# Heather's 27 Gallon Cube//mini update 1.5.12. Low light, low tech



## alan j t (Feb 13, 2008)

what, no pics?


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

alan j t said:


> what, no pics?


Haha I know, I'm awful. I was just so excited to start the thread I couldn't help myself! Pics tomorrow when I get to a computer, I promise! For now I'm doing all my updates on my phone and the pictures it takes are just awful.

Ok, ok. Crappy mobile photo here:


It's very bare right now since it's only ten gallons worth of plants, but it's a start!










Did that work? It's not showing up on my phone.


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## Reginald2 (Mar 10, 2009)

It worked.

That's a cool sized tank, lots of possibility there. Subscribed.

Is that your conure in your avatar?


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Reginald2 said:


> It worked.
> 
> That's a cool sized tank, lots of possibility there. Subscribed.
> 
> Is that your conure in your avatar?


Yeah I'm looking forward to experimenting with the aquascape in the size it is  I fell in love with it instantly, haha. I work at a PetSmart and we got it in on tuesday, bought it wednesday. Tank love at first sight!

And no  Sadly the conure is a friend's, but I fostered him for the better part of a year and he's still got a piece of my heart.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

The post you've all been waiting for...Pictures!

FTS:








VERY bare right now! I'll get more plants in there soon, I promise!

3/4 view:









And a shot of some of the cards and 1/2 of my GBR pair:










And a random cute one:










Anyway, it's starting to come along and I'm very glad to have it around. I'm tempted to rehome the lonely von rio and do all cardinals though, they look so cool under the blue moonlights! 

I'm getting a black background tomorrow...and that powerhead isn't staying ugly there...I just put it in from the old tank for more bacteria to be present to minimize the cycle. I might keep it if I need it, but if I can get by without it it'll be gone ASAP.

Comments, critiques, suggestions?


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

A few more today, yes my camera sucks. I used to use my sister's, but now that I've moved out that's not really practical.

Anyway, added some java fern and alternanthera reineckii. Have didiplis diandra, cryptocoryne balansae and echinodorus vesuvius on the way and that will be it for a bit. I'll let things grow in and go from there 




























And my little helper for kicks:








She's actually the reason that tall val back there only has one leaf. She thought it would be fun to destroy some of my plants while I wasn't looking.


On another note, I have to say I'm really enjoying the floramax substrate color. Previously I used a black substrate and I really like the variations in color of this substrate. It reseems more natural to me.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Just a small pictureless update. The tank is doing well. All fish made it through the move and the measures I took to prevent a cycle have worked, didn't get any parameter spikes 

The plants have adjusted and have started to grow. And no crypt melt as of now so I'm very happy. I didn't want my fairly large lutea to have to start over. I have new red and pink growth on the rotala and hygro and my mosses have fresh green growth (as if I need any more moss!).

I have discovered that dry ferts will be absolutely necessary. With my 10 I used the flourish line, but those will run out quickly in this tank so I'm going to invest in some dry ferts once I get paid.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Payday! And that means dry ferts. I just ordered NPK and Plantex CSM+B from GLA.

Once I consume the contents of a few 2-liters I have around here I'm going to rig up DIY Co2. I've decided just to go with it given I'd rather prevent algae in the first place than spend months fighting it off once it starts to bloom. Then I'll go with the EI dosing method with the dry ferts and hopefully the tank will begin to flourish.

Also, a pressurized system may be in the works sooner than expected. Living on my own again has once more turned me into a thrifty girl and I've managed to save quite a bit of money this month, even with tank-related purchases (and new apartment-related purchases, for that matter!) Hopefully I won't have to run DIY for too long!


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## AkCrimson (Dec 17, 2009)

Love the tank! Someday I will have a cube...so many possibilities with that depth! You've done a really nice job with it...

I'm doing DIY right now, can't wait until I can afford to go pressurized!


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

AkCrimson said:


> Love the tank! Someday I will have a cube...so many possibilities with that depth! You've done a really nice job with it...
> 
> I'm doing DIY right now, can't wait until I can afford to go pressurized!



