# 2.5 gallon Standing free



## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

yea, tital says it all, lol.

This is my 2.5 gallon endlers livebearers(ELB) and black algae eating shrimp(BAES) breeding tank. it will hold my most beutifull males.

tank- 2.5 AGA
filter- topfin 10
light-26w cf screw in in a desklight.
substrate- ADA AS amazonia(yay!!! my first AS)
hardscape- one large mountanous rock.
Fauna- ELB, black shrimp, oto maybe.
flora- blyxa or Val. nana, HC and or elatine, rotala wallichi, maybe riccia dwarf.
Co2- EXCEL
ferts- Not gregg watson, but REX GRIGG!!!

Anything else?

if not, pics.


light-









filter









tank-









Aquasoil should be here tommorrow or wedsnday, hopefully.
endlers should be here thursday, but will be temporarily housed in an old 10 until this is good and safe, then after a few weeks of endler joy, i'll add some shrimp.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Here's an i dea of what i'm Trying to do -something like this










l like this rock.









This one's a bit too bright









these are nice too


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

Hey Dufus,

Looking forward to seeing your tank! What fish are in those tanks? The first looks like rummy nosed tetras, then cardinal/neon tetras, and the next 2 I'm unsure of. The reason I ask is that I have that same tank and I want small fish like those to make the tank look bigger, and also so the fish will live more comfortably. But I read that those tetras can get up to 2 inches or more. How come in all the ADA tanks they look so small? Do they only use non-mature fish and then move them out when they get too big?


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## AnneRiceBowl (May 18, 2006)

*NOTE TO SELF: Now I know where to send the bill for a full line of ADA products.*


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Sorry, forgot to credit.
those are all from the AFA gallery.
they were just to show what kind of rock i want to use.

Volatile: the 2nd tank looks like cards, the rest are rasboras i belive.
the micro raboras are small fish.

Anne: oops.....maybe i should fix that picture?


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Oh yea, i added some FW copepods/scuds from a koi pond, just to see them better. i think i'll keep them though, because 1- the endlers can't eat them, 2- i'll never see them, so it doesn't matter i geuss.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Geuss what arrived today?
AQUASOIL ADA ADA ADA ADA ADA ADA ADA!!!!!!!!
I love it already!!! 
for those of ou who don't know what it looks like, the grain size is shown in these pics.

Oh, and apparently, contrary to popular beleif, the aquasoil and book do not come arranged all fancy like this, it's a DIY thing i geuss.










v


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## Storm_Rider (Sep 30, 2006)

ooooh the real fun begins! what kinda rocks have you picked up for this?


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

Have you tried the Rex Grigg ferts before? I'm contemplating picking up some myself as well...


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Spypet: I actually haven't found any yet, i need to get my lazy self down to the rockyards.

volatile: I just started dosing them in my 55, If i were you, i'd go for it.
I'm gonna just take a little container of each one for this tank.


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

the ada style guide 2006 is the single best thing an apspiring scaper could ask for (short of takashi amano being your uncle  aww man that would be sweet)


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

ea, i aggree., that thing was badass.

ANyway, got her all set up, found some sandstone like rocks at work, we'll see how it works.

planted Hc, Blyxa japonica, and rotala wallichi, and i need to say, if this aquasoil grows plants as good as people say, it's the King of gravels, fo sho. It was a JOY to plant in!!!

anyways,


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

Dufus I know how you feel about the aquasoil. when my shipment of ADA prod. came from Aquaforrest it felt like Christmas in may lol. may I suggest putting the rock a litle off center.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Well, the rock may be replaced, not sure yet.
under any condition, th eonly time a hand is to go into the tank is when water changes are done, at least until the HC roots firmly, lol.

i know that symetry is a no no, but i think this may be some kind of exception, i like it here, but i see where it could go to the left.


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

Hey dufus,

If you are thinking of replacing the rock because you don't like the look, maybe you can try breaking it first. I'm interested to see the endler's and also how well the blyxa grows with those ferts because I'm considering that plant as well. Keep us updated dufus!


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

change the hardscape


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Yea, im not sure i liek it much at all, i need to check a local rockyard, but i'm lazy.


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## Yzmxer99 (Aug 7, 2006)

Good start there dufus. Is that the HC I started you off with? If it is, I think it finally found its happy home. 

As for some advice. I think this is a great idea.



dufus said:


> , th eonly time a hand is to go into the tank is when water changes are done, at least until the HC roots firmly, lol.


The beauty of HC is when you get a nice mat. Add the excel and leave it alone. Give it about a month or 2 before you consider changing the hardscape. In otherwords, once you get a complete covering of the aqua soil, you can play with it.

You seem to have great starts, just the ADD takes hold and you tear down before something materializes. 

