# snoz0r's 29 gallon - Updated 6/11/10 - PIC HEAVY



## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

The cloudiness may be caused by the aquasoil. Is it AS I or ASII?
It looks nice so far :thumbsup:, though I would suggest adding some rocks or some wood.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

It's AS I, I did have a really really nice branch in there. I believe it was Oak that I had found. I de-barked it myself and baked it. I soaked it for 72 hours outside and put it in the tank but it still floated, so it sat in the tank from 5-02 until yesterday when I planted the hairgrass. It still floats and it was covered in white whispy slime...? I'm not really sure what the deal with that was so I took it out. I'd love to have it back in but dealing with it floating sucks, anytime I change water or have to re-plant a stem it floats to the top and disturbs the AS causing more cloudiness. Not to mention the rediculous amount of tannins it was leaching into the water, it was like staring and mud soup.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Yeah, that was driftwood fungus. Otos eat it and excel kills it. Try putting it through the dishwasher for a couple of cycles, that should remove the tannins


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Ok, i'll try that. I have dosed excel a few times but it didn't really seem to have effect on it. I'm waiting for a few more dollars to come in, because the oto's are next on my list to get so it's good to know that'll they'll take care of it. I was thinking 3 or 4 of them, to many, not enough? Also, should I be worried about the JetDry in the dishwasher lol..?


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

snoz0r said:


> Ok, i'll try that. I have dosed excel a few times but it didn't really seem to have effect on it. I'm waiting for a few more dollars to come in, because the oto's are next on my list to get so it's good to know that'll they'll take care of it. I was thinking 3 or 4 of them, to many, not enough? Also, should I be worried about the JetDry in the dishwasher lol..?


make sure there isn't any soap or other chemicals in the dishwasher.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

5-12-09 pics updated, wood placed back in tank after 4 hours worth of boiling


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Updated 5/21/09 more pics

wow what an active thread full of replies lol.. :icon_roll


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## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

it is  you need to post updates


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

I would consider putting the anubias on the wood rather than in the substrate.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

cah925 said:


> I would consider putting the anubias on the wood rather than in the substrate.


Thats not a bad idea actually. I had forgotten you could do that with anubias. The driftwood is quite thin however, where do you think a good spot might be?

On another note, does anyone think the sword is too big for the tank. I did cut two bigger leaves out of it last night because they were dying but i cant decide if the plant itself is taking up too much room or not. Any opinions?


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

tried tying the anubias, it looked horrible took out the other pot of hairgrass.. ordered dry ferts, yellow shrimp and shirakura shrimp food today

pics updated and for some off topic pics, here are some i got of a robin the other day who's made a nest and had babies in one of the windows here at the house, enjoy!

Flew up to the window with this huge grub









Feeding the babies! Talk about up close and personal.


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## mache62 (Aug 10, 2008)

Wow! Awesome shot of the mom feeding the baby!

About the tank.....is that a power head in there? The only reason I ask is because I've just gotten my 29G set up as well and I didn't realize I would need flow like that? But tank looks good so far!


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

mache62 said:


> Wow! Awesome shot of the mom feeding the baby!
> 
> About the tank.....is that a power head in there? The only reason I ask is because I've just gotten my 29G set up as well and I didn't realize I would need flow like that? But tank looks good so far!


Yes, that's a power head. A Hydor Koralia Nano to be exact. I guess whether or not you need it depends on your filter. I'm running an Eheim ECCO 2234, I felt that it didn't provide enough flow so I spent the extra money on the nano, although sometimes i'm not sure whether or not I should have spent a few extra and gotten the Koralia 1.


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

hows that AS cycling?


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

it's good man =P all done cycling as far as i can tell, just bought a Co2 cylinder today, regulator is being bid on ebay, bubble counter, drop checker, check valve and perma seal is on order...

oh and yellow shrimp should be here tomorrow or the next =D


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

youre chuggin right along!


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Awesome shot of the momma bird! I love it.  The tank is awesome, by the way. I am jealous that you have ADA aquasoil.


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## crimsonbull57 (Jan 7, 2009)

Sweet pic of the robin! You get your yellows yet? 
Nice DW btw


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Yes I got my yellows on wednesday 6-03-09, thanks about the pics I thought the robin was pretty cool too!

