# xenxes's Aqueon 20L - "Bamboo Jungle" + Otos/CPDs/Pygm, PFR/CBS/OEBT/Cardinal/BluBees



## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Subbing to each of your tanks. Shoulda' let me know you started another one .

Did you get all that bamboo from Petco? I like the bamboo forest look ! Wonder how well that bamboo will grow for you. Any idea how to propagate it?

That red moss looks great too, hope it doesn't fall off the frogbit.

As for the bamboo shrine, you could use some fishing line? Those are nearly invisible!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That is fun!

You might be aware of this, but that "bamboo" is not really bamboo. It is _Draceana sanderiana_, also known as lucky bamboo. 

Have you considered a black background? I think it will improve with a black background.


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## williamsonaaron (Jan 27, 2010)

+1 for fishing line. Go to a fishing store and by fluorocarbon freshwater tippet line. It will truly be invisible I use to catch trout in local rivers(trust me they never see it).


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> Subbing to each of your tanks. Shoulda' let me know you started another one .
> 
> Did you get all that bamboo from Petco? I like the bamboo forest look ! Wonder how well that bamboo will grow for you. Any idea how to propagate it?
> 
> ...





williamsonaaron said:


> +1 for fishing line. Go to a fishing store and by fluorocarbon freshwater tippet line. It will truly be invisible I use to catch trout in local rivers(trust me they never see it).


TY, why didn't I think of fishing line  just ordered some. Red club moss would look amazing in water, but it'll probably suffocate. I'm experimenting with a little bit on the bottom though, maybe an air stone? 

Got the bamboo from Walmart (Petco was expensive and short), one of those circle bunched ones for $16 (about 20+ stems). I took it apart and only kept the inner circle together. Planted other stems separately. Didn't start this tank until a week ago. Not sure about propagation (I think you just cut long top stalks off), I had 3 thicker stems from years ago and planted those also.



hydrophyte said:


> That is fun!
> 
> You might be aware of this, but that "bamboo" is not really bamboo. It is _Draceana sanderiana_, also known as lucky bamboo.
> 
> Have you considered a black background? I think it will improve with a black background.


Right lucky bamboo (name slipped my mind), they will last a few months-a year if fully submersed because they're hardy, but I have all the leaves out of the water. 

Would like to add a black background (the green/black contrast would be great), what do people use? Just black wallpaper? What about adhesive? Tape the sides?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> TY, why didn't I think of fishing line  just ordered some.


Wait... you could've just bought fishing line at Walmart instead of ordering some online lol 



xenxes said:


> Got the bamboo from Walmart (Petco was expensive and short), one of those circle bunched ones for $16 (about 20+ stems). I took it apart and only kept the inner circle together. Planted other stems separately. Didn't start this tank until a week ago. Not sure about propagation (I think you just cut long top stalks off), I had 3 thicker stems from years ago and planted those also.


Your Walmart carries bamboo? Was it in the fish section?



xenxes said:


> Would like to add a black background (the green/black contrast would be great), what do people use? Just black wallpaper? What about adhesive? Tape the sides?


You can easily paint the back glass of the tank black and the color will carry over to the front. You can even paint it while the tank is running, just be really careful and make sure the place is well ventilated.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol I bought some contact paper instead, bad experience with paint.

Walmart garden section (has to be a Walmart Supercenter). They also have the cheapest planters anywhere I've seen.


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## .Mko. (Sep 23, 2010)

Loving the bamboo effect great idea!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

The smaller Oto kicked the bucket this morning  I noticed it flipping upside down @ the surface last night, moved it to a quarantine tank w/ some stress coat, didn't help. Its buldgy little stomach turned a yellow-ish hue (was white).

Had a nitrite spike yesterday (7.2pH/0 Ammonia/2ppm Nitrite/20ppm Nitrate). I did a 10% water change yesterday and a 25% today, added some more Nutrafin Cycle. I don't know what caused it, perhaps I left the piece of ketapang (almond) leaf rotting @ the bottom too long?

Any idea what caused the Oto to die, is it the nitrite? The other fish and inverts are all fine.

Some new pics (Day +1):









Did some more trimming, water cleared up nicely









Started growing a moss wall for my 9g









The evil ghost shrimp from my Spec, couldn't bring myself to flush it









RIP  of course it had to be my favorite fish


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I doubt it's the IAL cause you can leave those for weeks without any issues. People with shrimp tanks leave them until they turn into skeletons.

And I heard otto's are super sensitive so it's very possible the nitrate spike caused it to die. I wouldn't go overboard on the nutrafin cycle though. Not sure how well that actually works.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Hrmm I just added recommended dosage. It works the same way as getting substrate from an established tank does. Still takes about a week to cycle (much faster than without though). I waited for the spike to go up then goto 0 before introducing fish. I guess I put in too much fish at once. 3 blue platys one day, then 3 pandas the next, and 2 otos after that. Going to hold off on replacing the oto until it stabilizes. 

Picked up 3 small ebony rock pieces for $5 (ripoff lol) earlier today and threw them in the tank. I saw maybe 2 RCS while rescaping, some might have gotten eaten off. It's okay, some actually started breeding in my 1/2 gal 

Pics (Day +2)









added some rocks, think I muddied the waters again just after it cleared 









left side, angled for hiding









right side









rcs hiding









feeding on somewhatshock's veggie stick, even the betta nibbles on it









evil "ghost" shrimp approaching 2" I believe, turning gold?


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## androo303 (Aug 29, 2010)

diwu13 said:


> You can easily paint the back glass of the tank black and the color will carry over to the front. You can even paint it while the tank is running, just be really careful and make sure the place is well ventilated.


+1 for black window spray paint...

Did it on mine and it looks snappy!! But I like the bamboo layout!:thumbsup:


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Pics (Day +3)









replaced white mesh & green ring w/ fish lines









I found a couple fish fry in the tank! Not sure what they are or where they came from. Can't catch them they swim into the substrate, hope they survive









I know it eats veggies









what manner of creature is this?









oto getting an algae-shell snack









ordered some malaysian trumpets that came in today from HK, largest one is around 2"! is that right?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> what manner of creature is this?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Haha these pictures are so cute! I wasn't sure what this was at first glance ! How come all the snails you get are covered in algae?

And do those look like MTS. So you should be good!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

All the pearl snails come preloaded with algae  I think the shell algae is hair algae though, and the oto won't eat it.

The MTS are really big, guess I'll throw the big ones into the 20g and distribute the others.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

All the snails from the LFS come laded with algae ?

Leave some small ones as well with the big ones in case they die off. I'd assume those are near the end of their lifetimes.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Removed blue platys + swordtail, took them back to the LFS, just didn't fit with the theme.

Have the female betta in a quarantine container, she's pretty aggressive, might have to get a separate tank for her, lol 

Pic (Day +4)









Added the black bg, will look better when I remove the moss wall... but the sticky side of the contact paper isn't really "black," it's more of a patterned look. Ohwell.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Looks eerie with the uneven lighting . This is probably where Red Riding Hood met the Wolf


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I thought about getting a long light but I kinda like the day/night look (the pic was taken at night). I have lower light plants on the right side. The window area gets maybe 8 hours of indirect and 2 hours of direct light each day. The fish also love to hang out in the darker section.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I also like the light/dark difference . I feel like you should make the dark area floor covered in some moss. Make it look even more eerie! And maybe add a path in the light area ?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol a path would be neat, there's once underneath the IAL from the front going to the bamboo-shrine. Added an airpump & airstone on the right side to help move the water.

Pics look better w/o flash I think (Day +5):









Night









Day

I do have a bit of moss on the right side too, I should move more to the foreground. Those Hydocotyle Leucocephyala get really big and climb and block everything.









Panda sleeping on a draecaena leaf









Sleeping panda fry









Exploring


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Night looks WAYYYY better ! I still want the right side to look more eerie! Needs like mist or something haha.

Aw.. sleeping fishys! Cute fry as well. Not like my tadpole swarm.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol, *smoosh* your tadpoles and use as shrimp food :tongue:


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I'd try but those are darn fast! At least their decaying little bodies will fertilize my moss haha.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Got 2 more "golden" otos today. The single is doing much better with a school.

Counted around 20 panda platy fry that are all coming out of the gravel and becoming more active. I thought there was only 3-4. If they all mature it's going to really overload my tank.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Aw... ! Good parenting skills haha. Wait until they become a bit larger, then you can start selling them off!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

We'll see, they could still all die off tomorrow :/









Not sure if the otos are eating the zucchini or just resting on it, they love the Topfin Feeder blocks, but not much else. I wish I had more algae.









More panda platy babies popped out: "[f]irst broods are small of about ten offspring. Brood size increases in numbers with each successive brood and to number up to seventy-five to eighty per brood as the female grows larger... Females kept alone, after being bred once, will continue to have successive broods of offspring without having to mate again." Awesome, panda farm! :O









Finally found a RCS, the ones I introduced on day 1 when I had the female betta in the tank are still hiding. The 6 I threw in the other day roam around.









I made a make-shift veggie clip, it's gigantic. The white thing on the IAL is a 3-day feeder block from Petsmart, anyone have any experience with them? White chalk can't be that healthy, and the copper proteinate might mess with the shrimp... but it's an easy and constant food supply


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Make sure there's no metals in that clip! You might be better off just resting a fork on the veggie.

Um... I know the 3-day food supplies aren't great for shrimp. And as you said I expect it can't be too good for ottos as they prefer primarily veggie matter like shrimp. I wouldn't feed that more than once a week.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

The large oto disappeared today 

Woke up and found my cat uprooted half of the dracaena and chewed some branches off, including the bundle. Cursed a lot and replanted, noticed the oto was missing. Searched all around the tank, under the IAL and under the filter. Thought I buried it under the circle, uprooted, searched, nothing. Did a 50% wc but still back to muddy waters for a while. Checked the area around the tank, under the couch, no fish. 

I doubt the cat could catch a bottom dwelling fish and he hates water. Nothing in the tank is big enough to eat the oto (even if dead). Puzzled.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Grrr, he got stuck behind the mesh wall. Got in and couldn't get out. Alive but still very thin.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> The large oto disappeared today
> 
> Woke up and found my cat uprooted half of the dracaena and chewed some branches off, including the bundle. Cursed a lot and replanted, noticed the oto was missing. Searched all around the tank, under the IAL and under the filter. Thought I buried it under the circle, uprooted, searched, nothing. Did a 50% wc but still back to muddy waters for a while. Checked the area around the tank, under the couch, no fish.
> 
> I doubt the cat could catch a bottom dwelling fish and he hates water. Nothing in the tank is big enough to eat the oto (even if dead). Puzzled.


Ugh, not sure if cat saliva is bad for fish. Did you wash down all the bamboo well before replanting? Time for a lid :X



xenxes said:


> Grrr, he got stuck behind the mesh wall. Got in and couldn't get out. Alive but still very thin.


Yea fish are pretty bad about that. They have to turn around in order to swim backwards. Had the same problem, only when I found out the tetra was already dead. Shrimp can easily crawl backwards, or do their darting thing to get out.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Oto tore his tail fin on the edge of the SS mesh, and the platys are trying to nibble on it. I hope he makes it. Hopefully the mesh will be out soon, if my 9g arrives broken again I'm going to throw a fit.

Can't do a lid, the dracaena stick out. I doubt the cat will do it again, got wet, and probably bored with it. He only tore at the leaves.

The single piece java moss I left sitting in a jar outside is still a single piece  (but it's only been 2 days). I also grabbed a bunch of large river rocks and threw them in a container w/ an algae wafer and put that outside, hoping to grow some algae (otos barely touch the zucchini & cucumber). Experimenting is fun.

Think I'm going to order some more RCS, can barely see 1-2 at a time. How many can I safely have in here?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Poor little otto ! Hope it makes it!

I guess do a little fence to keep the cat out of the room?

If you do grow algae all over the glass are you gonna just put the glass into your tank for the ottos to eat?

You can easily house 200 in there and they'll still breed well. But your fishies will have a good snack.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Cats climb fences. He can jump 7 feet from the ground. Best way is to get him acclimated and bored, i.e. should have shoved his paw into the tank first day.

Planning to just throw in algae-filled rocks, and recycle them as they're eaten.

200 RCS, omg. I think I'll just get 20-40 more for the shrimp tank then slowly cull off undesirables into the 20g (or the betta tank).


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

LOL you asked me how many is safe in there. Not how many to buy . Yea I'd only buy 10-20 and then let them breed to 200


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

a little cloudy after all the havoc today, fog-like effect is kind of cool









full belly









empty belly, have a feeling he's not going to make it, remember someone saying about otos being treated with antibiotics @ LFS which removes the good bacteria in their stomachs leading to loss of appetite


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## londonloco (Aug 25, 2005)

Wow, I love this tank. The panda's are adorable. Suscribed!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

londonloco said:


> Wow, I love this tank. The panda's are adorable. Suscribed!


TY  Was being retarded yesterday and dumped all my leftover Tahitian sand into the tank, sand everywhere. 

Nitrates went from 40-80ppm to 5ppm. Plant clippings are finally rooting in and started showing new growth. Less than a week and I feel like I need to trim.

Finally removed the mesh wall. Some more pics, some turned out weird, back ground is supposed to be black:









fts









front left









back left, pic came out really weird









middle









that red club moss still looks alive underwater, wonder how long it lasts









old anubias nana from betta tank in back right with only natural light, still melting -- never buying emersed plants from petco/smart in those tubes again


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Wait.. what filter is that? And what's it rated for?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Left is the recycled one from the broken EHEIM Aquastyle 9 (53 gph), I added an Aquaclear 20 (100 gph). So I have a combined 153 gph for 7.65x turn over per hour. I only had the 53 gph before when it was cycling, which explains the nitrite spike when I added fish (and too many fish) without upgrading the filtration.

I should have bought the 30, 20 is tiny; and I wanted to go for 10x+ if I wanted to keep the fry. I'm thinking about removing the corner filter and getting some double bright lights, and a new filter... hmmm


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I just got two AC20's for my 10 gallon tanks ! They are super tiny but very powerful! I think with both the corner filter and the AC20 on your tank you should be overfiltering a bit! Unless you really need THAT much filtration (you have live plants man) you should be fine. But if you do decide to switch sell me that AC20 for cheap please !


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

You got two AC20's for a 10 gallon? That's like, 20x turnover per hour! I read 7x is fine for slightly over-stocked. Otos have low bioload too so I should be okay  

Got it for $18 on Amazon btw (price tracker shows $18 as lowest for AC20, $20 for AC30!), Petco is selling for $27 for the 20. 

Using the Edge Prefilter on it (this Petco also had for $3). Fits perfectly.

Just got back from the local Petco and they didn't have any old Edge I's for $27  Really envious of those who found it on clearance.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

No haha. I got two AC20's for two 10g . I'll be trying to trim the AC foam and using that as a prefilter to see how it goes. Amazon used to have a pack of the 3 Fluval prefilters for $3.99 shipped, but I guess that got sold out


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Remember that large ghost shrimp that kept tearing my male betta's fins? I finally murdered it.

There's plenty of food in the 20g but it insisted on live feed. Was watching earlier and it attacked a fry, then a cherry, and killed the cherry.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

So how'd you murder it? Hot water? Toilet?

That's why I hate ghost shrimp. They attacked and ate my RCS at one point too


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I lied, haven't murdered the shrimp yet. Put it with my female betta (who ate the other ghost shrimp) and waiting for her to do my dirty work.









added more moss.. have this urge to strip everything and just do a bed of moss, I think I'll fill the front-right with moss if I have leftovers









here's that buddha statute I got (it's not metal)









rock bridge on right side









cherries finally coming out to play now that all the predators are gone, still juvie sized but growing each day


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Haha that budda was a lot smaller than what I imagined. When you say "predators are gone" what do you mean? The panda's are still in there ?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Didn't want anything prominent, actually feel it's a little big. I wanted a chipped/broken buddha head to put on its side but this'll do. The pandas never mess with the shrimp, they're lazy and skim the surface for food, they eat a lot of dead frogbits and I throw in a pinch of flakes every other day or so.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Yea, I would've liked a big broken budda ! Interesting that the panda's don't do anything


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

They remind me of lazy cows, will only eat what's inanimate or gets near their mouths. Haven't seen them chase anything. But maybe they're all pregnant, I'm seeing more and more fry. 

