# 40 Breeder Upgrade



## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

My 40 gallon breeder project is almost ready to get started.


All livestock from my current 20L will be transferred over to their new home.
See the beginnings here: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/12-tank-journals/1179401-20-gallon-transition.html


I picked up the tank from Petco's half off sale last August but had to wait to do anything until we moved to our new house in December. Meanwhile I was able to gather all the equipment and work on building the stand. 


Equipment: 


Aquatic Life Edge 36" LED light
SunSun 304 canister filter
Eheim Jager heater
Hydor Koralia Nano 425 (for added water movement if needed)


Aquascape:


mineralized soil capped with pool filter sand
driftwood branches and stump 
Ohko stone


The stand is a simple DIY project of 2x4's skinned with plywood. It has taken a bit more time than I originally planned but is finally getting close to finishing. I did complete a test fill of the tank in the garage, no flood so that was a success!


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Some progress pictures:


Testing the stand with the tank and equipment - skinning the stand - staining


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Before I can set up the tank I need to paint the walls behind it - the spot its going into has all white walls. I had thought about painting once the tank is up and running (my impatience trying to get the better of me!) but after giving it some thought, figured I should do it before rather than after and not have to deal with the headache of covering the tank in plastic and risk a crashed tank from paint fumes. 


Speaking of fumes - after staining the tank in the garage it stunk for nearly a week while drying. My wife was not too happy. 


I also have never set up a tank on tile flooring before - always have been on carpeting. So this will be a new experience for me as well. For this reason I had to make certain the stand was level with no high spots. Lots of sanding was needed on the corners. 


Next up are the doors...


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

I was able to paint the walls where the tank will go and am almost finish with the doors. Just 2 sheets of plywood with some 1x3 on the edges, sanded and stained. All that's left is a coat of poly finish to seal it up. Then reattach the door hardware and it'll be done.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Happy to say I finally finished the stand with the completion of the doors. The poly coat really finishes off the stand - pleasantly surprised with the results. 


I was able to level the stand and worked on filling it yesterday. Used 4 bags of mineralized soil and capped it with 70'ish lbs. of pool filter sand. I attempted my first hill using some pantyhose filled with aquarium gravel as a base and then covering with the sand. I think it turned out rather nice. 


Let the 2 pieces of driftwood float overnight and they both sank by this morning. I also ran a HOB filter overnight to help clean the tank of any particulate stuff in the water. 


This morning I finished up the aquascaping using the Ohko stones and driftwood. I may do a bit more work on the hill to make it appear more defined.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Looks like I won't be needing the Koralia Nano 425 - the short time I had it running it blew off the top of my hill exposing the pantyhose gravel. I did a bit of restructuring of the hill and got to planting today. 


Plant list:


Amazon sword
Red flame sword
Cryptocoryne wendtii
Aponogeton undulates
Aponogeton crispus
Red melon sword
Kleiner bar sword
Oriental sword
E. parviflorus sword
Hygrophila polysperma (dwarf Hygrophila)
Microsorum pteropus (Java fern)
Anubias nana


All of my plants are coming from my 20 gallon long tank that I setup back in December when we moved to the new house. Unfortunately I didn't do a whole lot for the tank so most plants didn't look too great. 


But now with the new tank setup I can get them back to their former glorious self. I did a whole lot of trimming removing dead and damaged leaves and with the amazon sword, red flame sword, and Apo crispus I had to removed a bunch of excess growth because those 3 just grew very happily in the dirt I had in the temp tank. 


I also moved the fish, shrimp, and snails over to the new tank as well. The fish handled the move with ease and began exploring their new home with zeal. My 3 amano's were a bit more skittish and basically hid in the drift wood. I definitely wanted to keep the snails as I had no problems with their populations keeping in check plus they are great at keeping any algae in check. 


Livestock:


3 glowlight tetras (since 05/15)

3 neon tetras (since 01/16)
4 cherry barbs (since 06/17)
3 amano shrimp (since 10/17)
assortment of ramshorn and Malaysian trumpet snails (07/17)


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Today I did my first WC - 10 gallons (25%). The tank water was getting dark from the driftwood so it was time. A few more wc's over the next week should help clear things up. I also used the lower water level to temporarily plant some stems until I can figure where I want them. 


The fish have really taken to the new tank and are really enjoying the added room. I've noticed especially with the cherry barbs they don't spend a lot of time chasing their other tank mates - they actually spend most of their time swimming around and exploring the driftwood. The driftwood and Ohko stone is a great change for the tank. I was unsure of using the stone at first but am very happy now that I see it setup. 


With as few fish I have the tank is still very much active as the neons and glow lights do swim around more then in the 20L. I still want to increase my fish numbers to give them bigger schools: perhaps 6-8 more neons, 2-3 more glow lights, and 2-4 more cherry barbs. 


I'm also proud of my lil'hill as it appears to be holding its shape - seems the pantyhose/gravel combination is working great.


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## underH20garden (Dec 19, 2017)

nice! looking good. keep us posted I do enjoy seeing the progress


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Thanks for stopping by! 


Sometimes the tank progresses faster than I can keep up!


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

I never got a good pic of my finished stand. I am pleased with how it turned out except for one small bit - the hinges for the doors are well, not my best solution. I'll have to consider something nicer looking when making a stand for my dream 75g. But for now this was good practice in learning new techniques and designs. I have some scrap wood that I would like to make a few shelves in the stand for storing test kits and food containers, etc.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

I replanted my stems in more permanent locations today. 


I only had them up front for about a week but of course the wisteria's roots already reached the soil layer and caused a small cap breach when uprooting it. A bit of vacuuming was needed to clean things up and I added a cup of new sand over the breach area. For now I have not decided on what to do with the wisteria as it can overtake the tank if not constantly pruned. For now I placed it behind the spray bar so it stays put until I figure what to do with it. 


I also switched places with the crypt wendtii and red melon sword as I wanted the red melon to be front and center. It has been developing a really nice reddish maroon coloration and I want it to be a centerpiece plant. I must have moved it 8 times just to get it in that 'perfect' spot! 