Updated news: Bought and received the rest of parts for pressurized co2, it's been set up as of 6-05-09, however I've had to shut it off. I had gotten some BGA on the substrate so i'm currently doing a 3 day black out, squirted some H202 on the few patches that I could see and added a full strength dose of Erythromicin, i've only enough money for a 3 days dose, so hopefully in conjunction with the H202 and blackout that will take care of it *prays*. I can't afford to lose this tank to BGA, i'm tapped out on funds so it's this or my tank dies. I'm assuming that the cause could be low nitrates, as when I tested the tank before I did the black out it was at 5 ppm. Problem is, I was in the middle of a 50% water change and trim when I found the BGA so i'm assuming it was probably at about 10 ppm or so, we'll see.


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## crimsonbull57 (Jan 7, 2009)

How'd everything turn out?


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

So far so good, no algae that i've seen since. Ripped the amazon sword out of the tank, it was spreading out to much, blocking flow and the bigger it got the more and more I hated it. So my tank is looking very very bare right now. Did get some L. Aromatica here on the SnS so that should be here soon to help fill everything in. I'd really like to get ahold of some blyxa and/or Downoi as well. Some erio's would be really cool if I could find em cheap.


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## jkim53 (Jun 17, 2009)

great tank.

I wanted to get your thoughts on the Hydor Nano. You said earlier that you think you should have went with the Stage 1 instead? Why do you say that? Does the nano not move enough water around in a 29G? Im debating on either the nano or Stage 1 for my 29G but dont want it too strong to where it blows my tall plants down. Does the nano affect your plants at all?


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

jkim53 said:


> great tank.
> 
> I wanted to get your thoughts on the Hydor Nano. You said earlier that you think you should have went with the Stage 1 instead? Why do you say that? Does the nano not move enough water around in a 29G? Im debating on either the nano or Stage 1 for my 29G but dont want it too strong to where it blows my tall plants down. Does the nano affect your plants at all?


PM Sent


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Bump for update - 6/24/09

More cherry shrimp on the way, wishing there was more horizontal hair grass growth.


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## vegasMatt (Sep 6, 2008)

Trimming your hairgrass will encourage it to send out runners, that will poke up from the substrate within just a couple days.

Some folks suggest that regular trimming is greatly beneficial to overall hairgrass health, although I have had small clumps that do okay when left alone.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

The tank is looking great. You've got me wanting a bigger tank with a grass field.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

vegasMatt said:


> Trimming your hairgrass will encourage it to send out runners, that will poke up from the substrate within just a couple days.
> 
> Some folks suggest that regular trimming is greatly beneficial to overall hairgrass health, although I have had small clumps that do okay when left alone.


I'm trim it often, about every other waterchange or so. It has been sending out runners, just not enough to my liking.

clwatkins: i originally wanted to do HM, but I chose HG over the fact that I didn't have pressurized co2 at the time, so I was worried it was a worthless cause. Overall, even though I have pressurized now, i'm happy with the HG. My shrimp love picking through it, it's like a mini forest for them


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## crimsonbull57 (Jan 7, 2009)

wow your water looks crystal clear! Are you going to add some moss to the branches of the driftwood?


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## crimsonbull57 (Jan 7, 2009)

Added some fish I see :icon_cool can we get an update and some pics?


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

crimsonbull57 said:


> Added some fish I see :icon_cool can we get an update and some pics?


Done, bump for new tank pic on main post and here a few others for fun.

Gold Ram with some of the cardinals in the background









Other pic of the ram


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## redfalconf35 (Feb 24, 2008)

Pretty ram! Your tank looks nice!


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

redfalconf35 said:


> Pretty ram! Your tank looks nice!


I think hes nice too, thank you though. I've worked pretty hard to get it going and filled in.


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## crimsonbull57 (Jan 7, 2009)

Looks good, the hairgrass really filled in quite well. Is your Ram one of those Ballon Rams?


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

the gold is a balloon.

updated - the regular german rams won't survive.. probably doesn't help that i got ich from the pet store.

picked up 2 kribensis, which i'm fairly sure are male and female.. time will tell when they're adjusted.. also picked up a flordia flag fish to hopefully help with some hair algae.. still trying to figure out the root cause


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Updated with FTS, pictures of inhabitants to soon follow.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Picture of the female of the Krib pair, tried getting the male and 2 juveniles, but they are just too fast and camera shy at the moment.










She's in between the pot and plant, you can't see her much.. i'm trying to get better pics.


Edit: Just noticed.. you can see, albeit blurry shot of one of the juveniles at the top left hand..