Good luck


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Ymzxer: no, this is a new patche, yours is very happy still in my redsea 1g, it doesn't grow fast because it's in inert sand.

i do love the constant growth of Hc, like anubias, it seems very durable once it gets started.

i hope this stuff grows fast in the Aquasoil, we'll see.

Yea, ADD has set in already, but i resisted the urges.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Update.........
a journal is about the good and the bad, so........









it's bad,but i think i can overcome it, regardless, the Hc is growing, the blyxamelted, the rotala wallichi......is nasty looking.

i'm 2x dosing excel, holding off on the EI ferts for now.

i put endler fry and the shrimp in, but i took the fry out, still hunting for my shrimps.

i am actually changing the course of the tank, i decided i think i'll put my Fundulopanchax oeseri pair in here instead, my endlers get a ten gallon!!!


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## screename (Dec 8, 2004)

WOW....thats gotta be one of the worst outbreaks Ive ever seen. Good luck Dufus! Hope you can change things around for this tank!


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## cody6766 (Mar 15, 2007)

move the rock to the right just a bit and put all but the top inch or so of another smaller rock at an angle to the left some. I think that would make it look better...oh, and get that algae out that'll help too. (fingers are crossed for you man!) Nice work!


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

bahh!!! i've come back from worse outbreaks, not happily, but it works.

@ the rock, the whole scape is based on a single rock, not iwagumi or anything, i'm still looking around for a better rock, unsuccessfully.


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## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

cover it with a sleeping bag for a couple days. The plants will do fine, but the algae with die off. After that, do a good cleaning and then a water change.


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## volatile (Feb 13, 2007)

Wow dufus. I had a similar situation.

http://www.plantedtank.net/imagehosting/images/upload/1166.jpg

I didn't turn on my light for 3 days, and did a 80-90% water change and the green water disappeared and didn't come back. I do however have yellowish water (I think from the ADA Aquasoil) but I have a small bag of Purigen in there now and that's clearing up. I had green algae like you do but either my snails and cherry shrimp ate it all, or the no lights for 3 days killed it. I do however have furry brown algae all over my Aquasoil, HC, and rocks now =(


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Well, the GW is the least of my worries,i'm most concrned about the fuzz/hair algae on the wallichi and Hc.

i know the Hc is fine, it's a really tough plant IME, i had a patch of Hc that was so infested with clado that you couldn't see the plant.

i pulled it apart and the Hc spread like nuts!


ATM, i'm waiting the algae out, dosing 2x excel everyday, the algae will eventually reach a point where it will be weaker than usual, at which point, i'll attack with excel, Wc's, and manual removal(don't tell the algae my top secret objective)

through the haze, the Hc looks very healthy, the blyxa has melted, only a few littlecrowns, no leaves or roots, but they're still firm, they'll survive.

the wallichi is nast looking, but the tips are pink.

and i don't see any shrimp, but it could be that the algae is hiding them.
on the other hand, my otto is munchin the glass.


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## Brette (Jul 5, 2007)

volatile said:


> The reason I ask is that I have that same tank and I want small fish like those to make the tank look bigger, and also so the fish will live more comfortably. But I read that those tetras can get up to 2 inches or more.


I have 9 lampeye killifish, tiny one inch fish (see my avatar). They seem to be hardy and they school together and are ideal for my little tank. (10 Us gallons). I recommend them, they're fast swimmers and really look great in a group.

Oh and good luck with that algae Dufus. Don't give up! I know you can do this soldier!


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

That's soulja, sorry, too much tupac.
i made a small advance on the algae today, threw in some infantry- white pond snails(they have a name, idk)


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Update: told you guys the Algae was no problem.
















And that's not a really recent pic, it's very clear now, and the Hc has grown abit.



































And, thanks to screename, i'm getting some seiryu stone soon, so, no more snadstone. AND....I got an RO system thanks to Mrbelverde, so the ph and hardness(thanks to peat) is very low now.

I'm now in the air about stocking, my oeseri's have disapeared, they may still be in my 55, but it's a jungle in there ATM. I am thinking about some micro rasbos or a lone fish, to complement the rock, but then again, a pair of clown killies would rock, i may hit up brians tropicals for some killies, CRS and dartfrogs$$$$

for now, the tank is a great Viv(white snails) breeder, anyone looking for some?


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## Yoshi (Apr 5, 2007)

Once the Seiryu stones get here the tank is gona look sweet! Looking forward to seeing your new aquascaping.


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

now thats a familiour site!
anyone got any ideas on avoiding it?
also where did you get that filter lift pipe? mines an eden 501 and its pretty unsightly


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

It's standard for a redsea nano filter, not my favorite, but it was cheap and local.


