# Raven_Wilde's 'Ebiwagumi' Edge (Updated Pics 6/6/2012)



## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

Comments and suggestions always appreciated!


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## manualfocus (Jun 15, 2011)

Looking good! I'm starting my own Fluval Edge journal soon! I'm no Iwagumi guru or anything, but I personally think you have too many rocks. Maybe take out two or three?


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## mjbubbles (Aug 26, 2011)

Looks great! I like the red stand!


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## mcqueenesq (Aug 29, 2011)

I love the whole thing! Your moss looks great. How did you attach it to the rocks?


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

Looks good, I really like the rocks. Parva takes FOREVER to actually grow, and when it does it grows slower than a snail trapped in a vat of molasses lol Still one of my favorite plants though.


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## i'm a ninja (Aug 2, 2009)

Noahma is right, Parva takes a long stinking time to grow! Whatever you do don't move it more than necessary. Its worth it though, one of my favorite crypts ever.


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## Soundwav2010 (Sep 27, 2011)

Nice. I really wanted to get one of these tanks however I'm already maintaining three tanks. If I do however I would like to get my hands on the edge range.

Anyways back on topic, love the layout, I think the only problem I could see down the road is that your rocks will be swallowed when your plants fill in. Other than that good luck with the shrimps.


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## ncharlie (May 20, 2011)

Amazed at how pretty the plants are.

My plants in my edge look sick.

Even though I have an LED upgrade plus a another light source.

I am probably starving them of nutrients.

I was wondering what to do with my Edge 6 gallon when I get an Edge 12 gallon.

Probably turn it into a shrimp tank too!


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## jasa73 (Jun 3, 2007)

Nice! Love how your moss is growing.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Sorry to hear about your troubles with zinc, this will even kill small animals like Quail etc., when it is used building cages with a wire mesh floor, it must be wiped down with a vinegar soaked rag and I wouldn't even use it then, at the least you got it figured out and moved on.

The tank looks nice, are you using any Excel or it that dirty word around this type of shrimp.

BTW the white platic mesh looks fine after it gets covered, but floating can be a problem unless your using it as a wall with suction cups. I also like the way they do it here moss wall and more


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

manualfocus said:


> Looking good! I'm starting my own Fluval Edge journal soon! I'm no Iwagumi guru or anything, but I personally think you have too many rocks. Maybe take out two or three?





Soundwav2010 said:


> Anyways back on topic, love the layout, I think the only problem I could see down the road is that your rocks will be swallowed when your plants fill in. Other than that good luck with the shrimps.


I'm actually hoping that the plants will overgrow the rocks... my original vision was of lots of green with just the peaks of the petrified wood poking out here at there. I think that will also fix the impression that there are too many rocks.

Of course, manualfocus might be right... I may decide in a few weeks that there are too many. For right now though I'm not going to make any sudden changes, if only because the only real place in the tank that the plants are thriving is on the rocks. If I take them out I will be left with a lot of space and some not-so-great looking parva.



150EH said:


> The tank looks nice, are you using any Excel or it that dirty word around this type of shrimp.


I am dosing a bit of Excel (about 2ml) about 3x week. Its definitely helping the plants so I plan on continuing to do so unless I notice any problems with the shrimp- in which case I will stop immediately. I dose it daily in my 30 gallon and the RCS in there breed like flies. I am however slightly concerned about this tank since it is much smaller, but I do feel that Excel is safer and easier to countermeasure than CO2 should a problem arise.



150EH said:


> BTW the white platic mesh looks fine after it gets covered, but floating can be a problem unless your using it as a wall with suction cups. I also like the way they do it here moss wall and more





mcqueenesq said:


> I love the whole thing! Your moss looks great. How did you attach it to the rocks?


I attached the moss to the rocks with hair nets... works pretty awesome, you can barely tell its there unless you look real close- of course, my less than awesome camera helps this out too 

@150EH I did consider plastic mesh but have decided to go another route. This past week I've been slowly reassembling a moss carpet and deploying it in the tank. I'll be posting an update soon about this once I'm done so check back. Its a tedious process that I have developed but I'm happy with it and think that it looks MUCH better than the plastic mesh!




ncharlie said:


> Amazed at how pretty the plants are.
> 
> My plants in my edge look sick.
> 
> ...


What kind of plants do you have in your tank? They may just not be cut out for lower light.


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## magma (Oct 31, 2011)

Nice setup. The second picture really stands out! The drift wood work really well, Can you tell me what kind of drift wood this is?


