# Willzy's Mr Aqua 12G



## willzy (Aug 28, 2011)

Hi All,

I purchased a Mr Aqua 12g awhile ago from Exotic Aquatics after being inspired by Aww's iwagumi http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...-(Mr-Aqua-12G) tank

Initially, I wanted a simple layout consisting of stones and HC much like Aww's above. Then off I went to Exotic Aquatics and bought all the HC he had and attempted a dry start since it's been all the rave lately. After a few weeks with limited growth I decided to flood the tank as my hands got itchy.. The HC began to propagate pretty quickly after that. With the HC spreading in the tank, I became bored and felt that with the cash I've spent on CO2 gear I wanted to play with a few more plants. For the last few weekends I've been heading to Subscape and Exotic Aquatics to stock up on a variety of plants and I am pretty happy with the current results although I think it'll be a b***h to maintain those stems.

*Setup information* 
- Tank: Mr Aqua 12g long
- Substrate: ADA Amazonia New 9L - Still have 1/4 of bag left. ADA Power Sand Special S
- Filter: Aquanic 1000 Canister
- CO2: CO2Pro Compact Kit, Sera Flore 500 Reactor - 2 BPS
- Lighting: 2x20W Cree Led Floodlights with Aussie Plugs
- Heating: HYdor 200W Inline Heater
- Ohko Stones

*Flora*
- HC (Hemianthus Callitrichoides "Cuba")
- Hydrocotyle tripartita
- HM (Hemianthus Micranthemoides)
- Eleocharis parvulus "Hair Grass"
- Alternanthera Reineckii Mini
- Tonina Fluvalis 
- Syngonanthus Belem
- Few others that I don't know the name of

*Fauna*
- RCS
- CRS
- Otto x2

*Ferts*
- ADA Brighty K (Daily)
- ADA Green Brighty Step 2 (Every 3 days)
- ADA Green Brighty Special Lights (Every 3 days)

Here are some photos taken tonight:























































Cheers,

Will


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## Charrr89 (May 15, 2013)

Can't see any images...


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## willzy (Aug 28, 2011)

Thanks for letting me know. Does it work now?


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## swoof (Jun 30, 2010)

pics work now, crazy sweet setup


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## BeastMaster (Dec 17, 2012)

Beautiful scape! Can't wait to flood my 12L. :bounce:


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## Charrr89 (May 15, 2013)

willzy said:


> Thanks for letting me know. Does it work now?


Yes. Omg it's so beautiful! What's dat plant next to the s Belem.. Looks like a tall s repen or something..:


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## willzy (Aug 28, 2011)

Thanks for the great comments 

Charrr89, the plant next to the s Belem is HM (Hemianthus Micranthemoides) or Tonina fluviatilis. Not really sure which one you're referring to but it's one of those.


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## billbug68 (Aug 23, 2012)

Very nice! Looks great, and it's refreshing to see a more plant heavy layout in a 12L! Is this setup behind a couch or something?


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## oldskool559 (Aug 19, 2013)

wow thats a gorgeous looking tank!


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## willzy (Aug 28, 2011)

billbug68 said:


> Very nice! Looks great, and it's refreshing to see a more plant heavy layout in a 12L! Is this setup behind a couch or something?


Yes, It is setup behind my couch on top of one of those Ikea bookcases.


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## billbug68 (Aug 23, 2012)

willzy said:


> Yes, It is setup behind my couch on top of one of those Ikea bookcases.


That's awesome. I'd love to do something like that with mine, but I think my kid would probably stand on the couch and have his grubby little hands all over/in the tank all the time... Haha


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Looking great Will! 

Someday I'm gonna get one of these loooong tanks. They are perfect for a planted tank.


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## wootimatrain (Oct 31, 2013)

is that HC growing on the rock? that looks sweet whatever it is


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## willzy (Aug 28, 2011)

wootimatrain said:


> is that HC growing on the rock? that looks sweet whatever it is


You're right, I have put all excess HC into the rocks.

Cheers!


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

BEAUTIFUL! I was always fond of these tanks. You did a superb job keep the pictures coming.


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## Kai808 (Jul 19, 2011)

Great Job on the Tonina trimmings! Yeah that HM(HG) is a real weed and will take over if you're not looking.:hihi:

How is the flow from your filter? Does the reactor and heater decrease it enough for you? 

Great looking tank and great job on the photography too!


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## willzy (Aug 28, 2011)

Kai808 said:


> Great Job on the Tonina trimmings! Yeah that HM(HG) is a real weed and will take over if you're not looking.:hihi:
> 
> How is the flow from your filter? Does the reactor and heater decrease it enough for you?
> 
> Great looking tank and great job on the photography too!


Thanks Kai!

There are still some undiffused co2 bubbles that come out of the outlet. I'm assuming this means the flow is still a bit strong? 

The issue I have at the moment is lack of surface movement meaning I have to clean the top of the water on a daily basis. My current routine is to clear this with a paper towel when the lights go off for better oxygen exchange at night. I've thought about getting the eheim skimmer however I've got shrimp and people seem to have issues with shrimps getting skimmed as well. I don't really want to move my outlet higher either.


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## wootimatrain (Oct 31, 2013)

willzy said:


> You're right, I have put all excess HC into the rocks.
> 
> Cheers!


Awesome! How did you attach it??? Teach me!