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

i seeeee, do you know if theyre available in the uk? if not do you know who makes a set of good acylic lifts?


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Not sure about redsea's availability, but i know who can make some great acrylic lillies- YOU!!!

You can DIY one for pretty cheap, search around the DIY section for acrylic lillies. Other than that, i'm not sure.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

okay, now the real update, these are form today.








































Mini vivs anyone?


















LLLreptiles.com's 8"tweezers rock!!

























Sorry if the journal is extremely photo intensive, my camera fell in the water and i'm just glad to have it working again.


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## Yzmxer99 (Aug 7, 2006)

Proud of yah there Dufus. Way to leave it alone. The hc is looking good, just wait till it gets thicker. When it starts to spread like that, it just likes to go. So keep it up, don't change anything.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

I'll be changing the rock with one of similar size, but that's it, the blyxa stubs are comming back up.

Oh, and Yzmxer- i haven't forgot about your Raok, mine'll come from this tank when i pass it along.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

SEIRYU STONE


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## Haeun (Mar 9, 2007)

*cough* I don't want to offend or anything, but let's just say I'm strongly reminded of one of Shumpei's "Iwagumi." Hee.

Besides that, is that all one stone, or multiple stones?


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

It's one stone, kindof. i stacked two smaller ones next to the big one to make it look right.

NO iwagumi, note the "standing free" title, that's the theme.


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## aquafloyd (Jul 3, 2007)

HC is looking great Dufus. Your come back from the algae attack is amazing!!!  excellent work.

I like the new stone. Maybe move it a little to the left or right so it's not so centred.


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## Haeun (Mar 9, 2007)

I wasn't meaning it looked like an iwagumi. I was saying it looked like Shumpei's wang-gumi. LOL


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Ok, gotcha, i'lls ee what i can do about that later.


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## guitardude9187 (Aug 22, 2006)

yea look into that, the rock looks great but you gotta find some unique way to angle the rock to make it look good, maybe even break parts off...just a suggestion


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Jesus Diana, do you see a wang in everything? I bet you have a hard time enjoying wild life :-D. Wang-gumi's everywhere....

dufus, I like the stones but it looks way to big for your tank. And try not to center everything. How many stones did you use?

I also suggest you top off your water. It looks better when it is. Also, try to take a photo from the center of the tank. It gives a better presentation of a tank. The camera lens should be parallel with the front glass, but put it in the center of the tank.


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## Haeun (Mar 9, 2007)

No, I try not to. But the stone placement in this one was just kind of weird, and reminded me of the the comment someone said about NOT putting rock together like that or else it'll look like your wang-gumi. 
Maybe if the stones he bunched together were moved a bit. Or the big piece somehow... ... turned?

I agree the stone is a bit big, and could be *gasp* broken into better pieces.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

These were jsut quick pics, and it was before a waterchange. ineed to keep it topped up though, because it runs low on 1xweekly WC's.

The stone is supposed to be a MAJOR part of the tank, taking most of the scene, and i like it centered, because it shows importance in the stone.

there are technically 3 stones, 1 huge one and 2 tiny ones. i think i'll remove the smaller ones and break the tip off the huge one. that should make the rock both smaller, and more fitting.


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Well if your happy then that's all that matters :-D.


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## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

It looks great Dufus. I really like the rock in this. I dont think anything needs to be changed except the plants need to grow out.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Thanks.
I thought out the scape extensivly, and maybe too much, but I think when the blyxa grows in and the Hc fills in, it will be much better looking.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

So i'm pretty sure the blyxa died.
The wallichi looks scragly, but the HC is awesome.

I added a betta, who is a camera king.

He is going to my grandma soon though.

I ordered some more blyxa, we'll see how it goes.

The one BIG thing i want to anounce.
I am thinking of switching the light to 2x13w 1 67k, and 1 actinic.
Why?

I'm thinking of selling the plantsand making this a pico reef instead.
but that is still hovering in my mind, not a definate plan yet.


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Make it a pico reef! And then post a link of the thread in which you started here!

But I like your HC mat :-D. It'd help you start your new reef hehe.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

so thats reef 2, planted o.

if i do make it a reef,look for a fs thread of the plants.

i need to talk to ah supply and get a couple powercords and a bulb first though.


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

Dufus I think this tank has great potential. You already have the stone and the HC, it just needs some tweaking. I say keep it add shrimp and celestial pearls and some fresh plants. I bet you will be happy with the results. KEEP IT PLANTED!:thumbsup:


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Woah!
Just had an epiphany!
I think i'll just buy a 5.5 to make my reef, a little more never hurt.

And keep this one planted.

that means Reef wins! and planted!
woohoo! i think that may be the lamest response ever!


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## Saraja87 (Jul 18, 2007)

haha no way, i vote keep it planted and add on to your collection lol


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Hey, even better ;-).

