darker feel with moss and maybe some dark colored carpet, MP would be perfect as accents, this tank has an ancient, dark vibe is what im getting from it, looks amazing ugly, just amazing


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## tendril

This tank is like a tiny aquatic jewel. I love it!


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## fastfreddie

Hello. My name is Ugly Genius. I am an addict. "Hi Ugly Genius!"

Dude, you must live at AFA! I am so jealous! So I guess that is the 20" aqualight? I was wondering how that would fit on the Mini L! Looks great. What filter are you considering?
As far as the *Co2 question*, (like the bold print?, haha), I was using only excel with 36w over my ten gallon with no major problems, with the light not even raised up like yours with the legs. However, the photoperiod was only 5 hours which may be short for your taste, and I was not using Aquasoil, which I would think would also speed the growth, requiring more Co2 to keep up without deficiencies. Also to be noted: I am nowhere near your level of expertise so take my advice FWIW. 

I'm really stoked for you. I love seeing guys like you and CL Watkins who are always pulling out new tanks, designs, styles, and methods. It keeps me fired up about the hobby. 

Could you tell me how much AS is needed for the Mini L? Good luck! Now go buy a filter!


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *amano*. Initially when the girl and I were in AFA picking out the hardscape, I hemmed and hawed as to weather or not I wanted the top piece of driftwood. I'm glad my hemming and hawing led to me getting it, because it does give a dark, evil vibe that I'm hoping I can pull off with the planting.

To do this, I'll follow *fish*'s advice and try to use only dark plants. This morning, while looking at the hardscape, I realized that a carpet of Glosso or HC is out of the question. Even with CO2, I wouldn't want a carpet that needs regular trimming as the driftwood would be difficult to trim around. If I go for a carpet, it'll be the slow-growing Mini Microsword. It's slow growth, dark coloring, and it's relatively low light and CO2 requirements make it a shoe in for the role. Mini Pellia will be used extensively. I've been watching _The Legend of the Seeker_ on iTunes and while the show is only so so, the New Zealand locations in which they shoot are phenomenally beautiful. Rocks and tree trunks covered in lichen, ferns and vines woven through walls of green. So while I can't recommend the show for plot, I can recommend it to planted tankers for environmental inspiration. Pretty good fight scenes, too.

*tendrill*, thanks! Speaking of the Plant Glass, AFA has a new nine watt clip on Archaea light. It's pretty cool. It looks like their twenty-seven watt clip-on, but it's smaller. They only have the display one in stock, but will be getting some in soon. I told them that they should make a thirteen watt lamp as that's an ideal size for many of their nanos. They said they'll look into it.

Hey, *fast*. 
I'm helplessly and shamelessly addicted. No doubt.
It is the twenty" Coralife lamp. I've read that this fixtures ballast is rated for forty watts, so if I want to go higher, I suppose I can. This morning, I pretty much decided that seeing as I have an extra diffuser and tubing, I'm just going to inject DIY CO2 from the get-go. The only cost I'd have is the price of two liters of Coke for the bottle.
For the Mini-L, I got two of the small bags of Aqua Soil. This may or may not be enough. Were I ordering, I'd just get one large one and have extra left over for rescapes, et cetera.
EDIT: Forgot, I'll be putting an Eheim 2213 on this tank. I'm of the belief that too much filtration is almost enough.

Here are some close-ups of the hardscape.


























This tank will be unique in that it won't be in my kitchen but in the dining room. This room has one of the most beautiful views at sunset as all the walls are splashed in the red, orange, purple, and amber of a sun falling into the Pacific. At the same time, i'll prove to be a challenge in that all that beautiful light will be hitting the side of the tank. I'll have to work something out.









_Please excuse the dirty windows.
I'm really good at keeping my tank's glass clean -- not so much on my house._​


----------



## Francis Xavier

I'm a fan of that layout, I think it'll be interesting to see once there's some aquasoil filled in there to create some contours.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *X*. I'm tempted to fill the tank with AS now and get the hardscape nailed down, but a couple of things are keeping me from doing that. The main one is that I'm too lazy to move the ten gallon tank which sits in the spot in which Elements will be placed.
The Eheim's on order, though -- found it for seventy bucks at Petsmart.

My girl pointed something out yesterday that said what I was thinking about this hardscape but hadn't articulated on a conscious level: the driftwood looks like a character out of the movie _Pan's Labyrinth_. 
So true.
I'll be trying to go for a dark, creepy vibe. The main character of this tank will be the driftwood. I'll use Mini Pellia and, possibly, mosses to accentuate the characteristics I want to bring out of it. (The more I look at the hardscape and think of ways to do this, however, the harder it gets. Planning plant placement is very difficult for me.)

Anyway, this thread is Wabi's so I might as well post some photos of it.









_Elements will look a bit like this except darker, without any of the lighter greens that you see, 
and a more foreboding,_ Something Wicked This Way Comes_, kind-of-feel._









_The Marselia has already thrown out a new frond._









_There are eight shrimp in this photo._​
Observation: do not buy Special Fern for your shrimp tank. They _will_ eat it.


----------



## Ugly Genius

The filter should be here on Friday. This is good. I kinda-sorta have an idea of what I want to plant.

In the meantime, I'll post pictures of Quasi-Wabi to take my mind off of my impatience.


----------



## rrrrramos

The shrimp in the first pic are in the best position they complete the picture. That Rotala looks like it's starting to get a little green already, but that's what you're going for right? Tank's looking great though, are you just running one diffuser in this one?


----------



## blair

That new tank is amazing! I love the potential scape. You really have something unique and classy that truly compliments your alias and niche in this aquarium world.  Can't wait to see it's development.


----------



## thief

Wow UG that Mini L is looking good. Actually it reminds me a little of my New Mini M scape I am whipping up soon enough. I actually love my Asain Driftwood. It is one of a kind pieces!!! I only have 3 but I will get more soon from my LFS.

Do you plan to use like ADA Nile sand in this tank give it a river type look?

Anyways I your scape is very inspiring to me. I can't wait to get my HUGE order tomorrow and show you the scape I am speaking of!

Ohh and I never shipped you plants. Are you still interested in some Needle leaf Java Fern. It would look great in this tank!


Also do you know what that cool plant is in here that is from AFA and the shrimp eat it. The wavy looking one is what I am talking about.


----------



## fastfreddie

UG,
Sorry to go back to lighting talk with all of this inspiration flowing, but I have a quick question. Is your twenty " fixture square pin or straight pin and how many inches (just a guess is cool) is the actual bulb? I may buy this lamp soon, but I'm having trouble figuring out what replacement bulb to get. I have a 36w straight pin on hand, but not sure if it will work. What bulb did you end up going with? 

Looking forward to your filter arrival so maybe you'll get the new journal started! I hate taking all this attention from Quasi-Wabi. He (or she) shouldn't have to share the spotlight!


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *rrrrramos*! Regarding the Rotala "Magenta", I'd rather have it reddish, of course, but due to the density of the growth above it, this is not possible until it breaks through the canopy. Once it does, there should be sufficient light so close to the bulb that it'll redden up. It is here that I did something that I consider quite clever...
...I didn't plant it.
Right now it's just stuck inside the growth around the driftwood. My plan was to periodically trim the top (presumably red portion) , discard the bottom (presumably green portion), and re-"plant" (tuck, I guess) the top red portion. This would allow for perpetually red Rotala "Magenta". Time will tell if my cleverness pays off. (Probably not. Cleverness pulled off by me is always accidental and never intentional. The beautiful tall Hairgrass in Source...? A total accident.)
Yes, there is only one DIY system on this tank. Lately, I've taken to dosing a small amount of Excel. No reason for me doing this. I just have a lot of trouble _not_ fiddling with my tanks.

Thanks, *blair*! That's a really cool thing to say. Truly.
Slowly the ideas for the new tank are coming to me. This time around, the hardscape came easy. The planting is difficult. 
Somehow I have to have it densely planted without taking away from the driftwood. Dunno how I'll do this.
However, a couple of days ago, I got hit with inspiration from _Nature Aquarium World_, and decided to put Pygmy Chain Sword in a cool nook in the large rock. (This rock, you guys will see, is friggin' rad up close.) It's got this little plateau/cave with a bowl deep enough to put some Aqua Soil to grow something. (You can see it in the photo on the previous page on the right side of the rock.)
So far, that's my only idea. Except for lots of Mini Pellia and Bolbitis.

*thief*, thanks, man! I'd love some of that Needle Leaf when you get a chance.
The plant is Crepidomanes auriculatum. Gimme a month or two and I'll send you a small frond of it. You'll love it. Even with the shrimp eating it, it's my favorite fern.
Looking forward to the new tank, thief. I think you and I have very similar tastes in aquascapes, so I can't wait to see what you do.

*fast*, it's square. I believe that it can accommodate a straight pin, however, as the wiring is not sealed in a square pin formation.
The bulb is twelve and a half". The light-emitting portion is eleven and a half".
Right now it's got a twenty-eight watt sixty-seven hundred k bulb, but I'll pour ten thousand on it as I prefer that spectrum. I may go up to as high as forty watts, but only gradually and only if I go pressurized CO2. (I'm telling myself that I won't do CO2 on this thing, be we all know that I will.)

It's windy as heck here in the City. This means I might not sleep well tonight. Zoo's terrified of the wind. He sits at my bedside and pants until I wake to tell him that it's going to be alright. He then goes back to sleep for twenty minutes before repeating it all over again. And again. And again. During this, Franny gets up with Zoo each time -- wiggling and wagging --because she thinks we're playing and wants to get in on the action.
I'm very glad to have one dog who looks to me as his protection and another dog who loves me so much that she wants to play with me every moment of the day...
...but not at night, guys!


And not when I'm setting up a new tank.​


----------



## fastfreddie

Are your dog's names from a J.D. Salinger book? My wife wants to know. lol

Thanks for the info on the light!