One thing they do vigorously is wipe their poo on plant leaves, i.e. you can see a looongg trail of poo that won't come off, and they would repeatedly sprint back and forth swimming and angling horizontally until they rub it off. Funny but gross. 

Otos aren't really working out for me, feeding is difficult, and the large one finally kicked the bucket despite treatment. I've been monitoring water conditions daily, I think I got a bad stock the first time (both have died to bacteria infections, one in the stomach, one with visible fin rot). I'm going to hold off on getting fish until my QT is setup.

Might eventually get 3 pygmy cories instead, thoughts?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Pygmy cories are really cute. They're hyper little guys though and will scare the shrimp hands down. They look nice though !

Sucks about the ottos though. If you do decide to get more ottos get some from Rachael or someone here who breeds them at their house. Those will be infection free and probably much stronger.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Yeah I don't know, the 2 I just got are very healthy, ate until they were fat and kept eating. Rachael does have some nice stuff, I'll probably do a bulk order when I get the shrimp tank cycled. 









Nothing new, just trimmed away the back again and planted the trimmings, will have about 10+ stems of Ludwigia Arcuata on the back now, and they do turn very red in this tank without CO2 or fert.









Some fry in the back, can't take a good pic of them. I need a macro lens 









Two pearl snails, they got HUGE! Otos won't touch the zucchini but they ate half of it in an hour. That AC20 is visible with flash.









Decent sized pond snail, it was just a tiny spec of dust last week!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Two pearl snails, they got HUGE! Otos won't touch the zucchini but they ate half of it in an hour. That AC20 is visible with flash.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Haha, I thought that was a really messed up piece of bamboo before I read the picture caption :angel: Are you feeding everyday?

And ew.. pond snails. I'm currently fighting pond snails in my yellow shrimp tank, and mini ramshorns in my RCS tank. I'm collecting the mini ramshorns to attempt and sell. They are very rare it seems, have ~35 so far and counting...


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I don't mind the pond snails, there's only a couple and they help clear the dead plant matter 

I got 8 bamboo charcoal tubes in the mail, honestly not sure what I'm going to use them for, maybe put them under the moss carpet? Did yours help the shrimp in any way?

I'm thinking about taking the carbon bag out of my AC20, it does remove nutrients for the plants... I bought some Seachem Purigen, which only removes organic trace elements (I think...so ferts should be ok), hoping it would clear up the water a little more. Any advice on what media to use? Right now I have foam + large carbon + tiny purigen bag + biomedia, lol. The water is still white-cloudy, I think it might be that 3-day feeder I left in there last week...

Oh yeah, hour later:









Lost so much algae on the front of the shells :/


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> I got 8 bamboo charcoal tubes in the mail, honestly not sure what I'm going to use them for, maybe put them under the moss carpet? Did yours help the shrimp in any way?
> 
> I'm thinking about taking the carbon bag out of my AC20, it does remove nutrients for the plants... I bought some Seachem Purigen, which only removes organic trace elements (I think...so ferts should be ok), hoping it would clear up the water a little more. Any advice on what media to use? Right now I have foam + large carbon + tiny purigen bag + biomedia, lol. The water is still white-cloudy, I think it might be that 3-day feeder I left in there last week...


I don't have any of those bamboo charcoal tubes haha. If you're talking about the thing I have that looks like those... it's black PVC LOL ! I'm cheap! :bounce: But the bamboo tubes work in the same way as IAL, they allow bacteria/biofilm to grow and gives babies places to hide. Wouldn't hurt to use them, as long as you make it look good .

From what I've read, carbon does very similar things as purigen. The only drawback is that it'll leech harmful chemicals if not switched out monthly (purigen won't), can't be restored, and isn't as powerful at clearing up cloudiness. As for carbon removing ferts, it won't do that. It'll only remove organic compounds, and most ferts have inorganic trace elements. I'm currently using up all my carbon (still got enough to last like a year) but after that I'll be switching to purigen.

Hm... cloudy water for an extended period of time generally means bacterial bloom. Which is probably caused by the 3-day feeders :\


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Did a little light reading this morning and carbon can release negligible amounts of absorbed material back into the water; chemical is really only released if (1) water is very acidic and/or (2) temperature is extremely high. So I should be good leaving that carbon in there as padding in my Spec 

Can you have a bacteria bloom w/o an ammonia spike? Mine's been consistently at 0 for the past week or so. I'm doing a wc tonight and get rid of the feeder block. I'm going to replace carbon with purigen after the wc, hopefully that removes the haze.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Pics









trimmed again and added new plants



























those rocks were the algae rocks grown outside, the snails beat the otos to it again, pandas were nibbling on it too. I give up feeding the otos, they have a full belly so I'm sure they're fine. Oh and here's a panda fry 









cherries getting larger and redder


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Did a little light reading this morning and carbon can release negligible amounts of absorbed material back into the water; chemical is really only released if (1) water is very acidic and/or (2) temperature is extremely high. So I should be good leaving that carbon in there as padding in my Spec
> 
> Can you have a bacteria bloom w/o an ammonia spike? Mine's been consistently at 0 for the past week or so. I'm doing a wc tonight and get rid of the feeder block. I'm going to replace carbon with purigen after the wc, hopefully that removes the haze.


The carbon can also leech chemicals back in if you leave it in a long time. That is, the carbon gets saturated and contains more crap than the water, then it will diffuse back out . So change your carbon monthly haha.

Um... not sure about the bacterial bloom then. I know they are often associated with some type of spike. Could just be cloudy water from you moving stuff around? If everything in your tank is fine then that would be my only guess.



xenxes said:


> those rocks were the algae rocks grown outside, the snails beat the otos to it again, pandas were nibbling on it too. I give up feeding the otos, they have a full belly so I'm sure they're fine. Oh and here's a panda fry
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Is that panda fry dead :X? Or does it sleep upside down lol... 

And nice RCS


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Yeah I've been moving stuff around constantly :/ I removed that weekend feeder and it cleared up a little. That panda isn't upside down lol, that's just how they look. Note the round distended belly on the bottom. I just moved all the plants from the 9g into the 20g.


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## Msouza91 (Dec 29, 2011)

xenxes said:


> I lied, haven't murdered the shrimp yet. Put it with my female betta (who ate the other ghost shrimp) and waiting for her to do my dirty work. /QUOTE]
> 
> Hahah I also learned my lesson with my female betta and my ghost shrimps!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Sad thing is the ghost outclassed the betta :/ I'm hoping cycling it in my 9g w/o feeding will kill it, but no, it's finding pond snails to eat.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Algae on rocks method appears to be working. I just replaced the little circle and the otos came running and started cleaning off the brown diatoms. 

So far:

Hikari Algae Wafers - ignored, only the snails eat it, even the cherries won't touch it
Veggie sticks - ignored, cherries love it, snails eat it, pandas eat it
Swiss Chard - ignored
Spinach - ignored
Lettuce - ignored
Cucumber - ignored, cherries love it, snails eat it
Zucchini - otos nibbled, snails demolished it, cherries love it
Avocado - cherries love it, didn't see any interest from others
Algae Rocks - otos eat right away, pandas nibble on it, snails also end up eating the majority :/

I might end up removing a snail, they seem to outcompete the fish for food.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

*Lots of pics:*









FTS









Never took a pic from the top, here's one 









Close up









Panda fry eating @ the rock circle. The almost all black one is my favorite!

*Shrimps:*

































Those are saddles right, 4 females?

*Otos:*

















*One more:*









Ruh Roh!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

OMG haha. That last picture made me crack up.

You got even more ottos? Are they healthy and doing well for you? A otto school looks really cute haha. Now I am tempted to get some for my shrimp tanks so their poop make the plants grow more. Breed some ottos for me man 

Those panda fry are adorable haha. And I really like the top view with the bamboo shoots sticking out with the frogbit. Very pond like. 

Where do you find those nice rocks from? And your cat won't touch the tank when it's that close? What corner filter is that again? Mind linking me? It comes with the LED light on top right?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

These are much healthier, it was just the first 2 I got which came sick. Round bellies on everyone. I've been cycling algae rocks but there is still enough on the glass. They don't like zucchini much, I'm going to grab some soilent green from Rachel later.

The cat only comes to the tank when I'm doing maintenance, he gets jealous, nibbles my elbow, etc. if I'm at it too long. 

The jagged rocks are from a LFS pretty far up north, the large round river rocks I think I got at Home Depot a while back with an Amyrillis XL bulb kit.

If I get oto fry I'll send some your way  Still don't know what to do with the pandas when they grow up, not very confident in my ability to ship fish :/

I need to keep my MTS under control...


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Hope them ottos breed for you then ! How are you growing algae on rocks fast enough to cycle them?

What corner filter is that again? Mind linking me? It comes with the LED light on top right?

To keep the MTS under control pick out the larger ones. That'll stop the egg laying and cripple the population. And... stop feeding so darn much


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Nice lookin tank man. The shot with the cat is the best though.:icon_smil

Ghost shrimp are cool in their own way. I had one for about 2 years and when he finally died, he was 3 inches long and a really cool color. Good for fish tanks as they will keep the snails in check and do general food clean up, but bad with smaller fish or shrimp.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I leave them in a large flat tupperware (baking size) covered with saran wrap outside. I get algae on them within a day. To start I crushed tiny piece of Hikari algae wafer and spread it inside. Visible brown spots appear on the rock next day. 

The corner filter & light comes with the EHEIM Aquastyle series, not sure where to purchase separately. The light is very bright (1200 lumens @ 6000K; my Aerogarden is just twin 600 lumens @ 6500k). I notice the red plants in this tank are actually red, those in the spec are pure green. I'd like to eventually get those marine double brights to light the whole tank, when this one dies. 

Thx cable  I like ghost shrimp too, they're very efficient cleaners, but in addition to the snails it would keep my cherries and fry in check too :/ I may throw him in my 5g when I get it set up. 3" sounds like a macrobrachium!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> The corner filter & light comes with the EHEIM Aquastyle series, not sure where to purchase separately. The light is very bright (1200 lumens @ 6000K; my Aerogarden is just twin 600 lumens @ 6500k). I notice the red plants in this tank are actually red, those in the spec are pure green. I'd like to eventually get those marine double brights to light the whole tank, when this one dies.


Hm... I see. The light + filter together is pretty appealing haha. The reason you have 2 is because the first eheim tank came with all the glass broken right?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Yeah, that's the whole reason I started this tank, spare filter + light  and then I had to get the 2g bowl because I rescued a betta while stocking this, leading to the 5g qt because the first two otos I got were sick. Otherwise I'd really just have the 9g and the Spec.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Nice justification to your multiple tanks . Hey, you don't have to convince me haha. I have multiple tank syndrome too! Your fiancee is the one you should be convincing for more tanks haha. I feel she's gonna draw the line soon ._.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Nah I drew the line for myself when I was doing testing & w/c for 2 hours yesterday.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Whoa what? How does it take that long? Do you use a siphon hose and 5g buckets to do WC's?


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## ValMM (Feb 22, 2011)

I like your forest. It's a very neat scape. It will look more interesting as time goes on, since dracanea grow roots wherever water touches the stem.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

xenxes said:


> I leave them in a large flat tupperware (baking size) covered with saran wrap outside. I get algae on them within a day. To start I crushed tiny piece of Hikari algae wafer and spread it inside. Visible brown spots appear on the rock next day.
> 
> The corner filter & light comes with the EHEIM Aquastyle series, not sure where to purchase separately. The light is very bright (1200 lumens @ 6000K; my Aerogarden is just twin 600 lumens @ 6500k). I notice the red plants in this tank are actually red, those in the spec are pure green. I'd like to eventually get those marine double brights to light the whole tank, when this one dies.
> 
> Thx cable  I like ghost shrimp too, they're very efficient cleaners, but in addition to the snails it would keep my cherries and fry in check too :/ I may throw him in my 5g when I get it set up. 3" sounds like a macrobrachium!


He was huge and ran the tank. Not even the plecos would get in his way, and there are 3 of them. Lol.



diwu13 said:


> Nice justification to your multiple tanks . Hey, you don't have to convince me haha. I have multiple tank syndrome too! Your fiancee is the one you should be convincing for more tanks haha. I feel she's gonna draw the line soon ._.


MTS needs no justification.:hihi:



diwu13 said:


> Whoa what? How does it take that long? Do you use a siphon hose and 5g buckets to do WC's?


That's what I do. Takes me about 3 or 4 hours to do 6 tanks.:icon_neut


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> Whoa what? How does it take that long? Do you use a siphon hose and 5g buckets to do WC's?


Nope, I have one of those Aqueon water changers that won't fit on either my kitchen or bathroom sink. So I just cup water into a 2g watering can and use the fish water for my balcony garden. It doesn't take long, but adds up with multiple tanks. Putting water back is the hard part. I really wish I could unscrew one of these fancy faucets to attach the water changer.



ValMM said:


> I like your forest. It's a very neat scape. It will look more interesting as time goes on, since dracanea grow roots wherever water touches the stem.


TY! I noticed a few already, been snipping the unsightly roots


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Could a dead panda fry be causing my water to turn hazy? Tested ammonia, still at 0. Anyway I removed the corpse (was stuck behind the corner filter) and fed it to the ghost shrimp. Gobbled it up in about a minute.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Nope, I have one of those Aqueon water changers that won't fit on either my kitchen or bathroom sink. So I just cup water into a 2g watering can and use the fish water for my balcony garden. It doesn't take long, but adds up with multiple tanks. Putting water back is the hard part. I really wish I could unscrew one of these fancy faucets to attach the water changer.


Instead of getting a hose to hook up to the sink you can use a plain and simple vinyl tubing (i know how you like these amazon links lol) and use that as a siphon. That's what I do and it takes about 10mins per tank. You just bring the tube over to the sink, fill it up with water. and then it will start a suction.



xenxes said:


> Could a dead panda fry be causing my water to turn hazy? Tested ammonia, still at 0. Anyway I removed the corpse (was stuck behind the corner filter) and fed it to the ghost shrimp. Gobbled it up in about a minute.


That beast! But no, a single panda fry dead could not haze up 20G of water ._. Could it be algae in your water? Is it getting direct sunlight?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I was looking for something like that earlier. How does that compare with this? Or is a tube just a tube as long as one side is higher than the other? I don't know what the metal thing on one end is for but that one got good reviews. Lol I need your approval before pulling the trigger. *Actually I can just use my Aqueon tube.

The tank gets indirect light all day, and I do notice visible algae growth on the glass. The otos never touch my blanched veggies and all look like this:










All the zucchini is doing is getting the pandas and snails fat:










I'm going to stop supplementing the tank, maybe it's algae or overfeeding.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> I was looking for something like that earlier. How does that compare with this? Or is a tube just a tube as long as one side is higher than the other? I don't know what the metal thing on one end is for but that one got good reviews. Lol I need your approval before pulling the trigger. *Actually I can just use my Aqueon tube.


Yea I just use plain ol' vinyl tubing. Nothing fancy on either end, no metal, just some tubing for like $1.50 for 6ft from home depot. And yea, it works as long as one side of the tubing is above the other, the pressure difference will pull water down. You need to fill the tube at least 1/2 to 3/4 with water from the tap before draining though. And you use your thumb to control the suction in the lower end of the tube. And you could just use your aquean tube I bet. Do you want to see pictures of my "setup" if you can call it that lol? It's shotty but it works really well. 30 minute water changes. If I had 6 tanks it would only take 1hr at most since you can drain all tanks at the same time, and then fill at the same time (only if your tanks are near each other).



xenxes said:


> The tank gets indirect light all day, and I do notice visible algae growth on the glass. The otos never touch my blanched veggies and all look like this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Aw... I want some ottos now . But my LFS doesn't have any. Doesn't have much of anything really.