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## whickerda (Sep 22, 2009)

Your tank is pretty sweet. Love the lawn!! How is your florida flagfish doing? Does it seem to help with the hair algae? You have it with RCSes right? Any trouble with the flagfish picking at them?


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## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

Cool tank! Your Ram looks so proud of himself in that pic up above, lol! Like he knows he's got the best tank on the block or something.

I also would like to know how the flagfish is working out for you.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Bump for new FTS 11-2-09

*whickerda*: thanks, it's a real pain in the ass though.. wish i went with HC but, at the time i didn't have the pressurized co2 to support it. sometimes it does look really nice though.

The flagfish honestly didn't work out, my guess is that he ended up having something from my LFS because he never ate any algae, or ANYTHING else for that matter, and god did I try everything. I eventually euthanized him because he just got so skinny and boney and I didn't want him to suffer anymore.

I did have him with some RCS, he never bothered anyone or anything at all though.

*Church*: I absolutely loved that ram when I had him. Other then the color being washed out in those pics, he really was that yellow. He had brilliant oranges too. BY FAR the best looking gold ram I had ever seen. He was however, exactly how you said "King of the Block". He would let nothing get into his territory, which was nearly the whole tank and I became interested in breeding Kribensis that I sold him. Even at my LFS in a 55 gallon tank with angels and other rams (GBR, gold and a bolivian) he flared at everything. I did get paid a good deal on him though.


On another note, as I mentioned before, trying to breed Kribs.. I've got a proven pair but I just can't seem to get them to breed. they've been in the tank about 2 months now, tried fattening them up on black worms, they obviously have a clay pot and plenty of cover.. but they just don't seem to do the deed. can anyone offer some insight?


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

damn, no love at all for comments people? rough crowd =)


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

finally was able to get some pictures of the pair of kribs, as well as the juvies

Female:









Male:










Juveniles (Already nice dorsal stripes):


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## demonbreedr16 (Jan 10, 2008)

Very nice!! I like the overall feel of this tank!


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Very nice kribs! :thumbsup:

How long will you wait before moving the juvies to another tank?


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

*demon: *thank you, considering i've been relatively unhappy with it lately =P




lauraleellbp said:


> Very nice kribs! :thumbsup:
> 
> How long will you wait before moving the juvies to another tank?


not sure yet, probably soon.. there's a little territory bickering but that's few and far between, may end up just selling them honestly, i have a 10 gallon in the garage but it's not set up in any way at the moment. they are indeed offspring of the pair, i wish i could just get them to breed again.


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## Whiskeyfox (Oct 16, 2009)

How do you like that Hydor Koralia Nano? I was thinking about getting one to get a dead spot in my 20H.... you're obviously using one on a 29, was wondering if you thought the nano was enough water movement? To me the Korlia 1 is too big... please let me know. Thanks!


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## Dr. Acula (Oct 14, 2009)

Nice tank, man. I just set up a 29g for myself a few days back, after looking around the site a while for inspiration. I'm a fan of hairgrass foregrounds, and trying to get one to grow in at the moment. About how fast is it spreading for you?

But you've got a healthy, fun tank, in my opinion.

Nice fish too.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Whiskeyfox said:


> How do you like that Hydor Koralia Nano? I was thinking about getting one to get a dead spot in my 20H.... you're obviously using one on a 29, was wondering if you thought the nano was enough water movement? To me the Korlia 1 is too big... please let me know. Thanks!


 
I would have gone with the Koralia 1 IMO, it wouldn't be good at the start when you first plant, it would probably pull them out of the substrate, but after roots have grown it would be perfect... atleast for my tank.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Dr. Acula said:


> Nice tank, man. I just set up a 29g for myself a few days back, after looking around the site a while for inspiration. I'm a fan of hairgrass foregrounds, and trying to get one to grow in at the moment. About how fast is it spreading for you?
> 
> But you've got a healthy, fun tank, in my opinion.
> 
> Nice fish too.


Took a while for the hairgrass to spread in, but once it settled in, it took off. Still patchy in some spots (mostly due to kribensis pulling it out). But harldy noticeble unless i trim the grass or look at it from above.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Moving the offspring to a new tank may encourage them to spawn again.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

lauraleellbp said:


> Moving the offspring to a new tank may encourage them to spawn again.


Been trying to find a place in my house to set up a 10 gallon for them, i really have no idea where to put it though..

thanks for the tip though.. if worse to comes to worse i'll sell them.. but i was wanting to keep them.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Here's a few pictures of the kribs, tried to get a pic of the male apisto but the minute he saw me, he hid in the plants.