----------



## Francis Xavier

How do you like UG, UG? I've been thinking about maybe combining that with shou stone. And do you think Dwarf HG grows too tall in a nano?


----------



## Ugly Genius

*fast*, tell your wife yes. 
Zooey's name started it all.
Zooey is often mispronounced Zoë, like the Greek word for life. However, somewhere in the story, it is explained that Zooey, short for the main charcater's full name Zachary Martin Glass, is indeed pronounced Zoo Eee.
Now this is important because my name, my real name, which can be found tucked in my Riven thread, is unusual and often mispronounced. (Page sixteen, if you're interested. I should state to those who do find it, know that Mom gave all us kids unusual names.) I wanted to give Zoo the same annoyance that I have in that I have to constantly correct people.
"Franny" came about organically as it seemed like an inevitability. 
It was either that or "Bananafish" from the Salinger short story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish". 
"Franny" rolls off the tongue better.

*X*, I like UG. It's a plant that requires a very specific hardscape to look it 's best, I feel. To me UG gives the impression of a windswept grassy hill and the rocks and wood should be arranged to compliment this theme.
If you're going iwagumi, it's a good plant to choose.
Despite what you may have read, UG is not at all difficult and does not require CO2 or high light to thrive. It doesn't even need substrate!
If you want some, give me a week's notice to throw some in my shrimp tank to clean it off and I'll send you some.
HG is perfect for a nano, in my opinion. Even if it does get too tall, it can be easily trimmed. Easier than HC, UG, and Glosso.


----------



## Francis Xavier

I'll totally take you up on your UG offer, UG.

Btw, I just got my Mini L. It's freaking huge. Or at least it seems that way to me. Seems bigger than your standard 10 gallon tanks...but I know it's not. Not sure if 2 ott lites will cover it! I may need to get a 3rd...


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster

Ugly Genius said:


> It's windy as heck here in the City. This means I might not sleep well tonight. Zoo's terrified of the wind.


I KNOW our fence was almost knocked down


----------



## Ugly Genius

Good job on the Mini-L, *X*! It _is_ big. I had a general idea of the size of the Mini-L prior to buying it, but even still, I was less-than confident in my ability to pick out an appropriately-sized hardscape for it. My girl and I just eyeballed the driftwood and rocks and I bought more than I thought I would need, which turned out to be just enough. So I guess you could say that it was bigger _and_ smaller than I expected.
EDIT: PM me when you're about ready for the UG, X.

Wind's still kicking up fierce here, *Zoo*. Not as bad as yesterday, but it definitely is not a day for frisbee.

First, photos of Quasi-Wabi and then a few questions about pressurized CO2 for Elements.









_Please notice that I finally got this picture straight._


















_Mini Pellia grows looser and more frond-like when forced to out-compete itself for sun.
Compare it to the Mini Pellia on the substrate and you may notice the difference._​
Okay, with those out of the way, I have a couple of questions regarding pressurized CO2.

I've done the ADA-route on Source, but want to go the cheaper and easier Milwaukee regulator and 5-10 lbs. aluminum canister for Elements.
If I get the Milwaukee Ma957, will I need anything to connect it to a standard CO2 canister? Plumber's tape? Washer? A coupler?
A check valve, I've read, is necessary with this regulator, but let me know if my reading proved incorrect.
I've got tubing and a diffuser. 
Assuming that this won't be on a timer or pH monitor, is there anything else I would need besides:

Milwaukee Regulator
CO2 canister
Tubing
Diffuser
Check valve(?)

Note: I've obviously changed my mind from a few days ago and decided that I will inject pressurized CO2 into Elements, but I won't go higher than forty watts. I'm serious this time. For real.


----------



## Craigthor

Your Co2 list sounds good. If you want rue long term cost savings I would look into a regualtor taht you can expand and run all your tanks from it. Could save you a fortune in the long run.


----------



## Francis Xavier

you'll need a washer between the tank and regulator


----------



## fastfreddie

My MA957 came with two washers and tubing (not sure if its good tubing) in the box. I think most people do use teflon tape on the threads. 

I have a check valve between the tank and bubble counter, but I've also read about needing a check valve between the bubble counter and solenoid/ needle valve. I have not installed one and I have not had any mishaps yet since December, but that doesn't mean anything. 

I like the Milwaukee, but I can see it being trouble on a small tank, unless you are able to really keep an eye on bubble rates. This is a good thread to read before purchase. If you have a few extra bucks, you might be able to get a much better rig, and avoid more cost of swapping needle valves and all kinds of stuff down the road. Just a thought. 

I can't wait to see this tank running!


----------



## quicktap

UG, I just went through this decision making process with my mini-L:

1. Avoid teflon tape, there is a chance the regulator will "ingest" some of the pieces, with would be a BAD thing.

2. I'd cough up the extra $$ to start with a better setup, as fast suggests. Green Leaf Aquariums currently has a revolving ad with a 10%-off coupon code. His cheapest reg, with that code, is ~$135. It includes bubble counter, 1 check valve (built in), and fabco needle.


----------



## fastfreddie

quicktap said:


> 1. Avoid teflon tape, there is a chance the regulator will "ingest" some of the pieces, with would be a BAD thing.


Whoa! Glad you mentioned that. I started the teflon wrap about 3 threads back from the opening so it should be safe, but I guess I'll omit the teflon next refill!


----------



## Ugly Genius

I can't write long as I'm at work, but thanks for the info, guys! I was _this_ close to going Milwaukee, but I'll probably go the Green Leaf route.


----------



## CL

My advice was going to be "Don't get a wilwaukee" but it seems that you have already figured that one out


----------



## Craigthor

Ugly Genius said:


> I can't write long as I'm at work, but thanks for the info, guys! I was _this_ close to going Milwaukee, but I'll probably go the Green Leaf route.


OR :icon_twis

Get the ADA Speed Regulator and a 6 port adapter so you can run all your tanks from one CO2 setup. :thumbsup:

Craig


----------



## CL

Craigthor said:


> OR :icon_twis
> 
> Get the ADA Speed Regulator and a 6 port adapter so you can run all your tanks from one CO2 setup. :thumbsup:
> 
> Craig


an ADA cylinder on 6 tanks :icon_eek:
that would last like, 4 hours :hihi:


----------



## Craigthor

clwatkins10 said:


> an ADA cylinder on 6 tanks :icon_eek:
> that would last like, 4 hours :hihi:


Speed regualtor fits standard CO2 tanks. The Advanced Regulator is for the small tanks....


----------



## CL

Craigthor said:


> Speed regualtor fits standard CO2 tanks. The Advanced Regulator is for the small tanks....


ohhhh, haha, I'm not too savvy on ADA regs


----------



## Craigthor

http://www.adgshop.com/CO2_Speed_Regulator_p/101-303.htm


----------



## CL

That looks sharp. The sumo regs look great. But GLA is having a sale, and those regs look great as well. I'd say stimulate the American economy  GLA and Sumo are both good companies from what I hear.


----------



## fastfreddie

I think craigthor is also a member of UG's ADA Anonymous group. Doh, I just confirmed that in his sig link. Self admitted ADA Junky. I'm so glad I don't have that disease yet. But, man that speed reg is snazzy!


----------



## Craigthor

fastfreddie said:


> I think craigthor is also a member of UG's ADA Anonymous group. Doh, I just confirmed that in his sig link. Self admitted ADA Junky. I'm so glad I don't have that disease yet. But, man that speed reg is snazzy!


I'll share the disease if you want. Its fun to have. :icon_eek:


----------



## CL

Craigthor said:


> I'll share the disease if you want. Its fun to have. :icon_eek:


that's what they all say :confused1:


----------



## Ugly Genius

Okay so what I did was take *quick*'s advice by using GLA's GREEN4SPRINGPTF ten% off coupon code and got the Choice CO2 regulator. I also got a brass permaseal, but haven't the foggiest if this is necessary and if I'll need something else to connect the regulator to the cylinder. 
All said and done, it was a bit over one-fifty shipped. 
I've got an Airgas location near my work, and I'll pick up the CO2 gas and canister there.
Thanks, *fast*, *X*, *quick*, *cl*, *Craig* -- I hope I'm not forgetting anybody -- for their advice. I'll be picking your brains in the near future, too, I'm sure.

Actually, the near future is here.
On the ADA Advance System, there is a shut valve that allows me to turn off CO2 without adjusting the needle valve and affecting the bps. Do the bigger regulators allow for such a thing?


----------



## CL

Ugly Genius said:


> Actually, the near future is here.
> On the ADA Advance System, there is a shut valve that allows me to turn off CO2 without adjusting the needle valve and affecting the bps. Do the bigger regulators allow for such a thing?


yes, it is called a solenoid. You can plug it into a timer. Easy as pie :thumbsup:


----------



## thief

Hey UG,

I just got my brass permaseal today along with a Glass Check Valve from GLA! I read that the plastic ones should be replace every time you take the reg. off the tank to fill it up! So basically it is a big money saver!

So that is why I bought mine. I am glad I finally solve my Co2 problems with my diffusor filling up always, but now with by nifty check valve I think it will all be ok!


----------



## CL

thief said:


> Hey UG,
> 
> I just got my brass permaseal today along with a Glass Check Valve from GLA! I read that the plastic ones should be replace every time you take the reg. off the tank to fill it up! So basically it is a big money saver!
> 
> So that is why I bought mine. I am glad I finally solve my Co2 problems with my diffusor filling up always, but now with by nifty check valve I think it will all be ok!


mine fills up too, I think it is inevitable...