Hm... if it was food decaying in your tank it would show up if you test for nitrites/nitrates. It might just be algae. Is it a little green?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol yes I want to see your setup! My 20g isn't sitting very high so I hope it'll work. It'd be nice to siphon the water directly out into the balcony planters. I got the 6 otos @ Petsmart for $1.15 each. The first 2 were from a Petco and both died. I'm sure your local Petsmart would carry them?

The water is hazy white-ish almost like fog, not green. No nitrites, nitrates stabilized at around 5-10ppm. I've been doing pretty frequent water changes w/o fert so it may be lower. Mainly cause I don't like seeing zucchini seeds and pieces everywhere. It could be the soil leeching out, the MTS are often upsetting the substrate. It's unsightly but I guess it's fine. I'm surprised the Purigen isn't working, I replaced the whole bag of carbon with it.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Alright, I'll go take some photos of my "setup" lol.

Honestly, I have ZERO Petsmart/Petco within like 30 miles of me :\. Storrs and Willimantic are very much college towns, and most college students don't have aquariums :\. But that price is pretty appealing.

That's why I thought it was algae as purigen would remove dust or what not in the tank, but not algae. No idea really, the dust doesn't show up in your pictures though.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Lol so wanna see my awesome set up?

This is what I use when I do WC's.















I drain the tank water into the bottom bucket, notice the height difference. The four crates put the top bucket way over the tops of the tanks, allowing me to put clean water into that and then put it back into the tank. I put tap, treat it, and leave it overnight until I use it the next morning for WC's. I bought the crates on amazon where you love to go haha. The creates are awesome, I have a ton around my appartment. Each crate can support ~80+lbs so it's pretty awesome. And the 5G buckets I got from walmart.

These are the tubes I use:








Thinner tubing on the left is for clean water into the tank. Dirtier thicker tubing on the right is for dirty tank water. I tied plastic knifes/chopstick on the end I stick into the tank so it's easier to direct the tubing. Both are ~4ft. The reason the clean water one is thinner is that it results in more gentle water flow, so when I add clean water into the tank I don't have to use my thumb to weaken the flow.

So sophisticated right lol?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol nice! Love the chopstick idea. I bought that 20' one btw, didn't want to take my Aqueon apart (can probably use it after I move to a place with more generic faucets). I wonder if I can somehow connect one end of a tube to a faucet though. Dechlorinator is instant so long as it mixes well with water.

I read about people using an air pump to help with the flow, couldn't find a guide/pics of DIY though.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I let the tap sit overnight so the dissolved gasses have some time to air out. I doubt you need to, but I'd rather play it safe lol. Didn't know dechlorinator is instant though. Good to know 

Air pump to drive the siphoning you mean? That's so they can suck out the air instead of having to prefill their tubing with water in order to start a suction.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Would it be overkill if I added 6 pygmy cories to this thing after plants grow out some more?

Currently: 3 platies, maybe 10 fry, 6 otos, 16 rcs, various snails.

I guess it would depend on how much of the fry reach adulthood?

Shot of the day:









I can see why they were called "pearl" mystery snails now, on the left is my largest MTS (~1.2").

Older pics for contrast:









Snail 1









Snail 2


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

You should be able to with no problems. General rule of 1" of fish per gallon and you're still fine there. Since you're over-filtrating the tank they will be fine. Just don't feed for a few days after you put them in so you don't get an ammonia spike from the increased bioload suddenly.

I just added tons of nerites to my shrimp tanks . I'll post pictures up sometime tomorrow!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Pretty good growth, top pic is 4 days ago, bottom is now (lillies are shooting up fast; patch of moss on rock dying):

























Shrimp on buddha









Nasty gsa on glass, none of my snails seem to eat it. I need nerites


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Nice, looks much more bushy now. It's like a bamboo forest growing in a field of hay .



xenxes said:


> Nasty gsa on glass, none of my snails seem to eat it. I need nerites


hehe Nerites


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Okay I need help  After a week of stable parameters (0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, 5-10 Nitrate), I had another Nitrite spike. Still no signs of Ammonia, just Nitrite jumped to 2ppm. 

Are my nitrobacter dying? pH at 7, no CO2, haven't dosed Excel in a few days (and last time was a half dose). 7.65x turnover (153gph for 20g) which is more than enough for 3 full pandas, maybe 10 fry, 6 otos (now 5), then just low amounts of snails + inverts. 

I lost another oto to the nitrite, did a massive water change, dosed 3x Prime.

*Edit: may have to take this out of commission for a while, pretty sure I used the wrong potting soil, this is why you don't start tanks after midnight.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

xenxes said:


> Okay I need help  After a week of stable parameters (0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, 5-10 Nitrate), I had another Nitrite spike. Still no signs of Ammonia, just Nitrite jumped to 2ppm.
> 
> Are my nitrobacter dying? pH at 7, no CO2, haven't dosed Excel in a few days (and last time was a half dose). 7.65x turnover (153gph for 20g) which is more than enough for 3 full pandas, maybe 10 fry, 6 otos (now 5), then just low amounts of snails + inverts.
> 
> ...


What potting soil did you use?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Moisture Control, has compost that contains animal manure, lots of ferts, and who knows what else. I thought it surprising the plants were taking off so fast. 

I can rip it all out right now and change the dirt, or I could wait half a year and restock, or I could just remove the MTS upsetting the substrate. Decisions.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

xenxes said:


> Moisture Control, has compost that contains animal manure, lots of ferts, and who knows what else. I thought it surprising the plants were taking off so fast.
> 
> I can rip it all out right now and change the dirt, or I could wait half a year and restock, or I could just remove the MTS upsetting the substrate. Decisions.


If you change out the soil to something else, you are going to get a cycle again. Maybe just try a water change and see if that helps? Also make sure not to overfeed as that will add to the levels over time.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol I don't have it in me to uproot everything, and I don't care much about the throng of platies (none have died or even become ill). I removed the otos to the cycled 9g with MGOPS and a finer cap, not looking good though, rapid respiration sign of nitrite poisoning.

I think I'll just remove the largest MTS I can see so less soil comes into the water. What's surprising is the water has remained very clear, the floaters seem to trap and use the debris. Any idea how long before the manure, ammonia etc from the soil goes inert?


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

xenxes said:


> Lol I don't have it in me to uproot everything, and I don't care much about the throng of platies (none have died or even become ill). I removed the otos to the cycled 9g with MGOPS and a finer cap, not looking good though, rapid respiration sign of nitrite poisoning.
> 
> I think I'll just remove the largest MTS I can see so less soil comes into the water. What's surprising is the water has remained very clear, the floaters seem to trap and use the debris. Any idea how long before the manure, ammonia etc from the soil goes inert?


That could be a long time. One of my tanks took almost 2 months to settle down. It could be that the fry are contaminating the water at a higher rate then the plants and filter can handle right now. But I am not 100% on that. I would say leave the otos out for a few days and watch the water parameters carefully. If you see any higher spikes, or other fish start having issues, than see about redoing the soil, but it may just need to calm down for a little bit more.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Aw man, sorry to hear what happened. You can also squeeze out some of your filter material from your other tanks into this one. That should help as well.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Thanks for the advice, can't believe I used the wrong soil. So much for "dirt is dirt." Dirt with too much poo in it obviously isn't good.

Think I'm going to plant every square inch of this thing and then let the plants go out of control. I won't be adding any fauna in here for several months, feeling really bad about the otos.


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## Wy Renegade (Nov 29, 2011)

Tanks sounds very nice, unfortunately I can't see it from work. Subscribing in so I can check it out later.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Test showed 2ppm last night, and 0.5ppm Nitrite this afternoon; no w/c. Looks like it's leveling off again. I took out the Purigen pack sitting before the biomedia btw, this way the bacteria gets more organic nutrients during the re-cycle.

Ammonia reading is always 0, tested my kit with tap and it was 0.25ppm just to make sure it was working. 

Also removed the larger MTS uprooting my plants, left all the smaller ones in, might as well let them bubble up any ammonia pockets left.

Pics:


















Diwu you can see my ugly creases in the wallpaper 









Lucky bamboo = algae stick


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Woot macro pics! (from a cheap $10 extension tube)

















What are those nasty white spores? Should I be worried?









My favorite shrimp shot by far









A blood-red RCS









Green poo and more eggs?? 

Unique Fry (didn't take pics of the standard panda patterns)








Does this one look sick? I can't tell if that's pattern or rot on the side...

















Some came out mostly black or mostly clear, the swirly purple ones probably look the best


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Nice pics man. Those pandas are cool looking.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

TY  may have to put some up for adoption soon. Had no idea that female would give birth so prolifically.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I see the creases but honestly it looks like a mountain side or something lol. It doens't look bad at all. I'll try for no creases but if there are, no biggie!

Those random white spores look like fungus or something that the shrimp will eat. So you should have no problems there . Your macro shots look a lot like my $9 lens for my iPhone haha. I assume you don't have to be 1inch away from the shrimp for a good picture though haha.

Not sure about that panda. Seeing an indent could indicate something wrong. Or could also be genetic defect at birth. Not really sure. I would keep a close eye on it for the next few days, especially since it has a unique pattern.



>


What's wrong with that tail fin? Is there something wrong with it or is it due to the picture.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

That part is clear, a lot of them are mutts so you don't get a full black tail. That panda platy was very promiscuous. 

I have to be 1" away using the 18-55mm kit lens. But I swapped to the telephoto with the extender, gives me a good depth of field, enough for the width of the tank 









Hmm, not quite. I should selectively breed them for that pattern on the stomach. 

Nitrites down from 2 to 0.5 to 0 in 3 days. I noticed leaving a piece of zucchini in there until it turns to mush / completely eaten doesn't affect parameters, but too much flakes = no good.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh I see haha. Guess that's way better than the iPhone lens.

You read Naruto ?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Tank progression post?


















































































Outside Plants:
--------------


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Looks cool. I would love to try a tank like that. My cats would destroy it in a heartbeat though.

One question. Why is only half of the tank lit?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol cause I'm cheap and using a recycled light from a broken cube-tank. Thought about getting a matching light for the other corner but can't find where to order parts for the EHEIM Aquastyle. Thought about a marine doublebright but the draecana shoots would prevent proper placement. Current setup is kind of growing on me.

Actually I just found this -- http://www.eheim.com/news/index/18

I guess it's not in stores yet?

*Edit: n/m here it is. For $100 I'd rather get doublebrights. Or I could just buy another AquaStyle for $120-150, light and filter and tank.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

What sort of Bacopa is that you've got growing? Looks beautiful.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

somewhatshocked said:


> What sort of Bacopa is that you've got growing? Looks beautiful.


Thanks! The stem round green leafy ones? Lindernia Parviflora?










I'm still learning plant names  I'll take some plant pics later in a vain attempt to classify them, the FTS always comes out weird because the left side is overexposed (right side has no light), and I have to adjust down brightness in post effects.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Yes, that plant! Beautiful.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

You could just get a clamp lamp and a CFL bulb.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Clamp light might be an eyesore :/ This is pretty cool, but a little too long:

Hydrofarm JSV4 4-Foot Jump Start T5 Grow Light System









Cheaper than barebone aquarium stands, and bulbs included. They only have 2 foot and 4 foot.. wish there was a 3 foot or adjustable.

I'll figure something out, low light stuff are actually growing on the no-light side, heh.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

xenxes said:


> Clamp light might be an eyesore :/ This is pretty cool, but a little too long:
> 
> Hydrofarm JSV4 4-Foot Jump Start T5 Grow Light System
> 
> ...


Check HD and other places like that. I am pretty sure I saw some 3 foot shop lights there.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I'll check, they have nice lights for around $45, but I can't hang it on the ceiling so I'll need a stand.

Some platy pics:









Coming in for the food









Nom nom nom









Incoming snail









Snail covers food and closes shell, fish out of luck


Check out my algae farm:









I spot GSA, brown diatoms, green hair... what else is there?


Lastly, I'll be breeding new platies:


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

You can make some type of stand out of conduit. Should be pretty simple that way.

The fish look good.roud:


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Yea electrical conduit is used a lot for holding the lights. So many platties. Those are cute haha. Are the mom's pregnant again? Do they normally school when there isn't food?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Spray painted conduit would be great. Cool I can drill some into the cheap Ikea tables ($7) I have the tank sitting. Always wondered what those hanging lights were. 

Platies don't school, just swarm when there's food. 2 pinches of flakes 2 veggie sticks last night and nitrites* up to 0.5ppm today. I'm getting an AC50.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

AC50 for this 20L :O? Think that's overkill lol. Maybe an AC30 or something since you already have the corner filter. What will you be doing with the AC20?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

If I do setup a light, I'll remove the corner filter/light and probably set it up in a new cube for the bathroom. Seems like a lot of work though: http://www.remsreef.com/2011/04/review-36-ati-sunpower-t5ho-6x39w.html

Bend 2 bars. Spray paint, derim rest of tank (only corner derimmed for current filter), probably spray paint the back too, clamp/screw the bars onto the tables, hang wires for the light. Have to move most of the fauna out while I do this. I'll hold off when I can find a free weekend.

AC50 is $1 more than AC30, I may leave both in at least till the new filter cycles, then use the 20 in the 5g. 200gph + 100gph +53gph = 353gph / 20g = 17.65x turnover on paper, that's not overkill. I feel like I need more surface area for bacteria at least until the soil settles / becomes more inert, given how easily the tank fluctuates now. That and the fry are getting big fast, platies poo a lot. There's lots of stagnant / dead plant particles from me clippings and moving stuff around, and it more evenly distributes nutrients. 

Ugh I need to setup the light.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Well at least DIY yourself project are fun and part of keeping tanks haha. Careful derimming a tank that has water already. Very dangerous. You should drain the entire tank if you're planning on derimming it.

Ah darn, I was hoping you'd sell the AC20 to me for cheap lol. To be honest the media basket in the AC20 is huge, so yours probably isn't even fully saturated with BB. Media basket for AC50 is exactly twice the size of the AC20


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Hmm, I think I'm going to buy that 4' long grow light, it's $60 includes a T5, cheaper than pipes + parts + light, and I won't have to set anything up. I'll just get another IKEA table, and use extra space for some plants. Still want to spray paint it black though. But it only comes with a single bulb, but has a reflector... according to this (http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/105774-par-vs-distance-t5-t12-pc.html) I should be fine with it 4" above top



diwu13 said:


> Well at least DIY yourself project are fun and part of keeping tanks haha. Careful derimming a tank that has water already. Very dangerous. You should drain the entire tank if you're planning on derimming it.
> 
> Ah darn, I was hoping you'd sell the AC20 to me for cheap lol. To be honest the media basket in the AC20 is huge, so yours probably isn't even fully saturated with BB. Media basket for AC50 is exactly twice the size of the AC20


I'm going to drain most of it, leave just enough for the shrimp I can't catch. Probably tape a trash bag inside to catch falling silicone. 

Lol AC20 looked small, but if I'm removing the corner I'll need 2 for movements on both corners. Here are dimensions:

AC50: 4.0 x 9.0 x 8.0 inches 
AC20: 4.5 x 7.0 x 6.5 inches


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## Blue Devereaux (Jul 17, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Lol cause I'm cheap and using a recycled light from a broken cube-tank. Thought about getting a matching light for the other corner but can't find where to order parts for the EHEIM Aquastyle. Thought about a marine doublebright but the draecana shoots would prevent proper placement. Current setup is kind of growing on me.
> 
> Actually I just found this -- http://www.eheim.com/news/index/18
> 
> ...


