# 75 Gallon "Dueling Volcanoes" RIP



## Sean W.

*75 Gallon*

*Lighting:* Sun Blaze 42 dual T5HO 6500k

*Filtration:* SunSun 704B 525gph

*Co2:* Aquatek regulator, 5lb tank, Rhinox 5000 ceramic disc diffuser

*Substrate:* Ecocomplete base with Amazonia cap
*
Parameters:*

*PH:* 7.6 at night 6.4 at peak co2
*GH: *5
*KH:* 3-4


Whats up guys,

After a 2 year hiatus, Its time for me to get back into the hobby!

I've had a couple smaller tanks, and I have had a larger tank, Now its time to settle in the goldilocks zone with a medium tank, I think a 75 gallon will be perfect. Its large enough to be impressive, yet small enough that I can maintain it and still have a life.


So the first thing I did was hop on craigslist and the forums looking for a good condition used tank and stand. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything that I felt was in good enough shape for the condition I was wanting and ended up going to Pet Smart and haggling with one of the managers into lowering the price on the 75 gallon they had in their store, that came with a light (useless for my needs ) and glass lids. I claimed there was a couple scratches here and there on the trim and he said since it was near a 20% off sign, he would honor that and I got it for $120ish out the door. Pretty good deal on a brand new 75 with a light and glass lids.

Since I bought a tank new, that pretty much ate up the entire budget I had set aside for a tank AND a stand. So I had to build a stand, which I'm fine with, Its easy, cheap and customizable, I like my tanks to be higher up than most pre-made stands put them. I've built a few stands before, they are cheap and easy to make, and super strong, this time I used 2x3s since it just a 75 gallon, not to mention they are lighter, cheaper and easier to work with than 2x4s. 

Here is the setup before I painted the back black and wrapped the stand in a black sheet.









Here it is as it sits now









A little perspecitive for where it is in my apartment









I scored a open box, but new SunSun 704B filter for $60 on [Ebay Link Removed] It has a 525gph flow rate.









Here is the life support system, I'm really proud of how it turned out, very tidy and organized. I still need to tuck a heater away in this corner, but I'm confidant that it will remain looking tidy.









Here is a 5lb Co2 tank I grabbed today for $40









Finally the co2 diffuser I got for this tank. its a 5CM diffuser, or 2" diameter. Its the biggest ceramic diffuser I could find. I know they aren't as efficient as reactors, but there are a few things about reactors that I dont like. First of all, they make a " Glug Glug " sound as the Co2 works its way up against the flow of the water in the reactor, and its so annoying to listen to. This tank is in the front room and I dont want to listen to this constant gurgling while I'm trying to watch TV. Also, and most importantly, I enjoy the way diffusers look in the tank, I like watching them bubble.


----------



## burr740

Nice, looking forward to see what you do with it.

Love those SunSun/Aquatop outflow pipes, that is exactly the way I use mine.


----------



## Greggz

Sean W. good to see you back in the hobby. We ran across each other a few times on Youtube or other sites over the years. I always enjoyed your videos and enthusiasm, and you seemed to have a "green thumb" with the plants.

The stand and tank look like a very good start. Looking forward to seeing what you do this time around. What's the plan???


----------



## Sean W.

burr740 said:


> Nice, looking forward to see what you do with it.
> 
> Love those SunSun/Aquatop outflow pipes, that is exactly the way I use mine.





Greggz said:


> Sean W. good to see you back in the hobby. We ran across each other a few times on Youtube or other sites over the years. I always enjoyed your videos and enthusiasm, and you seemed to have a "green thumb" with the plants.
> 
> The stand and tank look like a very good start. Looking forward to seeing what you do this time around. What's the plan???


 Thanks for watching my videos! I am perusing video production as a career, so since my old videos, I have gotten a lot more video production hardware. I used to use my cell phone to record video, now I have a proper camera and instead of using windows movie maker to edit, I use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit with. 

For this tank, I'm really pulling out all the stops, not cutting any corners. But I'm also not blowing my entire wad by getting ADA glassware for example. I'm taking my time, getting the right stuff and doing it right. 

As far as the plan for this tank, I'm taking a lot of inspiration from Tropica's Layout 53 by Mark Evans <- clicky the linky. It was done in a 60" tank, but I think I can make it work fine in a 48" tank too.


----------



## Sean W.

Hey guys!

A little bit of an update. Having been out of the hobby for a few years, it has taken quite some doing to get back into it. Having nothing in terms of hardware to accelerate the assembly of this tank, needing to buy literally everything, down to the suction cups for the air line. This has slowed the progress of this tank, but I have gotten almost everything I need and should be able to get it going by the end of the month!

A big check mark off the list is finding a solution for the lights. The LED light I had gotten originally simply was not bright enough for my intentions. After many weeks of research I could not find a LED light that was going to meet my requirements for this tank, so I turned to a dual 48" T5HO fixture. The fixture is called the Sun Blaze 42, its a hydroponic grow light, with EXCELLENT reflectors and an amazing 3 year warranty. The fixture is usually powder coated white, but I painted mine black. A massive thanks and Shoutout to Burr740 for helping me decide that a dual 4' t5ho light would be the best solution. 

Anyway, I will be making a detailed update video soon, but wanted to get this teaser up for now!



















I decided to go with 60lbs of eco complete capped with 40lbs of ADA Amazonia









Here you can see how I hung the light from the ceiling


----------



## IntotheWRX

sweet build so far. clean set up. i like how you hung the lights. very clean.


----------



## Sean W.

Thanks!


----------



## burr740

Nice job on the light, looks great!

Wish I could drill my ceilings, house was built in the 50s and the walls are plaster. I avoid drilling holes unless absolutely necessary.

Do you plan on using the glass tops?


----------



## irishspy

This is looking quite nice. I'm looking forward to watching it develop. :drool:


----------



## Sean W.

burr740 said:


> Nice job on the light, looks great!
> 
> Wish I could drill my ceilings, house was built in the 50s and the walls are plaster. I avoid drilling holes unless absolutely necessary.
> 
> Do you plan on using the glass tops?


Yea, my last few tanks didnt have lids and I think im going to use them this time to reduce evaporation. 

I think im going to name this layout " Dueling Valcanos ". That name will make sense when I put the hardscape in... 


Ive put together a preliminary plant list for this tank, what do you think:

AR Mini
DHG Belem
S Repens
Lobellia cardinallis mini
Limnophila aromatica hippuroides
Rotala Bonsai
pogostemon helferi
Pogostemon erectus
Blyxa Japonica


----------



## burr740

Sounds good! 

Looking forward to see the hardscape.


----------



## Sean W.

Update video #1 is done! Enjoy!

I look forward to any questions and comments!


----------



## Sean W.

$130 plant order has been placed!


----------



## Emplanted

Where did you order your plants from? 
Love the tank, going to look amazing!
Have you used sun sun filters before? I'm setting up a 90 gallon, looking at filters, hard to decide!


----------



## Ben Belton

Your setup and stand look great. Wish I were as handy with woodwork. I had a 75 in the past also, and hope to get one back going again sometime. I still have the stand lights and everything. I just need time and willpower.

1. You mentioned not wanting a reactor, so I was going to ask you if you had ever tried one of the inline diffusers. I had one on my 75. I have to agree; however, that the bubbles rising are magical. I also am getting together a tank, and have been having this exact same debate with myself. I don't want more crap in the tank, but the disk diffusers are easy and fun to look at. F it. I am going to do disk. Can always add an inline later if I want.

2. I had T5 on my 75. You won't regret it. Someone on here (maybe it was burr740) mentioned that LED is just too much a pain with all the variables you have to figure out before you can buy one. T5 is much easier and straight forward. Also some nice bulb color choices. I have LED for the tank I am working on, but that is because I wanted to try it and not completely be the old guy stuck in the past.

Bump:


Emplanted said:


> Where did you order your plants from?


They look like aquariumplants.com pictures.


----------



## Sean W.

Emplanted said:


> Where did you order your plants from?
> Love the tank, going to look amazing!
> Have you used sun sun filters before? I'm setting up a 90 gallon, looking at filters, hard to decide!


 I have not personally used SunSun before, but a buddy of mine had one of their lower flow units and loved it, so I figured Id give it a shot. 

As Belton mentioned, they are from aquariumplants.com



Ben Belton said:


> Your setup and stand look great. Wish I were as handy with woodwork. I had a 75 in the past also, and hope to get one back going again sometime. I still have the stand lights and everything. I just need time and willpower.
> 
> 1. You mentioned not wanting a reactor, so I was going to ask you if you had ever tried one of the inline diffusers. I had one on my 75. I have to agree; however, that the bubbles rising are magical. I also am getting together a tank, and have been having this exact same debate with myself. I don't want more crap in the tank, but the disk diffusers are easy and fun to look at. F it. I am going to do disk. Can always add an inline later if I want.
> 
> 2. I had T5 on my 75. You won't regret it. Someone on here (maybe it was burr740) mentioned that LED is just too much a pain with all the variables you have to figure out before you can buy one. T5 is much easier and straight forward. Also some nice bulb color choices. I have LED for the tank I am working on, but that is because I wanted to try it and not completely be the old guy stuck in the past.
> 
> Bump:
> They look like aquariumplants.com pictures.


Thanks for the complements, there really wasnt much "woodwork " in the stand. just some 2x3s wrapped with a black sheet 

I have used the inline diffuses before, I dont like them. They just spray micro bubbles all over the tank. From what I remember, they were quite loud too, I could here this constant hissing. Im very noise sensitive, I cannot stand little white noise sounds. 

I have had great success with LEDs on my other tanks. But with this tank being as deep as it is and with the plants I want to keep, I just couldnt find a cost effective LED solution. Im happy with the T5ho unit I got, I think its going to work great!


----------



## Ben Belton

Sean W. said:


> They just spray micro bubbles all over the tank. From what I remember, they were quite loud too


I didn't have that trouble, but didn't have mine cranked up much.


----------



## Sean W.

Ben Belton said:


> I didn't have that trouble, but didn't have mine cranked up much.


I just prefer disc diffusers


----------



## Sean W.

Alright guys,

This is going to be the LAST update until I set this bad boy up! I have literally everything I need to get this going, except for the plants, which will be here on Wednesday! 

I have budgeted around 6-8 hours to add the substrate, hardscape, plant and get everything going. Sore back is a promise. 

So, I got a black Aqueon pro 250W heater, and my buddy gave me his Aquatek regulator. I finalized all the pluming and ran the co2 line. Mounted the power strip, managed the cables and dialed in the co2 at 4bps to start. 

The next time you see this tank (barring any disasters) it will be 100% setup, and the real fun will begin!

Here is the hardware corner, very tidy I feel.









and here is the inside of the stand!


----------



## burr740

Lookin good man!

Why arent you using the SunSun's skimmer? That's one of its best features imo


----------



## Sean W.

burr740 said:


> Lookin good man!
> 
> Why arent you using the SunSun's skimmer? That's one of its best features imo


Oh yea? I figured it was just a gimmick. Maybe I'll give it a second look. I assumed it would just suck in air and make the filter noisy.


----------



## burr740

Nah it's dead silent and will keep the surface crystal clear. 

Just an fyi, to make it work the intake tube has to be lower than at least one ring. All the way up turns the skimmer off by design.


----------



## Sean W.

burr740 said:


> Nah it's dead silent and will keep the surface crystal clear.
> 
> Just an fyi, to make it work the intake tube has to be lower than at least one ring. All the way up turns the skimmer off by design.


Good looking out, I will have to give it a shot.


----------



## Sean W.

*Tease #1*


----------



## rhor

great build, i truly appreciate the clean look the the tubing on the side- very slick! one thing to note though, if the Co2 cannister is filled at the moment, it may become unbalanced and fall over as it empties. also, have you considered in-line heating options? Im looking forward to see how this fills in!


----------



## Sean W.

*Tease #2*


----------



## Immortal1

Great looking build so far. And ^ looks like a lot of tweezer planting to me LOL


----------



## Sean W.

Editing the reveal video

heres a little teaser


----------



## Emplanted

My fingers hurt. Just thinking about all that tweezer work lol


----------



## klibs

Emplanted said:


> My fingers hurt. Just thinking about all that tweezer work lol


lol yep planting grass sucks


----------



## Sean W.

klibs said:


> lol yep planting grass sucks


Hey klibs! Good to see you.

Nah it wasn't so bad, after the first hundred or so you get the hang of it haha


----------



## Sean W.

Here it is, The setup and reveal video!

Please enjoy, let me know what you think!


----------



## Mattb126

Sean W. said:


> Here it is, The setup and reveal video!
> 
> Please enjoy, let me know what you think!
> 
> www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_WYjtiGdbU


Tank looks great, can't wait to see it fill in!


----------



## Greggz

Sean very nice presentation...and what looks to be a very nice planted tank. Really looking forward to seeing how it feels in.

Why don't you come over and film mine? I'm making do with a Samsung Note 5, and have zero production values. I guess I need to up my game.:laugh2::laugh2:


----------



## Ben Belton

There's where all the mini hair grass went when I tried to order some, and it was sold out! :grin2:

Nice video. I enjoyed it.


----------



## 300DayZ

Great video and fantastic looking setup!


----------



## Sean W.

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys! It was a lot of fun, but I'm relived its up and running and the real fun can begin!


Here is an obligatory FTS.

Note, the rocks appear much more red in photos than they do in person. Im working on a way of capturing a more accurate photo... this will do for now.


----------



## Sean W.

First big water change tonight. I've been doing 20% every day, but tonight I checked ammonia and it was at 1ppm, so I decided to do the first large 50% water change, along with cleaning the filter to remove all the " Start up " gunk, which there was plenty of inside the filter.


----------



## Mattb126

Sean W. said:


> First big water change tonight. I've been doing 20% every day, but tonight I checked ammonia and it was at 1ppm, so I decided to do the first large 50% water change, along with cleaning the filter to remove all the " Start up " gunk, which there was plenty of inside the filter.


How much longer till we can expect fish?


----------



## Sean W.

Day 4, Things are looking promising!

Everyone is showing signs of new growth!

AR Mini has new mini leaves 









The Pogestemon Helferi has new leaves growing in the middle, and has started to shoot roots down.









S. Repens has lots of new growth









The limnophila aromatica hippuroides is growing like a weed









The only guy who is lagging behind is the Rotala Macandra, zero signs of new growth unfortunatly. Still keeping a close eye on these guys.


----------



## BettaBettas

are you using carbon dioxide? also nice plant growth!  wish my plants grew that fast in 4 days lol


----------



## Sean W.

BettaBettas said:


> are you using carbon dioxide? also nice plant growth!  wish my plants grew that fast in 4 days lol


oh yea! there is more co2 than h2o in there! haha


----------



## irishspy

I enjoyed the video and can't wait to see how this fills in. it already looks really promising from the later photos. What kind of substrate were you adding in the green cups? More Amazonia? And do you have a power head over the CO2 diffuser?


----------



## Sean W.

irishspy said:


> I enjoyed the video and can't wait to see how this fills in. it already looks really promising from the later photos. What kind of substrate were you adding in the green cups? More Amazonia? And do you have a power head over the CO2 diffuser?


Yep, that was just more amazonia.

No power head over the Co2, I know that would give better co2 absorption, however I hate having little co2 bubbles all over my tank. Id rather the bubbles go all the way to the top and dissipate and just pump another bps instead of blowing them all over ruining the viewing experience.

Thanks for the kind words!


----------



## Irishirie

Loving the new setup man. Mad props. 

Considering capping my eco-complete with aquasoil as well.


----------



## Sean W.

Hey guys! 

Small update!

Im having a difficult time getting this tank cycled, I've tried that "instant cycle" off the shelf stuff, It didnt work. I had low expectations, so I wasn't super disappointed when it didn't work. Then I tried slushing about 2 gallons of cycled bio balls from my friends tank in a bucket and poured that into my filter, thinking that would do the trick, still nothing. Now I took about a gallon of cycled bio balls and put them in the filter, Ill give that a few days, hopefully that will do it. I need to get shrimp and Ottos in here as quickly as possible...

All the plants are doing really good, the limnophila aromatica hippuroides truly is growing like a weed, I'd say an inch a day. Ar Mini is getting on really well, S repens is growing everyday. I havnt seen any new runners from the hairgrass, but its color is good and Im hoping to see a runner poke its head up any day. Still the Rotala Macandara is really lagging behind. The tissue culture of that was one was very juvenile, I knew it was going to be a tough road for these guys. They havent died, but are really growing slow. still keeping a close eye on them. Still to algae, knock on wood. I have the Co2 come on 1.5hrs before the lights come on, and co2 turns off 1hr before the lights go off. Doing just a 6hr photo period right now...

Anyway, here are a couple pics.


----------



## Sean W.

Alright guys, Day 10 update!

Give the video a watch and let me know what you think! Thank you!


----------



## Opare

Tank is looking good. I was just thinking the tank would look really good with colourful bushes behind the rocks, similar to what Dennis Wong does in a lot of his tanks.
May be too late to do this now since you've gone with a more flat mountain approach, which also looks great though! Some stems may be able to grow tall enough for you to achieve this.
Another suggestion would be to use some epiphytes to add some detail to the rocks.
Anyway that was just some rambles, the tank looks great can't wait for it to fill in.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## nel

Don't be too quick with the otos, even when the cycle is over I would wait at least two weeks, they're really fragile. Actually be patient in all aspects, cycling needs time, even when adding cycled biomedia. 
Beautiful tank!


----------



## Kubla

Beautiful tank! What type of rocks are those. They look just like some I have that I've been trying to identify. Funny, I can't get a picture of the real color of them either. I would love to use them in my tank since they're 45 cents a pound!


----------



## Sean W.

Kubla said:


> Beautiful tank! What type of rocks are those. They look just like some I have that I've been trying to identify. Funny, I can't get a picture of the real color of them either. I would love to use them in my tank since they're 45 cents a pound!


I'm not sure what the rocks are called, I got them from my local landscaping yard!


----------



## KwhyLE

They look like lava rock. Just large chunks.


----------



## houseofcards

Looks good!

In regards to your cycle, with the ADA soil your probably still leaching Ammonia so it will take a while, but the plants dig it.


----------



## Sean W.

Day 10 FTS


----------



## burr740

Looking good man!


----------



## Sean W.

burr740 said:


> Looking good man!


Did you watch my video?


----------



## burr740

Sean W. said:


> Did you watch my video?


Just now, very nice! Need to get me a pair of those angled tweezers


----------



## Sean W.

burr740 said:


> Just now, very nice! Need to get me a pair of those angled tweezers


Check out the fleabay seller circled in red, I got ALL THIS for $40 shipped! It comes from China, but If you dont need it like right now, they are really great quality, their scissors too.

Im going to make a video about this seller soon. I got such a great deal on all these things, and its all top notch quality. Their not a sponsor, but I just cant understand why someone would spend $80 on ADA scissors when you can get ones for $8 that do just as good.


----------



## sdwindansea

Great job and video. Thanks for taking the time to do that. What does the activated carbon do when refilling the tank from the tap water?


----------



## Sean W.

sdwindansea said:


> Great job and video. Thanks for taking the time to do that. What does the activated carbon do when refilling the tank from the tap water?


I live in Los Angeles, we dont have the best tap water here. It just chemically filters the water before it goes into the tank.


----------



## Sean W.

In case you're wondering, this is what your tank looks like when its cycling...


----------



## mattenx

Nice tank My Dude! Looks like you just started up again too. Can't wait to see how it turns out


----------



## ArchimedesTheDog

Sean W. said:


> In case you're wondering, this is what your tank looks like when its cycling...


Hahah, I almost took the same picture yesterday for my journal.


----------



## chayos00

Your tank looks pretty sweet! Can't wait to see what it's going to look like grown out! 

On a side note, with your AC controller that close to your plants, I would think you might have some issues with false temps of the room/house reading too high. Stuff like this is on my mind as I'm in Arizona where it's always bloody hot. I would hate to think your AC unit may run more than needed due to the proximity to the warmer tank and lighting.


----------



## Sean W.




----------



## sdwindansea

Looks like you have some house guests .


----------



## Sean W.

The first of many! I plan on having a school of at least 50!


----------



## Sean W.

Here is a neat shot I took today, Its from the left side of the tank.










Im also doing a 30% water change tonight in preparation for about 40 new tenantes tomorrow  They are a bit sensitive these guys, so I have to make sure the water is perfect for them!


----------



## Sean W.

After a 3 hour long drip acclimation process, 50+ CRS have been added to the scape! This is a fish (I know its not a fish) that I have ALWAYS wanted to have, but never thought I would be able to keep. I am SO happy to see a small army of these guys in my tank. Heres to hoping they survive haha!


----------



## Steve0

Very nice setup, and shrimp!


----------



## houseofcards

Pics look nice too, what are you shooting with?


----------



## Kubla

Have you seen any change in the water chemistry using those rocks? I've got a small pile of them in the backyard. I'd love to add some to a couple of different tanks. I never got any farther than a vinegar test. Once I saw your post, I thought I would just follow it for a while and see how they did. Everything looks amazing!