----------



## Ugly Genius

The Eheim's here. After reading a thread in the General Planted Tank Discussions while at work yesterday about Eheims arriving cracked due to lousy packaging, I was nervous that the same would happen to my Petsmart.com-bought Eheim.
Luckily, this was not the case. My filter arrived fine. 
I can see how it could have very easily been the case, however. Petsmart.com's packaging does suck @$$. It was in a box slightly larger than the filter's box with a layer of packaging paper on one side only, leaving five sides unpadded.
But that's besides the point.

A self-fulfilling conundrum.
I have two modes.
One mode is impulsive and fearless.
The other mode is meticulous and thorough.
These modes are mutually exclusive; it is either one or the other -- there is no in-between.
This is proving to be a problem in setting up the Mini-L. 
Usually, I set up and plant my tanks the day I bring them home. Inertia and the rush of adrenaline jump-start my creative process and decisions are made, for better _and_ worse, in this mode.
This time, however, due to the fact that I had to wait a week to get started, the other mode is kicking in and I'm finding it increasingly difficult to make a decision without second guessing myself about the aesthetic merits, long-term viability, and tastefulness of the choice in question.
In the course of the last two days, I've flip-flopped on carpet choices, overall theme, initial planting, and color composition.
Usually, I start with the carpet and work up from there. What I have to do is figure out if I want a carpet of Glosso, HC, UG, MM, MS, HG, or none at all.
I won't do Glosso because it'll be too hard to trim around the driftwood.
HC's the same way.
MM is not my favorite-looking carpet plant.
MS is a possibility but I'm using it in three other 'scapes.
HG and UG are cool, but I have HG in Source and UG is a bit lighter in color than I had planned.
So you see what I mean?
Now that I've waited so long to get started, I can't make a decision.

Which brings me to a point, question, and request all rolled into one.
I'm thinking of using a circle of light-colored sand in this 'scape.









_The sand would be within the semi-circle of rocks._​
My point/question/request is/are, how hard is it to have sand inside a circle of Aqua Soil? Is it difficult to keep the sand from "bleeding" out into the AS without a barrier of some sort? Any recommendations, advice, or suggestions are appreciated.
I'm not married to the idea of it being a semi-circle. I'm not even married to the idea of using sand. I just thought maybe I'd give it a try.


----------



## Craigthor

Here is what I think you should do:

Fissidens sandwiched between wire mesh to form the carpet. keep the pieces small enough to pull out and trim easily. Or maybe Subwassertang carpet.

Mini Pellia on the wood maybe a touch on the rocks. Would look good with the Subwassertang carpet.

Craig


----------



## Francis Xavier

_This time, however, due to the fact that I had to wait a week to get started, the other mode is kicking in and I'm finding it increasingly difficult to make a decision without second guessing myself about the aesthetic merits, long-term viability, and tastefulness of the choice in question._

Welcome to my world of living in a small town in Texas with only reef stuff and pirates of the carribbean aquascaping nearby. (Houston is 2 1/2-4 hours away depending on whether you drive like a pro or drive like a silly-nanny, and whether or not the cops want to penalize you for speeding cause you need to get your plants home to plant them quick, to which they instantly think you're talking about a plant that's illegal and smoked, causing you to get searched because they have 'probable' cause, and thus bringing you to silly-nanny levels of time-efficiency in travel, want to buy bullet trains.)


----------



## Ugly Genius

*Craig*, those are good ideas. I think I have an idea I may stick with. Front will be sand, rear Aqua Soil. Mini Pellia on rocks at the sand/AS border. Pygmy Chain Sword 
rear carpet plant; front sand area blank. Flame Moss on driftwood t give the Dragonball Z "power up" look to the driftwood monster. Bolbitis in back of driftwood. MM in nook in rock.
That's all I got right now.

*X*, I feel your pain, man.

I just noticed a Nerite covering it's own shell with it's body; it's as if it's cleaning the algae off itself.









_What is it doing?
That line you see on it's shell is actually it's body covering it._​


----------



## CL

wow, weird shot ug.


----------



## quicktap

The tank is so pretty, he's embarrassed by his own shell?


----------



## Francis Xavier

Hmm, I might be crazy UG but for that setup I feel like it should almost be either all sand on the bottom or none at all, having all the growth suspended from the hardscape could be interesting.

Or better yet - all sand with small round pockets (maybe 1 - 1/2 inch diameter) of AS that the pygmy chains completely cover and are bound by, maybe they grow over a little bit. In my head that'd form an islet in the middle of a stream effect - the rock catches floating driftwood, the rock/wood buildup collects the mosses and floating plants that attach themselves to it and you've got random plants that are popping up in the surrounding sand bed, like weeds. You could even get creative with how the pygmy chains are distributed in their "pockets."

Anyway, thanks for letting me use it as a brief layout mental excersize.


----------



## Ugly Genius

This entire morning -- all of it and a bit into the afternoon -- was spent thinking about what to plant.
Waste of time.
Went to AFA and the plans I made changed.
I got some Bolbitis, Fissidens (small bit), Pygmy Chain Sword, Flame Moss (a very small bit), a Crypt (my first ever), and I'll be picking up a bit of short -- hopefully -- Dwarf Hairgrass the guys are bringing to me from home. (I'm particularly jazzed about using Fissidens.) While this list is similar to the list I gave earlier today, what changed is my idea on _how_ to use them. I'd go into detail now, but I'll be planting tomorrow and I'll post the photos in Elements new thread then.

Besides the plant plans, the second thing to get thrown out the window was the idea to use sand. AFA's got one tank with a sand front and my girl studied it as I chatted with the fellas and picked out plants. When I was done -- still deciding whether or not to go the sand route -- she said, "Don't. Sand looks cheap. Tacky. Your tank will look better with the dark substrate."

It's still not planted, but I've got a semi-final layout done. 









_Before the wood was put in._









_This rock is fresh.
See that nook on the right of the big rock? 
I'll be filling that with Aqua Soil and planting something -- MM or UG -- inside of it._









_Smaller accent rocks around the big rock will be added tomorrow.
I'll be attaching Mini Pellia to some of them._​
I didn't make any changes from the mock-ups I did for myself, but wanted to see how the hardscape would look with substrate. I'm glad I went the non-Powder route this time around. While I prefer the look of the Powder, the normal variety feels less prone to crumbling, in my opinion.

Question on Eheims 2013s: is there an ideal place in which to put the double disconnects on the hoses? Closer to the filter? Closer to the tank? In the middle? Where ever's convenient?

Anyway, I'm spent after a day thinking about and tinkering in this tank. Tomorrow will be another morning to night session, no doubt, so I'm going to get some sleep to see what the subconscious cooks up for me for tomorrow.


----------



## Ugly Genius

It's tomorrow morning and I just realized that I forgot to buy coffee yesterday. I had just enough left-over coffee to make a half cup, but that ain't going to cut it. I need _at least_ two cups to bring me up to zero.
In any event, the reason for this post is not to give all of you an update on my coffee intake schedule, but to post some photos of the plants I got yesterday that I will be using in Elements.
The plants are currently in a holding pattern in Riven Impact. (Note: I've decided that Bolbitis will look awesome in Riven Impact, so I'll be adding a bunch once I finish up the big tank.)









_All of 'em._









_The Flame Moss._









_The Fissidens._









_The Crypt.
Anyone know what kind of Crypt this is?_​
I'm not a hundred percent committed to using the Flame Moss as I don't like having to re-tie the moss once it's come undone as it's prone to do.
The Crypt will be good in that I need a plant with low-light demands to use in the shade of the driftwood.
The Fissidens, I'm hoping, will give the driftwood a creepy, giant-waking-from-a-slumber look.
The Bolbitis is simply a perfect plant. It says so much with a subtle elegance that most other ferns lack. It makes any plant next to which it is planted more beautiful, but is stunning enough to stand on it's own.

Now I've got to run to 7-Eleven to get some coffee.


----------



## Ugly Genius

This is for me for use later. I got the accent rock placement down and once I remove the hardscape to start planting, I won't remember how to put it back without a photo.
Some of these stones will be covered in Mini Pellia and Fissidens, the center whitish one will be left blank for contrast.
The hardscape is done. Once I get the Dwarf Hairgrass later today hopefully, I can start.

















Today is a beautiful day! The sun shines hard and strong. Ride your motorcycle in a tank top weather.


----------



## Francis Xavier

Btw - doesn't much matter where you put the quick cut off, where-ever is more convenient for you is the best spot. In my experience anyway.

And the use of accent stones I've been noticing lately and tinkering with convinces me that I have to begrudgingly take a chisel to some of my seiryu stone - a kind of unappealing thought...those are expensive stones to crack with no easy way to guess how they'll crack.


----------



## Ugly Genius

*X*, thanks. I'll do that with the disconnects.

Regarding stones. Take the stone that is least appealing, wrap it in a towel, take a hammer -- preferably a rubber mallet -- and hit only once. Check your work. Repeat as necessary.
The stones you see in the above photo were smashed four hardscapes ago. They were worthless to me all this time and a source of constant regret when I thought of what could have been with the sum of the parts. Now, however, those fragments are perfect for the look I wanted right there.
So save every piece, chip, and pebble that breaks off. Even the super small pieces can be used as anchors for Anubias, Java Fern, et cetera.


----------



## Axelrodi202

I think the crypt is Cryptocoryne wendtii "green". I like your idea to plant something in the crack in the rock.


----------



## ddtran46

is that a new tank??


----------



## Ugly Genius

Finished. It came out okay, I think. I planted from two to seven. I'm way too spent to take photos, but I'll post some tomorrow in a new thread.


----------



## Francis Xavier

A rubber mallet? Seiryu stone seems way to hard to break with a rubber mallet. I've been having trouble in general with some very solid rocks that just refuse to budge.


----------



## Ugly Genius

I suppose it depends on the stone in question, but give it a shot, *X*. My Seiryu's broke that way. When I did use a hammer, I wrapped it in a towel and laid it on the bed when hitting it. (That sounds dirty, doesn't it?)