Here's a link to the eheim light kit, but I think the cheapest is still $60 + $10 shipping, which is an awful lot. BTW, I just got the eheim 9.2 and have spent all night looking at your tanks for inspiration and guidance. I really enjoy your threads. 

http://www.google.com/products/cata...a=X&ei=BuoxT5uFN5CftweNmfzYBg&ved=0CGYQ8wIwAA#


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

What kinda Ikea table do you have xenxes? And how much does it cost? I'm thinking of getting more furniture if my GF moves in with me next semester.

Yea the dimensions of the actual filter are a little misleading, but I know that the AC50 sponge is exactly twice as large as the AC20 sponge . Since I'm using the AC50 sponges as my prefilter ^^


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Blue Devereaux said:


> Here's a link to the eheim light kit, but I think the cheapest is still $60 + $10 shipping, which is an awful lot. BTW, I just got the eheim 9.2 and have spent all night looking at your tanks for inspiration and guidance. I really enjoy your threads.
> 
> http://www.google.com/products/cata...a=X&ei=BuoxT5uFN5CftweNmfzYBg&ved=0CGYQ8wIwAA#


Hehe thanks, there are plenty better and more natural scapes out there. I'm just improvising with what I have / can find 

TY for the link, $70 sure beats $100, the LED is very bright (1200 lumens) and can grow most plants. I wonder if that light will fit as a replacement for the Aquastyle kit. I wish there was more parts/support, I really like the glass tank. 

I pulled the trigger on the grow light kit for $60 shipped, great deal imo. It's a single tube but it's a 54W that puts out 5000 lumens @ 6400k. The brightness degrades over time, but replacements cost about $10 / tube. Now I'll have to do some rescaping since I can add more plants on the right side.




diwu13 said:


> What kinda Ikea table do you have xenxes? And how much does it cost? I'm thinking of getting more furniture if my GF moves in with me next semester.
> 
> Yea the dimensions of the actual filter are a little misleading, but I know that the AC50 sponge is exactly twice as large as the AC20 sponge . Since I'm using the AC50 sponges as my prefilter ^^


Lol I have my Eheim 9g sitting on an IKEA Lack Table ($7), and the 20g sitting on 2 Lack Tables side by side, soon will be 3 with the grow light system. They had a sale last year where it was $5 each.

In hindsight I could have just gotten the larger coffee table: medium or large.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Hm... wonder if there is an Ikea near me. I'd need a bookshelf. If she moves in I think I'm gonna set up a shrimp rack. Get one of those sturdy ones metal ones. I'm limited to keeping all the tanks in the bedroom (good for the skin with all that evaporation haha) due me being cheap and only air conditioning that room haha.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I got the cheap bookshelves my 2gs and 5g are sitting on at Target and Big Lots, I think they were $30/40 on sale. I remember IKEA bookshelves being more expensive, and they were all modular cubes.

*edit: lol can't help myself:

$28 Although this looks better for $49. I remember seeing a metal one stackable for really cheap, like $20... can't find it.


You know.. I'm actually worried that my lucky bamboo will burn under the new light. The few leaves close to the current light have already withered/turned brown.


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## kcartwright856 (Jan 16, 2012)

Wow! Loving the look of the bamboo forest! Very creative!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Hm... wish those bookshelves you linked had like guiderails or something so everything doesn't topple over. Can't wait to redecorate the apartment if my GF comes haha.

The tops may burn a little but you should be getting newer growth farther away from the light. Hopefully at least


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

kcartwright856 said:


> Wow! Loving the look of the bamboo forest! Very creative!


TY! Let's hope they don't all burn 



diwu13 said:


> Hm... wish those bookshelves you linked had like guiderails or something so everything doesn't topple over. Can't wait to redecorate the apartment if my GF comes haha.
> 
> The tops may burn a little but you should be getting newer growth farther away from the light. Hopefully at least


I might move some off to the sides if they start dying off, but that would eliminate depth, ohwell.

To do list:

- Move fauna
- Drain 90% of water
- Tape bags inside/outside tank
- Derim top
- Paint tank
- Paint grow light rack
- [strike]Paint filter intakes[/strike] nah not sure if that Krylon paint is water-safe
- Setup grow light
- Get Ikea table
- Add new plants
- Re-add water/fauna


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

When are you going to be doing all that? This weekend? Does your GF help you  (or would you want her to)?

Shouldn't you get the Ikea table before setting up the grow light?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol I jumped the gun and derimmed the tank already (top only), with the water at 70% level (don't try this at home). The rim snapped off easily after some knifing and coaxing, the silicone residue took much longer (I only cleared the front)... and I do everything myself :/

I'm always impatient and it often leads to mistakes, but there is only a 1/18" inch bow at the center with water filled almost to the brim. So I hope it's fine.


FTS derimmed:









Front is pretty clear after much scratching with a razor blade, some of the glass @ rim area has chips / imperfections that the rim was hiding, but the top edge was all smooth, didn't cut myself. Can see some floating silicone pieces I need to fish out.








Can see silicone on side, I think I'll just leave it /lazy

Pics of Underachiever:



















NEXT: Painting.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Ammonia always 0, Nitrites 0 this past week (besides the 0.5 spike from 1 night of overfeeding). *Nitrates* stayed at 0 past week+. I haven't done a w/c in a while. Those plants are sucking up nitrates fast. The lucky bamboo circle has been sprouting out roots mid-way down. 

I'll probably try feeding a bit more, the nitrobacter colony still needs to get bigger I think. Should I start dosing nitrates if it always stays near 0 (Flourish Nitrogen)?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

LMAO that you derimmed ALREADY. Did you even cover the tank with some plastic to catch slicone droppings? And the shrimp fanning her 2 eggs is sad/funny at the same time lol.

Don't overfeed even if it for the nitrates. If you really need nitrates you can dose flourish nitrogen as you mentioned, but if the plants are growing fine and healthy looking there's really no need.

So how long did the derimming take?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I didn't put anything in to catch silicone, the damn bamboo are in the way  They're inert so I didn't care, just scooped it out with a fish net afterwards, took maybe a minute. 

Knifing/removing the rim took maybe 5 mins, they just snap off after you cut enough silicone off. Scraping the last bits of silicone off the front took maybe 2 hours. 

Honestly I wouldn't recommend anyone to de-rim a planted/stocked tank, and in hindsight I wouldn't have done it, but that one corner was already de-rimmed and looking at it was like poking at a scab. I had to get the rest off and couldn't wait.

So dose nitrogen if plants start to melt and nitrates stays at 0? I feel like I'll need to keep up with the new light.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Honestly I wouldn't recommend anyone to de-rim a planted/stocked tank, and in hindsight I wouldn't have done it, but that one corner was already de-rimmed and looking at it was like poking at a scab. I had to get the rest off and couldn't wait.


Haha that's hilarious. I know what you mean. The vinyl from amazon arrived today and I'm so tempted to put it on my tanks. But I'll wait for my GF and do a neater job haha. But so tempted.

But yea, with the nitrates you might be fine since you have a lot of fish in there. Just keep an eye out on your plants. You can always shorten the lighting cycle since that's the only time plants utilize nitrates and nutrients.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Ugh. Catastrophe.


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## alfalfa (Jan 19, 2012)

xenxes said:


> Ugh. Catastrophe.


Uh oh.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

What happened? Da cat?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Painting failure. Broke a few cheap Walmart and ikea vases, lots of bandaids. No fish died though. Grow Light setup, pics soon!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Pictures of the accident? ? Glad you're alright though, and mostly unscathed.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol pictures of the accident? Just glass + dirt + rocks + plants + blood. You're a sadist diwu 

Post #666!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Okay, finally. Pics of new setup:


















I think I over did the surrounding plants to utilize the light. But I end up sacrificing tank light (higher up and tank isn't centered -- plants behind tank too). A lot aren't planted yet so we'll see... I hate moving that tank though, drain to 10-20% to move. Feel like I need a bigger tank to utilize this space. I think where the light currently stands gives my tank medium light? Wish I had a PAR tester.

Also have 3 filters in it right now (the water is crystal clear, just biomax no carbon or purigen anymore)... I'll probably move the 2 HOB to the back after I finish painting it. May leave in the corner one as well since I still need that light for high light plants. Lol, should have just done a marine double bright. What was I thinking?


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

It is like a piece of the rainforest in your living room. I like it.roud:


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

dang. you have 3 filters on that monster right now lol? What did you put over the ikea tables? That black colored thing. Something similar to a yoga mat?

I really like how that area of the room looks, like what cableguy said haha.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> It is like a piece of the rainforest in your living room. I like it.roud:


TY  Hoping to make it less busy and phase out the flimsy glass vases. I've been getting small bathroom waste baskets as planters, much sturdier.




diwu13 said:


> dang. you have 3 filters on that monster right now lol? What did you put over the ikea tables? That black colored thing. Something similar to a yoga mat?
> 
> I really like how that area of the room looks, like what cableguy said haha.


It's a cabinet liner. similar to this but 6 ft. I think I got mine at Walmart. I'd like to plant some things in the filter holder too, once I find a small plant that grows in water and will root in biomax.

So I ran out of spray paint half way through (wasted half the can on getting the power cord black!), had the tank sitting outside with 2g of water that was beginning to rot. It was 11pm and I had nowhere to get another can of paint. Really didn't want to move it, tried paintbrushing with printer ink and coating with gloss enamel that I had left over, lol, did not turn out well. 

I think I'm going to finish spray painting the rest indoors where it's at, after covering the entire wall with trash bags and the tank with a tarp. Waiting on paint from Amazon  why didn't I just run to Home Depot.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Hm.. if a plant roots into the biomax how will you take it out during water changes? Won't it get stick in there real good? You could use anubias as those grow pretty slowly and have good coverage.

Printer ink lol? You like broke open one of those printer cartridges and used that? So this was done all night haha? Was the fumes from the ink any problem at all? I'd be worried about that if you spray paint inside.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Refillable and it failed. It's right next to my balcony door so I'm fine. Basically that wall of the apartment opens up entirely. I'm not moving that damn tank again.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

xenxes said:


> Refillable and it failed. It's right next to my balcony door so I'm fine. Basically that wall of the apartment opens up entirely. I'm not moving that damn tank again.


As long as you move everything that can be moved, and tarp off the rest you should be good. Just make sure the air is really still or the sprayover will go everywhere.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Well, I ordered these sponge filters off of amazon.com... for really cheap. And when I got them I found out why. These are HUGE. Like... the dual sponge head filter takes up 80% the side of a 10g tank.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Which sponge filter? The EDGE Pre?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

No like a sponge filter haha. This is what I bought. See how it says the dimensions are 4.72"/2.36"? That's the size of ONE sponge LOL. So you can imagine how large the entire thing is. I'm not that dissapointed, another excuse for me to rescape the tanks . I'll be modding the "T" joint so you only use one sponge instead of two.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Uh, didn't you get AC20's already? That's more than enough for a 10g. Especially for shrimp, 5x turnover is enough and you have 10x already.


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## toksyn (Aug 15, 2011)

Whatever happened to that red moss?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol, fell off and got eaten, I move stuff around too much. It actually lives on the surface if I can stabilize it somewhere, I don't know if it grew at all. I might try some in my biofilter cartridges to see if they work. The submerged pieces definitely died.

VERY slow growers, and they root deep.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Uh, didn't you get AC20's already? That's more than enough for a 10g. Especially for shrimp, 5x turnover is enough and you have 10x already.


I do have AC20 filters, but you know how my filter is angled differently from yours? Mine is like on the back so the water gets output to the front. Whereas your's is on the sides. I want better flow on my tank so having the sponge filter drawing in water on the opposite side will definitely help.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I'm moving them back to the back after I get it painted. Maybe, hmm.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Pics time! Thought I would utilize every available space, include the hanging filter basket, and yank out those huge lillies obstructing the view on the front left.









Ignore the 4th EDGE filter, cycling it for my new tank. Lol, quick math: 200+100+100+53=453gph/20g = 22.65x turnover per hour.









Half-dead orchid (sitting outside/neglected) & red club moss









Anthurium and terrestrial xmas moss; orchid & anthurium are both epiphytes so should live









4 different pepper plants behind the tank (habarnero, jalapeno, cayenne, and sweet).









Middle lucky bamboo circle rooting everywhere! I'm going to leave it be.









The lillies are getting way too big and obstructing the back view, so I yanked them out to move them.









Really long roots, bad idea, dirt everywhere in tank. I hope they survive the move/transplant, because I broke a lot.

















Current FTS, right side isn't symmetrical, but I just added some new clippings, waiting to grow out. That Hydocotyle Leucocephyala in the middle has to go too, what a mess


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## ValMM (Feb 22, 2011)

The pandas are still looking good.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

ValMM said:


> The pandas are still looking good.


Haven't lost a single one  despite me constantly messing with the tank. The water didn't even get muddy after stripping 6" of root from the dirt, yay for over filtration and floating plants.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> I'm moving them back to the back after I get it painted. Maybe, hmm.


Hm... I think having the two on the sides is much better for circulation, and it looks good that way as well. Are you really serious about keeping plants in the AC filtering cartrigies? Once they root you won't really be able to take out the filter material !!! Btw.. what filtering thingies are in there right now? Bio max.. sponge... anything else?

That corner of your house looks really nice btw. I bet the air inside your house must be very fresh haha. Do you need to control the humidity in your house at all?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol I'm serious. These are both epiphytes (attach to trees/other plants in the wild) and have fat stems. Very easy to remove. I'm just not sure if they'll live because they've been growing in dirt/peat moss/wood chips, not part way in water. Also biomax lasts for 10+ years, you don't need to and shouldn't replace it unless it's starting to crumble. 

Just sponge + biomax, I removed all chemical filtration, didn't see a need. The humidity in my apartment is 42% right now :/ I don't have a dehumidifier. I never got a "before" reading from the tanks. Then again it's humid in Miami and just rained heavily.

The air does seem fresher in the living room lol. I only have an orchid, 3' dracaena, and a desktop palm in the bedroom. Wouldn't mind another leafy plant in here but not much sun gets in. My balcony is starting to look ridiculous. I have a line of planters running down the entire length of it, and vines over the dividers.


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

what's the golden-colored moss on the left side of the tank, xenxes? I love it!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Haha ty, that's dead moss!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Lol I'm serious. These are both epiphytes (attach to trees/other plants in the wild) and have fat stems. Very easy to remove. I'm just not sure if they'll live because they've been growing in dirt/peat moss/wood chips, not part way in water. Also biomax lasts for 10+ years, you don't need to and shouldn't replace it unless it's starting to crumble.
> 
> Just sponge + biomax, I removed all chemical filtration, didn't see a need. The humidity in my apartment is 42% right now :/ I don't have a dehumidifier. I never got a "before" reading from the tanks. Then again it's humid in Miami and just rained heavily.
> 
> The air does seem fresher in the living room lol. I only have an orchid, 3' dracaena, and a desktop palm in the bedroom. Wouldn't mind another leafy plant in here but not much sun gets in. My balcony is starting to look ridiculous. I have a line of planters running down the entire length of it, and vines over the dividers.


I expect you to have some vivariums or something with more plants lol. You seem to know a ton more about plants than I do. And I notice a difference in air quality since my home in China has TONS of plants like your home. As for moisture, that's good! Even with 3x 10G tanks my apartment is super dry and my skin cracks . Even worse at my GF's place with zero tanks at all!

Oh I see, but at some point you'll have to clean out the sponges and biomax so what will you do if the plants somehow root them all together? The moss might end up doing that with the flow ._.! My AC20 filter is jam packed lol. I should take a picture sometime. Sponge, carbon packet I made myself, 2 plastic pot scrubbies.



xenxes said:


> Haha ty, that's dead moss!


roud:


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Well you're in CT. Heating = dryness. You should either get a humidifier or setup 7 more tanks, lol. 

