# The Doctor's 29g (56k)



## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Alright guys, I know you've all been dying of curiosity. "What's this guy been up to?" you've been thinking. Well, now you can finally see for yourselves.

It's a 29 gallon that's in pretty good condition, but not new. I got it for free from a friend, and that's how this started. Though I have still spent my fair share on this guy. So here you go:

Lighting: Catalina Aquariums 2x24W t5 HO 6500K and 10000K bulbs
Substrate: Topsoil capped with a little over a bag of Eco Complete
CO2: Later
Flora: Eleocharis parvula, Marsilea minuta, Blyxa japonica
Fauna: Undecided
Filter: Need to work on that too

So! Some pictures
































































Thanks for the hairgrass goes to *malaybiswas*, and the blyxa and marsilea are from *sieu004*. The initial planting took FOREVER. I mean hours. That was a ton of hairgrass. and the marsilea didn't go too quickly either. But, that's it for now. Look, enjoy, love, hate, comment, don't, but there you go.


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## doggyhog (Oct 7, 2009)

Looks awesome!!!! must have taken lots of time to plant that hair grass!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great job!


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## vtkid (Jan 5, 2009)

oh ya planting for a carpet is no fun. i hope it works out for you though


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Thanks, I hope it goes well too. I'm not looking forward to dealing with algae in this tank, and I'm impatient to have it grow in. I am a little worried about having 48W of t5 HO without any added CO2 though, but I'll have to handle that later. I'll try just running the lights for 5 or 6 hours to start, then gradually increasing it, to try and keep anything from getting a foothold. I was pleased when I filled it, though, that the Eco Complete kept the half of the substrate that's dirt from muddying the water much.

Unrelated, I plan on adding a black background when I get the chance.

And I need to get a filter before I can make this an actual fish tank. But funds are running low for this project at the moment.


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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

that looks good! you're off to a great start there. the only thing i am going to recommend is at least 4ml of excel daily(until you get co2, hopefully...). with that fixture that close to the tank your hairgrass is going to be covered in algae in a couple of months. i would hate to see that happen.

oh, one more thing. do you plan on dosing any ferts?


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## londonloco (Aug 25, 2005)

Tagging along. I am picking up a used 29g with wrought iron stand tomorrow night. Consider suspending your light from the ceiling, Catalina fixtures are super light. I have a 3 bulb over my 75g Rip suspended with simple a simple black chain. This way you can move the light up some if your having algae issues. 










I have a Fluval 305 available, so that's what I plan on using for a filter. Your scape looks great, what type of rocks are those?


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

That's good advice, *oldpunk78*, and I'm taking it. I stopped by the lfs today and picked up a bottle of excel, along with a cheap black background and timer for the light fixture. And to answer your other question, I do plan on fertilizing eventually, but for the time being, I'm going to try to make due with the Eco and soil. 

How much do you think the Excel will help without CO2 though? Especially in keeping algae under control.

*londonloco*, I agree that hanging the fixture would be a nice way to do it. However, as you can deduce from the mysterious reflection of me in the third picture, I'm not the one making the decisions regarding holes in ceilings and mounting anything. I'm lucky I got the go-ahead to set this up at all. My bedroom is looking more and more like an aquarium, with now three tanks, this being by far the largest.

Anyway, thanks for the kind words about the 'scape. I wanted to go with something simple, and I liked the way this looks. Which is good, because I don't see myself changing it, after that much planting and considering half the substrate is mud. But the rocks are just extras lying around from a garden wall built a little while back, boiled and all that.


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## crispy0 (Mar 17, 2009)

he recomended excell because it is liquid carbon so it supplies the CO2 for you untill you get a real co2 set up. looking good so far. that foreground must have been a pita, but i sure it will be worth it. thats a lot of hairgrass dang. good luck with the algae war i know right now i am losing thanks to a 65 watt light fixture


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

crispy0 said:


> he recomended excell because it is liquid carbon so it supplies the CO2 for you untill you get a real co2 set up. looking good so far. that foreground must have been a pita, but i sure it will be worth it. thats a lot of hairgrass dang. good luck with the algae war i know right now i am losing thanks to a 65 watt light fixture


I get that, *crispy0*, I was just wondering how well it Excel would work as an exclusive source of carbon for the plants. I know it works well in addition to DIY or pressurized CO2, but alone? Regardless, I'm leaning towards going pressurized with this one. Getting everything I need to set that up will likely have to wait until around December 25th though... But thanks for the compliments. And yeah, the hairgrass was a pita, but I can't wait for it to fill in.