A neat shot courtesy of tannin-stained water and the rising sun.









_The beast has been awakened from it's long slumber._​
I personally like the tannin-stained period of a tank's life when using Aqua Soil.


----------



## ddtran46

It kinda looks like a deer to me from this angle.


----------



## Ugly Genius

There's a danger with dosing ferts and Excel with something else on your mind.
Yesterday, in a rush to get out the door for work, I accidentally ODed either Excel or Green Brighty Step 1. Lost three shrimp because of it. Possibly more. Dunno. Hard to tell. Too many plants in here.

It's too soon to tell if the possible Excel OD will affect the plants -- if I _did_ OD Excel, it wasn't _that_ much. If it was the Green Brighty, then the plants will be fine. I hope beyond hope that the plants won't be affected. I love this little tank.

In any event, I just did a trim on Quasi-Wabi. 









_You hear me? You're strong. You stay alive. 
I will find you ... no matter how far, how long it takes..._









_The Mini Microsword is now only six months away from fully carpeting._









_If this tank was affected by the Excel, the Mini Pellia will start to die in a couple of days._









_Slowly, it's growing._​


----------



## cintamas

NOOOOO!!!!! Not the mini pellia! You know, there are some of us who can't find that plant anywhere. To watch it die/melt away on this thread would be torture! 

Dramatic enough? I hope so.


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster

Your Staurogyne is creeping across? Mine is growing upwards and sending out side shoots.


----------



## fish_fasinated

another work of art lol i love it.


----------



## Ugly Genius

After a few days -- knock on wood -- the Mini Pellia doing okay, *cint*. Perhaps this means that the shrimp deaths were due to a direct dose of Green Brighty Step 1.
Moreover, shrimp activity _seems_ to have returned to normal. For a time after whatever happened happened, the shrimp held tight in "museum poses" and wouldn't move. Now they're moving and eating again. So I hope whatever happened is over.

Hey, *Zoo*. The Staurogyne is creeping across. It's growing really, really slowly. I like that, though. Less trimming.

Thanks, *fish*! Stop by more often, man.


----------



## Francis Xavier

UG, shrimp are so weird - when something is wrong with mine they start darting around the tank almost non-stop in kid-with-too-much-sugar-spaz-like-mode. I don't think they've ever taken on museum standstill poses. I know they're acting normal when they're taking their time moving around or swimming in a 'mosey' fashion as opposed to darting.

Edit- now that I think about it, I did have a couple instances where they just chilled under the shadow of a rock. Aside from first introduction when they were still. Hmm, so I wonder now if they have two modes of showing distress, or if their spazzing is just them being bored.

Do yours do the thing where they'll crawl up say on the side of the glass and then put their mouth up to the glass like they're sucking or taking bites out of glass (as opposed to extend claw, grab the bit of food and stick in mouth)? Mine'll do this on the algae spots on the glass, kind of cool.


----------



## Craigthor

*UG* I don't think it was the Step 1. I dose this daily sometiem double dose. I find I have the most problems with the Excel. The CRs especially seem to die off after dosing Excel im my tank.

Craig


----------



## Ugly Genius

That's my thinking, too, *Craig*. I can't really say what caused the three deaths. All I know is that they died immediately after I dosed too much Excel and too much Step 1. Oddly, the CRS did fine. I lost two Tigers and one wild-type Neocardinia. Now everyone seems fine, so I'm not going to try to troubleshoot any further lest I throw off the balance again.


----------



## Francis Xavier

Well, UG, you could always experiment by oding one one week then the other next .

By the way - is it just me or are oto's super emo in Nanos? They'll dart and play all day long in big tanks, but the two I put in my nano hide in the bush of HM all day. If this keeps up they're going out of here when they do their job. 

Oh, and I had a super cool stroke of luck! One of the LFS owners I'm friends with got in an order of 500 olive nerites. Was kind of cool he remembered I asked about them like in December. Though the next thing he said is "I still can't find your Amano's man, no one is selling." 

Evidently being that weird planted tank guy gets you remembered in areas of corals and cichlids.


----------



## Ugly Genius

What's up with the scarcity of Amanos lately, *X*? Is the Amano cartel creating an artificial shortage in order to drive up prices?


----------



## Francis Xavier

I don't know man, it's driving me nuts. I'm tempted to study up on what parameters they need for breeding and breeding the bastards if I ever get my hands on them. But lately, with the economy the way it is and more places shutting down and prices going up in general, it seems that the way to go is to create 'farms' to support your needs...since evidently the supply chain is unreliable at best.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Bigger picture. 









_My camera's 2.0 megapixels, and I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing._​


----------



## Martin Schellinck

One thing I've learned with mini pellia is that it's pretty sensitive to hydrogen peroxide. I spot treated the mini pellia with the h2o2 and it died in a few short days. I've spot treated with excel and haven't had any problems.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Hey, *Martin*. Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. I've never dosed hydrogen peroxide in any of my tanks, and I'll never do it on Mini Pellia now.
I don't know, but when I spot dosed Excel on Mini Pellia in two different tanks, it died. Ever since then, I've been too chicken to ever spot dose anything else again.


----------



## Jack Gilvey

Ugly Genius said:


> Bigger picture.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _My camera's 2.0 megapixels, and I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing._​



From the looks of that, it's apparently a very good thing. Thanks for the shot!


----------



## Grandpa_V

Very nice work! You have a real eye for this.


----------



## FrostyNYC

Beautiful, yet again.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Grandpa*. I appreciate that.

*Frosty*, thanks, man. Haven't heard from you in a while. Hope you're well.

There is a point where flattery becomes a pain in the ass.
I'm talking about shrimp.
I'm trimming Quasi-Wabi. Quasi's filled to the brim with shrimp. I think there are fifteen or twenty shrimp in here. RCS, Green, Tiger, Amano, CRS. All kinds.
The shrimp in here are happy. Really happy. When I'm not killing them with accidental over-doses of Excel or whatnot, this tank is a shirmp's dream house. No predators. Perfectly balanced water. Ample hiding spots. Ideal temps. A real find for the house hunting shrimp.
This is cool with me. I love shrimp.
When shrimp are happy, they are not afraid of you. When you put your hand in the tank, they come to investigate. See what you taste like. It kind of tickles and it is flattering. Like when a friend's newborn baby smiles when he or she sees you for the first time. _The baby's not afraid of me. Must mean I'm awesome._
When scissors are involved, however, this flattery becomes a pain in the ass.
I'm trimming the Mini Microsword and I swear to you, these guys would come up to the blades -- the blades! -- to investigate. And they'd stay on even as I cut. I'm lucky I didn't kill any. What should have been a three minute trimming session took twice as long as I kept batting away curious shrimp after curious shrimp.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I love that my shrimp are happy, but do they have to be stupid, too?


----------



## Francis Xavier

Sounds about right, Shrimp are as bad as mollies like that!

By the way, where's the love for Source?


----------



## Ugly Genius

*X*, Source and I are in couples therapy right now. We love each other, but we're drifting apart. She says I'm not spending enough time with her, and I insist that she's not even _with_ me when we are together -- like she's off somewhere else.
This week we're going to spend some alone time and see if we can't bring the magic back.
What I'm really saying is I've still got half the tank to trim.
It's a pain in the butt, quite frankly. Source is a very intricate tank and trimming is akin to shaping a bonsai so hours are needed as opposed to minutes. I'll update once I do, though.


----------



## Ugly Genius

We pay so much for fixtures with bulbs in the perfect spectrum when light like this is free.









_Whudda you think? 2,700k?_​


----------



## Craigthor

*UG*- What are you growing under those HPS in the next room. You Cali guys...


----------



## Ugly Genius

*Craig*, it's not called "Special Fern" for nothing.


----------



## Craigthor

Ugly Genius said:


> *Craig*, it's not called "Special Fern" for nothing.


 
:icon_cool:hihi:


----------



## infopimp

...kush fern


----------



## ClPat

Cool tank, nice plants! I have a cube just like this and I'm really trying to make it look nice, but yours is just amazing, although it'll be better once special fern loses its dying leaves.


----------



## CL

ug, it looks like there isn't any water in that tank!


----------



## ClPat

Hey, it does! especially since there's all those terrestrial-looking ferns...looks more like a viv!


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *ClPat*. The thing with the Special Fern is that as soon as the leaves mature, the shrimp go to town on it. Meaning, the leaves are perpetually being eaten, and then throwing off baby ferns. (The dying leaves almost always produce at least two or three baby ferns.) So this tank with so many shrimp, may _never_ have a perfectly healthy Special Fern leaf.

Thanks, *cl*! I know. I'm quite happy with how clear the water is in this tank. Considering that it's only two gallons, you'd think it'd be impossible to keep clean. I think it has to do with the Zoo Med 501. It's actually the perfect sized filter for this tank.

Thanks, *masudkarim*. I think I am registered there. I'm registered at a lot of forums, actually. I just don't post. Even at APC, of which I've been a member for a long time, I don't think I've made a single post. (I also hate the way they organize their forums. [Why are nanos tucked in a subforum?!) Their plant finder rocks, though.)

Nothing new going on here. This tank is finished the the 'scaping sense of it all. Now it is a tank that I will use to hone my skills on maintenance. I will try to keep this tank healthy and clean for as long as I can. Hopefully, this will teach me to read my plants for signs of nutrient deficiencies and the like.


----------



## ClPat

Ok cool then. This scape actually looks "long-term" so shouldn't be too hard keeping it perfect for a few months. 
[Amazing how I've got the exact same cube minus the sticker and I think yours is better-looking (not talking about the scape, you had me beaten at day 1)]


----------



## Ugly Genius

The sticker is cool, huh, *Pat*. Eventually I want to get my own Ugly Genius stickers. That'd be rad.