----------



## sdwindansea

Very nice. I know you are using So Cal tap water. What is your PH running and how are the shrimp doing? I'm really hoping to add some shrimp to our tank as well.


----------



## Sean W.

houseofcards said:


> Pics look nice too, what are you shooting with?


Thanks! Im just using my cellphone, a Galaxy S7 Edge



Kubla said:


> Have you seen any change in the water chemistry using those rocks? I've got a small pile of them in the backyard. I'd love to add some to a couple of different tanks. I never got any farther than a vinegar test. Once I saw your post, I thought I would just follow it for a while and see how they did. Everything looks amazing!


I really didnt do any testing on the rocks, with that said if there has been any change to the water chemistry from the rocks, its been for the better!




sdwindansea said:


> Very nice. I know you are using So Cal tap water. What is your PH running and how are the shrimp doing? I'm really hoping to add some shrimp to our tank as well.


 I am using So-Cal tap water, I am in Rancho Cucamonga now. The water here is much better than where I used to live in Claremont. Mostly the TDS and the GH is much better here. I could not keep shrimp in the tap water in Claremont, here in Rancho its much closer to what you need to keep shrimp. GH in claremont was around 18 (it was ridiculous), here in rancho its around 8, and the amazonia brings it down around 5.

PH here is around 7.7ish from the tap, running the Co2 and other unkown factors, it comes down to around 6.6 in the tank.


People think I know what im doing, but I really have no idea haha. *shrugs* All I try to do is be consistent and anytime I make a change, do it gradually....

#fakeittillyoumakeit :grin2:


----------



## sdwindansea

Sean W. said:


> Thanks! Im just using my cellphone, a Galaxy S7 Edge
> 
> 
> 
> I really didnt do any testing on the rocks, with that said if there has been any change to the water chemistry from the rocks, its been for the better!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I am using So-Cal tap water, I am in Rancho Cucamonga now. The water here is much better than where I used to live in Claremont. Mostly the TDS and the GH is much better here. I could not keep shrimp in the tap water in Claremont, here in Rancho its much closer to what you need to keep shrimp. GH in claremont was around 18 (it was ridiculous), here in rancho its around 8, and the amazonia brings it down around 5.
> 
> PH here is around 7.7ish from the tap, running the Co2 and other unkown factors, it comes down to around 6.6 in the tank.
> 
> 
> People think I know what im doing, but I really have no idea haha. *shrugs* All I try to do is be consistent and anytime I make a change, do it gradually....
> 
> #fakeittillyoumakeit :grin2:


Thanks. Also, of course you know what you are doing. You have posted videos so you must be an expert! >

I'm definitely trying to follow in your footsteps as far as taking it slow & gradual. Hopefully I'll be posting the start to a tank journal in the next day or two. Just picked up the first bunch of plants today and filling the tank tomorrow.


----------



## houseofcards

Sean W. said:


> Thanks! Im just using my cellphone, a Galaxy S7 Edge:


Fooled me, those are pretty good for a phone.


----------



## Sean W.

36 hours later and all the shrimp seem to be doing well, no signs of stress and their color has gotten a lot better since I first put them in the tank. They are all eating well and seem to be going with their normal shrimp like behavior. I was very worried about these guys, especially since I'm just using tap water. I was torn between going with these CRS that I really wanted, or the more resilient Cherry shrimp. 

I did lose one Ember Tetra today, I'm not too worried about it tho, the other 14 all seem fine. I will be keeping a close eye on them tho.


----------



## Mattb126

Sorry for the noob question but what does CRS stand for? I know it's the shrimp but want to know what the abbreviation is. 

Sent from my iPhone 8 (Dev) using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

Mattb126 said:


> Sorry for the noob question but what does CRS stand for? I know it's the shrimp but want to know what the abbreviation is.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone 8 (Dev) using Tapatalk


Crystal Red Shrimp


----------



## Mattb126

Sean W. said:


> Crystal Red Shrimp


Thank you!


----------



## Sean W.

At last, a sign of life from the hairgrass!


----------



## irishspy

Sean W. said:


> Thanks! Im just using my cellphone, a Galaxy S7 Edge


Wow, they must've improved the camera. My S5 couldn't get shots like that.


----------



## chayos00

irishspy said:


> Wow, they must've improved the camera. My S5 couldn't get shots like that.


If the phone is anything like my HTC M9, I found there is a RAW mode that I can actually manually control the focus of the camera. In auto mine can't get a close up shot like this.


----------



## Sean W.

irishspy said:


> Wow, they must've improved the camera. My S5 couldn't get shots like that.





chayos00 said:


> If the phone is anything like my HTC M9, I found there is a RAW mode that I can actually manually control the focus of the camera. In auto mine can't get a close up shot like this.


Yea, the s7 series has a pretty fantastic camera. These pics were all taken in auto mode.


----------



## Immortal1

Impressive pics of impressive subjects


----------



## Sean W.




----------



## Sean W.




----------



## Greggz

Sean the tank is really coming along nicely. Plants look like they are all happy.

Looking forward to seeing how this fills in. I like the way you started with a plan and executed it well.

Nice work (and pics) as always.


----------



## BettaBettas

Have to agree with Greggz, since the last time I've seen your journal here the tank has grown an improved immensely! when the hairgrass carpet fills in that will look stunning, honestly if the whole front is hairgrass I will have to say I've never seen a hairgrass carpet that big. Also good CRS selection. Great job so far


----------



## Sean W.

Greggz said:


> Sean the tank is really coming along nicely. Plants look like they are all happy.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing how this fills in. I like the way you started with a plan and executed it well.
> 
> Nice work (and pics) as always.


 Thanks Greggz, I really did put a lot of forethought into this tank a lot of planning and consideration went into the placement of everything. I giggle to myself when people are like " Man you're so lucky to have a tank like that ", get it a lot in my youtube comments. Luck doesnt have much to do with it 



BettaBettas said:


> Have to agree with Greggz, since the last time I've seen your journal here the tank has grown an improved immensely! when the hairgrass carpet fills in that will look stunning, honestly if the whole front is hairgrass I will have to say I've never seen a hairgrass carpet that big. Also good CRS selection. Great job so far


It will be interesting to see when the carpet is done! For now its taking its sweet time tho! Hopefully soon it will start to really take off, seeing that runner has given me hope that forward progress is being made. 

This hobby always reminds me of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Quote, " Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience "....

I also did a little MS paint work real quick to give an idea of what the tank will look like when its done, its rough, but gives an idea haha


----------



## Sean W.

A little bit of an update, I'm unhappy with the S.Repens, because its doing *TOO* well. With the high light, and as much nutrients as it wants, its carpeting, not growing upwards. Its just not getting as tall as Id like it to. To further drive my point, the S. Repens is supposed to act as a buffer between the hairgrass and the rock, transitioning the eye from the grass to the father stone, but the S. Repens is not growing any higher than the hair grass, which is a problem. 

I'm going to be tearing it out from in front of the left rock, and replacing it with lobellia cardinals mini.



You can see between these two pictures, the S Repens is much lower than the AR Mini.


----------



## Greggz

OK now you are just messing with us. Plants growing too well??

We should all have such problems.

But in all seriousness, I do appreciate that you have a vision. Most things in my tank happen purely by accident.


----------



## Sean W.

Greggz said:


> OK now you are just messing with us. Plants growing too well??
> 
> We should all have such problems.
> 
> But in all seriousness, I do appreciate that you have a vision. Most things in my tank happen purely by accident.


000:x

pound on wood, this tank has given me zero problems, I could not be happier with how its going... except maybe the Rotala Mac... that guy is taking its sweet time, but it too is starting to get on really well....

The S repens just isnt doing what I wanted it too... The name is Dueling Volcanoes, and right now the right volcano is dominating the left....


----------



## ArchimedesTheDog

Are you keeping the repens elsewhere in the tank? Or removing it entirely?


----------



## Sean W.

ArchimedesTheDog said:


> Are you keeping the repens elsewhere in the tank? Or removing it entirely?


I havent quite decided, Id like to keep it, but cant really think of anywhere else to put it...


----------



## ArchimedesTheDog

Sean W. said:


> I havent quite decided, Id like to keep it, but cant really think of anywhere else to put it...


It's a pretty plant, be a shame to lose it entirely, especially since t is growing so nicely for you. Mine is being schizophrenic. I have a few stems that are sending offshoots, a few growing tall, and a few that are just stagnant. Low tech, though.


----------



## Sean W.

ArchimedesTheDog said:


> It's a pretty plant, be a shame to lose it entirely, especially since t is growing so nicely for you. Mine is being schizophrenic. I have a few stems that are sending offshoots, a few growing tall, and a few that are just stagnant. Low tech, though.


give each steam a osmocoat plus root tab


----------



## irishspy

Sean W. said:


> A little bit of an update, I'm unhappy with the S.Repens, because its doing *TOO* well.


That's like my e. tenellus: it was supposed to be a foreground carpet, but I'm finding it everywhere, as if it's declared "This substrate is mine!" :grin2:

FWIW, I still think you're tank looks great, even if the repens won't obey.


----------



## vvDO

*75 gallon &quot;Dueling Volcanoes&quot; 10 Day update vid Pg4*



irishspy said:


> That's like my e. tenellus: it was supposed to be a foreground carpet, but I'm finding it everywhere, as if it's declared "This substrate is mine!" :grin2:


I'm still finding that in my tank 2 years after I thought it was all gone/removed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

Big video update coming next week, filming on Thursday and will be posting it around friday or saturday... Depends on how quickly I can edit the video.

For now, took a these pictures of cool things happening in the tank!

First thing, the hairgrass really has started to get some traction, as you can see in this picture, nice long chains of runners










My favorite thing about this hobby is watching plants pearl, it is the reason I am in this hobby, unfortunatly, until today I have not seen one single pearl from this tank... Here is the first lonely pearl I have seen in this tank









Finally I see the Rotala Macandra leaves starting to turn red, the circled leave really shows the transition from green to red. At first I thought it was the leave showing signs of nutrient deficiency, then I realized that its just doing awesome 










Bonus... a teaser


----------



## SingAlongWithTsing

Sean W. said:


> Bonus... a teaser


did you get bored of your T5's already? or is the DIY LED for another tank?


----------



## burr740

Give the repens a couple months and it'll become a huge mound you can shape however you want


----------



## chayos00

I'm wanting to DIY some LEDs myself for a 125g tank. How much did that cost you? 

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

chayos00 said:


> I'm wanting to DIY some LEDs myself for a 125g tank. How much did that cost you?
> 
> Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


There is well over $1,000 worth of components in that picture...

I will be making a 3 or 4 part step by step how to video on making my light


----------



## Sean W.

pre-update video FTS

*Day 32*


----------



## BettaBettas

wow its coming along really nicely.. liking how the corner is so lush with greenery


----------



## Sean W.

Day 35 Update video, First Trim


----------



## chayos00

Sean W. said:


> There is well over $1,000 worth of components in that picture...
> 
> I will be making a 3 or 4 part step by step how to video on making my light


Tank is looking good! Ouch I can't believe how expensive it is for a nice LED setup. I've been doing lots of looking at DIY LED builds myself for my 125g non CO2 build that I'm getting close to filling with water soon. I was looking at CREE LED's but I came across bridgelux vero 18's that I think I may give a shot at and build up as needed from those, but still more research to do!


----------



## tylergvolk

What's your fertilizing dosing regimen got this tank?


----------



## Sean W.

tylergvolk said:


> What's your fertilizing dosing regimen got this tank?


No dosing right now, but Every stem has an osmocaot plus root tab. 

Im leaning towards PPS Pro system of dosing, because im lazy haha


----------



## chayos00

Sean W. said:


> No dosing right now, but Every stem has an osmocaot plus root tab.
> 
> Im leaning towards PPS Pro system of dosing, because im lazy haha


I did the PPS Pro and you still have to dose daily, I changed over to a low dose daily EI setup. But I have mine setup in a liquid mix for dosing still vs a dry dose. 

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

chayos00 said:


> I did the PPS Pro and you still have to dose daily, I changed over to a low dose daily EI setup. But I have mine setup in a liquid mix for dosing still vs a dry dose.
> 
> Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


I will be setting up a DIY auto doser.


----------



## Sean W.

Slight update, I want to tear out the Rotala Macandra and replace it with something else. Its just not doing what I want it to do. I was hoping for a plant that got as bushy and gang busters as the Limnophila hippuridoides does, but red. I am extremely dissapointed with the growth and the color of the Macandara. 

I might just put Limnophila hippuridoides on the left side too... unless someone can recommend a red plant that will do what I want on the left... 

I want a nice red bush on the left, just like the nice green bush on the right...

Picture, ignore the look of the water, I was fussing with the filter before taking this pic


----------



## sdwindansea

It wouldn't necessarily be red leaves, but there is a red stem version of Myriophyllum that could look really good in your tank.


----------



## vvDO

Sean W. said:


> I might just put Limnophila hippuridoides on the left side too... unless someone can recommend a red plant that will do what I want on the left...
> 
> I want a nice red bush on the left, just like the nice green bush on the right...



Looking nice... I would give macandra some time, but here are some options...

AR variegata 
Limno aromatica (may look too similar to hippuri, but more reddish)
Ludwigia arcuata
Ludwigia red
Pogostemon stellatus narrow
Pogostemon Kimberly


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.




----------



## BettaBettas

Sean W. said:


>


what did you take that pic with??? it doesn't even look real its so smooth lol


----------



## Sean W.

BettaBettas said:


> what did you take that pic with??? it doesn't even look real its so smooth lol


just my cellphone















lol jk


My buddy took the picture with the fancy new camera he got for Christmas, I dont know anything about it, but apparently its a fancy dancy camera.


----------



## Sean W.

vvDO said:


> Looking nice... I would give macandra some time, but here are some options...
> 
> AR variegata
> Limno aromatica (may look too similar to hippuri, but more reddish)
> Ludwigia arcuata
> Ludwigia red
> Pogostemon stellatus narrow
> Pogostemon Kimberly
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



This is what I want my Rotala Mac to look like and its just nothing like this!


----------



## Freemananana

At first I was jealous of that camera, but then I realized it would just make my lack of detail MORE obvious! This looks great. I like scrolling through fancy tanks with tech beyond anything I'll every implement. Good luck with the auto dosers.


----------



## Sean W.

I Love my shrimp

These I really did take with my phone


----------



## BettaBettas

Sean W. said:


> I Love my shrimp
> 
> These I really did take with my phone


now your just rubbing it in.... :drool:


----------



## bereninga

Wow, this tank is SOOO clean, like spotless! Those must be very happy shrimp.


----------



## Sean W.

bereninga said:


> Wow, this tank is SOOO clean, like spotless! Those must be very happy shrimp.


Smoke and mirrors mate :wink2:


----------



## KwhyLE

pretty incredible growth for a month and a half!


----------



## Opare

*75 gallon &quot;Dueling Volcanoes&quot; Day 35 update vid pg 8*

BTW just gonna chime in on your Rotala macrandra. I think if you really want to colour it up either you may have to increase light intensity, or limit nitrogen, which your other plants may not like.
I would give it some time first and let it go through a few replanting cycles, and let your tank mature before you start tinkering to get it really nice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

*DAY 45
*


----------



## Immortal1

Tank is looking Great Sean! Now I realize the pics are all just smoke and mirrors but I must admit - you have better mirrors than I have.


----------



## Greggz

Sean you do a nice job capturing the beauty of the tank and plants.

You seem to have the "green thumb", making it look easy.

Now as to the LED electrical skills.............well we'll see how things turn out.

I'm hoping you get it figured out soon, at least before you drive yourself mad!>


----------



## LinaS

i am no expert but may i suggest you try ludwigia pantanal for the left side? 
with your skills it can make really nice picture )

and yes, your tank looks great!!


----------



## Sean W.

Did a little TLC on the rocks, The ineveitable algae growing on the hardscape really ruins the appearence of the scape for me, some people like it, it does make it look moren natural, but I like the contrast between the hardscape and the plants. The algae kinda blends everything together.

Every once in a while a deep cleaning of the hardscape is needed to keep the contrast between it and the plants.

There's two ways to do this, physically or chemically. The chemical way involves dipping the rocks in a bleach/water mix, Ive done this before and it works great, tho it takes a little longer because you need to soak them in water for 24 hours after the bleach dip. this method also completely strips the rocks of any, erm... natural look? i guess you could say. It completely stripps them of any natural looking colors, but after a week or two back in the tank they look natural again.

The physical way is with a steel brush, usually used for cleaning up welds. A tooth brush simply is not rough enough to attack this kind of algae. Its pretty simple process, just brush the rocks until you get the desired look. 











You can see this pic, I have already cleaned the left side of this father stone, the right side still needs to be brushed









You can see in this pic, the rock really blends in with the plants around it, looking very natural, but I prefer a little more contrast.









Knowing this would happen and my preference of keeping the rocks clean, I design my scapes so that the smaller rocks are removable without disrupting the plants around them. So Iw as able to remove this rock and work on it outside of the tank, which is much easier.










running hot water and giving it a scrub in the sink










Heres that same rock in the same place with the same orintation as the before pic











FTS after cleaning all the rocks


----------



## Greggz

Sean I have to commend you as you are clearly dedicated to your underwater art! That looks like a big job to clean all those rocks, but I have to agree, they do look much better with the fauna when you are done.


----------



## bereninga

Ah, so the secret has been revealed! I like the steel brush idea. A toothbrush's bristles are def not strong enough. The work you put into this definitely shows, so the effort is well worth it.


----------



## livingf1t

I just set up my auto doser last week and so far it's working great!! Couldn't be happier!










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

livingf1t said:


> I just set up my auto doser last week and so far it's workineg great!! Couldn't be happier!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Oh yea? Tell me about it


----------



## KwhyLE

It looks like hes using the Jabao auto doser. I found it pretty cheap for $60 awhile ago, but it was pretty simple. Hardest part for me was finding the reservoirs. Since I didnt need a lot per day for my 20 long, I just used some Voss glass water bottles with holes punched through for my airline tubing. Setting the doser was pretty confusing as well but I found a guide on youtube that got it correct for dosing 1 pump on separate days. In a nutshell for programming it was setting one pump two days before and then setting the date one day back then setting the second pump one day ahead then setting the correct date.


----------



## livingf1t

Sean W. said:


> Oh yea? Tell me about it




Well I first started with seachem liquid dosing of all 8 products and was doing very well, but I soon realized that for a 75g tank it wouldn't be cost effective, plus I travel for work and sometimes I'm gone for up to 5 weeks, usually only 2-3 weeks but I have been gone for longer, which left that task up to my wife. I would have the dosing schedule on a piece of paper and my wife would have to dose it every day and do a weekly water change every Sunday. So I decided to go with pps pro with the 2 bottles. It would make it a lot easier for her. After being gone for two week while she was dosing pps pro I wasn't happy with the growth compared to when I was dosing seachem. So then I decided to try ei. I don't know what I did wrong but it didn't work well at all. So after tons of reading I think I finally figured out the correct dosing I need for my tank using pps and 2-1liter solutions with the aqua medic evo 4 doser. I've been home 2 weeks for the holidays so I took advantage of that to see how well it would work before I head out for a month on the 4th. I have only been dosing macros and micros but tomorrow I will also start auto dosing excel and seachem iron since I have 4 lines I can use. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## livingf1t

KwhyLE said:


> It looks like hes using the Jabao auto doser. I found it pretty cheap for $60 awhile ago, but it was pretty simple. Hardest part for me was finding the reservoirs. Since I didnt need a lot per day for my 20 long, I just used some Voss glass water bottles with holes punched through for my airline tubing. Setting the doser was pretty confusing as well but I found a guide on youtube that got it correct for dosing 1 pump on separate days. In a nutshell for programming it was setting one pump two days before and then setting the date one day back then setting the second pump one day ahead then setting the correct date.




It's an aquamedic reef doser evo4 with a dual eshopps 2 liter reservoir
























Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

livingf1t said:


> It's an aquamedic reef doser evo4 with a dual eshopps 2 liter reservoir.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That looks expensive...


----------



## livingf1t

Sean W. said:


> That looks expensive...




It was $200 for the doser and I think I paid $40 for the reservoir 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

livingf1t said:


> It was $200 for the doser and I think I paid $40 for the reservoir
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




I have like a $45 budget for my entire auto doser system for both micros and macros.... Including the ferts...


----------



## livingf1t

Sean W. said:


> I have like a $45 budget for my entire auto doser system for both micros and macros.... Including the ferts...




Oh sorry I hadn't seen that, I would have tried a diy but since I'm away for so long at a time I'm not physically there to monitor it. Love the tank btw! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Alistair Shaw

*Ferts?*

First off, I really love your tanks (after seeing this, I checked out your youtube channel) I'm planning on setting up a 20 gallon tank, heavily inspired by your "20 gallon long" (and I mean HEAVILY inspired). I was planning on using a base of eco complete (I've heard it retains fertilizer well) and topped off with amazonia (probably powder, not sure yet). My question is: what fertilizer do you use, at the tanks currant state and when it was first set up? (I'm new to fertilizer). The plants I'm going to have are hairgrass as a carpet; alternanthera reineckii mini in the back; and staurogyne repens around the main rock or wood piece.