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Very nice progression, sorry to hear the trouble from the zinc poisoning.


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

magma said:


> Nice setup. The second picture really stands out! The drift wood work really well, Can you tell me what kind of drift wood this is?


Actually that's petrified wood... hasn't been driftwood for a very long time


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

*Moss Carpet: Round 2*

About a day after I started this journal I took a good long look at my tank and decided that I still really wanted a moss carpet. Since the stainless steel mesh I'd initially tried this with had proven toxic and I don't like the way plastic mesh looks I decided to pay a visit to the local craft store and see what I could find to get this job done.

After a lot of wandering around, picking up various products and confusing the hell out of a few store employees I made it home with the following:

1 yard of nylon tulle/mesh
1 spool of all purpose brown cotton thread
2 packs of super cheap black glass beads​







My idea was basically the same as any other moss carpet, only this time, the mesh would be barely visible and cut to size in organic shapes that fit in and around the hardscape. In order to secure the moss I very carefully stitched it to the mesh bit by bit with the cotton thread. Yes, this took quite a bit of time and patience...















After I had the moss secured I then used nylon fishing line to tie a few glass beads to the tulle mesh to serve as sinkers.

When placed in the tank I pushed the beads down into the substrate rendering them invisible. The mesh itself is also barely visible and I have no doubt that once the moss grows in the brown cotton thread will also disappear.

All told (using the playback history of my Netflix account as a sort of a log) I spent 18.93333 hours working on this carpet, deploying it in the tank and generally fussing over the layout. It includes not only Xmas moss but also Fissidens... the difference it makes in the tank, I think, justifies the time spent:


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

*Some more shots of my Edge:*














































*SO PRETTY!*​


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## zenche (Feb 9, 2011)

dig the whole setup. funny, i've seen that red ikea locker before and thought it was make a good stand too  but i've no space for more furniture...

need to sell off an old 75G and my 8G biorb, then I'll get an Edge too...either for shrimps or a betta.


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## Storm (Aug 7, 2011)

Really nice carpet! You really have some dedication to spend so much time on this.


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## Shrimp_Newb (Oct 13, 2011)

Wow--amazing work! It payed off! :icon_bigg



Storm said:


> Really nice carpet! You really have some dedication to spend so much time on this.


Yeah, what Storm said! roud:


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## tharsis (Oct 9, 2009)

That looks great! I love the idea of using the sinkers, I think I will try this in my shrimp tank.


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## Daximus (Oct 19, 2011)

Oh this is killing me! Looks great, fantastic setup. 

(I will not buy another tank...I will not buy another tank...I will not buy another tank) :icon_mrgr


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## mcqueenesq (Aug 29, 2011)

You are the Edge Master now! What a great idea and execution. The tank just keeps getting better. Full disclosure: I will steal this idea at some point in the future. Lol.


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

mcqueenesq said:


> You are the Edge Master now! What a great idea and execution. The tank just keeps getting better. Full disclosure: I will steal this idea at some point in the future. Lol.


Steal away! But be sure to post pics, I want to see how it turns out!!


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I've been looking for a mesh with a more open nature and light material and what you have is perfect, I had picked up some green plastic sheets but it's really too heavy. What craft store did you get that from and what is it typically used for so I know where to look?

BTW the tank looks real good.


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

I got it at a Joanne Fabrics... it comes by the yard, probably any fabric store would have it. Its called Tulle, its the stuff that pouffy underskirts or tutus are made of. I like it because it can be draped over or around rocks.



150EH said:


> I've been looking for a mesh with a more open nature and light material and what you have is perfect, I had picked up some green plastic sheets but it's really too heavy. What craft store did you get that from and what is it typically used for so I know where to look?
> 
> BTW the tank looks real good.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Cool, we have Joanne's Fabrics around here so I'll pic some up, I wrote tulle down the first time so I wouldn't be going which thread was that, thank you.


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## Shrimp_Newb (Oct 13, 2011)

mcqueenesq said:


> You are the Edge Master now!


:biggrin: roud: :hihi:


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

God, I love that mountain effect you have with the moss on wood. Would the moss cover the whole thing if you let it grow? How do you cut the moss without scraping bark off the wood? 

Sick looking tank indeed!


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

FlyingHellFish said:


> God, I love that mountain effect you have with the moss on wood. Would the moss cover the whole thing if you let it grow? How do you cut the moss without scraping bark off the wood?
> 
> Sick looking tank indeed!