Quasi-Wabi is a planted tank anomaly. 
It has exactly two snail inhabitants. One Nerite and one MTS. 
That's it. 
No other snails to speak of. I found a few when I first set up the tank, but I removed them when I saw them. Ever since then, I haven't seen a single snail in here besides the aforementioned two.
Ironically, I don't mind snails all that much. I think they help balance out the eco-system.

Anyway, a corner shot.


----------



## Centromochlus

Beautiful tank!


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## pinkfloydeffect

You have awsome tanks!


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Az* and *pinkfloyd*! Appreciate it.

Well, the Mini Microsword is probably ninety percent grown-in.

It took three and a half months for the Mini Microsword to go from this:








to this:








I think it's safe to say that in comparison to Glosso and HC, Mini Microsword is a very slow grower. Not once have I removed any Mini Microsword. I've trimmed it about four times, but never have I removed a single sprig.


----------



## Phoenix-cry

Woww!!!! That's an amazing tank!!!


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## boltp777

ahh i love your tanks i am so jealous


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Phoenix* and *bolt*!

I love hot weather. Tiny nano tanks do not. Lost three shrimp in Quasi-Wabi yesterday. One Amano and two Tigers.


----------



## MedRed

Hey UG. When you trim the micro sword... are you just cutting off the tips?


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## CL

UG, I have run out of words for your tanks. I think I have said awesome or amazing about ten times already.


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *Med*. I'm just cutting the tips. Probably do that about once every three or so weeks.

And, *cl*, I totally appreciate your comments.

The girl and I just saw _Star Trek_. There's a thread in The Lounge where a lot of people said they didn't like it, but I thought it was great.


----------



## equi_design

Great looking tank UG!  I was showing your tank photos to my friends (who aren't into aquariums) and even they were amazed. 

I LOVED Star Trek!! Saw A&D last night, and it was nothing next to Star Trek. Then again, I'm a bit of a geek, so I knew I'd love ST.


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## CL

Ugly Genius said:


> The girl and I just saw _Star Trek_. There's a thread in The Lounge where a lot of people said they didn't like it, but I thought it was great.


What's up with that? I loved it too. ?
Could you get another pic of the lawn marsh pennywort plant thing by chance?


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *equi*! I've always wondered what my tanks look like to the uninitiated. It's cool that they liked them.
Next movie is _Terminator_. The girl wants to see _Wolverine_, but I'd rather see _Terminator_. We could see both, of course, but it's a matter of principle. I don't think Hugh Jackman looks like Wolverine from the comic books -- too handsome, too tall; Wolverine should be short and cranky -- so on that ground alone, I want to wait for the DVD.

*cl*, there are some photos of LMP below. I'll be sending your plants in the next two days. (I'm on vacation, as it were -- maxed out on vacation time -- until Thursday; I'll have plenty of time to send you your plants.)

The nano forum's seeming a bit slow as of late. I'll do my part to kick it in gear by posting photos.


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## ClPat

lookin' great UG! I Love the first two shot, but all are quite artistic and I'm happy to see that everything's well. To think that not so long ago it just looked like a few plants fighting to survive a bleach accident, I can't even believe it's the same tank!
The crystal shrimp look nice and add a splash of color to the cube (at first I though they wouldn't look natural but I was so wrong!). I think of all your scapes, past and present, this one's my fave.


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Pat*. I'm so glad I didn't give up on this tank after that bleach incident because for me as well, this is my favorite of all the tanks I've done. (My least favorite is probably Source right before I tore it down.) This tank is the only one I've been able to execute pretty much as I had it in mind when I laid down the hardscape. Over-filtration and dense plant mass afford Quasi-Wabi crystal clear water and the fifteen or so shrimp in there all seem really happy. As my ability to create a tank with this level of success is inconsistent -- see Element's thread for proof of how Ugly gets ugly -- I really appreciate it when I can pull off a tank like this.
I should state that I'm beginning to see signs of recovery of Elements. Then again, I'm as optimistic as they come.
Even when it's unjustified.


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## fish_fasinated

UG your tank is looking great, can't wait to show you what im doing the the two point five (haha thought i should through a bit of your style into that one)


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## Ugly Genius

*fish*! Miss having you around, bro! Post photos of your two point five. The nano forum's been slow and we need people to post. (I imagine they're all living their lives and doing outside stuff, but still...)


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## fish_fasinated

well just a little precurser for you, new DW rotala nanajenshan, and glosso. all new additions. so im in the process of rescaping.


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## FrostyNYC

Just saw your before/after pictures with the microsword, and I realized that I had forgotten how large the rock in your tank is, and how perfect that rock is. As much as I love how well your moss is growing, I miss seeing your hardscape.


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *Frosty*. Funny you should mention that. I've been meaning to trim the Mini Pellia for some time now. For the first time (in my life!) this is not about procrastination. It's about...actually, it _is_ about procrastination.
The point is, you're right. The rock does rock and I'll trim the Mini Pellia soonish.
The Mini Pellia is not attached to the big rock, thankfully. Rather, it's attached to smaller stones placed on top of it. This should make pruning it comparatively easy.

Every now and again I remember that my MacBook has a camera.
Every now and again I end up playing with the camera. 
I'll use all of the different effects in Photo Booth to reshape my head to look like a pear, paint myself in cartoon colors, and make mirror shots of me kissing myself.
I do this for an embarrassingly long amount of time.
During one such session -- thirty minutes -- I shot this and thought it must look like what the shrimp see when they see me see them.








Actually, since this is Do!aqua glass...








Tank's still doing it's thing. Like I said to Frosty, I'll trim soonish.


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## Ugly Genius

FYI.


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## Craigthor

Any FTS? Thinkign I will be needing to do some trimming soon my self.


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## JadeIceGreen

Its really amazing what you did with a 20cm cube. I used to scape 15cm cubes for a few months last year as part of a small business and I know how hard it can get, especially trying to fit a credible hardscape in there and making the tank look larger than it is.

I have the new Do!Aqua catalog too, (two actually, and three ADA 2009s [free!]) and I was very impressed by it. In fact, your Do!Aqua cube reminds me of ADA Cube Garden Superior, their ultimate tank with no silicon, the entire tank is made from ONE glass sheet. The largest size is the 60-P and to buy it, I think we would have to sell the house, dogs and car. The point I am making is... its cool to have a one sheet tank. 

It also very nice to see how many plant types there are inside there... Personally for me, I stick to a few types that are dictated in advance. So you have brought light into a dark corner of mine, thanks!

I always thought that the Do!Aqua range was only possible with Wabi-Kusa, but here, come along a Genius and creates such a fantastic nano. Awesome.


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## monkeyruler90

WOW, just read the whole journal, from beginning to end this tank looks amazing! that microsword field took a long time to fill in but it looks great! kinda like ug but a different shade and grows taller. i like it!

the shrimp must love living in such a pretty home!


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## garuf

It's going to be brilliant Ug what ever the case, best of luck with the UG, I've just seen it can actually be grown emerse and with great results. So you should be fine. I'm with you on the 2211 for once, I think it might actually be too much in a tank this tiny, once it's fully grown in you could ramp it up and get a 2213.
Also, how many tanks do you have? I've found this little tinker on the internet so if you can find room for one of those huge co2 tanks you can run any number of tanks from one regulator. 
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-way-Brass-C...34.c0.m14.l1262&_trkparms=|301:0|293:1|294:30


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## fishydaze

Hey UgGe-would you please share a plant list of El Quazz'? Can you remember what all is in there? Would be much appreciated: add a little reality and data to my envy...
Thanks


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## Ugly Genius

I'll post a FTS tomorrow, *Craig*.

Thanks, *Jade*! For me, the best part of a 'scape is tweaking it as the tank matures. I have an idea of what plants I want to use right away, but once the tank gets a personality, I run with what it shows me and use the plants I think would look best to compliment how it's growing. In this way, planted tanks are very different than painting in that one must adapt to the "painting" and be loose in our ideas like the water we pour into it.

I appreciate that, *monkey*!

Hey, *garuf*. Thanks for the link. It's probably what I'll end up doing as I now have have five planted tanks and two holding tanks. I assume you were writing about the Do!aqua Mini-M as I would never dream of putting a 2213 on a Plant Glass Cube. It'd blow the water right out of the top! I did get another 2213 this morning. I'll be putting that one Source and I'll put the 2232 on UGgumi in two months. Source should be ready for water in about five weeks.

*fishy*, I'll probably forget some, but here's what I can list from looking at a picture of this tank:
Mini Microsword
Mini Pellia
Staurogyne
Needleleaf Java Fern
Mini Java Fern
Special Fern
Christmas Moss
Glosso
Lawn Marshpennyword
Anubias Nana Petite
Rotala Magenta
MM
Bolbitis
Nymphaea micrantha
Micranthemum umbrosum

I'm pretty sure that's it. There may be one or two more, but I'm pretty sure that's the complete list.

Shirmp-wise, there are Tigers, Cherry, wild-type cherries, CRS, CBS, and Green Shrimp. Probably fifteen to twenty in total.
Two Olive Nerites and one MTS.


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## Ugly Genius

I've been ignoring this tank for a couple of weeks. I haven't trimmed and did, maybe, one small water change during that time.
Feeling guilty today, I trimmed and did a water change.









_The back of the tank needs to be thinned considerably, 
but that's a job for a day that's not today._


























Nothing new going on here.

The tank's sole Amano died a few weeks back. Dunno why. The rest of the shrimp are fine. Something was kooky with my water, I'm sure, because one Nerite was acting weird by not moving from this one place on the driftwood for about a week.
Since then, though, things have been fine for everyone.
There must be babies in the tanks somewhere because every now and again I notice a shrimp smaller than any I ever put in there. However, I never actually see any baby shrimp.