----------



## Sean W.

Alistair Shaw said:


> First off, I really love your tanks (after seeing this, I checked out your youtube channel) I'm planning on setting up a 20 gallon tank, heavily inspired by your "20 gallon long" (and I mean HEAVILY inspired). I was planning on using a base of eco complete (I've heard it retains fertilizer well) and topped off with amazonia (probably powder, not sure yet). My question is: what fertilizer do you use, at the tanks currant state and when it was first set up? (I'm new to fertilizer). The plants I'm going to have are hairgrass as a carpet; alternanthera reineckii mini in the back; and staurogyne repens around the main rock or wood piece.


Hello and welcome to Planted tank!

Im humbled to hear that my work has inspired someone.

As far as ferts for that tank go, I really didnt do much with it, I tried EI Dosing but that didnt last very long, maybe a few weeks then got lazy and stopped. Other than that I never dosed anything on that tank.


----------



## Brian Rodgers

Stunning aquarium Sean. It is quite inspiring.


----------



## Alistair Shaw

Sean W. said:


> Hello and welcome to Planted tank!
> 
> Im humbled to hear that my work has inspired someone.
> 
> As far as ferts for that tank go, I really didnt do much with it, I tried EI Dosing but that didnt last very long, maybe a few weeks then got lazy and stopped. Other than that I never dosed anything on that tank.


Thanks for replying, I saw in your video about the 20 long you used old substrate from a previous tank, do you attribute the plant's success without ferts to this? and if so, since I'm just using ecocomplete (which I've heard doesn't have much by itself) topped with amazonia, would you recommend that I use fertilizers? What id you use on this tank (Dueling Volcanoes)?


----------



## Sean W.




----------



## Sean W.

*Filming*


----------



## chayos00

Sean W. said:


> *Filming*


I've been wanting to get a good tripod for my Canon 70D, can I ask what you have there?

Plants are growing good! How's the LED fixture going? Figure out the issues yet? I actually am waiting on the last parts for my DIY LED setup to get here tomorrow. But that's going to wait till I have the tank flooded and testing the water integrity of it and the sump in my garage for at least a week before coming in the house.


----------



## Sean W.

chayos00 said:


> I've been wanting to get a good tripod for my Canon 70D, can I ask what you have there?
> 
> Plants are growing good! How's the LED fixture going? Figure out the issues yet? I actually am waiting on the last parts for my DIY LED setup to get here tomorrow. But that's going to wait till I have the tank flooded and testing the water integrity of it and the sump in my garage for at least a week before coming in the house.


My tripod is the biggest piece of junk ever. I got it for like $8.29 open box used at best buy like 4 years ago. 

My tripod is junk, my camera slider was $20 on eBay and I use my cell phone to record my videos. I used to use Windows movie Maker to edit my videos. There's really not a lot to my operation haha


----------



## chayos00

Sean W. said:


> My tripod is the biggest piece of junk ever. I got it for like $8.29 open box used at best buy like 4 years ago.
> 
> My tripod is junk, my camera slider was $20 on eBay and I use my cell phone to record my videos. I used to use Windows movie Maker to edit my videos. There's really not a lot to my operation haha


LOL That's too funny!


----------



## supert

Good looking tank. Can you provide the lighting of how long you keep it on and co2 timeline? 

Also, you are using Ecocomplete base, correct? It looks very like ada soil. I remember using the ecocomplete 4-5 years ago and it looks like black gravel. It must of improved.


----------



## Sean W.

supert said:


> Good looking tank. Can you provide the lighting of how long you keep it on and co2 timeline?
> U
> Also, you are using Ecocomplete base, correct? It looks very like ada soil. I remember using the ecocomplete 4-5 years ago and it looks like black gravel. It must of improved.


Check out the first page of this thread, I have all your questions answered there. 

Thanks for looking! 

Let me know if you have any more questions


----------



## irishspy

I just love the red on your plants - alternanthera?


----------



## Sean W.

Day 55


----------



## Greggz

Nice work Edward Scissorhands!!!

I can't believe how much you cut everything down. That was very cool to see.

Do you sell the trimmings?


----------



## Sean W.

Greggz said:


> Nice work Edward Scissorhands!!!
> 
> I can't believe how much you cut everything down. That was very cool to see.
> 
> Do you sell the trimmings?


Thanks! Harsh trimming promotes more compact and bushier growth, especially on the AR Mini.

 I tried to sell the trimmings, but no one would buy them, so I just threw them away


----------



## supert

Perhaps try selling it cheaper to support the hobby or RAOK


----------



## Maryland Guppy

So instead of selling each trim pack for say $20 instead of $60, you were happy with tossing it?
Someone here would have surely bought for $20 or so, or even on the other forum?

That LED fixture burning bright yet? 200PAR @ substrate maybe?


----------



## johnson18

Great video, Sean! Nice to see the whole process. Thank you! That big ole school of Embers has me wishing my shrimp would hurry up and colonize already! haha. Everything looks amazing!


----------



## Sean W.

Maryland Guppy said:


> So instead of selling each trim pack for say $20 instead of $60, you were happy with tossing it?
> Someone here would have surely bought for $20 or so, or even on the other forum?
> 
> *That LED fixture burning bright yet? 200PAR @ substrate maybe?*


Nope, still sitting in the corner, broken


----------



## evil nick

Sean W. said:


> Nope, still sitting in the corner, broken


I would have gladly taken an ROAK or even threw a couple bucks for some of that red plant.


----------



## Sean W.

Alright guys, 

so....

The name of this scape is " Dueling Volcanoes ", the idea was to have one volcano (father stone) with green plants in front and red plants behind, then another Volcano (father stone ) with red plants in front and green plants behind. I could have also named this tank " Yin and Yang " because of the equal and opposite attributes to each father stone.

The Ar mini in front of and the limnophila hippuridoides behind the right stone looks great, I have completely accomplished the look I was going for with the right rock.

The S. Repens infront of the left rock is getting where I want it, I wanted a nice green lush bush in front of the left rock, I was this close to replacing the S Repens with Lobellia Caridinalis mini because the S Repens wasnt getting as tall as Id like it to, but Ive given it a little more time and I think its going to work out fine, its gaining some altitude.

But the Rotala Macrandra behind the left stone is completely off base. I could not be more disappointed with it. Its stringy, leaves are not the right shape, and the color is way off. So I have done a little reading and here is what I found.

This green plant is supposed to be red









Rotala Macranda needs Higer phosphate levels and lower Nitrate levels to achieve optimal growth. 

I tested my water and I am giving it the opposite of what It needs, high Nitrate and low ( almost zero ) phosphate. 










So I will be making some changes in attempt to color up the Rotala the way I want it. Stay tuned. 


Im open to any other input and suggestions on how to get this guy redder.


----------



## vvDO

Can you get a close up of Macandra? I'm starting to think it's either a different variant or not exactly macandra. 
I think what you want is macandra 'red', larger broad leaves with more reddish/purple color.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

vvDO said:


> Can you get a close up of Macandra? I'm starting to think it's either a different variant or not exactly macandra.
> I think what you want is macandra 'red', larger broad leaves with more reddish/purple color.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Im starting to think the same thing. But I got it from aquariumplants.com and it was a tissue culture. 

Rotala Macrandra


----------



## Overwatch

Sean W. said:


> Editing the reveal video
> 
> heres a little teaser


What software are you using for video editing?


----------



## Sean W.

Overwatch said:


> What software are you using for video editing?


Adobe Premiere Pro


----------



## Opare

I mentioned it earlier but limiting nitrates and higher light intensity will help colour up your Rotala. Both come with side effects though, the nitrate limitation may hurt other plants and increasing light intensity with too heavy of a hand will lead to algae.
If you are not bothered with that some of the Ludwigia species like L. sp. 'Super Red' or whatever should do the job you are looking for. Rotala rotundifolia 'Colorata' or 'Blood Red' would also be options, but you would also probably need high light/N limitation to colour them up. The 'Blood Red' for sure.
On another note I am also a bit skeptical about whether that is R. macranda, but it's looking a bit more like it now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

Opare said:


> If you are not bothered with that some of the Ludwigia species like L. sp. 'Super Red' or whatever should do the job you are looking for.


Nitrates were higher than I am comfortable with any way, I haven't checked them since I cycled the tank. I'll be keeping a closer eye on them for the next couple weeks.

I did a 50%water change tonight and cleaned the filter for the first time. That should really help, I'll check in the morning and see where they're at. 

Im also going to up the co2. Im at 8bps right now but have a lot of surface agitation which keeps the water really oxygenated, so I should be able to turn it up a little more without putting the fish into any harm. This should also keep any algae down.

I added a single t8 light fixture in the back of the tank to give them a little more light, it's not much more but it is noticable.

If all fails im going to swap them out for ludwidgia red hybrid, Adam C here on the forums grows them emersed so no snails. All the plants in this tank have come from tissue culture and I have zero snails.


----------



## Opare

*75 gallon &quot;Dueling Volcanoes&quot; Day 55 vid pg 11*



Sean W. said:


> If all fails im going to swap them out for ludwidgia red hybrid, Adam C here on the forums grows them emersed so no snails. All the plants in this tank have come from tissue culture and I have zero snails.


Just give it some time, and as you said if all else fails the Ludwigia has got your back. Ammania gracilis or Nesaea crassicaulis are also options.
That's pretty good, I tend to get snails because my tissue culture options are not that varied, but I don't hate them anyway.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

Opare said:


> Just give it some time, and as you said if all else fails the Ludwigia has got your back. Ammania gracilis or Nesaea crassicaulis are also options.
> That's pretty good, I tend to get snails because my tissue culture options are not that varied, but I don't hate them anyway.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I can't stand snails. Hate them!


----------



## Opare

Sean W. said:


> I can't stand snails. Hate them!


I just get annoyed with the eggs, and them sticking to the glass when I'm tryna take a photo. In a perfect world I wouldn't have them, but don't mind them enough to be too cautious. Although there are some I think are pretty-ish, like some Nerites and Ramshorns.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

Opare said:


> I just get annoyed with the eggs, and them sticking to the glass when I'm tryna take a photo. In a perfect world I wouldn't have them, but don't mind them enough to be too cautious. Although there are some I think are pretty-ish, like some Nerites and Ramshorns.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Im fine with a few, but they get out of hand quickly and ruin the viewing experience for me. 

I do miss the benefit they bring to the planted tank tho, eating algae and uneaten food.


----------



## chayos00

Sean W. said:


> Im fine with a few, but they get out of hand quickly and ruin the viewing experience for me.
> 
> I do miss the benefit they bring to the planted tank tho, eating algae and uneaten food.


Well Nerite snail eggs don't hatch in a freshwater setup, but they do leave their eggs all over the place. If you wanted some snails that is an option where they won't breed out of control. The eggs need saltwater to hatch.


----------



## Joe Schmoe

Nice tank. I'm also in Rancho (actually I'm pretty sure that's Lewis carpeting, we might be neighbors LOL) and I couldn't grow Rotala here either. In Victorville it grew like a weed, here not so much, but my setup and the tap water in this apartment is much different. As you've seen Lymnophilia does grow good in our water. Some Iron will redden it up. I have my suspicions about our tap water though. During the drought and in the summers they have been treating Silverwood Lake, the source of much of our water in Rancho, for algae blooms. If the drought returns you'll actually smell the algae in the tap water, running the shower, etc. I wonder what effect that has on plant growth because I've had a much more difficult time with plants in this city.

Anyhow, nice work.


----------



## monkeyruler90

Great tank! I'm over here in San Diego but I go hiking over your area once a month. 
I'm jealous that you guys have softer water! the one from the tap here is rock hard, 

Btw, is your long term plan to always just use the osmocote pills or will you dose in the future?


----------



## Sean W.

monkeyruler90 said:


> Great tank! I'm over here in San Diego but I go hiking over your area once a month.
> I'm jealous that you guys have softer water! the one from the tap here is rock hard,
> 
> Btw, is your long term plan to always just use the osmocote pills or will you dose in the future?



Oh yea, there is a lot of hiking around these parts! I love living along the foothills, especially right now with them being covered in snow!

Cash is actually really tight on my end right now and I would like to start a dosing regimen, I've been talking with with NilocG and he has a liquid EI system, but I just don't have any extra cash to buy ferts right now. 


Soon tho


----------



## xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx

Tank looks amazing!!! I'm so jealous of it lol, great work on the tank!!!!


----------



## KwhyLE

Sean W. said:


> Oh yea, there is a lot of hiking around these parts! I love living along the foothills, especially right now with them being covered in snow!
> 
> Cash is actually really tight on my end right now and I would like to start a dosing regimen, I've been talking with with NilocG and he has a liquid EI system, but I just don't have any extra cash to buy ferts right now.
> 
> 
> Soon tho


have you taken a look at gla ferts? I bought their EI package and had epsom salt (mgso4) already and it was only like $20. Mix with distilled water and youre golden.


----------



## Sean W.

KwhyLE said:


> have you taken a look at gla ferts? I bought their EI package and had epsom salt (mgso4) already and it was only like $20. Mix with distilled water and youre golden.


NilocG's liquid EI Fert kit is $22, just can't afford it right now :/


----------



## KwhyLE

Sean W. said:


> NilocG's liquid EI Fert kit is $22, just can't afford it right now :/


oh I was talking dry ferts. Ive had it for 2 years now. Just a thought.


----------



## Sean W.

Alright, well the water change and cleaning the filter seems to have done a lot for bringing the red out of the Rotala Mac. I have noticed a difference in about a week. Its still not as red as Id like it to, but it is well on its way. I still havent started dosing ferts, I think it will get even more red when I do.

heres a pic











heres a closer up pic









also have to give a shout out to @burr740, who convinced me to give the S Repens a little more time before I swapped them out with Lobellia Cardinalis Mini, they are this nice big bush that im very happy with now.



burr740 said:


> Give the repens a couple months and it'll become a huge mound you can shape however you want


----------



## sdwindansea

It is looking great Sean and good to hear you are being patient. Sounds like it is paying off. What % water change are you doing and is it weekly?


----------



## [email protected]

Sean what plant is this? 










Looks fantastic. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Remmy

[email protected] said:


> Sean what plant is this?
> 
> https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170117/09db9c915ae33814755eb74427867950.png[/IMG
> 
> Looks fantastic.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/quote]
> 
> Staurogyne repens, great plant


----------



## Sean W.

Whats goin on guys!

I looked over at my tank today and the algae covered hardscape gave me the stink eye, and I wasnt having it. So I jumped up and gave all the rocks a good cleaning. I even took both father stones out of the tank and cleaned them in the sink. I just cant get them as clean as id like brushing them inside the tank. Also, everything that I brush of then goes into the tank, which is less than ideal.

You can see the right father stone in the sink here










Before









After









Heres a gif showing before and after.
via Imgflip GIF Maker


----------



## burr740

Looking great man. The hair grass is really filling in nice


----------



## Sean W.

burr740 said:


> Looking great man. The hair grass is really filling in nice


Thanks Bur!

From that angle it appears to be quiet full, but if you look at it from a higher angle, its still really patchy. Its getting there, maybe another 60 days until Im happy with it.

Im eyeing that super red you just posted in the for sale section.... :nerd:


----------



## dru

Great journal, will be following along


----------



## Sean W.

*Day 76 FTS*


----------



## Sean W.

Built a Cerges Reactor, the ceramic disk dffuser kept getting clogged and was not giving me consistent Co2, which lead to some algae. Also, im tired of bleaching it to keep it clean. Next time I setup a tank and want to use a disk diffuser, give me a good wack on the back of the head. Gotta wait a couple days for the Silicone to dry, then I will install it.


----------



## Sean W.

Battling a little bit of what appears to be Dust Algae? 

It almost looks like particulates that settle on leaves. It comes off super easy, all I have to do is brush my fingers through and it comes off entirely. The flow is very good in the tank, been fighting this for the last couple of weeks. Any input on what it is?


----------



## burr740

Diatoms. Common in new-ish set ups. Usually will run it's course over a few weeks. Otos eat it too.

Hows the cerges working?


----------



## sdwindansea

Your tank is a couple weeks newer than mine, better maintained, more knowledgeable and higher tech (lighting/co2). However, I've been fighting the same thing for several weeks now and it is finally improving. I'm not an expert but it definitely appears to be brown diatoms. I've been manually removing it from the leaves that I can. I know you do not have snails, but the nerites do a good job. I've also been told that amano shrimp may help with it as well. I've been tempted to get Otos, but I've read too many stores of them dying off...you would probably do really well with them though and they are cool, shrimp friendly fish .


----------



## Greggz

burr740 said:


> Diatoms. Common in new-ish set ups. Usually will run it's course over a few weeks. Otos eat it too.
> 
> Hows the cerges working?


What Burr said. I had a mild case after moving my tank a last month, and I just physically wiped it off as much as possible until it ran it's course.

Good news is it can go away as suddenly as it appears.


----------



## Sean W.

burr740 said:


> Diatoms. Common in new-ish set ups. Usually will run it's course over a few weeks. Otos eat it too.
> 
> Hows the cerges working?


I thought diatoms was the green slime that coats everything.

Ah man... freaking reactor. Spent a couple hours plumbing it all in and getting the Co2 line redone... The way I have the tubing going to the tank just didnt work out... I was very frustrated.... I took it out.

I bought a co2 disk diffuser on ebay that has a replaceable disk, that will sort out my issues with my co2 diffuser


----------



## Opare

Sean W. said:


> I thought diatoms was the green slime that coats everything.


The green slime is BGA which is much worse than diatoms. I think you have diatoms too, and everything Burr said is right, it should go away by itself after a while and appears in new tankd. In my 60P I got it when I first set it up, and again now that I've rescaped it.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

Took a few pics today, enjoy


----------



## livingf1t

Sean W. said:


> Took a few pics today, enjoy




This is such a great looking tank!! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ben Belton

Seems like it has gotten its legs and started to take off on you finally. Looks great.


----------



## r.s.hutchinson

Love this. Great variety and color.


----------



## BettaBettas

Totally agree with @r.s.hutchinson , the amount of color in this scape is really impressive, browns, reds, greens, even blues, pinks, whites, etc like a paintball war just got done taking place lol


----------



## sdwindansea

Really impressive, I've enjoyed seeing the growth/evolution of the tank. Thanks for taking the time to make the posts. How are the CRS doing? Are they breeding?


----------



## Sean W.

sdwindansea said:


> Really impressive, I've enjoyed seeing the growth/evolution of the tank. Thanks for taking the time to make the posts. How are the CRS doing? Are they breeding?


Thanks everyone for the kind words, There is a pretty large change coming to this tank, probably Monday. I will be making a video on it. Its a change for the better!

oh man, freaking RCS.... ugh, I never see them! I had actually thought they had all died and I was super bummed. Until the other day when I took out the father stones to scrub them and I lifted out the right stone, bam there they all were, under the rock. 50+ RCS squatting in my tank, not doing anything. Not really sure what I can do to get them to come out :/


----------



## Ashnic05

Sean W. said:


> oh man, freaking RCS.... ugh, I never see them! I had actually thought they had all died and I was super bummed. Until the other day when I took out the father stones to scrub them and I lifted out the right stone, bam there they all were, under the rock. 50+ RCS squatting in my tank, not doing anything. Not really sure what I can do to get them to come out :/


I wonder if the embers are picking on them? It's not likely but a possibility of why they're hiding.


----------



## [email protected]

Sean buy some Siamese Algae Eaters this will solve all your problems 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

[email protected] said:


> Sean buy some Siamese Algae Eaters this will solve all your problems
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks for the suggestion. However the get way too large, they would ruin the sense of scale in the tank, being much larger than anything else in the tank.


----------



## [email protected]

You are right. I am thinking that about my tank. Have them in for a little while then put them off to another tank https://vimeo.com/202581656


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## chayos00

If not SAE's what about ottos? 

Or the small horned nerite snails?

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

chayos00 said:


> If not SAE's what about ottos?
> 
> Or the small horned nerite snails?
> 
> Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


Theres 12? ottos in there? probably should get more. Im up to 50 Ember tetras! gunna get another 30 or so more!

Theres small nerite snails? I went to the LFS and all they had were big ol snails, a little smaller than a ping pong ball. They were way too big :/ They make small nerite snails?


----------



## chayos00

Sean W. said:


> Theres 12? ottos in there? probably should get more. Im up to 50 Ember tetras! gunna get another 30 or so more!
> 
> Theres small nerite snails? I went to the LFS and all they had were big ol snails, a little smaller than a ping pong ball. They were way too big :/ They make small nerite snails?


Ah didn't recall what your stocking was. But yeah I had some of these guys. http://www.planetinverts.com/horned_nerite_snail.html

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


----------



## sfshrimp

Sean W. said:


> Theres 12? ottos in there? probably should get more. Im up to 50 Ember tetras! gunna get another 30 or so more!
> 
> Theres small nerite snails? I went to the LFS and all they had were big ol snails, a little smaller than a ping pong ball. They were way too big :/ They make small nerite snails?



Don't put snails in there, they will ruin everything, including scale of leaves.