Thank you for all the compliments, but dude, c'mon, we explained it like three times in your thread, it's not wood... it's _petrified_ wood; aka rocks that used to be wood, but are not wood any more; aka click this link if it still doesn't make sense! :icon_wink


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

ROFL... I am now extremely concern about my short term memory, I am also now extremely familiar with petrified wood.


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

FlyingHellFish said:


> I am also now extremely familiar with petrified wood.


Me too... I didn't know that the color of the rock was dependent upon contamination by certain minerals or metals.... veeerrry interesting!


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## plecostomouse (Jun 9, 2011)

great tank 
i like how you made the moss carpet


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

*Growth Update : 12.4.11*

Took some pictures to document plant growth today....










A composite of the layout from the top down:










And a quick comparison with this shot from last update:










I'm also please to announce that our first batch of babies have shown themselves! So Exciting!!


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

also, I'm thinking of removing the crypts and replacing them with moss carpeting. Reason: while they are growing, they are growing slow and I feel that they will probably do much much better in my 30 gal.

Maybe I'll get some flame moss and put that in the back behind the rocks.

What do you all think?


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## Shrimp_Newb (Oct 13, 2011)

Very nice! :biggrin:



raven_wilde said:


> I'm also please to announce that our first batch of babies have shown themselves! So Exciting!!


Congrats! roud:


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## Shrimp_Newb (Oct 13, 2011)

raven_wilde said:


> also, I'm thinking of removing the crypts and replacing them with moss carpeting. Reason: while they are growing, they are growing slow and I feel that they will probably do much much better in my 30 gal.
> 
> Maybe I'll get some flame moss and put that in the back behind the rocks.
> 
> What do you all think?


I think this could be very cool. :icon_idea And the crypts aren't really living up to the tank.


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## trutrax (Oct 22, 2011)

Wow! Looks awesome! 

As for replacing the crypts with more moss. I'd leave it or replace with a different plant. I feel the crypts add a nice breakup to the moss layout. with more moss, you loose that contrast.


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

trutrax said:


> Wow! Looks awesome!
> 
> As for replacing the crypts with more moss. I'd leave it or replace with a different plant. I feel the crypts add a nice breakup to the moss layout. with more moss, you loose that contrast.


any plants suggestions? I'm kinda at a loss over what to replace them with if not moss. :icon_conf


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## trutrax (Oct 22, 2011)

raven_wilde said:


> any plants suggestions? I'm kinda at a loss over what to replace them with if not moss. :icon_conf


I've always liked Micranthemum umbrosum. It's got great vibrant green leafs. I got some in my tank. It'll grow fast, but is easy to trim and keep down (and make it grow new shoots by the root creating denser foliage. Oh and you can easily re-plant the cut trimmings and they'll root. Just a thought.


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

trutrax said:


> I've always liked Micranthemum umbrosum. It's got great vibrant green leafs. I got some in my tank. It'll grow fast, but is easy to trim and keep down (and make it grow new shoots by the root creating denser foliage. Oh and you can easily re-plant the cut trimmings and they'll root. Just a thought.


Its pretty, and I do like the texture that it would add... however I do think that it would require too much light and would not do very well in the Edge.

Accommodating the low light in this tank is the biggest factor limiting my plant choices. I have ordered some flame moss from the S-n-S and I plan on deploying it towards the back of the tank (but I won't remove all of the crypts just yet). We'll see what kind of difference it makes.


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## igolf2 (Oct 26, 2011)

Hi, Love your tank! I just set up one of the new Fluval edge 12 gal. tanks. Not overly happy with the LED lighting as it just does not seem enough for the depth of the tank, I am supplementing with a 26w CFL.

As far as plant choices to go with the moss I am using some different varities of Anubias to offset the flame moss and mini pellia along with some java fern and Ludwigia repens which I have been told are easy lower light plants.


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## igolf2 (Oct 26, 2011)

BTW - Bought this light and a 10K bulb off eBay and could not be happier - looks like it was made for the edge and really suppliments the LED light - have not used the 50/50 bulb that came with it.

For $40 total it is exactly what I was looking for!

[Ebay Link Removed]


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## igolf2 (Oct 26, 2011)

It was from TopDogSellers - guess I can't link.....


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

Thanks for the tip... but I'm not looking to upgrade my lights at the moment. Its in a pretty good balance right now and I think if I were to up the lighting then I would need to start injecting CO2 somehow. Anyway... since the main goal of this setup is to breed shrimp I want to avoid CO2 at this point and just focus on keeping this tank as clean and healthy as possible.