I also saw my Aponogeton undulates is starting to flower again. Second time it has done this, very interesting to watch it develop. 


Some pictures of the tank: FTS, right side, center, left side, and the Apo flower. 


Have to give credit to member Triport for the idea of labeling the plants in the FTS!


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

The stand looks awesome <jealous> , great work on top edges. I bet it can hold a baby elephant. Maybe bronze / black hinges will blend in nicer, even with the existing door handles. Well done.

What amazes me is how you have kept so many swords in a 20L, especially Amazon. These guys just keep trying to escape from my 18+" tall tanks.


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## austin.b2 (Jun 21, 2016)

Nice 40! That light colored sand really makes the green pop. All your swords are looking very healthy. Has the small hill you had on the left side of the tank held it's shape well?


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Thanks for the compliments - I am very happy with how the swords are doing. 

I know they were a bit much for the 20l but it helped tremendously in determining their final planting location in the 40. Since I use dirt capped with sand it's a challenge to move plants around after they have settled in. 

I went back and forth between black diamond sand and pool filter sand, looked at lots of tanks to compare the two before deciding on the PFS. I am satisfied with the natural look of the sand. 

The hill has kept its shape. I just can't add too much current as it will blow away!


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

OVR,

A baby elephant - no problem I'm sure! The upper trim was a last minute idea as I felt it needed something more as I was getting ready to stain it, glad you like it. 

I kept my sword selection to just one amazon this time. I had 4 in my first tank, a 20H I had setup some years ago. That was a big mistake! But I decided to go with some slower growing sword species and they are working out great.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Did a 12 gallon WC yesterday and I am noticing that the water doesn't tint as quickly anymore, guess the wood is finally done releasing most of its tannins. I also removed a few sickly looking leaves and cleaned up some of the snail poop. With the benefits of the snails their droppings aren't too crazy. I'm also maintaining my ferts using Excel and Flourish. 


I have been considering adding a second light and am looking at the Beamswork, Finnex, and Fluval brands. I am very satisfied with my Aquatic Life Edge especially with its dimmer function (it can be setup to dim over a period of 2 hours and anything in between), so now I need something that can help to expand the coverage and won't break the bank. I will just need it to come on for about 8 hours. I also don't need it to be too much light as this is a low tech tank, so I may need to have the ability to adjust the intensity. 


I also took advantage of Drs. Foster/Smith's sale and picked up some fish food - Hikari micro pellets. I currently feed a mix of Hikari bloodworms and tubifex worms. I would like to try some frozen varieties eventually as I've seen them at my LFS, so I may pick something up on my next trip. The more variety the better! 


Picture at feeding time today:


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Been considering adding some new plants - wanting to keep with something that is slow growing so may go with some Bucephalandra and Anubias sp. I've also been looking at my lone crypt wendtii and may get a few different crypt species to add to the left side. Just some brainstorming for now...


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Did another WC yesterday - 15 gallons. I think I am getting close to removing most of the tannins from the water. I am planning another small WC later this week and would like to open up my Sunsun filter to see how much gunk it has collected in the past month. I also tested my tap water and the tank water to see how things are going:


Tap: 
pH 7.4
GH 12
KH 9

Tank
pH 7.4
GH 10
KH 6
nitrite 0 ppm
nitrate 0 ppm - may start dosing potassium nitrate to increase my levels and to also test out my API test kit


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Cleaned my Sunsun filter yesterday - it really needed it as I noticed the flow in the tank had slowed down. I removed 5 gallons from the tank to wash out the filter pads. I also put in half of a container of Purigen. Took a little over 3 gallons to fill the canister back up. I'm considering getting a prefilter sponge for the intake to help reduce the amount of debris that gets into the canister. 


I also decided to use my Fluval Aquasky from my 20L to help with the back of the tank. I didn't realize the light could be adjusted to 36" so it just fits and looks rather good - not too bulky. Plus with the programmed cloud simulation the light is able to adjust its intensity. It also brings enough light to the back of the tank. 


Lastly, I also placed an order for some new plants - Buce, Crypts, and Anubias. Tracking says they are due tomorrow. So planning a 40% WC tomorrow before planting the new arrivals. Tank also needs some pruning and I just switched to Thrive for my ferts. 


Tank with the additional lighting:


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

I did a 30% WC today and took the opportunity to trim some of the overgrowth in the tank. 


My plants arrived yesterday but due to a mix-up with the postal delivery person they got stuck in the cluster mailbox for 24 hours and I wasn't able to pick them up until today - relieved that everything survived. After cleaning them up I put them in the tank to float until I can get to them tomorrow. My plant order consists of the following:


Bucephalandra sp. 'Dark Blue' 
Bucephalandra sp. 'Theia Green'
Cryptocoryne beckettii 
Cryptocoryne lucens 
Cryptocoryne lutea 
Anubias barteri 
Anubias frazeri 
Anubias nangi


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

I noticed the past week a brown dusting has begun to appear on the sand and rocks. I have decided to up my WC's to a few small ones each week (20%-25%) to see if that slows it down. I know I made several changes at once to the tank (increase lighting, change of food, and change of ferts) so maybe the combination is the cause, or just because its a newly setup tank. 


Did a 25% WC and planted my new Crypts and Buce's. The Anubias will have to wait until my order of Ohko stone arrives.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

The past week was busy for the tank...


My Ohko stone order arrived so I was able to secure the Anubias. There were a few nice large pieces left over so I used them to try and add a bit of depth to the middle section (and to also try and contain the Apo crispus). BTW, I did a major pruning of the Apo crispus and let 2 smaller leaves remain so the tank is more open in the middle area now. 


I was able to place the 3 Anubias on the right side positioned around the hill. They should get some shade from the amazon and red flame sword plants currently filling in that area. 