I don't think the embers bother the RCS either, I have a bunch of fish and the rcs go face on to fish as large as rummies, guppies and lamplights and they do fine. Had same experience with lifting a log and out came 100s. They might go into the porous rock to molt.

The tank looks really good, don't worry about that algae either, I think 1-3% algae by volume keeps the system healthy, esp. for otos and shrimps. The whole chasing algae away thing is a bit silly. It looks great, and keep in mind, are you happy with it?


----------



## kolet66

*75 gallon &quot;Dueling Volcanoes&quot; Day 76 FTS pg 13*

Beauty of a tank and a very enjoyable read! What about Amano shrimp? They are gangbusters with algae. I know you said no snails... But take a peek at the bumble bee nerite. Tiny, good looking and algae superstars.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## sfshrimp

Yea, amano shrimp are amazing. Babautti hulk algae eaters also. My amano shrimps are like marshawnn lynch shrimp, they take the food from the shrimp and hide it in good places (their hands). 



kolet66 said:


> Beauty of a tank and a very enjoyable read! What about Amano shrimp? They are gangbusters with algae. I know you said no snails... But take a peak at the bumble bee nerite. Tiny, good looking and algae superstars.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## ScubaSteve

Lookin' good...I agree about the Amano's....great shrimp.


----------



## Sean W.

Well I couldnt get the cerges reactor to work, and I really do prefer disk diffusers, but I didnt like having to clean the disk constantly due to algae buildup, especially because I had to put the entire diffuser in a cup of bleach, which is annoying. So I ordered a diffuser off ebay that has replacement disk, so that seems like the perfect solution. 

So I grabbed a diffuser and 8 replacement disks. I think this is going to be like a lifetime supply of replacement disks, because I plan on soaking the disk in bleach and reusing each one for as long as possible.

I just got these in the mail from china, will update once I get everything installed.











This is the diffuser, item number: 291594627057









And the replacement disks 311515360767


----------



## Greggz

Sean W. said:


> Well I couldnt get the cerges reactor to work


Sean why couldn't you get the cerges to work? Just curious as I built one a while back and get good pH drop and no bubbles at all. What went wrong??


----------



## Sean W.

Greggz said:


> Sean why couldn't you get the cerges to work? Just curious as I built one a while back and get good pH drop and no bubbles at all. What went wrong??


Theres just not a lot of room under my stand, and with the tank being tucked in the corner there wasnt much place else I could put it. I tried having it right next to the filter but I couldnt get the bends to work very well. The threads were leaking. It was just more of a headache then I was wanting.

When things dont got perfectly to plan I get discouraged and abandon it. You know how It goes with me haha


----------



## chayos00

Sean W. said:


> Theres just not a lot of room under my stand, and with the tank being tucked in the corner there wasnt much place else I could put it. I tried having it right next to the filter but I couldnt get the bends to work very well. The threads were leaking. It was just more of a headache then I was wanting.
> 
> When things dont got perfectly to plan I get discouraged and abandon it. You know how It goes with me haha


So how about that LED setup? ;-) 

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

chayos00 said:


> So how about that LED setup? ;-)
> 
> Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


Wanna hear the dumbest thing ever? I havent replaced the faulty LEDs yet because Im afraid that after I do, the fixture still wont work. Dumbest thing ever... but its the truth, ha.

Was working on the tank and got a glimpse that I thought looked nice, snapped a quick pic.


----------



## BettaBettas

still your camera just makes me so jealous lmao


----------



## Sean W.

BettaBettas said:


> still your camera just makes me so jealous lmao


just my cellphone :smile2:


----------



## Nlewis

Looks about time to mow the grass.


----------



## Sean W.

Nlewis said:


> Looks about time to mow the grass.


Im putting that off for as long as I can ha. I am not looking forward to it... :|


----------



## Greggz

Sean W. said:


> just my cellphone :smile2:


It helps to have good subject matter!:grin2::grin2:


----------



## chayos00

Sean W. said:


> Wanna hear the dumbest thing ever? I havent replaced the faulty LEDs yet because Im afraid that after I do, the fixture still wont work. Dumbest thing ever... but its the truth, ha.
> 
> Was working on the tank and got a glimpse that I thought looked nice, snapped a quick pic.


No that's totally understandable! But it's all part of the troubleshooting of electronics. LOL Just like I had to take my wife's Infiniti back to the dealer for the AC not working. Thinking it was related to a panel that was just replaced for another loose connection, as there was already one I had to go back a second day for them to fix. Well turns out there was some cold air exchange actuator door. They got them and then the next day they called and said the AC compressor actually failed internally. Just waiting to see if the call tomorrow is that it's fixed or something else is wrong. Based on my experience so far with this brand I'm never getting one again. 

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


----------



## Nlewis

Sean W. said:


> Im putting that off for as long as I can ha. I am not looking forward to it... :|


It's inevitable, just do it. When you do it will make it spread faster and grow in thicker.


----------



## johnson18

Sean W. said:


> Theres just not a lot of room under my stand, and with the tank being tucked in the corner there wasn't much place else I could put it. I tried having it right next to the filter but I couldn't get the bends to work very well. The threads were leaking. It was just more of a headache then I was wanting.
> 
> When things dont got perfectly to plan I get discouraged and abandon it. You know how It goes with me haha


That's too bad! I recently built a cerges reactor for my 55, and had no real issues. My tank is also in a corner and up against a wall, so it took some tweaking to get into place. I wrapped all threads with ptef tape and tightened them with a wrench to make sure things were thing. So far I have had no bubbles in the tank, although I'm not putting much through it. I'm currently only injecting 0.5 bps into the tank so I'm npt sure how it would perform at a higher bps. I like the new ss setup though.


----------



## Sean W.

Nlewis said:


> It's inevitable, just do it. When you do it will make it spread faster and grow in thicker.


Im torn on this... I have two theories.

Not trimming it means it has larger leaves which will let it absorb more light and Co2, which would make it grow faster...

Trimming it would let it focus nutrients on new growth and spreading, making it grow faster....

Really not sure which is accurate, pretty sure im just talking out my @ss tho.. ha


----------



## Deutschlandiesel

Looking good. Just found out I have 2 75's to setup and this gives me lots of scaping ideas. Hopefully I'll be able to source all the co2 equipment for the right price to get it all done the right way. Was thinking about Beamswork Pent Leds 2x per tank. One for the front and one for the back. Should give me the par I need without breaking the bank too hard. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

Whats up guys,

A little equpiemnt update. I swapped out my old diffuser for the one I got on ebay that has replaceable disks. I really like it now that I got it all plumed up. Its quieter than the old one, makes much less hissing and squeaking noises. It also makes a much finer mist, so its more efficient than my old one. Its also made out of stainless steel so its quite heavy, So I dont need to use suction cups to keep it in place. I like that Its just floating there, I think suction cups are an eye sore, its nice to get as many as I can out of the inside of the tank. Also, with my last diffuser, the suction cups failed one morning and the diffuser floated up to the top of the tank leaving zero co2 in the tnak for the entire day. Its nice to know that cant happen with this diffuser. I really really like this one a lot.

I ran out of Co2 on friday and the place I get my tank filled wasnt open until today, So I had an impromptu blackout period, which is fine. Its good to do a blackout every now and then. In the wild there are days when its very cloudy or raining and plants get very little to no light, so its a good thing to do a blackout every now and then.

I used this opportunity to upgrade froma 5lb tank to a 10lb tank tho :grin2: I run my co2 at around 5-7bps, so even a 5lb tank goes pretty quick.










heres a gif showing the diffuser in action and my bps on this tank
via Imgflip GIF Maker


----------



## Sean W.

Finally happy with the left side. P. Helferi has started to fill in pretty nice and the S. Repens is doing absolutely fantastic. Im so glad I didnt rip it out.


----------



## chayos00

FYI about suction cups. I've restored a few to former glory of actually working by getting a pot of almost boiling water and leaving them in there for about 5 minutes (think ones less than 2" across) and letting the cup side face up so it can reform. After that time dunk it in some cold water to firm back up to retain the refreshed shape they should hold now again. I've done this with some that failed to hold after a year and I'm on 2+ years of them without having to restore them again. 

Forgot to add, glad you kept the repens in the tank, I like those plants! Now to figure out what to order for my 125g tank! LOL

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


----------



## ScubaSteve

Looking good Sean...can you give us a full tank shot?

Bump: Looking good Sean...can you give us a full tank shot?


----------



## dbl_dbl17

Looks great! (viewing from pg 13)

Bump: Looks great! (viewing from pg 13)


----------



## Sean W.

Super tiny update, I have bumped up the photo period to 9 hours. Co2 turns on at 11am, lights come on at 1pm, Co2 turns off at 930pm lights go off at 10pm.


----------



## Sean W.

Big update, I know it has been a while but today was finally the day that the Rotala Macrandra got the boot. 

From the very beginning I wanted there to be a bit of a mirror effect in this scape, green in front of one stone, green behind the opposite rock. Red in front of one rock, red behind the opposite rock. The S repens, AR Mini and limnophila hippuroides have all been pulling their weight. However the Rotala Macandra has been a constant source of frustration and has not been able to reciprocate what the AR Mini is bringing to the table. I just couldnt get it to color up the way I wanted it to, so thanks to @burr740, I was able to replace it with Ludwidgia Red hybrid sp mini (I think thats a mashup of the few names it goes by.... ). I was talking with Joe (burr740) telling him that I need a plant that is " annoyingly red, unnecessarily red", he suggested this ludqidgia plant and grew out around 30 stems for me and sent them on over.

Here is my vision for this tank, Red and green plants, opposite of each other









Here is the absolute beauty that my AR Mini is giving me, couldnt be happier with this plant









Here is the nonsense that Rotala Macandra is giving me. Ignore the algae on the hardscape, its not on the plants to im not worried about it 









See how they are not equal, It was completely throwing off the entire vibe of the tank so it had to go.

Here I have removed the fatherstone and all the Rotala Mac behind it.









One thing I did learn from the Rotala bush is that the stone had a protrusion in the back that prevented me from planting in an area, making the bush appear thin in the very middle of the rock. So I took a hammer and a (cheap) screw driver and broke off that section. This view is from the top down.









Look at all that room now!









Here we got around 30 stems of Ludwdgia red planted behind that father stone









A few hours after planting once the water cleared up a bit. Look how beautiful it is!









Sooo.... yea... Thats my update  Again, a huge shoutout and thanks to @burr740


----------



## BettaBettas

hmmm, interesting to see how this turns out


----------



## burr740

Now you got some red over there! Looking forward to see them grow out. Good move busting that rock too.


----------



## Carpathian

Sean W.;9900794They make small nerite snails?[/QUOTE said:


> Zebra thorn nerites stay small, slightly larger than a pea when found in stores or buying online. Black racers get about an inch, standard diameter of most zebra or tiger varieties.
> Zebra Thorn
> Black Racer
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Bump: Pics obviously taken from aquaticarts but that's where I purchased mine and was very satisfied with packaging and health of animals. Picked up two thorn zebra and a tiger from petsmart and had a 100% mortality rate.


----------



## sdwindansea

Very brave of you to take the chisel to the existing stone. It is so easy on that type of rock to split it in a manner that you didn't intend. The tank is looking great and it will be fun to see the Ludwdgia grow out. How many CRS did you find when you removed the stone ?


----------



## Sean W.

Did a bunch of work to the tank in prep for the FTS.

I chopped the limnophila hippuroides back pretty harsh, I dont like being able to see any of the old growth, so I hack it back pretty low, that way the only thing that creeps over the top of the rock is lush new growth. It also goes kinda wild and I have to keep it trimmed back to keep it from taking over the entire right side of the tank. It grows super quick.

The S. Repens is hacked WAY way down, just sold a pack of around 150 stems here on the forums, went to a great home. So I'm waiting for those to fill back in. 

The Ammania Sp. Bonsai aka Rotala Indica turns out to be a bit more of a pain than I thought it was going to be. It grows super fast and really like to creep and invade places I dont want it to be 

AR Mini is about due for a trim, but I just love them so much I dont like trimming them, even tho I know they need a trim.

I still haven't cut the hair grass yet, really putting that off for as long as I can haha It is getting nice and thick, really getting happy with it. If youve never cut hairgrass, its pretty much a nightmare haha


Anyway, let me know if you have any questions! Here are some pics!


*Day 1 FTS*









*Day 106 FTS*




































Right side









Left Side, ignore the stem of Ludwidgia White, its just there to recover from shipping and to grow it out a bit for propagation


----------



## Greggz

Sean looking good. It's amazing how quickly that carpet spread. Looks nice and thick now.

Looking forward to seeing how the Ludwigia you got from Burr fills in for you. Great execution of your plan so far. Nicely done!


----------



## Sean W.

Greggz said:


> Sean looking good. It's amazing how quickly that carpet spread. Looks nice and thick now.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing how the Ludwigia you got from Burr fills in for you. Great execution of your plan so far. Nicely done!


Thanks Greggz!


----------



## Sean W.

Pretty proud of this bush of Rotala Indica, aka Ammania Sp. Bonsai. Its a finneky plant that hard to control, it really takes off and can take over. Its difficult to control, so getting it into this shape has taken some doing.


----------



## Eric Yan

really lovely tank and it's really neat. I'm also in the process of converting my current tank into planted tank and just got some lava rock today from a local rock yard. How do you clean yours before you set it up? Did you soak them in diluted bleach solution and rinse them? Or you boil them in hot water?


----------



## markf

Beautiful tank, like the new plants on the left. will look even better when it grows out


----------



## Stevie Irawan

Looks like a very clean and well maintained garden.


----------



## Sean W.

Eric Yan said:


> really lovely tank and it's really neat. I'm also in the process of converting my current tank into planted tank and just got some lava rock today from a local rock yard. How do you clean yours before you set it up? Did you soak them in diluted bleach solution and rinse them? Or you boil them in hot water?


I just scrubbed them in a bucket of water. No chemicals or baking


----------



## Sean W.

I really dont want to post this right now... I'm pretty upset, this tank is nuking itself. It pretty much starts with the co2 diffuser popping off the co2 line one morning and the tank running with no co2 in the tank, so algae took off like crazy. So I did a 3 day blackout, got the diffuser all plumbed back up, bam pops off the co2 line again, algae even worse than before, so I do another 3 day blackout. At this point it has been almost a week with no light or Co2. 

The other day I completely redid the co2 line and put some security measures to ensure the diffuser doesnt pop off again, But I think it might be too late, I think the damage is already done. Most of the plants the require high tech conditions have all but completely withered away... All I can really do at this point is run full 8 hour photo periods and hope things come back... If not Im taking this tank down.

Anyway, here are some pics of the carnage. 

Here you can see the S. Repens is nothing but stems, pretty much all the leaves have melted away, not a lot left









The majority of the AR Mini lower leaves have completely melted away, and what leaves are left on the top are coated in algae









Its hard to see here in this pic, but almost all of the Limnophila hippuroides has melted in the top left of the picture. Also all the lower leaves of the Lobelia cardinalis mini leaves have melted away leaving just a few leaves at the tops of each stem


----------



## BettaBettas

dude that sucks, hoping the best for you, I'd hate to put so much effort into something than have it just collapse like this. But there's still hope sean! plants can come back, when there is water and light, im sure they will be ok. May just take a bit for them to get kickstarted again.


----------



## Sean W.

BettaBettas said:


> dude that sucks, hoping the best for you, I'd hate to put so much effort into something than have it just collapse like this. But there's still hope sean! plants can come back, when there is water and light, im sure they will be ok. May just take a bit for them to get kickstarted again.


I might have to replace them... tear them out and replace them with new plants. The bottoms are trash, and the tops are melting away, If I cut the tops off that leaves the dead bottoms... The only hope is to replace the dead plants. Its just a question if I want to or not.


----------



## BettaBettas

my .02 is let time do its thing. (like 1 month to be exact, less hopefully) Since you have a lot of melting, melting can be replaced. Just trim the tops off ,for example on stem plants who's bottoms have melted, cut the tops of and Rip, or tear, downward 2 leaves above the bottom portion of what you have cut. Then replant them and they should grow again.
In regards to the algae can you manually remove Some if not all? or is that not an option, maybe get some oto's or amanos to help clean up a bit?


----------



## burr740

Seems like an extreme reaction to a few days w/o co2. Algae would be expected but not all that melting


----------



## chayos00

Well, sounds like to get your mind off the tank it's LED repair time! 

Sucks for the bad luck though. Give it time, things will come back and I bet even better with a nice shiny new working LED setup! I'm finally getting to mine today. (Later today after more sleep, feeding my baby at the moment.) 

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


----------



## Pat24601

chayos00 said:


> Well, sounds like to get your mind off the tank it's LED repair time!
> 
> Sucks for the bad luck though. Give it time, things will come back and I bet even better with a nice shiny new working LED setup! I'm finally getting to mine today. (Later today after more sleep, feeding my baby at the moment.)
> 
> Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


I'm sure things will come back nicely too! Great tank!

I'm working on LEDs as well. Must be that day...


----------



## Greggz

Sean sorry to hear about your woes. I unknowingly ran out of CO2 once, and the algae came fast and furious. Some types I had never seen before, and wouldn't like to see again. Reminds you of the delicate balance that is created in a high tech tank, and how quickly you see the effects when plants are deprived of one their needs.

For me, a combination of trimming away algae infected parts, extra tank maintenance, and most of all patience, were the cure. 

As to the melting, my guess would be it may have more to do with the two back to back blackouts. Maybe the plants are starved for light. You hit them pretty hard being in the dark for almost a week. 

Hopefully some light and CO2 will have a positive effect. Good luck and hoping everything bounces back for you.


----------



## steveo

Agree with Greggz's comments above. Simple trimming, tank maintenance and return of CO2 (and patience) should bring plants back fine.

FWIW- Had high tech tanks for years. When I would travel, I couldn't fertilize daily, nor did I want to keep my CO2 tank on while I was gone. Would simply shut down the CO2 and reduce the hours run and intensity of my lights. When I'd get back in a week no real problems.


----------



## Nigel95

Neat tank man impressive!
Need to have some patience with my eleocharis acicularis mini I see 
Do you know if dry start speeds ups or delays the progress to get dwarf hair grass carpet?


----------



## BettaBettas

Nigel95 said:


> Neat tank man impressive!
> Need to have some patience with my eleocharis acicularis mini I see
> Do you know if dry start speeds ups or delays the progress to get dwarf hair grass carpet?


 speeds up for the most part but it looks different than submersed, to grow DHG you really need pressurized Co2 to get a good carpet..


----------



## Nigel95

BettaBettas said:


> speeds up for the most part but it looks different than submersed, to grow DHG you really need pressurized Co2 to get a good carpet..


Going to order one this week  also bought an extra desk lamp to improve my weak lighting. Should I dsm till carpet or just flood the tank after like 4 weeks?


----------



## BettaBettas

Nigel95 said:


> Going to order one this week  also bought an extra desk lamp to improve my weak lightning. Should I dsm till carpet or just flood the tank after like 4 weeks?


 personally, I wouldn't dry start dhg at all...


----------



## Nigel95

why is that and how long does it usally take to root dhg so it has less chance to float when flooding? @BettaBettas


----------



## sdwindansea

@Nigel95, I would start your own thread regarding your questions.

Sean, really sorry to hear about your struggles but I'm sure it will bounce back and probably better than ever. It goes to show that everyone/anyone can have problems in their tank, not just the novices like myself. Best of luck and looking forward to seeing an update.


----------



## BettaBettas

Nigel95 said:


> why is that and how long does it usally take to root dhg so it has less chance to float when flooding? @*BettaBettas*


 Make a thread and mention me in it, ill answer there. Agree with the above commenter. (@ means mention btw)

Bump:


Nigel95 said:


> why is that and how long does it usally take to root dhg so it has less chance to float when flooding? @*BettaBettas*


 Make a thread and mention me in it, ill answer there. Agree with the above commenter. (@ means mention btw)


----------



## DennisSingh

Best thing for this situation would be to water change
get your lighting / co2 back into play

a common thing whether you missed co2 or other things, tanks seem to start good and then go downhill, hopefully you can bounce back which many give up..


----------



## Sub1117

I feel like blackouts should never be the solution to any kinda of algae, as it effects all plants and not just algae. I find its more beneficial in the long run to manually remove any algae, trim and replant. I'm sorry about your setup. Super unfortunate


----------



## Sean W.

Whats going on guys,

I was pretty upset with this tank for the last couple weeks, I havent really done much to it, at all to try to save it. I just sorted out the Co2 and have been running a full 8 hour photo period. By the minute I was going back and forth trying to decide if I want to try to save the tank or completely tear it down.

Several times I decided to take it down, and I kept coming back to wanting to save it. 

So tonight, I rolled up my sleeves, threw a towel over my shoulder and got to work. Spent abouuttttt 6ish hours working on the tank. I really do think I pulled this tank out of a nose dive. It still needs another few hours of work, but this is a huge step in the right direction.

The right side had it the worst, pretty much all the plats except for the Rotala Indica need to be replaced









I tore out the limnophila hippuridoides because all but the top inch or so had completely melted. I will need to replace that plant. 