There's some Special Fern growing in the back that looks absolutely phenomenal. It's a staggeringly beautiful plant. Especially when it's in a place inaccessible to shrimp and is, consequently, out of reach of their claws and mouths. (It's also, unfortunately, inaccessible to my camera.)
This is why Source will probably be a non-shrimp tank. I want to show off Special Fern to all it's glory, but this is not possible with shrimp in the same tank as they eat it like no one's business.

Anyway, my pizza just got here. Time to plop in front of the TV and eat.


----------



## fishydaze

Thanks for list of plants: lots of things for me to look up and contemplate for my plan, trying for thick jungly corner of tank.

Love looking at the pictures, must be great to live with...thanks for posting new pictures so often.


----------



## hyphination

This scape is stunning! keep up the good work.


----------



## jarberg27

Hey UG,
Can you say some things about your experience with MP? I'd like to work with it, but have had some bad times with Riccia (standard, not mini).

How do you initially attach your mini pellia to the stone/wood? I've heard that unlike riccia, the MP will eventually form a permanent attachment to its substrate. How long does this take and how strong is the bond? 

I think lichen and I think of a rock that you can't scrape the green off...ever. Obviously MP is a more loose attachment. 

What kind of growth do you see under optimal conditions? Hard to tell exactly from your journals because you're always moving batches of MP from one tank to another  Does MP prefer a strong current?

Thanks.


----------



## Ugly Genius

You're welcome, *fishy*.

Thanks, *hyph*!

*jar*, MP initially grows slow no matter the light/CO2 conditions. 

Here's a shot from January 25, 2009.








And here's roughly the same shot taken today.








This is about five months of growth of me doing no trimming on it at all. Suffice it to say, it grows relatively slowly.
It grew quicker in Source, which had more ideal CO2 to light ratios.
What's not noticeable in the photos, however, is that the MP covers almost the entire right-hand rock. So growth has been pretty good in the sense that it spreads evenly and does not require frequent manicuring to maintain aesthetic balance.
Don't let MP's slow growth deter you from using this plant, however. It's slow growth is something you will really appreciate later on in the tank's life.
I attach it with thread and it holds tighter than any moss once it attaches in about two to three weeks.
It grows better in areas of high flow, but not so much so that you should change your hardscape around to have it grow in the area of flow.
From the brief description of what you want, MP is the plant you've been looking for.


----------



## CL

Sure is beautiful!


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster

Woah I wonder what it would look like without all of that Riccia:icon_eek:


----------



## Thundaa

You just inspired me to set up my tanks again! If you don't mind I have a few.. quick questions for you...I see you're using the hagen co2 system. Is there anything else you're using it with?? Are ytou suppose to turn it off at night?


----------



## jarberg27

Thanks UG -- I will definitely be giving it a try. 

Hey, for someone who doesn't cook much I bet you'd be decent with a crockpot. You know, before going to work in the morning you have an "idea" how dinner should turn out, but you're still willing to be patient and to work with the flavors that develop. 

And a crocker leaves room for another tank on that kitchen counter.


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Zoo*. I'm going to be trimming the tank soon_sih_ and I'll snap a photo afterwards to see what the Mini Pellia looks like with much of the Riccia out of the way.

Cool deal on setting back up your tanks, *thundaa*. Welcome back to the hobby!
I'm using just the canister from the Hagen system. I really would recommend it as you never have to worry about leaks and the sugar and water fill lines inside the canister allow for an easy preparation of the yeast and sugar mixture.
Once the packets run out, don't buy refills. Use a teaspoon of baking soda and a quarter teaspoon of yeast. Works just as well, is a lot cheaper, and you can get the ingredients at any supermarket.
You do not need to turn off the Hagens at night. You don't even need to raise the spraybar to oxygenate the water if you don't want to. Just pop 'em in and every three weeks or so, you replace the mixture.
I'd recommend that you get a glass diffuser. The ladder is an okay diffusion method but after the novelty of watching the bubbles make their way up the ladder wears off, it becomes more of an eyesore than anything else due to it's large size and position on the side or back of the tank.
And that's really all you'd need: they system and, optionally, a different diffusion method.
Look on Craigslist or ebay for a used one. Even if they just have the canister and nothing else, you can pick up tubing at any fish store and pick out the coolest diffuser you can find.
Remember: don't be afraid to double up on the DIY CO2. I've run three on a Mini-S to no ill effects.
Just know that you can get the same results as a Hagen system by making your own. I prefer the Hagen canisters simply for the convenience of it all.

Definately give MP a try, *jar*.
You know, once upon a time, in a different life, I used to cook quite a bit. Not very well, but I was able to eat it and not throw up afterwards. Slowly, however, the habit left me. I've really got to get back into it. It's gotten to the point where the people at the Chinese/Vietnamese/Pizza restaurants that I order from know my voice and what I'll order. (If it gets to the point where they ask me how my dogs are doing or if my tanks are going well, I'll cry.)
I'll try the crock pot. In a way, it's a lot like a planted tank. Plant your food, set the tech, and enjoy it later. Thanks for the idea.
If I suck at it, maybe I can use the pot as an art nouveau planted tank.


----------



## ClPat

Just saw the last picture and WOW-plant overload! Now the foreground looks amazing. Look forward to seeing a shot of the tank when it'll be pruned.


----------



## lookin_around

Hey UG, been a while since I've been able to check out your tanks...That foreground looks great, and its a good thing you picked slow growers.

I'm starting to think that slow growth = good stuff.

Now that I've got pressurized on my 2.5, my HC (and the Riccia that is still there that intwined itself in it) has taken off and I just trimmed it all up today.

I'm thinking I might start adding plants here and there to start diversifying my tank. Maybe all I need is a little wild-life...ehh who knows maybe both.


----------



## sandiegoryu

Hey I bet someone already asked this question but where did you get your Do!Aqua tanks? I'm going to SF this summer so if they're at Aqua Forest that would be awesome. Going to start one up for college I think.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Hey, *sandiego*. Yep, AFA has 'em.


----------



## sandiegoryu

Thanks UG. Your tanks are very inspiring.


----------



## Craigthor

*UG* I'll post in all your threads but I really like the Glosso/ Riccia Mix in this picture above.


----------



## jose faria

Hi ''UG'',
This is one of my first post's in this forum, since I've been recommended by a friend here in Portugal (believe it or not, your tank it's known in the other side of the World).

Why? Because I was planning on doing something similar like you did, with your tank, but in a 1ft tank.
If I keep with my idea (wich I will do), it will look like a cribb of a small perfect nano tank.

The only thing I need to do, it's take my hat off and bow to you.....

Btw, your mini microsword, do you know it's latin name? Is it _Lilaeopsis mauritius_?

Regards,
Joe Faria


----------



## sandiegoryu

I would also love to know the genus and species of the mini microsword.


----------



## Ugly Genius

Welcome, *Jose*. And thanks. Wow, readers in Portugal! Too cool!
Mini Microsword is Lilaeopisis nova "mini".
I've been giving some out here and there and hopefully soon, this will be a commonly available plant with increased number of people growing it.


----------



## Craigthor

UG if you ever get a portion of that Mini Microsword to sell LMK I am working out some plans of some thing.


----------



## Ugly Genius

*Craig*, absolutely. Just PM my your address and I'll send some out to you this week when I do another shipment for another member here. Money not necessary. Think of it as a baby present. (Your wife _does_ like Mini Microsword, right?)

With all the malaise/attention on Source, Riven Tanglewood, et al, I pretty much ignored old Quasi-Wabi.
Growth, which was already too dense at last posting is even worse now.
That said, the large plant mass does allow for a virtually maintenance-free tank. I haven't changed the water in weeks, scraped algae, or done much of anything.

Anyway, here's some photos. (Note, after writing the above, I trimmed a _little_.)

















My reason for not trimming (besides being lazy) is that I was thinking I would use some of the plants in Source when I fill it. As I'm only using Mini Microsword and Mini Pellia in Source, however, the my reason for not trimming turns into a well-intentioned procrastination excuse.

Story of my life, really.


----------



## fastfreddie

You know you've done well when you can ignore a tank for a while, come back, and things just seem even better. Looks great right now IMO!


----------



## @[email protected]

i like the jungle look.
i think the tank looks great right now!


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *fast* and *marko*.

Just now UPS delivered my copy of _Nature Aquarium World Book 2_. This is the first time I've ever seen this book. I've had the first book for years and am always reading it; it's my toilet reading book. (I know: TMI). Until now, I had never actually seen what is inside _Book 2_. (Don't worry, I read this one in the living room.)

For those who don't know, _Nature Aquarium World Book 2_ focuses on nano tanks done by the maestro himself, Takashi Amano. Beautiful stuff. Highly recommended to frequent visitors to TPT's Nano Tank section of the forum. Great ideas in there.

As always, Amano's work inspired and humbled me. To think that he made all the tanks in this book fifteen to twenty years ago!
I've yet to see a person with his eye for aesthetic balance and plant health in this hobby.1 No one comes close. And to think that he did it without someone to emulate like we have him.

Seeing all of his beautiful tanks got me to missing my own small tank. So I trimmed a little and took some photos.


























What's most amazing about this tank -- besides the fact that it's one of my longest-lasting tanks -- is that the three CRSs you see in there are still in there.
I mean, they haven't died!
Those of you who have read all my journals from the get-go are well aware of the heartbreak I've endured at claws of shrimp. The fact that some of the reportedly most sensitive shrimp are okay after all this time in my smallest tank, less than two gallons, is a friggin' miracle.
They give me faith that maybe -- just maybe! -- I can love again.2

__________
1. The persons who come close to Amano in skill, usually fall off the rails somewhere along the way and drop into the overly-scientific (dark) side of the hobby and become obsessed with the plant growth/health, algae, the cell structure of Glosso leaves emersed versus submersed, fertilizing, CO2 levels, water change schedules, the merits of Rena over Eheim (and visa versa), turning cat litter into a substrate better than Aqua Soil, growing plants in zero gravity so as to circumvent driftwood fungus outbreaks, and all other kinds of nerd stuff, instead of focusing on beauty. 
Or they start a salt water tank and never come back.