On a visit to the LFS to check on neons I wound up leaving with a plant instead: a Staurogyne repens they sell in those pest-free tubes. I had seen these plants in other members tanks and they look like they grow in a nice, compact bushy shape. Wanted to give them a try - was able to separate the plant into 4 sections.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

I returned to my LFS a few days later to pick up the neons I had looked at earlier. They looked really healthy and active, plus I found out they had been in the store for the past 2 weeks so felt comfortable getting all of them. Picked up a total of 13 - on Friday the 13th! 


While acclimating them I did a small WC and cleaned up the tank - pruning bad leaves and sucking up debris from the corners and around the rocks. After replacing the water and getting the filters running again I put the new neon arrivals into the tank. The 3 original neons I had immediately started schooling with the rest of them. Talk about a busy tank!


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Did some pruning and a 15 gallon WC today - have been increasing my distilled to tap ratio to try and help with the algae growth that I'm noticing on the sand. 


Removed some older damaged leaves from the amazon sword and cut off the flowering stalks from the Apo undulates as the flowers were dying. I trimmed the dwarf Hygro and replanted the tops to try and fill in the back area near the heater. I'm hoping the Hygro growth will cover up the heater in the next few months. I also moved both my java ferns and the Buce as I feel they look better in their new locations. My Staugrogyne repens have gotten more green and are looking more 'lively'. 


The neons look absolutely fantastic. I noticed they move around much more with the larger group - almost any picture I take now has at least a couple of them in it!


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

I know there are differing opinions on this, but for me buces do much better attached to rock or wood where their rhizomes get decent flow. I've seen some very knowledgeable people grow buces in the substrate, but they were also injecting a tremendous amount of C02 and are very skilled aquarists. 
Your tank is looking nice. How are the Neons doing? They are one of my favorites, but healthy stock is sometimes difficult to come by.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Thank you for the tip - I was a bit unsure of how to proceed. I will tie them to some available rock in the next few days. I think I'm getting better at using fishing line to tie plants to rocks after the anubias!


The neons have adjusted very well. The lot of 13 that I got from Petsmart were all small so its actually easy to tell which 3 were my original as those are a bit larger. This is the first time I've had such a large school and it's definitely rewarding! I don't want to jinx myself but I didn't have any losses. The sales person did tell me that this particular lot was in the stores tank for at least 2 weeks and they appeared healthy and active, so I took a chance figuring most of the weaker ones had already been lost. 


Thanks for the compliment on the tank!


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Did a 15 gallon WC on Sunday and cleaned the usual snail poop from the rock crevices. 

Was a busy week so not much more done on the tank.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Aframomum said:


> Did a 15 gallon WC on Sunday and cleaned the usual snail poop from the rock crevices.
> 
> Was a busy week so not much more done on the tank.


All the Neons doing well? It took me a while to figure it out, but it never looked like I had as many Neons as I should... figured out why... the syno Euruptus that wasn't big enough to eat them.... he's been eating them... lots of them. So back to building my numbers up since he has been relocated. I visited the BIG LFS near me the other day. It's twice the drive and also more expensive than my usual place, but their Neons and Cardinals looked SO GOOD! Bought 20 the first time... lost only 1. Bought 15 last time and again lost only one. If you can confirm they've been in the store for a few weeks and are still looking good you are golden. This new place is 3 for $5 as opposed to my normal $1 each... so adding 50 more is going to cost me. Get that group up to 25 and you'll be rewarded with some super bold Neons


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Sorry to hear about your catfish having live food snacks - he really was getting an expensive palate! Glad you caught that and got him rehomed. 

My neon's are doing very well - think its a safe time to say no losses. I'm sure getting the lot that was at the LFS for several weeks was the key as most of the weaker ones had already been lost. I did take a risk by not quarantining so I'd rather not push my luck with any more additions. Plus, I'm happy with the level and activity of the tank so will keep things where there at. 

I notice in the morning when the lights first start to slowly ramp up all the neons are gathered together in between the amazon and red melon swords. Actually can't see any of them when viewing the tank from the front - had to look from the side to see where they all went! Guess they feel the most secure between those two enormous plants at night. 


I decided what I'm going to do with my water wisteria that I have just floating around right now - I'm going to get a small clay pot and put a small bit of dirt in the bottom capped with sand and plant it in that. I'm hoping that way I can contain its growth, move it around easily, and still get some nice bushy growth out of it. Right now with it floating it sends out aerial roots everywhere, grows in any direction, and just looks like a bundled floating mess!


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Weekend WC today (15 gallons) - I marked a line on the side of the aquarium so I can just drain it to that level and know exactly how much I'm taking out. Makes for easier WC's. Been thinking of using a garden hose to drain to the front yard plant bed since the tank is near the front door, but I do like to use the smaller hose to do pinpoint mulm/snail poop removal from around the rocks and other hard-to-reach areas. 


I also made my Buce rock today while the water level was low. Put both Buce's on the same rock as it had plenty of space. 


Summer is nearly here in wonderful Florida so with temps already near 90 I decided to unplug my heater. Most times during the summer I'm more concerned with keeping the temps from getting above 82 in the tank so I usually have a few frozen bottles of water to toss in the tank in the evening if the temps get a bit too elevated. Nothing too drastic - just nice to get things a degree or two cooler overnight. 


I added my old Aquatop hang-on filter a few weeks ago since it has a UV lamp and a decent surface skimmer. I had heard some issues with the Sunsun's UV destroying the plastic trays so figured this could be a good alternative. Plus it adds some water movement which is nice.




Nevermind the light reflecting off the floating wisteria hot mess!


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Wow man... Buces are looking good! Everything looks good, but for me buces are difficult when initially introduced.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Thank you. Your suggestion for planting them was spot on - they do seem to be doing much better.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Performed a 10 gallon WC on Wednesday. Been a bit busy so didn't do much cleaning, just basically took water out and put new water in.

I do need to do some pruning as some things are filling in a bit too much. I also noticed the dwarf Hygro is getting close to the surface with new growth, of course at the expense of the lower leaves which look like I have termites in the tank. 