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## moonwasaloon (May 24, 2011)

can we get an update?


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## Shrimp_Newb (Oct 13, 2011)

Yeah! :iamwithst


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## menoseloso (Dec 2, 2006)

we need updates


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

*Update: 3/7/12*

I know a few of you have been bugging me for an update and I do apologize for the delay - its been a busy first couple months for me this year and sometimes hobbies have to get pushed a little to the side 

So, without further adieu.... my update!

*Pictures from 12-31-11*

These were the 'before' shots that I took prior to the big rescape that I performed during the first week of January. As you can see, the moss is crazy overgrown....




















Sadly, I failed to capture any 'after' shots following the rescape. I do however have photos that I took today and as you can see, some things have changed...

*Pictures from 3-7-12*










*Notable changes:*

C. parva was removed to my 30 gal where it continues to not really do any growing.
I added flame moss (which is super crazy and I love it) to the back corners to get some 'height'.
Many of the moss carpets ended up getting destroyed during my rescape- it turns out that you have to be super careful when trimming moss because it very easily pulls away from whatever it is attached to. This goes for rocks as much as it does nylon mesh. However, I do suspect that my moss carpeting fell apart as easily as it did because I used cotton thread to stitch it together. I think if I go back in and make new carpets I will try nylon thread and see if this helps make them more structurally sound.









*Probably time for a trim again.*









*Side shot so you can appreciate how truly crazy flame moss is... also, how I've sloped my substrate.*









*Some idea of how much the moss has grown.*


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

*Some thoughts...*































Kinda cool to see all the frontal shots together like this. I feel like I'm finally pulling this aquascape together - or at least I feel like I know exactly what to expect from each variety of moss; I am now confident of my palette.

And that is comforting, because I am beginning to suspect that sometime this summer I may be redoing this tank completely. This is largely because I am beginning to suspect that the petrified wood is raising the ph in the tank higher than I would ideally like it to be. The shrimp seem fine for the most part, but I have noticed that they do not seem to be breeding as prolifically as they did several months ago.

I am thinking that when I do eventually launch a total rescape of this tank I may do something along the lines of Tom Barr's Manzygumi. Not only am I thoroughly intrigued with the idea of taking the design concepts behind iwagumi and applying them to non-traditional material, but I also think that having a wood only hardscape in this tank would be beneficial to both the moss and the shrimp.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

So beautiful! Love the moss on wood, it gives it a really nice natural look.

You got a close up shot of your shrimps?


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

FlyingHellFish said:


> You got a close up shot of your shrimps?


Sadly, my camera is not all that great- its just a simple point and shoot and although I try I never manage to catch them in focus.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

You can try at feeding time, they usually remain still for a bit. What kind of shrimps do you have in there anyways? 

Never find babies? All my shrimps turned out to be female for some reason, wish I could set up a colony.


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

FlyingHellFish said:


> You can try at feeding time, they usually remain still for a bit. What kind of shrimps do you have in there anyways?
> 
> Never find babies? All my shrimps turned out to be female for some reason, wish I could set up a colony.


They are Sakura-grade Cherry Shrimp that I got from a member on this forum. I do find babies all the time and they breed for me quite readily although I have noticed that they seem to be less prolific than they once were. I culled some of the duller colored ones out tonight and sent them to colonize my 30 gallon, I'm hoping that the freed up space will entice the remaining shrimp to breed more.

EDIT: do you have fish in your tank with your shrimp? If so, that is probably why you are not finding any babies.


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

I do have fishes but I realize that all my shrimps are "berried" and are female. I got them all in the same place and the person only sells females due to their higher colour.

What do you dose for dry fertilizers? Did you run into any problems regarding Nitrates? 

Thinking of upping mine to 40 ppm from 10 ppm.


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## inka4041 (Jul 27, 2008)

The different mosses add such a rich variety of textures to this tank. Gorgeous scape!


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

FlyingHellFish said:


> I do have fishes but I realize that all my shrimps are "berried" and are female. I got them all in the same place and the person only sells females due to their higher colour.


If they are berried that must mean that you have at least one male in there knocking them all up.


> What do you dose for dry fertilizers? Did you run into any problems regarding Nitrates?
> 
> Thinking of upping mine to 40 ppm from 10 ppm.


I don't dose ferts in this tank. I was dosing small amounts of Seachem ferts when I first set it up but it hasn't seem necessary lately so I stopped doing it. Moss appears not to care - one of the reasons I love it so much.



inka4041 said:


> The different mosses add such a rich variety of textures to this tank. Gorgeous scape!