The Ar mini will also need to be replaced, theres nothing left of it









I Up-rooted, trimmed what was dead and replanted the Pogestemon Helferi on the left, and tore up all the S. Repens and replaced it with Lobellia cardinalis mini. I was able to propogate all that I needed from my Cardinalis mini plants. surprisingly, that plant has done the best through all this.









I trimmed the grass for the first time and did a 75% water change.


----------



## Greggz

Sean good to see you battle back. 

Looks like you did have quite an outbreak there.

Good luck. I'm anticipating a quick recovery.


----------



## sdwindansea

Great to see. It may be just me but I think there will be a greater feeling of pride/success in saving what you have worked so hard on versus starting from scratch. You know the saying, that which does not kill you only makes you stronger.


----------



## ScubaSteve

I'm also glad to see you saving the tank instead of tearing it down. Way to go.


----------



## Sean W.

Thanks for all the kind supportive words guys. Cleaning the glass, getting all the dead/dying plant mass out, doing a 75% WC, cleaning the filter and giving a light vacuum of the substrate where I could has gone a long way for breathing new life into the tank. Its been 12 hours since I finished last night. The tank has had time to clear up, so I thought I would take a few more pics.

Like I mentioned last night, I tore out all the limnophila aromatica hippuroides and it will need to be replaced. Anyone have any suggestions on what I should replaced it with? A plant that crossed my mind was Pogestemon Erectus, maybe. It needs to be a tall, bushy, fast growing green plant. Im open to suggestions! 

Here is the P. Helferi. It didnt really NEED to be pulled, trimmed and replanted, but it was getting very tall and stringy, I wanted it to be more compact and kinda just bring it back under control. There was some dead growth down at the bottom of the stems, so all in all it was a good move to give the P. Helferi some love.









If you've been following along, you will remember that the S. Repens completely melted away. So I took it all out. I HATED doing that, if youve never kept S. Repens it has the most impressive root structure that you can imagine. It takes quite a lot of effort to pull a stem of mature S. Repens out of the substrate. I think If I left it be, over time it would have bounced back. The stems were fine and the roots were awesome, but I was toying with replacing it a while ago and I just went ahead and pulled the trigger. I like Lovellia caridnalis mini a bunch, I think it will be a nice change of pace to the tank









Here we can see how the AR Mini is completely unrecognizable... It will need to be replaced. 









Here is a FTS, beaten and bruised, but hanging in there


----------



## Greggz

Sean your worked paid off. FTS looks great and right back on track.

Now that you've jumped back on that horse.........how's the Ultimate LED going??:grin2:


----------



## BettaBettas

wow, actually doesn't look "that bad" but that AR did take a hit I can admit.. Good luck on your adventure sean  ill be here watching lol, love the cardinalis


----------



## Mattb126

Your tank going through rough times is better than I could ever imagine making myself!

Sent from my Moto Z using Tapatalk


----------



## Opare

I find P. erectus pretty slow growing actually, especially compared to other stem plants. Hemianthus glomeratus or Rotala rotundifolia 'Green' are options. Also Rotala 'Nanjenshan' or 'Vietnam'. The 'Vietnam' can get more golden leaves though, with a red stem. Maybe Pogostemon stellatus? Although it may turn purple LOL.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

Opare said:


> I find P. erectus pretty slow growing actually, especially compared to other stem plants. Hemianthus glomeratus or Rotala rotundifolia 'Green' are options. Also Rotala 'Nanjenshan' or 'Vietnam'. The 'Vietnam' can get more golden leaves though, with a red stem. Maybe Pogostemon stellatus? Although it may turn purple LOL.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks for the suggestions Opare... None of those I feel are a better solution than limnophila hippuridoides, I dont mind just putting more of that in, I was just looking for a plant that I like better.


----------



## Opare

Sean W. said:


> Thanks for the suggestions Opare... None of those I feel are a better solution than limnophila hippuridoides, I dont mind just putting more of that in, I was just looking for a plant that I like better.


No problem, I think the hippuridoides is a good choice, and it worked well. There is also Juncus repens and Pogostemon 'Octopus', but I think those would just look super messy and I think they aren't really what you are looking for. If any other stem comes to mind I'll mention it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## LRJ

Sean W. said:


> Like I mentioned last night, I tore out all the limnophila aromatica hippuroides and it will need to be replaced. Anyone have any suggestions on what I should replaced it with? A plant that crossed my mind was Pogestemon Erectus, maybe. It needs to be a tall, bushy, fast growing green plant. Im open to suggestions!


Maybe a myrio - guyana, mattogrossense, simulans - or maybe limnophila aquatica.

Tank looks good. I like the lobelia running along the rocks.


----------



## Nigel95

Good luck you will make it! Heads up


----------



## Sean W.

The CRS seem to be enjoying the new Lobellia Cardinalis Mini


----------



## Stacy1

No matter which plants you swap out it will look great. You have a very nice layout in the tank. I must admit though, pre meltdown that tank was PERFECT imo. It had all my favorites in perfect harmony. Cant wait to see it in a few weeks


----------



## Immortal1

Sean W. said:


> Thanks for all the kind supportive words guys. Here is a FTS, beaten and bruised, but hanging in there


I have to say this Sean, taken out of context with the rest of your journal this is still a pretty impressive FTS that many would be happy with, me included


----------



## Bananableps

Sean W. said:


> Anyone have any suggestions on what I should replaced it with? A plant that crossed my mind was Pogestemon Erectus, maybe. It needs to be a tall, bushy, fast growing green plant. Im open to suggestions!


So happy to hear of your tank's ongoing recovery.

I don't think any of my tanks are quite big enough for pogo erectus, so I use ludwigia cuba, which is basically a hardier knockoff.


----------



## juneaunicholas

If your tank is beaten and bruised then mine is dead.. It looks awesome!


----------



## Super_

juneaunicholas said:


> If your tank is beaten and bruised then mine is dead.. It looks awesome!


Yeah agreed. By his standards I may as well have a bowl of water I stare at and refuse to throw out!


----------



## Sean W.

I yanked all the AR Mini skeletons today getting the spot ready for the new stems that I ordered, should be here hopefully tomorrow, but probably Wednesday.


----------



## Hephaestus

I love how that carpet looks.

Are you sticking with something red in that spot?


----------



## Sean W.

Hephaestus said:


> I love how that carpet looks.
> 
> Are you sticking with something red in that spot?


Yep, have about 20 stems of AR Mini coming. I reached out to Tom Barr to see if he had any to spare, but he didnt. I sourced some from another member on a different forum that always has some nice AR Mini. His are better than the AR Mini I had originally.


----------



## Sean W.

Alright! Thanks to how awesome USPS is, I got my replacment AR Mini in a day early!

I know a lot of you who are following along with my journey here are experts and know what youre doing, but I also know there are many people who frequent my build log that are new to the hobby. With that in mind, I thought I would show my process of how I put plants in to my tank.


Typically when you receive a plant order from a fellow hobbyist, you will get them in a small flat rate shipping box like this one. They are cheap to ship, the boxes are free and they can usually make it anywhere in the country in less than 3 days. For example, the seller I bought these from shipped them Monday morning, I got them Tuesday afternoon. It is a great way to ship plants!









After I open the box, the first thing I do is put the plants in a bowl of tap water. I Like to use Tap water so the trace amounts of chlorine kill off any unwanted bacteria that might have survived the shipping process. Tap water doesnt hurt the plants and it also wouldnt phase any hitch hikers, but I like to do it anyway.









The next thing I do is run the plant under the tap and clean off any dirt, dead leaves, look for hitch hikers, strip the lower stem of any leaves and roots and just really inspect the plant before it goes into my tank









This is what you want when putting plants into your tank. A nice long healthy stem,with a good 1-1.5" of bare stem that you bury into the substrate. This is a perfect example of what you're looking for when planting. Keep this in mind for when you are propgating plants for your self or selling plants to fellow hobbyists. Let the plant grow tall enough that you can strip the bottom for placing into the substrate. I am a huge advocate of providing as much nutrients to the plants from their roots as possible, that starts with giving the plant what it needs to develop a full root system









I place my plants onto a cooking sheet, with a wet paper towel. dont tell the wife that I use her cookie pans 









Here are example of stems that didnt quite make the cut. They did not have a long enough stem for me to plant them into the substrate. Unfortunately these are trash.









Here we have the payout for our hard work, nice, beatuiful healthy plants in their new home.


----------



## Greggz

Nice write up Sean. My wife has caught me using a cookie sheet in that same fashion a few times. 

You would think I had dipped it into a vat of ebola or something. She thinks "fish water" as she calls it is a bio hazard!!

And glad to see you have new AR mini to work with. Looks like you are almost back to where you were before the "incident" now.


----------



## sohankpatel

What kind of light is that AR mini under? Mine is a similar color, but yours seems a bit more artificial because of the spectrum that its under


----------



## Sean W.

Greggz said:


> Nice write up Sean. My wife has caught me using a cookie sheet in that same fashion a few times.
> 
> You would think I had dipped it into a vat of ebola or something. She thinks "fish water" as she calls it is a bio hazard!!
> 
> And glad to see you have new AR mini to work with. Looks like you are almost back to where you were before the "incident" now.


Ha! Yea I remember when I was a kid I would always wash my hands and arms before and after putting my hands into the tank. Now I will just be walking by my tank, see a leaf that needs to be yanked and just put my hand in grab it and go about my day haha Getting water in my mouth from starting a siphon doesnt even bother me anymore! 


The tank is on its way! I still have this large empty space to fill, It used to be Lobellia Cardinalis Mini in this area, but I yanked all of them and broke them into smaller stems to replace the S. Repens with.

The Cardinalis mini you can see on the right still need to be yanked and replanted. All its lower leaves died and I need to replant them









And this is the area behind the right " Volcano " where the limnophila aromatica hippuroides was, im actually having a hard time finding someone with this plant. I am toying with the idea of getting some pogestemon erectus to put back there... Havent decided.









And a little secret between you and me, I buceplant.com is sending over some Buces for me :grin2: I have never played with buce so im pretty excited


----------



## BettaBettas

"these are trash"
"this is my treasure"


----------



## Sean W.

BettaBettas said:


> "these are trash"
> "this is my treasure"


I was going to do a ROAK with those, but they had just spent time in a shipping box, I dont think they would have survived going right back into a shipping box for a few more days. :crying:


----------



## sohankpatel

Sean W. said:


> I was going to do a ROAK with those, but they had just spent time in a shipping box, I dont think they would have survived going right back into a shipping box for a few more days. :crying:


Maybe try some Pogostemon Octopus in that area where you were thinking of Erectus, its very different, but may look nice.


----------



## sdwindansea

Tank is looking great, nice recovery effort. I'm looking forward to hearing how you do with buce. buceplant.com should have extremely fast shipping to you. I ordered a few from a fellow member on this forum and they should be here in a couple of days.


----------



## irishspy

Sean W. said:


> Alright! Thanks to how awesome USPS is, I got my replacment AR Mini in a day early!
> 
> I know a lot of you who are following along with my journey here are experts and know what youre doing, but I also know there are many people who frequent my build log that are new to the hobby. With that in mind, I thought I would show my process of how I put plants in to my tank.


Thanks for sharing your planting process. I always find it helps to read how others approach this.


----------



## Hephaestus

Very nice tutorial (coming from someone who's never ordered plants online before, and is definitely still a novice when it comes to planting or replanting them).


----------



## Immortal1

Nice writeup Sean!!! Helps us rookies


----------



## sfshrimp

sdwindansea said:


> Great to see. It may be just me but I think there will be a greater feeling of pride/success in saving what you have worked so hard on versus starting from scratch. You know the saying, that which does not kill you only makes you stronger.


Yea, just keep at it. Minor setback if you think you are going to keep this thing until the soil is exhausted.It's a living thing, not a painting on the wall. Do your embers ever bully or screw around? I have one that likes to annoy big fish, it's fun.


----------



## Sean W.

sfshrimp said:


> Yea, just keep at it. Minor setback if you think you are going to keep this thing until the soil is exhausted.It's a living thing, not a painting on the wall. Do your embers ever bully or screw around? I have one that likes to annoy big fish, it's fun.


Nope, there is no one else for them to bully, I only have Ember tetras. At last count, I'm up to around 120 

I am thinking about getting a powder blue dwarf gouarmi, its my favorite fish.

Also now that I feel my ember tetra school is complete, I was going to start on a Pygmy Cory school, around 40 or so


----------



## chayos00

Greggz said:


> Nice write up Sean. My wife has caught me using a cookie sheet in that same fashion a few times.
> 
> You would think I had dipped it into a vat of ebola or something. She thinks "fish water" as she calls it is a bio hazard!!
> 
> And glad to see you have new AR mini to work with. Looks like you are almost back to where you were before the "incident" now.


LOL glad my wife doesn't care when I use stuff from the kitchen. I asked before and she said "not like it can't be washed" 

Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk


----------



## sfshrimp

Sean W. said:


> Nope, there is no one else for them to bully, I only have Ember tetras. At last count, I'm up to around 120
> 
> I am thinking about getting a powder blue dwarf gouarmi, its my favorite fish.
> 
> Also now that I feel my ember tetra school is complete, I was going to start on a Pygmy Cory school, around 40 or so


Just keep at it. The tank looked sick af. I like your ember status. What do you feed them? I give the garlic thera but they can barely eat it, too big. I have one ember thug. Maybe I need to increase bio load and get like 20 or 30 more.


----------



## Sean W.

sfshrimp said:


> Just keep at it. The tank looked sick af. I like your ember status. What do you feed them? I give the garlic thera but they can barely eat it, too big. I have one ember thug. Maybe I need to increase bio load and get like 20 or 30 more.


I feed Omega One color enhancer flakes in the morning and a cube of freeze dried brine shrimp at night.


----------



## d33pVI

Sean W. said:


> And this is the area behind the right " Volcano " where the limnophila aromatica hippuroides was, im actually having a hard time finding someone with this plant.


Shoot me a PM. I have about a dozen stems. Transitioning to a new set-up soon and not sure they will be making the move.


----------



## Sean W.




----------



## Sean W.




----------



## Sean W.

Did a nice big, 60% ish water change tonight in prep for some exciting new additions coming to the tank tomorrow!


----------



## sdwindansea

Since you threw out that teaser I'm assuming mollies...


----------



## Jennywren

Sean W. said:


> First big water change tonight. I've been doing 20% every day, but tonight I checked ammonia and it was at 1ppm, so I decided to do the first large 50% water change


I'm new to high-tech planted tanks. Can you tell me why you waned to do this water change? My understanding was that plants thrived on ammonia/nitrite/nitrate.

Thanks very much!

Bump:


Sean W. said:


> Nope, there is no one else for them to bully, I only have Ember tetras. At last count, I'm up to around 120 ... Also now that I feel my ember tetra school is complete, I was going to start on a Pygmy Cory school, around 40 or so


Is it just me, or would that significantly overstock a 75 gal? I would say you're maxed out on the tetras!:icon_eek:


----------



## Sean W.

I


Prettyfish123 said:


> Is it just me, or would that significantly overstock a 75 gal? I would say you're maxed out on the tetras!:icon_eek:


It's just you



sdwindansea said:


> Since you threw out that teaser I'm assuming mollies...


I said, "exciting new additions" haha


----------



## BettaBettas

*Savage*



Sean W. said:


> It's just you


----------



## Jennywren

I know, right? Somebody didn't eat his Wheaties...

I'm pretty sure a bunch of the people on FishLore would have the same question for you. No, scrap that, I'm pretty sure a bunch of the people on FishLore would lose thier um, Wheaties, if you told them your stocking plans. But I've seen cardinal tetras in 5 gallon nanos on this forum, so maybe that's how you folks do things around here...


----------



## BettaBettas

most people including me are experienced aquarists in the hobby, fishlore is a beginner site. Not saying there isn't beginners here. @Prettyfish123 my comment was funny btw not offensive sorry lol! cardinal tetras in a five gallon is something you may not want to do, depends on the person & situation. tetras are ok in a five gallon (neons) and such on so forth. In nano scapes most people use schooling fish like that to treat the scape with color and bio load, 120 in this tank wont hurt anything. it will only help the plants grow more. Plus seans filtration is over powered like most peoples are. Again including myself...


----------



## Jennywren

BettaBettas said:


> most people including me are experienced aquarists in the hobby, fishlore is a beginner site. Not saying there isn't beginners here. @Prettyfish123 my comment was funny btw not offensive sorry lol! cardinal tetras in a five gallon is something you may not want to do, depends on the person & situation. tetras are ok in a five gallon (neons) and such on so forth. In nano scapes most people use schooling fish like that to treat the scape with color and bio load, 120 in this tank wont hurt anything. it will only help the plants grow more. Plus seans filtration is over powered like most peoples are. Again including myself...


I thought your post was funny! Just as Planted Tank includes beginners, FishLore has it's share of experts. I wouldn't call myself an expert by any means, but I've been keeping fish for 10+ years and I wouldn't put any kind of tetra in five gallons. I'm sure a 75 gal can handle the bioload, as you say. I was thinking of movement space and group size. But it's not unexpected that the emphasis in a forum called Planted Tank would be on the well being of plants *cough*.


----------



## BettaBettas

trust me it also has its share of fish freaks  im in it for both wellbeing, I haven't seen one person (who actually participates on this forum) who has mishandled a fish


----------



## Sean W.

Prettyfish123 said:


> I thought your post was funny! Just as Planted Tank includes beginners, FishLore has it's share of experts. I wouldn't call myself an expert by any means, but I've been keeping fish for 10+ years and I wouldn't put any kind of tetra in five gallons. I'm sure a 75 gal can handle the bioload, as you say. I was thinking of movement space and group size. But it's not unexpected that the emphasis in a forum called Planted Tank would be on the well being of plants *cough*.


If it makes you feel better, in addition to 120 ember tetras I also have around 80 Crystal Red Shrimp, 10 nerite snails and 15 Otto's. Like I mentioned I will be adding 40 or more pygmy Cory's.

This isn't a 29 gallon with a hob filter and gravel. There is GALLONS of biological media in my canister filter that is bigger than a 5 gallon bucket. Not to mention just about every inch of the tank is covered in live plants. I could add another 100-200 ember tetras and sleep like a baby. Unfortunately they are $2.99ea, so I already have almost $400 worth of just tetras  Crystal Red Shrimp go for about $7/ea and I have more than 80. There is well over $1,000 worth of fish in my tank. I wouldn't do anything that might stress them out


----------



## Jennywren

Sean W. said:


> If it makes you feel better, in addition to 120 ember tetras I also have around 80 Crystal Red Shrimp, 10 nerite snails and 15 Otto's. Like I mentioned I will be adding 40 or more pygmy Cory's.
> 
> This isn't a 29 gallon with a hob filter and gravel. There is GALLONS of biological media in my canister filter that is bigger than a 5 gallon bucket. Not to mention just about every inch of the tank is covered in live plants. I could add another 100-200 ember tetras and sleep like a baby. Unfortunately they are $2.99ea, so I already have almost $400 worth of just tetras  Crystal Red Shrimp go for about $7/ea and I have more than 80. There is well over $1,000 worth of fish in my tank. I wouldn't do anything that might stress them out


I hear you...I guess I'm still a little confused. You're saying you would cheerfully put 320 tetras in 75 gallons of space? I must be visualizing that wrong, because it sounds like Grand Central Station. Again, not that the water parameters would be adversely affected, just that it would be crammed as hell! I mean, you're obviously taking care of your investment, that still just seems insane to me. Guess I'll have to wait for the pics!


----------



## BettaBettas

also in that much space (75 gallon) ember tetras are about 1/2" to 1" I think, that doesn't look as much like "central station" as you may think. They school naturally and live in packs, in open areas. So this to them is a breeze, but fun an able to thrive in.


----------



## Greggz

Sean W. said:


> Nope, there is no one else for them to bully, I only have Ember tetras. At last count, I'm up to around 120
> 
> I am thinking about getting a powder blue dwarf gouarmi, its my favorite fish.
> 
> Also now that I feel my ember tetra school is complete, I was going to start on a Pygmy Cory school, around 40 or so


Sean the funny thing is as many times as I have looked at the pictures of your tank, I don't think I ever really noticed the fish, and was surprised you have so many. I actually went back through your posts and finally found a few shots where I can see them. 

And by the way, I really like your shrimp, great color. I've never kept them, as I worry they would become expensive Rainbow food. May have to give them a try anyhow, as I do like the look. Do they ever crawl out of the tank?


----------



## Sean W.

Greggz said:


> Sean the funny thing is as many times as I have looked at the pictures of your tank, I don't think I ever really noticed the fish, and was surprised you have so many. I actually went back through your posts and finally found a few shots where I can see them.
> 
> And by the way, I really like your shrimp, great color. I've never kept them, as I worry they would become expensive Rainbow food. May have to give them a try anyhow, as I do like the look. Do they ever crawl out of the tank?


