# Good dirty fun. First dirt tank. 56k Warning!!! New Pics 2/1



## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Ok. So, I decided on a different light fixture. I had one of those reptile clamp lamps lying and a 13 watt CFL bulb lying around. Can you see where I am going with this? I think I am going to use that instead along with the soil and gravel cap. The soil is Ferti-Lome Ultimate potting soil and the gravel is just regular black fish tank gravel. I put about an inch of the potting soil and I will cap that with the gravel. Here is what it looks like without the soil.










Here it is with the dirt.










Do I need more? Maybe less? Let me know. And I also need to come up with a plant list. I think I want to use some Glosso as a carpet plant, but I have no idea on anything else at the moment. Give me some feedback. Thanks guys.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Got a plant list, here it is.

Hygrophila difformis - Water Wisteria - Background
Glossostigma elatinoides - Glosso - Carpet
Taxiphyllum barbieri - Java Moss

Let me know what you think.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Got the potting soil in with the gravel cap. Now I just need a filter and plants.


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## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Looks like it'll be pretty cool buddy. I think you need to add a big red low-lying plant in there too. Like some kind of smaller crypt or something, that'll look real nice. Don't know that you need any wood or rocks, unless you wanted to add rocks here and there and make the substrate slope back or something. IDK, just some thoughts and you know how they go in this hobby Heck, I redid my scape 6 times before I finally got pretty close to what I wanted. Good luck, should be pretty cool.


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## AquaStudent (Jan 4, 2011)

[email protected] said:


> Looks like it'll be pretty cool buddy. I think you need to add a big red low-lying plant in there too. Like some kind of smaller crypt or something, that'll look real nice. Don't know that you need any wood or rocks, unless you wanted to add rocks here and there and make the substrate slope back or something. IDK, just some thoughts and you know how they go in this hobby Heck, I redid my scape 6 times before I finally got pretty close to what I wanted. Good luck, should be pretty cool.


What I wish existed is a red form of the anubias plant (regular, nana, and petite). It's exactly the plant that I would love to have in my tank and what I think would look amazing in this tank 

Come on genetic engineering!

What kind of dirt did you use in your substrate? Please make sure it is organic dirt. If it has artificial fertilizers they will dissolve into the watercolumn and literally fry anything you put in there; plants, animals, fungi...anything! I used Miracle Grow Organic Potting Mix (as well has many of my friends) and so far it has done amazing! You won't regret dirting a tank especially since you'll be putting a lot of light above it.
You will also want to consider c02 injection. I'm not sure if you have any experience with it but DIY is really easy. I'm pretty new in the hobby and have picked it all up pretty quickly. You seem to know what you're doing so if you don't have any experience with it you'll definitely pick it up quick.

This tank is going to look fantastic.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Looks like it'll be pretty cool buddy. I think you need to add a big red low-lying plant in there too. Like some kind of smaller crypt or something, that'll look real nice. Don't know that you need any wood or rocks, unless you wanted to add rocks here and there and make the substrate slope back or something. IDK, just some thoughts and you know how they go in this hobby Heck, I redid my scape 6 times before I finally got pretty close to what I wanted. Good luck, should be pretty cool.


Thanks man. I finally have water in it today. I was just looking at plants in one of my books, And I did not see any that I liked that were red. I agree with it though. It needs some red right in the middle. I think I am going to do some sticks leaning against the sides covered in moss. Not planning on rocks and all that. I am planning on putting some shrimp in here, so I think the stick will be good for them. I am going to keep looking for some type of red plant though as well.



AquaStudent said:


> What I wish existed is a red form of the anubias plant (regular, nana, and petite). It's exactly the plant that I would love to have in my tank and what I think would look amazing in this tank
> 
> Come on genetic engineering!
> 
> ...


I hear ya on the genetic engineering thing. Those plants would look perfect if they were red. As far as I know, it is organic potting soil, but I will check again to make sure. If it is not, I empty it and start again. As far as CO2, I will be dosing Excel just like my other tanks and see how that goes. If it does not work, I will take the DIY route for sure. I am planning on putting a paintball setup on my 10 gallon in the near future, so I am thinking the yeast reactor would work well on this one.