Just post it somewhere where I can see it, like the YAA forums :-D. I started one and am curious as how yours will go!


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## zergling (May 16, 2007)

I vote for keeping it planted. 

I spoke with a guy that professionally sets up and maintains saltwater FOWLR and reef tanks a couple of months back. Reef setups smaller than 10 gallons are about a hundred times harder to maintain than something in the 20-100g range, plus he guarantees that you will eventually upgrade to something bigger LOL. Setups that are 100g or more are pricier equipment wise, but so much easier to maintain.


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Aah but I bet he's never seen www.nano-reef.com.

Tons of information on how to make small reefs easy. Loads of people have told me that it is actually easier to keep a reef once its maintained than a planted tank because you just need to do top offs and weekly water changes after you've gotten settled. Planted tanks it takes a while to get settled and til then you have to figure out your ferts etc.

And my first reef is my 2 gallon. No corals so far but I have two hermits and two snails and many many hitchikers and they're all doing fine now. I'm gonna go buy some corals tomorrow though.


I'm thinking if its your first aquarium, don't go nano but if you have experience in freshwater tanks then nano reefs wouldn't be a problem.


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## Haeun (Mar 9, 2007)

WOW, the funny thing is, all those snails made me think they were flowers in trees. Like a sakura tree.


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## pet-teez (Aug 17, 2007)

lol!
I have a pair of those tweezers, I use them for feeding my Leopard Geckos, do they work well for planting?



dufus said:


> okay, now the real update, these are form today.
> LLLreptiles.com's 8"tweezers rock!!
> 
> 
> ...


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## if_fishes_were_wishes (Jul 29, 2007)

pet-teez said:


> lol!
> I have a pair of those tweezers, I use them for feeding my Leopard Geckos, do they work well for planting?


Yay, another leopard gecko owner  I need to get a hold of those tweezers, guess I'll check the reptile section of my LFS.

The HC looks great, I hope mine gets to looking like that.


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## pet-teez (Aug 17, 2007)

Or you could buy them online from where we got them: LLLreptile
I'm local so I bought them in-store but they are pretty handy for feeding Ren & Stimpy, one reason is they are in such a tall tank, it was for fish but during a move the back (actually the front, it's the back now) broke so I wouldn't trust it with water...
(I'm attaching a photo, sorry to sidetrack the post briefly)




if_fishes_were_wishes said:


> Yay, another leopard gecko owner  I need to get a hold of those tweezers, guess I'll check the reptile section of my LFS.
> 
> The HC looks great, I hope mine gets to looking like that.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

The tweezers work awesome for planting!
And for feeding my FBT's, they're scared of my fingers.

No prob. on the sidetrack, always good to see a terrarium once and a while.

So, I'm going to a LFS today to pick up iguana food. while i'm there i might***look*** at tom's deco art tanks,lol.

i'll post here for a while with it, but i'll have to move the topic somewhere else.

So, final verdict-
Standing free stays planted!!!


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Oh yea, I know how hard pico reefs are.
I have a 55gal. FOWLR right now that my mom refuses to let me turn into a reef, thus a pico.


And haeun, you wanna help me get rid of the snails?lol.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

WEll i got a tom's deco kit 3.

Standing free has moved to an alternate location.








Yea, the betta loves rap, so he'll be fine there,lol.

Anyway, it moved to make way for this-

























It is a pretty neat kit.
the light is 18w 50/50 PC, which i hear is plenty enough light to grow zoas and shrooms and stuff.

















Another cool thing, it comes with a perfect lid.








only the lid comes off as one peice, no opening anything.

And the filter is MUCH larger than the redsea nano filter, which is great, maybe i can fit a heater in there.


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## dufus (Nov 13, 2006)

Update on the reef, added some big LR peices.
I'm thinking about rescaping it, or buying some smaller LR and putting the big peices in my mom's 55 FOWLR.

I also got some corals from a closing LFS.
they're in my moms tank ATM.
Some brown/white Xenia, GSP(Green Star Polyps), and some drab Zoas that i think she can keep.

Also got a few CLean up crew, 5 hermits and 2 snails, they reside in ym mom's tank too ATM, all but 1 hermit.

ALSO, i got some Cheato macro algae for free at the LFS for my filter.

any way.....pics.



















hermit









TLC SW samples(freebies)


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## diablostr (Sep 26, 2007)

Nice reef but needs time


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## shwerm601 (Dec 16, 2007)

dufus said:


> Here's an i dea of what i'm Trying to do -something like this
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Does ADA sell directly or do you have to purchase ADA brand equipment from a retailer? Ive never seen tank or equipment like this... ?


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## Reeferton (Aug 16, 2007)

adgshop.com


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