FTS


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Noticed the flow rate in the tank was slowing down so cleaned the sunsun filter. Last time cleaning it was on April 2, so a little short of 2 months. I also swapped the purigen with a new batch so will need to recharge the old stuff for future use. Changed 10 gallons with the filter cleaning.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Some pictures as of May 26: 


Cryptocoryne wendtii 









Red Melon Sword









Dwarf Hygro and Neons









Anubias 


















Apo crispus


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Man I'm really impressed. Tank looks amazing and it's hard to believe it's low tech. What is your lighting like? 20" Fluval aquasky and what other? How long is your photoperiod?


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Thanks a lot! 


You can tell its low tech by all the green and lack of red, except for the cherry barbs! 


Lighting is the Fluval and a light I saw a fellow member (JJ09) using on her 38 gallon tank - Aquatic Life Edge. 


Link: https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+10704+28127&pcatid=28127&r=874


Lighting schedule: 


0730-0900 - slow ramp up of the Edge. 
0900-1700 - Edge and Fluval on 
1700 - Fluval off
1800-2000 slow ramp down of Edge


I do have a persistent brown algae issue on the sand in the front of the tank, directly over the Edge light that I have been working on since 4/9. I have changed my WC ratio of DI to tap to be more DI than tap so to hopefully slow down the algae growth. Tank was setup on 2/24, its still in its early stages so I don't expect everything to be fully balanced out. I'm hoping the DI ratio for my WC's will deal with the algae and I won't have to reduce the light intensity as I'm not seeing any other forms of algae. 


If I'm not mistaken your also having to deal with the hot Florida temps we have been getting lately. 


I had an idea of using a Styrofoam box with dry ice plumbed with some tubing to cool the tank if things get a bit too warm. I would have to either use a separate canister or Tee a line from my existing canister to run water through it. Then run a simple digital thermometer inside the box to monitor the temps so I know when to replace the dry ice. For now though, I have been using some frozen water bottles I toss into the tank after lights out so to reduce the temps a degree or so.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Did a 15 gallon WC and plant pruning on June 5. 


Took down the tops of the Dwarf Hygro and replanted to encourage more of the 'forest look' along the back wall. Also did a major trimming of the red flame sword. I moved the Java Ferns to the left side of the tank along the glass in hopes they will get a bit more shade as they didn't seem to be doing all that well directly underneath the Fluval light. I trimmed most of the water wisteria's growth and planted a few small bits so they will start to get a root system started and begin to grow upward - this way I can prepare them for pots in case I need to move them around later when they get larger. 
FTS: June 5, 2018








Java Ferns new location








Dwarf Hygro trimmed








Red Flame Sword trimmed








Water Wisteria trimming










I'm also starting to have an issue with green spot algae showing up on my Anubias. 





















Lastly, I lost a single neon yesterday. Considering it an isolated incident but am watching the rest of my fish. Also planning a WC in the morning.


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

nice growth and evolution.. great job


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

It might be time to get that photoperiod down when you see GSA on anubias leaves. My 2 lights aren't fancy. Both turn on at noon. High power one shuts down at 6pm, the other RGB shuts off at 8pm.
Your plants are gorgeous. Don't let algae get a hold and you find yourself trimming half the leaves off. I know it's hard to reduce photoperiods. 

My tank in the garage is the only one Im concerned with. The others are in the house which is kept at 70*. Tanks are kept between 78* (main tank) 79* (Rainbow tank) and 83-84* for the Ram tank. I added a 200cfm fan above the 20 gallon long in the garage and it cools it to about 6* below ambient. Unfortunately that means 75* at night and up to 85* in the day. Too much swing. I'm going to shut the fans off at 9pm to stop cooling and on at 7am. I'm also setting up a big circulation fan in there since it gets WAY above ambient in the afternoon even with the wndows open. Next step is to set up the fans on the inkbird controller and a 100w heater. Hopefully keep the tank between 80* and 84*. I'd like to raise some rams in there... maybe breed some Bloodfin tetras.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

finfan said:


> nice growth and evolution.. great job


 Thanks for the compliment!


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

At The Dude1 - don't want to reduce my photoperiod!!! lol


I asked about my anubias issue over at the fertilizer and water parameters forum and it was suggested that my water circulation may be too low in the area the anubias are in. I haven't decided if I want to toss a powerhead on the other side or just get a second canister filter for the other side. The canister would give me more options down the road if I want to add inline stuff.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Aframomum said:


> At The Dude1 - don't want to reduce my photoperiod!!! lol
> 
> 
> I asked about my anubias issue over at the fertilizer and water parameters forum and it was suggested that my water circulation may be too low in the area the anubias are in. I haven't decided if I want to toss a powerhead on the other side or just get a second canister filter for the other side. The canister would give me more options down the road if I want to add inline stuff.


Ya I know what you're saying. Went through the exact same thing with anubias. In the end reducing photoperiod was thonly option the keep the algae off the leaves. I ended having to cut off ALOT of leaves during my stubborn period and you know how long it takes anubias to produce full grown leaves.
Interesting about the dry ice. How long do you think it would last. I've been able to keep the tank in the garage at a peak of 85, but thats because it hits 75* at night with the fan going. 10* daily swing is not going to cut it. I'm thinking I'm going to run a tube from the drain on my chest freezer right next to it into the back of the fan. I'm also going to have to set the heater in there so it doesn't drop below say 81*. These temps have gotten wild already. Ordered 2 more large box fans and I'm going to figure something out for the garage.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

I got the idea of using dry ice in a Styrofoam cooler from my job. I work in a hospital lab and in blood bank we receive frozen blood products in Styrofoam boxes that maintains the temp at -20C using dry ice pellets. 


Obviously we don't need these kind of temps for our tanks but the same principle should work. Plus your tank in the garage is a 20L I believe, so it shouldn't take too big of a cooler with some dry ice to keep things relatively cool throughout the day/night. How long will the dry ice last? The Styrofoam should keep the ice cold for several days but you'll need to insert a thermometer into the cooler to monitor the temps. 