But, a mini update:

I have the lights on 6 hours a day, and have been slightly overdosing Excel since I picked up a bottle. The hairgrass is doing great. Nearly every node has sent up a new leaf, and I've spotted some with runners already. It's about the same story with the marsilea minuta too, just a little slower. The blyxa seems to be having the hardest time. I haven't noticed much growth, or at least I can't tell if some of the leaves are new or not. One bunch seems to be melting a good bit. One thing that gives me some hope it that I've seen the roots of one bunch growing. I've heard that blyxa takes a little while to get established, though, so I just hope that's what's going on.

I might add a picture or two later on, but at the moment the camera is out of batteries. And I can't figure out how to turn the flash off...


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Well, I actually have three pictures for you. I'm no photography expert, though, and it shows. It's not my particular art form. Maybe my picture taking skills will improve slowly as my tank does. Anyway, here they are:

Here's some hairgrass. Look closely and you'll see some little green blurs at the bottom. Those are new leaves. And there's a runner or two in there.









And the marsilea. You can tell what's new growth, it's a little lighter than the rest. And you can tell the silt that was originally in that corner of the tank settled. Sorry for the blurry picture...









Finally, the blyxa. I was worried about it, (read last post) but after just looking at it more closely, I see that actually about four of the clumps have new little stems and bunches of leaves sent up. That was pretty exciting for me, so I took a picture. You can see the melting I was worried about to the right though. Oh, I'm sure all of you experienced aquarists have seen this before, but it was a big deal to me. Take a look again.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Well, I've been away on vacation for the last five days, so I had to trust a friend to care for my tanks. That's always at least a little scary. I wasn't sure what to expect when I got back; maybe some nice new growth, maybe a soup of algae. 

It was a little bit of both. There's a good bit of brown algae, and lots of gunk on the surface, but everything's alive and growing. Slowly. The hairgrass still seems to be doing the best, throwing out a lot of runners and new leaves. I can't wait for it to actually fill in. The marsilea m. is making visible progress too. In five days I can see a number of new shoots. Some have multiple little leaves, and some only have one. So that's fun. The blyxa is annoying me though. Apparently I waited too long between when I recieved it to plant it, or I did something else to anger it. Every leaf that was alive when I got it is now dead. One bunch looks completely dead. But, there are still those new leaves, and they're growing bit by bit. So there's that.

I'll do my best to improve the situation, at least algae-wise, now that I'm back. The diatoms aren't hurting much, but they aren't fun to look at. I'll look into getting some ottos, after improving the filtration and circulation. Do a water change or two. Well see how it goes. And as of now, there isn't much new and pretty to take a picture of. Not too exciting, but that's it for now.


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## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

My Blyxa looked the same way until my fish ate it. Now it doesn't look like anything.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

FSM said:


> My Blyxa looked the same way until my fish ate it. Now it doesn't look like anything.


I came up with a clever way of avoiding that for the time being: I have no fish in the tank. Though that's mostly because I just managed to scrape together the money for a filter. But mine's just a bit more than nothing at the moment anyway. All that it's done in the past two weeks is get smaller. Healthier, but smaller. It's annoying me.

I think I'll pick up an eheim tomorrow or the next day. Can't go wrong with one of those. Maybe a fluval, who knows? I need some flow to help with brown algae. And then I'll have to start considering stocking. So many possibilities. But, that's for later.


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## TheCryptKeeper (Mar 9, 2008)

blyxa is a plant that doesn't react well to being replanted. it will lose alot of its leaves and look dead, but just leave it alone. it will grow back  I had some growing where I didn't even know I had some still. It was under some crypts but still growing. getting them rooted solidly is the key.


I agree with the co2 issue. GET IT! you will regret it soon enough once you have to start dealing with bba. The tank looks great though, nice scape


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

I've seen what you mean, *Torpedobarb*. My blyxa has all gradually melted and sprung back. Some bunches faster than others. I'm impatient though. Plants just don't seem to grow fast enough...