2. I've never been able to successfully breed them, though -- I can't get my CRSs to "get it on" and have babies.


----------



## CL

This tank is incredible! Beautiful! Stunning! Lush! Awesome! The crs are the icing on the cake! Enter it into a contest! Really, do it! Now! (I love exc!amation po!nts lately)


> Or they start a salt water tank and never come back.


 Who exactly are you talking about? Me? Mac? Med?


----------



## Francis Xavier

I always liked Quasi-Wabi it's pretty cool. The only thing I wish it had was a little red again!


----------



## Vladdy

Nice tank!



Ugly Genius said:


> I've never been able to successfully breed them, though -- I can't get my CRSs to "get it on" and have babies.


Same with my red cherry shrimp.


----------



## jose faria

Hi UG,
This little beautiful tank, it's easily becaming one of my all time favs.


----------



## legomaniac89

I just realized that I have never commented on this tank. I love it! The CRS look like they should be about 6" long with all of the depth you have in here.


----------



## Ugly Genius




----------



## Craigthor

Very,very nice so when ya trimming it back and starting over?  Thought we had lost ya to your new TV.


----------



## Reginald2

Craigthor said:


> Very,very nice so when ya trimming it back and starting over?  Thought we had lost ya to your new TV.



TV is cool and all, but let's face it: sometimes the same old stuff gets a little boring. The fish tank on the other hand...

Craig is right though, it does seem like this tank has been on the same channel for a while:smile:


----------



## lookin_around

UG...Dude....This tank is awesome!

When are you gonna start a huge 300 gallon scape for us to gawk at?

Sorry I've been kinda MIA...This summer has been stupid busy, and for the most part, I've been satisfied knowing that I've actually figured out how to get some plants growing without algae outbreaks.

What other plants or scaping changes would you recommend for my tank? Have any need for Blyxa? Haha. I have a ton and I imagine I'll be getting rid of some soon.

Anyway, leave it to me to get off topic. How's the CBR coming along? Are you on 600rr.net? I've got a trackday coming up labor day at buttonwillow. Can't wait!


----------



## jose faria

Hi,
Now I know you are back, what about a small update of my favourite nano tank?


----------



## niptek

Beautiful turn out. 

I think im gonna ask my mom if i can put a Do! Aqua tank in the kitchen lol. 

I saw one in person at Nature Aquarium and look just as nice as the ADA tanks but for a cheaper price =)


----------



## hyphination

beautiful tank UG. loving the whole jungle feel. its like I just got sucked into jumanji!


----------



## Ugly Genius

As of right now, this tank is sitting in my tub. It's been emptied, scrubbed, and is being prepped for a new 'scape.

For those of you who liked the old 'scape, this new one may be a disappointment, but I've got to streamline my maintenance schedule with these tanks and the only way to do this is to keep it simple: two rocks and a couple species of plants.

As always, there will be more pictures than you care to look at and explanations of things that you could really have done without when it's up and running.

In the meantime, Ugly needs breakfast and a workout.

P.S. I don't care what anyone else says, _Ninja Assassin_ was awesome.


----------



## Craigthor

Well I'll let you send me ALL of your cool mosses so your not tempted to use them anymore.  It'l' help as you won't have to be per pressured into using them as you won't have them. 

Then you can stick to UG, HC, and glosso for all your scapes.  Can't get any simpiler then that.

Craig


----------



## becks17

Whaaaaaaaaaaa, so sad. That was such an awesome 2 gal. Makes me want to redo my cube too. I'm sure the new one will be just as spectacular! Can't wait to see it


----------



## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Craig* and *Becks*.

Okay, Quasi's finished. I'm not trying to be a tease, but because, one, the water's still cloudty and, two, it ending up being a pretty sharp departure from what Quasi-Wabi was and I'm not entirely certain how this new incarnation will be received, I'm going to hold off a bit on posting photos. Also, my girl who loved Quasi-Wabi -- it was her favorite of all the tanks I'd ever done -- looked at the new one, shrugged, and said, "It's good, but I miss the other one."
Suffice it to say, I've got a bit of a complex about this one.
I'll describe it, though. 
It's got two rocks. One is the L-shaped rock that was in Quasi-Wabi from the start. The other is a vertical, almost-leaning rock. The vertical rock is the focal point.
My main goal when setting this one up was to have it as low maintenance as possible. I didn't want to have to trim but once every few months.
Therefore Mini Pellia, Eleocharis 'Belem', Mini Christmas Moss, and very, very tiny Anubias Nana 'Petite' were chosen as the plants.
MP is in the foreground. 'Belem' is the background plant. The Mini Christmas Moss and 'Petite' hang on the rock.
Tech-wise, it's got one thirteen watt OttLite @ ten-thousand k, a ZooMed 501 (eighty GPH @ two gallons of water!), DIY CO2 from a Hagen canister through a Do!aqua Music Glass 10, and Aqua Soil Amazonia.
Initially, only potassium will be dosed; eventually, I'll start adding micros, but that'll be a few more weeks.

You know, screw it...the water's not _that_ cloudy and I have to show you guys photos eventually. I'll upload some shots. Just don't get angry. Remember, Quasi was not all that much to look at when I set it up.

Here is Quasi-Gumi...








I know it looks a bit boring right now, but I think it'll come out really nice when it grows out. The vertical rock -- that looks a lot like the worm in the asteroid in _The Empire Strikes Back_ -- has the not-yet-visible Mini Christmas Moss and super small Anubias Nana 'Petite' and much of the 'scape will be pulled together -- I hope! -- when they start to show.
EDIT: Just now, while looking over my shoulder -- literally as the tank's right behind me -- I decided that Fissidens Nobilis also needed to be on the rock. So I added some from Source.








My goal is to have the Mini Pellia carpet the front area of the tank. In a two gallon tank, this shouldn't take too long; maybe a year and half!








The 'Belem' is from Monark via the SnS. The stuff he sent me was in very good shape and arrived super quick.
Eventually, the 'Belem' will grow high enough to be visible over the low rock, creating the illusion of splashing water back there.








The rock looks either like the worm from _The Empire Strikes Back_ or a sock puppet.








In some ways, I prefer the seamless look of the Glass Cubes to the Mini series.








And here's a photo one one corner of my counter. If I can pull Morrowind back into fighting shape, all of my kitchen tanks will be in a state of I-don't-hate-them-itude.

And there it is. The start of Quasi's next life.


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## Aqua'd

I like it! 

Simple without being bare, it'll be awesome looking in


> maybe a year and half!


:icon_lol:


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## becks17

How well does the Do!aqua diffuser work with the yeast set up? I had one hooked up with my pressurized system, but it didn't diffuse very well at all. Big bubbles and noisy, maybe I got a bad one? :icon_sad:
I didn't know DIY's had enough pressure to get through the diffuser.

Looking good so far!


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Aqua* and *becks*! 
*becks*, the diffuser works fine with DIY CO2. It sounds like you might have gotten a bad one. Although I will say that Do!aqua quality is not quite as high as ADA. Then, what is--?

I'm a bit sleepy so this post'll be short.

I just added the remainder of the 'Belem' I got from Monark to the back. Planting is now officially complete.
I angled the light a bit more severely in order to reveal more of the details of the plantscape. The coolest thing about the plantscape right now are the itsy bitsy 'Petites'. They're rad when they're so small.


















_In this tank are Eleocharis 'Belem', Mini Pellia, Fissidens Nobilis, Anubias Nana 'Petite', and Mini Christmas Moss.
Slow growers with attitude._









_So tiny!_









_Angled shots like this are the planted tank equivalent of glamor shots taken at the mall.
You know the kind. Where the whole family is in the photo wearing identical sweaters.
Still, they're fun so I'll keep doing them.
The angled shots. Not the sweaters._​


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## Ugly Genius

I added some Pottias and more MP.


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## CL

The water wasn't cloudy at all 
I like it a lot. So clean and cool. It looks like a giant ice cube. 
Love it :thumbsup:


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Cl*! I appreciate that. Due to the relative lack of responses to this journal, I'm not exactly certain how this one is perceived with most persons here.

Yesterday, I was looking though this tank's journal. Back in it's prime as Quasi-Wabi, This was a beautiful tank, if I do say so myself. Might -- as I renamed it's current iteration yesterday -- can't really hold a candle to what the tank was. It does not have the life, vitality, and subtle details that Quasi had.

And that is why I named it Might. I feel the word best represents what I see in this tank: The image of power silhouetted by the standing rock, that of a fist held high; and it also represents that which affects all of us in this life: possibility -- for better and worse.

I'm getting too philosophical so early on a Sunday morning. Sunday mornings are best experienced visually.












































Off topic:
Does anyone know anything about the Psathyrella aquatic?









_I want these!_​


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## Outlawboss

Whenever I see this tank in it's new iteration, the first thing I think of is time. I keep wanting to see it 2, 3, 5 months from now. Because, like you said, I see the possibility of what it can (and hopefully will) be. I do see a lot of things going right so far. 

Seems like everyone has a kind of style when they are making their tanks. The style I most associate with UG tanks is detail work. While you may not see this tank having as much detail as you might usually like, others are sitting there thinking about how awesome it is the way that bit of moss hangs off the rock. Or maybe it's the way you didn't just pick any ole Petite Anubis, but one with the smallest leaves you could find.

Like I said, time. Especially once that MP starts to take off. That'll just be awesome.


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Outlaw*! I appreciate you saying that. Speaking of details, by upping the ISO on my camera, I was able to capture more of the details.



































I know what you're thinking. _Good lord, how many photos of the same tank can Ugly post--?_

Uh huh.