Thank you! And yeah I ran DIY on my 10 gallon and even though the tank spent a few months being "perfect" just as I wanted it, the DIY was a PITA. That was mostly because of the location though and how hard it was to access for changing out the mixture (it was on a baker's rack with minimal space) but the 2 liters will fit nicely under my stand now so I may be able to tolerate it better this go around. Optimally pressurized will happen within 3-4 months, but if not at least I (presumably) won't hate DIY with this tank.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Got my plants. None to thrilled. The crypt was small and pathetic, they left out the didiplis diandra, sent two bunches of ludwigia instead (one of which has rotted to nothing). The only thing I was impressed with was the swordplant. I've been making attempts to contact the company but they won't return my calls. I'll keep trying, but they've lost my business for good.

In other news, my GLA order came in and I'm fairly excited to start an EI regimen on my tank. I'll rig up the Co2 tomorrow and start dosing then. Silver linings, eh?


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## Reginald2 (Mar 10, 2009)

I ordered some plants and they came in kind of rough too. It was cool to bring them back though. I don't think I got more than a quarter inch off of any plant. 

When I got my CO2 I wanted to stare at it for hours on end in utter satisfaction. I have a helper/fisherman too. I feel your pain. The tank is looking nice.


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

So sorry about your plant condition. I always order from fellow hobbyists. I've not been disappointed. I hope your plants will bounce back quickly.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Update!

I rescaped tonight and it's still cloudy (in addition to mobile phone pics) but I wanted to show you all the progress I've made with this tank. I bought a new piece of driftwood and love the effect it has. It's visually pretty to me and it's functional. The shy/light-sensitive fish have a place to chill where I can still see them.

Anyway, a pic!!


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Updates! With real photos!

As I mentioned in the last post, I'm really liking how the tank is coming along...I'm only having minimal algae issues (some GSA and a wee bit of BBA that I've been nuking with Excel) and finally today got around to hooking up my DIY Co2 (don't judge...I work 2.5* jobs!) so hopefully that'll change.

*I draw for $$ along with my two other jobs

Anyway, on to the moment you've all been waiting for, Pics!

Obligatory FTS:








Hopefully this manages to convey the awesome cave I've got going on with the driftwood better than my bb pic in the last post. As soon as I bought this tank I thought MUST HAVE MANZANITA! but I rather like the hardscape it has going now so I'm pretty sure it's gonna stay that way...unless I get bored with it in 6 months.

The "cave" up close:









Look at how much space I still have to work with:








SWEET. I'm planning on doing a real-deal foreground with this. Maybe not as awesome as HC or glosso, but that little tuft of microsword in there? I hope that guy covers the whole floor. Ideally I want a blyxa "barrier" between the taller plants and the forground for some variety, but we'll see what happens.

Random:








Uh oh...what's that over there? Lil baby tank. Fluval Chi. Will have a thread for it in the nano tanks section following this update 

Tank from my level:









Tank from below:








Duckweed is a horrible horrible monster. I net out and throw away so much every day I want to bang my head against the wall...but I still thought this pic looked cool.

Anyway, now that it's starting to come together...comments, critiques please?


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Like 60 more views than yesterday and no comments? I'm starting to think you all think it's awful or "just average." If that's the case, give me some pointers!


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## spooble (Aug 27, 2010)

I think it looks great! I love the cave. Seems like there's too much substrate showing, but once the foreground grows in some I think it'll be just right.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Since I have a 8 gallon cube in its second week now, this tank looks extremely good to me. I like the general layout which gives the fish so much room to swim and be seen. It does look very bright, so I wonder about how much light you have. Over all it looks like I hope my little one will look soon!


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## kwheeler91 (May 26, 2009)

duckweed can be removed with a WHOLE LOT of persistence. took me over a week of a big net and a daily check and remove routine to get all of it out my 55... god what a horrible idea that was, putting it in there on purpose.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

@spooble, thank you! And I completely agree about too much substrate. Once it cools off I'm going to order some more foreground cover...I'm afraid to do it when it's hot because I work so much and it would sit in the mailbox all day.

@Hoppy, thank you  that's exactly why I like the cube..lots of room for plants AND still a good swimming area for fish. I have 9watts "double bright" LED (marineland, came with the tank) and 56 watts spiral CFL. Not sure what that rates this tank as, but I've had very minimal algae issues and lots of plant growth thus far so I'm happy with it!