This is all brainstorming as I never had the chance to actually test anything, but I had considered it for a reef tank I had running a few years ago - it used metal halide lighting and those lights put out some serious heat so I always had problems with the tank temps getting up there. Unfortunately I took the tank down before I did any real testing on the dry ice cooler.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

June 13 - I was able to do a 15 gallon WC. I'm making a slight adjustment to my tap to DI ratio (10 gal DI/5 gal tap). My reasoning is to increase my GH a bit as I've been noticing some of my snails having brittle shells. I did not test my water before the change but after tested as follows: 


KH 5
GH 6
pH 7.4
phos 2
nitrate 10


I was also able to use my 2 new Salifert test kits I got: phosphate and nitrate (no more beating the heck out of those API kits!). 
As a reference my tap tested out as: 


KH 9
GH 13
pH 7.4
phos 0.5


I finally found pots to plant my water wisteria in - shot glasses! They actually worked out really good - who knew. I put a small amount of topsoil in the bottom covered with sand and planted them in. In a week or so I can move them to the back where I want them to fill in a empty spot next to the dwarf Hygro. 


I will be increasing my flow to the right side of the tank so to hopefully help the anubias with the GSA. I also started to increase my Thrive dosing to 3X a week instead of 2X. I'll be watching to see if these 2 changes make any difference in the coming weeks. I'll also be monitoring my nitrate and phosphate levels with the increase in Thrive. I made an order for potassium phosphate if I feel its needed later down the road. If all else fails then I will have to make adjustments to my lighting (either reduce the photoperiod or use eggcrate to diffuse the light). 


I've also not had any other fish issues since the unexpected neon loss last week. Isolated incident I suppose. 


FTS - June 16










Crypts










Side Crypt view










Shot Glass Experiment










Water Wisteria shot glass


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Lets see if this works...


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Looks like TPT has been having some issues the past week, hope they get it fixed soon! 

Update on the tank: I did a 15 gallon WC on 6/23 and siphoned the bottom and removed some damaged leaves. I also pulled the heater out of the tank (I don't use it during the summer months plus it was becoming an eyesore for me). I also pulled the HOB filter to try and clean up the in-tank appearance - the intake pipe for the filter was hard to disguise and didn't look right.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Other changes to the tank: I tried a peroxide scrub on one of my Anubias plants (6/19) just as a test to see if it had any effect. I used a typical bottle of peroxide 3% and sprayed it on the leaves then used a soft toothbrush and gently scrubbed the algae. its been 11 days and I really didn't notice any major changes to the algae. I did change the direction of my spray bar to increase flow over the Anubias section. I also increased my Thrive dosing to 3X a week. 

I finally broke down and decreased my lighting schedule: 9am - 6pm. So reduced from 12 hrs to 9 hrs. I think both the fish and myself had to get used to the new lighting schedule. lol

FTS: 6/26









Water Wisteria new placement


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Lost another neon yesterday - found him on the intake. I don't think he was there very long as the shrimp hadn't gotten to him yet.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

I've noticed since reducing my photoperiod that the diatoms on the sand have cut back - its nice to see more sand than brown. I can't say that the GSA has been impacted in any way, although it does not appear to be spreading as quickly among the anubias leaves. I have gotten used to the reduced lighting schedule and I've not noticed any ill-effects to the plants. I do feel the increase in Thrive dosing has improved the plants growth and appearance - more deeper green leaves throughout the tank and the stems have put out more leaves then before. 

Did my normal WC maintenance (10 gallons) on 7/10 and am due for a filter cleaning this Saturday. Have to hold off on any tank purchases for the next month so no new canister filter for now. 

No other fish losses since my last neon on 7/5.


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## zmartin (May 1, 2018)

Hope the reduced lighting pays off. 

If you don’t like the reduced photoperiod look into a timer and split the nine hours into two sessions.

Some say this helps with algae, not sure, but when I put it on my tank it certainly didn’t hurt, the plants didn’t seem to notice and the tank is lit at more convenient times.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

At zmartin: Thanks for the suggestions on the split lighting schedule. Only problem is the tank is next to my sons room and I don't want the lights on while its time for his bedtime. But for now I'd like to keep with the reduced lighting period as I am seeing some positive changes. 

FTS: July 14


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Looking good! Two suggestions. 
1. Stay away from hydrogen peroxide or at best use a much diluted mix. Say 1 part H202 2 parts water. The most effective for me in terms of killing algae 100% of the time and NEVER causing damage to plants is 1 part Glut (metricide) to 3 parts water or 25% glut solution.
2. Even in high tech tanks you probably dont want to go much over 8 hours. Its complex, but basically once the plant feels it can't gain any appreciable C02 from the water it closes its stomata... and this gives algae an opportunity to thrive uninhibited.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Thanks again for the suggestions on my algae problem. 

I didn't see any real effect using the peroxide. I do use Excel for my carbon source so will have to try out the 25% diluted on some of the affected leaves. 

I will be reducing my lighting a further hour to bring it down to 8 hours - just wanted to make the change a bit gradually. This past week I noticed the GSA has begun to show up on one of my swords. It has just affected one leaf as of now and I have already removed it from the tank.


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## The Dude1 (Jun 17, 2016)

Its probably too soon to definitively claim success, but I've been adding TC421 controllers into my LED fixtures to control scheduling and most importantly dimming. I reduced my 100% intensity periods by almost 3 hours and added 3 hours of dim lighting so that I can still enjoy the tank. It was very easy and inexpensive. I go into the "setup for beginners " in my log as I had no idea how to start. I'm very pleased this far and I've got 2 more controllers on the way to run my other 75 gallon tanks. 
Might be something to consider


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

I might have to take a look at what your doing with that later on. Of course with work, life, kids, wife - not enough hours in the day it feels sometimes!


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

I got some major work done this past Sunday with the tank. 