Thanks! I really love watching all the different varieties grow and develop, it really is a joy to have in my home


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## Mike Hawk (Mar 9, 2012)

really nice its beautiful


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Ahhh maybe berried not the right word, I can see the eggs on their top part. Saddle, yeah that what I mean.


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## sunyang730 (Jan 30, 2012)

Just wondering, how you tie your moss? and when you do the rescape do you change all the water? or you just move things around with some water in the tank?


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

sunyang730 said:


> Just wondering, how you tie your moss? and when you do the rescape do you change all the water? or you just move things around with some water in the tank?


If you go through the other earlier posts in this thread you can find a pretty thorough description of how I secure the moss in this tank.

When I rescape I lower the water a few inches but keep it deep enough that the filter can still run properly. This way, any dust or plant bits get sucked up into the filter. I also tend to work very slowly and gently so that the shrimp are not disturbed too much. :icon_bigg


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## MichaelMcG (Mar 16, 2012)

ok you have convinced me to get an edge.. hope i can still find the older models so i can put in MR11s or MR16s.. still dont know which ones yet.. how many watts are your MR11s?

also in your first post you said you have a nerite? he doesn't have trouble finding air at the top?


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

MichaelMcG said:


> ok you have convinced me to get an edge.. hope i can still find the older models so i can put in MR11s or MR16s.. still dont know which ones yet.. how many watts are your MR11s?
> 
> also in your first post you said you have a nerite? he doesn't have trouble finding air at the top?


I don't really know how many watts my MR11s are... but its my understanding that when it comes to LED lights wattage measurements are pretty useless. Take a look at the lighting forum for more info on this.

As for my nerites... they have no problem finding the airhole, in fact I've often found them making trips into the filter and up inside the hood


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

*Update: 6/6/12*

Some updates from the past few months....

*3.23.11*









I was ready to try and redo the moss carpet but I decided to do it a little different this time. Instead of laying down weighted nylon tulle I devised some moss plugs using plastic needlework mesh, glass beads and fishing line...


















*Mini-Pellia plugs. I also made some with Xmas moss and Flame Moss.*









*Mini-P plugs deployed.*

*4.12.12*








*Feeding Frenzy.*

*6.5.12*









*Some Growth Comparisons...*








*Mini-P Plugs. I had to move them off to the side because the outflow from the filter kept blowing the substrate out from under them.*









*Mini-P, Xmas, Fissidens and Flame Moss growth patterns over time.*









*PRETTY*


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

*Some more progression comparison...*


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## Bananariot (Feb 28, 2012)

That looks awesome! Does the petrified wood affect your ph?


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

Bananariot said:


> That looks awesome! Does the petrified wood affect your ph?


Yes. Not as much as some rocks might but this tank does ride at about 7.2-7.6 which is considerably higher than my other tanks. 

Straight from the tap my water is about 7.6 with about 2 degrees KH and an astronomical general hardness. Since my other tanks all have driftwood in them the ph drops down to anywhere from 6.8 all the way to 6.0 (I have A LOT of bogwood in one of them right now). 

I use RO water in my breeding tanks as needed and I've tried using it in my Edge to bring the ph down but I've found that I can't get it to stay down for very long. It would seem then that the rocks are acting as a buffer and since the shrimp don't seem to mind the higher ph I've decided to let it be as I feel that its better the parameters be stable. 

However, I do think that it has affected their reproductive rates (the shrimp in my Edge produce relatively fewer offspring than those in my breeders) so at some point this summer I am planning on pulling the tank apart and replacing the rocks with driftwood.


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## MichaelMcG (Mar 16, 2012)

very cool!


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## Shrimp_Newb (Oct 13, 2011)

Über cool!


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Very pretty, great progression shots


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Nice trims on the moss, only Edge owners will know the pain of working in such a small opening. 

You ever going to go hi-tech on your Edge?


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Nice trims on the moss, only Edge owners will know the pain of working in such a small opening.


Fortunately I have pretty small girly-girl hands 



> You ever going to go hi-tech on your Edge?


I don't think so. The primary reason I got this tank was to display my highest quality shrimp. Since CO2 tends to complicate water parameters that would make things difficult if I ever decide to try my hand at some Crystal Reds.

That and when I do finally bite the bullet and get into CO2 it will be on my 30 gallon. That tank has been creeping along on DIY yeast for far too long.