I can always trim plant roots, they're hardy. I unbundled 3 stems that was grown in a tiny planter with roots wrapped around each other, grown in dirt. I can definitely deal with biomax 

I bought a $15 for $30 thing off Living Social the other day for a local plant nursery, but bought too much from Walmart this weekend, quickly running out of space. Wish their garden section wasn't so cheap. How can I pass up 99 cents plants?!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I think the real question for you is.. how much is your water bill lol? Between water changes for all your tanks, and watering all those plants, I expect it should be pretty high!

Ah Living Social does have great deals. You really really like getting things online don't you haha.

Do you ask your fiancee to help maintain the plants/tanks? Or you enjoy keeping that to yourself?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Condo, landlord/developer pays the water  I only pay electricity & internet. Lol I do most of the work. Not much maintenance, water once a week on the balcony, maybe once every 2 weeks or a month inside (whenever top soil is dry). I haven't changed any tank waters, just top offs. Nitrates never go up high with all the plants.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Hm.... really? Have you tested the tanks with the TDS meter? My 10g tanks go up by like 50 or so every 3 days if no water change. And there's only shrimp and nerites in my tanks. And I think they are about as heavily planted as yours.

But good about the free water !


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Ok so I got the picture. I guess I'll post it on your thread .








So on the left you see the AC20 on the back of my tank. I circled the suction cup so you can see it. I got both AC20's used for $20 shipped so it was a great deal, but both were missing the leveling thing. Seems like it was snapped off or something. There's actually two suction cups behind there for stability. If they aren't there the AC20 would kinda be like \|, extremely not level.

On the left you can see the suction cup I used. Got 100 of these babies for $10 from evilbay (originally was only getting 50 but the seller messed up my shipment so they gave me double the amount). I cut off the plastic hook so the top is completely flat, and then put two of them behind my tank.

Did that kind of make sense?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol thanks for the pics. I get it, you're using it as a leveler like the little turnable plastic clip on the bottom of the AC2s. It's harder to keep it leveled without a rim, the glass is too thin and it likes to sit lobsided. If I shift it so most of it is outside the tank the sponge prefilter gets squished against the inside glass. If I shift it all the way inside the weight of the back eventually just causes the whole thing to angle back.









Is this shrimp preggers? or just overweight?

















I still see a saddle, and clear-ish eggs?









I moved the lillies again, they're most likely dead by now. You can see how big that shrimp is, have about 4 that size (females).


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Stupid idea... but you should've saved a 6" section of the rim just for where the filter is . You wouldn't be able to tell if you trim that plastic part! Haha, that might solve your leveling problems!

That shrimp is ready to be pregnant. It looks like she has a abnormally large carriage though, so she technically should be able to hold a TON of eggs ! But she's not pregnant yet, you can see the yellow eggs developing in her ovaries.

And yea! You should name that one "Big Betty". I also have a Big Betty in my tank as well! It's over 1 inch long!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I actually added some silicone calk to the rim of the tank (which I scraped off before) so the filter wouldn't slide as easy. I guess I could superglue a plastic block to the in-tank side of the filter so it could sit more leveled. In hindsight saving the rim would have been a good idea. 

I actually moved one of the big betties to my 1/2g. It had all males, I moved 2 males out and 2 females in. It's so small they have nothing else to do but breed  (I hope!)


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

It'd be interesting to attempt and breed large RCS. Like ones that consistently get over 1 inch. Though... picking good males will be hard lol


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol I thought the whole point was to keep them small 

But these look yummy:










You know, the other day, when I was eating shrimp with my pad thai, all of a sudden I found it to be rather unpalatable.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

YOU HAVE LIGHT!!!! It looks good now.

And, diwu13, you should totally sell the other ones on the SnS.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> YOU HAVE LIGHT!!!! It looks good now.
> 
> And, diwu13, you should totally sell the other ones on the SnS.


Lol ty! I need to finish up the paint, some areas are clearly see through.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> And, diwu13, you should totally sell the other ones on the SnS.


What am I selling :icon_eek:


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> Ok so I got the picture. I guess I'll post it on your thread .
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I actually did this today except put it inside, I put 2 for each filter inside the glass to wedge the area beneath the water output to keep it level. I may superglue a piece of plastic block or something to it later so I can keep it more stable. Good idea


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

You used suction cups or a piece of plastic?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Suction cups, going to glue plastic onto it if I find a right size, or maybe foam..


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Looks so much better properly painted!

Before/After:

























A little brighter so you can see plants in the back. What a mess! 

No fauna died, but I inhaled a bit of spray paint fume myself. I took the LED light off and clipped it onto my 9g, hoping moss/HC will grow faster with 2 lights.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

That looks so much better now. Good job man.


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## ValMM (Feb 22, 2011)

I think I kinda liked it before. Made it look dark and foggy. lol. Nice job, though.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

ValMM said:


> I think I kinda liked it before. Made it look dark and foggy. lol. Nice job, though.


Yea... and xenxes, my sleep schedule is very random  But it does average out to around 7 hours a day haha.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol, I could just create a bacteria bloom to simulate fog! Tested water week+ after removing Purigen, still reading 7/0/0/0. Even after 2 days of impulsive overfeeding. Dropped in 5 veggie sticks and accidently too much flakes yesterday. 

I may dump in the fairy shrimp water as you suggested, lol. More microfauna diversity = good thing?


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## BlueJack (Apr 15, 2011)

xenxes said:


>


Looking awesome!!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Lol, I could just create a bacteria bloom to simulate fog! Tested water week+ after removing Purigen, still reading 7/0/0/0. Even after 2 days of impulsive overfeeding. Dropped in 5 veggie sticks and accidently too much flakes yesterday.
> 
> I may dump in the fairy shrimp water as you suggested, lol. More microfauna diversity = good thing?


LOL. That's so bad. You want that nitrate spike huh?

I think all those little guys would die to the panda fry army


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Kinda.. I'm worried that I have no nitrates. I would rather not dose nitrogen if I can help it. 

Put otos back into the tank. I can't keep up with the algae rocks, I need bigger rocks, and the platy army keeps obliterating every bit of food I put in the tank, algae or flakes. The snails and platies usually clean up before the otos make it there. 

Going to start take platies out soon.

Ordered 50 opae ula from manini here for a GREAT price, putting in an order with msjinkzd for some pygmy cories, nerites, and oto food later tonight


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

More diseased ottos from the fish store?


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## limeslide (Jan 27, 2010)

Wow, it's like a piece of Papua in there.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> More diseased ottos from the fish store?


From the 9g and 5g while this one settled down, but I did buy a few more. Feeding was a pain. 2 fish cut themselves on the SS mesh before I siliconed it up, one healed one died. The LFS fish were fine (with an exception to the first 2), it was just me being impatient.



limeslide said:


> Wow, it's like a piece of Papua in there.


The left grew out another inch, I'm going to wait a week+ before posting an update, dramatic effect


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I have masses of brown algae growing in my Aquaclear filter intake tubes. 

Probably won't be a problem unless it builds up too much, guess I should dose some Excel, or feed less algae tabs.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

No... they aren't here . Where are them vase pictures lol


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

There's just clippings, not enough to justify pics.

Some pics of fish feeding though:









Platies, otos, rcs eating happily









Soon comes the snails









Bulldozes through everyone 









Hogs the food









Hungry little fish trying to get in another bite


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Aw haha. The baby platy nibbling from the snail is such a cute picture ! Dang, is that mom platy about to give birth again? How often do those give birth? As much as shrimp?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh yea, at least take a picture of the corner of the room so I can see the vases then?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

5-day growth:


























Anthurium doing very well in the filter cartridge, showing new growth









One orchid leaf melted, but like I said it was almost dead when I brought it in, showing some new root development which is promising.

*Edit: lol I forgot pics of vases, next time


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> One orchid leaf melted, but like I said it was almost dead when I brought it in, showing some new root development which is promising.
> 
> *Edit: lol I forgot pics of vases, next time


... No vases 

Btw.. with that picture of the orchid you won't be able to seperate the filter casing from the biomax since you stuck the orchid inside one of those rings ._.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol I can still grab on and it comes out, that's just a dead stem, the new roots will grow near the top, like thick tentacles. They don't root like traditional plants. i.e.,


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Weird !


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## Jorge_Burrito (Nov 10, 2010)

Orchid roots need oxygen to survive...I've seen people able to grow orchids using semihydroponic methods, but any root that is fully submersed will start to rot (including the "stem" portion) The rot will gradually creep up the plant and kill it. It is a good idea to have it over your tank like that as it needs a really high humidity environment until it grows some new roots, but you need to make sure none of the plant is actually sitting in the water.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I got fish! Ordered 8 corydoras habrosus from a local breeder, got 9. Couldn't get really good pics, they're fast.


































One was significantly larger than the rest, hope it's not a different sp.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Funny my otos began eating algae wafers right after I ordered repashy. Not sure what to feed the cories. Need to get some sinking pellets on the morning. Flakes never reach the bottom with the fat platies around.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Cories will eat anything from what I hear. Including baby shrimpies. How large are those, like 1" max? I was tempted to use some of those for nemotode control haha. Since they seem really small. Smaller than platties by quite a bit?


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

HABROSUS CORIES FOR THE WIN!!!!!roud:


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

They go up to 1.4" but they're pretty wide, pygmaeus cories are smaller, but these are more fun to watch. They don't school very closely in this tank though, maybe I need 10+.

Have pygmaeus coming in later today, probably shouldn't have ordered both


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Mind PMing me where and how much the pygmy cories were? And will the place you ordered from ship to CT?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Pygmaeus from msjinkzd, probably closer to you. 

Habrosus from http://www.flguppiesplus.com, $2/ea, only charged me $5 priority shipping.

Thing is they do better in schools of 6+, and exhibit their natural behavior at 10+. I still think a couple platies from Petco/smart/the local river will be better for your temporary problem. Cories eat off the ground, they won't go after floating nematodes. Platies will, they're hardy and more "disposable," and you can just throw them in another tank after you're done.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I'll trade you some moss walls w/ suction cups for the platties then when it's warmer


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol I'll ship them for shipping, we can try now if you want. I've been saving styrofoam boxes. Should be okay if I write hold for pickup on box and they follow instructions? Your lows are still 25F  Time to transfer to Univ. of Miami?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh shipping works too. Thought you could use some more moss since you got that brown ugly looking pile in your 5g .

During the daytime the past few days have been 45-60F so it's pretty darn nice. But at night it still gets pretty darn cold. If you think they would make it I'd be down getting them now to cut down those nemotodes! I sucked out like 10 each tank during WC today!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Haha I have no idea if they'll make it. You'll be my guinea pig.

Can't ship this Mon going out of town for a week, what about the following? 3/5? Might warm up a little. I'll PM you then.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Sure, I'll see if the temperature is warmer then . Yay for testing shipments haha.

Where are those vase pictures .


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

What's your zipcode?

*Nevermind, priority to UConn's $8 hold for pickup.

Want any plant stems from the tank? Floaters?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

It would be to 06226 but shipping should cost the same. Do you any extra of those RRFs? If not no biggie. If so let me buy them off you, or at least trade you some moss !


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I should have enough for a package in a week or so, I'll throw some tiny pieces into my nano nursery now lol. 

We can just do a delayed trade, send me some shrimp and a little bit of moss when you get a population boom. This way we can even recycle packaging material


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

So I ordered 5 crypts and 3 stems from snailer, and she sends me :icon_surp:drool::icon_eek::










After some serious planting, I could only fit half the plants inside the tank:

















There's a grandulosa on the right too but it's too low to see, to balance out the red.









(shot with vases for diwu, told you nothing was in them but stems)

The rest of the plants went inside the 5g, few crypts in the betta tanks. But I used every last stem!


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

This may be my all-time favorite tank with stuff coming out the top. Holy.

That would look crazy with about 25 PFRs nomming in the front of the tank. I mean, if it's possible to look any better than at already does.

Wow.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Hehe thanks, it's the culmination of randomly sticking in stems people have sent me from SnS, but I'm happy with it!

Wish I had gotten a 30g (similar dimensions, but 36" long) tank for the space. Then I can add more fish and shrimp.


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## So_Fishy (Jan 16, 2012)

This is a wonderful and very original looking tank. I'd love to attempt this one day. Its coming along wonderfully!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Jorge_Burrito said:


> Orchid roots need oxygen to survive...I've seen people able to grow orchids using semihydroponic methods, but any root that is fully submersed will start to rot (including the "stem" portion) The rot will gradually creep up the plant and kill it. It is a good idea to have it over your tank like that as it needs a really high humidity environment until it grows some new roots, but you need to make sure none of the plant is actually sitting in the water.


See this http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchidtalk/general-orchid-culture/5493-orchid-water-culture.html

I thought so too, but that proves me wrong. Apparently there's a transition (dying off of old bulbs/roots) from emersed to submerged, just gotta be patient. Also I won't be submerging the entire stem/root, some will be sitting in, some out. 

The anthurium on the other side of the tank is doing amazing! New leaf and 3 new buds on the way. I'm going to have to snip it back so it doesn't get too close to the light. I think water movement will prevent root rot, hence the filter cartridge is a perfect location.




So_Fishy said:


> This is a wonderful and very original looking tank. I'd love to attempt this one day. Its coming along wonderfully!


Thx


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> I should have enough for a package in a week or so, I'll throw some tiny pieces into my nano nursery now lol.
> 
> We can just do a delayed trade, send me some shrimp and a little bit of moss when you get a population boom. This way we can even recycle packaging material


Sounds good to me. I'll be getting some tiger shrimps again, and either malawa or green shrimp as well to have more shrimp in my tanks! My shrimp keep eating my frogbit to death, no idea why. It's like healthy leaves getting eaten too ??



xenxes said:


> So I ordered 5 crypts and 3 stems from snailer, and she sends me :icon_surp:drool::icon_eek::
> 
> 
> 
> ...


!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY MOLY. SO MANY PLANTS LOL!!! So you were expecting like a small box and you get a large one in the mail ? I like the look of that corner by far. It looks like a mini forest or what not. If I lived with you I would just move my desk next to that and just relax/work by it. Such a great view to look at. 

How long are you keeping that light on now? And with so many plants in the tank I believe you should increase ferts or some might melt. Not too sure though, but makes sense to me hha.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

10 hours, I'm doing Flourish every week. I think the soil will last a few months then I'll do root tabs I got from Jake. No CO2 though, thinking the fish provides plenty of CO2? 

I need to get some new house plants this weekend, the lily in the back is dying. I ignored the fact that it says Full Sun. I think the most this light can do is indirect light / bright room. It's pretty amazing what just 1 T5 bulb can do. I might break down and grab a fixture with 4 bulbs sometime down the road.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

The CO2 in your tank is probably a little over that of the regular atmosphere. Generally with more surface agitation you'll just reach the CO2 concentration of the atmosphere.

Would you be able to replace that single light strip easily? You'd have to rebuild a cover for the lights as well if you decide to add more bulbs on.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

So my filters were almost at a stand still today, and I noticed the sponge was warped-sucked-inwards. Time for cleaning:

Did a rinse/squeeze-dip in a cup of tank water. The water was clear in the cup before, then after:


















Looks like chocolate pudding!


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

Ewww... I have to do that monthly with my sponges... But gosh do I love them.

I have a question for you..
What can you tell me about that orchid you have in there?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

$5 on sale from Home Depot I got 2 years ago? It didn't bloom this year and almost died outside from neglect, I don't remember the color. Just experimenting to see if it would take to the filter cartridge since it's about to die anyway.

My other orchid is doing amazing, blooms without fail and adds a new stem every year:


















I just leave it outside indirect sun over the summer, then it blooms and I take it inside. Flowers last maybe 6 months, then restart.