Did a 15 gallon WC and cleaned my Sunsun filter. Had to remove the Purigen pack as I'm needing to recharge both batches. Also removed 1 of the filter pads (to increase flow) and replaced another one with a new one as the originals have gotten raggedy from use. I have an order for replacements coming next week. So that leaves just 2 pads in use in the filter for now. I may have to adjust my cleaning schedule as the filter was gunked up pretty bad (even the top rack with the bio media was coated in gunk). 

I did some rearrangement of the anubias - moved all of them to the back of the tank to areas with less light coverage and more shading from the dwarf Hygrophila. I'm hoping this helps to reduce the GSA on them. I also have 2 of the Hygrophila reaching the surface - going to let them continue to grow above the surface for now. My Wisteria is doing very well in their little shot containers. They haven't started to grow upwards yet but are filling out nicely and looking very green and healthy. 

For now the tank has an open area where the anubias rocks used to be so the fish and shrimp are enjoying the new space. 

FTS - July 23


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

It's been quite a while since I last made a post (July 2018). 

The tank is still running and I have to say things have leveled off a bit. My GSA has slowed down and even though I have noticed an appearance of hair algae its mostly due to my lack of work on the tank these past months. I really have not done too much with it other than top offs and maybe a WC every month. I even let my filters go longer than they should have. But surprisingly the tank didn't turn into a mess of algae. 

I consider it a lucky break and I have once again started to take care of the tank with consistent WC and filter cleanings starting with the new year. 

My fish have done well and no losses. I am happy with the current stocking and am not planning to make any new additions. Just the 3 species: Neons, Glowlites, and Cherry Barbs.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

I performed a WC and filter cleaning this past week. Am using a blue coarse filter and 2 white finer filter pads. I also am not using Purigen since taking it out over the summer. I really couldn't tell if it was doing anything or not - and I haven't noticed any major changes since removing it. 

Over the winter I had to replace my SunSun as I had a leak after cleaning the old filter. I believe one of the plastic connectors cracked which caused the leak. I replaced it with a new SunSun filter as I want to believe it was a one time issue and am overall pleased with this filter. Only this time I placed one of those potted plant water saucers under the filter in case I have any leak issues in the future. 

I finally gave up on the Rotala rotundifolia as it was looking really bad near the end. Pulled the remainder of it last September. 

For some time I just left that spot open but recently moved one of the water wisteria to fill in the space. I still have them in their shot glasses with the thin layer of soil covered in sand. They are doing very well and growing tall and large. They do like to put out aerial roots and so about once a month I have to cut the plant back and clip all the aerial roots to keep them contained. The fish really do like the soft leaves as they constantly swim in and out of them. 

Several weeks ago I removed most of the rocks (some were getting hair algae on them) and scrubbed them clean and then repositioned them into a low wall along the half back of the tank. This helps to give some separation for the tank. 

I have started to redo the dwarf Hygrophilia 'forest' that I had in the back of the tank. It was looking real nice and filling in that back area before I did a major trimming. Unfortunately most of the bare stalks did not fair well and resulted in melting away. I was able to save a few plantlets and have been regrowing them. 

I did lose one of my Buce's to the hair algae outbreak (Buce Theia green). The algae grew really thick on the plant and when I tried manually removing it the leaves and stem broke up. The other Buce (Dark blue) also had some hair algae growing on it but not as thick and I was able to remove it with better success. I have since moved the Buce rock to the back area on top of the rock wall so it gets better water flow and less light. 

My Anubias have been recovering very well from the green spot algae that had them mostly covered since the early fall of last year. I repositioned all of them to the back right side of the tank (it gets the least amount of light) and didn't mess with them. Almost all of their leaves got covered in dark green to almost black algae that was very difficult to rub off with your finger. 

However, last month things started to make a comeback. New leaves that the plants put out did not get covered and remained clear and healthy. The older leaves that were covered shriveled and were cut off, leaving only the healthy green ones. I also noticed in other parts of the tank the GSA stopped appearing. It was as if one algae stopped and was replaced with another - the hair algae. 

I am hopeful that returning to regular WC's and filter cleanings (and consistent ferts) will help to slow any further algae outbreaks.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Anubias corner









Water wisteria









Buce









Rock Wall


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

The tank really did make a nice comeback since getting back on a decent schedule of WC's and fert. dosing. The growth was very nice - my recent pruning had me remove nearly a bucket full of plant mass. 


I did a filter cleaning of my canister the beginning of March and bought replacement filter pads to replace the old ones. I'll install them when I do my next filter cleaning sometime next week. Right now I am trying to clean the filter every month or two. 


I changed out 15 gallons last Saturday and did a major pruning. I also took the very tops of the water wisteria and planted them in the sand so they will form early roots before I plant them back in the shot glasses. I removed the rest of the growth as the plant ran many aerial roots that anchored it to the sand in multiple spots. Both of them got huge. The rear hygro's I took the tops from and replanted. The bottom sections were beginning to melt after I initially cut them back a few months ago. 


I was pleased that almost no hair algae was found anywhere in the tank, except in a small turf right in the middle of the tank, growing on the sand. It was easily removed. But none was found on the rocks or in the leaves of any plants. 


I replaced both my Thrive and Excel as the old ones were finally used up. For my low tech needs they are working just fine - my plants grow and the algae not too much.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Tank has gone through some changes since April. 


My Crypts had grown so densely in their corner that they filled in that area quite thickly. Unfortunately I had a crypt melt, not total, but enough to thin out the area a lot. I was vacuuming the melting plant parts almost daily to try and keep the tank from getting too murky. My only idea was I skipped about a week of ferts that may have triggered the melt. 


Things have seemed to settle down with the Crypts and the remaining plants seem to be recovering. It was a bit hairy for a while and I was worried that I might lose all my crypts to the melt. One thing though, the fish seem to be exploring the new space more often now that its open. 


I had a split occur with my Red Melon Sword - so now I have 2 of them. At first I didn't realize what was happening, only that the plant looked to be getting larger and wider. It wasn't until the 2 plants separated that I was able to see the second plant. I cut the daughter plant, removed it (had to siphon all the pulled up dirt) and cleaned it up and trimmed the roots before replanting. Both plants are doing great. 