Thank you both for the kind words. I am going next week as soon as I get paid to find some plants and get the filter for this tank. It is going to be a Hagen Elite Mini, and I think I changed things up on the plants a little bit. Here is my revised, will added-to, list:

Hygropholia difformis - Water Wisteria
Hygropholia polysperma - Dwarf Hygropholia (?)
Glossostigma elatinoides - Glsso
Vesicularia dubayana - Java Moss
Ceratopteris thaliictroides - Water Sprite (?)

The ones with the ? I am still undecided on. Any feedback would be great. And thank you for the kind words. :icon_smil


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Ok. An update. The tank has been empty for a while as I did not like the dirt I had in it. I went and got some different stuff today.










Want to know if this will work or if I need to get something different.


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## 10gallonplanted (Oct 31, 2010)

You need organic soil!


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## piffy (Oct 2, 2010)

Yes the organic part is crucial. From what I can tell, it looks like the soil you had there before had fertilizer in it (the white stuff), so it's a good thing you decided to change  

The bag says "miracle gro continuous release plant food." You don't want this, as it can poison your tank.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

10gallonplanted said:


> You need organic soil!





piffy said:


> Yes the organic part is crucial. From what I can tell, it looks like the soil you had there before had fertilizer in it (the white stuff), so it's a good thing you decided to change
> 
> The bag says "miracle gro continuous release plant food." You don't want this, as it can poison your tank.


Crap. That is what I thought. I may try this and see what it does to water parameters with no livestock in it. I am kind of curious now.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

So. After a long absence, I finally got some stuff to get this tank back up and running (sorta). I got some different dirt and a new bulb the is a 15watt 6500K spiral fluorescent. I like the look of the light much better. The other one was not right and I think this one will make plants explode. This tank was empty for far too long, but not anymore.









Same soil as in my emersed set-up.









Just dirt.









Here it is in all its glory. Only a little bit of water at the moment. I am going to rinse it later, but I am letting the dirt soak up some of the water first to make sure it is good and water logged before I add plants and things. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow and sat. Progress, finally!


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Ok, first I want to say, thanks to Bahugo for hookin me up the other day. He gave me tons of plants for a good deal. That being said, here is what I got yesterday.









$25 worth of plants from Golden Aquarium.









$40 worth of plants from Bahugo.

Does anyone see the problem here, lol.

I got some HC, moneywort, 2 types of crypts, and some red stem plant I already forgot the name of. That was all from Golden Aquarium.

I got Java Moss, Flame Moss, Guppy Grass, Glosso, and a bunch of stem plants from Bahugo.

Now that my goodie list is up. On to the good stuff.


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

didn't you get the same type of soil? you need organic potting soil...you might run into problems with that.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Newman said:


> didn't you get the same type of soil? you need organic potting soil...you might run into problems with that.


That soil does not have anything in it. It is as basic as I could find. If I run into problems then I will ditch it, and start over. It is working well in my emersed set-up though.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

OK. Finally got the soil, plants, gravel, and water in this thing. I threw some moneywort, water sprite, and some other stem plant in here. I still have moss to add but I need some rocks or something to tie it to first, which, I may have. But on to the pics.



















The water is a bit cloudy and I still need a filter. But I Am happy with it so far. Hopefully the filter will get ordered today, and then I will be in good shape.


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## madness (Jul 31, 2011)

I don't know that getting the 'wrong' potting soil matters for a plant only set-up but for fish and/or inverts I would be nervous going with something that hasn't been verified 'safe.'

Here is a link to a .pdf with photos of the entire package from Scotts for the Miracle-Gro Organic Choice potting mix that I used in my bowls and my 30G XH sword tank:

http://www.scotts.com/smg/products/Miracle-Gro/soil/in_container/pdf/mgOrganicChoicePottingMix.pdf

If I did my research correctly it is one of the soils that Walstad recommends in her NPT bowl article.

BTW, I haven't used Aquasoil yet but it is hard to imagine any soil growing stuff better than MGOCP. My shrimp bowls grow like crazy.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

madness said:


> I don't know that getting the 'wrong' potting soil matters for a plant only set-up but for fish and/or inverts I would be nervous going with something that hasn't been verified 'safe.'
> 
> Here is a link to a .pdf with photos of the entire package from Scotts for the Miracle-Gro Organic Choice potting mix that I used in my bowls and my 30G XH sword tank:
> 
> ...