Male and Female:









Female:









Male:










Other pic of female:


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## dantra (May 25, 2007)

Beautiful fish and tank. I don't know which one I like more. The second photograph is outstanding.

Dan


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

dantra said:


> Beautiful fish and tank. I don't know which one I like more. The second photograph is outstanding.
> 
> Dan


thank you very much, I'm really trying. It's been hard to get it where it is now. Which photo are you speaking of? The female krib?


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## dantra (May 25, 2007)

snoz0r said:


> thank you very much, I'm really trying. It's been hard to get it where it is now. Which photo are you speaking of? The female krib?


Yes, this one.
Female:









I like it a lot. Its not bright and there isn't any light or glare bouncing off of the fish. It looks natural. Great job roud:

A little post processing would make it look brilliant. What camera are you using?

Dan


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

dantra said:


> I like it a lot. Its not bright and there isn't any light or glare bouncing off of the fish. It looks natural. Great job roud:
> 
> A little post processing would make it look brilliant. What camera are you using?
> 
> Dan


ahh yes, i love that picture too. the camera i'm using is a Sony Cyber-Shot W290.


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## dantra (May 25, 2007)

Wow, for a point and shoot that is an extremely nice photo. I would have figured you adjusted the aperture, exposure, ISO, etc. Good eye and even better photo.

Dan


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## G_Pique (Jun 22, 2006)

Wow, your female looks good. . .

I house 8 kribs, but all of them are male. I think I should go shopping for some ladies.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

dantra said:


> Wow, for a point and shoot that is an extremely nice photo. I would have figured you adjusted the aperture, exposure, ISO, etc. Good eye and even better photo.
> 
> Dan


this camera does take great pics if you time it right, best thing is.. particularly in that photo.. other then a little too dark the colors are true.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

finally got some pics of the apisto male, only two though, nearly the same:


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## dantra (May 25, 2007)

That camera does indeed take fantastic photos for a point and shoot. The hairgrass is filling in nicely. Are the eyes really that dark? It looks like he's wearing shades :biggrin:


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

they are that dark, i love that fish.. he's a cool dude, just wish his tale was more spaded


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Just thought i'd add, I finally got the SunSun filter and built a reg grigg style reactor, here's pics:


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Couple pictures of the inhabitants:


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## itzjustjeff (Apr 27, 2009)

lookin good! may we have another FTS?:icon_smil


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

itzjustjeff said:


> lookin good! may we have another FTS?:icon_smil


just posted one, look on the first page =)


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

For those interested, here's a video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCdr4mcyjZM

Warning, it was shot in high def.. and it's just about 4 minutes long, so it is a large download. If you have a slow connection it may take awhile. Most broadband users should be fine though.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Good news! Kribensis FINALLY spawned!

Kribensis Fry!


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## crimsonbull57 (Jan 7, 2009)

How are the fry?


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## dantra (May 25, 2007)

Your video of the parents with the fry looks great. I see that the fry are basically laying around as opposed to swimming freely. Also the other video which shows your tank is enjoyable to watch because it just looks so healthy. 

Oh, the kids in the background sound so adorable. They made my wife take notice. :biggrin:

Dan


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

*Crim*: They doing ok so far, out the 25 or so that hatched i've got 3 left but they're growing fast so I think they'll make it. my original intent was to sell them to specks, but if your interested in getting one let me know.

*dantra*: thank you very much. yeah i've got 4 kids =P they're a nosy bunch if you couldn't tell


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

*Krib Spawn #2!*

Kribs spawned again about a week and a few days ago, the female was HUGE I wish I had gotten pictures of her, at any rate, they've been guarding the flower pot for a while, but I hadn't seen any babies what so ever, they haven't brought them out or anything. I was beginning to assume that maybe this batch of eggs just didn't make it for some reason.

Decided I wanted to try and take a closer peak, normally I would let nature takes it's course and won't disturb them, but I just had to see.
I moved the moss covered driftwood away, shut off the lights and used a small flashlight to shine in to the pot, and OH MY there was ALOT of babies, I'd have to say at least 60 - 80 from what I could see. So i moved the moss back and left them be, I did however squirt a mixture of HBH baby bites and finely crushed flake food with a mortar and pestle near the pot so that they could try and get started eating some healthier foods other than organisms. Hoping that this way they'll have a better chance of survival other than just numbers in their favor compared to the last batch.