The Red Flame Sword has put out 3 long stalks the past few months. The stalks get so long they hang over the end of the tank. There are several buds along the length but nothing ever became of it - they eventually shriveled up. 


I relocated my Amazon sword from the back to the front side corner - I want it to get more light as it wasn't looking all that great in the back. 


The wisteria is once again going to need to be trimmed back - its getting large and bushy. 


I did a filter cleaning and replaced 2 pads last weekend. Since the crypt melting is at an end (fingers crossed), I will do another filter cleaning this weekend.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Some pictures:


FTS June 5 2019










Crypt Corner Before Melt










Crypt Corner After Melt










Red Melon Swords










Amazon Sword Moved










Red Flame Sword Stalk


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

We are getting ready for a weeks vacation so I did some tank cleaning today - mainly filter cleaning. I also trimmed down the wisteria and replanted to tops in the shot glasses. 

The crypts have recovered and are starting to grow again - no more melting leaves. I also saw 2 new shrimp today - thought I only had the 1 female left from my original purchase last year. 

Also got myself a new auto fish feeder as the one I used last time we went on vacation stopped working. I didn't lose any fish but they were a very hungry lot. 

I'll also triple up on my dosage before leaving and cover the tank with Saran wrap to cut down on evaporation. I'm also going to remove the surface skimmer from the canister filter as I don't want any snail blocking it while were gone.


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## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

Have a great trip! Hope you all and your tank are unscathed by next weekend!


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Another long hiatus from TPT! 


The tank has been doing ok - and I say ok because I really haven't put much effort into it these past months. Top offs when needed, WC once a month, filter changes when I feel the flow has gotten too low, dosing when I remember (sometimes a week without). So no surprise when one day I discovered my rock had turned green and the sand brown. But let me back up as I feel I'm painting a very dreaded scene indeed! All's not that bad actually. Good thing about low tech is things happen slowly so you do get time to intervene and turn things around. Plus sometimes life gives you a little bit of a breather so you can rekindle that spark of interest and find inspiration in your tank again. 


The positives are I decided to keep my automated fish feeder on the tank and no more worrying about missing feeding the fish. A nice plus and since I have it set for twice a day I'll check it at the designated feeding times and watch my fish chase the food all around. Nice and relaxing. 


My crypt corner has recovered and filled in again. I also discovered a few extra's that grew from some mothers tucked in there too. 


I decided to reduce the amount of rock I originally had. I first took out all the rock and let it sit in the garage for several months. So the tank had the all-plant look for a while but I decided to take a few rocks, clean them up and place them back in the tank. So that is where I'm at right now - 3 rocks (except for the rocks with plants attached to them). 


I still have my wisteria in shot glasses, and about each month I have to take the tops and replant them. They grow so large so quickly - but they are one of my favorites. I discard the rest of the plant and wash out the shot glass and start all over again each time. I decided to skip the small amount of dirt I used to put and just use straight sand in the shot glass. The wisteria's growth is slowed a bit but the overall appearance of the plant doesn't change much from sand verses dirt in the shot glass. 


I did a rather large WC a few days ago (about 40%) and cleaned the Sunsun canister filter. My replacement seems to be doing very well that I got last year to replace that leaky one I originally had. I also did a good pruning of most of the overgrowth. 


BTW, thanks ipkiss for the well wishes! 


FTS 01/11/2020


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

So I made a trip to the LFS last Friday (1/10/20) to just get a few Amano shrimp to replace the one's I lost several months ago. Yes, my plan was to get 2 shrimp - and nothing else. Yeah, we know how well those plans work out! I came home with 2 new Amano shrimp, plus 2 new glowlight tetra's and 2 new cherry barbs. I figured my lone glowlight needed some much deserved company and the 3 existing cherry barbs (males I believe) needed a few females in the mix (I hope that's what I got). 


The fish and shrimp have all settled in very well and seem to been accepted by the existing tank inhabitants. 


I did a 5 gallon WC today to basically suck out the few spots of hair algae growing on the sand. I also cleaned up a few dying leaves of the crypts. I also cleaned up the intakes of both filters. The canister has a bad habit of dumping a bunch of crud back into the tank after each time I clean it. Quite annoying. 


Some close ups:


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

I accidently ordered the wrong filter media for my Sunsun canister so had to make another order for the correct ones. I cleaned and reused the old ones while waiting for the new ones to arrive. Thank goodness for Prime! 


I also posted a question concerning my dirty canister tubing dumping crud back into the tank after cleaning and got a few ideas. Ultimately, I decided to attach some string to my cleaning brush and pull it through the canister tubes - worked like a charm and cleaned them right up. I just have to be careful when disassembling the tubes from the quick disconnect as I don't want to crack it. 


So hopefully I won't need to clean it for some time.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Did a small WC yesterday (~7 gallons) and removed some dead/decaying leaves. I've noticed that I am removing anywhere from 5 - 8 leaves from the crypts on a weekly basis. Usually they are just beginning to get that yellowing on the edges when I remove them. A few of them get hidden pretty good in the thick of the crypt forest so I don't notice them until they become a mess of decaying material. At that point I can easily siphon them away. 


My next canister cleaning is coming up - probably going to do it this weekend. 


I've noticed that the hair algae problem is almost at a standstill. I figured my Amano's are chomping away happily.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Did a 30% WC yesterday. 


I also cleaned the canister filter and decided to use the polishing filter pad (black one in the 3rd rack) with the fine pad (green one in the 1st rack) with a single white pad in the 2nd rack. I'll watch the flow rate to see if using multiple pads affects it. I'm glad I found the multipack on Amazon as they are turning out to be a great deal. 


I also sucked up some of the sand that was getting discolored with algae and replaced it with new sand. Unfortunately I have to do this once a year or so depending on the growth in the tank. I usually take just the top layer. 


I finally tied down some of my loose buce's and anubias - they have been just placed in areas that contained them for the past several months. So now they have a permanent home. 