I am hoping it will be ok. I will be watching the water when I get more plants in there. I still also need to get a filter, so no livestock until then. And thanks for the link. I am gonna read it for sure.:icon_smil


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

the plants might not show if its not safe, but shrimp will


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Newman said:


> the plants might not show if its not safe, but shrimp will


I am a long way from any fauna entering the tank. Still need more plants and a filter. Not to mention I need to get the water clear. I see lots of water changes in the near future. I have a freshwater test kit that I will be using on this tank on pretty much a daily basis starting tomorrow, so I will be able to see if something is amiss (hopefully), and adjust accordingly. If all else fails, I get new potting soil, and start over. I am not going to put shrimp in it until I know it is safe.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Ok. Added some moss today, but still no filter. DOH! Hopefully in a week or so I will have one. The water cleared a little bit too, but going to start more water changes tomorrow. Also going to take a stem plant out of my emersed setup and put it in this tank tomorrow. As it is now.










I have Flame Moss and Java moss in there. I had a rather large lava rock that was from my 2.5 that I smacked with a hammer a couple of times and there are the fragments. Sorry about the blue thread, didn't have any green. But I am sure it will still work.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

That's an awful lot of thread, Cableguy! It won't matter once the moss fills in though.

Every tried using gel superglue to secure moss to rocks? It works really well IME.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

zachary908 said:


> That's an awful lot of thread, Cableguy! It won't matter once the moss fills in though.
> 
> Every tried using gel superglue to secure moss to rocks? It works really well IME.


It is a lot of thread. But the last time I tried this it was an epic fail cuz I didn't use enough. I am hoping it will cover the rock entirely. I don't like the lava rock, but it is all I had at the moment.

I have not tried superglue. I will have to put it on my list of crazy crap to try. Lol, j/k, but I will try it.


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## Bahugo (Apr 18, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> It is a lot of thread. But the last time I tried this it was an epic fail cuz I didn't use enough. I am hoping it will cover the rock entirely. I don't like the lava rock, but it is all I had at the moment.
> 
> I have not tried superglue. I will have to put it on my list of crazy crap to try. Lol, j/k, but I will try it.


Just go buy a big piece of slate from animal island and take a hammer to it, it cracks pretty easily lol that's how I got all my pieces I just got several big ones and chipped them away... then again i'm ghetto lol 

rock's look good, they should fill in, if anything you will have to wedge the bottoms in more if they don't fill in underneath


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

I used it before for planted jobs, and it works wll with attaching anubias and java ferns and similar plants to DW and rocks. just dont use too much to avoid suffocating a section of the plant, and do the gluing out of the tank, drying both areas to be glued. it will make things easier.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Newman said:


> I used it before for planted jobs, and it works wll with attaching anubias and java ferns and similar plants to DW and rocks. just dont use too much to avoid suffocating a section of the plant, and do the gluing out of the tank, drying both areas to be glued. it will make things easier.


Got ya. Am I right in saying that you should lay down a small bead of glue and set the rhizome of the plant or the moss on top of the glue and let it dry?


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Bahugo said:


> Just go buy a big piece of slate from animal island and take a hammer to it, it cracks pretty easily lol that's how I got all my pieces I just got several big ones and chipped them away... then again i'm ghetto lol
> 
> rock's look good, they should fill in, if anything you will have to wedge the bottoms in more if they don't fill in underneath


Lol, that is what I did to the lava rock. It was one rather large rock, till I got my ball pin hammer out.:thumbsup:


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## Bahugo (Apr 18, 2011)

I've used super glue for anubias and java moss it's pretty straight forward for the anubias just slap it on the rhizome and stick it too the driftwood and push down for a few seconds. For java moss just spread the glue somewhat on the rock and put a clump of moss on it. 

I don't think I will ever tie anubias again, especially nana petite... java moss I personally like it more with string I felt like it grew in more evenly with string.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Bahugo said:


> I've used super glue for anubias and java moss it's pretty straight forward for the anubias just slap it on the rhizome and stick it too the driftwood and push down for a few seconds. For java moss just spread the glue somewhat on the rock and put a clump of moss on it.
> 
> I don't think I will ever tie anubias again, especially nana petite... java moss I personally like it more with string I felt like it grew in more evenly with string.


Good to know. I may try the superglue thing next time though. Maybe not with the mosses though.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Did a water change today, finally, and added the stem plant. Pulled up one bunch of water sprite and trimmed the dead crap off the other one. Also cut the stem plant in the middle back. Hope that will come back. Forgot to get water parameters though. That will be tomorrow. I also dosed with Excel. Not sure what that is gonna do though. Any way, here it is.