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## willzy (Aug 28, 2011)

wootimatrain said:


> Awesome! How did you attach it??? Teach me!


When I bought the HC it had rock wool attached to the roots. I stuffed the rock wool along with the HC into the holes.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Really nice setup! Those plants look happy.


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## Elassoma_sailor (Nov 10, 2013)

That is absolutely gorgeous setup! :O


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## Italionstallion888 (Jun 29, 2013)

What about an air stone hidden in the corner?


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## johnson18 (Apr 29, 2011)

You've made this tank look as if it is larger than a 12g. Great job achieving that depth.


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## Psiorian (Jun 23, 2013)

willzy said:


> Thanks Kai!
> 
> There are still some undiffused co2 bubbles that come out of the outlet. I'm assuming this means the flow is still a bit strong?
> 
> The issue I have at the moment is lack of surface movement meaning I have to clean the top of the water on a daily basis. My current routine is to clear this with a paper towel when the lights go off for better oxygen exchange at night. I've thought about getting the eheim skimmer however I've got shrimp and people seem to have issues with shrimps getting skimmed as well. I don't really want to move my outlet higher either.


Gorgeous tank! Beautifully laid out and maintained. Subscribed!

I have the skim350 and it's great! Very small and works super well. I also have shrimp. I run it on a timer hour on hour off (or you could just run at night) and the shrimp can go in and out. H4n is making a mesh to go over the outflow so the shrimp don't go in when the filter is off. Before I was using some floss to cover the outlet. That worked as well just had to be sure to not use too much to stop the flow. 

If you want to run it all the time you could just empty it each night as you do the paper towel now.


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## willzy (Aug 28, 2011)

hydrophyte said:


> Really nice setup! Those plants look happy.


Thanks a lot!



Psiorian said:


> Gorgeous tank! Beautifully laid out and maintained. Subscribed!
> 
> I have the skim350 and it's great! Very small and works super well. I also have shrimp. I run it on a timer hour on hour off (or you could just run at night) and the shrimp can go in and out. H4n is making a mesh to go over the outflow so the shrimp don't go in when the filter is off. Before I was using some floss to cover the outlet. That worked as well just had to be sure to not use too much to stop the flow.
> 
> If you want to run it all the time you could just empty it each night as you do the paper towel now.


Cool, thanks for the suggestion. I'll check it out when H4n is complete.



johnson18 said:


> You've made this tank look as if it is larger than a 12g. Great job achieving that depth.


Much appreciated!



Italionstallion888 said:


> What about an air stone hidden in the corner?


Prefer not to run an airstone because the tank is open top and water will evaporate quite quickly.



Elassoma_sailor said:


> That is absolutely gorgeous setup! :O


Thanks for your kind comments.

From what i've noticed and especially after seeing Dantrasy's journal my red plants are really lacking in the 'red' colour.

I've been thinking about either updating to diy RapidLed kit or perhaps add a small 10watt warm white flood night in the middle? What are your thoughts?


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## ConfidentBlue (Aug 27, 2013)

Absolutely Beautiful! Proportions are great! Looks like paradise


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## Psiorian (Jun 23, 2013)

The thing came in. This is what I looks like. 

















It is on a timer on an hour and then off an hour so the shrimps go in an out.


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## willzy (Aug 28, 2011)

Interesting, looks like you've put a 13mm shrimp safe pre-filter on it? I don't really have any room to put the skimmer in the tank. Let me know if you have to increase your CO2 to offset the extra oxygenation.

also looks like you have a cheeseburger stuck on the side of it


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## swoof (Jun 30, 2010)

just to be contradictory, lol, looks like a 9mm and a nerite


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## dasob85 (Feb 4, 2012)

Nice tank,

and a word of warning. that eheim skimmer trapped 99% of my shrimp in 2 days lol. the timer and mesh is a good idea.


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## Psiorian (Jun 23, 2013)

It is a 13mm and a cheeseburger lol. 

Yes I did increase the co2 to compensate not that much just a tad. 

Ah if you don't have the space then that's another issue. I also use the sunsun 301 on another tank it's a hob surface skimmer combo. I just run it for 10 mins then take it out. You can see a vid in Brian_cali77's 60P journal.


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## willzy (Aug 28, 2011)

Testing out the new iPad mini's video capabilities. Update on growth since first post.

http://youtu.be/k6oLhESYUCc


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## willzy (Aug 28, 2011)

Gave it a bit of a trim today.











Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## willzy (Aug 28, 2011)

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Dantrasy (Sep 9, 2013)

Looks fabulous Will! 

Have you thought about adding a background. I'd like to see it with a white one (bit tired of black).

I could pass you some lily pipes, if you're interested, the ones currently in my mini cade. Bubble style that pushes water up from the outflow to give the surface a good wobble.


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## willzy (Aug 28, 2011)

Your wish is my command.










Personally I don't like how it looks, however, I turned the background over and I quite like the look of the rocky dark background. It brings out the colours of the shrimps and plants as well.










What do you think?

Are you offering me your lily pipes for free? 

I'm actually after the jet pipes instead. Thanks for the offer though


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## manzpants92 (Dec 6, 2012)

I think the rocky background adds a different feel to your tank, personally i think it looks pretty cool


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## Psiorian (Jun 23, 2013)

I like the rocky better than the white one!


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