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

xenxes said:


> $5 on sale from Home Depot I got 2 years ago? It didn't bloom this year and almost died outside from neglect, I don't remember the color. Just experimenting to see if it would take to the filter cartridge since it's about to die anyway.
> 
> My other orchid is doing amazing, blooms without fail and adds a new stem every year:
> 
> I just leave it outside indirect sun over the summer, then it blooms and I take it inside. Flowers last maybe 6 months, then restart.


Thats awesome!!
What a pretty bloom.
I'm currently trying to nurse all the phals in my house back to life.
They just went through around 5 years of neglect. lol..
How is the experiment going? Is it submerged?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Nothing to show for it lol, maybe 1/2" of the stem is submerged, some old roots in, some out. No live roots on the thing  One place is starting to bud out and looks promising. Hoping I can run to a local garden store today or tomorrow, but I have a licensing test on Tues/Wed to study for. Gah.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Dang that is some dirty filter water man. You have one covering each of the intakes right?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I love this tank  As close to 0 maintenance as I can get, still no w/c, after dumping in daphnia water, addition of 9 fish, and overfeeding heavily past 3 days -- still good:










Seeing a slight tinge of ammonia probably from all the flakes last night, should be gone by tomorrow.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

So what's the TDS of this tank? And your other tanks?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> So what's the TDS of this tank? And your other tanks?


I still haven't gotten the meter :/ think it got lost. Contacted Amazon for another.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

What? Buying all that stuff before the TDS meter came?! You should seriously get one in man. It will really get you get a feel of the dissolved solids in your tank. Like.. I know my nitrates can't be high in my tanks either because they barely show up on the tests, but the TDS still steadily goes up over a course of the week.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

New pictures with the splurge?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Yes master, I have a TDS meter coming in 2 days. 

Wasn't really a splurge, I got a $15 for $30 deal off Living Social for a local nursery.









Only got a few things: (1) 2 more long bamboos for the vases; (2) red/pink foliage plants I put in the long planter; (3) a new orchid variety; (4) gardenia bush I stuffed in the back; (5) a large foliage plant to replace the lilly that I moved outside.









Nothing really changed in 2 days, camboba got bigger, I'm removing the lily tomorrow to my dirt bucket.

















Ground orchid (Spathoglottis Plicata) I stuffed in both filters, only 1 flower. This is a terrestrial variety that actually grows in dirt, getting it to grow in water ins a long shot but I just had to try 









Gardenia bush I shoved in behind the tank lol, need a bigger planter. The flowers smell amazing. You can sort of see the pink and red foliage plants on the left and right, they're low.









I have 2 planters on the ground that you can't see, this is an almond seed I got with the IAL leafs, now a sproutling.









Remember that little avocado pit/stem?


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## ValMM (Feb 22, 2011)

Oh, yay! I love growing random seeds. I've currently got what I think is 2 grapefruit plants coming out of one seed.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Haha. thanks xenxes . That bush behind the tank looks weird in my opinion. Now it looks too cluttered or something... like the scape isn't just plants coming out of the tank anymore. I don't know but I liked it better without that being there .

And wow! So if that almond tree grows you got free IAL for life! You would have to bake them dry first or something but saves a lot of money .

So what happens when the avacado tree gets larger? It's huge! Does it grow little avacados as fruit?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Yeah I had nowhere else to put it, it's temporary till I trim it or get a new wider container. Would look good if it encompassed the entire back wall.

If you look closely on the left I have a small creeper vine coming up along the light stand


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## doncityz (May 17, 2011)

This is just beautiful scape....!


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## thefisherman (Oct 15, 2011)

doncityz said:


> This is just beautiful scape....!


i must concur xenxes, i've seen you labor over this tank, i so very happy its shaping up and your plants are waking up! 

are those rotalas i see? 


- thefisherman


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Yea if it covered the entire back wall that would look good as well. But having a tuff isn't as appealing haha.

Oh yea I see it! Did you twine the vine around the light stand to start it off?

And btw...








What is that floater in the center of the tank with those long roots?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Thanks guys  I hope the growth keeps up, had to move the light up 2" to cover some of the new surrounding plants.



thefisherman said:


> i must concur xenxes, i've seen you labor over this tank, i so very happy its shaping up and your plants are waking up!
> 
> are those rotalas i see?


Those are lol, I'm using that weed as a wall plant all along the back of the tank, and surrounding the bamboo circle! I think I have two types of rotalas, the ones you gave me grow the fastest (pink underside), there's another yellow-reddish variety. I'll need to ID everything one of these days.



diwu13 said:


> Yea if it covered the entire back wall that would look good as well. But having a tuff isn't as appealing haha.
> 
> Oh yea I see it! Did you twine the vine around the light stand to start it off?
> 
> And btw...What is that floater in the center of the tank with those long roots?


That's a water lettuce, roots are huge. I'm waiting for it to send out runners before trimming. Or I'll just move it to the mudbucket.


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## biogenetic40379 (Jan 19, 2012)

this thing is awesome


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Okay, TDS. 

Tap: ~130
9g: ~230
5g: ~250
20g: ~300
Betta Tanks: ~400
1/2g: ~500 (I'm surprised, given how much evaporates everyday and new water I add in)
6g: ~600 (from brown diatoms?!)

About a month without water change. I should probably change everything with 400+ tomorrow?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Nice your meter came! Did amazon ever tell you what was wrong with it?

But yea.. notice how the TDS does go up substantially from the lack of water changes even though nitrates read zero. All that stuff that is dissolved from the poop and all.

I think you should do ~20% water change on everything 300+. Don't do too much or you'll make everything experience TDS shock. Btw.. your tap is like the same exact TDS as mine haha.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Would TDS ever go down by itself? i.e. microorganisms / filter feeders, or it settling down into the substrate. Also I can't find any info on what levels are considered to be bad for fauna, just 500+ aren't safe for human consumption.

I'm surprised my fairy shrimp jars are all around ~150 with all that yeast and decaying stuff inside. Even my bucket of mud is only 200, and there's dirt in there (still murky). Yet my crystal clear water in the 1/2g is reading 500.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I think even though the nitrates and what not will be zero the TDS can never go down except by water changes. 

I think the fairy shrimp jars are low because the amount of waste they produce is very low as well. Only conductive bits will increase TDS so neutral things such as dirt and what not will not register on the TDS meter.


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## Chyrol (Jan 18, 2012)

One of my favorite tanks! Great job


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

TY 

Got a glass petri dish on Amazon for feeding, $4 and it came with a lid, so I effectively have 2 dishes 









Makes clean up much easier









Check out new bamboo roots









Removed the lillies to open up the middle, did a slight trim


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Haha you jumped in on the glass petri dish feeding dishes as well I see. How are you putting the food directly into the dish? Do you use chopsticks or something? I'm still debating where to put mine. I have to take out some SS mesh tiles in order for the petri dish to fit haha.

Is that fuzzy stuff all over the bamboo shrimp bamboo roots? Looks like it's hairy and needs a shave haha.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I fill it with some tank water, drop in flakes and let it settle, hold the lid over it while I put it in so the food don't come out. Yeah all roots, can't see the buddha anymore.

Do you still want platyfish? I want to ship off some before the two females give birth again. One is hiding / about to give birth again. Still too cold in CT?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh so each time you take the petri dish out and put it back in? I was thinking of just leaving the dish in the entire time and using something like a PVC pipe to direct food where it needs to go.

And wow.. so many roots. Looks fuzzy haha.

How come the fish give birth so often? I'm still seeing if the mosquito rasboras do their job. I hope I don't go home after ~3 days and find them all dead from starvation :\


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I've been leaving the dish in, tweezer flake food in there as best as I can. Repashy is much better, I microwave up a slice (frozen) for 10 secs, rinse it off and drop it in. Gelatin based fish food is probably the easiest. Sinking wafers do the trick too.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh I see. That's cool.

When you leave on vacation you said you just drop in the weekend feeders right? Can you think of anyway to feed the fish in my tank without feeding the shrimp?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I don't know  my shrimp won't touch the vacation feeders, or any other food I drop in. They seem to sustain themselves on whatever grows in there. Didn't you have a automatic feeder thing? Just use that with micro pellets?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I don't use an automatic feeder since I didn't keep any fish before. And the shrimp can go for a week without any additional feeding due to all the biofilm . Ugh.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Fish eggs!? 










Zoomed in (I need more magnification!)










Should I take it out and try to hatch it?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Hrm here's the closeup of a different glop of white:










Guess they're all snail eggs :/ I think fish eggs are individuals.


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Definitely snail eggs. You're gonna have tons soon!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Long time no see xenxes. Yes... all snail eggs :\


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Ha! A slight trim in this terrific tank must have resulted in 4-5 pounds of cuttings.



xenxes said:


> did a slight trim


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Boo I want fish eggs  it's hard to spot and I definitely can't watch the tank 24/7. Too many bottom feeders in here for any eggs to hatch.



diwu13 said:


> Long time no see xenxes. Yes... all snail eggs :\


What are you talking about? I post every other day 



somewhatshocked said:


> Ha! A slight trim in this terrific tank must have resulted in 4-5 pounds of cuttings.


Just trying to keep the left side down while the right catches up, surprisingly I have space for the new cuttings still.


On another note I took about 14 platies out of here and threw them in the mud bucket outside :/ any more and it's off to the freezer or a vodka bath.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Yea.. but you aren't around as much anymore . You used to picture update daily haha. Work picking up?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol no work yet, waiting on my test results, if it went badly I'll have to retake it :/

Guess my addiction is losing hold, which is a good thing since I ran out of tank space, and spent enough $


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh I see. Good luck on the results. What test was it again?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

State bar exam, time for some pics for this tank. Did about 2 trimmings between this and the previous photo, forgot to take pics--getting a little too bushy for my taste.

The light is not high enough to keep red plants, I put the LED corner light on the right so growth will catch up (light on in 1st photo, off in 2nd, in 3rd you can see grandulosa turning green):

























2nd female platy about to pop, the 1st must have laid her eggs too early or the fry got eaten, didn't see any (and good thing since I have no place to put/give fish):









Feeding time, I feed sporadically, but every now and then I lay out an entire buffet dish (Hikari sinking, algae; Repashy; Tropical Flakes; Betta Mins; Veggie Sticks):
















Holy catfish :/ if a couple died I wouldn't know. Snail in the back is munching on a bok choy leaf; otos also seem to prefer it over spinach.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

im not sure how i feel about the bamboo. it looks AMAZING as whole on the shelf with plants, but it seems a little to ordered in the tank.
the tank is great though.

btw, i think the platy is currently birthing (or taking a dump). there is something sticking out of her.
i had guppies for years, and never managed to catch a birth.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

The dracaena's an amazing nitrate/ammonia sucker, the leaves also purifies formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, xylene and trichloroethylene from the air. 

It roots anywhere it's wounded, the circle in the middle has a mess of roots in the water, and really long ones are starting to stem from the top. The stems host algae growth for the otos, snails, and shrimps to eat (I actually try to grow algae )

Functional and adds dimension, I like them and would try to work them into my scape in the future, that or I'll do a sump tank with plenty of emersed plants on the side.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh nice. Going to be a lawyer if you pass ?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol would rather be a fish farmer.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Haha you know, a lot of times I also wonder how much easier life would be if I could just raise and sell shrimp


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

diwu13 said:


> Haha you know, a lot of times I also wonder how much easier life would be if I could just raise and sell shrimp


+1 HEAR, HEAR!!!!:icon_smil


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

We're all in the same boat, if only there was a bigger market for the hobby. I'm still opening up a planted tank store and you'll all get discounts , but it'll have to be after I retire and when I don't have to worry about staying in the black.

On a tank related note I realized TDS readings don't give me much when I add aquarium salt, the water I add reads about ~500 when I add NaCl (about ~900 for the Brackish mixture when I add marine salt with other trace elements).


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

When you open that store up and need some workers you know where to look man. And nice new avatar picture haha. How did you know about that cat? Isn't it Chinese?

What do you mean it doesn't give you much? Like the salt doesn't change the TDS much? That's really weird... I would think since the salt is conductive it would change the TDS


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

> In 2008, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed Doraemon as the first anime cultural ambassador.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doraemon My dad worked in Japan when I was younger and would bring back anime/manga. 

I mean TDS shoots up with salt water, doesn't give me a good measure of water quality of the brackish tank.

I want dwarf catfish eggs in here so bad  did several 30% cooler water changes and nothing. I guess if they did spawn I wouldn't see the eggs, need a bare tank.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh right Japanese ! That's really cool haha. So do you still read manga right now?

Oh ok I understand what you mean with the TDS not giving accurate results now. I thought you mean the TDS wouldn't go up with the addition of salt. What you can do is measure the TDS throughout a month and record those values. As long as you keep the salinity constant the TDS should still be able to tell you what's poop and stuff, and what's the salt. But yea.. you'll have high values.

You want more fish in there ?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol a couple more catfish, will probably give off the rest, I'm down to 4 platies now.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

You gave all the platties away?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Sort of. I got a new batch. Only saw 1 fry hiding in the back, sure there's more.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Also spotted a handful of cherry juvies  I guess they hatched despite all the fish.

Some growth, just gets bushier :/









Vases, just sticking in extra clippings randomly:


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Congrats on the baby RCS! Looking super bushy haha.

Are you planting the trimmings in the vases or did they root themselves perfectly ?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I stick them in the sand if that's what you mean?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Ah I see I see. Yea that's what I meant. I might wanna trade you some stem plants for moss or what not sometime soon. My stem plants are melting


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## swrdply400mrelay (Mar 19, 2012)

Sorry if I missed this, but how did you keep the bamboo upright in the tank?

Are they weighted?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Not weighted, just stuck them in the substrate


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

WOW. That is a HUGE jungle now man o.o!!!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I think it's getting ugly :/ wish I could start a new tank.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

lmao another one? you should do a huge trim and sell it off! btw.. i redid my moss tank if you'd like to take a look


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I've been stuffing clippings into my container pond to fill the planters inside  Haven't had much luck shipping plants.

Updated outside, added spanish moss on the frame:


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

What's that stuff on hanging light fixture?

Your bamboo is growing out of the tank so much wow!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol spanish moss, great air purifier


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

How does it grow without any moisture?


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## alfalfa (Jan 19, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> How does it grow without any moisture?


I think it can get moisture from the air or misting it with a spray bottle.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

More than enough moisture from hanging above the tank. I added more!


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

How awesome is that! excellent work here!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

So I guess that single bulb fixture was more than enough light for all those plants haha?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Yeah it's a single 4' T5HO. I'm not sure where to get a replacement bulb when it burns out though. Home Depot didn't seem to have any in stock.


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## mcqueenesq (Aug 29, 2011)

Great jungle! You have to have the cleanest air in Miami.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

dude, thats a whole ecosystem in your house. looks absolutely awesome.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

mcqueenesq said:


> Great jungle! You have to have the cleanest air in Miami.


Thanks! My allergies actually went down, not sure if it's a placebo effect.



@[email protected] said:


> dude, thats a whole ecosystem in your house. looks absolutely awesome.


Ecosystem indeed, my apartment got infested with aphids so I laid down sand in each of the planters and sprayed the foliage with H2O2/dish soap. Now I have ants in the sand so I sprinkled the sand with baking soda. Wonder what'll surface next? Eventually I'm converting everything to aqua/aeroponics.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Dang switching everything over to aeroponics is gonna be super expensive haha. Also it will take up a lot of room right?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol haven't really thought about it, aqua probably makes more sense, nano fish + indoor plants. The current setup could be one if I just ran some PVC piping through some containers using a pump to push water through a close loop, but it might be ugly. I'm just waiting for an aquarium/planter hybrid setup that can be mass produced for consumer use, maybe I'll design one.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

(Over)feeding time!

