@kwheeler91, I'm slowly eradicating it but it's a big PITA. Never again will I mess with the stuff!


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## Clavius (Sep 30, 2010)

Nice looking tank!:thumbsup:


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Clavius said:


> Nice looking tank!:thumbsup:


Thank you! It's still a work in progress but as my own worst critic every comment I get helps me move ahead!


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Mini disaster!

My yoyo loach committed suicide yesterday and today I came home in between jobs to find 2 Von Rios floating and every other fish (sans cory cats with their oxygen-digesting abilities and all) gasping at the surface.

Gassed. My Co2 isn't even bubbling (made an error and didn't mix it right) but I normally run an airstone at night because I keep my tank at 82 (hot I know, but the fish have colored up immensely with the temps, they love it) and at those temps with oxygen being lower I suppose the plants consumed too much o2 given I haven't run the airstone the past two nights.

Anyway, I plugged in the air stone and slowly cycled the lights on so it didn't stress the fish more. They're not due to come on til 6pm (I keep odd hours working two jobs and all) but I wanted the plants to stop using the o2 so it could be available to the fish.

Everyone's happy now, but I always feel bad when I'm responsible for loss of life.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Big changes this coming weekend 

An awesome forum member on here who lives in my town gave me some leftover manzanita he had and now that it's finally sinking I've got a big rescape coming on my night off this Saturday 

I've decided to go back to a black substrate and have rinsed the heck out of my leftover Eco Complete from my 10 gallon to get it ready for this weekend. I'm just going to lay it over top of the FloraMax and hope it stays relatively separated. If not I'll worry about it later, haha. Anyway, just an update on what's going on. Picture update Saturday or Sunday!


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Same thing happened to me today. It sucks loosing fish to co2 or lack of oxygen. I feel your pain. Great member to give you manzanita! I look forward to the updated pictures. How do you find time to have a tank with 2.5 jobs? I am in admiration.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

sewingalot said:


> Same thing happened to me today. It sucks loosing fish to co2 or lack of oxygen. I feel your pain. Great member to give you manzanita! I look forward to the updated pictures. How do you find time to have a tank with 2.5 jobs? I am in admiration.


Yes it was pretty sad  And lucky enough for me, my lights come on at 6pm and go off at 4am and between about 11pm and 3-4am I'm home and awake so maintenance gets done, haha. Yeah I keep weird hours but it works for me!

And I'm already loving the manzanita...it's super cloudy right now, but clearing up by the minute. I'll have plants back in tonight and hopefully pics tomorrow!


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Well, I worked this morning and thought I'd be off tonight to get pics up, but my other job called me in (yay for 7am to 12pm workdays! Meh) so I won't be able to get to my mom's to upload pics. It's kind of OK though because the tank is still cloudy (that floramax is nasty stuff...even after countless rinsings). I'm actually off the whole day tomorrow though (!!!) So I"l get them up then!


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## Madfish (Sep 9, 2007)

I just picked up the same tank and light today. Its filled with water and stuffed full of plants working on the cycle. I seen the tank and I just had to have it. Its such a cool little tank with so much that can be done with it. I plan on starting a thead with mine here tonight or tomorrow.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Madfish said:


> I just picked up the same tank and light today. Its filled with water and stuffed full of plants working on the cycle. I seen the tank and I just had to have it. Its such a cool little tank with so much that can be done with it. I plan on starting a thead with mine here tonight or tomorrow.


That's what I thought. We got it in at work...I pondered it for a night, went in the next day and bought it. It was just perfect for where I wanted my tank and wasn't too big for my depressingly small apartment. Well, it's not that small, just awkwardly shaped with no long/not bent walls/halls good for larger tank placement.

Hope you have as much fun with yours as I have so far with mine!


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Oh my god. Crispino Ramos's plant packages are awesome. I've got so many plants I don't know what to do with them.

I ran out of plant weights* so I've got dozens of stems (like a 3inch layer covering the whole tank surface!) just floating waiting to find their homes in the scape. I'll pick some up at work tonight when I take my mini-hellbeast** of a dog in for her training class and will get photos then  Lights aren't on til 6 anyway.