Speaking of which, while I was digging around in the tank, I did manage to spot the one lonely survivor from the last hatch, he's getting pretty big! I hardly see him however, he does a hell of a job hiding out in the plant mass and does a great job of blending in.

At any rate, I hope to have some pictures up as soon as possible, definitely want to get pictures of this latest spawn whenever the parents finally decide to bring them out. =)


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Don't know what happened these past couple months. My female Krib out of the pair suddenly died over night one night about 3 weeks ago, along with some neons and other things. Not exactly sure what happened at all, gassed them maybe from an EOTD? Honestly no idea. Did a major trim, cut out the biggest Alternanthera reineckii, it was big and bushy at the top, but the bottom had lost all leaves and the aerial roots were driving me absolutely nuts. Cut down a bunch of the Bacopa as well, so there's a huge empty spot in the middle of the tank. Honestly i'd like to redo the whole tank, other than the dwarf hairgrass, but the money just isn't there for new plants. Everything else has been good. Bought a new Current USA T5 HO fixture, as one of the Coralife's went dead on me. Sooo, that's what it is, i'll try and keep it updated more often. Should note, the Krib pair's second batch of babies was massive, but NONE of them made it, not sure what happened there either. Bought 2 new females and a male, they're still young however. Hoping for a pair up, if not.. maybe I'll move to some other Dwarf Cichlid for breeding, which is something I truly enjoy, but again.. money issue, so we'll see.

bleh..

pics of the new kribs soon to come..

Also, a blog consisting of the beginning of my entrance to the hobby up until now has been put up AND it will contain articles and stories and other useful items of mention to the hobby as a whole, please visit! Tell me what you think, or if you have anything to add or would like to featured in anyway, please message me, I'd love to have anyone on board as long as it's worthwhile and beneficial to everyone.

High Tech Aquaria


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## boon (Mar 29, 2006)

Nice layout. I love the look of a thick DHG. I could never get mine to look like that. Two question for ya

1. I saw you have a brass barb from the reactor to the filter(might be wrong) how are you water params? I heard brass wasn't good in a aquarium.

2. Also how do you upload videos on youtube in HD?


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

boon said:


> Nice layout. I love the look of a thick DHG. I could never get mine to look like that. Two question for ya
> 
> 1. I saw you have a brass barb from the reactor to the filter(might be wrong) how are you water params? I heard brass wasn't good in a aquarium.
> 
> 2. Also how do you upload videos on youtube in HD?


Thank you very much, it took quite a while to become so thick, but eventually I got there =P just lots of patience and usually I'll trim it to like 1 inch weekly or biweekly, depends if I feel like cleaning out all the clippings that day or not . It's truly a PITA.

1) The brass barb seems to be ok at the moment, i'll admit.. it certainly was a choice I wanted to make, but it's all I could find in the right size locally. I haven't done a copper test by any means, but now that you mention it, I probably should eventually. Haven't had any inverts for a long while either, since they would be fairly sensitive.

2) As long as your camera/video cam shoots in HD and you have it set to that, it'll be uploaded that way automatically on youtube.


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## crimsonbull57 (Jan 7, 2009)

I like the blog. 
Any new pics comming soon?


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

crimsonbull57 said:


> I like the blog.
> Any new pics comming soon?


 
Thanks! and very soon on the pics.. camera is charging as we speak.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Bump:










Newer camera's cables have disappeared so I had to go back to the old camera. =( The colors and quality are terrible and just doesn't do this shrimp justice. It is actually a brilliant red with a peach stripe. Hopefully I can find the cables soon.

The tank itself has gone completely down hill. Most of the inhabitants mysteriously died off in one day, I was out for the most of the day, discovered the power strip plug was unplugged which meant it had set there for X amount of hours. Hard to believe that was just the case but who knows, I wasn't there so I can't say for sure.

For the past week and a half it had been running with no fertilization and no Co2 as well. Finally was able to get it refilled and while I was there I paid the extra $ to get the tank upgraded from a 5 to 10# so I won't have to worry about it as much.

Also, since the die off I have added a total of 50 or so red cherry shrimp but the most I've been able to count at one time was 26, so who knows how many are truly in there. I know there are atleast 2 berried females and many that are saddled so hopefully I'll have a large colony sooner rather than later.


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## snoz0r (Jun 6, 2008)

Haven't posted in forever, and tank is still running but from my job I can't take care of it nearly as much.. Desperately need new bulbs for fixtures.. I am trying to breed Kribs again. 

Picture of one of the female babies I received back in February :



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus


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