I also cut the tops of the wisteria and replanted them in their shot glasses. They were getting too large and reaching the surface, plus putting out too many aerial roots. 


FTS 2/22/2020










Slow growing corner










Sword


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Saw that my LFS has some cherry shrimp in (very small ~ half the size of my Amano) and thought they would be a nice addition. 


After doing some research I found that I would probably need to get some moss for them to hang out in. Although my plants would provide sufficient hiding areas it seems they really like the moss, so decided to give it a try. I purchased some java moss and christmas moss from Buce plants. I have a few left over rocks that I can use to attach them to. 


I also discovered that I would need to get a prefilter sponge for my intakes so the shrimp don't get sucked up into the filters. I had tried the prefilters before but remember they seemed to be more trouble then good - got gunked up too quickly and removing them to clean was a pain. So looks like I will be revisiting this endeavor to see if a second go-around will be better.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

With the pandemic going on I have really neglected the tank for most of April. I finally did a WC yesterday and cleaned out the Millinium filter. Also did some pruning and pulling out of some hair algae that I found. 


Near the middle of March I decided to pick up 5 cherry shrimp, 2 amano's, and ordered some moss. I used the prefilter sponges for most of March and April but finally pulled them out near the end of April as I felt the shrimp were getting large enough to not need them. 


I also indulged my son with a female betta fish he picked out when we were getting the shrimp. Surprisingly the betta has done quite well. I was a bit worried about the current in the tank being too high but she seems to find the slow flow areas and hangs out there. Overall a nice addition.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Another long break to get caught up on...I also see TPT has gone through some changes. 

The tank is doing well. I did have a mess of hair algae for a few months but that was due to lack of maintenance on the tank. Now things are improving and the plants are outgrowing the algae. During the height of the algae growth I had to remove the few rocks that remained in the tank so to clean them - I also left them in the garage in a dry bucket so I could clean them more thoroughly later on. 

My son's female betta fish is doing great. She has put on weight and I notice she likes to hunt the many small snails I have in the tank. I haven't noticed any aggression towards any of the other fish in the tank so that's a plus. 

I had an issue with my Sunsun powerfilter a few months ago - luckily I was at home and was able to hear it malfunction as it could have been a disasterous flood. The spring for the handle broke from its plastic retainer one night, just spontaneously. This caused the seal to leak pretty good while the filter was running. I had the filter sitting in a small container to contain a few gallons of water just in case. That container almost ran over in just a few minutes before I was able to turn the filter off and close the valve so it wouldn't leak any more. All at 3 in the morning. I threw the entire thing in the garbage the next morning. 

So now I just have 2 hang-on filters on the tank and that seems to be working to keep the tank clean. One plus with the hang on's - cleaning is easier so I service the filters more often.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Today I stopped by the LFS and picked up a new group of additions for the tank:

12 black neon tetras, 3 cherry barbs, and 2 Opaline gourami’s.

My last purchase was April 2018 with that large group of neons (13) and several glowlight tetras and cherry barbs. Over the 3 years I slowly lost most of the neons (only 2 remain). They didn't die in large groups, just a random one every 4-6 months. It was the strangest thing, the last one I saw eating and doing just fine the day before, no issues at all. Then the next morning I found the fish on the bottom of the tank. I also lost one of the cherry barbs and one glowlight tetra over those 3 years. So the total fish remaining has been 2 neons, 2 cherry barbs, 3 glowlight tetras, and 1 female betta.

Yesterday I picked out 6 of my Ohko rocks that I had sitting in a dry bucket in the garage for several months and cleaned them up. I had put them in the bucket to kill off all the hair algae that was plaguing the tank at the time. I was able to clean up the tank in time and the heat in the garage took care of the algae on the rock.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Tank before the fish and rock addition:


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Some pictures of after the fish and rock addition:


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Did some plant pruning and a WC this weekend. All the new fish have taken to their new home with ease - not a single loss. I was surprised to find that they are very comfortable with my hands in the tank, no hiding in the corner. 

I went through the crypt corner and removed many of the longer leaves/stems and thinned the area out. Now you can see through the forest. 

I also attached my buces and anubias to different areas of my rock. I didn't use any fishing line this time, just gently pushed the root section into the rock crevices. 

I took the top sections of the 3 water wisteria's and placed them in their shot glasses. I had let the three plants go and they sent some decent roots deep into the dirt so were looking really great and bushy, but it was time to trim them and go back to their containers.












































Over the past 6 months I have removed a good amount of sand that was covered in algae so I took the time to replenish the sand with a spare bag of pool sand I had left over. It took 4 cups worth to get back to the heights it was before. 

The hair algae growth has slowed down. I am able to pull out any tiny growth I see starting - all the usual spots have been staying free of any growth so that's a good sign. For the past week I have only found it in a few random areas and it was easily removed. So far nothing on the rock or on the buce's and/or the anubias.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

The tank is still doing well - will have to get an updated picture to post.


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

FTS: March 8, 2022


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## Aframomum (May 23, 2015)

Things that have happened with the tank since my last post (9/20/2021) - 

- the amazon sword made 3 baby plantlets. I left them attached to the main root for several months before they became large enough to separate. I now have them planted in the sand in different locations in the tank. 

- had to remove most of the stone again as they were getting covered in hair algae. They are back in the garage so I can clean them up at a later time and get them back in the tank. I really do like the look of the rock but need to keep up with the maintenance to keep them algae free. 

- the crypt corner is full and looking very healthy. I have to pull up some of the runners that start to spread to other areas of the tank so I don't have a tank full of crypts. 

- all the black neon tetras have done very well. I haven't lost any of them and they are getting larger and stay very active throughout the day. They also don't exhibit the nit-picking I noticed with the neon tetras, not to mention the random and mysterious deaths I had with them. 

- we did lose our female betta the middle of June - I'm hoping it was age and not something in the tank. She was very active and always hunting snails. During feeding time she would always appear to readily take any of the floating food. We may get another female as the fish did bring an interesting aspect to the tank. Just have to remember - no shrimp can be kept in the tank.


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