Anyway, over the last week or so, I feel like enough has happened to warrant a bit of an update:

Firstly, I finally got a filter. Rather, I finally got a filter that is appropriate for this size tank, as I had been running a little Whisper 10i on it in order to get at least a little water movement and all that. That was just upgraded to a Fluval 205. And I know Fluval gets a bad rap from time to time, but so far I like it well enough. Though it's been about a day. I put that off for quite a while, so it's nice to have it done.

Also, I got a black background, so that looks nice.

And I guess some pictures of growth (I like pictures):

I have a sneaking suspicion that this may not be marsilea minuta. A number of sprouts have more than one lobe, and it seems to be a little big for that species. I like it either way, though. Any opinions, if you can see through the blurriness?



























If anybody noticed, I split up some of the blyxa, and spread it out. I also added a bit more Eco Complete to the little mound it's on to give it some more slope towards the back.

So, I think the tank is doing well. Algae is minimal, and the diatoms are in decline. The water looks a little green in the pictures, and it does with the lights on, but it's actually brown. I checked against a white cup. I suspect it's from the mud bottom, as it's been like that since setup. I did a roughly 40% water change, and that helped a great deal. I'll do another eventually. Plants are growing slowly, and all that.

That's it! Thanks for looking.


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## seds (Jan 30, 2009)

Looking kind of cool! One might be a bit concerned that hairgrass would take over the "marselia" ... but it's all good for now.

That stuff in the front right corner will look pretty nice when it's filled in.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

I know exactly what you mean about the hairgrass encroaching, *seds*. I've actually been thinking about that for a while now, but had been too lazy to do anything about it because of the fact that no runners had yet made it across the gap. You finally motivated me to put a little plastic divider in there.

But the real update has nothing to do with the plants, which are all taking their sweet time growing.

I finally got some fishes! Last Friday, actually. It was pretty exciting. My girlfriend wanted to help pick them out, so we took a trip to the LFS, where we proceeded to spend 45-60 minutes debating which little guys would be best. Long story short, the decision was a school of harlequin rasboras. Cliche in a planted tank, maybe, but for a reason. Plus, nobody I know has any idea what they are, or is into planted tanks, or has seen them, so they'll still be new to future tank viewers. I picked up five to start out my school, with more coming. Also we found some great looking juvenile blue rams, and I couldn't resist bringing one home. They're obviously very attractive fish, and I think when the little guy grows up he'll be a nice centerpiece. He loves the grass, and is now becoming more confident in his new home, with what color he has showing more and more.

PS
I say he, but the ram is actually female.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Alright guys I made yet another fish run, and about doubled what I had. I picked up another six rasboras, and a male ram to provide the female with some companionship. They don't really seem to like each other. Everybody seem happy and healthy, but the now 11 rasboras just don't like to school. They just spread throughout the tank in a fishy cloud. Anybody have any idea why? Would maybe a few more encourage a school? Is my tank too small? To big? They would look much nicer all together...


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Alright, I took everyone's advice regarding the rasboras and did exactly that: nothing. And it seems to have helped too. They don't school constantly, but it's increasing. I also made it to the LFS again, braving the post-winter-storm roads, and got myself four otos. I love the little guys. They've been in the tank a little over four hours, and have been happily munching at my diatoms.

Anyway, I got out my crummy camera and took some pictures. At the very least I'll track the tanks slow progress, and let me compare after CO2 is added (Soon!). No fishy ones, though, as the pictures came out all blurry and would have just been annoying to post. Here they are:

The marsilea is a little diatom covered, makes it look less impressive. But it has been making progress. And, you can see oto tracks on the rock.









Growing a little.









Thickening up some.









FTS. The water isn't as green-looking as the blurry picture makes it seem. And it's brown, when you look at it against a white background. Water changes have been slowly clearing it up.









So that's that. Not real exciting pictorial progress, but I've been pleased. Nothing has died, and growth has been at least noticeable. Comments, suggestions, criticisms, are of course welcome.


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## rengb6 (Nov 11, 2009)

The plants have definitely grown, that hair grass really took off and without CO2 I think thats fantastic! I love how you are using different plants in each corner. Do you have any other updates? I'd like to see what the tank looks like with the corners filled in more.