* not the method of choice, I know, but when I order non-rooted cuttings I always have to use plant weights until they root. My full-sized cory cats send them floating otherwise...shoulda got pygmys, but I love the ones I have.

** she's not that bad...just was a rescue who has no manners, really, though she's improved greatly since she's been in our home!


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Now for photos, only three, but this is the new scape. A little collectoritis-y, but all the plants probably won't stick around. I'll give away the ones that don't grow well because I know my tank can't support the lighting needs of some of them. Also I have some anubias, java ferns and some mosses and fissidens that will go on the DW eventually.

Here's the tank before I got my big plant package today:









And now to transform into collectoritis!
FTS:









3/4 view:










My camera sucks. It made everything all yellow, but I'll try again after a few days once the slight cloudiness has subsided.


I like it. I've always liked jungle tanks. I decided to organize it with a "crypt corner" then all the stems on the right. I don't know why but I like it that way. I think the kompakt is going to go though. Or at least find a different place.


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## cmabrey75 (Apr 15, 2010)

Tank looks great, the wood will look great once all of the plants grow in. What is the red plant in the middle? I knew I should have keep that wood it would have really looked good in my shrimp tank!! Just playin! Your tank looks great


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

cmabrey75 said:


> Tank looks great, the wood will look great once all of the plants grow in. What is the red plant in the middle? I knew I should have keep that wood it would have really looked good in my shrimp tank!! Just playin! Your tank looks great


Thanks  The wood is awesome, it's got so many variations in color..it looks great. Thanks again for that!

And the plant...it's Rotala Macrandra 'Japan' and I doubt it'll stay that red for me so I'll probably be sending some your way if you like it!


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## cmabrey75 (Apr 15, 2010)

Sure just let me know when you have some extra.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

whelp I nuked my BlackBerry so I'll probably be scarce for a bit until I get it fixed (trying to right now at Mom's house but it's not wanting to cooperate). I might be absent for a bit because I might just say 'screw it' and save a few weeks to upgrade to the BlackBerry Torch. Anyway, even though I might not be frequent, I still visit my mom's enough to occasionally get pics up and appreciate all comments/critiques, so keep them coming!


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Borrowing my boyfriend's phone to update. 

I glued the small amount of fissidens fontanus I have to the DW last night in a few bunches in the "joints" of the wood. I like the look. When I got the fissidens I was like "oh, cute" but didn't really understand all the hype until I saw it glued on and bushing out. I really like it! I also attached a bit of flame moss on some of the tips of the wood hoping for a cool look when it starts to fill in. I ran out of super glue but my ferns and monster anubias nana willl go on tonight with updated pics to come tomorrow!


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## Reginald2 (Mar 10, 2009)

Sorry to hear about your phone. The tank looks great. I'm looking forward to the new pics.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Looking heather.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

A few new pictures:

FTS:








Growth, YAY!

This is what it looks like with just the LED lights on. I wish it would grow that way because I think it looks dark and mysterious and neat:









Night lights:









A bit of fissidens on the wood:









An Otocinclus chilling:


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## jerilovesfrogs (Oct 22, 2010)

i think your tank has really taken shape! i love the led lights too  makes me wanna get something like that. keep up the good work.....


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## cmabrey75 (Apr 15, 2010)

The tank looks really nice. You have some really good growth in there. Reallt really well done tank.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

agentkhiem said:


> How's the cube looking so far? Really curious what the stand looks like on the inside


Well, life took over...and by that I mean working two jobs (one fast food and one retail) while being without a car relying on rides, having to spend 12-18 hours a day away from home, etc...the tank fell into neglect and duckweed took over, killing off most of the high light plants. All my easy growers are still trucking though (crypts, vals, dwarf sag, mosses/fissidens and such) so the tank is very green right now. But I like it. I've realized I simply don't have the time for a high tech tank right now, but I can maintain a low-tech setup and still get the same enjoyment out of it (minus the red plants ) so that's what I'm moving towards. About a week ago I netted out all the duckweed (I've nicknamed this plant "suckweed" in my house) and arranged the powerheads and spraybar to allow for more surface agitation to curb it's growth while I eradicate it completely. It's working wonders and after trimming back the old overgrowth, I've got new growth from the plants. Even the seusswassertang is doing something haha.