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Great looking shrimp tank!


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## green_valley (Sep 14, 2011)

Nice nice nice Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If I see the tank is greennnnnnnnnnn, then I love it.

Great job on the scape too.


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## halffrozen (Nov 4, 2011)

Man.. every single one of these edges that look this good makes me want to get one.. lol


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

speedie408 said:


> Great looking shrimp tank!





green_valley said:


> Nice nice nice Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> If I see the tank is greennnnnnnnnnn, then I love it.
> 
> Great job on the scape too.





halffrozen said:


> Man.. every single one of these edges that look this good makes me want to get one.. lol





2in10 said:


> Very pretty, great progression shots





Shrimp_Newb said:


> Über cool!





MichaelMcG said:


> very cool!


Thanks every body! :icon_bigg


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## jczz1232 (May 8, 2008)

Great looking tank might used you item for the ground cover. You know what company makes those glass beads. I only see colorful ones when I do a search on Amazon. Which I don't want lols


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

Have you upgraded to the LED bar yet?

I just upgraded my 6G 21 LED to the 12G 42 LED bar. 
Doubling the LEDs made a big difference. In about a month I've noticed my mosses have grown a bit more then I was expecting. 
I have an extra 12G 42 LED bar if you'd like. 

Good stuff!


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## raven_wilde (Jul 12, 2006)

*Thoughts After 2 Years of Setup*

Hi everyone!

I haven't been on plantedtank in quite a while - real life has intruded and I've been suuuuuper busy. I also have to report that this tank setup no longer exists 

Basically I got tired of trying to maintenance and trim the moss through that silly little hole in the top. Also the mesh screen on the hood began to rust out last fall and that really made me mad - nice design there Hagen, an aquarium hood that rusts.

I'm happy with the experience I had with this tank but long term it was unfortunately not sustainable. Also, I'm taking evening programming classes right now so I've had to pare my number of tanks down to 2 and it was easy to say good by to this one- it had gotten super overgrown over the last year. It was basically solid moss up to the top glass- the shrimp LOVED it, but it wasn't much to look at. So, oh well.

Anyway - to answer any lingering questions:



jczz1232 said:


> Great looking tank might used you item for the ground cover. You know what company makes those glass beads. I only see colorful ones when I do a search on Amazon. Which I don't want lols


I found them at a Michaels store. They were in little bags of about 12 a piece - on the lower rack, really cheap but they had them bagged by color so it was easy to get just black ones. I have no idea if they still carry them.



bostoneric said:


> Have you upgraded to the LED bar yet?
> 
> I just upgraded my 6G 21 LED to the 12G 42 LED bar.
> Doubling the LEDs made a big difference. In about a month I've noticed my mosses have grown a bit more then I was expecting.
> ...


I did not- however I did end up purchasing the replacement LED bulbs sold by Hagen because the CREE LED bulbs that I had initially used began to corrode after about a year. I might have posted about that earlier, or I meant to. I would definitely recommend the Hagen bulbs - they are comparable to the CREEs and they are water tight.

Since we're on the subject of water damage to the EDGE, I suppose I should summarize things I have noticed after 2 years of continuous use:

Rust & Corrosion:

The mesh screen on the hood it totally rusted - which sucks and is a stupid design flaw. That thing gets constantly wet from back splash and evaporation - super dumb to not take that in consideration when selecting materials. This started to be noticeable after 1 year. At 2 it is now totally ugly & I would want to replace it.
I've also noticed corrosion around the pin-holes that the bulbs plug into. I'm not sure exactly how bad that is but it can't be good.

Filter

Held up pretty good - But then, Aquaclears usually do. Mine needed a really good scrubbing when I tore it down to get water deposits off but it's still in good working condition and will likely be re-purposed some day.

Tank

Also held up really well, except for a few places that I accidentally scratched it its in good shape. The only thing is that since its so darn hard to clean I don't know if I'll ever get it back to sparkling new. So there's that.

If anyone has any other questions about this tank or about the long-term use of the EDGE do let me know, I promise I will try to be better about checking back here


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## chan0482 (Sep 30, 2011)

Great journal raven_wilde!

I have had my edge running for about two years now as well. I did not experience the rusting on the mesh hood part that you did, however about a year ago I did put a zoomed 501 w/ spraybar which basically eliminated all the splashing the AC filter created. Beside that my experience has been very similar (including the corrosion around where the light pins insert :/ but the lights are still working fine for now) and mostly all positive. I like the aesthetic of these tanks quite a bit.


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