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## lisa_v (Nov 4, 2005)

Looks cool!! I like the hairgrass and the hill in the left back corner. I have 5 Harlequin Rasboras in my 29 as well.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Thanks a lot *rengb6*. I thought it was a cool idea too, and I'm a fan of grasslike plants. Plus marsilea is fun. In my mind the blyxa would have grown quite a bit more, and formed a bit of a bush on that hill up five or so inches. As it is only about three of the stems are doing well an growing steadily. I'd post a picture if it was worth it, but the hairgrass is the only thing making speedy progress. I'd like to see it with the corners filled in more too.

As for updates...I'm going pressurized! I finally got all my stuff in and need to get it set up. I decided on the GLA CO2 regulator (from GLA, obviously), and it's fantastic. Their customer service is top notch as well, as I found out due to a little mishap the day the regulator arrived. And by the way, I went for a 20 pound cylinder. That's right, 20 pounds. It should last me a good while. I just need to get it filled. It's all very exciting.

And you have great taste, *lisa_v*. Hairgrass makes an amazing foreground, in my opinion. I'm a fan of the way it sways a bit in the current. Eventually I'd like to try an Iwagumi 'scape with hairgrass only, but that's neither here nor there. Also, harlequins are certainly nice little fish. The GBR's I've got in there too are doing well, but the bulbs I have don't do much for there color, which is unfortunate.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Picture update:

Sorry for the blurry pics, I lost my camera, which is itself less than fantastic, so these are all taken with a camcorder.


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## Nskylinerb-25 (Dec 23, 2009)

looks good it also look like your diatom algae went away


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Yup, thanks *Nskylinerb-25*, after adding the four otos the diatoms were under control in about a day or two. It looks much better without the brown patches all over everything, I think. Algae hasn't really been terrible in this tank, I'm happy to say. I've got a bit growing here and there, but nothing that looks too bad.

And, it's been only a few days since the setup of my pressurized CO2 system, which is awesome, by the way, and the plants all seem to be responding really well. The marsilea's growth has picked up and some new leaves are being sent up. The hairgrass is doing well, though nothing new. The blyxa seems to be growing better, and looking nicer, too, but the ends of the leaves kind of get brownish and ratty looking. They kind of curl down at the end a good bit too. I'm assuming it's a deficiency of some kind, though I can't tell what. I've got my dry ferts from GLA to tinker with, but if someone could point me in the right direction?


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## Nskylinerb-25 (Dec 23, 2009)

take a look at this link this might help you out a bit
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/fertilizers-water-parameters/98529-plant-deficiency-diagram.html


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Thanks for the link!! I am going to use that in my presentation on a planted tank for a college course I have.


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## mumushummus (Sep 16, 2009)

from Dracula's country we salute the doctor!
I love that tank!


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

That is a useful link, *Nskylinerb-25*, thanks. I knew I had seem something like that around before. Based on that, and charts I've seen like it, my best guess would be maybe a lack of phosphate? Regardless, I've started EI dosing since Monday, and things seem to be doing better. The blyxa looks a little better, and growth everywhere has relatively exploded. As much as the growth of plants in four days can be considered "an explosion".

Hehe, thanks *mumushummus*, I always appreciate compliments. I really think that the corners filling in will be necessary to fulfill the picture I had in my mind when I started this tank though. If you guys could all see the picture in my head right now, you'd be blown away. Or at least you'd agree it's nice looking.

PS: Marsilea loves CO2. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, because it would be a lie. Sure, it can get by without it, but since adding it, the stuff has finally started to make real progress, after forever of me seeming to just be slowly killing it.

PSS: Since adding CO2, as well as my plants enjoying the change, my water clouded up. Its a white milkiness. I checked against a white cup too, just to make sure it's not algae. Is there anything this could be besides a bacterial bloom? Anything I can do about it? Does it normally happen after adding pressurized CO2? It's kinda annoying after finally getting some purigen and clearing up my water from the brown muck I get some other color muck.

Thanks!


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Alright, I'm an idiot. I don't mean to be, but I just cannot help it.

I was being good, and doing my first weekly 50% water change, just like EI tells me too. I successfully got the water drained out of my window, easy peasy lemon squeezy. I had replaced half of it already, too, when the bucket I was lifting up to the rim slipped, spilling a few gallons of water all over the floor of my room. Everything got splashed, I jumped to unplug all of my expensive electrical equipment (which fortunately all survived without an issue) and then I smacked myself. It took forever to mop up and wipe off, and I needed to vent. The only fatality was a power strip that got wet enough so as I no longer trust it, but it wasn't a fun experience. I shudder to think of how much worse it could have been - water and electrical gadgetry plugged into walls and power strips don't mix.