The water is much clearer.









Does anyone know what that little node is? I have one on another stem of the same plant too. I am pretty sure that is the moneywort. It looks like new growth to me.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Finally did a water test today.

Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 0ppm
PH - 7.6
Phosphate - 10ppm
KH - 7

Doesn't look too bad to me. I will probably test it all again tomorrow.


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## 10gallonplanted (Oct 31, 2010)

I think the node is a flower bud.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

10gallonplanted said:


> I think the node is a flower bud.


Yep. It doesn't look to have changed at all since yesterday.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

So. I am seeing a lot of plant growth now. It is pretty cool. I put a cheapo sponge filter in until I get a filter for the 2.5 gallon and can put that filter in this one. I didn't want the water to sit still and be all nasty. And I am too lazy to change water every day. So this is my solution for the time being.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Added two moss walls today. I also popped in my sponge filter until I get the one I want next week. I just did it for some water movement. But here it is. The moss walls are a mix of Flame and Java moss.









Left side.









Right side.


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## Bahugo (Apr 18, 2011)

Nice moss walls! I *may* have an extra sponge filter, I need to check though


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Bahugo said:


> Nice moss walls! I *may* have an extra sponge filter, I need to check though


I am gonna get a Red Sea Nano for the 2.5 and use the filter from that for this. It is really weak, but will stir up the water enough to get the results I want. And I want to avoid the air bubbles cuz I am gonna do CO2 on this tank. But thank you.:icon_wink


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Did water changes yesterday, and snapped this.










Enjoy.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Got something today.










Install will be tomorrow.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Got the Tom Mini Filter in the tank. I opened the filter and emptied the carbon compartment first. I also am going to use the spray bar on this tank. Here is how it looks. Excuse the cloudy water. I stirred up a bunch of stuff putting the filter in.









It is a little larger than I would like, but the black background hides it pretty well.









The top plastic rim of the tank hides the spray bar from view pretty well. I will wait to pass judgment on it until a later date. Going to give it a few days and see how it does.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

Looks nice, Cable.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

zachary908 said:


> Looks nice, Cable.


Thanks man. I am working on the CO2 reactor now.:icon_smil


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## koiboi (Sep 4, 2011)

I used a Tom's mini filter for my CO2 diffuser in my 46 bowfront. I drilled a hole in the side of it, about 3/4 of the way up, and threaded the tubing through there. I removed the carbon cartridge and pushed a knife through the sponge to create a slot. I attached a slim glass bead airstone to the tubing and shoved it into the sponge. I have the unit a little more than halfway to the bottom of the tank attached to a DIY yeast reactor. (Not using the spray bar.) It spits out the tiniest CO2 mist that takes forever to float to the water surface. It works great.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

koiboi said:


> I used a Tom's mini filter for my CO2 diffuser in my 46 bowfront. I drilled a hole in the side of it, about 3/4 of the way up, and threaded the tubing through there. I removed the carbon cartridge and pushed a knife through the sponge to create a slot. I attached a slim glass bead airstone to the tubing and shoved it into the sponge. I have the unit a little more than halfway to the bottom of the tank attached to a DIY yeast reactor. (Not using the spray bar.) It spits out the tiniest CO2 mist that takes forever to float to the water surface. It works great.


Hmmmm. I was not thinking of that, but now I am. Thanks man.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

So. Fish club auction was a success. I didn't get anything for this tank, but it got some plants from the emersed. And a water change. Added two stems of Hygro difformis to it that were wilting.









Obligatory FTS. No CO2 setup yet. Maybe tomorrow.



















A couple of cool snails. I found one of them in another tank and dropped it in this one. Thanks Rich.:hihi:


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

dont let those cool snails get out of control...


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Newman said:


> dont let those cool snails get out of control...


Got ya.


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## Bahugo (Apr 18, 2011)

Lol, np, if you ever want more let me know. I could probably scoop you out a bucket full a month


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Bahugo said:


> Lol, np, if you ever want more let me know. I could probably scoop you out a bucket full a month


Sweet. I will for sure.

I just looked up the auction info for the GCCA in nov. Here is the page.http://www.gcca.net/auction/index.htm There is a limit of 5 non cichlid fish, and no dry goods or plants. That is lame.


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## Bahugo (Apr 18, 2011)

Sounds like the auction today lol!


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Bahugo said:


> Sounds like the auction today lol!


Lol. Good one.