Anthurium is doing amazing, more new flower buds:









FTS without all the food:


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

You just crush the flakes up a ton and just spread it everywhere?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I just dump in a lot the way they are, don't crush them. Stuff in the dish are Hikari sinking wafers.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

How'd they spread out nice and even like that lol. It's like a cloud of fish food. The mosquito rasboras in my tank are like... weaklings. They get bullied around by the shrimp for food. So far none have starved yet though


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

The two filters are pointed at each other, lots of flow


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

That is a nice looking amphibian jungle.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Replanted the gardenia in the back to a planter the length of the tank









Top-down, a couple plants are almost to the water surface









Latest FTS









RCS taking over the tank, fish wait their turns for food









Some bronze ramshorns, don't think I ever took a pic









I don't think this guy is a c. habrosus, he's larger, a little yellow/red-ish hue, and does not school with the rest


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Wow your plants are growing so fast compared to mine. It must be the fish poop. I noticed that when I kept fish all my plants took off without ferts. But in shrimp only tanks (with small 2cm fish) they will just die without ferts.

And I think that's still a pygmy cory. Just the alpha female or something. Cut lil' guy nonetheless. Is he chilling on that plant there?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I think it's also the CO2 exchange, fert/dirt can replace poo for some time. The fish is balancing on the edge of the petri dish, quite impressive, lol.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

This is such an awesome setup man. Every time I see it I get jealous and want one of my own.:hihi:


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

TY  you should make one! More I look at it I think it might look better without the bamboo, but the emergent plants double as indoor plants and improves the air, function over form I guess.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> Wow your plants are growing so fast compared to mine. It must be the fish poop. I noticed that when I kept fish all my plants took off without ferts. But in shrimp only tanks (with small 2cm fish) they will just die without ferts.
> 
> And I think that's still a pygmy cory. Just the alpha female or something. Cut lil' guy nonetheless. Is he chilling on that plant there?


I think it also might be superthrive, it seems to help with floater growth, and in my 9g--I threw in two self made capsules with a drop in each, and the red plants are shooting out roots at every stem section


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

xenxes said:


> TY  you should make one! More I look at it I think it might look better without the bamboo, but the emergent plants double as indoor plants and improves the air, function over form I guess.


I would love to set something like that up, but my cats would not go for it. Lol. Pretty sure the one would eat everything.:hihi:


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> I would love to set something like that up, but my cats would not go for it. Lol. Pretty sure the one would eat everything.:hihi:


My cat seems to leave it alone, he loves to gnaw on the avocado tree though :/ it's like his private salad bar.


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## Chyrol (Jan 18, 2012)

Congrats on getting featured! Looks great as always.


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## bitFUUL (May 14, 2010)

This tank is a wonderful example of a 'low tech' tank, who's scaping could hang with the big boys. Very nice work here.


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

Very nice!


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## jingleberry (Mar 1, 2012)

Beautiful tank! Are you using anything to support to bamboo to keep them in place?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Nothing, they root pretty deep and stay upright.

Crappy video of fish & tank: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTtTnGRns2U&feature=youtu.be


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

So.. yeah, compared to last update










This is what it looks like now:


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

I love how it looks. Very natural, and wild. Like a remote and forgotten jungle in the heart of the Amazon. some "Mayan ruins" or something like that would look sick there, I think...


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Haha it's so obvious you have a window on the left


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Chizpa305 said:


> I love how it looks. Very natural, and wild. Like a remote and forgotten jungle in the heart of the Amazon. some "Mayan ruins" or something like that would look sick there, I think...


Lol I have a little buddha statue in the bamboo circle but you can longer see it.

Yes, window on the left, everything leans that way


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## kikimiserychic (Apr 21, 2012)

Wow, that's so beautiful. I love the fullness of it.


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## ony (Apr 1, 2011)

+1 its grown in beautifully


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Just trimmed it, trimmings up for grabs (RAOK- http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/swap-n-shop/177338-large-plant-package-wysiwyg.html)










Looks blindingly bright in the day :/


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Looks awesome man. How long did the trimming take?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

2mins, reached a hand in and pinched them off lol.


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## slavecorps (Jul 7, 2009)

That's a very nice tank and the best use of bamboo I have seen. Good job!


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## gkatz007 (May 22, 2012)

awesome awesome tank im actually on vacation in china and iv been paying close attention to all the landscapes and colors (im in the middle of no where in china haha) and this scape reminds me greatly of china. the crisp green bamboo and the lush greens awesome tank and lovin the avatar. doraemon!!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Removed the gardenia bushes in the back, got a fungus gnat infestation, UGH.

Don't think the dracaena will ever stop growing, some plants in the back are going emergent! And I have odd growths of emergent plants in both filters, will snap some more photos tomorrow.

On the fauna, I have no idea how many fish I have in here, only that I have 100+ rcs, sakura, pfrs. The 3-4 platies and occasional fry I see and cull to my bucket, every once in a while I'd spot a corydoras or oto--some much smaller than I remembered so I imagine they're reproducing.


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## bitFUUL (May 14, 2010)

Stunning! This is such a wonderful tank, nothing but healthy green growth.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Wow your bamboo took off like mad! I'd like to see the AC filter closeups as well !

How often are you trimming this tank? And do you use long tweezers or slowly do it by hand?

And I'd be surprised if your ottos are breeding. That's great news since people say they are quite hard to breed!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Have some long tweezers but they're unwieldy to use, I just stick my hand in and pinch off stems. Trim when I remember to, every 2 weeks or so, if I forget the back stems bend forward and obstruct all the light.

I definitely saw a baby corydoras habrosus in here earlier, the pygmaeus aren't doing so well, they're way too shy and get outcompeted for food.


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## ineedfire (Jun 17, 2012)

Such a cool tank. Would love to try this in a future tank.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Wow. Welcome to the jungle.  Awesomeness.​


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Is the air in your room much better with the willow? moss hung all over your light frame? What's that little thing that looks like cactus up there as well?

Ever thing about trimming the bamboo? Or just letting those go out?


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## sso (Jun 2, 2012)

really nice tank, inspiring.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

TY for the comments!



diwu13 said:


> Is the air in your room much better with the willow? moss hung all over your light frame? What's that little thing that looks like cactus up there as well?
> 
> Ever thing about trimming the bamboo? Or just letting those go out?


Wish I had an air tester, but people who come over say there's a "bounce" in the air, like when they're at a park  finance's allergies have gone down a lot, but that might be because we just washed the carpet.

Moss = spanish moss

Air plant = tillandsia


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Ah yea spanish moss haha. Do you need to water those yet? Or the moisture from the tank is enough? How often are you topping off now?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Weekly topoffs in here, sometimes twice a week, basically whenever I see the filters blowing downward instead of across the water surface. Still a pain, I wish I could do a completely enclosed off ecosystem, many an annual maintenance


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Weekly topoffs in here, sometimes twice a week, basically whenever I see the filters blowing downward instead of across the water surface. Still a pain, I wish I could do a completely enclosed off ecosystem, many an annual maintenance


You could set up the automated water changer/adder that breeders use. It only costs around $10k lol


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol only $10k! Where where?

Emergent shots:

1. Hydrocotyle grow fast in and out of water, overtook both filters and crawling onwards

















2. Beginnings of emergent growth along the back, this should look better in the coming weeks


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Haha that emergent growth looks like weeds for now !

So lets say you need to use purigen in this tank, for some reason... where would you put it :X? You can't exactly take the biomedia out of the filter anymore right?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Sure I can, plants and all. But I don't think I'm ever going to need Purigen for anything, when I have plants. Purigen might be good for a moss-only tank or a breeding tank. IMO shrimp breed faster in an overgrown tank, it's just much harder to cull and take them out.

Keeping it natural


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh really? You can slide out all the biomedia + plants easily?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

The entire cartridge comes out easily yep, and the roots can be pulled out without breaking since the biomedia are large.


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## bitFUUL (May 14, 2010)

diwu13 said:


> Haha that emergent growth looks like weeds for now !


Yup, aren't we all just growing weeds?
Xen, I'm really diggin' this setup and plan to do something similar still.
Until then, one tank at a time........


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> The entire cartridge comes out easily yep, and the roots can be pulled out without breaking since the biomedia are large.


Oh that's really cool. I'd be tempted to do this except for the shrimps that would climb the plant bridge to suicide lol.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Baby habrosus:










Only one I saw though


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh! I guess you set up a paypal ! Since that's what I sent money too haha. What made you set one up instead of using that serve.com?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I moved 4 CPDS in here.

The l. glandulosa is really getting red (behind the bamboo lol), I need to trim the front ugh: 









From the top:


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

+1 on front being trimmed. Your budda is completely hidden now lol

Are you ever going to trim the Hydrocotyle growing out? Or just let it grow into the vases haha.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

From the top:










Cleaned out most of the hydrocotyle in the filters (some did grow into the vases, I left it there lol), found some emersed stems!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

From the top it doesn't even look like a tank lol. Wish you sent some more hydrocotyle to me ! I like the lily pad look. Hopefully it propagates well in the moss tank.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I did! It was a little stem but I'm sure it was in there  Unless it learned to mush?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Yea there was a single stem ! Wish you sent more! I like the lily pad look.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

You're going to wish I never sent it in about 2 weeks XD


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## battered (Jan 1, 2012)

Wow this is amazing. Besides trimming, what kind of maintenance do you do on this tank?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

TY, just feeding and water topoffs. I squeeze rinse the 2 sponge prefilters every other week.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> You're going to wish I never sent it in about 2 weeks XD


I sure hope so :bounce:

Do you remember what those stems were that are really fat and brown?








Way top left of the picture, you can see those leaves. My shrimp are eating the stems :\ They keep eating the part right above the substrate so I can't get it to stay in the substrate for longer than a day.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Oh the l. repens? Those were grown under the sun, so the stems will naturally become brittle again. Your shrimp are crazy, mine don't really eat plants (even dying/dead matter), just pellets. Lol love how that platy fry always peeks into the shot.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

You can see the back now (did a front trimming today), filled in nicely 









My pearl mystery snail mysteriously emerged, I thought it died, but nope, now the size of a child's fist:


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Going to give the tank a major haircut one of these days :/


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

It's alive!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Tearing most of this down -- enormous plant packge for sale http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=182561


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Dang that apple snail doesn't bend your bamboo if it goes on it? I wish you took a picture of the 20" of hydocotyle leucocephyala. Can't wait to see your new tank pictures!


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## ThinkTank (May 24, 2011)

This is such a great tank. Love the bamboo and emersed growth. 
Your container pond has also given me some great ideas. Nice work!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Thx  Hope the cories get to you safe! Aftermath:

















Before/after

Doesn't look that barren, single row of plants in back. So much more viewing room. Ignore the 20 or so RCS I'm shipping to someone next week.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Are those all the bamboo roots all over?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> Are those all the bamboo roots all over?


Yeah I think I'm going to cut them... despite how good of a nitrate sucker they are.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Yea... kinda you-gee-el-why.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Left is the recycled one from the broken EHEIM Aquastyle 9 (53 gph), I added an Aquaclear 20 (100 gph). So I have a combined 153 gph for 7.65x turn over per hour. I only had the 53 gph before when it was cycling, which explains the nitrite spike when I added fish (and too many fish) without upgrading the filtration.
> 
> I should have bought the 30, 20 is tiny; and I wanted to go for 10x+ if I wanted to keep the fry. I'm thinking about removing the corner filter and getting some double bright lights, and a new filter... hmmm


Actually GPH in here is has been.. 53 (Aquastyle 9) + 100 (Aquaclear 20) + 200 (Aquaclear 50) = 353gph, 17.65x turnover/hour, probably less given how fast the external filters clog up with debris.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Cut the bamboo (dracaena) back, die die die *with a machete*!


























Any interest in dracaena cuttings? Don't know how prohibitive shipping would be, they are larger than aquatic plants. Possibly cheaper to goto Walmart, but they use glue that eventually kill them off.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Think the bamboo will die if fully emersed? Throw some in the balcony planter


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Lol I did, jam packed with it  will die if full submersed for too long. Put in new plants & shrimp:









Kinda scraggly, but will fill in again soon









Alternathera and l. repens red (so red! not going to stay that way in here )








Taking bets on when this dies lol, erios are so bright, it's like they glow from the inside-out

Roughly 10 CRS 10 CBS A/B, these were raised together so brown can come out.










I put the CBS in this tank (CRS went in 9g), they soon disappeared into the jungle :/ here's one peaking out (black-brown crystal shrimp)


















Took a macro of the rcs next to him, EYEBALL!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Hm.. I guess I shoulda asked this sooner. How did you cut the bamboo? Did you pull it out, cut it, and put it back? Did it root deeply?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Huh? scissors, just cut of the top, and the side roots coming down.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Ah, I thought you really used a mini-machette.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

one of the test shrimps, B or C grade?









Sakura juvie









I like scuds, they're cute 









om nom nom, nerite teeth









whA?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

OMG you have so many scuds..


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Hasn't been that long since the plants tear down, but guess I'll do a quick tank update:



















Note how the light's been lowered by a lot. Also took out the alternanthera, was just too pink and didn't fit.


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## ThinkTank (May 24, 2011)

Still looks great after the big trim 
BTW- all the cories you sent are doing great. Love them!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Glad to hear  the DHG was really hard to plant. The HM will take a while to fill in, I should have split them up more. The new growth on the repens are actually staying red!


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## ThinkTank (May 24, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Glad to hear  the DHG was really hard to plant. The HM will take a while to fill in, I should have split them up more. The new growth on the repens are actually staying red!


DHG is a huge pita. looks great but spreads very slow for me. The HM will fill in quickly.

The repens is the easiest red plant I have. Stays fairly red even in medium light.

Thinking about getting myself some bamboo - really like what you did with it. How fast does it grow for you? I have a deep (24") lowish light tank i'd like to try some in if I can find a very long piece.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Decent growth, I got about 7" of growth on each stem in maybe 5 months? Just clipped off recently, didn't know what to do with the extras so just plugged them in the dirt outside. Very easy plant, grows even in ambient light. Dracaena sanderiana. Any emergent plant is a huge nitrate sucker, crazy long roots.

I moved the couple to the foreground so I can actually maintain the tank without knocking them all over. Don't know about a 24" tall tank, you'd need some really tall stems. This is only 12".

This is probably my last gimmicky scape, really starting to like just a simple piece of drift wood + plants.


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## tharsis (Oct 9, 2009)

I love how this tank is surrounded by the other potted plants, it gives a great effect. Very calming and soothing, well done!


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## looknleap (Jun 22, 2012)

I love this tank. I'm curious how high was the light before you lowered it?


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## wabisabi (Jan 31, 2011)

xenxes said:


> I like scuds, they're cute


I hate scuds! I wish I could catch them all and send them your way. They eat plants! But only certain ones, but if they like it, they'll demolish it.

Nice lush growth all around!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Thx for the compliments, I hope it grows back like before but redder  Light was maybe 12+" above the tank before, I only lowered it for the erios & red plants, the red plants started turning red in a few days.

My scuds only eat dead plants. I wish I had a fish that ate them but not shrimp, ohwell. They keep the top soil layer clean from food better than snails.

Seems like they get outcompeted by shrimp though (none in my 9g when I had ~300 babies in there), I just need to wait for the shrimp population to grow and not feed as much.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Millions of scuds... trapped a ton with a bottle trap, will feed my bettas for a while, where to house them though..










Mutant CBS


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Filterbox in bloom, woot


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Are you doing the bottle trap every day? Good luck on your exam


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

The UG I put in here last night all got eaten(2 days without feeding and shrimps eat every new thing I put in the tank). Made a couple changes, removed the old EHEIM corner filter and replaced the AC20 with another AC50. Now I have 2x AC50s positioned like:

X | | | |
| | | | X

Creating a whirlwind of water flow in the middle


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## Jubs (Apr 5, 2006)

Awesome setup! I have been wanting to do something like that for years with the potted plants outside the tank. I have done the plants in the filter thing and enjoyed it but it was nothing like what you set up, great job!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

TY, and do eeet 

Shrimp shot of the day:


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Forgot if you answered it already, but did you move the seeded filter media from the AC20 into the AC50? Cause I know the media basket on the AC50 is larger.