Yesterday, I added Fissidens Nobilis to the main rock and swapped out the ten-thousand k bulb for a sixty-four hundred k I had lying around. I ordered a thirteen watt eight-thousand k bulb from ebay. Eight-thousand k's the best-looking spectrum in my opinion. (Or EyeEmOh.)

Anyway, I promise, no more photos for at least a day.

I swear.


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## zeldar

The one rock has like 5 different species of plants. Radical.

UG, from the looks of it, Eleocharis 'Belem' has slightly thicker strands of "hair" compared to dwarf hairgrass. Is this true? Also how tall does it grow? I'm looking for a DHG like plant but want it to get taller than DHG. I could never grow it over 2 inches long but that was with high light. I want it to reach the top of my mini-m.

Anyway, tank looks amazing as usual. That MP foreground is going to be great when filled in.


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## jman

Do you have any problems with yeasty gunk building up on the diffuser?


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## garuf

Ugly, You've surpassed yourself, this is going on my list of all time favourite Iwagumis. Very nice indeed.
It's going to look brilliant once grown out.


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## Fat Guy

I'm enjoying this rock formation. and especially the moss in the foreground. very cool


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## Ugly Genius

I've taken to calling him LG; it stands for "Little Guy".
I found him in Source's Eheim. He's a RCS. 

When I scooped him out of what had been his dark, cramped home, he was pale and tiny. Not a speck of red on him. Sickly-looking, but not defeated, you could tell the little mofo was a fighter. Tough. 
As my hand came in to scoop him out, he wasn't all that scared. He jumped into my palm as if he were expecting me. "What took you?"
"Sorry, I didn't know you were in there."
"Well, I was. Now get me outta here. It smells like crap in there." As I removed him from the canister, he gave a startled jolt. "Whoa, whoa, whoa--! What's that?!" He covered his eyes with his claws.
"What?"
"That! That...stuff! It friggin' hurts."
I look around until it hits me. "You mean the light?"
"The what--?"
"Light."
"Well, what ever it is, it friggin' hurts. Get rid of it."
"I can't get rid of it. It's the middle of the day."
"Fine. Whatever. Just get me out of this thing."
I dropped him in Might.

It's been a week and some that he's been in there. Initially, he wasn't too fond of me or his new home. He spent much of the time hiding in the shadows of the rocks and whenever I came by, he'd make himself scarce quick. I can't say I blame him. Until then, he had spent most of his life in the dark with no where to move. I'd be a little leery of people, too.

What a difference a few days will make. He's now adjusted to his new home and the little mofo _loves_ it. I have never seen a shrimp actually play, but LG does. He rides the relatively strong current of the ZooMed as if it were a roller coaster. He will find the spot where the current starts the strongest and then send himself in a lap around the tank. As he's careening across the front of the glass, I can almost see him smile and hear him laugh. 

After LG lands, he comes back to the spot where the current is the strongest and does it again. Over and over.

Occasionally, LG will stop to eat and rest, but eating does not seem to be his number one priority as it is for most shrimp.

LG looks like his reason for being is to live life as much as he can for as long as he can.

Much can be learned from even the smallest of things.









_This is LG.
It took me eight shots to get this one photo. He moves around_ that _much._​


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## Amazonfish

I love the anecdote! I love the tank, too. I never post in your journals, but I'm always reading them :icon_bigg I have a 6" cube vase and I never expected it to amount to much, but your journal has really inspired me. Thanks!

Lara


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Amazon*! A six inch cube, huh? That's a really good challenge.
Here's a secret with really small nanos. First, you've got to accept the fact that hardscaping these things is the most difficult part. Finding suitable and attractive wood and rocks is really, really hard. 
That said, balancing small tanks to optimal levels tech-wise is a snap. On a six in cube, drop an inch of AS as the substrate, nine watts of twin-tube CF light, a ZooMed 501 for a filter (it's not too much), and DIY CO2 and you will have _the_ most healthy tank you could ever want. With all that, the tank could be perfect for virtually any plant you could want to grow. Keep the hardscape light and trimming is not going to be a hand-cramping chore, either; Might's layout was thrown down with just such a consideration in mind.

I wanted this to look like a landscape and something was missing. I decided to use Mini Riccia as it's meant to be used: floating. It looks like a cloud floating over a mountain range.



































Things are going will in Might. No much has changed, but that was kind of what I wanted when I set it up. The only problem with this approach is that updates are not all the woo-hooish.


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## ZooTycoonMaster

Hey, that filter outlet isn't the one that comes with the ZooMed. Where'd you get it?


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## Ugly Genius

Hey, *Zoo*. Actually, the outlet does come with the filter. It comes with the spray bar and the clear little nozzle attachment that you see in the photos.


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## ZooTycoonMaster

Oh...sorry about that


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## Dollface

I gotta admit, I'm not that crazy for mini pellia but it looks fantastic as a carpet.


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## fish_fasinated

looks neat


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## Ugly Genius

Thanks, *Doll* and *fish*!

Might's doing well. Not much changes from day to day, but I'm enjoying the tank. LG's still doing his laps and that's about the most excitement this slow-growing tank sees.




































_There! I just noticed LG. See him above the grass? That's him doing one of his laps. He does that all the time. 
Over the grass, around the rock, above the MP, and then he does it all over again.
Dude's a trip. (Although "Little Guy", might actually be a chick. I'll know in a few months.)_








I changed some of the camera settings to better show the details of the tank. I changed the EV to 0 where it was -2.0. I have no idea what this means, but it made the photos brighter.

I may end up stocking this tank with Thai Microcrabs. I hear they're quite shy and you barely see them, but they're cute. So I might.


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## hurley0816

I love the "cloud" concept. i wish i culd see this tank in motion, with the cloud floating over and the rcs riding the current. sounds very enjoyable!


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## AlexXx

man the MP carpet is looking great!


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## ALIFER

Ugly Genius said:


> LG's still doing his laps and that's about the most excitement this slow-growing tank sees. He does that all the time.
> Over the grass, around the rock, above the MP, and then he does it all over again.
> Dude's a trip. (Although "Little Guy", might actually be a chick. I'll know in a few months.)[/I].


If you like watching shrimp go round and round try a round tank. When I 1st setup the curvilinear II I had a shrimp that would go round and round and round and round and round. Once the plants started growing it stopped doing laps.


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## Ugly Genius

_Inspired by Honda_








EDITED TO INTRODUCE A SMALL CHANGE FROM THE ABOVE PHOTOS








_Just got this.
I_ think _the moss on the top of the rock is Mini Rose Moss, but I'm not certain.
I got it today at AFA. It was labeled as Unknown Moss. 
It's smaller than Mini Rose, but it could be in its emersed state.
BTW, I picked the wrong day to go to Japantown. Cherry Blossom Festival. Super crowded._​


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## becks17

Ugly Genius said:


> Off topic:
> Does anyone know anything about the Psathyrella aquatic?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _I want these!_​


OMG, me too... :icon_eek:


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## AlexXx

wow! that Mini Rose Moss looks amazing!


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## Dollface

Let us know how that unknown moss grows in. I was eyeing it at AFA but 7-8$ was a little too much for me.


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## Francis Xavier

Hey UG. Tank's developing nicely. I found it interesting that the shape formed out of the way you positioned your rocks is pretty similar to the way the driftwood looked in the previous setup.

By the way, I'm jealous that you get to live in San Fran.


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## Ugly Genius

I can't say much. 
Not yet, at least. Give me a bit -- maybe a couple of weeks -- and I'll tell you all about Sofie, the flu, my girl, and everything else that followed.
It's a good story. It's got heartbreak, despair, death, transcendence, and, ultimately, hope. After that, you'll understand why I haven't written.
And I'm pretty sure you'll forgive me for leaving all of you hanging.

Anyway, given all that, this is the best I can do shot-wise. 








Might chugs along with no help from me. It's the only tank that has survived everything that went down. Not that that's a bad thing; because everything that happened, happened exactly as it should have, and in the end, that's what matters most.

But that'll have to wait.

You'll understand why.


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## Francis Xavier

Hey man, take heart.

I've had more Nano disasters, upfront moves and relocations than I care to count or admit to in the past two years or so. Texas to Seattle to New York City and back again hasn't been very fortuitous to keeping any long term setups. And every...freaking...time...I move it means that all the plants are lost, the hard-to-get-for-the-area or rare shrimp I've gotten have either died immediately upon arrival or had to be given away. I can't even do a real scape again until August. It's a major buzz kill having to start from square one each time. Awesome supply of whatever plant carefully grown over months for nearly instant aquascape in the next tank? gone. Each. Time. No matter how much preparation, no matter how many lessons learned from the last attempt, things just go wrong. Freak heat waves and traffic jams, power outages and floods. Let's not even get started on all the personal baggage of the people involved in each transit affair.

Point is, all of that bs has lead to a pretty cool opportunity coming up. And while my complete start over stories have very little to do with what happened with you, I'm just sayin:

It's worth all the crap that comes with Life.


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## Outlawboss

Glad to see you back UG, and that things are improving. I know I'm not the only one who missed seeing your posts while you were away.


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## CL

Hey, UG. I was hoping you'd come back. I figured something was up. Thanks for the update!  That mp sure has grown a lot, as have the other plants.
Looking forward to the story.. I think


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## ZooTycoonMaster

Glad to see you're back! The tank still looks great


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## chris.rivera3

Glad your back UG! hope all is well


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## VadimShevchuk

wow, i hope you do a 180 gallon one day. Tank looks so good!


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## Mortarion

I have read all of your journals, and I am constantly blown away by your eye for detail man, it's fantastic, especially in both incarnations of this cube, it's a real inspiration.

I'm slowly gathering parts for my own first planted tank, I only hope that one day, it will turn out as nicely as yours. depending on the range of plants avaliable here in Australia that is...


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