Hey Greggz. When I take pics I usually spook the embers so they hide, theres so many they can really make taking video/pictures difficult when they keep swimming in your shot! haha


Thanks for the kind words on my shrimp, im super happy with them. I wasnt sure how they were going to like my tap water and I really didnt want to ro/di my water, so im glad they tolerate my water. I was warned they wouldnt breed in my water, but I have seen babies! Im sure I am on the very edge of what they tolerate. As far as them jumping out, I have lids on my 75, but on my 1st tank 29 gallon, i didnt have lids and I did find shrip clear across the room. So I would say lids are a good thing.


Anyway, here is a teaser of what Ive been working on today


----------



## Opare

Yes!!! Buceps were what I thought would really take this tank to the next level wooo!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## srikanth4455

@Sean W.
did you ever have to deal with diatoms? any tips on how to get rid of them?


----------



## Sean W.

Opare said:


> Yes!!! Buceps were what I thought would really take this tank to the next level wooo!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yep! Tho I'm not super crazy about them right now... They will have to grow on me. Time will tell.



srikanth4455 said:


> @Sean W.
> did you ever have to deal with diatoms? any tips on how to get rid of them?


Not really, not with Dueling Volcanoes. They secret is having good flow, Crank the Co2 while the tank is cycling while you dont have any fish, run the lights for no more than 6 hours (less is fine too ) and get the tank cycled as quickly as possible. Seed the filter with bio media from an established filter. Aim to get the tank cycled in less than a week. A bonus would be to cycle the tank before you even begin the scape. Fill the tank with water, hook the filter up and run it for a month or more before starting up the tank. This way the tank is cycled from day one and you can add fish in just a few days. This is by far the best method.


----------



## sfshrimp

I got a ember that finally looked like fire. Black matte background and ro. Only one ember looks like it, but fire!


----------



## Sean W.

sfshrimp said:


> I got a ember that finally looked like fire. Black matte background and ro. Only one ember looks like it, but fire!


Its all about their food. I bought around 80 from a LFS that is really nice, but pretty far from me. I would buy them 15 or 20 at a time each time I made the trip. The ones I got from them always color up in just a few days and are fire red. I was tired of making the trip all the way out there so I asked a LFS near me to order them and promised I would by 40 if they did. When they got them in, first of all they were huge, the biggest ember tetras I have ever seen, and their color was terrible. I really didnt want to buy them, but I felt bad since the special ordered them just for me, so I caved and bought the 40 I had agreed to. Its because of these 40 that I have really upped my food quality, and I am seeing some results. The original 80 that I had, their color has gotten even more dramtic, and I am slowly seeing the color of the new 40 come through. I think in another month or so they will be indistinguishable from the first 80...


----------



## Opare

Wait till the Buceps start throwing crazy colours and get all speckly after a few months in the tank. That is when they get super fun.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

Opare said:


> Wait till the Buceps start throwing crazy colours and get all speckly after a few months in the tank. That is when they get super fun.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I hope so, it took HOURS to plant those guys! I really was a fan of the clean rocks, so I hope the effort is going to be worth it.

I am a little nervous tho, some of them are getting well over 100 par... :/


----------



## Sean W.

Ludwigia sp red (aka super red mini) and Rotala Indica


----------



## Sean W.

Went to the LFS today and grabbed one of my favorite fish, Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami


----------



## BettaBettas

ive kept them for years, one of my first fish. I never liked the ones with the mix of red stripes in them, its just to artificial. 
Glad you picked that fish! will certainly look great!


----------



## ScubaSteve

Beautiful Fish Sean!


----------



## Dempsey

Wow... Nice looking fish.


----------



## Greggz

Sean W. said:


> Went to the LFS today and grabbed one of my favorite fish, Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami


Nice fish........reminds me of the tux I wore to the prom in 79'.:grin2::grin2:


----------



## Sean W.

Greggz said:


> Nice fish........reminds me of the tux I wore to the prom in 79'.:grin2::grin2:


----------



## Immortal1

/\ LOL, that is great!


----------



## Greggz

Nice work Sean, thanks for the LOL!!! I've gotta say, that is a good one!!:laugh2::laugh2:


----------



## sdwindansea

Really nice looking fish. You are not concerned about the gourami and the CRS in the same tank?


----------



## BettaBettas

sdwindansea said:


> Really nice looking fish. You are not concerned about the gourami and the CRS in the same tank?


 gourami's generally don't eat shrimp in an established tank.. Shrimp first before them and they will be fine, maybe a few babys here and there but nothing to be concerned about. I have my gourami (hes moving soon) in a five gallon iwagumi with CS all over, population continues to rise.


----------



## clownplanted

Very great write up. Gave me some good useful information for sure.


----------



## Sean W.

*Alright guys! Big update!

DAY 142*

I just spent a few hours working on the tank in preparation for two plant species that not only have I never kept before, but I have never seen in person. They will be arriving tomorrow. Whenever I put anything new in my tank, I like to make it look as nice as it can. Last week(?) when I decided to save the tank and spent over 6 hours working on the tank, I didnt do everything that needed to get done. This update is me finishing that job, getting this tank truly back on track.


Before we get into it, here is a "pre wet sleeves" picture. A little beaten and bruised, but well on its way to its former glory. 









The P. Helferi that I tore up, groomed and replanted is doing well, with all stems showing signs of new growth. 









The Lobeilla Cardinalis Mini that I replaced the S. Repens with is also doing well, sending down roots and everyone is sending up new leaves. 









The new AR. Mini is also doing well, some algae growing on the larger older leaves, dont fret, that will be addressed in this update.









I just hacked the Rotala Indica AKA Ammania Sp. Bonsai way back, over 120 stems went to @Soup12 here on the forums.









The ludwigia super red mini is doing really well, most of the stems are very tall, almost ready for their first trim and replanting. I LOVE the color of this plant, coudlnt be happier with it. Its giving me what I was hoping to get with the Rotala Mac.









This Lobellia cardinalis mini on the far back left and far right of the tank has gotten a little out of control and needs to be pulled, trimmed and replanted. 

















As you can see they were massive!









My tank looks like this a few times a week haha










Here we have the trimmed and replanted Lobellia Cardinalis Mini back under control on the far right of the tank. *Note the empty spot just to the right of that rock... wonder what that spot could be for...* :grin2:









This spot was also where the Lobellia Cardinalis was, it never was meant to be a permanent spot here. I combined all that I pulled and kept the large mother stems and tossed all the little straggly stems. 
This freed up space for the other new plant that will be coming tomorrow, super excited









I lowered my light down to just 1" off the top of the tank and also put a 48" Finnex Fugeray Planted+ on the back of the tank


















I grabbed a sunsun surface skimmer off ebay, I removed every other tooth so it could suck up full size leaves.










I have also started to dose @nilocg Thrive + ferts. This is my kind of fert, a few pumps every other day... Easy peasy. I have just started this today, so we will give it a month or so and see what it does for us. 









I think that just about wraps up this update... A few things I did off camera was I vacuumed the areas where I pulled the Lobellia Cardinalis mini plants from. Those spots were really mucky and needed a good vacuum. I also Vacuumed the grass for the first time, quite a lot of crud came out of the grass. This isnt something you would want to do very often. I cleaned the inside and outside of the glass, cleaned the surface skimmers, did a small maybe 10% water change, just replaced what came out from vacuuming and scrubbed any soft algae on the hardscape that I could see.

Thanks for watching, I look forward to comments, questions and concerns! :nerd:

Before you go, here are some obligatory FTS :wink2:


----------



## clownplanted

Love it. If you ever need to get rid of some trimmings just let me know [emoji4]. I just the other week starting dosing the NikocG EI pre mixed packets, one for micros and one for macros. So far working great. They make good ferts for sure. Love your setup. Absolutely stunning. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SingAlongWithTsing

Sean W. said:


> Went to the LFS today and grabbed one of my favorite fish, Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami


which LFS did you get your gourami from Sean?


----------



## Nigel95

Wow that gourami is wonderfull!

Tank looks good again


----------



## shamrock62081

Tank looks awesome! Looking forward to see the new additions. How do you like the surface skimmer? I have a nice layer of film on my tank surface and haven't decided if I want to agitate the surface more and turn up my co2 or put a similar surface skimmer in place.


Sean W. said:


> *
> I grabbed a sunsun surface skimmer off ebay, I removed every other tooth so it could suck up full size leaves.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *


----------



## Sean W.

The new tenants have arrived! I hope they appreciate the hard work I did in preparation for their arrival. 

Whats in the box!









This is what was in the box, two mother plants of Eriocaulon "Sieboldianum" and a tissue culture of Crpyt 'Flamingo'
If you're wondering, this is what a little over *$100 worth of plants* can look like... 









Here are the Eriocaulon "Sieboldianum" in their new home, like most things in this tank, this will not be their permanent home









Finally, here are the Flamingos in their new home, I will be doing a detailed journal of these plants in the plants section here on the forum, head on over to their if you would like to see how these guys do.


----------



## BettaBettas

did you have to chuck any this time? lol  looks like a nice order.


----------



## Sean W.

BettaBettas said:


> did you have to chuck any this time? lol  looks like a nice order.


Typically all the flamingos would have landed in the "not enough stem so these are trash" category, but because they are tissue cultures this was to be expected. Once they have finished transitioning to submersed growth, send down new roots and have developed a few healthy leaves, they will be up rooted, trimmed and replanted. Right now these are just being grown out for future plans. This is not where they will live out their life haha.


----------



## Opare

The roots on the Erios are legit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## DigityDog70

Just curious, why not put the filter hoses behind the black (back) vs "on the side" for aesthetics?


I really like your journal, very nice, a reflection of experience and pride in your work, truly.

I got my plants from the same place but they changed the name to just Aquariumplants (no more factory).


----------



## Sean W.

DigityDog70 said:


> Just curious, why not put the filter hoses behind the black (back) vs "on the side" for aesthetics?
> 
> 
> I really like your journal, very nice, a reflection of experience and pride in your work, truly.
> 
> I got my plants from the same place but they changed the name to just Aquariumplants (no more factory).


I like my tanks as close to the wall as possible. The hoses are too thick to fit between the wall and the tank, so they went on the side. When the tank is full of water, you cant see them through the glass.


----------



## Sean W.

If this thread goes quite for more than a week, you can be sure its because something is wrong...

I'm getting beaten up by Algae here!

I manually remove as much as I can, once I think I got a handle on it, bam comes right back...

I think Im getting hit by 3 different kinds of algae here.

Whatever this is









BGA









Whatever this is


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist

Hi Sean W,

What have you changed lately?


----------



## Sean W.

Seattle_Aquarist said:


> Hi Sean W,
> 
> What have you changed lately?


The biggest thing I think is that its already summer here in SoCal. I used to try to keep the tank around 78, now its regularly above 82.

Another thing I did was I started dosing NilocG Thrive +, but I noticed immediately, that I didnt like what it was doing, I stopped after maybe 5 or 6 days. Since then I have done multiple 75% water changes. 

The only other thing Is I replaced a 6500k bulb with a true lumen flora.


----------



## nel

Looks nearly as bad as my nano tank did :-D But @Seattle_Aquarist is asking the right question - what have you changed? It's been going quite well for some time, so something must have gone wild.


----------



## Nlewis

Are either your ferts or Co2 bottoming out due to a higher plant mass now? BGA is usually induced by low nitrates. What have you tested?


----------



## Sean W.

Nlewis said:


> Are either your ferts or Co2 bottoming out due to a higher plant mass now? BGA is usually induced by low nitrates. What have you tested?


Uhm, other than trying NilocG Thrive + for a few days, I dont dose ferts at all. 

Nitrates are actually quite high int his tank. Its about 40 out of the tap, and the test is very red, I lost my color card, but I know Yellow is zero, and red is a lot. 

As far as Co2 levels, I get around a 1.1 - 1.2 ph drop at peak co2. Co2 turns on 1.5 hours before the lights come on.


----------



## [email protected]

Sean W. said:


> *75 Gallon*
> 
> 
> 
> *Lighting:* Sun Blaze 42 dual T5HO 6500k
> 
> 
> 
> *Filtration:* SunSun 704B 525gph
> 
> 
> 
> *Co2:* Aquatek regulator, 5lb tank, Rhinox 5000 ceramic disc diffuser
> 
> 
> 
> *Substrate:* Ecocomplete base with Amazonia cap
> 
> *
> 
> Parameters:*
> 
> 
> 
> *PH:* 7.6 at night 6.4 at peak co2
> 
> *GH: *5
> 
> *KH:* 3-4
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Whats up guys,
> 
> 
> 
> After a 2 year hiatus, Its time for me to get back into the hobby!
> 
> 
> 
> I've had a couple smaller tanks, and I have had a larger tank, Now its time to settle in the goldilocks zone with a medium tank, I think a 75 gallon will be perfect. Its large enough to be impressive, yet small enough that I can maintain it and still have a life.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So the first thing I did was hop on craigslist and the forums looking for a good condition used tank and stand. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything that I felt was in good enough shape for the condition I was wanting and ended up going to Pet Smart and haggling with one of the managers into lowering the price on the 75 gallon they had in their store, that came with a light (useless for my needs ) and glass lids. I claimed there was a couple scratches here and there on the trim and he said since it was near a 20% off sign, he would honor that and I got it for $120ish out the door. Pretty good deal on a brand new 75 with a light and glass lids.
> 
> 
> 
> Since I bought a tank new, that pretty much ate up the entire budget I had set aside for a tank AND a stand. So I had to build a stand, which I'm fine with, Its easy, cheap and customizable, I like my tanks to be higher up than most pre-made stands put them. I've built a few stands before, they are cheap and easy to make, and super strong, this time I used 2x3s since it just a 75 gallon, not to mention they are lighter, cheaper and easier to work with than 2x4s.
> 
> 
> 
> Here is the setup before I painted the back black and wrapped the stand in a black sheet.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here it is as it sits now
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A little perspecitive for where it is in my apartment
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I scored a open box, but new SunSun 704B filter for $60 on [Ebay Link Removed] It has a 525gph flow rate.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here is the life support system, I'm really proud of how it turned out, very tidy and organized. I still need to tuck a heater away in this corner, but I'm confidant that it will remain looking tidy.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here is a 5lb Co2 tank I grabbed today for $40
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Finally the co2 diffuser I got for this tank. its a 5CM diffuser, or 2" diameter. Its the biggest ceramic diffuser I could find. I know they aren't as efficient as reactors, but there are a few things about reactors that I dont like. First of all, they make a " Glug Glug " sound as the Co2 works its way up against the flow of the water in the reactor, and its so annoying to listen to. This tank is in the front room and I dont want to listen to this constant gurgling while I'm trying to watch TV. Also, and most importantly, I enjoy the way diffusers look in the tank, I like watching them bubble.




Truly amazing Sean. Love the build. I think I have spent 2K on my tank and learnt loads. The actually tank and cabinet was probably the cheapest thing. 

I have battled Algae, Co2 diffency, fert diffency, Green Algae, BB Algae, Amonia, Nitrites, cleaning filter too much killed off good bacteria, hydrogen peroxide poisoning, dead plants. And the worst but prob not the last ICH... Which in turn actually heat is the best cure over an extended period and the UV filter. 

Anyway 2K later and I have finally found a balance on my 240L I just need to regrow the HC after trying to cure ICH. 

Love this build though looks great it's not the cheapest of hobbies but it does pay off. 

Got 12 of these fellas now... Out of about 20 fry









Just want to get the plants back and need to buy one last fire extinguisher for the CO2. 

My tanks when it wasn't broken lol 











Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Greggz

Sean I know this may sound like a stupid question, but are you certain your CO2 is right?

I ask because the only time I have seen any large scale infestation like that is when I have run out of CO2. One other time my water had a fairly significant change in KH. My pH controller was set to 7.2. When the KH changed, my degassed pH went from 8.2 to about 7.6. My drop from 7.6 to 7.2 wasn't nearly enough.

Now as to the higher temperature, maybe that's a possibility? Maybe someone with experience with temp changes can chime in. Change in ferts seems unlikely, but who knows?

Anyway I hope you get it figured out quickly. Looks like you have your hands full there.


----------



## Nlewis

Sean W. said:


> Uhm, other than trying NilocG Thrive + for a few days, I dont dose ferts at all.
> 
> Nitrates are actually quite high int his tank. Its about 40 out of the tap, and the test is very red, I lost my color card, but I know Yellow is zero, and red is a lot.
> 
> As far as Co2 levels, I get around a 1.1 - 1.2 ph drop at peak co2. Co2 turns on 1.5 hours before the lights come on.


So all this time you've been relying on the aqua soil for your ferts and a week ago you started dosing?


----------



## nel

Sean W. said:


> Uhm, other than trying NilocG Thrive + for a few days, I dont dose ferts at all.
> 
> Nitrates are actually quite high int his tank. Its about 40 out of the tap, and the test is very red, I lost my color card, but I know Yellow is zero, and red is a lot.
> 
> As far as Co2 levels, I get around a 1.1 - 1.2 ph drop at peak co2. Co2 turns on 1.5 hours before the lights come on.


This NilocG Thrive has much NO3 and you're adding much from tap too. Probably you should use something without nitrates. Adding more nitrates to nitrate reach water will always bring you a terrible imbalance. You may be blocking your plants from getting other nutritions. CO2 shouldn't be any problem with such a high pH drop.


----------



## clownplanted

*75 Gallon &quot;Dueling Volcanoes&quot; ALGAE ALGAE ALGAE!*

Something is def out of balance. Possible by changing the bulb and adding ferts you upped the intensity and the plants cannot keep up for some reason so algae is there. I would also check your ammonia and phosphate levels. Extreme high can also cause algae. Same with high nitrate

Of course co2 is biggest reason always. Double and triple check make sure it's good and consistent. 

How is the flow in your tank?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist

Hi Sean W,

I agree with clownplanted, it suspect it is a couple or possibly three issues. First, with the multiple water changes and 40+ppm H2O coming out of your tap likely you are currently maintaining a high nitrate level....even higher than you used to. Two, the light intensity (PAR level) with the new bulb could easily be 2X what the old lamp put out if the old lamp was 12 months old or older. Three, days are longer now that summer is approaching; if the tank is in a room with a window / windows the ambient light has increased. 

If it were me I would cut back substantially on the photoperiod, maybe even by as much as 1/2 to compensate for the new lamp and increased ambient. I would return to what you were doing in the past regarding water change frequency. Continue the physical removal of algae as best you can. If you want to try a treatment I would use 1.5 ml of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) per gallon doses once a day when plants are in full photosynthesis (to maximize the oxidation effect of H2O2). I like to fill an oral dosing syringe with H2O2, turn off all filtration so water is calm and still, and spot dose the H2O2 in the most heavily infested areas. After 20 minutes I turn on the filter and repeat the next day.


----------



## Maryland Guppy

My vote is to stop dosing the "Thrive"
You have enough NO3 from the tap.
What are your phosphate(PO4) levels?


----------



## Sean W.

Maryland Guppy said:


> My vote is to stop dosing the "Thrive"
> You have enough NO3 from the tap.
> What are your phosphate(PO4) levels?


I haven't tested phosphate in a while, but it was 0 last time I checked. I'll check again tonight


----------



## Maryland Guppy

Professed ratio by many is 10:1::NO3O4

Zero is not so good. At least 1ppm of PO4 @ all times is best.


----------



## SingAlongWithTsing

about the BGA on the lava rock, do you know if any food you feed the fish gets stuck on it? could be due to decaying food, in the past when i had bga in some of my previous scapes it was always around areas that had low flow or wherever food can get stuck/not picked up by the overflow.


----------



## clownplanted

Maryland Guppy said:


> Professed ratio by many is 10:1::NO3O4
> 
> Zero is not so good. At least 1ppm of PO4 @ all times is best.


Agreed and why I asked what the level was. Too little can cause Algae. Not saying always will but "can"


----------



## Zebra_Pleco

Hey Sean, I think your problem may be the non tissue culture plant you used the Eriocaulon...You used tissue culture all the way until this point correct?...The Eriocaulon was probably infected even though you can't see it...I had the exact same problem used all tissue for months without any issue at all until I introduced some moss that was not and wiped out my whole aquarium...I restarted with all tissue culture and have zero pests/algea...Just a thought though.


----------



## nel

Zebra_Pleco said:


> Hey Sean, I think your problem may be the non tissue culture plant you used the Eriocaulon...You used tissue culture all the way until this point correct?...The Eriocaulon was probably infected even though you can't see it...I had the exact same problem used all tissue for months without any issue at all until I introduced some moss that was not and wiped out my whole aquarium...I restarted with all tissue culture and have zero pests/algea...Just a thought though.


It really won't help. Algae always exist in our tanks, if you won't bring algae with plants, you will with water, fish, shrimp, whatever. There is NO tank without algae, we can only control the amount of it. 

Wysłane z mojego myPhone S-Line 16 GB przy użyciu Tapatalka


----------



## RisingSun

I saw a video by Dennis Wong where he said warmer water holds less gas, and also increases the metabolism of plants making them hungrier for co2. Double wammy.


----------



## Tnalp

This is going out on a whim here, but maybe try to dilute your tap water with rodi? 75%rodi 25% tap?


----------



## juneaunicholas

I bet you have to much light in there now.


----------



## Greggz

Sean just checking in to make sure you are O.K.