Moral: be careful.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Ok, since beginning CO2 and EI dosing, the plants seem to be doing much better. I had managed to kill off most of my original blyxa plants, but the guys that soldiered through now look like they're getting much healthier. The newer leaves are turning pretty red, too, which I guess they didn't do until now due to a lack of iron. Same deal with the marsilea. I wasn't quite able to kill that species, but it never did well until the recent additions.

Anyway, all that's great, but since adding CO2, my water has been hazy. It's really starting to annoy me, because I finally had gotten it nice and clear, as the previous pictures show. I'd greatly appreciate suggestions on beating this, because waiting it out hasn't helped much.

Here's a picture of what I'm talking about:










I'm thinking it's green water now, which is a bummer. It's not real dark though, when I checked against a white cup, but that's what it looks like more than anything else. Take a look:










So, what do I do? I didn't know green water could be brought on by CO2 addition. I kind of thought that was supposed to help with algae. Any help or input would be great. It's bothering me a good bit.

Also, as an aside, I found a bunch of moss and what looks like pellia growing under my hairgrass on the substrate. I picked most of what I could out, and since it was attached to bits of Eco-Complete, I sat them on the two rocks to see if it will look nice growing on there. Well see how I feel about it in a month or so.










Long post, I know. Thanks for looking.


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## nickcamp12345 (May 2, 2009)

the last picture you posted makes it look like you do in fact have green water. try a blackout and a big water change afterwards.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Blackouts can cause you to loose some of your plants. If plants are still growing doing water changes weekly is best.

You obviously have created an imbalance. Most suggest increasing Co2 when there is algae. There has to be a balance between co2 and your lights. All was okay before you injected Co2 thus logically I would decrease the ferts and Co2. 

What lights do you have over your tank?

TOM BARR
EI DOSING FOR 30 G
+/- ¼ tsp KN03 3x Wk
(Potassium nitrate) 
+/- 1/16 tsp KH2P04 3x Wk
(Potas. phosphate)
+/- 1/16 tsp (5ml) 3x Wk
Trace Elements 
50% weekly water change

REX GRIG
1/4 tsp KNO3 3x Wk
1/16th tsp KH2PO4 3x Wk
1/8th tsp K2SO4 3x Wk 
5 ml CSM+B 3x Wk 
( no KH2PO4) 
1-2 ml Iron 3x Wk
( no KH2PO4)

Comparing the 2 I wonder if dosing with 1/2 tsp CSM+B would help your tank.

Tom Barr:
EI nor any method was ever meant to be rigid. Tweak the method/s to suit your tank.

Watching the plants carefully for responses and doing water changes if something does not seem right and checking CO2 etc, clean filters etc. Never wait. Keep on top of things.


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

I like the simple look to it. How tall is you Hair grass? I also have a 29 gallon and im pretty much gonna go with your stocking but i might cut the ottos down to 3 and increase the shoal to 15. GL on the green water


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## londonloco (Aug 25, 2005)

You're substrate is top soil capped Eco, yes? When you do water changes, you are using buckets. You might have stirred up the substrate enough to leach some decaying matter from the soil into your tank, hence the green water. This might have caused the imbalance. A UV would def help clear it up. Just a thought.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Thanks for all the advice *nickcamp12345*, *Hilde*, and *londonloco*. I'm proud to say, too, that I've about kicked the butt of my green water. I did a bunch of tweaking. I slowly upped my CO2, and got another timer so that it kicks on a half hour before the lights, and off a half our earlier, I dosed a tad more CSM+B, and I added a two hour break in the middle of my photoperiod. And I continued EI dosing and once a week 50% water changes. It looks much nicer now. I'll get a picture up later tonight to prove it.

And thanks, *VadimShevchuk*. A simple, grassy look was what I was going for. I've had a hard time with the blyxa though, but it's starting to turn around. And actually, a while back I upped my rasbora count to 17, and it's looking good. Also, the harigrass grows to maybe 3 or four inches, but I've been trimming it down every now and again to get it to grow in thick. It's the only plant that's been doing consistently well for me.

Another update, I set up a Hydor Koralia nano powerhead in this tank, to try and get a bit more flow, as I was seeing algae in the hairgrass where I assume flow is cut down. Does anyone have any advice on keeping nasty stuff from accumulating in a thick hairgrass carpet? Can it be done, or do I just have to keep everything else happy and let it be?