And nice looking PFR! How many you got left?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Yeah moved it, I was using an oversized bag in the AC20 before. Have maybe.. 3 or 4 PFRs left, they're not as prolific as my rilis


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## looknleap (Jun 22, 2012)

xenxes said:


> The UG I put in here last night all got eaten(2 days without feeding and shrimps eat every new thing I put in the tank). Made a couple changes, removed the old EHEIM corner filter and replaced the AC20 with another AC50. Now I have 2x AC50s positioned like:
> 
> X | | | |
> | | | | X
> ...


How do these filters work on your tank? I just bought one for my 20 high and the flow is so strong that it's moving my substrate around, the fish are horrified :icon_redf Really am curious since I do want more filtration but this is out of control.


----------



## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

looknleap said:


> How do these filters work on your tank? I just bought one for my 20 high and the flow is so strong that it's moving my substrate around, the fish are horrified :icon_redf Really am curious since I do want more filtration but this is out of control.


Positioned like this:










I have them turned up to full flow, since I have plants in the filters, a pre-sponge filter, full biomedia, and some really tall stems and dracaena to break the flow a little. The water level is also high enough that it only ripples the upper area / surface.

You could always just turn your flow down a little.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Growth coming along nicely


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

The sand you added was black?


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## slidewithme (May 18, 2012)

I just wanted to say that this tank is what got me into the planted hobby. I kept tanks for years, and then 4 months ago I saw this post. This is just beyond beautiful.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Sand was black, Petco brand, too finely grained -- almost powder like. Keeps floating away /ugh.

TY slide!  How's your tank coming along? What kind of plants from Singapore?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

From the top:


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## dubels (Jun 14, 2012)

Wow this just looks amazing. Really like the look of the derimmed 20L. I am debating whether or not to keep getting nano tanks or really find room for a 20L. 

I really need to branch out and try new plants. I want to get some plants that grow out of the water, and I really want to try the planting in the filter box. I wonder if I can plant in the overflow area of my Evolve 4.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Sure you can! This is half emergent HC in the back of the Spec. Happened mostly by accident, threw in floating pieces in there and they took off.


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## KGsPFT (Jun 28, 2012)

I may have missed it, but did you do anything to keep the bamboo firmly planted in the soil? I love the look of this and would like to add a few to one corner of my tank, but it's 18" from substrate to surface and I'm worried they may not be stable.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

The roots dig in really deep and far, initially I would trim it, stick it in the dirt, and lay some river rocks over the top, after a few weeks you can remove the rocks as the stem will have rooted.


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## ValMM (Feb 22, 2011)

Still looking great. How is your balcony planter doing?


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## KGsPFT (Jun 28, 2012)

xenxes said:


> The roots dig in really deep and far, initially I would trim it, stick it in the dirt, and lay some river rocks over the top, after a few weeks you can remove the rocks as the stem will have rooted.


Great, thanks!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

ValMM said:


> Still looking great. How is your balcony planter doing?


I just um, tore it up today, it's literally a bucket of mud water right now. :/

All the PFRs are berried! 12 females, except the males were RCS/Sakura-grade  let's see what comes out.


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## nightshadebel (May 3, 2012)

congrats on the berried girls.


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## LICfish (Oct 9, 2010)

You tank looks amazing. Do you do anything special to keep the plants red?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Thanks, it's looking sparse still after the redo compared to the old easy stems. Takes a lot longer to fill in compared to a high-tech.

Just light for red, I lowered the single T5HO bulb down to about 6" above the water surface. If the plants are genetically red, they will turn red


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## LICfish (Oct 9, 2010)

xenxes said:


> Thanks, it's looking sparse still after the redo compared to the old easy stems. Takes a lot longer to fill in compared to a high-tech.
> 
> Just light for red, I lowered the single T5HO bulb down to about 6" above the water surface. If the plants are genetically red, they will turn red


Haha not in my tank. I have a T5NO right above the tank. So far the only plant that stays red is the tiger lotus. Everything else has turned green.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Some species require more light to stay red, try to find a ludwigia repens red species, these seem to stay red under medium light too, the glandulosa require pretty high and only turns red when it approaches the water surface.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

It's Christmas!!!









Boxes!









Never seen a package packed like this before... newspaper-kordon burrito! Must have used 3 whole newspapers per kordon bag.









Wrapped in thick thick insulating wool. All for two tiny bags.

*The loot:*









16 OEBTs, I threw the 6 blondes into the 9g to mix with the super tigers









9 Blue Bees (paracaridina), one came berried, but I dumped it into the tupperware too fast and she dropped all the eggs 









12 Sulawesi Cardinals

The cardinals came in different colors, might just be shipping stress









... I sort of "acclimated" for 15 minutes before dumping them all into my 20L. Bwahaha.

Cardinals look so pretty 


















Hmm that's an upsidedown stem.

More pics later tonight. 

And I know, parameters aren't right. $200 experiment.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

Wow. the cardinas are really pretty!


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

Nice shrimp! Where'd you buy them from?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

OEBTs + Cardinals from Ark; Blue Bees from aquabid--hansypatty (?) seller in FL. Both packed amazingly well (puts my packaging to shame). One had styrofoam + some kind of a shiny foil insulation, Ark's had tons of wool-insulating-material and he must have wrapped the newspaper 50 times, took me 10 minutes to unwrap.

Are some cardinals supposed to be that purple? Taking bets on when shrimp die, which species, what time. :/ I'll take some macros after dinner. Everything started grazing immediately on the bamboo / side of tank. No frantic behavior or any hiding as of yet.

I added a tank heater and set it for about 76F, to come on at night when I crank the AC up to 74F.

I have this hunch that any shrimp species will do well in clean water approaching neutral conditions (GH 5-6, pH 7, temperature 76-78F, oxygen-equilibrium), let's hope I'm right.


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## fplata (May 20, 2012)

Awesome!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Shrimp pics as promised, ignore the watermark using them for profiles on a shrimp DB.

Cardinal:









































OEBT:

























Blue Bee (only found 2 brown-reds), these are pretty ugly :/


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## nightshadebel (May 3, 2012)

I'm so jealous! !! Solo many awesome shrimps!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I think sulawesi prices would come down a bit if people can keep and breed them in neutral parameters, remember the malawa (river-sulawesi)? Had specific parameters, now through tank-breeding is as tolerant as RCS.

Two more pics of a dark cardinal, wine-red almost black with blue dots.

1. With Flash









2. No Flash









Which one looks better? 

Oh, found a pleasant surprise on the glass:










Oto fry!


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## knuggs (Mar 5, 2007)

Wow!! All kinds of excitement on here since I last saw it. Congrats on all the loot, great choices!! Cute lil Otto too, wish mine would breed! Great pics too!


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## midlife_hobbyist (Jul 4, 2012)

nice experiment...subsribed !!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Thx  saw 1 adult cardinal on its side this morning, moved to remove it, it jumped away. No deaths... so far. Juvies are actively grazing in the front of the tank. Tank dropped to about 75-76F at night. I'm not sure how this heater works yet, trying to keep it stable at 78F.

Seeing more blue bees at the front, they're all that copper-brown color. Debating on removing them.


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## Chyrol (Jan 18, 2012)

Awesome shrimps and congrats on the oto fry! Lots of excitement going on recently


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Goods news, more oto fry:









Bad news, 1 dead cardinal, looks like a failed molt:









Since they won't eat Ken's veggie sticks with calcium, I'll have to throw in some shells or limestone with calcium deposits.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Cardinal HQ, don't remember what kind of rock this was, but harboring lots of algae growth, they seem to be eating off it.









BTOE with purple stripes?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Growth update since last:

Last FTS:









Current FTS:










Added carpet plants; added aerator + heater behind buddha / lucky bamboo circle:


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Cardinal Tales, Part 1:

Day 1 of my abduction, 12 of us left together on this expedition, 11 are left, Sam didn't make it, he had a bad molt, I shouldn't have persuaded him to come... We're holed up in this bunker and setup a perimeter, these are strange lands, the water has oxygen but it feels strange. Cold. Different.










I set out to scout the surrounding, secure food for the others, it was a bad idea to come alone, but I couldn't have another death on my conscious.










Minutes away from camp, I came across the strangest shrimp, it was twice the size of the largest Cardinal I've seen. I called out, but she didn't respond. Must not speak Sulawesi, I gestured frantically, she just trampled on by... like a zombie. Strange lands.










I forced myself onward, inches and inches into this never ending jungle, looking for any signs of intelligent life, all of a sudden, a blur of black and white materialized behind me...










To be continued...


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## tropicalmackdaddy (Mar 7, 2012)

Lolollol i love it! Whats the main shrimp/characters name?


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## nightshadebel (May 3, 2012)

Man I love this tank!!! Looks even better with red. Too funny on the story. I wonder what the other shrimp think...?


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

HAHA your story is awesome. Love the part where they hole up in the bunker. But hey.. why does the main character change color after seeing the PFR ?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

diwu13 said:


> HAHA your story is awesome. Love the part where they hole up in the bunker. But hey.. why does the main character change color after seeing the PFR ?


The shrimp was frightened, sucked the air out of it, i.e.:










Duh.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Continue the story...


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

Puuuuuure awesomeness!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

The dracaena are growing shoots everywhere:









3 different locations









This one's shooting out a stem on the bottom










CBS getting bigger, almost breeding age









Here's a blue bee that's more blue


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## cantsay39 (Jun 10, 2011)

fantastic collections!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Just added new fish:

4 Emerald Dwarf Rasboras
6 Boraras Brigittae (strawberry; orange)
1 Boraras Brigittae (chili)

Will my cardinals become fish bait? Stay tuned.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

So all the fish except the emeralds are schooling well?


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## crazydaz (Mar 18, 2007)

Very cool looking, xenxes!! This tank has come a very long way, and looks spectacular! 

Are you at all worried about the dracaena becoming overgrown? How easy is this stuff to trim?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

TY, they're very easy to trim, I just cut off the top and the offshoots. Propagated tons already.

Here's the pics of new fish:









$50-60 of fish, doesn't look like much huh?









The sole "chili rasbora" (boraras maculata) being sold for $1.19, at that price they'd go fast.

















These other boraras brigittae were sold at $3.59 (?), but much redder









An emerald dwarf rasboras / danio (similar to CPDs and will interbreed)

I'll try to get more pics when they're less shy and color up.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> TY, they're very easy to trim, I just cut off the top and the offshoots. Propagated tons already.
> 
> Here's the pics of new fish:
> 
> ...


Why is that one fishy alone? That's the chili? And blue water from paraguard?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

That's the chili, I think she didn't want to mix them (then I wouldn't be able to tell them apart).

Idk what the blue water is, the LFS started packing in it, I netted the fish out and into the tank. They've been QT'd at the LFS for a week.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh I see.

That answered my question. Blue water is probably from Seachem Paraguard treatment. A lot of people use that in QT tanks.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Cardinal @ night (before they could get color back)


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## KGsPFT (Jun 28, 2012)

Where's part II of the story?!?!?!?!?!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

xenxes said:


> Cardinal @ night (before they could get color back)


Dang they look nowhere as good lol



KGsPFT said:


> Where's part II of the story?!?!?!?!?!


+1 +1


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## fishboy199413 (Jan 20, 2010)

That is probably a Boraras maculata female and is not a Boraras brigittae. You can tel because of the lone spot on its body. Nice new fish.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Cool, thanks for the ID! Any idea if they will interbreed?


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## zzrguy (Jul 11, 2012)

that is one outstanding looking tank.


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## fishboy199413 (Jan 20, 2010)

Yeah it usually happens when they mistake each other for mates and lay eggs. I wonder if mine will do the same or just breed with their own species?


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## IggyEGuana (Jul 4, 2012)

YOU GOT THEM! keep us posted on their behavior


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

boraras and cpds feeding with the shrimp









Can you spot all 5 shrimp species?

---

Oh yeah, (multiple) berried blue bee and CBS

















--

Pretty OEBT with purple stripes









Dark Blue / Black-ish blue bee, very prominent white striping too


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## NQuaday (Jul 14, 2011)

Great coloration on the shrimp! Those boraras are so tiny!


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

I only see PFR, CBS, blue bee, and cardinal?


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Look bottom left, camouflaged


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## TaDoey (Jun 14, 2012)

its a...CHERRY!!!!... i hope


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Are you counting a RCS as something different from PFR?

*edit* I see the OEBT above it .


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## TaDoey (Jun 14, 2012)

diwu13 said:


> Are you counting a RCS as something different from PFR?
> 
> *edit* I see the OEBT above it .


Good eye


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

KGsPFT said:


> Where's part II of the story?!?!?!?!?!


Updates on the shrimp blog, consolidating all shrimp-stuff there.

Going to keep this for FTS/plants updates:









OOPS! Guess what I OD'd?









Cleared up next day. Mostly.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Wait.. so a CBS attacked and ate a scud for realz? or was the scud dead already?


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## tropicalmackdaddy (Mar 7, 2012)

Spoiler alert!!!!!!


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## IggyEGuana (Jul 4, 2012)

whats that in ur feeding dish?


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

Where are the blue bolts?


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## ANBU (Oct 7, 2011)

very very beautiful


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## KGsPFT (Jun 28, 2012)

xenxes said:


> Updates on the shrimp blog, consolidating all shrimp-stuff there.
> 
> ...


Hahahaha!

I too am awaiting Part IV!


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Pregnant CPD stealing shrimp food.









*NOM NOM NOM*


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Ha! A pregnant gal's gotta eat.

Glad to see this tank still looking splendid.


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## doncityz (May 17, 2011)

DANG! THis is purty! nice job. i envy u.


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Filter box update:









Left









Right









Tank during the day, area is pretty ugly & messy, in for a redo


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## dubels (Jun 14, 2012)

Wow what an amazing tank.


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## doncityz (May 17, 2011)

U injecting CO2 in there right?


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## akdylpickles (Feb 21, 2011)

This tank just gets better everyday! Amazing job, if I can get my tanks to look half as great as yours ill be happy


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

How are you dosing this tank?


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

Whatever happened to xenxes?


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## Eldachleich (Jul 9, 2011)

*Re: xenxes's Aqueon 20L - "Bamboo Jungle" + Otos/CPDs/Pygm, PFR/CBS/OEBT/Cardinal/Blu*

I dunno...
I know he moved from his apartment into a new house so maybe he's concentrating on that..
I know some of his tanks have been retired after the move...

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

Been busy with the new house & job. I've been sparsely updating another forum, here's some select photos:









Now sitting on an IKEA shelf @ intersection of my foyer/kitchen/living area. The shelf is better for a 55L but I didn't want to make the effort to start a new tank, so I just threw in 2 wabi kusas to fill the empty space.


















Filter boxes are changing a lot, I've mainly been using these to harvest plants then to throw them into my new outdoor 270gallon pond (did it cheap & natural for $80 )









Still have a couple otos.









Mosura SSS, not very high grade.









BTOEs

And answering some old Qs, no CO2, no dosing, just osmocote inserts into substrate (mix of dirt+sand+rocks) every 6 months or so.

Some more pics here (mostly shrimp) starting on page 13, from past few months.

I'll take some more pics tonight.


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## ValMM (Feb 22, 2011)

Still looking great!


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## asuran (Oct 12, 2007)

awesome tank, subscribed


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## xenxes (Dec 22, 2011)

I've been losing a lot of red. I think the T5HO is getting dimmer.




















Everything thrown in the filter box grows weedy. I've been using it to propagate more plants for the pond.


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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

very cool!


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