I had a nightmare after seeing those pics.

The algae was coming out of the tank and was attacking you Jumanji style.

Let us know if you are O.K. or if we need to send help!!!:wink2::wink2:

.........but seriously, really wondering what is going on, and hoping you are making progress.


----------



## Willcooper

Is your tap water from a well? If not, then you need a new nitrate test kit because yours is way off. FDA requires water from tap in the us to be below 10ppm. Call your water company and have them come out and test it. If it is the case that your way off of nitrate that may help to fight it better. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## chayos00

Willcooper said:


> Is your tap water from a well? If not, then you need a new nitrate test kit because yours is way off. FDA requires water from tap in the us to be below 10ppm. Call your water company and have them come out and test it. If it is the case that your way off of nitrate that may help to fight it better.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


No he's not, he's in southern Cali. But I read an article that disproves the readings they read vs our test kits. Their 10ppm reading can result in a 40ppm reading with our kits. I'd have to find the article to have it explained better. 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


----------



## Willcooper

chayos00 said:


> No he's not, he's in southern Cali. But I read an article that disproves the readings they read vs our test kits. Their 10ppm reading can result in a 40ppm reading with our kits. I'd have to find the article to have it explained better.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk




Yeah I said what I said because I was getting a reading of 20ppm from my tap and I called the water company out and they used a machine to look at it and it was 2.5ppm nitrate. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Tnalp

Willcooper said:


> Yeah I said what I said because I was getting a reading of 20ppm from my tap and I called the water company out and they used a machine to look at it and it was 2.5ppm nitrate.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




If nitrates are in fact an influence in this problem, I would try rodi. That's what I've been using in my new tank. It's nice knowing exactly what is going into the tank. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## chayos00

Willcooper said:


> Yeah I said what I said because I was getting a reading of 20ppm from my tap and I called the water company out and they used a machine to look at it and it was 2.5ppm nitrate.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Found what I was looking for. It even has it listed on the API kit info. 

"This test kit measures nitrate as nitrate ion or “total nitrate.” Other nitrate test kits that measure “nitrate-nitrogen” (NO3-N) will give readings 4.4 times LESS than this test kit.”

EPA limit for Total Nitrate is set to 45ppm.

http://www.marinedepot.com/API_Fres...icals_API_MARS_Fishcare-AP3129-FITKNA-vi.html

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


----------



## TexMoHoosier

RisingSun said:


> I saw a video by Dennis Wong where he said warmer water holds less gas, and also increases the metabolism of plants making them hungrier for co2. Double wammy.


A few degees makes a huge difference when it comes to CO2. I have the same issues in summer with algae outbreaks. They seem to suddenly go away when I can keep my aquarium temp below 77 F.


----------



## clownplanted

*75 Gallon &quot;Dueling Volcanoes&quot; ALGAE ALGAE ALGAE!*



TexMoHoosier said:


> A few degees makes a huge difference when it comes to CO2. I have the same issues in summer with algae outbreaks. They seem to suddenly go away when I can keep my aquarium temp below 77 F.




It is proven for sure. Plants intake more and also there is less o2 the higher the temps are which could mean enough for algae. An increase in surface movement and co2 a bit would need to be done even at a small amount to make up for increased temp. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## sfshrimp

clownplanted said:


> It is proven for sure. Plants intake more and also there is less o2 the higher the temps are which could mean enough for algae. An increase in surface movement and co2 a bit would need to be done even at a small amount to make up for increased temp.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


You should switch to RO water. You can buy your own distillery for $80 dollars on amazon. I recently did this, and it's big results so far. Fish and shrimp happy. The CA water is coming from all over now the drought is over and it's being tampered with. We had ammonia coming down the line for a while here in SF. It might be a good idea to start with a blank and see if it makes a difference. I have some algae in my tank but it's all very smallish bba which has been there from the first day on the wood. I run big surface agitation game in my tank except when the c02 is on. The second it's off, rapids central. Also a great time to feed when all the equipment is off.


----------



## clownplanted

sfshrimp said:


> You should switch to RO water. You can buy your own distillery for $80 dollars on amazon. I recently did this, and it's big results so far. Fish and shrimp happy. The CA water is coming from all over now the drought is over and it's being tampered with. We had ammonia coming down the line for a while here in SF. It might be a good idea to start with a blank and see if it makes a difference. I have some algae in my tank but it's all very smallish bba which has been there from the first day on the wood. I run big surface agitation game in my tank except when the c02 is on. The second it's off, rapids central. Also a great time to feed when all the equipment is off.


Even with co2 on its a good idea for surface movement. Enough for good flow on surface but not enough to cause bubbles is perfect. I noticed improvement with all plants when I did this, they just seem happier and pearl harder. Yes you have to run more co2 but co2 is cheap and you can end up running 10-25% more co2 because you are increasing the o2 10-25% more also. This is what many with amazing planted tanks do. Not by any means saying you do not have an amazing planted tank.


----------



## sfshrimp

clownplanted said:


> Even with co2 on its a good idea for surface movement. Enough for good flow on surface but not enough to cause bubbles is perfect. I noticed improvement with all plants when I did this, they just seem happier and pearl harder. Yes you have to run more co2 but co2 is cheap and you can end up running 10-25% more co2 because you are increasing the o2 10-25% more also. This is what many with amazing planted tanks do. Not by any means saying you do not have an amazing planted tank.



I was doing this for a while I had the HOB filter running when doing the c02, the ph would not change running the same amount of c02, so i'd have to up the c02 quite a bit. After I increased my macros I started getting pearling back.


----------



## clownplanted

sfshrimp said:


> I was doing this for a while I had the HOB filter running when doing the c02, the ph would not change running the same amount of c02, so i'd have to up the c02 quite a bit. After I increased my macros I started getting pearling back.


The key is good surface flow but not so much that it causes bubbles like a HOB will. A powerhead pointed at the surface works great. And yes you are right like I said you have to increase co2 in my case double the amount because you are off gassing a lot. But like I said with that change I can for sure tell the plants like it.


----------



## puopg

Hope you figure it out soon but here's something that might help.

How are you measuring pH again? Probe or Titration? Also, where are you measuring the CO2 from? I get different readings lower and higher and behind areas of my tank with lower flow and stuff.


----------



## Sean W.

Lots of great feedback guys! I really struggle when I don't excel at something, and always get easily discouraged. For the last week or so I kinda have just let the tank do what its going to do, and it was just getting worse and worse. I really think the problem stems from the raising water temperature which has just set into place a series of events. Hotter temps increase fish motabolism, which makes them create more waste, which throws off the chemistry of the water. Hotter water also cant hold as much Co2 as cooler water can. Some of the melting plants form the warmer water gummed up the intake to the filter, reducing flow. All those things really have been a 1-2 punch to this tank

I came across @Greggz thread where he too was having some issues with the temperature, and he got a couple small fans to put over the tank and had really good results. So I took a carbon copy page out of his book and grabbed two usb powerd fans from the 99 cent store and got them rigged up. I also removed the lids form the tank.

Here was the temp before I took the lids off and added the fans. I atually saw it at 83.9 before I took this pic









I have a powered usb 2.0 hub that I plugged into the daisy chain plug in my light. So the fans will be on with the lights (during the hottest part of the day).









Both fans are plugged into this usb hub









Here are the fans on the corners of the tank aimed right down at the water.









and the results! down from nearly 84 to 77.4 which is just 1.5* above ambient temp.


----------



## clownplanted

Sean W. said:


> Lots of great feedback guys! I really struggle when I don't excel at something, and always get easily discouraged. For the last week or so I kinda have just let the tank do what its going to do, and it was just getting worse and worse. I really think the problem stems from the raising water temperature which has just set into place a series of events. Hotter temps increase fish motabolism, which makes them create more waste, which throws off the chemistry of the water. Hotter water also cant hold as much Co2 as cooler water can. Some of the melting plants form the warmer water gummed up the intake to the filter, reducing flow. All those things really have been a 1-2 punch to this tank
> 
> 
> 
> I came across @Greggz thread where he too was having some issues with the temperature, and he got a couple small fans to put over the tank and had really good results. So I took a carbon copy page out of his book and grabbed two usb powerd fans from the 99 cent store and got them rigged up. I also removed the lids form the tank.
> 
> 
> 
> Here was the temp before I took the lids off and added the fans. I atually saw it at 83.9 before I took this pic
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I have a powered usb 2.0 hub that I plugged into the daisy chain plug in my light. So the fans will be on with the lights (during the hottest part of the day).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Both fans are plugged into this usb hub
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here are the fans on the corners of the tank aimed right down at the water.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and the results! down from nearly 84 to 77.4 which is just 1.5* above ambient temp.




Wow amazing at the temp drop from the two fans. Good stuff and glad it should be under control now. Ya my temps have raised a bit also from 78 to 80. Not near as bad as your but still enough to make some plants and fish unhappy. I think mine is more from adding two more lights. May try the fan idea. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Greggz

Sean W. said:


> I came across @Greggz thread where he too was having some issues with the temperature, and he got a couple small fans to put over the tank and had really good results. So I took a carbon copy page out of his book and grabbed two usb powerd fans from the 99 cent store and got them rigged up. I also removed the lids form the tank.


Wow Sean, that is a big drop! I think you gave it a solid one two punch with removing the tops and adding the fans.

And I agree with you that temperature has played a role in what is going there.

When my tank gets a bit over 80*, it seems the plants don't like it. Hopefully this helps and you can get things back on track.


----------



## Sean W.

Greggz said:


> Wow Sean, that is a big drop! I think you gave it a solid one two punch with removing the tops and adding the fans.
> 
> And I agree with you that temperature has played a role in what is going there.
> 
> When my tank gets a bit over 80*, it seems the plants don't like it. Hopefully this helps and you can get things back on track.


Pretty good considering it only cost $1.98


----------



## Saxa Tilly

Hey Sean - really sorry to hear about your algae problems. We've all been there. 

First the good news: your tap is not 40 ppm nitrates. I've lived all over southern california during the last couple of decades. Nowhere is it much above 1 or 2 ppm. Our tap waters are somewhat similar and mine is about 0.8 ppm these days out of the tap. So put that worry aside. 

Thrive+ is basically liquid EI with minor differences. You went from one extreme (aquasoil + fish poop) to the other (raging nutrient soup, assuming you dosed per label instructions) with not a whole lot of change in plant biomass. This, more than anything, is your biggest change in the tank. The change in temp is secondary. Temperature will highlight problems you already have. It is not going to cause dramatic bloom in algae just by itself. I live down the road from you and my tanks are in the garage with a hot car parked in it. So, yes, my tank is pretty warm too. 

Temp problem is solved with the fans. Check. 

Reduce dissolved organics with water changes. Check. Keep doing this 3X per week. While you're doing water changes, clean the tank really well and may be do a light substrate vacuum. Rinse out filter material. Adding Thrive+ won't cause BGA - that's from organics, dead and dying stuff, and a sudden stop in plant growth. 

Fert reset with water changes. Check. But uncheck if you dosed like you did before. 

Most aquasoil tanks do really well without ferts for a while. But sooner or later, you run out of stuff. So adding ferts was the right move. But I think you misjudged what, how much and when. 

You were pretty close to needing ferts. So, your instinct on 'when' was pretty good. A few pages ago, you had pics of Ludwigia Red. You were happy with the way the plant looked. I saw something different. That plant did not look happy to me. It looked hungry, like it was about to run out of something. It's a pretty 'talkative' plant. If you keep it for a couple of years, you learn to understand Ludwigese. 

How much? I'd dose Thrive+ at 10-20% of label instructions. Let your plants tell you what/when you need things. 

What? Probably macros and iron. Thrive+ is really rich on traces. If you had an older tank with a LOT more plant mass, it would have taken the dosing in stride. I would have made a solution of KNO3 and KH2PO4. A bag of each lasts for years and years. 

Also, out of curiosity, can you post pics of your AR Mini tips? Sudden increase in traces make its top pucker. 

While you're doing all this, back off on photoperiod by an hour or two.


----------



## Sean W.

Saxa Tilly said:


> Hey Sean - really sorry to hear about your algae problems. We've all been there.
> 
> Also, out of curiosity, can you post pics of your AR Mini tips? Sudden increase in traces make its top pucker.
> 
> While you're doing all this, back off on photoperiod by an hour or two.



Thanks for the feedback Vin!

Ugh... you want to see my AR Mini :crying:

Its freaking embarrassing man!


----------



## Saxa Tilly

Sean W. said:


> Thanks for the feedback Vin!
> 
> Ugh... you want to see my AR Mini :crying:
> 
> Its freaking embarrassing man!


Don't worry about the algae. It sucks, I know. But that can be fixed. 

I'm mostly curious whether the leaves are coming in twisted. I can't tell from this picture. May be easier to tell in a few more days and/or if pic is taken from above...??

Nothing magical about getting rid of algae: it's a lot of work. But it is effective. Reduce light intensity and duration, bigger water changes, much more frequent water changes, get your elbows wet and clean, clean, clean, everything manually. Then double or triple check CO2 levels and flow. Make sure you have good surface agitation as well. Clean filter. Lightly vacuum substrate. We've already talked about backing off on ferts a little.


----------



## Sean W.

Saxa Tilly said:


> Don't worry about the algae. It sucks, I know. But that can be fixed.
> 
> I'm mostly curious whether the leaves are coming in twisted. I can't tell from this picture. May be easier to tell in a few more days and/or if pic is taken from above...??
> 
> Nothing magical about getting rid of algae: it's a lot of work. But it is effective. Reduce light intensity and duration, bigger water changes, much more frequent water changes, get your elbows wet and clean, clean, clean, everything manually. Then double or triple check CO2 levels and flow. Make sure you have good surface agitation as well. Clean filter. Lightly vacuum substrate. We've already talked about backing off on ferts a little.


Ugh man, Whatever this is, it just keeps coming back!


----------



## chayos00

Sean W. said:


> Ugh man, Whatever this is, it just keeps coming back!


When I had my 6g Fluval edge setup, I could never get rig of cyanobacteria till I gutted the tank to redo the substrate from ADA aquasoil to sand as I couldn't ever get the tank to cycle. But I had to use a TON of H2O2 to kill any traces of it in the tank and it was gone for good, even with using TC dwarf HG. It sucks but takes a bunch of work. Not sure what your algae is in that pic, as I'd have to research it to figure that out as I'm a bit rusty on my algae types.


----------



## burr740

Daaaamn, looks like BBA and BGA had a baby!

I think you screwed up adding so much Osmocote+ to start with. 

Didnt you use like a whole capsule full under every stem or something?


----------



## awesometim1

Is your tank cycled? Then I strongly recommend adding amano shrimps or some type of shrimp just not ghost. Just flood the tank with them and they will keep things pretty clean. Even though many people will say that they don't eat this type of algae or cyano bacteria... they will eat microorganisms and many types of algae and help keep things under control. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

awesometim1 said:


> Is your tank cycled? Then I strongly recommend adding amano shrimps or some type of shrimp just not ghost. Just flood the tank with them and they will keep things pretty clean. Even though many people will say that they don't eat this type of algae or cyano bacteria... they will eat microorganisms and many types of algae and help keep things under control.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I have around 80 Crystal Red Shrimp, 6 amano shrimp, 10 nertriet snails and 2 siamese algae eaters.


----------



## Greggz

Sean, jeez man, I could only look at that picture with one eye open.......it was making me a little queezy!!>

But seriously, I am sorry to see your are still having issues. Maybe it's just going to take more time? When I ran out of CO2 last summer for a few days, all manner of crazy algae appeared out of nowhere. It took weeks for it all to completely disappear. 

I think once you awaken the beast, it takes a while to beat it back down.


----------



## Sean W.

Greggz said:


> Sean, jeez man, I could only look at that picture with one eye open.......it was making me a little queezy!!>
> 
> But seriously, I am sorry to see your are still having issues. Maybe it's just going to take more time? When I ran out of CO2 last summer for a few days, all manner of crazy algae appeared out of nowhere. It took weeks for it all to completely disappear.
> 
> I think once you awaken the beast, it takes a while to beat it back down.


I noticed the heater was kicking on, so I lowerd that down, Ive been able to get the tank down to 77, which is a full 9* cooler than it was just a few days ago. We'll give it a few more days. 

I am seriously considering taking it down again. I have been wanting to keep a large chichid or a larger puffer like a Fahaka Puffer for a long time. If I go the chichlid route, I am thinking either a Green Terror or a Flower Horn. 

We'll see, no decision has been made yet.


----------



## burr740

Dang dude, I know that's frustrating. If you want to try and save it, here's what I'd do

Start by yanking all that grass. It's in too poor shape even aside from the algae (probably why it has so much to begin with). And being in such a state it's just going to sit there "bleeding out" giving the algae more to feast on.

Then take out every other plant that's in real bad shape, not necessarily the ones covered in algae, but those which are both covered with it and showing signs of deterioration.

On the day you remove all the worst plants and the grass, it'd be a good idea to stir up the sub to expose as much O+ as possible, then use the siphon hose to suck out as much as you can (take the big pipe off the end for more sucking power)

The moment you get done with that, its time for a HUGE water change, 80% or better.

Then do everything Saxa T suggested above, cleaning and all that, couple more large water changes over the next few days. 

Once a day for a few days, turn the flow off and spray the cyano with peroxide, using a spray bottle underwater. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Be easy and dont overdo it because some plants dont like it very much. One good spray per area is enough. 

After say, a week of all that, fill it back up with new healthy plants. Any fast grower will do for now, a ton of wisteria from the lfs, etc. Nothing beats algae down like a tank full of thriving plants. For this reason I wouldnt reduce the light too much, maybe an hour or two less per day at the same intensity. BGA and BBA are not so much triggered by light anyway. 
Strive to get the tank clean and the plants healthy. 

Prepare to do 2x 50% WCs per week for the next month or so. Buy you some dry ferts, skip the Thrive for now.

Doing 2x week water changes, you only need one dose of each macros and micros between them. I'd do something like 2x EI macros -15 ppm NO3, 2 ppm PO4, 10-15 K(total counting whats in KNO3) and csmb at .1 or .2 Fe

The new temporary routine would go

Day 1 - WC + macros
Day 2 - micros
Day 3 - skip
Day 4 - WC + macros 
and so on...

That's just how I would try to save it. Maybe some other folks can offer additional insight.

Good luck man, hate to see you tear it completely down!


----------



## Sean W.

burr740 said:


> Dang dude, I know that's frustrating. If you want to save it, here's what I'd do
> 
> Start by yanking all that grass. It's in too poor shape even aside from the algae (probably why it has so much to begin with). And being in such a state it's just going to sit there "bleeding out" giving the algae more to feast on.
> 
> 
> Good luck man, hate to see you tear it completely down!


Oh man! I cant do that! The grass has to survive. If the grass dies or it has to come out, the tank is being torn down 100% The grass is 100% the go/no go. It has to recover


----------



## steveo

This thread may have played itself out imo. Sean's brain has to be swimming, with so many opinions, and with such a public focus, on the problems with one 75 gallon planted aquarium.

From the economist.com- "Commentators have coined a profusion of phrases to describe the anxiety and anomie caused by too much information: “data asphyxiation” - (William van Winkle).


----------



## burr740

Sean W. said:


> Oh man! I cant do that! The grass has to survive. If the grass dies or it has to come out, the tank is being torn down 100% The grass is 100% the go/no go. It has to recover


Then take some scissors and mow it down to the bone, essentially starting it over. 

None of that yellow is going to repair or ever get healthy enough to shed the algae on it's own. And no telling what kind of gunk is piled up underneath, which could be part of the problem to begin with unless you've been keeping it vacuumed well.


----------



## chayos00

You can do it Sean! At least get it growing again before calling it quits! This tank is too good to throw it to the curb and call it quits! 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


----------



## Saxa Tilly

Sean - I've been there. I quit the hobby because of algae. Twice. And stayed away from plants for years. But that was a mistake and that was during the 'Dark Ages of the Plant Hobby', the 1990s. Nowadays, we have the knowledge. We know how to get the upper hand on algae. If you gather all the algae-fighting advice on forums and FB, it is all the same. 

Don't quit, man, you got a knack for this. But it will get ugly before it gets better. 

BTW, was the Osmocote + always there? Or is that new? Sorry - haven't been following that closely. With Osmocote, you completely give up control. You can't reset ferts to zero with a few water changes. It's like a drunken tattoo. You gotta live with it for a while.


----------



## Sean W.

I have made a decision... This tanks days are severely numbered. It is currently on life support, and the plug will be pulled soon.

It has become a stress inducer, instead of a stress reducer. It is not conducive to a stress free life. When the tank isnt doing well, I feel like crap. The wifey sauce even noticed the tank isn't looking its best and asked if thats why I've been so stressed lately. It simply is not sustainable. 

Don't fret tho! I will be tackling a new project in this tank, and there will be a thread and videos on my YouTube channel documenting the entire process. 

I just need to find homes for the 120 ember tetras and try to sell off the few plants that are surviving, and this tank will be taken down....


----------



## Maryland Guppy

@Sean W. sorry to hear you are tearing it down.

Wish you would reconsider but it is your choice!