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

I said I would, and then I did:



















New growth looks good on the blyxa, and so I'm optimistic. I bought some more recently, now that I'm keeping it alive, but the recent storm held it up and it died. I'm thinking about trying again, but we'll see. If anyone has any they wouldn't mind RAOK-ing or getting rid of to a good home for cheap, certainly let me know. I think it will look so much better once the corners fill in. If they ever do...


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Ok, this tank has been chugging along, and I think it's been long enough to warrant an update. So firstly, the most important part of an update, the pictures:





































As you can see, most everything seems to be going pretty well, which is nice. It's nice to have a tank that I enjoy looking at, and isn't filled with algae or water the shade of pea or some other variety of soup.

That being said, the tank isn't entirely algae free. For some reason, a tiny bit of BBA has decided to pop up in the grass to the immediate left of the marsilea. It's only present in about four square inches, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. At least it's not unsightly from more than a foot away from the tank.

Also, the rams died. I'm not sure why, everything else seems quite healthy. From what I can gather, they just do that sometimes, since they're so finicky. Oh well. But now I need to consider a new centerpiece fish.

Lastly, you can see from the pictures that I've added a bit of "petite" on the far right, am beginning to attempt growing fissidens on that right rock, and am well on my way to having christmas moss cover the left rock. I would prefer if the two rocks had the same kind of moss, and I would prefer if that moss was fissidens, but anyone who has tried to remove christmas moss from a rock while leaving it in the tank could tell you that that's a pipe dream. So, I may eventually remove the fissidens and replace it with more christmas moss, but for now everything is fine.

So there you go! A long post with all my thoughts and tank goings on. Thanks for reading, and any and all comments are of course welcome.


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## ericmu22 (Apr 18, 2010)

This is the closest think to an aquarium soap opera ive ever experienced... Im envious of your tank by the way. Oh...anyone know where i can get mounting legs like that for my 30 in coralife aqualight.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Thanks,* ericmu22*. It's nice to know I have an aquarium worth being envious of. That certainly wasn't the case just a little while ago. And ha, yeah, it's sure had its ups and downs. But in regards to the legs, I got mine from Catalina Aquarium here. But my fixture is Catalina, too, so I couldn't say either way if it would work on a Coralife.

Anywho, does anybody know if apistos would work in this setup? I'm asking in complete ignorance, but I've always thought that they look pretty cool.

I'm open to all suggestions for some nice fish though. I could try GBR's again, but I do prefer not killing things. I've heard Bolivian Rams are less sensitive, but my girlfriend doesn't like them as much. Let me know what you've got, this is your chance to live vicariously through me.


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

Wow that Hg Grew like a weed. Im trying to grow DHG with 65w pc and DIY Co2 and its not growing to hot for me. Looks good =D Is that regular HG or DHG?


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## pianofish (Jan 31, 2010)

Go for some cactouidis or however you spell it, I'm pretty sure though that apistos like more hiding spots for breeding purposes. Or if apistos aren't your cup of tea how I think a pair of black veil angels would contrast really nice with all of your green.
Your hair grass carpet looks great btw.
Keep it up,
Your pal,


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Great HG carpet!

Is this tank actually in a doctor's office?


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## bigboij (Jul 24, 2009)

looking good only thing i could think to add is a barrier of some sort between the DHG and any other plants you want to keep separate. I love dhg but once it gets ahold it will grow right on top of anything.

i think you would need to use a boarder like you have between a lawn and a flower bed type of setup

nm reread the whole thread you got it covered


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

VadimShevchuk said:


> Wow that Hg Grew like a weed. Im trying to grow DHG with 65w pc and DIY Co2 and its not growing to hot for me. Looks good =D Is that regular HG or DHG?


The hairgrass is of the dwarf variety. It was sold to me as _Eleocharis parvula_, and I have no reason to doubt that that's what it is. The plant has certainly done well for me.



pianofish said:


> Go for some cactouidis or however you spell it, I'm pretty sure though that apistos like more hiding spots for breeding purposes. Or if apistos aren't your cup of tea how I think a pair of black veil angels would contrast really nice with all of your green.
> Your hair grass carpet looks great btw.
> Keep it up,
> Your pal,


After a quick google search I can agree that cacatuoides do look awesome. It seems they prefer slightly acidic water, though, and mine has a pH of about 7.2. I'm not worried about breeding whatever I get, regardless.