Anyway, no pictures as it's hard to get to my mom's to borrow her computer, but I'll work on getting some up soon.

And as for the stand, it's nothing special. XP2 and dry ferts haha.


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## SeasonedNewbie (Jul 3, 2011)

Hey Heather - Any update on your awesome tank?


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## SeasonedNewbie (Jul 3, 2011)

agentkhiem said:


> Ditto on the update! I'm using the same ensemble as well and I'm curious what you did with yours.


How's your setup going agentkhiem? Did you go high or low tech? How'd you stock it?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

You just need to harness your collectoritis and use it for good. Over the yeas in the hobby I have come to grips with my yearning for different/more difficult/pretty plants. I just weed out the ones that do not excite me after a few weeks and keep the ones that offer something exciting.


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## second (Jan 31, 2005)

Thanks for the journal of your tank, it looks great! I have been drooling over the same tank at my lfs! I think seeing yours has pushed me over the edge. I hope to pick it up this weekend


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## Reginald2 (Mar 10, 2009)

ah man, I saw this thread pop up in my subscriptions and was looking forward to an update.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Reginald2 said:


> ah man, I saw this thread pop up in my subscriptions and was looking forward to an update.


No pictures right now but I saw this post and figured I'd give an update.

I converted this tank to a low light, low tech tank a few months ago. I nixed the co2 and started using just the stock LED fixture. Why? Because I am expecting  I hated to see the high light plants go, but the trimming was getting to be too much, too often when my doctor told me it's really not the best idea to spend hours a week with my arms in aquariums up to my elbows. It killed me to let my plants go, but I do know my son's health is more important than my hobby. Plus low-tech will be easier on my sanity once he arrives in April when I know the tank will be the last thing on my mind as a first time mom! 

It is still green and kind of lush, but it's sad to look at when I know what it once was and it never got to realize its full potential. It's actually due for a wc tonight (moved to every other month) and light trim so I'll snap some phone pics and get them up later.


And as any good aquarium addict, I have a tank planned for his nursery once things settle down. My boss at work bought me a 30 gallon tank for winning a sales/customer service contest and it'll house one oranda with lots of rockwork and a few goldfish-safe plants..once everything settles down of course.


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Alrighty. New specs:

27 gallon marineland cube
Lighting: stock marineland double bright LED fixture
Filtration: rena xp2 stock media, no carbon.
Equipment: rena heater set at 84 degrees, powersweep 30 powerhead, mini azoo powerhead
Substrate: Eco complete, floramax.

Livestock:
1x marble angel
2x cardinal tetra* 
3x glowlite tetra*
10x pygmy cory
1x clown pleco
3x otocinclus
1x false julii cory*

Plants:
Java fern trident
Crypt lutea
Crypt parva
Anubias nana
Sunset hygro
Some mystery plants I can't recall
Seusswassertang holding on in there somewhere.

Some phone pics:

Fts:








My buddy:








Pygmy cory cat!









As you can see, its very blah right now. I hate the way it looks..so empty, but ill be able to dig back into it soon enough. I swapped the manzanita out for the old wood I had (easier to move around, less time in the tank) but I've still got that stashed away for later too. 


* improper schools because some of these fish are years old and have died off...we are moving so I haven't bought more fish as I will likely be giving all but my angel away for ease of moving.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Gave it some time to settle, took a better pic on my phone (new to it so im still getting used to it)

A little clearer, more true to color Fts:








Forgive my bba. It will not die lol. At least its not spreading and I've been picking it out as I get into the tank.
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

Heatherdersh said:


> Alrighty. New specs:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


don't you just love the auto fill in on smart phones?!?!?! but....gives an idea..dr. seuss themed tank for the little one's room!!

tank looks great! the high tech tanks are pretty to look at, but i prefer the low tech ones more. not sure why, just my oddball tastes i guess.:icon_roll


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## Heatherdersh (Nov 4, 2009)

Looks like I've got growth. Also, found some of that fancy ludwigia that stays red in low light on the sns...hopefully it stays that way easily for me.










Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk


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## second (Jan 31, 2005)

Wow
that looks great heather!! ps congrats on your coming little guy!


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