I look @ none of my tanks as a failure or success, just an experiment.
Heck I have even cultured green hair algae just to experience elimination of it.

Keep us updated on the repurposed tank please!


----------



## Greggz

Sean W. said:


> I have made a decision... This tanks days are severely numbered. It is currently on life support, and the plug will be pulled soon.


Sean very, very sorry to hear that. Your tank has had an interesting story arc. A meteoric rise, and an unexpected fiery crash.

I was really hoping you were going to get to the root cause, as it is a very curious case. I was hoping for some resolution, and likely a good learning opportunity.

But if it's bringing you no joy, then I understand. Call it a gut feeling, but I'm guessing it's just a matter of time before you try it again.


----------



## Sean W.

Maryland Guppy said:


> @Sean W. sorry to hear you are tearing it down.
> 
> Wish you would reconsider but it is your choice!
> 
> I look @ none of my tanks as a failure or success, just an experiment.
> Heck I have even cultured green hair algae just to experience elimination of it.
> 
> Keep us updated on the repurposed tank please!






Greggz said:


> Sean very, very sorry to hear that. Your tank has had an interesting story arc. A meteoric rise, and an unexpected fiery crash.
> 
> I was really hoping you were going to get to the root cause, as it is a very curious case. I was hoping for some resolution, and likely a good learning opportunity.
> 
> But if it's bringing you no joy, then I understand. Call it a gut feeling, but I'm guessing it's just a matter of time before you try it again.



I know I know... trust me no one is more disappointed than I am. I do this all the time in so many aspects of my life, If I'm not immediately good at something, or if I come up against some opposition, I usually am pretty quick to give up...

This tank has started to effect my mood and my relationship, so the time has come.

And you are right Greggz, Once I forget how frustated I am right now, I will start up another hightech planted tank. So this time I will be tucking my 10lb co2 tank and my regulator in the closet, instead of selling them. 

Now... I cant tell you what I am going to do yet... but it rhymes with.... shmahaka stuffer..........


----------



## RisingSun

Sorry to see this go, it was very well scaped


----------



## chayos00

Greggz said:


> Your tank has had an interesting story arc. A meteoric rise, and an unexpected fiery crash.


Well Sean as Greggz pointed out. You named your tank correctly! Except instead of lava it was algae that blew up from your volcano's! 

You going to one day get your LED's sorted out while you move away from planted tanks? I know they can be a PITA to fix, but it would be worth it once the lamp is fixed and you end up planted one day. 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

Sean W. said:


> Now... I cant tell you what I am going to do yet... but it rhymes with.... *shmahaka stuffer*..........


10 points to anyone who can figure out this riddle.. 

Im actually pretty excited about it


----------



## nel

Sean W. said:


> 10 points to anyone who can figure out this riddle..
> 
> Im actually pretty excited about it


Is this puffer going into this tank? I always wanted a big nice puffer!


----------



## DangerDonkey

Sean W. said:


> 10 points to anyone who can figure out this riddle..
> 
> Im actually pretty excited about it




Fahaka Puffer


----------



## Sean W.

DangerDonkey said:


> Fahaka Puffer


10 points to griffindor!


----------



## farrenator

Good luck with the new venture. Like you I went from a high light, high CO2 tank (which looked great but required attention) to a low light, no CO2 tank which ran on auto pilot for a while. I now have a medium light, medium CO2 tank with easy plants and still enjoy it. Smart thing to keep CO2 and regulator, you will probably get the itch to try this again.


----------



## Sean W.

Another nail in the proverbial coffin of this tank, my 10lb Co2 tank went dry today...


----------



## clownplanted

Sean W. said:


> Another nail in the proverbial coffin of this tank, my 10lb Co2 tank went dry today...


How long was it running for since last fill?


----------



## Sean W.

clownplanted said:


> How long was it running for since last fill?


Mayybeee 2 months?


----------



## clownplanted

Sean W. said:


> Mayybeee 2 months?




Wow that's fast for a 10lb. Crazy. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

clownplanted said:


> Wow that's fast for a 10lb. Crazy.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yea, the disk diffuser is not the most efficient method. A reactor could really stretch out that 10lbs over a much longer time frame.


----------



## clownplanted

Sean W. said:


> Yea, the disk diffuser is not the most efficient method. A reactor could really stretch out that 10lbs over a much longer time frame.




Agree. Reactor would help it last at least 6 months. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

clownplanted said:


> Agree. Reactor would help it last at least 6 months.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I dont like the " glug glug " sounds reactors make, so this is why I went with the diffuser.


----------



## burr740

I was lucky to get 3 months out of 10lbs on the 75. Now with the 120 it lasts about 8-10 weeks, bigger better reactor, and Im running slightly lower levels, but still high.

But I also just blast the surface with agitation and dont worry about wasting it.


RIP Dueling Volcanoes. We barely knew ye.


----------



## dorf007

Sean W. said:


> I decided to go with 60lbs of eco complete capped with 40lbs of ADA Amazonia


I was thinking of going the same way.
Are you capping the Amazonia with the Eco Complete ?

Save​


----------



## hector.hinojosa.

Awesome build bro. Enjoyed it.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk


----------



## SKYE.__.HIGH

*75 Gallon &quot;Dueling Volcanoes&quot; ALGAE ALGAE ALGAE!*

May I ask what state you live in Sean W?, just wondering if I could purchase some of those hundreds of fish/shrimp?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

SKYE.__.HIGH said:


> May I ask what state you live in Sean W?, just wondering if I could purchase some of those hundreds of fish/shrimp?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'm in So Cal. I do need to find a new home for my 120 ember tetras.


----------



## jprider63

Sorry to see you're taking this one down. Your youtube videos of this tank gave me lots of inspiration for the tank I just set up. 

If you end up selling your plants, I'd potentially be interested in some. Good luck with the puffer!


----------



## Sean W.

I think I am going to go with a " Spotted Congo Puffer " - Tetraodon Schoutedeni. Their MAX size is around 6" and could happily live out its entire life in a 75 gallon. Compared to the Fahaka Puffer, that gets around 18" which would need to be re-homed from a 75 gallon in less than 18 months, probably closer to a year. The Congo Puffer would also be a much cheaper fish to keep in the long term. A bag of clams would last months with the Congo Puffer, compared to a bag of clams would last a couple weeks with the Fahaka Puffer.

The down side is that the Spotted Congo Puffer has been MIA in the hobby for the last 20 years or so. From what I have read, the area that they are caught in has been a war torn region for the last however long. Things have calmed down a bit and exporters are able to get in and catch them again. Right now it is for sure a sellers market on these guys as they are not only the hardest puffer to get your hands on, its also the most expensive. *IF* you are able to get your hands on one, its going to cost around $200 + $40ish shipping if its not local.... That's an expensive fish... For comparison, a Fahaka Puffer is around $17.

I had never heard of this fish until this today and I went into hardcore research mode. During my afternoon of research I found that they seem to be the puffer with the highest likely good of getting away with tank mates. It would be nice to be able to have a few Cory cats, some SAEs, maybe a smaller exotic pleco in there with him for a bit of a clean up crew as all puffers are messy eaters. 

For those who havent heard of the Spotted Congo Puffer ( I don't blame you ), here is a pic.










and here is a great video I found on them. Warning turn down your volume, the video music is WAY too loud.


----------



## CobraGuppy

Sorry to hear about your tank troubles, but T. Schoutedeni! I hope you are able to get your hands on some. To me they are the perfect mid-sized, fw puffer. If they become more available/cheaper in the hobby, I definitely want to get one (or a few..). I look forward to seeing the new direction you'll be taking your aquarium.


----------



## Krispyplants

dooooood. I feel your pain Sean. My last tank was torn down because of the same exact issue. Blue green algae is the worst algae to have because of how rapidly it grows in a matter of hours within a nutrient rich co2'd environment. What i found out was, to not take advice from gurus to keep adding phosphates or any kind of nutrients. Everybody thinks they know it all but not always. Water changes was the only way that i was able to cope with the algae. Nothing permanently helped. I can deal with strings or hairy algae because i can kill them with pond algae treatment solutions. I can live with green spot algae because i can trim off the dead leaves every other week but.... cleaning slimes every 2 days :nerd: I feel your shoes man i really do.


----------



## clownplanted

burr740 said:


> I was lucky to get 3 months out of 10lbs on the 75. Now with the 120 it lasts about 8-10 weeks, bigger better reactor, and Im running slightly lower levels, but still high.
> 
> But I also just blast the surface with agitation and dont worry about wasting it.
> 
> 
> RIP Dueling Volcanoes. We barely knew ye.


I recently started doing the "blasting the surface" and turned WAY up my co2 to account for the off gassing and ability to run more co2 so I am sure my bottle will get used up MUCH faster as well.


----------



## Sean W.

Well, I just got off the phone with The Wet Spot in Oregon, they have a few of these Spotted Congo Puffers in stock. They are $200 and since I am in California, they would have to do overnight shipping, which adds $39 to the cost. So Total cost is $239. I am not able to pull the trigger on this yet, I need to tear down Dueling Volcanoes, but before I can do that I need to re-home my 120ish ember tetras.

Once I get these Ember tetras to a new home, I can tear down the tank and get the new scape setup. I have a REALLY good idea of what the scape is going to look like, Its going to feature large pieces of drift wood and slate rock, along with tan sand. There will be plants, mostly Anubius, Lillys and Crypts. I will be using the 48" Finnex Fugeray Planted + light, which should give me around 35 par at the substrate. 

Keep an eye out for a new thread, once I get the tank torn down. I am actually really excited and confidant with my decision.


----------



## BettaBettas

Sounds like you have it all worked out sean, and cant wait to see the new tank. To bad you have to tear this one down... make sure you hang a FTS of it on your wall so everyday you can say its still there lol. Good luck with the puffer and new tank!
Nate


----------



## SKYE.__.HIGH

Sean W. said:


> Well, I just got off the phone with The Wet Spot in Oregon, they have a few of these Spotted Congo Puffers in stock. They are $200 and since I am in California, they would have to do overnight shipping, which adds $39 to the cost. So Total cost is $239.
> 
> 
> 
> Keep an eye out for a new thread, once I get the tank torn down. I am actually really excited and confidant with my decision.


I love the wet spot, they are a great store with a lot of ADA selection and a huge selection of fish. They have rows after rows after rows of 75 gallon tanks with tons of happy and healthy fish. You will not regret doing business with them. They also have a huge selection of lake Malawi chiclids and fancy goldfish.


----------



## Sean W.

SKYE.__.HIGH said:


> I love the wet spot, they are a great store with a lot of ADA selection and a huge selection of fish. They have rows after rows after rows of 75 gallon tanks with tons of happy and healthy fish. You will not regret doing business with them. They also have a huge selection of lake Malawi chiclids and fancy goldfish.


 I am super jealous, I wish I had a fish store like that near me! I actually found an importer who is just 30 minutes away that just got a few Spotted Congo Puffers in, I will be picking one up from him tomorrow night. I cant tell you how much it is, but it is a fraction of what other people are asking. I am tempted to get two.


----------



## SKYE.__.HIGH

*75 Gallon &quot;Dueling Volcanoes&quot; ALGAE ALGAE ALGAE!*



Sean W. said:


> I am super jealous, I wish I had a fish store like that near me! I actually found an importer who is just 30 minutes away that just got a few Spotted Congo Puffers in, I will be picking one up from him tomorrow night. I cant tell you how much it is, but it is a fraction of what other people are asking. I am tempted to get two.




I thought you lived in Southern California ? Isn't there plenty of selection for big fish stores. And definitely aqua scaping stores is good selection down there. The two bigger ones AFA and ADG. I'd love to visit both of those stores, I've never been there the countless times I've been in Southern California.


----------



## irishspy

Alas and farewell, Dueling Volcanoes! It really was beautiful while it lasted. Still, I'm anxious to see how this puffer tank turns out.


----------



## Sean W.

irishspy said:


> Alas and farewell, Dueling Volcanoes! It really was beautiful while it lasted. Still, I'm anxious to see how this puffer tank turns out.


Im super excited about it. 


There will be lots of java fern, crypts and and anubias


----------



## Tnalp

Sean W. said:


> I am super jealous, I wish I had a fish store like that near me! I actually found an importer who is just 30 minutes away that just got a few Spotted Congo Puffers in, I will be picking one up from him tomorrow night. I cant tell you how much it is, but it is a fraction of what other people are asking. I am tempted to get two.




How do these fish do In high tech tanks 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## SingAlongWithTsing

SKYE.__.HIGH said:


> I thought you lived in Southern California ? Isn't there plenty of selection for big fish stores. And definitely aqua scaping stores is good selection down there. The two bigger ones AFA and ADG. I'd love to visit both of those stores, I've never been there the countless times I've been in Southern California.


AFA is in san francisco / norcal. ADG i think texas? we do have Nature Aquarium in Los Angeles though.


----------



## SKYE.__.HIGH

SingAlongWithTsing said:


> AFA is in san francisco / norcal. ADG i think texas? we do have Nature Aquarium in Los Angeles though.




I knew it was in San Francisco but I didn't even think that it was Northern California. Wow proves that I need some sleep. But ADG is also in san fransisco I thought. But again I don't live there so maybe I'm daydreaming.


----------



## chayos00

If only I had the ability to transport your tetras home with me. As I'm visiting San Diego this weekend. 

Good job on finding a supplier for those puffers! When you do start up the other tank make sure to drop a link in this thread so we make sure we don't miss it. 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

chayos00 said:


> If only I had the ability to transport your tetras home with me. As I'm visiting San Diego this weekend.
> 
> Good job on finding a supplier for those puffers! When you do start up the other tank make sure to drop a link in this thread so we make sure we don't miss it.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


Will do! you wont miss it.

It is frustrating with these Ember tetras, Im really not sure what to do with them. They are a huge speed bump and holding everything up. As soon as I get them a new home I will be able to move forward with the project!


----------



## burr740

Are these big puffers, Sean? (yeah I could google that myself  )

Sounds like it'll be a very cool tank.


----------



## chayos00

Sean W. said:


> Will do! you wont miss it.
> 
> It is frustrating with these Ember tetras, Im really not sure what to do with them. They are a huge speed bump and holding everything up. As soon as I get them a new home I will be able to move forward with the project!


So I brought up your fish and my wife just says don't even think about it, we are going home tomorrow. LOL Can't say I didn't try! 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

burr740 said:


> Are these big puffers, Sean? (yeah I could google that myself  )
> 
> Sounds like it'll be a very cool tank.


Well, the fish I really wanted was the Fahaka Puffer, This is the second largest true freshwater puffer. It gets around 18"ish inches, and grows from 1" to 12" in around 8 months. These guys dont mess around. A 75 gallon is the absolute bare minimum tank size for one of these guys, and I just dont think it would be fair to keep an adult fahaka in a 75. Since I am in an upstairs apartment, I dont want to get a larger tank, so I tried to find a smaller puffer that I like. 

It was completely by chance that I came across the Spotted Congo Puffer. It has been out of the hobby for the last 20 years. They look like a cross between a Green Spotted Puffer and a Fahaka Puffer. There isnt a lot of information on these guys, but from what I have found, they dont get much larger than 5". So this puffer would have no issues with living out its entire life in a 75 gallon. 

Here is a couple pictures the importer sent me of the ones he got. I will be picking one up tomorrow night! I cant say how much, but its by far the most I have ever spent on a fish.


----------



## hector.hinojosa.

My brother had one for 6 years awesome fish tons of personality

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk


----------



## freshwater1

Sean W. said:


> Im super excited about it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There will be lots of java fern, crypts and and anubias



Don't forget about Bucephalandra! Awesome low tech plant. Anubias nana "pinto" is nice and unique too. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

hector.hinojosa. said:


> My brother had one for 6 years awesome fish tons of personality
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk


Which one? The Fahaka or the Spotted Congo Puffer?


----------



## Sean W.

Got my Spotted Congo Puffer - tetraodon schoutedeni


----------



## Opare

It's so nice!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## chayos00

Love puffers they are such an awesome fish. I've got a tank on my desk with 4 dwarf puffers. This guy harassing the embers? 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


----------



## SingAlongWithTsing

Sean W. said:


> Got my Spotted Congo Puffer - tetraodon schoutedeni


damn it looks nice

did a LFS import it or was it a private seller?


----------



## f1sleepy

Beautiful fish! If you still have the Ember Tetra,I may be able to help out with a large portion of them, just not the whole lot. PM me if you like. I'm in the San Diego area, but will likely be up in Claremont in the next week or two visiting family.


----------



## Sean W.

chayos00 said:


> Love puffers they are such an awesome fish. I've got a tank on my desk with 4 dwarf puffers. This guy harassing the embers?
> 
> Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


Actually he is in my 20 Long in my office for now. The 75 still needs to be broken down and rescaped for him. In the meantime he is in with 5 male guppies, a couple cory cats, a SAE and a few nerite snails. The Spotted Congo Puffer is known to be one of the most docile puffers. Thy are not aggressive at all.




SingAlongWithTsing said:


> damn it looks nice
> 
> did a LFS import it or was it a private seller?



it was a private importer.


----------



## chayos00

Sean W. said:


> Actually he is in my 20 Long in my office for now. The 75 still needs to be broken down and rescaped for him. In the meantime he is in with 5 male guppies, a couple cory cats, a SAE and a few nerite snails. The Spotted Congo Puffer is known to be one of the most docile puffers. Thy are not aggressive at all.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> it was a private importer.


A puffer with snail's, you sir like to live dangerously I see! 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

chayos00 said:


> A puffer with snail's, you sir like to live dangerously I see!
> 
> Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


Nah, the snails are big, they are quarter size. He has zero interest in them.


----------



## Maryland Guppy

@Sean W. You will need to edit the title of your journal maybe???

Went by the LFS on the way home today.
They had two species of puffers in a large tank.
No idea what kind they were but remembered your posting.


----------



## Sean W.

Maryland Guppy said:


> @Sean Wgh. You will need to edit the title of your journal maybe???
> 
> Went by the LFS on the way home today.
> They had two species of puffers in a large tank.
> No idea what kind they were but remembered your posting.


 That's cool! I love puffers. They are they originally got me into the hobby. Unless the puffers you saw were a few hundred dollars, they weren't the same as I have haha

I'll be starting an entirely new thread soon


----------



## Maryland Guppy

Sean W. said:


> Unless the puffers you saw were a few hundred dollars, they weren't the same as I have haha


Sometimes it's not about the money spent which can be completely irrelevant.

I have seen some of the simplest fish and plants displayed together that would astonish most people and rival the best of us!

I'm just sayin!


----------



## hector.hinojosa.

Sean W. said:


> Got my Spotted Congo Puffer - tetraodon schoutedeni


Bad ass bro!!! I want one any more?

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk


----------



## Sean W.

hector.hinojosa. said:


> Bad ass bro!!! I want one any more?
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk


https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...ck-puffers-dorado-5-2017.687443/#post-7748828


----------



## chayos00

Sean W. said:


> https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...ck-puffers-dorado-5-2017.687443/#post-7748828


If that's what you paid based on that links prices, that's MUCH better than the prices you initially mentioned!


----------



## Sean W.

chayos00 said:


> If that's what you paid based on that links prices, that's MUCH better than the prices you initially mentioned!


Oh yea! I was so happy to find him. Especially with him being local, which saved a bunch on shipping. I paid less than what you see there in the link, I got a really great deal. 

Now I just need to find a home for these embers so I can get the new 75 going!


----------



## sdwindansea

Good luck with everything and great looking puffer. Whatever happened to the CRS in the tank?


----------



## Sean W.

RIP Dueling Volcanoes


----------



## Krispyplants

Sean W. said:


> RIP Dueling Volcanoes


It seems like everytime that i notice you're having a new planted tank build, you tear it down just as fast or even faster.


----------



## sfshrimp

Krispyplants said:


> It seems like everytime that i notice you're having a new planted tank build, you tear it down just as fast or even faster.


Damn bro. Don't quit.:surprise:


----------



## LadyHawk

AWWWW your puffers are fantastic!! I have a Red/Orange Congo Puffer and we just adore him! Puffs have such personality! Hope you keep posting! We love seeing pics!! Here's a pic of my dude!


----------



## Sean W.

LadyHawk said:


> AWWWW your puffers are fantastic!! I have a Red/Orange Congo Puffer and we just adore him! Puffs have such personality! Hope you keep posting! We love seeing pics!! Here's a pic of my dude!


Thanks! Ill be starting a new thread for the puffer tank soon!


----------



## Joe Schmoe

See, I'm convinced it's very difficult to run a planted tank in Rancho. I'm doing OK right now with my new tank, but am running low-light (the newer plant 24/7 light) and running easy low-light plants. I'm also embracing nuisance snails and being very stingy with my feedings. I'm only dosing excel and using substrate ferts. Even with the very conservative setup I'm still battling a couple forms of algae - green filamentary stuff. Luckily even my full-grown SAE can be persuaded to eat it with stingy feeding. 

Saw this article on the topic I mentioned earlier and thought of this thread: Silverwood Lake closed to swimmers due to toxic algae | abc7.com

Might want to try RO/DI water next time.


----------