And angels are pretty nice too. How would a pair do size-wise in the tank, considering the other fish in there and all?



ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Great HG carpet!
> 
> Is this tank actually in a doctor's office?


Thanks!

And for all you know, it is indeed in an admittedly messy, bedroom themed doctor's office.



bigboij said:


> looking good only thing i could think to add is a barrier of some sort between the DHG and any other plants you want to keep separate. I love dhg but once it gets ahold it will grow right on top of anything.
> 
> i think you would need to use a boarder like you have between a lawn and a flower bed type of setup
> 
> nm reread the whole thread you got it covered


Thanks. And yeah, the grass has been trying its best to infest everything. I just ripped a bit out around the blyxa a little while back. I need to put a border down there too, but I am just so very lazy. Blyxa is taller anyway.

Lastly, what about peacock gudgeons? Or however you spell it. They look kinda cool, and from the little I've read they seem like they'd work out alright. I'm considering my options, and it will likely be a little while yet before I make a decision.


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## pianofish (Jan 31, 2010)

Heres a good website for all you need to know about Apisto cockatoos, http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Apistogramma_cacatuoides.html
From what I can tell, your water is fine, lack of hiding spots would be the major setback if any. I don't suppose your ever gonna want to add any taller stems or dw in a back corner or something?


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Thanks a lot *pianofish*, that website helped out. It does seem like my water would be fine, but hiding spots are obviously at a minimum. I stayed away from stems in this tank, because I'm lazy and knew I would grow to resent trimming and tank maintenance. I picked the plants I did in part to do my best to avoid that. Driftwood is a possibility, though, but it would be a ways in the future. I want to see things grown in before I do much to alter the hardscape. It may just come down to heading to the LFS and seeing which appropriate fish they have in stock and look best. We'll see.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Well alright everyone, it's been a couple of weeks since I've said anything about this tank. Unfortunately, I haven't taken any new pictures. That's not so bad, though, as not much has changed. It still looks pretty good, and the plants have grown in a bit more. You're just going to have to take my word for it for now.

But, I finally made a new fish purchase. It was completely spontaneous, too, which doesn't always work out to being a great thing. I didn't even know this fish existed until I saw it at my LFS, but I am now a proud owner of a male and female pair of orange lyretail killifish (_Aphyosemion Australe_)

Here's a picture of what they look like:










It's not my picture, but the male I've got looks just like it. The female is more boring.

Pretty exciting.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

OK fine, here are some more pictures:




























So obviously things have grown a bit, which is to be expected. The biggest plan for the future of this tank is to replace the corner of Marsilea with UG. I got a bit in today, and did a terrible job planting it. Really, I had a terrible time of it. But hopefully the plant will overcome that and spread. If not, I'll stick with MM, and I'm floating the bit I tore out until I see some progress.

So that's it. Let me know what you think.


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

im also trying to grow ug in my 37 , but emersed and then ill flood. The grass grew in niceley. Great job!


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## Stemwinder (May 29, 2010)

That orange killifish is awesome. It's going to look great flying above your green grass.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Yeah, UG has to be one of my favorite plants, *VadimShevchuk*. I really hope it starts to grow in this tank. I also think that it would be cool to have three types of grassy looking plants. Sort of a meadow theme. We'll see how it goes. And thanks for the complements, they're always appreciated.

*Stemwinder*, the killifish really does look great in this tank. The bright orange stands out among the green and black. Even the female, who is more yellow, looks great.

I really do enjoy my tank. But I'm thinking of adding something to it. It seems a little plain at the moment. Driftwood somewhere? A few stones? Some other plant? If anybody has suggestions let me hear them.


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

if Ug will grow for you, i think you will replace the Hg carpet with UG. GL growing it, is your water soft? My tap water has a 7.5 ph, hopefully with pressurizewd co2, it will knock it down.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

I've actually been thinking about replacing the DHG with UG, but that's a ways away. I'll probably keep them both, since I like all the contrast, and the gradual shift from tall to short of blyxa, Hg, and then the UG. We'll see though. I think I'm kinda leaning towards adding some wood for my change. Maybe branching pieces coming up from the blyxa? I dunno.