I would rather go to the GCCA swap. Much better. But not as cheap.


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## Bahugo (Apr 18, 2011)

With the amount of traffic at the GCCA auctions I can't picture anything running all that cheap your talking about having almost 10x the amount of people I am pretty sure I remember reading somewhere they had 800 attendants and they didn't leave till past midnight. Granted 800 attendants probably includes families (husband wife kids yada yada) but I'm pretty sure the highest bid card I saw today was only like 80 something, and only ran roughly 5 hours, I couldn't sit for another 7+ hours looking at one category of fish.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Bahugo said:


> With the amount of traffic at the GCCA auctions I can't picture anything running all that cheap your talking about having almost 10x the amount of people I am pretty sure I remember reading somewhere they had 800 attendants and they didn't leave till past midnight. Granted 800 attendants probably includes families (husband wife kids yada yada) but I'm pretty sure the highest bid card I saw today was only like 80 something, and only ran roughly 5 hours, I couldn't sit for another 7+ hours looking at one category of fish.


Yikes. I would not want to deal with that many people. And I don't want to see cichlids that long either. No way. I just looked on their site, they have a swap on Dec 4th. I am gonna hit that up for sure.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

This tank has been added to my new master thread. Link is in my signature. Thank you.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Updating this thread.

*10-6-2011

*I have not done much to this tank over the last few days, just regular maintenance. But I got some pics.

A couple of FTS for ya.



















I also got some moss growth shots.



















And already some growth on the Hygro difformis.












Enjoy.

*10-11-2011

*DIY CO2 is hooked up and running like a champ. Got it plumed into my filter so it will diffuse the CO2. If anyone wants to see how I did it, let me know, I have some detailed pics of the setup.

Reactor









CO2 bubbles out of the spray bar.









FTS









*10-15-2011

*Yanked the CO2 today. Not doing that on the small tanks again. Gassed them both. Got a few sprigs of water sprite in a big plant package I got today. Tossed one in here and did a water change. That is about all.

FTS









New plant.


















That's all.

*10-26-2011

*I am beginning to hate this tank. Hair algae everywhere. Pulled a bunch of it out, and am doing Excel dosing at 1ml per gallon every other day. I suspect it was getting too much light, so I raised it up about 6 inches. I may replace the bulb with a 10 watt so I can lower it again. I am also thinking of completely redoing this tank with the right soil this time. I think the plant food in the other stuff is helping with all the algae. Did a 100% water change on this one too and pulled out a bunch of dead leaves and as much algae as I could get. The moss on the rocks is growing amazingly though.

FTS









How high I raised the light.









I would have gotten some better shots of this one, but the bubbles were ridiculous, hopefully I can get some tomorrow.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

100% water change. I feel this tank is going to change big time really soon.

FTS


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Changed this one a lot. Took out all the stems and added some DW that I got from Chad. Cleaned up the sides a lot and cleaned the gravel as much as I could. Added some Java Fern, Anubias, Mini Rose Moss, and Notocyphus. Hopefully it will all do well in this tank. The moss walls are growing like crazy, as are the Java Moss and Flame moss rocks that have been in there. Thinking of adding a glosso carpet to this tank now.

FTS









Notocyphus









Mini Rose Moss









Java Moss Rock









Flame Moss Rock









Anubias









Java Fern


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Hey :]. Just read through your thread. Besides that plastic mesh in front what's on the back holding the moss to the mesh? Are you using suction cups or is the mesh just tucked into the gravel/dirt?

Also, I find it helps your anubias cling to the DW if you scour the surface of it with a knife or something. Do your plants end up clinging to smooth DW like that?


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

diwu13 said:


> Hey :]. Just read through your thread. Besides that plastic mesh in front what's on the back holding the moss to the mesh? Are you using suction cups or is the mesh just tucked into the gravel/dirt?
> 
> Also, I find it helps your anubias cling to the DW if you scour the surface of it with a knife or something. Do your plants end up clinging to smooth DW like that?


There are suction cups on the back of the mesh. I had some of the ones with the metal hooks on them and just took the hooks off and cut a space in the mesh for them. I have some pictures of the setup if you want me to post them in here. Just let me know.

The DW is not as smooth as it looks. The stuff will cling to it, but it may just take a little longer. I may do as you said though, and scour it a little bit. Thanks.roud:


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

cableguy69846 said:


> There are suction cups on the back of the mesh. I had some of the ones with the metal hooks on them and just took the hooks off and cut a space in the mesh for them. I have some pictures of the setup if you want me to post them in here. Just let me know.


