# Marineland 27 Gallon Cube



## SeasonedNewbie (Jul 3, 2011)

Hey Everyone -

I'm hoping for some great advice and feedback from you. Attached are my photos. The tank is 5 weeks old and now fully cycled. Current setup as follows:

Flora 


Various Crypts (4 types, all of which initially melted but are now perking up
Wisteria
Argentine Swords
Moneywort
Japanese Moss Ball
Pygmy Chain Sword
Red Ludwigia
Malaysian Driftwood
Slate
Fauna


3 Peppered Cories (added one week ago)
3 White Cloud Minnows (rescues from a friend)
3 Neon Tetra (rescues from a friend)
Equipment


Tank: Marineland 27g Cube
Lighting: Marineland Double Bright LED + Floramax T8 15W
Marlineland Penguin 200 Bio-Wheel
Heater
I'd welcome any advice you guys may have about my tank. I'm hoping to add some moss and shorter plants for the foreground. Also, I'm hoping to avoid adding CO2 or getting into a high-tech setup. Any suggestions?


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Pygmy Chain Sword and Red Ludwigia are the difficult ones. They will need
CSM+B and chelated iron or Seachem flourish and Seachem iron cheapest at LNT.com Then you will also need carbon replacement like Seachem excel or 2.5% glutaraldehyde. Sold as Cidex. Can be bought on EBay for $25 1 quart.


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## SeasonedNewbie (Jul 3, 2011)

Thanks, Hilde! I do have Flourish and was planning on getting Excel. I appreciate your insight.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Looks like a good start, welcome to TPT!

I'd probably separate out those stems a bit more- plant each stem individually and spread them about 1-2" apart to help prevent the bottoms of the stems from becoming too shaded. They'll get "leggy" (loose all their leaves at the bottoms) otherwise. A pair of tweezers can really help in planting.


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## SeasonedNewbie (Jul 3, 2011)

Thanks, Laura! I have been admiring all of your tanks. I was originally going to get a bigger tank but then when I saw the cube I wanted it so badly. I still love it but now that I've been working on it I wish I had something bigger! 

Anyhow, thanks for the suggestion about further splitting up the stems. I've been worried about if there is enough lighting, etc. All of your tanks looks so great - you make it seem easy which I am sure it's not. Inspiring for those of us just getting into it!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks for the compliment! 

I'm honestly not sure about your lighting- I'm not sure how those Marineland fixtures stack up in regards to light intensity since they're still somewhat new on the market, and you've got a pretty deep tank... 

If the stems don't do well over the long run you may need to rethink your plant selections (go with more crypts, vals, Anubias, java fern, etc) or consider upgrading your lighting.

You may do fine right where you are now, though?


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