In other news, I got swept up in the recent sig pic boom, and decided to make my own. I downloaded gimp, and after a couple hours of messing around on it and learning some stuff, I came up with something I think is kinda decent. I'm proud of myself. Have a look for yourself.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Dr. Acula said:


> I really do enjoy my tank. But I'm thinking of adding something to it. It seems a little plain at the moment. Driftwood somewhere? A few stones? Some other plant? If anybody has suggestions let me hear them.


How about starrgrass? You never know how it will grow. For some it grows outward as a vine. For me it grows upward as a bush.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Dr. Acula said:


> I downloaded gimp, and after a couple hours of messing around on it and learning some stuff, I came up with something I think is kinda decent. I'm proud of myself. Have a look for yourself.


Got a link to it?


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Stargrass sounds interesting, *Hilde*. Something growing up would probably look nice too, in this relatively tall tank. The only reason I would be hesitant is that it seems like a plant that I would have to trim from time to time. I'm kinda trying to avoid that in here.

Also, as for the gimp creation, I was just talking about the banner thing I just put in my sig for this journal. This little guy:


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Dr. Acula said:


> Stargrass sounds interesting, *Hilde*. hesitant is that it seems like a plant that I would have to trim from time to time. I'm kinda trying to avoid that in here.


Then Crypt v Balance would work.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Hmm, yeah, a crypt might work. Do you have a picture of that particular plant, though? I googled it, but the only thing that that really turned up was your own journal, and I wasn't sure exactly which plant was the one in question. And thanks for the help, *Hilde*.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

Dr. Acula said:


> Hmm, yeah, a crypt might work.


Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

that grass looks great!


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## Kyclops (Jun 14, 2010)

looks good, love it!


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## OhNo123 (Jan 8, 2008)

I want an update please.


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Wow, I kind of forgot about this thread. 

Thanks a lot *monkeyruler90* and *Kyclops*. It's obviously the grass that makes this tank, which is what I was going for. And as a bonus, the stuff is pretty easy to grow. It's nice to know that other people think it looks nice too. I think it's harder to get a good look in a higher tech tank that doesn't require trimming. Might just be me, though.

*OhNo123*: Here you are. :icon_cool

I think I forgot probably because this tank doesn't really change much, on account of I haven't really done much to change it.

I tried to switch out the marsilea with UG a little while back, but the UG just slowly died on me, so that was a bummer, and now half of the front right corner is bare. Then I left for a little over a week, and didn't have anybody dose or do water changes, which led to an algae bloom I'm still trying to fight back. BBA is ridiculously stubborn. The person I had feed my fishes overfed my fishes too, but I can't really blame him. He's not a fish person and he was nice enough to make it over to my house and do my chore. So yeah, the tank has a bit of algae and a bald patch. The only real plus is that the blyxa has slowly been growing up and out, and does look pretty nice. The problem is the stalks in the back are shorter than the ones in the front of the little blyxa bush, so despite the fact that it's on a hill, the whole depth illusion thing I was going for isn't quite there yet. Hopefully it'll get there.

Long winded update without pictures, I'm afraid. I'll try and do a bit to clean up the tank and snap a few pics soon for everyone. I've just been pretty busy getting ready for college in a week...


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Alright, I think it's about time I wrap up my loose threads. Like I said, I've been away at college for a while now, and obviously I had to leave this tank at home. My little sister was taking care of it for me, but she doesn't really know anything about it, and apparently there's been an algae outbreak, but it seems to be going away now that she's following my instructions, and yada yada yada. The point is, I've decided that this tank is finished, and I plan to break it down in a month or so when I'm home for thanksgiving break.

It turned out pretty well for my first real, serious attempt at a full out planted tank, but there's definitely room for improvement. And I will improve on it next time. I'll almost definitely get something good going in there next summer. I've got tons of ideas. But that's a long ways away...

So, just bidding a farewell to this tank setup, and giving this thread some closure. Oh, and if the algae isn't bad when I get home, I'll definitely be RAOK'ing all the plants. So there may be a ton of grass going out around then.

Thanks for all the encouragement and compliments paid to this one, guys!


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## TobasB (Aug 11, 2010)

The grass carpet is amazing!


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## .Mko. (Sep 23, 2010)

holy nice grass O_O
I hope to have similar results with the grass that i have growing in my tank.
I love how healthy it looks =) Good job!


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