Oh ok I see! So did you attach the moss to the plastic mesh? Or are there two sheets of plastic mesh? Good idea taking the metal hooks off, can't be sure if that's stainless or not


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

diwu13 said:


> Oh ok I see! So did you attach the moss to the plastic mesh? Or are there two sheets of plastic mesh? Good idea taking the metal hooks off, can't be sure if that's stainless or not


I just sandwiched it between two sheets of mesh. If I were to do it over again, I would just use one sheet and attach to the mesh. I am thinking it would start growing a bit faster that way. I am going to try it at some point, just not sure when. I feel like the mesh is blocking too much light.


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

Only using one mesh would definitely allow in more light, but your moss seems to be growing fine as is anyway. Is it still growing well after you pulled the CO2?


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

diwu13 said:


> Only using one mesh would definitely allow in more light, but your moss seems to be growing fine as is anyway. Is it still growing well after you pulled the CO2?


I started using Excel again, so it is really going crazy now. I was using it to combat some algae, but the moss is liking it, so I will probably keep using it until I get a paintball setup for this tank and the 2.5 gallon tank. The next moss walls I make are only going to be one piece of mesh. I want to see how much better it will do that way.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)




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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

FTS


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## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

Jeez, I bet I could have you grow me a moss wall, get it here, and I would kill it Stupid stuff just doesn't grow for me. I will be turning my heater down a little, and getting some of that plastic mesh and see what I can do with that stuff. I do know the Pleco I had was eating on my mosses, so now that he's gone, I think I'm going to give it one more shot. Wish me luck? 

This tank is looking nice. Will be nicer when the plants you have grow in, but is looking kinda bare. Are you going to be putting anything else in there, or are you going to keep it so that you can more easily see the fish? You got LOTS in your farm tank that would look good in there.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Jeez, I bet I could have you grow me a moss wall, get it here, and I would kill it Stupid stuff just doesn't grow for me. I will be turning my heater down a little, and getting some of that plastic mesh and see what I can do with that stuff. I do know the Pleco I had was eating on my mosses, so now that he's gone, I think I'm going to give it one more shot. Wish me luck?
> 
> This tank is looking nice. Will be nicer when the plants you have grow in, but is looking kinda bare. Are you going to be putting anything else in there, or are you going to keep it so that you can more easily see the fish? You got LOTS in your farm tank that would look good in there.


Lol. The moss walls took forever to get going. I need to trim them all up to get some more growth out of them. If I could do them over, I would have used one piece of mesh and just tied the moss to it then mounted it on the side of the tank. I think the mesh blocked too much light. And good luck with yours man. Just make sure it has good flow and light and you should be ok.

I had some stem plants in here, but it has never been my plan to keep them in the tank. I do have some DHG 'Belem' on the way for this tank though. That is about the only other plant I am going to add. And I think I am going to get some dario dario for this tank. Or some shrimp. Not sure yet.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Forgot to update this the other day. Got some DHG 'Belem' so I am going to try a carpet of it in this tank.

FTS









DHG 'Belem'


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

I think I finally beat the algae in this tank. Definitely better than it was. I am dosing ferts, excel, and the light is about 6 inches off the top of the tank. I think it is finally in some sort of balance. No plans on fauna yet. Suggestions?

FTS









Anubias, Java Fern, and DHG 'Belem'









DHG 'Belem'









Flame moss is growing like crazy. I think it is time to put some in a jar.









Pellia


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## diwu13 (Sep 20, 2011)

*cough* shrimp 

So this'll be your 4th jar?


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

diwu13 said:


> *cough* shrimp
> 
> So this'll be your 4th jar?


This tank was originally meant for a betta, but I think it will be shrimp. I am actually thinking of taking a couple of cherry shrimp and putting them in here and seeing what they do.

Lol. Yep. Fourth one.


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## TheJadeShrimp (Oct 13, 2011)

Oooh! I like it.
And what are you using to hold the moss to the rocks?


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

TheJadeShrimp said:


> Oooh! I like it.
> And what are you using to hold the moss to the rocks?


Thanks.:biggrin:
I just used regular sewing thread.


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## cableguy69846 (Dec 13, 2010)

Finally cleaned up the tanks. Before and after pics too.

Before









After

FTS


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